Hungarys new border wall

PHOTO: New Zealnd's PM Jacinda Ardern - Bloomberg Its first Covid-19 new cases in 3 months has New Zealand reeling and Auckland, its biggest city, back on lockdown. The country went 102 days without a local transmission, until late yesterday with the announcement that 4 new cases were found in an Auckland household. A further 4 probable cases were identified today. Authorities are trying to stop spread to avoid the fate of nations like Australia, Vietnam and Japan, which after early success in containing the virus are now battling its resurgence. New Zealand became the envy of the world after it eliminated local transmission of Covid-19 with a strict nationwide lockdown in April and May, and its economy came back strongly once restrictions were lifted. Now, that recovery may be at risk as businesses close in Auckland and chances dwindle of the nation re-opening its borders any time soon. PM Jacinda Ardern today put Auckland, a city of 1.6 million, into lockdown for an … [Read more...] about New Zealand surprised by 4 new confirmed Covid-19 local transmissions

NEW YORK  – U.S. stocks jumped on Monday after a deal to rescue Credit Suisse and central bank efforts to bolster confidence in the financial system relieved investors, while participants also weighed the likelihood of a pause in rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this week. UBS late on Sunday agreed to buy rival Credit Suisse for $3.23 billion, in a merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more turmoil in the banking group. Also, major central banks moved on Sunday to bolster the flow of cash around the world. Global central banks open daily dollar taps to help banks The S&P Banking index was up 0.6 percent and the KBW Regional Banking index was up 1.5 percent following sharp losses last week. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank shook markets earlier this month, leading to a rout in banking stocks and worries that central bank monetary tightening would create a recession. While some bank shares were still lower on Monday, the … [Read more...] about Wall St ends higher as bank contagion fears ease, Fed eyed

By ZEKE MILLER and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January — a move that serves as a prelude to bigger battles with GOP lawmakers on government spending and the nation’s debt limit. Biden sought to kill a Republican-authored measure that would ban the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for people’s retirement plans. In a video released by the White House, Biden said he vetoed the measure because it “put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.” His first veto represents a more confrontational approach at the midway of Biden’s term in office, as he faces a GOP-controlled House that is eager to undo parts of his policy legacy and investigate his administration and his family. … [Read more...] about Biden issues first veto, taking on new Republican House

After raking in over $7 million in speaking fees from financial institutions in the two years before being confirmed, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen now plays a major role in determining which banks are systemically important, according to her testimony at a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday. Yellen had received more than $7 million in speaking fees from dozens of companies including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Credit Suisse, UBS, Charles Schwab and many more, according to Yellen’s public financial disclosure report. Though the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to $250,000, Yellen told the senators the government may insure additional deposits, as it did at the recently failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, if that bank’s failure would present a “systemic risk” to the economy. WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 16: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies about the Biden Administration’s FY2024 federal budget proposal before … [Read more...] about After Collecting Millions From Wall Street, Janet Yellen Now Helps Decide Which Banks Get Bailouts

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Jakob Rost, CEO and cofounder at Ayoconnect . With over a decade of experience in e-commerce, fintech and financial services in Indonesia's tech industry, I have gained valuable insights into the evolution of open banking. Open banking has gained significant traction in recent years as a transformative concept in the financial industry. The pandemic has accelerated this adoption even further, as evidenced by the increased popularity of neobanks and alternative financial services aiming to enhance the digital banking experience. According to a report by Polaris Market Research , the global open banking market size was valued at $16.14 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $128.12 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 26.8% during the forecasted period. Polaris' research also highlighted the Asia Pacific region as the one that will experience the most growth over the forecast period, a trend that I have … [Read more...] about Learning From The Evolution Of Open Banking

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In light of the swift ascendancy of cryptocurrency and the mass adoption of digital assets by novice investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the agency will add around 20 additional positions . This is in response to the cryptocurrency market, which in the last few years has skyrocketed to more than a $2 trillion market valuation . These important roles will be based within the division responsible for protecting investors who are buying, selling and trading digital assets in crypto markets. The new hires will also be tasked with investigating cyber-related threats, ensuring adequate cybersecurity controls are in place and that SEC registrants and public companies are transparent in disclosing cybersecurity breaches. The Crypto Cops The Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit in the Division of Enforcement will escalate to around 50 dedicated positions from about 30 current white-collar … [Read more...] about The SEC Is Hiring Cryptocurrency Cops To Investigate Illicit Activities

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, PepsiCo’s Tina Bigalke is responsible for leading PepsiCo, the world’s second-largest food and beverage business’s global DE&I strategy. That means progressing toward PepsiCo ’s ambitious aspirations, including racial equality, gender parity, and pay equity, she says. Bigalke relies on her decades-long human capital management, business growth, profitability, and sustainability experience, including 20+ years in the senior leadership trenches at the Purchase, NY-based multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation. “At PepsiCo, we’re guided by our overall vision, our CEO [ Ramon Laguarta ]’s vision of pep+ [pep Positive], which is our ongoing, end-to-end, strategic transformation of how we create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center,” Bigalke says. Launched in 2021, pep+ represents a model for Lead With We … [Read more...] about PepsiCo Pours Intentionality Into Its DE&I Efforts

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A year ago, a study conducted by Workvivo , an employee experience engagement app, highlighted the challenges human resources professionals had to contend with at the time. The study surveyed more than 520 HR professionals in the United States and the U.K. on burnout in the HR department. Ninety-eight percent of HR professionals self-reported that they were experiencing burnout, while 94% said they felt overwhelmed and 88% of respondents said they dreaded work. As a result of workplace transformations, HR navigated in-office, remote and hybrid work styles. They contended with the Great Resignation, sourcing, recruiting, onboarding and retaining workers. The war for talent took its toll, as HR professionals felt undervalued and under-resourced. Human resources professionals are, once again, experiencing stress and anxiety, but this time for a different reason. Instead of being exhausted from all the hiring, HR, … [Read more...] about Human Resources And Recruiters Are Getting Axed

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Center-stage startups may soon become gamechangers; meanwhile their journey could already contain a valuable lesson for us all Innovation Spotlight The journey of each start up is unique, yet the challenges they encounter are not. The ways they choose to overcome obstacles on their path, the creativity it takes to maneuver and prevail along the way and their ultimate recipes for success can all fill chapters in a potential guidebook for new starts up. Each company has something to contribute to this vast shared pool of collective knowledge. Foresight Autonomous Holdings (Nasdaq and TASE: FRSX) is an innovator in automotive vision systems; it develops smart multi-spectral vision software solutions and cellular-based applications. Startup’s founder and CEO, Haim Siboni, explains: “Our vision solutions vary. They include modules of automatic calibration and a dense three-dimensional (3D) point cloud that can be … [Read more...] about The Trailblazers: Introducing Foresight

The US has surpassed the 6 million mark for the total number of Covid-19 cases. Brazil (3.7 million) and India (3.3 million) are the countries with the 2nd and 3rd highest number of cases. Around the world there is now a total of 24,331,524 Covid-19 cases, 829,664 deaths with 16,872,542 recorded as ‘recovered’. Of note, both the trend in new cases and deaths is dropping again, gradually. Other important milestones and trends int he world’s fight with the pandemic…. • The Philippines eclipsed Indonesia as SE Asia’s highest total number of cases just 3 weeks ago, but has now passed the 200,000 mark with Indonesia at 160,000. Related news North Korea conducts nuclear tests, spews rhetoric 14 hours ago Donald Trump faces arrest, but is back on Facebook 2 days ago • Singapore appears to have its 2nd wave under more control now, with 30-60 cases new cases being registered each day, over the past 3 days, versus the 1,000+ per day in … [Read more...] about US surpasses 6 million Covid-19 cases whilst the world trend is ‘down’