Author: ricardofrancois

Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.More than 140,000 business accounts were closed by the UK's biggest banks last year, according to data published by a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. Reasons given by lenders for closing SME accounts included concerns about financial crime and fraud, failure of customers to provide required information, and banks' appetite for risk. The closures amount to about 2.7 per cent of the 5.3 million accounts held by SMEs with the eight banks that provided data to the House of Commons Treasury Committee as…

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Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Beyond Meat – Shares rose more than 78% after the plant-based meat company beat revenue estimates in the fourth quarter. Beyond Meat reported revenue of $73.7 million, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, expected revenue of $66.7 million. eBay – The online marketplace added 4% after announcing a dividend increase of 2 cents per share and an additional $2 billion stock buyback. Ebay's fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates for both top and bottom lines, while guidance for first-quarter earnings per share was above analyst estimates. First Solar…

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After weeks of protests that included a man covered in fake blood pretending to be dead on the floor of City Hall, the Ojai City Council this week passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and the armed group Hamas. The symbolic measure was passed by a 3-1 vote, with one member absent, during a special meeting on Monday dedicated solely to the resolution. The small town of Ojai, with a population of 7,500, joins about 70 American cities affected by the war that has been going on for about five months, according to a Reuters analysis of…

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In one of the great ironies of the venture capital world, investors have recently been clamoring to back startups that help other startups close. So, whether a venture capital-backed startup succeeds or flops, investors themselves find ways to generate returns for their limited partners while also helping founders move forward more quickly. And with appreciation 90% startup failure rateThere seems to be no shortage of potential clients for companies that specialize in dismantling other companies. As a single seed stage investor He recently bemoaned “on x”The wind is sad, emotional and hard enough. Add to that the legal, financial, and…

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A worker walks near televisions, including Vizio brand ones, displayed at a Walmart Supercenter on February 20, 2024, in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Joe Rydell | Getty ImagesWalmart He does some shopping on his own.The retail giant announced last week that it plans to buy smart TV maker Vizio in a $2.3 billion deal. If the acquisition goes through, the discounter will own a consumer electronics business that already sells many flat-screen TVs and soundbars through Walmart's website and stores.However, at the heart of the acquisition is the value of being in front of millions of people while streaming their favorite…

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Milos Dimic | E+ | Getty ImagesWith various factors putting homeownership out of reach for Americans, many aspiring homeowners are pessimistic, doubting their ability to ever achieve this goal.Prospective buyers cite two main obstacles holding them back, according to a new report from Bankrate. About half, 51%, cite the high cost of living, and 54% say they are not earning enough income given home prices now.The site surveyed 2,267 American adults, 864 of whom were aspiring homeowners, in late January. Bankrate defined aspiring or potential homeowners as those who have owned a home in the past but do not currently…

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Representing yourself in Stanley Mosk's court in downtown Los Angeles can be daunting, whether it's filing paperwork or filing a case in small claims court. You can visit or call the court's self-help center if you have questions about submitting documents for your case or understanding legal terminology. But you may have to wait some time in line or wait to get the answers you need. To find another source of free help, just stand on the courthouse steps, look across Hill Street and you'll find it there: the Los Angeles County Law Library.The Law Library, second in size only…

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Ali and Jamila Wright, co-owners of Brooklyn Tea. The couple is optimistic about the state of black employment, but they say there are many challenges.Courtesy: Brooklyn TeaLooking at the state of Black employment in America tells a mixed story: Much progress has been made in the Covid era and beyond, but there is still much more to be done.In the nearly four years since the pandemic upended the American economy, the progress Black people have made has been clear: an increase in income that has outpaced the gains of both whites and Latinos, and an unemployment rate that has fallen…

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One week after the primary, the 12 candidates for Los Angeles County district attorney had raised nearly $6.8 million combined, according to campaign finance filings. It aroused some much more than others. Nathan Hochman, who previously ran for state attorney general as a Republican, has raised more than double the amount of his next closest competitor, former federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky. This year's race includes one of the largest primary fields in the office's history.As of Monday, George Gascón, who is running for re-election, had raised $435,000. At this point in his 2020 bid, he has raised $341,000 in his…

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As of this writing, the measles outbreak in Florida has reached nine cases, including the first case recorded outside the epicenter in Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale.Nine cases may not seem like a lot, but they are enough to worry epidemiologists. They point out that measles is among the most contagious viruses known to humanity, which means the cases identified so far are likely the tip of the iceberg.Who is indifferent? Florida's chief public health officer, that's who. He is Joseph Ladapo, whom I once knew as “America’s most dangerous charlatan.” That was before the measles outbreak, when Ladapo was…

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