Economy

Stocks surged in the final minutes of trading on Monday, snapping back from one of the worst weeks for global markets since the 2008 financial crisis as investors seized on promises that the world’s governments would step in to help if the global economy was slammed by the outbreak of the coronavirus. The S&P 500 jumped 4.6 percent, the biggest single-day leap since late December 2018. The rally followed news that central bankers from the world’s biggest economies would join a conference call with Group of 7 finance ministers on Tuesday to discuss a response to the outbreak, fueling expectations among investors that governments might lower interest rates in tandem. “It has already stoked expectations of a coordinated cut,” Roberto Perli, a former Fed researcher who is now an economist at Cornerstone Macro, said in an email. “If it doesn’t happen, it will only add to market volatility.” But Mr. Perli did not see it as a sign that a simultaneous cut with other global central … [Read more...] about Stocks Surge as Central Banks Vow to Act on Coronavirus

WASHINGTON — Companies are bracing for another round of potentially debilitating supply chain disruptions as China, home to about a third of global manufacturing, imposes sweeping lockdowns in an attempt to keep the Omicron variant at bay. The measures have already confined tens of millions of people to their homes in several Chinese cities and contributed to a suspension of connecting flights through Hong Kong from much of the world for the next month. At least 20 million people, or about 1.5 percent of China’s population, are in lockdown, mostly in the city of Xi’an in western China and in Henan Province in north-central China. The country’s zero-tolerance policy has manufacturers — already on edge from spending the past two years dealing with crippling supply chain woes — worried about another round of shutdowns at Chinese factories and ports. Additional disruptions to the global supply chain would come at a particularly fraught moment for companies, which are struggling … [Read more...] about Supply Chain Woes Could Worsen as China Imposes New Covid Lockdowns

The global economic recovery is losing momentum as the resurgence of the coronavirus and widespread supply chain disruptions threaten to be a drag on a world economy that is trying to find its footing, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. Turbulence in rich countries has begun to weigh on the global outlook in recent months, the I.M.F. said in its latest World Economic Outlook report . The economic growth forecast for the United States was pared back to 6 percent, from the 7 percent growth projected in July, because of softening consumption and large declines in inventory caused by supply chain bottlenecks. In Germany, manufacturing output has taken a hit because key commodities are hard to find. And lockdown measures over the summer have dampened growth in Japan. The I.M.F . lowered its 2021 global growth forecast to 5.9 percent, down from the 6 percent projected in July . The worsening of the public health crisis because of the Delta variant of the virus … [Read more...] about The I.M.F. warns of inflation and a slowing recovery as it lowers its forecast.

6 When Shanti Jourdan received her first bicycle delivery of laundry detergent, Epsom salt and olive oil from Re-Up Refill Shop in Oakland, she thought she had found the holy grail. “I’ve been really into the idea of zero waste and reuse instead of recycle since I was a young teenager,” said Jourdan, 30, an Oakland yoga instructor and astrologer. She posted Instagram photos of the jugs and jars, neatly labeled with embossed black tape. “It felt like it was too good to be true.” That was late 2020, the year Re-Up Refill Shop opened selling bulk products in reusuable containers out of a few shipping containers in West Oakland. The company has since expanded to a retail store in Rockridge, during a period when several similar businesses started around the Bay Area — all focused on avoiding single-use plastic. Called zero-waste or refill stores, these shops specialize in products such as nontoxic glass cleaner and foaming organic hand … [Read more...] about Bay Area zero-waste stores thrive after wave of pandemic pollution

5 Kathryn Kellogg may be one of the most subversive people in the Bay Area. Not in the sense of being a troublemaker — far from it — but she’s out to overturn entire systems and ways of thinking. Instead of focusing on recycling to save the planet, she wants people to rethink how they make, use and dispose of everything and shift to an economy that writes trash out of existence. And she’s planning to do it in the nicest possible way. As a zero-waste expert who “aims to send nothing to the landfill,” Kellogg is not out to scold anyone for owning a car. She’s a genuine happy warrior for Earth, approaching waste reduction with creativity. Through her Going Zero Waste website, Instagram account (@going.zero.waste) and book “101 Ways to Go Zero Waste,” she hopes to convert people to a waste-free, or at least lower-waste, lifestyle. Kellogg, 28, along with Bea Johnson, author of “Zero Waste Home,” and zero-waste chef Anne-Marie Bonneau, are … [Read more...] about Take this first step for a zero-waste lifestyle

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During a recent meeting with a colleague, I noticed a black top hat sitting on his bookshelf and jokingly suggested he start wearing it to greet people entering the office. When my colleague compared himself to the Monopoly man, I thought it would be hilarious to get him a monocle. I even searched for a cheap one online. But after checking images of Rich Uncle Pennybags, I learned the character in fact does not wear one . It turns out I’m not alone in my erroneous belief. The common misperception that the Monopoly man wears a monocle is but one example of the Mandela effect . The Mandela effect represents a pop culture take on collective false memory , which occurs when large groups of people misremember the same thing or remember something that never actually happened. This phenomenon has implications stretching far beyond my misguided attempt to get a gag gift for my colleague. Granted, many popular examples of the Mandela effect seem harmless —  remembering “Berenstein” … [Read more...] about Rich Uncle Pennybags didn’t wear a monocle — and other false memories

SONOMA VALLEY, California—Barbara Parsons was nearly in tears as she waited Wednesday evening in the parking lot of Sonoma Valley High School for her husband Gilman to return. Hours earlier he left on foot past police roadblocks to check on their ranch in the nearby foothills, where the couple had been forced to leave behind 60 sheep. Gilman was going to open the gates of the ranch to give the animals a chance to survive an inferno that has incinerated more than 3,500 structures and killed at least 29 people since Monday. The Parsons had first hurriedly evacuated themselves and their pack of purebred border collies into a van in the early hours of Monday morning as the fire approached with alarming speed, whipped by hurricane-strength 75 mph winds. “The flames followed us as we came down Lovall Valley Road,” Parsons said. “There was a horrible conflagration of fires. It was amazing, everything went up so quickly.” The Parsons returned later with trailers for their flock of … [Read more...] about California Wildfire Turns High School Into Noah’s Ark for Farm Animals

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. The stories of bad customer behavior began trickling out in the summer of 2020, when businesses that had closed in the early part of the coronavirus pandemic began to reopen to a new, angry mood in the United States. At a restaurant struggling with staff and food shortages in Massachusetts, for instance, a group of diners grew so furious at the long wait for food that they demanded it be boxed up — and then theatrically dumped the whole order, uneaten, into the garbage. “It’s like abuse,” Brandi Felt Castellano, who closed her Cape Cod restaurant for 24 hours to give her weary staff a “day of kindness” break, told The Times that July. “People are always rude to restaurant workers, but this far exceeds anything I’ve seen in my 20 years.” The Times has been covering this unpleasant phenomenon since it began. In August, my colleague Tacey Rychter … [Read more...] about Why Is Everyone So Angry? We Investigated.

FORT COLLINS — Tune into local sports talk radio the next time you drive up the Front Range and you might hear a familiar voice over the airwaves. David Roddy is best known for uncommon versatility on the basketball court for Colorado State with a rare blend of size, strength and skill. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound junior forward is one of 25 names on the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award — given annually to the most outstanding player in the college game. Now he’s leveraging that status and buzz surrounding the CSU program into a dream endorsement deal for any hungry college student. “Like many athletes, coaches, and listeners, I love Krazy Karl’s Pizza in Fort Collins and Loveland,” Roddy tells radio listeners during a 30-second ad spot on KFKA 103.1 FM/1310 AM. “Krazy Karl’s is undefeated when it comes to pizza. It’s also one of the best spots to watch college basketball. Krazy Karl’s Pizza, a proud supporter of all things Rams and the David Roddy Show.” Welcome … [Read more...] about Why CSU basketball’s David Roddy is most marketable college athlete in Colorado to begin NIL era