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From 1969 to 2019, a Day at The New York Times

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

A half-century later, many of the book’s details seem anachronistic: the telex machines, the Scotch-fueled lunches, the “women’s page,” a singular focus on print and a newsroom run almost wholly by white men.

But many things haven’t changed. The Times’s mission to give the news impartially, without fear or favor, remains its cornerstone, now extending to video, graphics, audio and, later this year, a television show. Correspondents continue to report from bureaus around the United States and the world, and authoritative critics weigh in on theater, art, food and more.

Here’s what 24 hours of news gathering at The Times looks like today.

Do you have questions about how The Times comes together? Please leave them in the comments, and our journalists will answer a selection of them.

3 — 6 a.m.

While the journalists in New York sleep, The Times’s international editing hubs, Hong Kong and London, take over. They pick up late-breaking news in the United States, handle coverage of their parts of the world and monitor developing stories.

By 4 a.m. Eastern, operations in Hong Kong, 13 hours ahead of New York, are winding down. Editors there do a “handoff” via video conference to London, where it’s 9 a.m. local time, pitching their articles for The Times’s home page and noting what to watch. The team in London resumes where Hong Kong left off, editing and updating stories as needed.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/reader-center/the-new-york-times-24-hours.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

Tesla to close retail stores, offer cheaper Model 3 in hope of repaying $1bn debt

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

“To achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable, Tesla is shifting sales worldwide to online only. You can now buy a Tesla in North America via your phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide,” the company announced in a blog post on Thursday afternoon.

The new $35k version of the Model 3 will have a top speed of 130 miles per hour (209 km/h) and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, with a range of 220 miles. Delivery of the budget model will take two to four weeks.

Also on rt.com Musk’s trigger-happy Twitter finger draws fire from SEC drags down Tesla stock

For a “Standard Range Plus” model with a 240-mile range, slightly higher speed and acceleration, and fancier interiors, customers can pay $2,000 more – a six percent higher price for 9 percent more in features, as the company put it.

The switch to online sales is going to mean layoffs and closures of Tesla’s retail stores at upscale shopping centers, but the company hopes to reduce overhead to break even in the first quarter of 2019. CEO Elon Musk told investors on a conference call Thursday that the company does not expect to be profitable in Q1, but will return to profitability in the second quarter, per CNBC.

Tesla also announced it was developing a Model Y SUV that would begin production in 2020, and starting to build a factory in Shanghai, hoping to solve the problem of delivering vehicles to China.

Musk reportedly blamed delivery problems and the expiration of a US tax credit for some of the company’s woes. A federal tax credit for Tesla buyers started to expire last month, raising the price of the cars by almost $4,000.

Also on rt.com Tesla killer? Volvo spin-off unveils Google-powered all-electric sedan

Tesla went so far as to urge customers to abuse the new return feature, which lets buyers return cars within 7 days or 1,000 miles for a full refund.

Quite literally, you could buy a Tesla, drive several hundred miles for a weekend road trip with friends and then return it for free.

On Friday, Tesla is due to repay a $920 million convertible bond, and will have to do so from its $3.7 billion cash on hand unless stocks somehow rise $50 above the current values. The company’s stock fell 3.6 percent in after-hours trading.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452709-tesla-model3-cheaper-closings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Michael Jackson Cast a Spell. ‘Leaving Neverland’ Breaks It.

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

I’ve stared at a lingering shot of a photograph of Jackson, who would have been around 30 and Safechuck who was about 9 or 10, and Jackson is beaming in sunglasses and a military jacket, flashing a peace sign, and James, in a too-big baseball cap, is turning to the camera, looking alarmingly ruminative for someone whose life should be rumination-free. By the time you get to the ring, I’ve already heard how Jackson lured Safechuck into sex, by masturbation (James, again, is about 10), and how the closer he got to James on tour, the farther the parents’ hotel room would get from their son’s.

The way Safechuck remembers it, there was so much sex, and he says Jackson told him that if anybody found out about it, their lives would be over. I’ve heard about Michael buying the Neverland complex in Santa Barbara County, Calif., (mansion, amusement park, zoo!) and the elaborate system of doors and bells to alert Jackson of any encroachment on the lair in which some of the abuse supposedly occurred. I’ve seen Wade Robson, a doll-faced Michael Jackson impersonator from Brisbane, Australia, say he was 7 when Michael began abusing him, describing a grim scenario in which he was naked on all fours at the edge of the bed, poised — trapped — between his idol, who was masturbating to him, and a cutout of Peter Pan.

I’ve heard all of this — and a distressing deal more — by the time the documentary gets to the part where Jackson allegedly takes Safechuck shopping for a ring. But there’s something about the way the filmmakers reserve this scene for the back end of Part 1 that ices your bones, something about the way an adult Safechuck doesn’t seem to want to go back there. But here he is, talking in a TV documentary about the vows he says that he and Jackson exchanged. Here he is, forlorn, holding the ring that he’s kept, all this time, in a handsome box.

The story of the ring and the vows feels as graphic as the memories of masturbation and French kissing and nipple tweaking. If you happen to be the sort of person who’d try to balance, say, the multiple counts of child molestation Jackson was charged with in 2003 and acquitted of later with extenuating details from Jackson’s biography (Wasn’t he abused and too famous too soon and prematurely sexualized? He never had a childhood! He’s still a child!), if you partook in the steady diet of fluffy news stories about Jackson and some little boy (often identified as “Jackson’s friend”) and thought mostly that they were cute or banal and that Jackson just related to kids as kids — like, platonically — if you thought that he couldn’t know there was a real difference between adult passion and child’s play, then perhaps you’ll find Safechuck’s memory of the ring particularly shattering. I did. It’s so private and wrong, not just to us but clearly to Jackson, who makes up a story at the jewelry store that the ring is for a woman, even though Safechuck is there by his side.

He knew.

I’m staring at the coat rack looking for somewhere to suspend more disbelief, and there’s no more room. I have to hold this.

“LEAVING NEVERLAND” is long but delicately, patiently done — and so quiet; you can practically hear yourself listening. It’s not a feat of investigative journalism so much as an act of bearing witness. Reed sits, individually, with Safechuck and his mother, Stephanie, and with Robson and his mother, Joy, and his siblings, Chantal and Shane. It doesn’t try to make cultural or political sense of the allegations. It’s not a masterpiece saga about fame, race, gender, sexuality and the legal system; it’s not “M.J.: Made in America.” (For a long view, there’s “On Michael Jackson,” Margo Jefferson’s pungent, essential critical X-ray from 2006.) “Leaving Neverland” is about one man’s possible contribution to the ruin of two families and the anguish that still disturbs them and, in some way, how that ruin and anguish should disturb us.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/arts/television/michael-jackson-leaving-neverland.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

Russian LNG will be cheaper for Europe than US alternative – Novatek

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Washington has been pushing its own LNG on the European market, while criticizing Russian projects, including the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is to be completed by the end of this year. However, falling for US rhetoric may affect European customers given that the price for American LNG is much higher, according to Novatek.

Also on rt.com Russia’s share of European gas market surges to almost 37%, dwarfing LNG imports

The company says it has been able to deliver LNG to Europe for $3.15 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) while US producers were offering it for $7-$8, Novatek’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Gyetvay told the International Petroleum week (IP week) conference as cited by Reuters.

The Russian energy giant says it has much lower production costs than its American rivals, extracting gas at a cost of 10 cents per mmBtu against $3 in the US, and liquefying gas for 50 cents compared to America’s $3.

“Russian gas will be very competitive versus the US Gulf coast,” Gyetvay told the gathering in London. He added that the energy company plans to extend annual production of sea-borne LNG by around 15 million tons to 70 million tons by 2030.

Earlier this year, Novatek’s Chairman Leonid Mikhelson vowed to cut production costs up to $750 per ton to solidify his company’s advantage on the world gas market.

Also on rt.com Proposed US sanctions target Russia’s sovereign debt, banks, shipbuilding LNG projects

While the US is mulling more sanctions targeting Russia, including against the country’s LNG projects, Novatek says that it will not allow Washington to hold it “hostage” to its policy. In order to protect itself, the company pledged to build all equipment and technology in Russia.

In December 2018, the firm announced that its Yamal LNG plant in the Arctic reached full capacity of 16.5 million tons per annum. Novatek is also developing another ambitious facility for liquefying gas in the Arctic region, Arctic LNG 2.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452670-russian-lng-cheaper-us/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

U.S. Economy Cooled as G.D.P. Grew at 2.6% Rate in Fourth Quarter

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The fourth-quarter slowdown wasn’t as bad as some forecasters expected. Consumer spending, the bedrock of the economy, rose at a 2.6 percent rate — slower than in the middle of the year, but hardly a collapse. Exports, which slumped in the third quarter, rebounded in the fourth, suggesting that the cooling global economy isn’t yet dragging down American exporters. And businesses stepped up their investment in equipment, software and research, a sign that they are still betting on the future.

“It may be that businesses are starting to see more scope for investment in RD and technology, and obviously for the long-term that would be good news,” said Joseph Song, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Still, Thursday’s report left little doubt that the midyear surge in growth has dissipated, just as many economists predicted at the time. Tax cuts and federal spending increases provided a temporary lift, but that was offset by higher interest rates, trade tensions and a slowing global economy. And the effects of the stimulus will fade further in 2019.

Residential investment, a proxy for housing construction, fell for the fourth straight quarter, as higher interest rates and declining affordability weighed on construction and sales. Retail sales dropped unexpectedly in December, which could be a sign that consumers are starting to pull back. And growth in the fourth quarter was driven in part by companies building up inventories, which could reverse in 2019.

“On the one hand, I was encouraged that there wasn’t as much of a slowing as I thought,” said Ben Herzon, an economist at Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm. “But on the other hand, what propped up growth in the fourth quarter was unsustainable.”

The government shutdown came too late to make much difference to the fourth quarter, but it could be a significant drag on growth early in the year. The funding lapse idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers, left hundreds of thousands more working without pay and disrupted air travel, among other effects. Consumer confidence plummeted. Macroeconomic Advisers on Thursday cut its estimate of growth in the current quarter to 1.1 percent.

Growth that weak would leave the United States with little buffer against an unexpected round of bad news — an escalation in the trade war with China, for example, or another round of fiscal gamesmanship around the debt ceiling. A rising share of economists expect a recession in 2020 if not sooner.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/business/economy/gdp-report.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News

Legal Threats From Broadway’s ‘Mockingbird’ Sink Productions Around the Country

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Mr. Rudin is nothing if not strong-willed, and willing to litigate. After he bought the stage rights to the novel and won Harper Lee’s approval for Mr. Sorkin as the playwright, Lee’s estate sued him, asserting the new adaptation deviated impermissibly from the novel; he countersued, and offered to stage his play in front of the judge to prove his case. The dispute was settled. (Ms. Lee died in 2016.)

For decades, Mr. Sergel’s version of the play has been a staple at community theaters around the country. The play is staged every year in Ms. Lee’s hometown, Monroeville, Ala., and is scheduled to go forward there this spring as planned.

Besides the productions in Buffalo, Dayton, Marblehead, and Oklahoma City, others have been called off in Braintree, Mass.; Buda, Tex., near Austin; Azusa Pacific University in Southern California; and Salt Lake City.

In Utah, 21 actors at the Grand Theater in Salt Lake City were practicing their lines during a recent rehearsal session, when the theater’s artistic director interrupted with the bad news.

The theater had paid Dramatic Publishing nearly $6,000. It had sold roughly $8,000 worth of tickets, and planned to stage free matinee performances for 2,500 school children.

But with the specter of a legal battle looming, it decided to cancel the play. Seth Miller, the Grand Theater’s executive artistic director, estimates the cancellation will result in a loss of some $20,000.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/theater/scott-rudin-mockingbird-broadway.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

South Africa’s ANC needs just 5 years ‘to destroy the economy & the country,’ economist warns

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

“Government spending increases every year uncontrollably, but it does so at an exponential rate. That will also increase the debt burden to the same extent in the near future,” Brink was quoted as saying by the South African news website.

He added that “The only solution to these problems is a total return to a capitalist economic system, which encourages healthy growth.”

Also on rt.com South Africa oil discovery could be a game-changer

According to the economist, with more than 40 years of experience in the agricultural industry in South Africa, “The chance that the ANC government, as well as the politicians and the ‘economic specialists’ will ever understand and accept it, is clearly not a strong possibility.”

That is why the ANC government “will only need at most another five years to destroy the economy and the country,” he said.

Brink also criticized suggestions by Wits University Professor Janie Rossouw that the country would run out of money by 2042. Rossouw was being too optimistic, he said, adding it would actually be a luxury for South Africa to make it to 2042. Such a projection provides the ANC with a comfort zone and actually gives a better perception of the economy than what he believes to be true.

Also on rt.com Land confiscation plans will hurt South Africa’s economic growth, IMF warns

Rossouw earlier told the country’s Standing Committee on Finance that Mzansi (an informal name for South Africa) has 23 years left before it all goes to hell in a hand basket. The professor explained that the “exorbitant” cost of ministries is one of the most punishing features of the national budget.

South Africa’s leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF) party has also been calling for the government to eliminate deputy minister positions.

It pointed out that a total of 35 people in those positions make up a wage bill of R68,950,000 a year (almost $5 million). Over a five-year term, that would amount to almost R345 million ($25 million) which is just under the total amount President Cyril Ramaphosa released for a stimulus package last September.

Scrapping deputies could end up saving the country the near-equivalent of a domestic bailout, the EEF said.

Also on rt.com Back on track: South Africa pulls out of recession as economy surges

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452656-south-africa-anc-crisis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Tesla killer? Volvo spin-off unveils Google-powered all-electric sedan

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The new “Tesla killer,” designed specifically to compete with the fast-selling Model 3, is a premium five-door fastback with two electric motors.

It is expected to drive 500 kilometers (275 miles) on a single charge thanks to a 78-kilowatt-hour battery (72 kWh for the Chinese market) integrated into the floor.

Production of the electric car in both right and left-hand-drive versions is to start in 2020 in southeast China, according to the automaker. The initial launch markets include China, the US, Canada, and some European countries, and the company vowed to consider further expansion.

READ MORE: New Tesla killer: Audi’s all-electric crossover may devour Elon Musk’s lunch

“Polestar 2 is our first fully electric car and first volume model,” Polestar’s chief executive officer, Thomas Ingenlath, said in statement on Wednesday. 

The range of the new Tesla rival almost equals the long-range version of the Model 3, which is 310 miles, and the price will also be close to the one Elon Musk’s company offers. The car will be priced from €39,900 ($45,500) up to €59,900 ($68,000).

However, during the first year of production it will sell only the limited edition launch model for $63,000, and federal and state incentives can drop the price by $7,500.

Polestar 2 is one of the first cars in the world to feature an infotainment system powered by Android which allows drivers to use Google Assistant, Google Maps and other apps from the Google Play Store.

The company, jointly owned by Volvo Car Group and Zhejiang Geely Holding, launched its first car – the Polestar 1 hybrid performance coupe – in 2017. It also plans to start production of a fully electric SUV which will be Polestar 3.

Other major auto companies have already joined the race to win the hearts of eco-friendly customers, with Jaguar launching its I-Pace fully-electric model and Porsche preparing to start sales of its first fully-electric sports car, Taycan.

Last year, Volkswagen-owned premium brand Audi unveiled battery-powered crossover E-Tron.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452653-volvo-polestar-tesla-killer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Trump says North Korea has ‘tremendous potential’ to become ‘absolute economic power’

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

North Korea could be “one of the most successful countries on Earth” once Pyongyang “gets rid of the nukes,” Trump said speaking about possible denuclearization options. He made the statement after his second summit with Kim (this time in Vietnam) unexpectedly wrapped up after two hours.

Nevertheless, the US president commended North Korea as an “incredible country” with an “incredible location” emphasizing its proximity to China, Russia, and South Korea, as well as its access to water. The US leader also gave an optimistic forecast about the country’s economic perspective.

There is tremendous potential in North Korea and I think he [Kim] is going to lead it to a very important thing economically. I think it’s going to be an absolute economic power.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday to mark the second historic meeting between US and North Korea leaders. No formal deal was reached but the US president preferred not to cast the outcome as a disappointment.

Also on rt.com We thought it wasn’t a good thing ‘to be signing anything’ – Trump on Hanoi summit with Kim

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452648-trump-north-korea-tremendous-potential/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Proposed US sanctions target Russia’s sovereign debt, banks, shipbuilding & LNG projects

February 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

If passed, the bill, titled Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019 (DASKAA), will ban US nationals from “engaging in transactions with, providing financing for, or otherwise dealing” in Russia’s state debt, including “bonds issued by the Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund, or the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation, or agents or affiliates of any of these entities.”

Actor Jack Nicholson in a scene from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. USA, 1975 © Getty Images Russia calls latest US sanctions ‘just another schizoid story’

The document, which is set to be approved by the US Congress and signed by the president, was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez earlier this year, marking the second attempt by the lawmakers to impose additional sanctions against Moscow. The previous version was defeated last year.

The new package of penalties will also include restrictive measures against the Russian shipbuilding sector along with 24 senior officers of the country’s Federal Security Service. The step is reportedly connected to Russia’s alleged aggression against Ukraine during the standoff near the Crimean coast in the Kerch Strait.

The fresh sanctions will also target Russian banks and financial institutions that support alleged Kremlin interference in democratic processes or elections in other states. Investment in Russian energy projects focused on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities located outside Russia will also be banned under the terms of the latest bill, if approved.

At the same time, the latest version of the bill lacks measures on freezing operations and assets of Russian state-run financial institutions, such as Sberbank and VTB, which had been included in the previous draft.

The bill retains sanctions against “political figures and oligarchs,” as well as their family members over alleged support of “illicit and corrupt activities” on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It also includes sanctions against the country’s cyber technology sector and developing of crude oil resources located in Russia.

Moreover, the draft bill requires the director of US National Intelligence to submit a detailed report on the personal net worth and assets of the Russian president not later than 180 days after the date of enactment.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/452642-us-sanctions-russia-debt-energy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business
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