Day: August 2, 2020

More pro athletes opt out of season, Birx warns rural US, Texas doc fights ‘war against COVID, war against stupidity’

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Congressional leaders and White House officials bickered over details of a proposed $1 trillion package Sunday, with stimulus checks, jobless benefits and relief for small businesses hanging in the balance.

All sides agree that progress was made in talks Saturday, but on Sunday no one spoke optimistically about a deal coming soon. Among the major sticking points: what will replace a $600 weekly unemployment benefit supplement that expired last week. That bonus more than doubled unemployment checks for tens of millions of Americans left jobless by months of the pandemic-driven recession.

“We have to balance,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “There’s obviously a need to support workers, support the economy. … On the other hand, we have to be careful about not piling on enormous amounts of debt.”

Texas was among several states setting records for deaths in a week. One physician lamented that he

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Relative Strength Into the Back Half of 2020

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Last week, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) reported results for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.

For the quarter, revenue increased 11% to $18.7 billion, another meaningful sequential deceleration (revenues were up 25% in the fourth quarter and up 18% in the first quarter). As noted on the call, this result reflects the impact of decreases in advertising revenue as a result of the pandemic (most notably ad rates), offset by a meaningful increase in user engagement. Daily active users (DAUs) and monthly active users (MAUs) increased double digits in the quarter, with higher engagement across the company’s services as people around the world sheltered in place. As shown below, despite lingering fears over the past few years that users would turn away from Facebook (blue app), its growth has continued unabated.

There are 2.47 billion people (de-duplicated) around the world who use at least one of the company’s services (Facebook, Instagram,

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Sturgis readies for 250,000 bikers; Texas doc fights ‘war against COVID, war against stupidity’; Birx warns rural US

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Congressional leaders and White House officials bickered over details of a proposed $1 trillion package Sunday, with stimulus checks, jobless benefits and relief for small businesses hanging in the balance.

All sides agree that progress was made in talks Saturday, but on Sunday no one spoke optimistically about a deal coming soon. Among the major sticking points: what will replace a $600 weekly unemployment benefit supplement that expired last week. That bonus more than doubled unemployment checks for tens of millions of Americans left jobless by months of the pandemic-driven recession.

“We have to balance,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “There’s obviously a need to support workers, support the economy. … On the other hand, we have to be careful about not piling on enormous amounts of debt.”

Texas was among several states setting records for deaths in a week. One physician lamented that he

… Read More

Edited Transcript of 4689.T earnings conference call or presentation 31-Jul-20 7:30am GMT

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Tokyo Aug 2, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) — Edited Transcript of Z Holdings Corp earnings conference call or presentation Friday, July 31, 2020 at 7:30:00am GMT

Z Holdings Corporation – President, Representative Director, President Corporate Officer & CEO

Z Holdings Corporation – Senior Managing Corporate Officer, Executive VP, COO & Director

Astris Advisory Japan, K.K. – Chief Investment Advisor & Founder

* Eiji A. Maeda

* Hiroko K. Sato

Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd., Research Division – Senior Analyst

Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Research Division – Analyst

Thank you very much for joining us today. This is the conference call for the meeting for the Z Holdings to report result of the Q1 of FY ’22.

Now this presentation materials is available on Z Holdings’ web page. The attendees from the Z Holdings: Kentaro Kawabe, Representative Director and President and CEO; Takao Ozawa, Director, Senior Managing Corporate Officer; Ryosuke … Read More

With remote back-to-school, child care challenges for providers, families emerge

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Student Masks.
Student Masks.

CINCINNATI – As school officials chalk up plans for students to learn off-site, in schools or both this fall, child care providers across the country are working to create more safe spaces and care scenarios for kids. 

And they’re doing it under pressure.

School plans are iffy, so solutions must be fluid. Care centers are already working with their own coronavirus pandemic guidelines for children, often with crippling costs. 

“We are in the midst of a tornado, and we’re trying to figure out how to educate in the middle of it. The tornado is COVID-19. It is not letting up,” said Jorge Perez, president and CEO of YMCA of Greater Cincinnati.

“The systems are in flux. We are going to have to be speedy. We are going to need additional funding.”

That need was expressed nationwide among child care providers who took part in a survey from the 

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Argentina creditors seek global support for bond clause changes

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

By Rodrigo Campos and Tom Arnold

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – A group of Argentina’s creditors has contacted the Institute of International Finance and other global bodies for support to amend legal clauses in its sovereign bond restructuring, a spokesman for the organisation said.

Buenos Aires is trying to clinch a deal to restructure around $65 billion in foreign debt by Tuesday, though it is likely to push that deadline back after bondholders grouped behind a counter-proposal, causing an impasse in talks.

Specific details of what creditors are seeking the support of the organisations on was unclear.

But collective action clauses (CACs), which determine the requirements for any future changes made to the bond agreements, are a key issue in the negotiations.

The bondholders, including BlackRock, Ashmore and Fidelity Management and Research, also made informal contact with the International Monetary Fund, U.S. Treasury and the International Capital Market Association, a creditor

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How It Works and What It Covers

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Many people dream about their perfect wedding. The dress, the cake, the first dance, and more can make the day magical.

But one unforeseen event can ruin it all.

With an average wedding costing $33,900, nuptials are big investments. Wedding insurance can help protect that money.

“I think it’s very important because it’s a relatively small investment for something where things can go wrong,” says Laura Weatherly, founder of Engaging Affairs, one of Washington DC’s top wedding planners. “It’s a big thing to not insure. We insure cars, we insure houses, we insure jewelry, so honestly it just makes sense for an investment that’s that large to insure it.”

During the era of COVID-19, even with exclusions, wedding insurance is still valuable.

What is Wedding Insurance?

As with any insurance policy, you buy wedding insurance with hopes you never need to use it.

There are two main types of wedding

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TV licence website down as BBC introduces fee for over-75s

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

PA
PA

The TV licensing website was briefly down on Saturday as millions of over-75s became liable for the fee.

Viewers trying to pay online were told the service was “temporarily unavailable while we update it for changes to over-75 licences”, the Sunday Times reported. The site was running again on Sunday.

Following the controversial decision to make older viewers pay the the annual £157.50 figure, only over-75s who are entitled to pension credit will be exempt from paying. However, letters explaining the exemption were not sent out in advance of the change, leading to further confusion.

Meanwhile, the BBC came under fire after it was revealed that some pensioners who called the licencing hotline number were told to submit their bank statements to prove their exemption from the fee, leading campaigners to warn this could put elderly people at risk of fraud.

“It will be extremely frustrating for older people

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Jeanne Dietsch, Bedford State Senate Candidate

By Gertrude Aziz 2 months ago

Senator Jeanne Dietsch

Age (as of Election Day)

68

Position Sought

Senate District 9

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Husband, Bill Kennedy; daughter, Eva; son-in-law, Justin and son, Ethan.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Masters in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; B.S., Western Michigan University

Occupation

Tech Entrepreneur, 20 years; Educational Publishing & Software, 8 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Current: NH Senator; Vice Chair, Senate Education Committee; member, Senate Ways & Means Committee, member, Economic Development Authority; Chair PFAS Commission; previous: member, School Board; chair, Zoning Board of Adjustment

Campaign website

www.jeannedietsch.org

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running because I am concerned about rising generations. My parents grew up poor, on Depression-era farms, but worked hard, gained a good livelihood and sent their four children to public college for a small fee. Their efforts gave

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