Month: March 2021

Categories
Politics

Georgia activists strain large companies to oppose voting restrictions

Georgia activists pressure big corporations to oppose voting restrictions

Bürgerrechts- und Aktivistengruppen erhöhen den Druck auf große georgische Unternehmen wie Coca-Cola und Delta Airlines, sich den vom republikanischen Gesetzgeber vorgeschlagenen umfassenden Abstimmungsbeschränkungen zu widersetzen.

“Wir haben die Macht der organisierten Menschen. Sie haben die Macht des organisierten Geldes. Und zwischen uns und ihnen könnten wir Druck auf diese Gesetzgeber oder im schlimmsten Fall auf den Gouverneur ausüben, diese Rechnungen zu töten”, so Cliff Albright , Mitbegründer von Black Voters Matter, sagte gegenüber CNBC.

Gruppen wie Black Voters Matter, der New Georgia Project Action Fund und die Georgia NAACP haben am Freitag die nächste Phase ihrer Kampagne in der lokalen Presse und in den sozialen Medien gestartet und die Unterstützer gebeten, sich direkt an CEOs, Präsidenten und den Hauptsitz großer Unternehmen mit Sitz in Georgia zu wenden. Sie fordern sie auf, sich öffentlich gegen die vorgeschlagenen Abstimmungsbeschränkungen auszusprechen und keine Geldspenden mehr an die republikanischen Gesetzgeber zu spenden, die die Rechnungen sponsern.

Die Gesetzesvorlagen zur Wahlbeschränkung stammen aus der historischen Wahlbeteiligung der georgischen Wähler – insbesondere der schwarzen und farbigen Wähler – während der Stichwahlen im November und im Januar, bei denen die Republikaner zum ersten Mal seit Jahrzehnten die Rennen des Präsidenten und des US-Senats verloren haben.

“Es ist sehr, sehr enttäuschend, dass der Gesetzgeber nach dem Aufkommen des bürgerschaftlichen Engagements im ganzen Staat versuchen würde, es den georgischen Bürgern zu erschweren, sich an der Wahl ihrer gewählten Beamten zu beteiligen”, sagte Andrea Young, Exekutivdirektorin des georgischen Kapitels der American Civil Liberties Union, sagte in einem Interview.

Der republikanische Gesetzgeber verabschiedete im März ein Gesetz im Senat des Bundesstaates, mit dem die Nicht-Entschuldigungs-Briefwahl beseitigt werden soll, und im Repräsentantenhaus, das die vorzeitige Wahl am Wochenende einschränken, die ID-Anforderungen für die Briefwahl erhöhen und die Wahlurnen einschränken soll: SB 241 und HB 531. Diese Die vorgeschlagenen Beschränkungen würden den schwarzen Wählern überproportional schaden, so eine Analyse des Brennan Center for Justice.

Interessengruppen wenden sich an die mächtige Geschäftswelt Georgiens, weil sie sagen, dass der Versuch, die GOP-Gesetzgeber allein zu beeinflussen, wenig Wirkung hat.

“Diese Unternehmen beschäftigen Hunderttausende von Wählern in Georgia, die direkt von diesen Gesetzen betroffen sein werden”, sagte Nse Ufot, CEO des New Georgia Project, gegenüber CNBC. “Die Unterdrückung von Wählern ist nicht gut fürs Geschäft.”

Die Koalition konzentriert sich auf sechs der größten Unternehmen in Georgien – Aflac, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Home Depot, Southern Company und UPS – mit ganzseitigen Anzeigen, Demonstrationen und Textbanken. Eine Untersuchung von Popular Information vom 3. März ergab, dass die sechs Unternehmen seit 2018 zusammen 190.800 US-Dollar an Co-Sponsoren von HB 531 und SB 241 gespendet haben.

Die Arbeit der Aktivisten scheint einige Ergebnisse zu sehen. Business Booster haben sich gegen bestimmte Bestimmungen in den vorgeschlagenen Wählerbeschränkungen ausgesprochen, seit die Befürworter ihre Druckkampagne gestartet haben.

Die Handelskammer von Georgia hat zuvor die Bedeutung des Stimmrechts bekräftigt, ohne sich gegen eine bestimmte Gesetzgebung auszusprechen. In einer neuen Erklärung gegenüber CNBC erklärte die georgische Kammer, sie habe “ihre Besorgnis und ihren Widerstand gegen Bestimmungen zum Ausdruck gebracht, die sowohl in HB 531 als auch in SB 241 enthalten sind und den Zugang der Wähler einschränken oder verringern” und “weiterhin parteiübergreifend mit den Führern der Generalversammlung zusammenarbeiten auf Rechnungen, die das Stimmrecht in unserem Staat beeinträchtigen würden. “

Dave Williams, SVP für öffentliche Ordnung der Handelskammer von Metro Atlanta, sagte in einer Erklärung am Montag: “Die Aufhebung der nicht entschuldigenden Briefwahl trägt wenig dazu bei, den Prozess sicherer zu machen, und birgt ein großes Risiko für die Teilnahme.”

Die Greater Black Chamber of Commerce in Georgia erklärte gegenüber CNBC in einer Erklärung: “Was HB 531 und SB 241 betrifft, sollten sich die Gesetzgeber nicht auf die ‘Dringlichkeit’ verlassen, um diese Gesetzentwürfe zu unterzeichnen, einen Schritt zurückzutreten, offen für andere Ansichten zu sein und dies zu tun.” Was ist ‘RICHTIG’? Die Black Business und Community Leaders haben zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass sie ‘OPPOSED’ sind. Und GGBCC vertritt sie. “

Die meisten Unternehmen haben sich nicht an der Stimmrechtsdebatte beteiligt, sondern bieten breite Standpunkte zu Abstimmungen und Wahlen. Alle sechs Unternehmen gehören der Handelskammer von Georgia an, und alle außer Aflac gehören der Handelskammer von Metro Atlanta an.

Aflac, Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot und UPS bekräftigten ihre Unterstützung für faire und sichere Wahlen und eine gleichberechtigte Beteiligung der Wähler an Erklärungen gegenüber CNBC. Die Southern Company antwortete nicht auf die Bitte von CNBC um einen Kommentar.

Unternehmen in Georgia haben sich in der Vergangenheit stark gegen Gesetze ausgesprochen, wie beispielsweise ein Gesetz zur “Religionsfreiheit” im Jahr 2016, das die Diskriminierung gleichgeschlechtlicher Paare ermöglicht hätte. Sie haben auch in anderen Debatten größtenteils geschwiegen, wie zum Beispiel einem “Herzschlag” -Gesetz gegen Abtreibung im Jahr 2019, das im Jahr 2020 für verfassungswidrig erklärt wurde.

Konservative georgische Gesetzgeber haben in der Vergangenheit georgische Unternehmen für bestimmte politische Schritte bestraft. Republikanische Gesetzgeber töteten eine große Steuervergünstigung für Fluggesellschaften, nachdem Delta Rabatte für Mitglieder der National Rifle Association gewährt hatte.

CNBC hat den Senat von Georgia und die Republikaner des Repräsentantenhauses um einen Kommentar zu den Kampagnen zur Rechenschaftspflicht der Unternehmen gebeten.

Stimmrechtsaktivisten sind nicht beeindruckt von den Aussagen, die Unternehmen bisher zur Stimmrechtsdebatte gemacht haben.

“Wir brauchen eine vollständige Ablehnung dieser Rechnungen”, sagte Ufot vom New Georgia Project. “Was ist Ihre Bestätigung dafür, wie wichtig Demokratie ist, wenn Sie Zeuge eines Angriffs auf Demokratie werden und darüber schweigen?”

Jerry Gonzalez, Geschäftsführer der Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, verglich die Gesetzentwürfe mit den berüchtigten Wahlbeschränkungen, die Farbige davon abhielten, im Süden Stimmzettel abzugeben, bevor die Bürgerrechtsbewegung in den 1960er Jahren das Stimmrechtsgesetz einführte.

“Wir haben mit Geschäftspartnern und Handelskammern gesprochen, um sie dazu zu bringen, sich zu verstärken”, sagte Gonzalez gegenüber CNBC. “Viele von ihnen haben sich stark zu Fragen der Rassengerechtigkeit geäußert. Nun, dies ist ein Jim Crow-Angriff auf die Stimmrechte, der gerade stattfindet.”

Die frühere demokratische Gouverneurskandidatin Stacey Abrams sagte, die Wirtschaftsführer sollten bei einem Anruf bei den von ihr gegründeten Stimmrechtsorganisationen Fair Fight Action und More Than A Vote, die vom NBA-Superstar gegründet wurden, eine eindeutige Haltung gegenüber den vorgeschlagenen Wahlbeschränkungen in Georgien und anderen Staaten einnehmen LeBron James, berichtete die Verfassung des Atlanta Journal.

“Es sollte kein Schweigen in der Geschäftswelt geben, wenn jemand an der Macht versucht, dem Volk das Wahlrecht zu entziehen”, sagte Abrams auf der Telefonkonferenz. “Es sollte einen Farbton und einen Schrei geben.”

Bernice King, die Tochter von Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., sagte am Mittwoch, sie habe einen Brief geschrieben, in dem sie die CEOs von in Georgia ansässigen Unternehmen aufforderte, sich den Gesetzesvorlagen zu widersetzen und ihren Einfluss auf die Gesetzgeber des Staates Georgia zu nutzen, um restriktive Gesetze zu blockieren.

“Es wird nicht wie gewohnt weitergehen”, sagte Albright von Black Voters Matter. “Wenn Sie sich nicht in das Geschäft des Kampfes für Demokratie einmischen können, müssen wir uns in Ihr Geschäft einmischen.”

Lesen Sie die folgenden Aussagen von Unternehmen und Unternehmensgruppen:

Aflac

Das Wahlrecht bei nationalen, staatlichen und lokalen Wahlen ist der Eckpfeiler der Demokratie. Wir müssen uns zusammenschließen, um eine zugängliche und sichere Abstimmung zu gewährleisten und gleichzeitig die Integrität und Transparenz der Wahlen zu gewährleisten. Da dieses wichtige Thema in Georgien und in Staatshäusern im ganzen Land diskutiert wird, erwarten wir, dass Fairness und Integrität die ständige Diskussionsgrundlage sein werden.

Coca Cola

Abstimmungen sind in Amerika ein Grundrecht, und wir werden weiter daran arbeiten, die Stimmrechte und den Zugang in Georgien und im ganzen Land zu verbessern. Wir unterstützen die Bemühungen der Metro Atlanta Chamber und der Georgia Chamber of Commerce, einen ausgewogenen Ansatz für die Wahlgesetze zu ermöglichen, die in dieser Sitzung in der Georgia Legislature eingeführt wurden. Das ultimative Ziel sollten faire und sichere Wahlen sein, bei denen der Zugang zu Abstimmungen breit abgestützt und inklusiv ist.

Delta

Delta ist mehr als 75.000 Menschen stark – und unsere gemeinsamen Werte fordern uns auf, unsere Stimmen zu Gehör zu bringen und engagierte Mitglieder unserer Gemeinschaften zu sein, von denen die Abstimmung ein wesentlicher Bestandteil dieser Verantwortung ist. Die Gewährleistung eines Wahlsystems, das eine breite Wahlbeteiligung, einen gleichberechtigten Zugang zu den Wahlen und faire, sichere Wahlprozesse fördert, ist für das Vertrauen der Wähler von entscheidender Bedeutung und schafft ein Umfeld, in dem sichergestellt ist, dass alle Stimmen gezählt werden.

Home Depot

Wir glauben, dass alle Wahlen zugänglich, fair und sicher sein und eine breite Wahlbeteiligung unterstützen sollten. Wir werden weiter daran arbeiten, dass unsere Mitarbeiter sowohl in Georgien als auch im ganzen Land über die Informationen und Ressourcen verfügen, um abstimmen zu können.

UPS

UPS glaubt an die Bedeutung des demokratischen Prozesses und unterstützt die Erleichterung der Fähigkeit aller Wahlberechtigten, ihre Bürgerpflicht auszuüben. Wir setzen uns für das Bewusstsein und Engagement der Wähler ein. Bei den letzten Wahlen führte UPS eine Aufklärungskampagne für unsere Mitarbeiter mit dem Titel “Drive the Vote” durch, um die Mitarbeiter zur Stimmabgabe zu ermutigen. Die Kampagne “Drive the Vote” war unparteiisch und befürwortete keinen bestimmten Kandidaten oder eine bestimmte Partei. Wie andere Unternehmen in der Gemeinde arbeiten wir mit der Metro Atlanta Chamber und der Georgia Chamber zusammen, um einen gerechten Zugang zu den Umfragen und die Integrität des Wahlprozesses im gesamten Bundesstaat sicherzustellen.

Dave Williams, SVP Public Policy der Metro Atlanta Chamber:

Eine breite Wahlbeteiligung, ein gleichberechtigter Zugang zu den Wahlen und faire, sichere Wahlprozesse sind für das Vertrauen der Wähler von entscheidender Bedeutung und tragen zu einem Geschäftsumfeld bei, das Wachstum und Vitalität fördert. Wir arbeiten weiterhin eng mit Mitgliedern der Generalversammlung von Georgia zusammen, um einen ausgewogenen Ansatz für die in dieser Sitzung eingeführten Wahlgesetze zu ermöglichen. Wir prüfen sorgfältig, welche Auswirkungen die Gesetzesvorlagen auf den gerechten Zugang zu den Wahlen und die Integrität der Wahlen in unserem Staat haben würden.

Bei der Beurteilung spezifischer Wahlgesetze werden wir uns weiterhin auf unsere Grundwerte im Zusammenhang mit Wahlen stützen:

Wir glauben, dass der Wahlprozess in Georgien fair, sicher, genau und für alle Wahlberechtigten in Georgien gleichermaßen zugänglich sein sollte.

Wir glauben, dass unser Staat und unsere lokalen Regierungen alles tun sollten, um die Wahlbeteiligung zu maximieren und unnötige Hindernisse bei unseren Wahlen zu minimieren, während gleichzeitig an der Gewährleistung der Wahlintegrität gearbeitet wird.

Wir setzen uns für die Aufklärung der Wähler und ein breites Engagement im Wahlprozess ein. Unsere bisherigen Maßnahmen haben dieses Engagement gezeigt. Unsere zukünftigen Aktionen werden dasselbe tun.

Wir setzen uns weiterhin für eine ausgewogene Gesetzgebung ein, die die Abstimmung zugänglicher und sicherer macht. Die Aufhebung der nicht entschuldigenden Briefwahl trägt wenig dazu bei, den Prozess sicherer zu machen, und birgt ein großes Risiko für die Teilnahme.

Handelskammer von Georgia

Die georgische Kammer arbeitet weiterhin parteiübergreifend mit den Führern der Generalversammlung an Gesetzesvorlagen, die sich auf das Stimmrecht in unserem Staat auswirken würden. Wir haben Bedenken und Widerstände gegen Bestimmungen sowohl in HB 531 als auch in SB 241 zum Ausdruck gebracht, die den Zugang der Wähler einschränken oder einschränken. Während diese beiden Sammelrechnungen den Gesetzgebungsprozess durchlaufen, werden wir weiter daran arbeiten, sowohl die Zugänglichkeit als auch die Sicherheit innerhalb unseres Abstimmungssystems zu gewährleisten.

Georgia Greater Black Handelskammer

GGBCC bekräftigt: “Alle Wahlberechtigten sollten in Georgien wählen können.” Was HB 531 und SB 241 betrifft, sollten sich die Gesetzgeber nicht auf die “Dringlichkeit” verlassen, um diese Rechnungen zu unterzeichnen, einen Schritt zurücktreten, offen für andere Ansichten sein und das tun, was “RICHTIG” ist. Die Black Business und Community Leaders haben zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass sie “GEGENÜBER” sind. Und GGBCC vertritt sie.

“Unsere Organisation spielt eine sehr wichtige Rolle für das Wirtschaftswachstum in Georgien”, erklärt Melinda Sylvester, CEO von GGBCC. “Dementsprechend glauben wir, dass es unsere bürgerliche Pflicht ist, mit allen Wählern in unserem großen Staat zusammen zu stehen. Damit zeigen wir unsere kollektive Stärke, um sicherzustellen, dass die Bemühungen unserer Brückenbau-Initiative weiterhin Bausteine ​​für die Fortsetzung und Zukunft sein können Erfolg für alle Georgier. ” Die Organisation ermutigt ferner alle GGBCC, Geschäftsinhaber und aufstrebenden Geschäftsinhaber, sich zu engagieren und mit ihren jeweiligen Gesetzgebern in Kontakt zu bleiben.

Categories
Business

Patrick Mahomes to promote NFT buying and selling playing cards

Patrick Mahomes to sell NFT trading cards

Two Patrick Mahomes trading cards are sold as NFTs.

Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes, one of the NFL’s most iconic players, is moving the chains by opening his own NFT art gallery.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this week, Mahomes announced the “Museum of Mahomes,” which will appear on the MakersPlace digital art market on March 17th. There are three levels of collectibles that Mahomes created with The Impossible Brief. These are two artists who include Coldplay and The Chainsmokers as clients.

The price range for the collectibles starts at $ 2,500 and increases to $ 15,000. In addition, there will be a mystery auction item with no set price. Mahomes will donate a portion of the proceeds to his foundation called 15 and the Mahomies and Boys & Girls Clubs in Missouri.

“I want to push boundaries and make history on and off the field,” said Mahomes. “That’s the great thing about being an athlete these days. You have so many options and opportunities to expand your brand and make an impact.”

The limited edition collectibles include two separate pieces of art: a jeweled helmet and a jeweled soccer ball. Fifty of each will be minted with a price of $ 15,000.

The Open Edition collectibles feature three digital works of art that commemorate significant moments in Mahomes’ life and career. The bronze artwork is $ 2,500, the silver artwork is $ 5,000, and the gold artwork is $ 7,500.

The last, unique mystery piece will be announced on the day of the auction.

Five signed helmets and five signed jerseys will also be given to ten randomly selected winners who will take part in the sale.

Mahomes said he was intrigued by digital goods and “how blockchain auctions are growing. When the opportunity arose to get into digital memorabilia, I jumped.”

Already a star in the NFL at age 25, Mahomes led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title in 50 years, threw more touchdowns in his first ten career games than any other quarterback in NFL history, and was featured Awarded the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2018.

Now he also wants to be at the top in the crypto world.

“I always want to know that I’ve done everything I do and that definitely drives me to want to be successful,” said Mahomes.

He is the second professional athlete to dive into the world of NFTs. Rob Gronkowski of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced this week that he will be launching his own exclusive collection of NFT trading cards.

NFT stands for non-fungible token and is essentially a certificate of authenticity for a unique digital memento that cannot be duplicated. The memorabilia are stored on a blockchain network.

Even musicians jump into the crypto madness. Kings of Leon were the first band to release a new album as NFT. And artists like Shawn Mendes, Steve Aoki and Grimes recently released exclusive digital goods on the blockchain network. On Wednesday, a digital work by artist Beeple sold for more than $ 69 million in auction through Christie’s.

“Mahomes is a true underdog and trailblazer because he’s the first superstar athlete to position himself in this space,” said Sean Treacy, the NFT producer. “His attention to detail and innovation is second to none. I think the community will immediately see how unique and special this NFT is.”

Mahomes told CNBC that he plans to donate a portion of the proceeds towards the completion of the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation playground at MLK Park in Kansas City. He will also donate to 40 boys & girls clubs in Missouri.

The Museum of Mahomes’ collectibles auction starts on MakersPlace.com, a digital marketplace for crypto collectibles.

Categories
Business

The Week in Enterprise: Right here Comes the Stimulus Money

The Week in Business: Here Comes the Stimulus Cash

Good Morning. Millions of Americans will receive their stimulus payments every minute as the American bailout plan is in place. Here’s what you need to know in the business and technical news for the week ahead. – Charlotte Cowles

President Biden put his highly competitive whopper of a stimulus package into law on Thursday. The bill calls for qualified Americans with direct payments of up to $ 1,400 who can expect to see direct deposits into their bank accounts as early as this weekend (like today). It will also extend unemployment benefits, help sick businesses like airlines, provide funding to speed up vaccinations and reopen schools, and give most parents a tax credit of up to $ 300 per child per month. The president has launched a week-long campaign to publicize the benefits of the package, which is popular with voters from both parties, despite not receiving Republican support in Congress.

An international group of hackers has claimed they breached 150,000 surveillance cameras in hospitals, businesses, police stations, prisons and schools across the United States by accessing a wealth of camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada. Tesla is among the companies whose internal footage may have been compromised. One of the hackers said he was motivated by “a lot of curiosity, the struggle for freedom of information and against intellectual property, a large dose of anti-capitalism, a touch of anarchism – and it’s just too much fun not to. ”

Last week, new jobless claims fell again, approaching their lowest levels since the pandemic began. It’s a promising sign that the economy is seriously recovering after months of uneven improvements, but there is still a long way to go – unemployment is still incredibly high by historical standards. The stock market had a great week now. The S&P 500 hit a record high on Thursday as investors stalled on the prospect of new stimulus stimulus to boost the economy.

You’re wondering what it takes to have a serious vacation this summer – the kind of flying through multiple time zones, crossing at least one boundary, and really forgetting to read your email because real life is so far away seems to be? Well, vaccination records might be the answer. This Wednesday, the European Union Commission will announce its proposal for specific documents that will allow vaccinated people to travel more freely. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom are considering similar measures. The rules are intended to help the ailing travel and tourism industry and at the same time curb the transmission of viruses.

Frequently asked questions about the new stimulus package

How high are the business stimulus payments in the bill and who is entitled?

The stimulus payments would be $ 1,400 for most recipients. Those who are eligible would also receive an identical payment for each of their children. To qualify for the full $ 1,400, a single person would need an adjusted gross income of $ 75,000 or less. For householders, the adjusted gross income should be $ 112,500 or less, and for married couples filing together, that number should be $ 150,000 or less. To be eligible for a payment, an individual must have a social security number. Continue reading.

What Would the Relief Bill do for Health Insurance?

Buying insurance through the government program known as COBRA would temporarily become much cheaper. Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, COBRA generally lets someone who loses a job purchase coverage through their previous employer. But it’s expensive: under normal circumstances, a person must pay at least 102 percent of the cost of the premium. Under the relief bill, the government would pay the full COBRA premium from April 1 to September 30. An individual who qualified for new employer-based health insurance elsewhere before September 30th would lose their eligibility for free coverage. And someone who left a job voluntarily would also be ineligible. Continue reading

What would the child and dependent care tax credit bill change?

This loan, which helps working families offset the cost of looking after children under the age of 13 and other dependents, would be significantly extended for a single year. More people would be eligible and many recipients would get a longer break. The bill would also fully refund the balance, which means you could collect the money as a refund even if your tax bill were zero. “This will be helpful for people on the lower end of the income spectrum,” said Mark Luscombe, chief federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. Continue reading.

What changes to the student loan are included in the invoice?

There would be a big one for people who are already in debt. You wouldn’t have to pay income taxes on debt relief if you qualify for loan origination or cancellation – for example, if you’ve been on an income-based repayment plan for the required number of years, if your school cheated on you, or if Congress or the President whisper $ 10,000 debt gone for a large number of people. This would be the case for debts canceled between January 1, 2021 and the end of 2025. Read more.

What would the bill do to help people with housing?

The bill would provide billions of dollars in rental and utility benefits to people who are struggling and at risk of being evicted from their homes. About $ 27 billion would be used for emergency rentals. The vast majority of these would replenish what is known as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which is created by the CARES Act and distributed through state, local, and tribal governments, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. This is on top of the $ 25 billion provided by the aid package passed in December. In order to receive financial support that could be used for rent, utilities and other housing costs, households would have to meet various conditions. Household income cannot exceed 80 percent of area median income, at least one household member must be at risk of homelessness or residential instability, and individuals would be at risk due to the pandemic. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, assistance could be granted for up to 18 months. Lower-income families who have been unemployed for three months or more would be given priority for support. Continue reading.

President Biden has vowed to take a tough stance on China but also to take a more strategic approach than the Trump administration, which has grappled with questionable results in a month-long trade war with Beijing. This week two top members of Mr. Biden’s team, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will meet their Chinese counterparts in Alaska. It will be the first high-level face-to-face contact between the two countries since taking office and is expected to set the tone for future relations.

When the economy recovers and people start commuting, traveling and buying things again, oil prices are expected to rise – and rise and rise. Typically, in this case, the energy industry pumps more oil out of the ground to meet consumer demand. But not this time. Fuel companies were reluctant to increase their supply as many continued to be terrified by the devastating effects of the pandemic on oil markets over the past year. (Oil prices even went negative last April when traders had to pay buyers to remove barrels from their hands.) That’s a far cry from the $ 4 a gallon some states might see this summer, if the demand continues.

The Manhattan mansion owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in prison after being accused of sex trafficking, sold for $ 51 million. The proceeds go to a fund that reimburses victims of abuse. On Wall Street, the stock value of gaming site Roblox soared on its first day of public trading, a sign of how indispensable video games have become in the pandemic economy. And a Chinese bowl bought for $ 35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare artifact from the Ming Dynasty and is expected to fetch up to $ 500,000 at auction this week.

Categories
Health

5 issues to know earlier than the inventory market opens March 12, 2021

5 things to know before the stock market opens March 12, 2021

Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:

1. The Nasdaq is likely to fall as technology stocks collapse on rising bond yields

A man walks in front of the Nasdaq building in Times Square on March 10, 2021 in New York.

John Smith | Corbis News | Getty Images

Nasdaq futures fell 200 points, or 1.5%, on Friday, the day after the tech-heavy index rose 329 points, or 2.5%, on gains like Apple, Facebook and Google’s parenting alphabet. As bond yields rose again on Friday, technology stocks resumed their recent decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average should rise and the S&P 500 should fall after both benchmarks closed at record highs on Thursday as expectations of an economic rebound from the new $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus bailout set sentiment on Wall Street.

2. The yield on 10-year government bonds is recovering to an annual high

The stock market, tech names in particular, has been taken hostage by the bond market. Recently, when yields are rising, technology stocks are falling, and when yields are falling, technology stocks are rising. The yield on 10-year government bonds, which is moving in the opposite direction to the price, rose to around 1.6% on Friday, hitting recent one-year highs again. The 10-year yield hit as high as 1.62% earlier this month before pulling back. Higher interest rates hurt the value of growth companies’ future earnings and compress their stock valuations. Tame consumer inflation capped bond yields on Thursday. The government reported Friday that February producer prices rose 0.5%, in line with expectations.

3. Biden instructs states to qualify all adults for Covid vaccines by May 1st

President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on March 11, 2021, on the anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden is instructing states to qualify all adults for the coronavirus vaccines by May 1. In his first prime-time address on Thursday, he also said that hopefully Americans should gather in small groups to celebrate July Fourth. Biden’s speech came exactly one year after the pandemic was declared and one year after ex-President Donald Trump’s speech announcing temporary travel bans from Europe to the United States. At the time, Trump downplayed the coronavirus. In contrast, on Thursday evening, Biden emphasized that Covid is still a serious threat. He spoke hours after the bill was signed on the recently passed US $ 1.9 trillion aid bill.

4. Novavax’s vaccine is 96% effective against the original coronavirus

A woman holds a small bottle that says “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” and a medical syringe in front of the Novavax logo displayed in this illustration, taken on October 30, 2020.

Given Ruvic | Reuters

Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus. There were no cases of serious illness or death among those who received the two-shot vaccine. It was also about 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious variant of the virus, which was first discovered in the UK. However, in a separate, smaller study in South Africa that resulted in another newer, contagious strain, the vaccine was only about 55% effective.

5. Netflix is ​​testing a crackdown on password sharing

Detail of a man’s hand scrolling through Netflix on an Apple iPad Pro, taken on March 6, 2020.

Phil Barker | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Netflix, which has never had much to do with password sharing, is testing a new policy that will require some users to sign up for a separate account when they’re not watching with the subscriber. “This test is designed to ensure that people using Netflix accounts are eligible,” the company said in a statement, while it found that “hundreds” of tests are conducted on selected customers each year. According to research firm Magid, around 33% of all Netflix users share their password with at least one other person.

– Reuters contributed to this report. Get the latest information on the pandemic on CNBC’s coronavirus blog.

Categories
Entertainment

Grammys Lineup 2021: Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish and Extra

Grammys Lineup 2021: Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish and More

Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, BTS, Harry Styles, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion will be at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards this coming Sunday in a mix of live and recorded performances in downtown Los Angeles, The Recording, announced its academy among the cast.

The show, hosted by Trevor Noah, will also include performances by Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, Maren Morris, Roddy Ricch, Post Malone, Lil Baby, DaBaby and others in a format described by the Academy with a note on coronavirus safety. as artists “come together while they are still safely separated”. Mickey Guyton, the first black female artist nominated for best country solo performance, will take the stage, as will Black Pumas, the little-known soul band who received three nominations including album and album of the year .

The show will air on CBS and on Paramount +, the new streaming platform of the network’s parent company, ViacomCBS, which launched on Thursday and replaces CBS All Access.

A notable absence among this year’s cast: Adele, whose potential appearance has been heavily speculated by fans on the Internet. Ben Winston, the Grammys executive producer, said in an interview that Adele would not be involved.

Fans of the British singer have waited more than five years for the continuation of her album “25” and last raised their hopes in October when she presented “Saturday Night Live” – only to explain in her monologue: “My album is not finished yet . “Your label Columbia didn’t give any updates as to when the album might be ready.

Another big loophole? There is no announced performance of Beyoncé, the most nominated artist of the year, with nine nods in eight categories. While the superstar has played for some of the series’ biggest all-genre categories (album, album and song of the year), most recently for her acclaimed 2016 album “Lemonade,” her victories were only achieved in genre categories such as R. & B song and urban contemporary album. This year she was able to get her first big category wins since 2010 in song and record of the year for “Black Parade” and her appearance in Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage (Remix)”.

The last black woman to win Album of the Year was Lauryn Hill in 1999, and after Beyoncé was defeated in the main categories by Adele in 2017, followed by similar losses from Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar in recent years, many watchers said anticipated that black stars would get away with the Grammys instead of being part of an event that didn’t honor their work. The Weeknd, which received no nominations this year, criticized the process and announced its future boycott of the awards in a statement to the New York Times on Thursday: “Due to the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys . “

This year’s Grammys were scheduled for January 31, but were postponed in early January as coronavirus cases peaked in Los Angeles County. Those numbers have fallen sharply since then, although the area still has a “very high risk” of infection.

The show will be the latest test of the feasibility of a grand awards show during the pandemic. The Golden Globes had catastrophic audience ratings on February 28, drawing 62 percent fewer viewers than last year.

To attract an audience, the Grammys rely on the star power of their actors and the possibility of a fresh look. This year’s show is the first to be run by Winston, who in four decades is taking over from Ken Ehrlich, the producer who established “Grammy Moments” – artist pairings across generations and genres – and who sometimes clashed with stars.

One feature this year is based on the pandemic. The Grammys will highlight the struggles of independent music venues by having staff from four live music spots – the Troubadour and Hotel Café in Los Angeles, the Apollo Theater in New York, and Nashville’s Station Inn – present different award categories and encourage fans to listen to their music to support local associations.

Beyoncé received nine nominations in eight categories, more than any other artist. Swift and Lipa have each won six awards.

Categories
World News

Nasdaq trails Dow for fourth straight week, longest streak since 2016

Nasdaq trails Dow for fourth straight week, longest streak since 2016

Chris Hondros | Newsmaker | Getty Images

After a decade of outperformance, investors are finally switching out of technology stocks.

For the fourth straight week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is the longest such streak since April to May 2016, which was also the only year since 2011 in which the Dow defeated the Nasdaq.

Market experts have been forecasting a technical downturn for years and have consistently been wrong due to the increasing dominance of mega-cap companies such as Apple and Amazon, the frenzy over Tesla and the massive shift in spending to cloud computing.

“It has been frustrating for years to fix this trade,” said Jack Ablin, who oversees $ 12.5 billion as chief investment officer at Cresset.

Ablin said it felt different this time. Beginning in the fourth quarter, his company introduced a new “quality dividend strategy” that moved technology customers to industrial, finance, materials and energy companies. He bet on a democratic course in November, followed by a major stimulus package that would pump money into the economy and lead to inflation and higher interest rates.

President Joe Biden speaks with Vice President Kamala Harris (R) in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on March 12, 2021, about America’s bailout plan.

Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images

The 10-year Treasury rose to its highest level in over a year on Friday, hitting 1.642%. Rising interest rates give investors an incentive to shift money towards fixed income securities, while inflation tends to have an overwhelming impact on growth companies as it dampens expectations for future earnings.

Meanwhile, the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package signed by President Joe Biden Thursday will send $ 1,400 in direct payments to most Americans, expanding child tax credits, and providing rental and utility services .

‘Backlog’

Add to this Biden’s declaration that all adults are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine by May 1, and the economy is on the brink of a major recovery in 2021.

“There’s a pent-up demand for going out and doing things, going on vacation, going to bars and restaurants,” Ablin said. People will “take all the money on the sidelines and spend it,” he said.

Although Biden and the Democratic Congress are focused on expanding alternatives to green energy, the current prospects for travel and getting back to work benefit traditional oil and gas companies. Within the S&P 500, energy values ​​performed best as a group this year with a plus of 40%. The top performing groups this week were Consumer Discretionary, Real Estate, and Utilities.

The Dow Industrials rose 4.1% over the course of the week to close at a record high of 32,778.64. After three straight weeks of decline, the Nasdaq rose 3.1% to 13,319.87. For the year, the Dow is up 7.1% while the Nasdaq is up 3.4%.

Dow versus Nasdaq in 2021

CNBC

Ablin knows it’s too early for a winning lap. While technology by and large underperforms, there is still a lot of money flowing into even more speculative assets. Bitcoin’s value nearly doubled this year, and a non-fungible token (NFT) by artist Beeple sold for more than $ 69 million in auction through Christie’s on Wednesday.

Ablin said he was just asked about NFTs by a customer Thursday. While he admits he doesn’t have a strong stance on them, he said the market could look very different in the coming months if stimulus recipients choose risky investments instead of traveling and buying consumer goods.

“If it really isn’t spent but plowed into the market, that would pull the rug out of our thesis,” Ablin said. For example, he said, “If they don’t go on vacation, they buy Tesla stock.”

Tesla stock is up 16% this week. But that was after a 30% drop from the previous month.

SEE: NFTs see record prices as artists and Silicon Valley buy in

Categories
Business

Beeple NFT purchaser is a crypto investor Metakovan

Beeple NFT buyer is a crypto investor Metakovan

The buyer of the non-fungible Beeple token for $ 69 million is a crypto investor operating under the pseudonym Metakovan.

Metakovan’s true identity is unknown, but the investor is a co-founder of the Metapurse NFT collection, which gathers NFTs to display in the Metaverse through virtual museums. Metakovan already owns the largest collection of Beeples and has split ownership of a collection of Beeples using a special token called B.20 Coin.

Speaking to Metakovan’s partner in Metapurse, known as Twobadour, CNBC said the NFT was “the most valuable work of its generation.”

Twobadour said they don’t know their exact plans for this work, but options include factioning or offering it as a new character. He said the goal is not to make money, but rather to decentralize and democratize art so that token holders everywhere can share a piece of history and share the wealth.

For example, it’s like people can go to the Museum of Modern Art and actually own some of the work, he said.

“We made history and created a god,” he said in Beeple.

A detail taken from a collage “EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS” by digital artist BEEPLE, which is being auctioned in Christie’s, an unknown location, in this undated Reuters flyer.

Beeple | Christie’s Images Ltd. | via Reuters

The announcement only partially solves the biggest mystery behind the most dramatic transaction in the art world since Leonardo DaVinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which was sold for $ 450 million in 2017. The market for NFTs – that can be any digital asset owned on a blockchain – has exploded to over $ 400 million in the past few weeks as a huge new army of young collectors pays record prices for everything from NBA highlight Videos to cat memes and art.

For his $ 69 million, Metakovan will receive “essentially a long series of numbers and letters,” according to Noah Davis, art specialist at Christie’s. “It’s a code that is on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s a block on the chain that is put into your Ethereum wallet.” The buyer also gets “a gigantic JPEG,” said Davis.

The sale closed two weeks of frenzied online bidding and ushered in a new era in collectibles, where prices for blockchain-based digital images now compete with prices for Picassos and Monets. While the future of NFT pricing and its longer-term role in the art world remains an open question and many view it as a speculative fad, the eight-figure price tag for the Beeple has suddenly taken notice of the art world.

Shortly after the auction result, Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, tweeted: “Holy F —“. On Thursday evening he also tweeted a picture of a digitized “Mona Lisa” with the headline: “THE NEXT CHAPTER”.

The record work “The First 5,000 Days” was the first to be sold in a major auction house.

In 2007, Winkelmann set out to publish a new digital work of art every day for the rest of his life and never missed a single day. The first 5,000 of these works, which he calls “Everydays”, were put together to “The First 5,000 Days”.

Categories
Politics

Police Shrugged Off the Proud Boys, Till They Attacked the Capitol

Police Shrugged Off the Proud Boys, Until They Attacked the Capitol

Instead, he said in an interview, the agents asked about routes and other plans to separate the Proud Boys from the counter-protesters. Another time, he said, agents warned they had picked up potential left-wing threats against him or his employees.

But no one contacted the leaders of the Proud Boys prior to the January 6 event, Mr Tarrio said, even though their gatherings at previous Trump rallies in Washington had been marred by serious violence.

“You didn’t reach us,” he said.

In the summer of 2017, neo-Nazis, Klansmen and other white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to announce their resurgence in the Unite the Right rally. Its organizer, Jason Kessler, was a member of the Proud Boys.

The group was founded a year earlier by Gavin McInnes, now 50, the co-creator of the media company Vice. (The company has long since severed ties.) He was a Canadian New Yorker with a series of statements targeting feminists and Muslims, and he often expressed a semi-ironic appetite for chaos. “Can you call for violence in general?” he asked once in an online video. “‘Because I am.”

The Proud Boys had volunteered as bodyguards for right-wing fires like Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos, and often bumped into left-wing crowds, especially on college campuses. Proud Boy’s “free speech” rallies in bastions of the left like Seattle, Portland or Berkeley, California routinely ended in street fighting.

Still, Mr. McInnes avoided the Unite the Right gathering, saying in an online video, “Deny, reject, reject.” According to him, the Proud Boys were not white supremacists, but merely “Western chauvinists”. This attitude helped the Proud Boys evade federal law enforcement control.

Categories
Health

Well being Care Employees on the Frontline Face a 12 months of Threat, Worry and Loss

Health Care Workers on the Frontline Face a Year of Risk, Fear and Loss

Gabrielle Dawn Luna sees her father with every patient she treats.

As a nurse in the emergency room at the same hospital where her father died of Covid in March last year, Ms. Luna knows firsthand what it is like for a family to hold onto any new information. She has become aware of the need to take extra time to explain developments to a patient’s family members who are frequently checking for updates.

And Mrs. Luna was willing to share her personal loss if it helps, as she recently did with a patient whose husband has died. But she also learned to hold it back to respect each person’s grief, as she did when a colleague’s father succumbed to the disease.

It is a challenge to let oneself grieve enough to help patients without feeling overwhelmed.

“Sometimes I think it’s too much of a responsibility,” she said. “But that’s the job I signed up for, isn’t it?”

The Lunas are a foster family. Her father, Tom Omaña Luna, was also a lifeguard and was proud when Mrs. Luna came to him in the field. When he died on April 9, Ms. Luna, who also had mild symptoms of Covid-19, took about a week off. Her mother, a nurse in a long-term care facility, then spent about six weeks at home.

“She didn’t want me to go back to work for fear that something would happen to me too,” said Ms. Luna. “But I had to go back. You needed me “

As her hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey swelled with virus patients, she struggled with stress, burnout, and an excruciating fear that left an open wound on her grief: “Did I give it to him? I don’t want to think about it, but it’s a possibility. “

Like the Lunas, many who treated millions of coronavirus patients in the United States last year come from medically defined families. It is a calling that is passed down through the generations and connects spouses and siblings who are states apart.

It’s a bond that brings the success of shared experiences, but for many, the pandemic has also brought a variety of fears and stresses with it. Many have been concerned about the risks they are taking and those their loved ones are exposed to every day. They worry about the invisible scars they have left.

And for those like Ms. Luna, the care they give coronavirus patients is shaped by the beloved healer they lost to the virus.

For Dr. Nadia Zuabi is so new to the loss that she still refers to her father, another ambulance in the present.

Your father, dr. Shawki Zuabi spent his final days at her UCI Health hospital in Orange County, California before dying of Covid on January 8th. The younger Dr. Zuabi returned to work almost immediately, hoping to carry on with the purpose and camaraderie of her colleagues.

She had expected that working with the people who had cared for her father would deepen her commitment to her own patients, and to some extent, too. Most importantly, she realized how important it is to balance this stressful emotional availability with her own well-being.

“I always try to be as empathic and compassionate as possible,” said Dr. Zuabi. “There is a part of you who may have to build a wall as a survival mechanism because I don’t think it’s sustainable to feel it all the time.”

The work is filled with memories. When she saw the fingertips of a patient, she remembered how her colleagues had also pricked her father’s to check insulin levels.

“He had all these bruises on his fingertips,” she said. “It just broke my heart.”

The two had always been close, but they found a special bond when she went to medical school. Doctors often descend from doctors. About 20 percent in Sweden have parents with medical degrees, and researchers believe the rate is similar in the United States.

The older Dr. Zuabi had a present for conversation and loved talking about medicine with his daughter as he sat in his living room chair with his feet propped up. She is still in her residency training and would reach out to him all last year for advice on the challenging Covid cases she was working on and he would dispel her doubts. “You have to trust yourself,” he told her.

Updated

March 13, 2021, 6:24 p.m. ET

When he caught the virus, she took each day off to be by his bedside and continued their conversations. Even when he was intubated, she pretended they were still talking.

She still does. After difficult shifts, she turns to her memories, the part of him that stays with her. “He really thought I was going to be a great doctor,” she said. “If that’s what my father thought of me, it must be true. I can do it, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. “

Just as medicine is often a passion that arises from a set of values ​​passed down from one generation to the next, so it is also one that is shared by siblings and that brings healers together in marriage.

A quarter of doctors in the US are married to another doctor, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Maria Polyakova, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, said she wouldn’t be surprised if the number of doctors in the U.S. who had siblings with medical degrees was about as high as the Swedish, about 14 percent.

In interviews with a dozen doctors and nurses, they described how helpful it has long been to have a loved one who knows the rigors of the job. But the pandemic has also shown how frightening it can be to put a loved one at risk.

A nurse’s brother took care of her when she had the virus before volunteering at another virus hotspot. A doctor chatted with her children about what would happen if she and her husband both died from the virus. And others described crying softly during a will talk after putting their children to bed.

Dr. Fred E. Kency Jr., a doctor at two emergency rooms in Jackson, Miss., Understood that he was surrounded by danger while serving in the Navy. He never expected that he would face such a threat in civil life or that his wife, an internist and pediatrician, would face the same dangers.

“It’s scary to know that my wife has to go to the rooms of patients with Covid every day,” said Dr. Kency before he and his wife were vaccinated. “But it is a reward to know that not just one of us, the two of us, are doing everything we can to save lives in this pandemic.”

The vaccine has eliminated fears of being vaccinated at work among vaccinated medical professionals, but some express deep concern at the toll that working in a year of horror has left their closest relatives.

“I am concerned about the amount of suffering and death she sees,” said Dr. Adesuwa I. Akhetuamhen, an emergency physician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, about her sister, the doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. I feel like I learned to deal with this while working in the emergency room before Covid started, but it’s not something that should be happening in her specialty as a neurologist. “

She and her sister, Dr. Eseosa T. Ighodaro, have been on the phone regularly to compare notes on the precautions they have taken, to update their families, and to support one another. “She totally understands what I’m going through and encourages me,” said Dr. Ighodaro.

The seemingly endless intensity of work, increasing deaths, and the careless attitudes of some Americans about safety precautions have caused anxiety, fatigue, and burnout in a growing number of healthcare workers. Almost 25 percent of them are most likely to have PTSD, according to a survey published by the Yale School of Medicine in February. And many have left the field or are considering doing so.

Donna Quinn, a midwife at NYU Health in Manhattan, has feared that her son’s experience as an ambulance doctor in Chicago will cause him to leave the field he recently came to. He was in his final year of residence when the pandemic started and he volunteered on the intubation team.

“I’m concerned about the toll he’s taking emotionally,” she said. “There were nights when we tearfully talked about what happened to us.”

She still has nightmares that are sometimes so terrible that she falls out of bed. Some are about her son or about patients she cannot help. In one, a patient’s bed linen is transformed into a towering monster that chases her out of the room.

When Ms. Luna first returned to her emergency room at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey after her father’s death, she felt that something was missing. She had got used to having him there. It had been nerve-wracking when she was asked, “Is that my father?” On every urgent intercom call after a resuscitation. But at least she could stop by now and then to see how he was doing.

Furthermore, she had never known what it was like to be a nurse without him. She remembered going to elementary school to step into the field and using a yellow highlighter to paint over almost every line in his large textbooks.

During breakfast last March, Ms. Luna told her father how upset she was after holding an iPad for a dying patient to say goodbye to a family who couldn’t go to the hospital.

“This is our job,” she recalled Mr. Luna. “We’re here to act as a family when the family can’t be there. It’s a difficult role. It will be difficult, and there will be more times that you have to do it. “

Kitty Bennett contributed to the research.

Categories
Business

The Swag Should Go On: Hollywood’s Pandemic Oscar Marketing campaign

The Swag Must Go On: Hollywood’s Pandemic Oscar Campaign

These blocks are usually full of voters; Paramount Pictures is there, as is Raleigh Studios, where Netflix rents production space. With most of the people in Los Angeles still holed up at home, the thoroughfare was eerily quiet at 5:30 p.m. last Monday. Actual crickets chirped at Paramount’s closed Bronson Gate, which had a sign that read, “By government order, access to the studio is now restricted. “

Funny at best, absurd at worst?

“The public must be so confused,” said Ms. Stone.

None of the studios or streaming services looking for awards would comment on this article. Campaigns are commonplace but remain a taboo subject. No film company wants to look like it is trying to manipulate voters.

However, it’s easy to understand where they come from.

“Like a political campaign, you have to rise at the right moment,” said Paul Hardart, director of entertainment, media and technology programs at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “At this point, you need the maximum exposure. And that’s hard to do. How do you get up to date at the right time? “

So the prey must go on.

As part of its promotion for Nomadland about an impoverished van resident, Searchlight Pictures sent a bound copy of the script to voters. The Hollywood press corps received “Nomadland” wine glasses, a “Nomadland” license plate, “Nomadland” key rings, a “Nomadland” t-shirt and a 5 x 2 foot “Nomadland” sunscreen.

To celebrate the virtual premiere of the film on February 18, Searchlight, in collaboration with local small businesses, delivered a “curated concession box” to the homes of the invited people. This included artisanal beef dried meat, jam with wild berries, oranges, pears, dried apricots, dill cucumber slices, banana bread, salami (“humanly raised”) and a chocolate canister.