Crisis Management
Yahoo Finance Canada presents CRISIS MANAGEMENT, a livestream show on the Canadian economy that builds a crisis playbook during COVID-19 times and beyond.
VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II (the "Company"), a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of entering into a combination with one or more businesses or entities, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 22,500,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, and trade under the ticker symbol "VPCBU" beginning March 5, 2021. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols "VPCB" and "VPCBW," respectively.
VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III, Inc. (the "Company"), a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of entering into a combination with one or more businesses or entities, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 22,500,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, and trade under the ticker symbol "VPCCU" beginning March 5, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE and trade under the symbols "VPCC" and "VPCCW," respectively.
Inside, Kazuyoshi Sasaki carefully dials his late wife Miwako's cellphone number, bending his large frame and cradling the handset. He explains how he searched for her for days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami a decade ago, visiting evacuation centres and makeshift morgues, returning at night to the rubble of their home. Sasaki's wife was one of nearly 20,000 people in northeastern Japan killed by the disaster that struck on March 11, 2011.
An already challenging life combining full-time work as a doctor with mothering two autistic sons was turned upside down for Meenakshi Mourya when the pandemic hit India. For almost a month as cases spiked last year, Mourya said she could not spend time with her children as she worked long and gruelling hours treating a flood of patients. "I was so emotionally down at that time...patients were dying in front of me," she said, visibly emotional as she spoke to Reuters in the home she shares with her husband, also a doctor, and their four and nine-year olds, who need help to eat and find it hard to communicate.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today affirmed multiple findings of civil contempt against disbarred attorney Steven Donziger, effectively bringing to a close his campaign to profit from the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment he procured in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("RICO") Act.
The Father puts you in the confused head of a dementia sufferer, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins.
There is a lot of uproar about who is right and who is wrong when it comes to COVID-19 protocols across the United States. Count UFC president Dana White on the side of getting things opened back up. White has consistently said that he won't hold events in limited-seating situations. He only wants to go back to live audiences when he can have a full house with no limits. Texas Governor Greg Abbott earlier this week announced that he is rescinding his state's mask mandate and working toward opening things up 100 percent. White is fully on board and started making moves to hold an event in Texas as soon as the governor made his statement. Although White said he called officials in Dallas to inquire about holding an event there, he said he was told no way. Now, he is working on Houston to see if they will allow him to hold a full-house event. He's not giving up easily. White said that if he had the green light and could make the move, he would move this weekend's UFC 259 event to Texas and open it up to fans. That not being the case, don't be surprised if UFC 260, which takes place in just three weeks time, makes the move from the Apex in Las Vegas to a Texas based venue. "Could be. We'll see what happens. I'm ready to go. I'd move this one if we could," White responded when asked about moving UFC 260 to Texas. "I told everybody that when this opened up, I would be first. We would go first. And we will." UFC 260 features a heavyweight championship rematch between titleholder Stipe Miocic and No. 1 ranked contender Francis Ngannou. The co-main event pits featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski against Brian Ortega. TRENDING > Dominick Cruz: Critical of USADA, even after award for milestone of clean tests | UFC 259 Media Day UFC 259 Face-offs (Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday the central bank must ensure long-term interest rates are kept stably low as the coronavirus pandemic keeps the economic outlook highly uncertain. Markets are rife with speculation the BOJ will widen an implicit band at which it allows 10-year government bond yields to move around its 0% target to 60 basis points from 40 points currently. Kuroda said the BOJ has not reached a conclusion yet on whether it will widen the band, saying "much more debate" was needed before deciding at the March review of its policy tools.
The vaccinations were carried out in February after an outbreak among gorillas at the zoo.
A robbery gone wrong at an upscale Beverly Hills restaurant on Thursday saw one person shot and chaos at the scene. ll Pastaio in Beverly Hills, a popular celebrity hangout known for its outdoor seating and fine dining Italian cuisine, was the site of the robbery. Reports indicate a patron was targeted for wearing a […]
CLEVELAND — Kevin Love's devotion to raising awareness and advocating for mental health during isolating times has earned him another honour. The Cavaliers forward and five-time All-Star received the first Humanitarian of the Year Award on Thursday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, an annual event that brings out the city's top sports names but was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Love first went public with his own mental health issues in 2018, chronicling those struggles in an essay. His openness and willingness to share his personal story since has helped erase stigmas about mental issues and led to the NBA adopting programs to assist players. During the pandemic, Love, who has been sidelined most of this season with a calf injury, donated $100,000 through his foundation to assist team employees and workers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He's also donated meals to workers at the Cleveland Clinic. “Everybody's going through something,” Love said in accepting the award. “Let's continue to positively affect everyone who is going through something with mental health.” Last year, Love received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs for his efforts to promote mental wellness. Indians ace Shane Bieber, who won the American League CY Young Award after leading the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts last season, was voted the city's top professional athlete. The Browns ending their 18-year playoff drought was voted the best sports moment of 2020. “It was a whole team playing as one,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “Hopefully we have a lot better moments and there's more to come.” ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Tom Withers, The Associated Press
Kevin Love's devotion to raising awareness and advocating for mental health during isolating times has earned him another honor. The Cavaliers forward and five-time All-Star received the first Humanitarian of the Year Award on Thursday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, an annual event that brings out the city's top sports names but was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Love first went public with his own mental health issues in 2018, chronicling those struggles in an essay.
The Town of New Tecumseth has hired a new Director of Ad-ministration Services and Clerk. Pamela Fettes will take over the position effective March 22, 2021. She will fill the vacancy created when the former clerk retired at the end of 2020. Ms. Fettes’ previous experience includes the past eight years with Clearview Township as the Director of Legislative Services and Municipal Clerk. “We are excited to welcome Pamela to the Town of New Te-cumseth,” said Mayor Rick Milne. "Her experience, expertise and knowledge of Simcoe County and our growing community will be an asset to the Town. Council and staff are looking forward to her leadership in the important role of Director of Administration Se-vices and Clerk as we continue to move the Town’s administration forward.” Under the Corporate Services division, as the Director of Admin-istration Services and Clerk, Ms. Fettes will lead the Town’s admin-istrative services which includes customer service, the Municipal Bylaw Enforcement area, licenses and permits, the preparation and circulation of Council documents, records management, requests for information under the Mu-nicipal Freedom of information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the conduct and administration of municipal elections. Brian Lockhart, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Tecumseth Times
(Bloomberg) -- China set its economic growth target at above 6% for the year as it rebounds strongly from the pandemic-induced slump.The government aims to add more than 11 million urban jobs this year and plans a budget deficit of 3.2% of gross domestic product, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday at the opening of the National People’s Congress.China’s economy was the only major one in the world to expand last year, aided by the central bank’s injections of liquidity to support businesses, extra fiscal spending on infrastructure and the quick control of coronavirus outbreaks domestically. Its V-shaped recovery alongside a recession in the U.S. and elsewhere puts it on course to become the world’s largest economy by 2028, two years earlier than expected, according to projections by several banks including Nomura Holdings Inc.What to Watch as China Rolls Out Economic Plan to Overtake U.S.Economists predict the economy will expand 8.4% this year, partly due to the low base from last year. Alongside that recovery has been a build-up in debt and worries about asset bubbles, fueling expectations that policy makers will withdraw the monetary and fiscal stimulus unleashed during the pandemic last year.This year’s meeting of the NPC, China’s main legislature, has added significance because of the release of a new five-year plan covering 2021-2025. Some of the key goals already outlined include strenghthening consumer demand, investing in hi-tech industries, and addressing long-term challenges such as an aging population.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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A Crown lawyer urged the judge overseeing Meng Wanzhou's extradition proceedings to "leave the politics to the politicians" Thursday by rejecting the Huawei executive's bid to toss the case over comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Robert Frater told B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes the defence team's allegations of political interference were based on the "thinnest of evidence" and that there was no indication Trump's words had affected the fairness of the hearing. "Everyone in this courtroom knows that the elephant in the room in this case has always been the geopolitical winds that swirl around it," Frater said. "Yesterday, my friends tried to bring the elephant into this room. With respect we urge you to focus on the facts and the law." Operating under an oppressive 'cloud' Frater was delivering the Crown's response to the defence's bid to stay extradition proceedings against Meng because of alleged abuse of process. Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer, is charged with fraud and conspiracy in New York in relation to allegations she lied to an HSBC banker about her company's control of a subsidiary accused of violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. In this courtroom sketch, Crown lawyer Robert Frater urges Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes not to toss the extradition proceedings against Meng Wanzhou. Frater said the judge should leave politics to politicians. (Felicity Don) Prosecutors claim that by relying on Meng's reassurances, the bank risked loss and prosecution for breaching the same set of sanctions. This week's proceedings are part of a series of hearings spread over the next two-and-a-half months, culminating in arguments on the U.S. extradition request itself. On Wednesday, defence lawyer Richard Peck accused Trump of using Meng as a bargaining chip and reducing the 49-year-old from a human being to "chattel" in December 2018, when he told a reporter he would "certainly intervene" in the case to get a better trade deal with China. The defence team contends the former U.S. president's words amount to an individual threat to Meng and a general threat to the integrity of the Canadian justice system, as Meng tries to defend herself under an oppressive "cloud." Decision best left to minister of justice Frater said Trump's words were "anodyne" and "vague" and any power he had over the case has ended, along with his term in office. He also said any arguments the defence had to make about allegations of political interference should be made to Canada's minister of justice — if and when a decision to commit Meng for trial in the United States is made. Lawyers for Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou claim that former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use their client as a bargaining chip in the U.S. trade war with China.(Canadian Press photos) Both the Crown and the defence cited a 2001 decision in which the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a judge's decision not to extradite four men to the U.S. because of comments a U.S. prosecutor made to the CBC's Fifth Estate. An assistant U.S. attorney told a reporter one of the accused would "be the boyfriend of a very bad man" if he waited out his extradition hearing and ended up in jail after a trial. In that case, "the requesting state was reaching into the Canadian extradition hearing and threatening someone with harsh punishment if they availed themselves of their legal right to contest extradition," Frater said. "What you have to decide are whether [Trump's] comments either individually or cumulatively amount to a threat." 3-part test for stay Holmes' decision will come down to a three-part test established by Canada's highest court in a 2014 decision that emerged from a trial involving two Quebec men charged with firearms and other offences related to an investigation of drug trafficking involving the Hells Angels. The pair claimed they were victims of police misconduct and that prosecutors tried to force them to forego a trial by threatening additional charges if they didn't plead guilty. Vancouver police officers wait outside the downtown B.C. Supreme Court building where Meng Wanzhou's extradition proceedings are being held. (Ben Nelms/CBC) A lower court stayed the proceedings, but the Supreme Court of Canada overruled that decision, because societal interest in having a trial outweighed the Crown wrongdoing. The top court said judges ruling on applications like Meng's should determine: if the right to a fair trial or the integrity of the justice system is threatened, if an alternative remedy exists and if the interests of the accused outweigh the interests of society in having the case heard. It's a test Holmes will have to apply several more times in the coming weeks, as Meng's lawyers have scheduled three more hearings for alleged abuses of process. The defence team claims Meng's constitutional rights were violated on the day of her arrest, when CBSA officers interviewed her for three hours without a lawyer, before RCMP told her she was wanted for extradition. They also claim the U.S. misled Canada about the strength of the case against Meng. And they claim the charges themselves reach beyond U.S. jurisdiction. Towards the end of his arguments, Frater said he believed the choice facing Holmes is clear. "Having these charges heard on their merits would be a triumph for the rule of law," he said. "If she goes to trial and whether she's acquitted or convicted — justice is served." The extradition proceedings will continue on March 15.
The second of three women who have accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct rejected his public apology on Thursday, a response likely to ratchet up pressure on the embattled Democrat. Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to Cuomo who has said the governor questioned her about her sex life with what she took as sexual overtones, made her comments in an interview broadcast by CBS News. Three women including Bennett have come forward to accuse Cuomo, 63, of sexually harassing them or making inappropriate remarks.
Elections for Hong Kong's legislature will likely be deferred for a second year to September 2022 as Beijing plans a major overhaul of the city's electoral system, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. The delay, if confirmed, would be in line with a new effort by Beijing to ensure "patriots" are in charge of the global financial hub, potentially the biggest blow to the city's democratic hopes since its handover from British rule in 1997. Zhang Yesui, a spokesman for the National People's Congress, said on Thursday it had the constitutional power to "improve" Hong Kong's system and a draft decision would be discussed during the annual parliamentary session which opens on Friday.
The cult comedy that many fans thought was canceled too soon is getting another shot … and may include Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch and Ken Marino.
VANCOUVER — A Crown lawyer is urging a B.C. Supreme Court judge to ignore the "geopolitical winds swirling around" Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's extradition case and focus instead on the legal context. Robert Frater told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes that Meng's legal team is trying to bring the elephant into the room by introducing arguments centred on comments made by former U.S. president Donald Trump about the case. "With respect, we urge you to focus on the facts and the law and leave the politics to the politicians," Frater said Thursday. He made the comments in response to claims from Meng's legal team that Trump's words 10 days after her arrest at Vancouver's airport in December 2018 represented a threat and poisoned the Canadian proceedings. Trump was asked by media if he would intervene in the case to get a better deal in trade talks with China, and he responded that he would "certainly intervene" if he thought it was necessary. Meng is wanted in the United States on fraud charges that both she and Huawei deny. Her lawyers allege Trump's comments constitute an abuse of process and they are asking for a stay of proceedings. It is the first of four branches of abuse of process arguments that the court will hear ahead of the actual extradition or committal hearing in May. "Everyone in this courtroom knows that the elephant in the room in this case has always been the geopolitical winds that swirl around it," Frater told the judge. "We're confident that when you look at the facts and apply the law, you will dismiss this motion." On Wednesday, Meng's team sought to tie her case to a long-brewing technological race between the United States and China. Huawei's success in establishing 5G wireless technology worldwide represents an "existential threat" to the United States and Meng's case is unfolding amid an effort by the U.S. government to "debilitate, if not destroy, Huawei," her lawyer Richard Peck said. Peck noted that in February 2020, then-U. S. attorney general William Barr said the stakes could not be higher and likened the race to the Cold War. Democrat Nancy Pelosi has warned against doing business with Huawei and White House press secretary Jen Psaki has described Huawei as a "threat to the security of the U.S.," Peck said. "This campaign is bipartisan and continues in full vigour today," he said. Frater, representing Canada's attorney general, sought to redirect the judge's attention Thursday. There is a rigorous test to meet the threshold of an abuse of process claim that warrants a stay of proceedings and Meng's argument doesn't pass it, he said. The threshold outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada says there must be prejudice to the accused's right to a fair trial or to the integrity of the justice system and there must be no alternative remedy. Where there is still uncertainty, the court must balance the interests of the accused and the societal interest in having the case heard, Frater said. In the balancing act, he argued the court should consider that the fraud charges are serious and Meng, the chief financial officer of one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, isn't a "powerless" person. Someone with "the resources to hire a battalion of lawyers, who has the full backing of a powerful state, is in a different position factually than an indigent or vulnerable individual," Frater said. Another lawyer for Meng, Eric Gottardi, countered that Meng's celebrity makes her a "higher value target" for interference, adding that a person's resources shouldn't affect how they are treated by the court. Frater told the court that comments by politicians about the case have not approached the level of threat required to compromise the legal process. And Trump's failure to win re-election has only weakened the argument, he said. "This application, in our submission, was based on the thinnest of evidence. That evidence only got worse over time, there's been material changes in circumstance that have removed the basis for it," Frater said. The political commentary has in no way affected the proceedings, he said. "They've had a hearing which has observed and continues to observe the highest standards of fairness." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2021. Amy Smart, The Canadian Press