Czech govt bars Russia’s Rosatom from nuclear power plant contract tender amid diplomatic row
The Czech government has approved a resolution effectively excluding the Russian company from the $7-billion project, the nation’s industry and trade minister Karel Havlicek confirmed on Monday.The construction project’s investor, the majority state-controlled Czech utility company CEZ, will now only send a security assessment questionnaire to the remaining three contenders by April 30. The companies vetted by Prague include France’s EDF, South Korean Hydro Nuclear Power as well as the American-Canadian firm Westinghouse. Also on rt.com Russia’s Rosatom likely to get barred from $7-bn Dukovany nuclear plant tender, Czech minister says, amid ammo depot blast scandal “We make it clear that this is an assessment of three eligible … [READ MORE...]
In the Roaring Twenties, Ads Make a Comeback
One of the legislators who has pushed to rein in the power of the tech giants, Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island who heads the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, said the improving advertising business would not dampen the appetite in Washington for a crackdown on “monopoly power” in Big Tech.“These are structural problems in the marketplace, and none of that will be changed by a few strong quarters,” he said.The boom in digital advertising is lifting online publishers, but they aren’t the biggest beneficiaries. Even as television is getting a smaller share of the advertising market, the most sought-after digital advertising outlets are the new “connected TV” platforms — places like Roku, Hulu and Viacom’s Pluto TV. Those platforms put … [READ MORE...]
Another Unlikely Pandemic Shortage: Boba Tea
Brian Tran, a co-owner of Honeybear Boba in San Francisco, said he had also been searching desperately for more tapioca. He expects to run out by the end of next week if he cannot replenish his supply.“A boba shop without boba is like a car dealership without cars to sell,” Mr. Tran said. “It’s like a steakhouse without steak.”Boba Guys, one of the most successful boba chains in the country, said in an Instagram post this month that some boba shops had already run out of tapioca balls and that others would follow in the next few weeks. The owners of Boba Guys also operate the U.S. Boba Company, which produces and sells tapioca pearls to other stores around the country.The boba shortage, which was reported earlier by The San Francisco Chronicle, has boba fans in a panic. A post sharing the … [READ MORE...]
Latest News
Progressives Propose Tripling Housing Commitment in Infrastructure Plan
“Republicans are not going to partner with Democrats on the Green New Deal or on raising taxes to pay for it,” Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, said at a news conference last month. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, has repeatedly warned that the infrastructure plan is “a Trojan horse” for liberal priorities, while Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, declared last week that “it’s a lot of Green New Deal” that would lead … [Read More...]
Progressive Lawmakers to Unveil Legislation on Energy and Public Housing
“Public housing has been neglected, left to get worse, and we’re not going to stand for it anymore,” Mr. Schumer said. The president’s plan, he added, was “a good start, but it ain’t enough.”Mr. Sanders, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and allies envision the proposal costing between $119 billion and $172 billion over 10 years to meet the needs of their constituents, according to an estimate provided to The New York Times. It aims to create thousands of maintenance and construction jobs.“Probably our best bet … [Read More...]
The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Climate and Equity Issues
And Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said he was concerned that the Fed’s focus on fostering equity — by driving down Black unemployment, for instance — could make it too hesitant to lift interest rates, allowing inflation to bubble up.But Fed officials say the central bank is being pragmatic, not political. Ms. Daly regularly points out that understanding climate change risks to the financial system is important for bank regulators and … [Read More...]
China’s First-Quarter Growth Is Expected to Boom on Paper
Families continue to save at a higher rate than they did before the pandemic, something that worries economists like Louis Kuijs, who is head of Asian economics at Oxford Economics. Mr. Kuijs is looking at household savings as an indication of whether Chinese consumers are ready to start splurging after months of being stuck at home.Data on Friday showed that households saved more money in the first quarter of the year than in recent quarters. “Looking ahead, a convincing vaccination drive and … [Read More...]
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Small Business
Another Unlikely Pandemic Shortage: Boba Tea
Brian Tran, a co-owner of Honeybear Boba in San Francisco, said he had also been searching desperately for more tapioca. He expects to run out by the end of next week if he cannot replenish his supply.“A boba shop without boba is like a car dealership without cars to sell,” Mr. Tran said. “It’s like a steakhouse without steak.”Boba Guys, one of the most successful boba chains in the country, said … [Read More...]
China’s Anger at Foreign Brands Helps Local Rivals
Foreign brands are far from done in China. Its drivers helped power a jump in Tesla deliveries. IPhones remain immensely popular. Campaigns against foreign names have come and gone, and local brands that emphasize politics too much risk unwanted attention if the political winds shift quickly.Still, interest in local brands marks a significant shift. Post-Mao, the country made few consumer … [Read More...]
Your Money
Realtors Want to Sell You a Home. Their Trade Group Backs Evicting Others.
“Redfin has consistently been in favor of moratoriums,” said its chief executive, Glenn Kelman. “History will judge us.”Zillow supports the C.D.C. edict, too, and it believes that moratoriums work most effectively when policies and relief programs include landlords and property managers in addition to renters. Last month, it published research suggesting that there could be as few as 130,000 … [Read More...]
A Family Opens Up About Its Investing Mistakes
An added layer of complexity is getting a family to agree to change course. Creating a strategy from scratch isn’t easy, but scrapping the old one for a new, untried one is more challenging, said John Zimmerman, president of Ascent Private Capital Management, the high-net-worth arm of U.S. Bank.“It’s more difficult and complicated than a blank slate of paper,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “You need to get … [Read More...]