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Nvidia's Jensen Huang breaks down 'CEO math' 2024-06-02 18:07:34+00:00 - Nvidia's Jensen Huang explained 'CEO Math' ahead of Computex in Taiwan. Huang said by investing in GPUs and CPUs, companies can drastically reduce time spent on AI tasks. "The more you buy, the more you save," he said. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement There's math, and then there's what Nvidia's Jensen Huang calls "CEO Math." "The more you buy, the more you save," Huang said ahead of Computex, an annual technology exposition held in Taiwan. "That's called CEO math. It's not accurate, but it is correct." Confused? Huang explained the concept by describing why companies should invest in both graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs). The two processors can work autonomously, reducing the time it takes to carry out a task from "100 units of time down to 1," he said.
Revealed: Russian legal foundation linked to Kremlin activities in Europe 2024-06-02 18:01:00+00:00 - Leaked internal documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is in fact a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries across Europe and around the world. Internal documents from the Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad (Pravfond) indicate that the foundation finances propaganda websites targeted at Europeans, helped pay for the legal defence of the convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout and the assassin Vadim Krasikov, and has employed a number of former intelligence officers as the directors of its operations in European countries. The documents show that the group has spent millions of euros to finance propaganda and legal campaigns. Public data also shows that Pravfond’s local partners have received millions in state subsidies from a number of the European states where the foundation operates local branches, raising questions about the use of public funds and national security concerns just days before elections to the European parliament. More than 40 Pravfond documents, obtained by the Danish public broadcaster DR from a European intelligence source and shared with a consortium of European journalists including the Guardian, show that the organisation has had a number of documented former intelligence agents among its leadership. They include Vladimir Pozdorovkin, who has been identified by European intelligence sources as an agent for the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service, and in public records as Pravfond’s curator for its operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries; and Anatoly Sorokin, who the documents show is a member of the SVR and curates Pravfond’s Middle East, Moldova, and Transnistria division. The head of the Institute of the Russian Diaspora, which is listed on official documents as Pravfond’s “project implementer”, is Sergey Panteleyev, who has been subject to sanctions in EU countries as a member of a Russian military intelligence unit that specialises in psychological-warfare operations. Andrei Soldatov, an expert on the Russian intelligence services and co-author of The Compatriots, said Pravfond appeared to be a “classic soft-power effort” and that the ties between intelligence and compatriot organisations were “well documented”. He noted that Andrey Milyutin, the deputy head of the department of operative information of the fifth service of Russia’s security agency, the FSB, was a member of the government’s committee on “compatriots living abroad”, indicating the link between intelligence activity and outreach to the Russian diaspora. In a 2020 national security report, the Estonian security services called Pravfond a “pseudo legal protection system” that “in reality is an influence operations fund”, and they have said the FSB uses the groups to recruit collaborators abroad, including among supporters of the 2014 annexation of Crimea, many of whom had ties to the group. Pravfond was founded in 2012 by presidential decree and was backed by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs and the federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo, which administers foreign aid and has been described by the head of Pravfond, Alexander Udaltsov, as a “unique element of Russian soft power”. Udaltsov has been subject to sanctions by the European Union since 2023 for “supporting and implementing actions and policies which undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”. Pravfond did not reply to questions sent by the Guardian and by its reporting partners in the week before this publication, although some of the recipients of its local grants did. The documents show that Pravfond sponsored the legal defence of Krasikov, an alleged FSB agent who was given a life sentence for the murder of the former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin’s Tiergarten in 2019. The documents indicate that the lawyer Robert Unger received €60,000 in legal fees paid out by Pravfond’s budget in 2021 as approved by Udaltsov. A European intelligence source said it possessed documents showing that Unger had received a larger sum of money for representing Krasikov in previous sessions, but could not provide documentation. Asked about the payments, Unger confirmed he had received a request from the journalist consortium but said his mandate for Krasikov ended in 2021 after the life sentence and that because he was “still subject to legal professional confidentiality even after the end of the mandate and have not been released from it, I am unfortunately prevented from answering your questions”. A Pravfond budget document from 2014 also showed that the organisation had provided significant sums to fund the legal defences of Bout and the convicted drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko, both of whom later returned to Russia as part of prisoner exchanges negotiated between Moscow and Washington. The documents also indicated that Pravfond had spent hundreds of thousands of euros to maintain several websites that purported to fight against “Russophobia” and promote the “defence of the Russian language” in Europe. It has also funnelled money to a number of fringe publications throughout Europe. Documents obtained by the consortium showed that Pravfond funded the activities of golos.eu, an online portal that operates out of a post-office box in Brussels and mainly provides a vehicle for commentators to voice criticism of the Ukrainian government, particularly the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his top aides and military advisers. Reached for comment by the Guardian, the Golos deputy editor Yuri Andriychenko denied that the site received money from Pravfond or had any links to the Russian state. He suggested that someone else had applied for grant funding using the site’s name, writing: “We are not surprised that someone in Russia is trying to make money on our name, because it is much easier than creating your own project.” According to the internal documents, Pravfond also funds the activities of Euromore, another online portal that focuses heavily on purported threats to Russians in Europe. Euromore was “designed to take into account the closure of international platforms” such as RT and Sputnik by the EU authorities and “create its own significant alternative”, the documents said. Those sites were largely blacklisted in the west after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
OPEC Plans a Gradual Unwinding of Production Cuts 2024-06-02 17:57:52+00:00 - When officials from major oil-producing countries met on Sunday, they had a tricky task before them: To reassure shaky markets that they would continue to restrain oil supplies. The group known as OPEC Plus, which is led by Saudi Arabia and includes Russia, also wanted to offer some hope to discontented producers like the United Arab Emirates that they might soon get the go-ahead to pump more oil. Not surprisingly, the deal reached in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Sunday is complex. It aims to bolster oil prices by promising that deep production cuts will extend through next year. But it also spells out a gradual phase out of a portion of the cuts. Beginning in October, oil output for eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, may gradually rise in monthly increments through 2025.
Latest Poll Of Independents And Republicans Could Spell Trouble For Donald Trump Following His Historic Conviction 2024-06-02 17:51:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... A recent poll indicates a number of Republicans and independents believe former President Donald Trump should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his conviction. What Happened: A Morning Consult poll conducted on Friday reveals voter sentiment after a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records. The poll shows 54% of registered voters approve of the guilty verdict, while 34% disapprove. Among independents, 49% believe Trump should end his campaign, while 15% of Republicans share this view. The poll also indicates a close race between Trump and President Joe Biden, with Biden at 45% and Trump at 44% in a head-to-head matchup. Despite agreeing with the guilty verdict, 49% of voters think Trump should receive probation rather than prison, and 68% believe the punishment should be a fine. Also Read: Following Trump's Guilty Verdict, Legal Experts Say He Could Face This Punishment Instead Of Prison Time The poll also highlights distrust in the criminal justice system, with three in four Republicans feeling less confident after the verdict. Additionally, 77% of GOP voters and 43% of independents suspect the conviction is politically motivated to damage Trump's career. Why It Matters: Trump's hush-money trial has stirred significant reactions. On Friday, a poll revealed that 10% of Republican voters are now less inclined to vote for former President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, following his felony conviction. Now Read: Following Historic Conviction, Donald Trump Is Facing More Criminal Charges With No Endgame In Sight This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo: Shutterstock
UK care agencies accused of exploiting foreign workers caught in debt traps 2024-06-02 17:38:00+00:00 - British social care agencies have been accused of exploiting foreign workers, leaving people living on the breadline as they struggle to pay off debts run up while trying to secure jobs that fail to materialise. Dozens of people working for 11 different care providers have told the Guardian they paid thousands of pounds to agents to secure jobs working in UK care homes or residential care, with most finding limited or no employment when they arrived. Many are now struggling to pay off huge debts in their home countries and having to work in irregular jobs for below the minimum wage. Labour and the Conservatives are now under pressure to tackle the issue if they win next month’s election. The Tories recently banned foreign care workers bringing their dependents to the UK with them, a ban Labour said last week it would keep in place in an effort to bring net immigration down. But experts say the ban has failed to tackle the deeper issue of exploitation of the workers themselves, many of whom are still in the UK and living in poverty, afraid to leave their employers for fear of losing their visa status. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has now written to the leaders of all three major national parties to demand a full government inquiry into treatment of migrant care workers when parliament returns. Prof Nicola Ranger, the acting general secretary of the RCN, said: “The exploitation of migrant care workers is a national scandal but little has been done to tackle it. “A chronically understaffed social care sector has supercharged its recruitment of staff from overseas and a lack of regulation and enforcement has allowed some employers to profit from the mistreatment of migrants.” She added: “An urgent government investigation into exploitation across the social care sector must be a priority for whoever wins the general election. Lives are being ruined daily and this work has to start as soon as possible.” David Neal, who raised the alarm about the care visa system when he was the government’s borders inspector, said: “As soon as we looked at social care visas, we realised there was exploitation going on.” He added: “Throughout my inspection, I was thinking of the Windrush scandal and there are echoes of it here: the state inviting workers to come to this country to help us in the labour market and then abandoning them.” Lawyers say UK care providers who promise regular full-time work and then offer exploitative or underpaid jobs on arrival may have broken the law. The sponsorship system means an individual’s visa status is tied to a particular employer, meaning many feel trapped. Johanna White, a solicitor at the Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit, a charity, said: “I can see what look like indicators of trafficking and modern slavery. “In many cases, there appears to have been deceptive recruitment, with the individuals being given false information and promises to induce them to pay large fees upfront to the agents for the opportunity to live and work in the UK, being left vulnerable to forced labour, financial exploitation or both.” The care industry has turned to foreign workers in their hundreds of thousands in recent years to solve labour shortages caused by Brexit and the Covid pandemic. The government granted 350,000 health and care visas in 2023 to workers and their dependants, accounting for 75% of all skilled worker visas issued. But as the numbers have risen, abuse of the system appears to have done so too. The Guardian spoke to more than 30 workers, all of whom came from India – though they said others from sub-Saharan Africa had suffered similar experiences. All shared roughly the same story, of paying immigration agents – and in some cases, the care provider itself – several thousand pounds in fees to secure a visa to work either in a care home or as a carer in people’s homes. Most said the agents promised them the money would cover the visa, flights and a month’s accommodation, and that they would be guaranteed full-time work earning above £20,000 a year. The salary would quickly clear any debt incurred to pay the initial fees, many say they were told. Shortly before arriving in the UK, however, workers claim they were told they would have to pay for their own flights and find accommodation for themselves. And then when they arrived, they did not get the jobs they were promised. In most cases there was no work at all or the hours and pay were far less than promised. Some workers said their employers encouraged them to find casual work elsewhere, as allowed under the terms of their visa. Workers at one company said they were pressed to work for that company as drivers or cleaners instead. Several said they have been using food banks, while some said they were sharing rooms, and even beds, with other immigrants to make ends meet. In several cases, workers complaining about the conditions say they were told their sponsorship would be removed if they did not remain silent and they would be deported back to India. Some said their families had also been threatened by Indian-based immigration agents should they try to speak out. Shahid Chera Pparambil, one of the workers, said: “If I go back to India, I don’t have anywhere to live. I don’t have any option other than committing suicide.” He added that the debt he had incurred in India was now causing problems for the family he had left behind: “People are coming and demanding money from us, from my wife and family. I can’t bring them here, there is no living. I am totally locked.” Neal’s report, which was published after he had been sacked from his role, warned that the Home Office did not have sufficient oversight of the visas being offered. He found hundreds of certificates of sponsorship – documents needed to secure a skilled worker visa – being granted to one company that was pretending to be a care home and thousands to a company without its knowledge. For every 1,600 employers licensed to sponsor foreign workers, there was only a single inspector. A Home Office spokesperson said: “We prevent overseas care workers from entering the United Kingdom without genuine roles or fair pay to safeguard against destitution. “Illegal labour market activities face zero tolerance; we enforce strict measures against exploitative care providers. The number of visas granted has been reduced as we tackle noncompliance and abuse head-on.” Six of the 11 employers identified by the Guardian have had their licences to bring in more foreign care workers suspended or cancelled. However, the other five retain the ability to bring in workers from abroad. Almost all of the care workers who spoke to the Guardian were still in the UK. While some have found employment from new sponsors, many are having to work irregular shifts as cleaners or drivers, often being paid below the minimum wage, to make a living. Neal said the entire system of allowing companies to issue certificates of sponsorship – a system usually used for high-end professional jobs – was inappropriate for the care industry, where exploitation is common. “Anyone in this area knew this was the wrong way to get more people into the social care sector,” he said.
OPEC+ wants concrete rate cuts before factoring impact on oil demand, Saudi energy minister says 2024-06-02 17:36:00+00:00 - The prominent OPEC+ oil producers' alliance is awaiting concrete central bank action on interest rates before factoring in the potential impact on the energy demand landscape, according to Saudi Arabia's energy minister. "Central banks, with all respect, they're flip-flopping [on their messaging]," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said during a Sunday press briefing, in response to a question on whether OPEC+ supply cuts could reinject inflationary pressures worldwide, at a time when central banks are reining in consumer price increases and shyly inching toward possibly cutting interest rates. Earlier on Sunday, the OPEC+ group — which combines the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — agreed to extend official output cuts until the end of next year. A subset of the coalition will stretch out two further layers of additional voluntary supply reductions: This subgroup of eight countries will prolong a 1.7 million-barrels-per-day tranche all the way through 2025, and a larger 2.2 million-barrels-per-day cut until the end of the third quarter. The production strategy decisions come at a time when OPEC's own forecasts show a 2.25 million barrel-per-day increase in demand, according to the Monthly Oil Market Report of May. The imminent summer driving season and the end of refinery maintenance in China are also set to exacerbate the call on crude in the short term. Energy costs spiked worldwide in the wake of Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, aggravating the economic downturn that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. Global institutions have previously mentioned energy prices as underpinning inflationary concerns. In turn, the piled-on inflation has muzzled oil demand.
Rupert Murdoch ties the knot for the 5th time in ceremony at his California vineyard 2024-06-02 17:33:12+00:00 - The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.
AI hardware firm Nvidia unveils next-gen products at Taiwan tech expo 2024-06-02 17:29:00+00:00 - Nvidia has unveiled new products and plans to accelerate the advance of artificial intelligence, with the AI hardware company’s chief executive telling a packed stadium in Taipei on Sunday that “the next Industrial Revolution has begun”. Jensen Huang is in Taiwan for the island’s leading tech expo, Computex, along with the CEOs of some of the world’s biggest semiconductor companies – including AMD, Intel and Qualcomm – and their plans for a tech industry dominated by AI are top of the agenda. Taiwan-born Huang has celebrity status on the island, and there was huge media and public interest in his visit thanks in large part to Nvidia’s status as the undisputed leader in the specialised chips and hardware needed to build and run cutting-edge AI. “Companies and countries are partnering with Nvidia to shift the trillion-dollar traditional data centres to accelerated computing and build a new type of data centre – AI factories – to produce a new commodity: artificial intelligence,” Huang told the crowd at National Taiwan University’s sports centre. He announced the general availability of Nvidia ACE generative AI, which can create lifelike human avatars for industries such as customer support. He also outlined how some top tech companies such as Taiwan’s Foxconn – the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer – and the German industrial firm Siemens are using Nvidia’s platforms to develop AI-powered autonomous robots. While Nvidia had just released its Blackwell platform, Huang announced plans for an “ultra” version in 2025, and briefly teased a next-generation graphic processing unit (GPU) architecture codenamed Rubin. “Our company is on a one-year rhythm,” he said, pointing to an accelerated roadmap for new GPU products each year. In the future laid out by Huang during his nearly two-hour speech, “almost every interaction you have with the internet or with a computer will likely have a generative AI running in the cloud somewhere”. His keynote was also bookended with praise for Taiwan, whose advanced semiconductor industry is crucial to the production of everything from iPhones to the servers that run ChatGPT. “Taiwan is the home of our treasured partners,” he said. “This is … where everything Nvidia does begins, our partners and ourselves take it to the world. Taiwan and our partnership has created the world’s AI infrastructure.” A day before his speech, Huang threw the opening pitch before a baseball game in Taipei. And on Thursday, he dined with some of Taiwan’s tech industry leaders, including the head of Foxconn. Lisa Su of AMD and the Qualcomm boss Cristiano Amon are also scheduled to deliver keynote speeches at Computex. Su is expected to outline AMD’s plans to compete in cutting-edge AI, while Amon will “showcase the AI-accelerated experiences users can expect from their next-generation PCs”, according to the organisers. Intel’s chief executive, Pat Gelsinger, and Rene Haas, head of the British chip design giant Arm, will also speak at the event. Tech firms are betting big on AI, and Taiwanese manufacturers are central to their plans – the island produces the bulk of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, including those needed for the most powerful AI applications and research. Suppliers such as Foxconn, traditionally focused on contract electronics for the likes of Apple, have also pivoted in recent years into producing AI hardware. Foxconn’s chief executive, Young Liu, told shareholders on Friday that the firm’s global market share for AI servers would increase to 40% this year. However, Taiwan’s central position in the supply chain for semiconductors – the lifeblood of the modern economy – has become a source of concern in capitals and boardrooms around the world. Taiwan is self-ruled, but China claims the island as its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. In recent years, the relationship between Beijing and Taipei has deteriorated and the Chinese military has staged multiple large-scale exercises around the island – including the simulation of a blockade.
Union plans to escalate action over job losses at two steelworks in Wales 2024-06-02 17:03:00+00:00 - Union leaders are preparing to ramp up industrial action at two south Wales steelworks, in a further escalation of a row over almost 3,000 job losses that threatens to become a big general election issue. Unite said such moves at the Port Talbot and Llanwern works are planned after the sites’ Indian owner, Tata Steel, threatened to cut redundancy pay as a response to members voting for an overtime ban. The actions come after Tata rejected a trade union plan this year designed to keep Port Talbot’s blast furnaces running, with their closure putting 2,800 jobs at risk and leaving the UK on course to become the only major economy unable to make steel from scratch. Tata told workers’ representatives in January that it could no longer afford to continue production at the loss-making Port Talbot plant while it completed a four-year transition plan towards greener production. The company said operating the old furnaces was losing it £1m a day. The row now threatens to spill over into a general election issue – with what appears to be three competing proposals from the Conservatives, the unions and Labour. Tata and the Conservative government agreed a deal last year whereby the company would receive £500m in state subsidies to help with the move to new “greener” furnaces – which could cut UK emissions by about 2% if renewable electricity was used. However, the deal also involved starting to close blast furnaces from this month, triggering the job losses. At the time, the business and trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said: “This proposal will secure a sustainable future for Welsh steel and is expected to save thousands of jobs in the long term.” Keir Starmer has signalled that a Labour government would reverse the agreement, stating on a visit to Wales last week: “I will fight for every single job and fight for the future of steel in Wales.” The shadow Welsh secretary, Jo Stevens, said on Sunday: “We have repeatedly said no irreversible decisions should be made before polling day. Labour’s plans for a steel fund will ensure the future of the industry is fuelled by the skills, talent and ambition of Welsh steelworkers. “We don’t want to see a single job go at the site but Conservative ministers failed to take steps to protect workers and communities before a general election was called.” Labour has said it would invest £3bn in the transition to green steel. However, weekend reports suggested that the party would not support an alternative union plan, which proposes keeping a blast furnace in operation while building an electric arc furnace, saving jobs. The general secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, said: “Unite and its members will not tolerate Tata’s bullyboy tactics and neither should Labour. The union is now preparing to escalate industrial action in direct response to the company’s threats. “The company is trying to hold the country to ransom, while needlessly throwing thousands of workers on the scrapheap. If Tata is not prepared to do the right thing, then an incoming Labour government must ensure it does.” A Tata Steel spokesperson said the redundancy terms on offer were “generous” and that the company was “now considering our legal options regarding the legality of their ballot”. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion He added: “The enhanced package will remain in place unless industrial action is taken, in which case it would revert to our standard terms. “In light of the ongoing impact on the business, the potential for further disruption, and in order to ensure safe and stable operations, we are now considering bringing forward the dates for the closure of blast furnace 5 and the winding down of operations across the wider heavy-end.” Under the current plan, about 1,900 jobs are expected to be lost at Port Talbot. A further 600 jobs are at risk across the rest of the UK and then 300 are expected to go in the next three years. A Conservative party spokesperson said: “The Conservative government put in place one of the biggest support packages in UK history, investing half a billion pounds in new, modern electric arc furnaces to secure the future of the steelworks in south Wales. “The Labour party, despite running the Welsh government, have done nothing to help in this process. Any reversal of this ground-breaking deal would inevitably mean thousands of steel jobs were lost, or tens of billions would need to be spent – leading to higher taxes. “Keir Starmer makes these empty promises because he doesn’t have a plan. While the Conservatives are delivering a regeneration of the area around Port Talbot and a transition board, backed by £80m, to ensure steelworkers are properly supported throughout this process, Labour would take us back to square one, with fewer jobs and higher taxes.”
Rightwing media mogul Rupert Murdoch marries for fifth time 2024-06-02 16:39:00+00:00 - The billionaire rightwing media mogul Rupert Murdoch has married for the fifth time, this time to retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova. The 93-year-old married 67-year-old Zhukova on Sunday at his Moraga vineyard in California. Pictures released by the Sun, a Murdoch-owned British tabloid newspaper, showed the couple smiling next to each other as Murdoch wore a yellow tie while Zhukova wore a long-sleeve white dress. Murdoch’s fifth wedding comes a little over a year after reports emerged last April of him dating Zhukova four months after he ended his two-week long engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, a 67-year-old conservative radio host. Murdoch met Zhukova through a large family gathering hosted by his third ex-wife, Wendi Deng, to whom he was married for 14 years before their divorce in 2013. Her 42-year-old daughter, Dasha Zhukova, is a Russian-American art collector and philanthropist who was previously married to Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch and former owner of the Premier League football club Chelsea. Murdoch divorced his fourth wife, 67-year old actress and model Jerry Hall, in 2022. Hall was apparently waiting to meet Murdoch at their Oxfordshire home when she received an email from him which allegedly said, “Jerry, sadly I’ve decided to call an end to our marriage … We have certainly had some good times, but I have much to do. My New York lawyer will be contacting yours immediately.” Last September, following a seven-decade career of helming a media empire, Murdoch stepped down as chair of Fox and News Corp. Murdoch’s publicly traded and New York-based company News Corp owns hundreds of local, national and international digital news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Sky News Australia, as well as the book publisher HarperCollins. According to Forbes, Murdoch’s net worth is approximately $19.5bn.
Michael Cohen Fears Donald Trump Could Leak Sensitive Secrets If Jailed: 'Think About How Dangerous The Information In That Guy's Head Is' 2024-06-02 16:28:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... On Saturday, Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to Donald Trump, expressed his concerns about the potential risks of the former president being incarcerated. What Happened: Cohen, who played a crucial role in the hush-money trial against Trump, highlighted the dangers of Trump possessing classified information while behind bars. Despite Trump's conviction on 34 counts of business fraud this Thursday, Cohen's worries aren't about the former president's safety in jail. Instead, he fears for national security. "I’m more concerned for you and for all of us, and our families, and for the American people," he told MSNBC. "This clown had four years of being debriefed on national security issues. On top of that, if he becomes the Republican nominee, he gets debriefed again! Think about this. America, think about this," Cohen said, emphasizing the risk posed by Trump’s access to sensitive information despite his criminal status. He elaborated on instances where Trump allegedly shared confidential details with foreign leaders. Also Read: Following Trump's Guilty Verdict, Legal Experts Say He Could Face This Punishment Instead Of Prison Time "You now have a Republican leading candidate who’s a felon, who’s going to be debriefed on national security issues knowing how loose-lipped he is. How he’s willing to give away America’s secrets to Vladimir Putin, or to anybody for money or just simply for bragging rights," Cohen added. Cohen cited specific examples of such breaches, including Trump's conversation at Mar-a-Lago with an Australian billionaire and a private discussion in Helsinki with only Putin’s translator present. "These are not normal things. You do not allow somebody like Donald Trump to be declassified, especially now as a felon," Cohen said. Further reitierating his warnings, Cohen shared alarming details about Trump's indiscretions with classified information. Loading... Loading... "We know for a fact that he gave away information on how many nuclear warheads are on a specific nuclear ship. One of our military vessels! I mean, think about how dangerous the information in that guy’s head is. And he doesn’t think, and we saw that from yesterday’s press conference," Cohen said. Now Read: Trump Administration Reportedly Didn't Think Much Of Hush-Money Scandal — Until It Blew Up This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo: Shutterstock
Trump campaign launches TikTok account as Truth Social stock dips 2024-06-02 16:12:00+00:00 - Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., May 31, 2024. Former President Donald Trump's campaign debuted an official account on TikTok on Saturday night, the social media platform facing a potential ban in the U.S. "It's my honor," Trump said in his first TikTok post under the handle "@realdonaldtrump," followed by a montage of him waving to crowds at a Saturday Ultimate Fighting Championship show. That post received 1.5 million likes within 10 hours of going online. Trump's TikTok rollout came as his own social media company, Trump Media, took a financial tumble in the wake of the historic verdict that convicted the former president on 34 felony counts in his Manhattan hush money trial. Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social trading under the DJT ticker, was down over 5% at market close on Friday, the day after Trump's conviction, with shares priced at $49. Immediately following Trump's conviction on Thursday, the stock was down roughly 15% in extended trading hours. Trump launched Truth Social in early 2022 as an alternative, "non-woke" social media platform after he was banned from sites like Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Since then, Trump Media has gone public and the former president now holds a 65% stake in the company. Truth Social did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment about Trump's move to TikTok. Trump is several months later than his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, whose reelection campaign launched on TikTok in February. But the presumptive Republican presidential nominee already had over 2 million followers on Sunday, outpacing the Biden campaign's near 340,000. The disparity in those follower counts is typical for social media accounts directly attached to a specific candidate, which generally tend to outperform accounts associated with a campaign. For example, as of Sunday, Trump's direct Truth Social account, "@realDonaldTrump" had over 7 million followers, while his campaign account, "@TeamTrump" had 427,000. "We refuse to cede any ground to Biden and the Democrats," Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday. "We will get President Trump's winning message to every voter possible. He has already gained significant ground with young voters and this is another way to reach them." Both candidates joined TikTok despite previously vocalizing national security concerns about the app. In April, Biden signed into law a foreign aid package with a clause to force TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or else the platform would face a national ban in the U.S. During his administration, Trump also said he would try to ban TikTok, though he has since flipped that stance. Still, he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in a March interview that he believes TikTok could threaten U.S. national security.
Fast-food franchise owners and squeezed customers test the limits of the value meal economy 2024-06-02 15:40:00+00:00 - Fast-food restaurants are caving to consumers' inflation-weary wallets by returning value pricing to their menus — for a limited time. McDonald's is offering a $5 value menu this month. Wendy's is rolling out a $3 breakfast. Burger King is adding value deals that it says will be offered "for several months." There is a reason the value meals are only returning on a limited basis, says Shubhranshu Singh, associate professor of marketing at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, who has studied the economics of fast-food value meals. In a world where ownership also has been hit hard by inflation, it's at best an "at cost" offer, and at worst, a money loser. "That $5 meal is not an item that can be a permanent part of the menu; the cost has gone up so much that if franchisees are going to sell $5 value meals, they will lose money on every customer that buys them," Singh said. Indeed, while a national association of McDonald's franchisees cheered the news, it said corporate needs to invest more to make it a permanent part of the menu. At McDonald's, options include a McChicken or McDouble, four-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. Wendy's deal consists of a bacon or sausage, egg, Swiss cheese, and croissant sandwich, along with a small order of crispy seasoned potatoes (drink not included). Burger King is offering one of three sandwiches or nuggets, plus fries and a drink. What all the restaurants need is diners adding more to the orders. "They want customers to get the value meal and then buy more, the idea isn't that the consumer will buy a value meal and walk away," Singh said. "If consumers do that, selling that value meal will be such a bad idea." In major markets like California, where the minimum wage for fast-food workers is now $20 — and inflationary pressures on ingredients and packaging persist — the only hope restaurants have of turning a profit on a value meal is if a customer buys the meal and also adds an apple pie or other items that have higher margins. "How can they serve $5 value meals with that minimum wage and still make a profit? It's impossible any more unless consumers buy other things," Singh said. Scott Rodrick, who owns 18 McDonald's in Northern California, recently told CNBC it's been "quite a rollercoaster" since the new minimum wage went into effect on April 1. "The impact of this inflation on the customer is the most clear and present concern I have as a franchisee today," he said. "It has impacted margins." Margins are smaller for franchisees to begin with because of royalties that are paid monthly to corporate headquarters, often in the range of four to five percent. A 'break-even' menu proposition, with free sauce thrown into the bargain To Nick Snowberger, who owns 16 McDonald's restaurants in Montana and Wyoming, says focusing only on a particular menu price misses the point. "I focus on holistic value, the total experience: the hospitality, the speed, the accuracy, the cleanliness of the restaurant," said Snowberger, who noted that over 95% of McDonald's franchisee's voted in favor of the $5 bundle. The value meals are pretty much a break-even proposition when it comes to profit, Snowberger said, but it's good for the customer. "This is an opportunity to do business at a cost to our customers that is as competitive and incentivizing as we have had in a long time." He is trying to throw a lifeline to customers in other ways too, using the latitude and independence he has as a franchise owner. "We made a decision that we will no longer charge for extra sauces, we will give that to you free. If an order is wrong, we will make it right on us, and we will accept all coupons and accept competitors coupons," Snowberger said. These are his locally tailored decisions, along with supporting high school athletics, local fairs, and booster clubs. The price of doing business has "gone through the roof," he said, with everything from meat, lettuce, fuel, the labor, condiments and wages going up. But he added, "We are not upset about the value menu, but I don't speak for those that have higher cost pressures than I do." McDonald's corporate declined to comment on the impact of value meals on franchisees profits.
Trump joins TikTok and calls it ‘an honor.’ As president he once tried to ban the video-sharing app 2024-06-02 15:24:18+00:00 - Donald Trump has joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok, a platform he once tried to ban while in the White House, and posted from a UFC fight two days after he became the first former president and presumptive major party nominee in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges. “It’s an honor,” Trump said in the TikTok video, which features footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night. The video ends with Trump telling the camera: “That was a good walk-on, right?” By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views. “We will leave no front undefended and this represents the continued outreach to a younger audience consuming pro-Trump and anti-Biden content,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement about the campaign’s decision to join the platform. “There’s no place better than a UFC event to launch President Trump’s Tik Tok, where he received a hero’s welcome and thousands of fans cheered him on,” he added. Democratic President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that could ban TikTok in the U.S., even as his campaign joined in February and has tried to work with influencers. What to know about the 2024 Election Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024. American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more. The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election. Trump received an enthusiastic welcome at the fight at Newark’s Prudential Center, where the crowd broke into chants of “We love Trump!” and another insulting Biden with an expletive. It was Trump’s first public outing since a jury in New York found him guilty Thursday on 34 charges of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by covering up hush money payments made to a porn actor who claimed she and Trump had sex. Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and plans to appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced on July 11. Throughout his campaign, Trump has used appearances at UFC fights to project an image of strength and to try to appeal to potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources. It’s also part of a broader effort to connect with young people and minority voters, particularly Latino and Black men. TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is another opportunity to reach those potential voters. The platform has about 170 million users in the U.S., most of whom skew younger — a demographic that is especially hard for campaigns to reach because they shun television. As president, Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese companies was a national security threat. The courts blocked the action after TikTok sued. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with China’s government. TikTok said it has never done that and would not, if asked. The platform was a hot topic of debate during the 2024 GOP primary campaign, with most candidates shunning its use. Many, including former Vice President Mike Pence, called for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. due to its connections with China Trump said earlier this year that he still believes TikTok posed a national security risk, but was opposed to banning it because that would help its rival, Facebook, which he continues to criticize over his 2020 election loss to Biden. “Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” Trump told CNBC. The legislation signed by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn’t, TikTok will be banned. Biden barred the app on most government devices in December 2022. His reelection campaign nonetheless uses the app, which it joined the night of the Super Bowl in February. Aides argue that in an increasingly fragmented modern media environment, the campaign must get its message out to voters via as many platforms as possible, including TikTok as well as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Biden’s “bidenhq” account currently has more than 330,000 followers and 4.5 million likes. Trump’s appearance at Saturday’s fight came after he had sat down for an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” that aired Sunday. In that appearance, Trump said he was “OK” with the prospect of potential jail time or house arrest, saying it was “the way it is.’’’ But he again suggested the public might not accept such a punishment for a former president now running to return to the White House. “I don’t know that the public would stand it, you know. I’m not sure the public would stand for it,” he said. “I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point there’s a breaking point.” Trump, as he has throughout the trial, maintained his innocence, saying he “did absolutely nothing wrong.” He was asked how his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, has taken the news. “She’s fine. But I think it’s very hard for her. I mean, she’s fine. But, you know, she has to read all this crap,” he said. She did not appear with Trump in court at any point during his seven-week trial. ___ Colvin reported from Annapolis, Maryland, Weissert from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and Kinnard from Chapin, South Carolina.
Maldives will ban Israelis from entering the country over the war in Gaza 2024-06-02 15:18:20+00:00 - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Maldives government will ban Israelis from the Indian Ocean archipelago, known for luxury resorts, as public anger in the predominantly Muslim nation rises over the war in Gaza. The president’s office said Sunday that the Cabinet decided to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country and to establish a subcommittee to oversee the process. It said President Mohamed Muizu will appoint a special envoy to assess the Palestinian needs and to launch a fundraising campaign. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in response that the Foreign Ministry recommends Israelis avoid any travel to the Maldives, including those with foreign passports, and those currently there to consider leaving. Nearly 11,000 Israelis visited Maldives last year, which was 0.6% of the total tourist arrivals.
Why you should calculate your own P/E and PEG ratios — and the right way to do it 2024-06-02 14:56:00+00:00 - Here's our Club Mailbag email investingclubmailbag@cnbc.com — so you send your questions directly to Jim Cramer and his team of analysts. We can't offer personal investing advice. We will only consider more general questions about the investment process or stocks in the portfolio or related industries. This week's questions: I read your article about price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratios and found it very helpful, particularly on when to use them and how they fit into the whole investing scheme. Where and how can I find a stock's reliable compound annual growth rate (CAGR)? Aren't most CAGRs an opinion? And, if so, how do I know I can rely on the projection selected? Thank you in advance. — Bill Reed I notice that P/E ratios can be quite inconsistent and vary from site to site. PEG can also be very difficult to find and is not on the CNBC site. Can you recommend the most reliable place to find these metrics please? Kind regards. — Mike M We are grouping these two questions together because they are closely related. Most data sources are accurate, but there can be inconsistencies. Often the information is correct, but it's not the data you need. For example, we often see price-to-earnings multiples that are calculated using the trailing 12-month results, when we (and Wall Street) are looking for estimates for the coming 12 months. After all, stock prices are based on expectations, not past results. The P/E may also not be updated using the most recent price, which could make a big difference to the valuation if there was a big swing. So it's always best to calculate the ratio yourself. For the forward P/E, divide the current share price by the earnings estimate for the coming fiscal year. Earnings estimates are the most watched metric on Wall Street, so you can be confident in the data found on CNBC.com. Type in the ticker, and select the earnings tab (see table below for Nvidia ). Before we figure out a stock's PEG ratio, we need to calculate its compound annual growth rate or CAGR. Let's assume we want to calculate a 5-year CAGR. We need to acknowledge that growth rates slow as a company matures, but five years will provide a good idea of a relatively long-term growth rate. Anything beyond five years is going to be incredibly hard to predict. Even a 5-year estimate should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, investors who calculated a 5-year CAGR in 2017 likely weren't factoring in a global pandemic. The equation to calculate a CAGR for X number of years is as follows: [(Future EPS estimate/Current EPS)^(1/x)]-1 Let's consider Nvidia using the data above. The chipmaker generated $12.96 per share in year 0 (the 2023 year ended Jan. 28, 2024) and is expected to generate $44.89 per share at the end of 2028 (year 5). We can calculate the 5-year CAGR as follows: [(44.89/12.96) ^(1/5)=28.21% 1. Divide 44.89 (future EPS estimate for year 5) by 12.96 (EPS in 2023). This equals 3.46. 2. Divide 1/5 (5 being the number of years). This equals 0.2. 3. Raise 3.46 (total from Step 1) to the power of 0.2 (from Step 2). This equals 1.2821. 4. Subtract 1 from the 1.2821 (result of Step 3). This equals .2821, or 28.21%. We can then check our work by taking the first-year estimate and multiplying it by (1+result)^X. In this case, 12.96*(1.2821^5) does indeed equal $44.89. Once we have a CAGR as a proxy for long-term growth, we can take the figure (not as a percent) and use it in our PEG calculation. Nvidia is trading at 41 times earnings, our equation would be 41/28.21 which equals a PEG ratio of 1.45 times. As a general rule, a PEG ratio of 1 or lower indicates you're getting future growth at a good value. On the high side, a PEG of 2 or above suggests you may be paying more for future growth than you should be. Nvidia is right in the middle. However, the stock has just gone on a monster run and estimates have proven far too conservative over the past year. Most importantly, the PEG isn't the end-all-be-all, It's just another way of thinking about valuation. Just because the PEG isn't below 1, doesn't mean we can ignore that Nvidia. The chipmaker is leading the AI mega-trend that will impact every company across all industries over the next decade. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on May 24, 2024. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Water begins to flow again in downtown Atlanta after outage that began Friday 2024-06-02 14:16:20+00:00 - ATLANTA (AP) — Water pressure was returning to downtown Atlanta and nearby neighborhoods on Sunday after a two-day water outage shut down businesses and left faucets dry at many homes. A large swath of the city remained under an order to boil water before drinking it, but Mayor Andre Dickens said in a late Saturday news conference that one of the two major water main breaks affecting the city had been repaired. “I know it’s been a tough and frustrating day for many of you, but I’m glad to have some positive news to report tonight,” Dickens said. The first-term Democratic mayor, who faces reelection in 2025, was again apologetic, even as residents continued to savage the city’s response. Among the critics: Megan Thee Stallion, whose Friday and Saturday night shows at downtown’s State Farm Arena were canceled. “Call the mayor! All day they’ve been telling us we can perform,” the rapper said in a video she posted Saturday. Arena management said they hoped to have a Sunday night show to make up for the Friday night performance. The problems began Friday morning where three large water mains intersect just west of downtown. Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Al Wiggins Jr. said at a Saturday news conference that at least some of the pipes that burst were old and corroded. With pipes coming together in a confined area, it was a tight squeeze to make repairs, with only one worker at a time working in the manhole accessing the junction. Repairs were completed Saturday evening, officials said. Another water main later burst in the city’s Midtown neighborhood, which is studded with new office, hotel and apartment towers. Wiggins said Saturday that officials weren’t sure yet why that pipe had broken. That leak continued to gush through the city streets Sunday. City officials said Saturday that they were working on ways to isolate the leak from the larger water system and were awaiting a part needed to repair to the pipe. Dickens declared a state of emergency so the city could buy materials and hire workers without following the normal purchasing laws. Faltering infrastructure is a common story in older parts of American cities. Atlanta has spent billions in recent years to upgrade its aging sewer and water infrastructure, including a tunnel drilled through 5 miles of rock to provide the city more than 30 days of stored water. Last month, voters approved continuing a 1-cent sales tax to pay for federally mandated sewer upgrades. The city at one time routinely dumped untreated sewage into creeks and the Chattahoochee River. City workers spent much of Saturday handing out water and setting up portable toilets at several fire stations while checking on senior citizens who live in high-rise residences. Officials were widely criticized for being slow to update citizens on the situation. The city and its water management department sent out an update after 8 p.m. Friday and waited more than 12 hours to update residents again. Dickens didn’t address the media until 2 p.m. Saturday, explaining he was in Memphis, Tennessee, when the problem began. Someone in the affected area posted flyers around the neighborhood asking “Don’t have water?” and “Help us find our mayor.” Some attractions and businesses, including the Georgia Aquarium, reopened on Sunday, although the aquarium warned that the boil water order meant no ice or fountain drinks in its cafeteria.
Republicans make Biden’s EV push an election-year issue as Democrats take a more nuanced approach 2024-06-02 14:12:31+00:00 - TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Donald Trump says the Biden administration’s policy to promote electric vehicles is a “radical plan” that would kill the economy in automaking states. Republican allies in the petroleum industry have spent millions on ads that say President Joe Biden’s tax credit for EV buyers will cost Americans their freedom. For voters this election year like Jim Cagle, a retired Jeep assembly-line worker from Toledo, Ohio, the concerns about all-electric vehicles are more practical, such as how he would charge it. Cagle parks his car on the street because he does not have a garage. “Can you imagine having a cord running out to the street?” Cagle said as he cleaned his minivan at a car wash near a General Motors transmission plant that later this year is set to begin building electric drive units. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and others say Biden’s push for EVs is unfair for consumers and amounts to government overreach, and ultimately will be a liability for Democrats. Trump even squeezed in an attack at the top of his remarks Friday after his criminal conviction in New York. Democrats have been less vocal and more nuanced, advocating Biden’s climate reduction goals while promoting homegrown technology over competition from China. But interviews with about 20 voters in the pivotal industrial heartlands of Ohio and Michigan reveal a more complicated dynamic among people who may decide the winner of November’s presidential and Senate elections. What to know about the 2024 Election Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024. American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more. The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election. The Toledo area is itself a crossroads for the issue. It’s an automotive city making the shift from the internal combustion engine to electric power, like neighboring Michigan, a presidential swing state that is synonymous with the auto industry. Toledo has not only produced Jeeps since World War II, but it is also home to oil refineries that supply gasoline across the Midwest and to parts manufacturers for gas and diesel vehicles. It’s here where people like Cagle say issues such as the cost of gas and groceries will be more important than EVs when they vote. But during the interviews with people across the political spectrum, many were skeptical of the vehicles and critical of the Democratic president’s tax credits. “You cannot be shoving EVs down our throat,” said Joe Dempsey of Oregon, Ohio, who drives a Toyota gas-electric hybrid that does not require charging. “Let the American people decide if it’s going to happen.” VULNERABLE SENATE DEMOCRAT IS A TARGET The issue has put some Democrats in a tricky spot — perhaps none more so than Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of the Republicans’ top targets as the GOP looks to win Senate control. He is having to navigate a changing auto industry and his support for the president’s environmental goals in a state that Trump carried twice by 8 percentage points. A petroleum manufacturing industry group has spent about $16 million on advertising criticizing Biden’s policy to promote EVs, and that total includes about $1.5 million in Ohio criticizing Brown for his support, according to AdImpact and the group’s reporting. In addition to Ohio, the ads are airing in six other swing states and Montana, a GOP-leaning state where Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is seeking reelection. Republicans, long unable to crack Brown’s blue-collar backing, see linking him to Biden’s sweeping 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which created tax credits for EV buyers, as one way to do it in an election year. Brown voted for the act, aimed at fighting climate change in part by providing a $7,500 tax credit for new EV sales to spur steps toward the president’s goal of making EVs 50 percent of all new vehicle sales by 2030. Republicans and their allies routinely refer to the policy incorrectly as a government mandate. But Brown has pledged to oppose a rule change this summer proposed by Biden to allow EVs that are built in the United States but include Chinese-made components to qualify for the credit. “This will allow China to infiltrate the American auto supply chain, at American taxpayers’ expense,” Brown said in a statement in May. “American tax dollars should support American manufacturing and American workers — not enrich Chinese companies.” Brown, a progressive with a pro-worker mantra, has little to worry about in maintaining his party’s base. But he appears to be aware of the risks of being seen as allying too strongly with Biden, who is unpopular in Ohio, said former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, a fellow Democrat. “Sherrod doesn’t have to worry about Democrats. They love him,” Ryan said. “The question is, can he make up the middle? I think he can. And if he is seen as disagreeing with the left, it’s only good for him.” BIDEN, DEMOCRATS MAKE THEIR CASE Biden has visited EV plants and grinned as he test drove the new electric Cadillac at the Detroit Auto Show. His chief surrogate in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has advocated for Biden’s policy, but with an eye on protecting the industry vital to her state. “We’ve got to incentivize innovation. There’s no question,” Whitmer said in an interview before Trump visited the state in May, where he railed against EVs. “We cannot let Chinese companies be the only ones innovating around electric vehicles because then they will eat our lunch.” Biden’s campaign notes that the president’s policies are aimed at moving EV jobs, many of which were left in China during the Trump administration, into the United States. “Donald Trump would rather lie about President Biden’s policies than face his own betrayals to the middle class,” Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “President Biden wants the future of auto manufacturing built in America, not China.” According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in April, relatively small shares of Americans — around 3 in 10 or less — see a benefit from electric vehicles for themselves personally, the economy or the U.S. auto industry. John Hiskey, a Vietnam veteran from Toledo, said he thinks EVs are a great idea and he doubts the industry would be this far along without a push from the government. But he has no interest in getting one until he can visit his grandkids without making multiple stops and taking time to charge the vehicle. “I don’t want to wait a half-hour unless they start putting them in bars,” said Hiskey, adding that his vote will not be influenced by which party or politician backs EVs. Others said the vehicles are cost-prohibitive, even with the tax credit. “How can they afford electric vehicles when it’s hard to afford living?” said Dru Wilson, 21, who attends college outside Toledo. Although the petroleum manufacturers represent a fraction of what the two major parties’ political action committees are spending in battleground states, it dwarfs the counterprogramming on the part of pro-EV and environmental groups. Environmental Defense Action Fund and a related group have spent a little more than $772,000 on ads, according to AdImpact, and little of it is targeted in key presidential or Senate states. Climate Power, a strategic communication group promoting Biden’s climate reduction goals, has committed to spending $80 million on promoting the administration’s measures, including on advertising in battleground states. The group declined to specify how much it expects to spend on advertising and noted that its efforts will also include voter outreach on an array of Biden measures, including promoting EVs. Missing is one unifying call for Americans to embrace the technology, akin to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 moon landing goal within the decade, said veteran Democratic strategist Joel Benenson, who was a pollster and senior adviser to Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. “No one’s telling an inspiring story for EVs. So, how do you develop that story and what it’s going to mean for America going forward?” Benenson said. “That could be a powerful narrative.” ______ Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed from Washington.
I'm an executive in Finland, the happiest country in the world: 5 phrases we use at work every day 2024-06-02 13:56:00+00:00 - Framery has roughly 400 employees around the world, but its roots in Finland run deep throughout its work culture that promotes worker engagement and satisfaction. Finland, after all, is the happiest country in the world for the seventh year running, according to the latest World Happiness Report. So it's not surprising that open communication, teamwork and, perhaps most of all, employee well-being, are all high priorities at Framery, a manufacturing company headquartered in Tampere, Finland, that builds soundproof booths for office spaces. As head of people and culture at the company, Anni Hallila works to make sure that employees feel happy and fulfilled while on the job. She says she and her team use a few common Finnish phrases to create an environment where employees can thrive in the workplace: 1. The person who asks questions will not stray away from the path. Finnish workplaces tend to have a flat hierarchy, where individual contributors feel as empowered in voicing their thoughts on the business as CEOs and other senior leaders. This phrase highlights this mindset and shows how a trusting environment, where people feel free to share their opinions, is a benefit to the organization overall. It takes people at all ranks of an organization to raise issues and find solutions, Hallila explains: "If there is an open line of communication where anyone can ask questions, be it the CEO or anyone in the company, then there will be a path forward." Workers at Framery are encouraged to speak up on issues they're working on as well as company objectives as a whole. "I can ask any questions I need to ask in order to succeed in my role, or ask questions for the best of the company," Hallila says. "So even if it's not my job, and I see something that should be addressed, I have the responsibility to ask the questions for us to not stray away from the path as a company." 2. A crazy person does a lot of work; a smart person gets away with less. In other words: Work smarter, not harder. Leaders are encouraged to help their employees work with this mindset, Hallila says. Bosses should be clear in their expectations and manage in a way that their employees can stay focused on the business priorities that matter most. "You can work and work and work," she says, "but whether you actually achieve more is questionable." A lot of the time, the end goal supports both meeting a business need and doing so in a manageable way. "It's not about being lazy," Hallila says. "It's about being smart about what you focus on, and getting away with less in a way so that you can have a healthy work-life balance." 3. Put the cat on the table. Hallila says this phrase is used in a similar way as addressing the elephant in the room — as in, address the business issue at hand rather than letting it slide. "It's about believing in a working culture where the cat is the issue that needs to be put on the table, and for people to be able to have a a trusting and open discussion about whatever is the issue," she says. More simply, "we believe that things are solved when they are discussed," she adds. 4. Whatever you leave behind, you will find in front of you. On the flip side, this phrase suggests that leaving an issue unattended will only become a problem later on. "If you leave problems behind you, you will find them in front of you" at another point, Hallila says. "So the only way to handle it is to actually address them when they are brought up." 5. Going toward the tree with your back first.
GOP Sen. Tom Cotton says he will accept 2024 election results 2024-06-02 13:51:00+00:00 - Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Sunday that he would accept the 2024 election results and would vote to certify the results in 2025, just as he did in 2020. “I don’t think Congress has the constitutional authority to reject electors that have been certified by a state,” Cotton said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” He added, “I will accept the results of the election and certify them if it’s a fair and a free election.” Cotton is rumored to be on the shortlist as a potential vice presidential pick for former President Donald Trump. Asked whether he would accept an invitation to serve as Trump’s running mate, Cotton said he hadn’t spoken to Trump or his campaign about it, but added, “Any great patriot, if offered a chance to serve our country by the president, would have to consider it seriously.” In recent weeks, other Republican senators rumored to be on the shortlist, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina, have refused to say on “Meet the Press” whether they would accept the results this year. Scott later said he would “certainly” vote to certify the election. Cotton defended his decision to break from others in his party, including the former president, when he voted to certify the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. “[Trump and I] had a disagreement about what can happen that day,” Cotton told moderator Peter Alexander. “I don’t think Congress has the constitutional authority to reject electors, and as a practical matter, it was never going to happen.” Asked about whether he would support Trump’s goal of pardoning those who have been charged with various crimes stemming from their action at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Cotton said Trump “should evaluate each case on the merits, which is what he did in when he was president the first time.” Cotton added that those charged with “silly misdemeanors about parading on public grounds without a permit, who did not attack a law enforcement officer, who did not damage public property, their pardon should be considered and in many cases, should be granted.” His comments follow promises from Trump and his campaign to pardon those who he says were “wrongfully imprisoned” for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021.