Archives for 2021

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has been denounced on Chinese social media over an advert many say perpetrates Asian stereotypes. Mercedes has removed the ad in the country, which happens to be the world’s largest automobile market.

The fury erupted because makeup on the models’ faces “reflects Western stereotypes about Asian people,” China’s state-run Global Times reported, stressing that Mercedes had used the image of a Chinese person with “slanted eyes” and braids.

“The makeup of the female model looked like slanted eyes and once again aroused a heated discussion from netizens, with many saying that the makeup reflects Western stereotypes about Asian people,” the paper said.

The video, published on Weibo on December 25, was reportedly deleted in the wake of the backlash. However, the automaker has so far not released a statement in relation to the matter.

Mercedes-Benz became the latest globally known brand to fall into disfavor among Chinese internet users. In November, French fashion house Christian Dior drew their ire after the state media said that a photo of a model displayed in an art exhibition was “smearing Asian women.”

READ MORE: Pizza and chopsticks: DG catwalk show in China cancelled after ‘racist ad’ outcry

Along with Mercedes, local snack brand Three Squirrels was also caught up in the fray this week. The company had to apologize for ads featuring model Cai Niang Niang wearing makeup that accentuated the slant of her eyes, the South China Morning Post reported earlier this week.

Earlier this year, Chinese online commenters lashed out at such international brands as HM and Nike. In 2019, Zara was accused of ‘uglifying’ China after using a model with freckles. One of the most prominent cases to date involved Dolce Gabbana, which most recently faced a $660-million defamation lawsuit over a 2018 ad that was deemed racist.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544783-china-backlash-mercedes-benz-commercial/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Mexico will suspend crude oil exports in two years in a bid to focus on domestic self-sufficiency, various media have reported.

The move is part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan to increase local fuel production to reduce dependence on imported fuels.

The export phase-out announcement was made by the chief executive of Pemex, Octavio Romero, who also said that Mexico would reduce oil exports from next year by more than 50%, to 435,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Currently, Mexico is the third-largest oil exporter in the Americas, after the United States and Canada, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

The main destinations for its crude are its northern neighbors in North America and China, India, and South Korea, as well as European countries. A cut in exports could make some of these importers look for alternative suppliers.

Fuel demand in Mexico has risen during the pandemic but local oil production has failed to follow. Refining capacity is also a problem, although President Lopez Obrador’s plans include the construction of a new refinery with a capacity of 340,000 bpd. The refinery has a price tag of $12.4 billion, according to calculations from earlier this year, as reported by Argus.

READ MORE: Major oil consuming nations follow drastic US move

If Mexico indeed stops exporting crude oil, this will hit US Gulf Coast refiners hard as it will cut off yet another source of heavy oil, for which their refineries have been configured. Another major source of heavy crude used to be Venezuela, but US sanctions against Caracas ended the flow of heavy Venezuelan crude to the Gulf Coast.

According to the Bloomberg report, there are also doubts about Pemex’s own capacity of refining all of its crude oil output. A long period of underinvestment in refinery maintenance has reduced operating capacity significantly, and it is questionable whether the state energy giant would be able to turn things around in just two years.

Pemex is currently the most indebted oil company in the world despite major efforts by the Lopez Obrador government to support it through tax breaks and other debt-relief measures.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544760-mexico-end-crude-exports/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Apple is reportedly awarding some of the company’s engineers with huge perks in an effort to keep its highly skilled professionals from fleeing to Facebook (recently rebranded as Meta), Google, and other tech rivals.

The stock bonuses – which came as a surprise to those who got them and were valued at between $50,000 and $180,000 – have been handed out to high-performing engineers, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. The shares reportedly vest over four years, providing an incentive to stay with the company.

The bonus payments are reportedly separate from the usual monetary benefits awarded to Apple employees.

Apple has long been engaged in a tug of war with its rivals for the brightest minds in Silicon Valley, with Meta emerging as a particular threat.

READ MORE: Apple payment system ruled a monopoly

Formerly known as Facebook, Meta has reportedly hired nearly 100 engineers from the iPhone maker in the past few months. Meanwhile, Apple has lured away some of Meta’s key professionals.

The established perks famously provided by the US tech giants – including complimentary food, and in-house masseuses and gyms – have been rendered largely redundant during the pandemic and the subsequent shutdowns of offices.

Apple’s latest move is a notable example of how far Big Tech corporations will go to keep hold of highly qualified personnel, even when they’re working from home.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544691-apple-massive-bonuses-employees/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, who has been one of the financial world’s enduring mysteries, is still unknown. However, Elon Musk says he might have the answer.

Musk says hyper-secretive cryptocurrency expert Nick Szabo might be the creator of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency. 

“You can look at the evolution of ideas before the launch of Bitcoin and see who wrote about those ideas,” Musk told artificial-intelligence researcher Lex Fridman in a podcast on Tuesday. The Tesla CEO also denied the allegations that he could be Satoshi, stating he would not hide it if he were.

Musk said while he “obviously” doesn’t know exactly who created Bitcoin, Szabo’s theories seem fundamental to the creation of the world’s leading cryptocurrency.

“It seems as though Nick Szabo is probably, more than anyone else, responsible for the evolution of those ideas,” he said. “He claims not to be Nakamoto, but I’m not sure that’s neither here nor there. But he seems to be the one more responsible for the ideas behind Bitcoin than anyone else.”

READ MORE: ‘Bitcoin inventor’ claims multibillion-dollar victory

In 2014, a team of researchers studied Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper alongside the writing of Szabo and 10 other potential creators. “The number of linguistic similarities between Szabo’s writing and the Bitcoin whitepaper is uncanny,” they said, adding that “none of the other possible authors were anywhere near as good of a match.”

Before Bitcoin debuted in 2008, Szabo was seen commenting on his blog about his “intent to create a living version of the hypothetical currency.” He had developed a digital money mechanism known as Szabo Bit Gold between 1998 and 2005. The cryptographer, who is also known for his research in digital contracts, has repeatedly denied being the inventor of Bitcoin.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544693-elon-musk-names-bitcoin-inventor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly offloaded the final batch of Tesla stock options that expire next year. The move completes the billionaire’s recent share sales, which dragged down the price of his company stock.

According to regulatory filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, Musk sold another 934,000 shares for $1.02 billion.

The entrepreneur also exercised an option to buy 1.6 million Tesla shares at a strike price of $6.24 per share, granted to him via a 2012 compensation package. So far, Musk has acquired 22.86 million shares through exercising options that are set to expire in 2022, according to calculations provided by Reuters.

Money from the stock sale is expected to be used by the world’s richest man to pay taxes. Musk will reportedly pay about $11 billion in capital gains tax this year.

Last week, he said he’d reach his target of selling some 10% of his Tesla stake “when the 10b preprogrammed sales complete,” likely referring to his options-related stock sales.

READ MORE: Musk explains why his wealth is no ‘deep mystery’

The latest filings confirmed that the “10b5-1 trading plan” was completed on December 28, 2021.

Shares of the electric carmaker lost about a quarter of their value since November, after the eccentric billionaire asked his Twitter followers whether he should sell 10% of his holdings. Tesla stock bounced back to above $1,000 per share, but is still far below the record high of $1,229.91 reached before the Twitter poll.

So far, Musk has offloaded 15.7 million shares in Tesla, coming close to the 10% stake he pledged to sell with 10.3 million of them related to the options exercise. The billionaire sold an additional 5.4 million shares, cashing in on Tesla’s strong rally.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544677-musk-dumps-tesla-stock/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Tankers loaded with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) that was reportedly destined for China have been diverted to head towards Britain instead, as Europe’s energy crisis worsens by the day.

The cargo is making its way through the UK’s inshore waterways in a move that is “critical to tempering even more extreme prices and demand destruction in Europe,” James Huckstepp, managing analyst at SP Global Platts said, as quoted by The Telegraph.

“We are seeing cargoes previously destined for Asia now diverting to the UK. This is particularly the case for those cargoes originating in the US, given the journey between the US and Europe is much shorter than that to Asia,” the strategist said.

According to figures reported by Bloomberg, 20 cargo ships with American gas are heading for Europe, with another 14 heading in the general direction of Europe while awaiting final orders. Last weekend, the number of US vessels heading for European ports reportedly increased by a third.

Britain commonly receives most of its gas via pipelines running through the North Sea to Norway and continental Europe, but it also gets around 20% by ship on the global market.

READ MORE: Is Russia choking Europe amid gas crisis?

While the mounting supply crunch and record-high prices in Europe have attracted cargo ships away from other parts of the world, the new arrivals are lowering prices.

The TTF Dutch futures contract for delivery in January dropped 1.5% on Tuesday to $1,200 per thousand cubic meters, or €105 ($118,4) per kilowatt hour, marking the fifth consecutive session of declines. Meanwhile, the spot price for gas reached over $2,000 per thousand cubic meters last week.

One of the worst energy crises in recent European history is attributed to a wide range of factors, including low levels of gas storage across the continent and increased energy consumption due to the winter season. The situation is exacerbated by the reluctance by EU countries to buy more gas from Russia amid the growing political rift over Ukraine.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/544623-us-diverts-lng-supplies-china/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS