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Showing posts from July, 2020

Who asked you to get Covid-19?

In the event, the government said that all those getting infected should be asked for a written explanation as to how this happened; weren’t they wearing the PPE or “maintaining safe distance”? from The Financial Express https://ift.tt/2XhVhOD

Fitch revises U.S. outlook to negative; affirms AAA rating

Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the United States' triple-A rating to negative from stable on Friday, citing eroding credit strength, including a growing deficit to finance stimulus to combat fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The credit rating agency also said the future direction of U.S. fiscal policy depends in part on the November election for president and the resulting makeup of Congress, cautioning there is a risk policy gridlock could continue. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2DsRIxS

Amazon’s second-quarter earnings results just showed why the online retail giant is soaring during COVID-19

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism,  subscribe today . Amazon continues to benefit from COVID-19 as the company’s overall sales skyrocketed 40% year-over-year to $88.9 billion in its fiscal second quarter. The online retail and cloud computing giant easily beat analyst expectations that it would bring in $81.24 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, which ended June 30. Amazon’s profits also doubled year-over-year to $5.2 billion in its latest quarter, which is notable considering the company said in April that it was projecting a loss of up to $1.5 billion in its second quarter due to the high costs associated with operating during the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky told analysts during an earnings call that the company spent over $4 billion on coronavirus-related expenses. These expenditures included adding additional safety measures at the company’s many war

Facebook and Amazon grilled over history of aggressive competitive practices at antitrust congressional hearing

Facebook and Amazon spent most of Wednesday’s congressional antitrust hearing about Big Tech trying to defend accusations that they have participated in aggressive and unfair practices while growing their massive empires. The five-and-half-hour virtual hearing, hosted by the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, gave Congress members the chance to question Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet. While Congress members used the opportunity to dig into all four companies, Facebook and Amazon ultimately faced some of the most damning antitrust allegations. Congress said competitors referred to Amazon as a drug dealer that bullies third-party sellers.  And the subcommittee brought up former statements in which Facebook was referred to as going into “destroy mode” amid its attempts to buy Instagram and was characterized as being on a ”digital land grab” to maintain its market dominance. Whi

PayPal cites ‘death of cash’ as firm posts record earnings

PayPal shares jumped nearly 5% after market close on Wednesday as the payment giant announced record revenues of $5.26 billion for the second quarter, and said it added 1.7 million new merchants during this period. In a call discussing the results, PayPal executives said society has reached an “inflection point” when it comes to the “death of cash,” and noted that 70% of consumers now fear for their health when it comes to paying in stores. “Consumers no longer want to handle cash or any forms of payment that require physical touch at checkout,” said Schulman. He also cited an explosion in the use of PayPal-owned Venmo in the second quarter, saying the popular payment app now has over 60 million users. Schulman noted that Venmo usage had long revolved around social occasions—such as splitting the check at a restaurant—but that it’s now being used for a much broader range of activity. This is consistent with a recent report that use of payment apps of all sorts has surged during t

Auryn to Acquire Eastmain Resources and Spin Out Peruvian Assets

VANCOUVER, British Columbia & TORONTO -- Auryn Resources Inc. (TSX: AUG, NYSE American: AUG) (“ Auryn” ) and Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX: ER) (“ Eastmain ”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement (the “ Agreement ”) pursuant to which Auryn will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Eastmain, immediately following a spin out of Auryn’s Peruvian projects to Auryn shareholders and completion of a concurrent financing (collectively, the “ Transaction ”). The Transaction will create Fury Gold Mines Limited (“ Fury Gold ”) and two independent spin-out entities (“ SpinCos ”) which will hold Auryn’s Peruvian projects. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3gbjuxH

Orca Exploration Group Inc. Announces Intention to Change Its Name to Orca Energy Group Inc.

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, July 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orca Exploration Group Inc. (" Orca " or the " Company " including its subsidiaries and affiliates) (TSX-V: ORC.A, ORC.B) announces that it intends to change its legal name to Orca Energy Group Inc. The effective date of the name change is expected to be July 31, 2020. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2Dl1S3z

America needs a major infrastructure overhaul—and it must be green

COVID-19 has sickened everything it touches as it rampages across the world. But as we hurry to fix our current emergency by rebuilding and restoring our economies, we must not be blinded to the increasingly urgent need to protect ourselves against the next emergency: climate change. America desperately needs an overhaul of its infrastructure. President Trump’s announcement in March of  a vast $2 trillion stimulus package  was a step in the right direction, one that drew bipartisan support. But his refusal to acknowledge the critical importance of rebuilding for greater climate resilience risks wasting this once-in-a-lifetime sum. The disastrous effects of rising temperatures on our planet could not be more evident. In the past few months in the U.S. alone,  storms and tornadoes in the south ,  wildfires in California after a historically dry winter  and  accelerating sea-level rises  all foretell an impending calamity. This catastrophe is happening right in front of the president’s

Noranda Income Fund and BaseCore Metals Announce Stream Agreement Stream Proceeds to Fund Strategic Long-term Investments in Zinc Processing Facility

TORONTO, July 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noranda Income Fund (TSX:NIF.UN) (the “Fund”) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Noranda Income Limited Partnership, and BaseCore Metals LP (“BaseCore”) today entered into a definitive stream agreement over reference zinc processed and refined at the Fund’s electrolytic zinc processing facility (the “Stream”) located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec (the “Processing Facility”). BaseCore will advance a cash consideration of US$40 million for the Stream. Proceeds will be used to improve the Processing Facility’s filtration and cooling processes to support increased zinc production capacity (the “Expansion Projects”) and for general corporate purposes. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3f4RTwO

Flow Announces the Buyout of Its Investment in eSCRIBE

TORONTO, July 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flow Capital Corp. (TSXV: FW) (“Flow Capital,” “Flow,” or the "Company") announces that eSCRIBE Software Ltd. (“eSCRIBE”) has completed a buyout of Flow Capital’s royalty investment for $500,000. Including the monthly royalty payments received by Flow, this represents a cash-on-cash return of approximately 2.69 times the money invested over 43 months. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3jJRbII

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou demands release of spy agency documents linked to Canadian arrest

Lawyers representing Huawei Technologies' Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting against extradition to the United States, argued in a Canadian court on Monday that redacted documents prepared by the Canadian spy agency relating to her December 2018 arrest should be released. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2X1qiGi

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou demands release of spy agency documents linked to Canadian arrest

Lawyers representing Huawei Technologies' Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting against extradition to the United States, argued in a Canadian court on Monday that redacted documents prepared by the Canadian spy agency relating to her December 2018 arrest should be released. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3g0QmJj

President Trump to American neighborhoods: Actually, segregation is good

This is the web version of  raceAhead , Fortune’s twice weekly newsletter on race and culture. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox. Trump changes housing policy and ramps up his stump speech dog-whistling, and Facebook’s under fire for allegedly ignoring data showing that Black Instagram users were more likely to sanctioned than white ones. Black founders got nowhere to turn when faced with racist venture investors, and oh, white folks? San Francisco Mayor London Breed would like a word. But first, here’s your cognitively amazing week in review, in Haiku. Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. Nothing short of amazing ! Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.  Nothing short of amazing ! Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.  Nothing short of amazing ! Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.  Nothing short of amazing ! Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. Something short of amazing . Have a truly amazing weekend. Ellen McGirt @ellmcgirt Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com from Fortune https://ift.

Facebook, Twitter remove accounts of Bolsonaro supporters following court order

BRASILIA -- Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc took down the accounts of several high-profile supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro following a Supreme Court order, a move that underlines the tricky territory the social media titans are navigating in some of the world's largest jurisdictions. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2WTRneS

EarthRenew Closes First Tranche of Private Placement

The net proceeds of the First Tranche are expected to be used for costs incurred for capital equipment purchases, engineering and construction costs for the redevelopment of the Strathmore facility, feasibility studies on future projects, field and research trials, market development activities, working capital for the ramp-up of our operations at the Strathmore facility and general corporate purposes. The Company is working diligently towards closing the second and final tranche of the Offering as soon as practicable. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2ZWiwPV

Acquisition by Frederic Leigh of Common Shares and Warrants in Routemaster Capital Inc.

TORONTO, July 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pursuant to a private placement transaction that closed on June 26, 2020 with final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange received on July 23, 2020 (the “ Offering ”), Mr. Frederic Leigh (the “ Acquiror ”), through Siwash Holdings Inc. (“ Siwash ”) and 2227929 Ontario Inc. (“ 2227929 ”) acquired an aggregate total of 2,329,284 units of Routemaster Capital Inc. (the “ Issuer ”) (the “ Units) at a price of $0.03 per Unit for a total acquisition cost of $69,878.52.  Each Unit was comprised of a common share of the Issuer (a “ Common Share ”) and a half warrant (each whole warrant, a “ Warrant ”), with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.05 at any time prior to June 26, 2022.  Prior to the acquisition of the aforesaid securities, the Acquiror, through Siwash and 2227929, beneficially owned 6,603,374 Shares of the Issuer, representing approximately 16% of the issued and outstanding Shares prior to completion of t

Airlines expand their face-mask rules—but government enforcement is needed, CEOs say

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism,  subscribe today . Major airlines are cracking down on passengers who try to fly without face masks. But without a federal order, their ability to enforce their new rules remains limited—at best. American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines this week all said they would expand their existing requirements for passengers to wear face masks aboard their planes and even as soon as they enter the airport, to protect workers and fellow passengers from the risk of contracting COVID-19. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines this week increased its screening of passengers who say they cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition. Most major U.S. airlines started requiring face masks aboard their planes by mid-June , and several of them are banning customers who refused to wear the coverings. Delta has now put at least 120 customers on internal no-fly lists for

Nexus REIT Announces Release Date for Second Quarter Results and Results Call, July and August 2020 Distributions, TSX Graduation and COVID-19 Updates

MONTREAL and TORONTO, July 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust (the “REIT”) (TSXV: NXR.UN) announced today that it intends to release its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 before the opening of the TSX Venture Exchange on Friday August 14, 2020. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3eVFZoG

U.S. Senate Republicans, White House cite early progress on coronavirus aid bill

WASHINGTON -- Leading U.S. Senate Republicans and the White House late on Wednesday said they had hammered out agreements in principle on portions of a potential coronavirus-response bill, which could be presented to Democrats as early as this week as lawmakers raced to pass legislation by the end of July. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/39lwI8v

Facedrive Inc. Announces Closing of Non-Brokered Private Placement

TORONTO -- Facedrive Inc. (“Facedrive” or the “Company”) (TSXV:FD) today announces that it has closed its third and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement for 99,174 common shares of the Company (the “Common Shares”) at a price of $9.00 per Common Share for aggregate gross proceeds of $892,566. All Common Shares issued in the Offering are subject to a hold period expiring four months and a day from their date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities laws. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2OM0d9I

Parkland teams up with Amazon Web Services to accelerate digital transformation

CALGARY, Alberta, July 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parkland Corporation ("Parkland", "we", the "Company", or "our") (TSX:PKI) announced it is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) to further strengthen its customer value proposition and loyalty initiatives and accelerate its digital transformation. With AWS as its strategic digital provider, Parkland intends to tap into leading expertise in machine learning and analytics to improve its logistics and enable frictionless commerce. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/3g499TS

Bringing the joy to the revolution

This is the web version of  raceAhead , Fortune’s twice weekly newsletter on race and culture. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox. Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time. This is how writer James Baldwin  chose to begin an extraordinary address  he delivered to schoolteachers in 1963. He was offering a powerful analysis of the racist society in which they operated and the unique role they needed to play in helping Black—then called Negro—children cope with the realities of American history. Challenge the narrative, he said. “I would try to teach them—I would try to make them know—that those streets, those houses, those dangers, those agonies by which they are surrounded, are criminal. I would try to make each child know that these things are the result of a criminal conspiracy to destroy him.” It is the job of the educated person to question the society around them, and not make peace with its cruelty or accept a subservient role for yourse