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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Luxury’s Hidden Indian Supply Chain

MUMBAI, India — At the top of a staircase covered in dirt and sequins, several dozen Indian artisans hunched over yards of fabric, using needles to embroider garments for the world’s most powerful fashion brands.They sewed without health benefits in a multiroom factory with caged windows and no emergency exit, where they earned a few dollars a day completing subcontracted orders for international designers. When night fell, some slept on the floor.They were not working for a factory employed by fast fashion brands: companies whose business model is premised on producing trendy clothing as cheaply as possible and whose supply chain issues came under scrutiny in 2013. That was when the deadliest garment industry disaster in history, the Rana Plaza factory collapse, killed more than 1,100 Bangladeshi workers.Their products were destined for Dior and Saint Laurent, among other luxury names.Unknown to most consumers, the expensive, glittering brands of runways in Paris and Milan also indirectly employ thousands of workers in the developing world. In Mumbai, scores of ateliers and export houses act as middlemen between the brands and highly skilled artisans, while also providing services like design, sampling and garment production.As with fast fashion retailers, many luxury brands do not own all of their own production facilities, and instead contract with independent factories to make their garments or embroider them. And like fast fashion, they too have woken up to potential dangers with that system.In 2016, a group of luxury houses introduced the Utthan pact, an ambitious and secretive compliance project aimed at ensuring factory safety in Mumbai and elevating Indian embroiderers. Among the signatories were Kering (owner of labels including Gucci and Saint Laurent); LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (owner of Fendi and Christian Dior); and two British fashion houses, Burberry and Mulberry. The pact had an initial three-year timeline but was not legally binding.Yet during visits to several Mumbai factories, and in more than three dozen interviews with artisans, factory managers and designers, The New York Times found that embroiderers still completed orders at unregulated facilities that did not meet Indian factory safety laws. Many workers still do not have any employment benefits or protections, while seasonal demands for thousands of hours of overtime would coincide with the latest fashion weeks in Europe.Several factory owners said that membership in the pact meant investing in the costly compliance standards outlined by the Utthan pact, while brands simultaneously drove down what they would pay for orders.“Given the product prices, there is a sense that the luxury brands must be doing it right, and that makes them immune to public scrutiny,” said Michael Posner, a professor of ethics and finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. “But despite the price tags for luxury brand goods, the conditions in factories across their supply chains can be just as bad as those found in factories producing for fast fashion retailers.”When contacted for comment, luxury brands that were Utthan signatories largely highlighted the broader improvements made by the implementation of the pact, rather than focusing on continuing issues and accusations.“We recognize that the situation of some workers at the subcontracting level is still very far from satisfying today, and we are genuinely determined to strengthen the program with our fellow stakeholders, to speed up progress and to further improve the situation,” a Kering spokesman said in a statement.A spokesman for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods company, said in an emailed statement: “We take the allegations raised through your questions very seriously but are unable to comment without further details and a thorough investigation.” Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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LPG Price July 2020 Current LPG Gas Cylinder Price How Rates Have Changed Over Last 1 Year

LPG Price: Currently, the government subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2 KG each per household in a yearLPG Cylinder Price: From this month, LPG prices have been increased marginally in metros - a second consecutive month of upward revision which comes after three straight cuts. According to Indian Oil Corporation's website, the price of non-subsidised LPG refills was increased by one rupee to Rs 594 per 14.2 kilograms from July 1. Data shows LPG rates have steadied in the national capital over the past two months, after steep reductions from Rs 858.50 per cylinder (14.2 kilograms) in February. The prices of LPG or cooking gas vary in different states due to local taxes. Retailers such as state-run Indian Oil Corporation - which supplies the cooking gas under brand Indane - review the rates from time to time based on international crude oil rates. Currently, Indiane LPG consumers in Delhi and Mumbai have to shell out Rs 594 for each non-subsidised refill of 14.2 per kilograms. Current Indane Non-Subsidised LPG Rates CityPrice In Rupees Per Cylinder (14.2 Kilograms)JulyJuneDelhi594.00593.00Kolkata620.50616.00Mumbai594.00590.50Chennai610.50606.50(Source: iocl.com)Indian Oil provides information on latest rates in other cities on its website. (LPG rates were lowered for three straight months prior to two marginal hikes since June 1) Currently, the government subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2 kilograms each per household in a year. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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UK-China ties freeze with debate over Huawei, Hong Kong - business news

Only five years ago, then-British Prime Minister David Cameron was celebrating a “golden era” in UK-China relations, bonding with President Xi Jinping over a pint of beer at the pub and signing off on trade deals worth billions.Those friendly scenes now seem like a distant memory.Hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent days over Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong. Britain’s decision to offer refuge to millions in the former colony was met with a stern telling-off by China. And Chinese officials have threatened “consequences” if Britain treats it as a “hostile country” and decides to cut Chinese technology giant Huawei out of its critical telecoms infrastructure amid growing unease over security risks.All that is pointing to a much tougher stance against China, with a growing number in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party taking a long, hard look at Britain’s Chinese ties. Many are saying Britain has been far too complacent and naive in thinking it could reap economic benefits from the relationship without political consequences.“It’s not about wanting to cut ties with China. It’s that China is itself becoming a very unreliable and rather dangerous partner,” said lawmaker and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Valentina Sampaio Is the First Transgender Model for Sports Illustrated

Valentina Sampaio made history on Friday, becoming the first transgender woman to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the magazine said.In a personal essay on the magazine’s website, Ms. Sampaio, a 23-year-old Brazilian model, said she was honored to be in the publication.“The team at SI has created yet another groundbreaking issue by bringing together a diverse set of multitalented, beautiful women in a creative and dignified way,” she wrote.While Ms. Sampaio’s inclusion in this year’s swimsuit edition has earned headlines, it’s hardly a first for her: Last year, she became Victoria Secret’s first openly transgender model and was hired for catalog work for VS Pink, the company’s athletic line. In 2017, Ms. Sampaio was also the first transgender model to grace the cover of a Vogue edition.In recent years, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has had a number of breakthrough moments.The magazine, which debuted in 1964, put Ashley Graham, its first size 16 model, on the cover in 2016. Last year, it featured the Somali-American model Halima Aden, who was the first woman to wear a hijab and burkini in the magazine.MJ Day, the editor of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, said in a statement that Ms. Sampaio had been on her radar for some time and that she had noticed her passion for activism, calling the Sports Illustrated rookie a “true pioneer for the LGBT+ community.”Ms. Sampaio at a Sao Paulo Fashion Week show in 2017.Credit...Nelson Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Local Finances Are Troubled, but Fund Investors May Still Profit

Just counting the effects of the federal tax exemption, if you’re in the 24 percent federal tax bracket, the 1.4 percent current yield on the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt fund is equivalent to a yield of 1.84 percent in a taxable bond fund (assuming, of course, that neither is held in a tax-sheltered account). For investors in the 35 percent federal tax bracket, the yield is the equivalent to a taxable yield of 2.2 percent The average current yield for core bond funds (whose income is taxable) is 1.4 percent.If that yield advantage appeals, it bears repeating that the coming months may be rocky.Mr. Hayes cautioned that even with a reopening of the economy, municipal revenues will “only be at a percentage of what they were pre-Covid.” Even if a vaccine arrives, people may not spend as much, rely on public transportation with the same gusto, or drive or fly as much, or flock to stadiums, arenas and convention centers.Moreover, some states and cities that issued high volumes of bonds already had severe budget problems before the crisis: Illinois and New Jersey had many bonds rated BBB, the lowest rung of investment grade before the coronavirus. These and other states may find it harder to dig out of this recession. Updated July 7, 2020 Is the coronavirus airborne? The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Investors Posted Returns So Great They Seemed Wrong

Returns on some types of mutual funds have been so lofty they look like typos.Small-capitalization growth funds rose an average of nearly 54 percent in the second quarter, for example, making up for big losses in the market downturn of February and March.Here is how three of the top funds from several of the better-performing sectors of the market managed to get eye-popping returns in the three months through June.Aperture Discover EquityBrad D. McGill, manager of the Aperture Discover Equity Fund, runs one of those small-cap growth funds. The returns were remarkable: 59.9 percent in the second quarter.Mr. McGill not only buys small-cap stocks — among the stock market’s jumpiest fare — but he also concentrates his fund’s portfolio, holding only 23 stocks. That dual approach can amplify ups and downs.“There will be volatility along the way, but we’re thinking over the longer term,” he said. The fund opened in December, but Mr. McGill said he’s aiming to hold investments for two to four years.Lately, consumer-oriented companies have done well for him, especially those benefiting from lifestyle changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. McGill said.Take Yeti, a maker of expensive coolers and drink ware. It was a sought-after brand among outdoor enthusiasts before the virus arrived, he said. Now, with concerns about crowds, people are spending more time in the wild. That should benefit Yeti, he said.In addition, the company has a trait Mr. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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When Sheltering in Place Puts Your Tax Strategy at Risk

Lockdowns have disrupted the lives of millions of Americans since March, when states began issuing shelter-in-place orders. For some people, a key part of their residency for tax purposes — their domicile status — may have shifted in that time for a number of reasons: They are now working from home, they’ve fled a hot spot or they thought they could ride out the pandemic in a vacation house.These unplanned geographic dislocations could result in unforeseen tax bills for those who are not diligent in keeping records. Domicile jurisdiction is typically aimed at wealthy taxpayers who have multiple homes, but a wider swath of people could now be affected. Doctors and nurses who headed to New York to help, for example, could receive New York City and New York State tax bills.Advisers say taxpayers facing domicile questions need to keep detailed records to explain where they lived, for how long and why. They will also have to match up their records with state and local quarantine orders.“People are going to need to be very precise about their own activities but also know what the states have done,” said Jordan Sprechman, head of U.S. wealth advisory for JPMorgan’s private bank.Yet three months into the pandemic, guidance from states on how they are going to collect tax revenue from part-time residents is inconsistent. Some have been proactive in offering direction, while others have remained quiet, leaving taxpayers in limbo.Establishing residency is not an easy process in normal times, but it’s even more difficult now, with so much uncertainty. Here are three tax areas that you should consider during the pandemic.

Your Home

Counting days has a long and often contested history for tax purposes. Many states, including New York and Maryland, have set a threshold of 183 days, or half the year, to determine residency.There are two legal concepts to understand: domicile, which is your primary home, and residence, which is a statutory test for tax purposes, said Marc J. Bloostein, partner at the law firm Ropes & Gray.People who want to avoid one state’s income or estate tax usually work to establish residency in other states like Florida, which has no income or estate tax. But Florida residents who are unable to leave their pied-à-terre in Manhattan or summer home in Southampton may be at risk of losing their residency status.New York State has not issued guidance on whether it will count the days in quarantine toward its state residency. Visitors are allowed to stay in New York if they are sick, but it’s less clear what it means if they are stuck in the state under shelter-in-place orders.“People are sure there are going to be exceptions, but we need to be very cautious,” said Ani C. Hovanessian, chair of the New York Tax and Wealth Planning Group at Venable, a law firm.“Even though we’re in a pandemic and unprecedented times, these states are going to need tax revenue to make up for all the public policy and aid decisions they’re making now,” she added.Other states approach the question of residency differently. Massachusetts, for example, has a domicile rule with no day count: If you consider the state your domicile, then you are a resident for tax purposes, Mr. Bloostein said.For foreign nationals who are stuck in the United States because of travel restrictions, there is some direction on day count.In regular times, the federal formula that calculates the number of days — known as the substantial presence test — considers time spent in the United States over three years. Staying too long can mean the person could be deemed a U.S. resident for tax purposes and be subject to the country’s worldwide taxing authority.The Internal Revenue Service has said the days will not count if a visitor is unable to leave the country. The exclusion extends for 60 days, starting on or after Feb. 1. But if the pandemic continues into the summer and foreign nationals cannot return to home, their days could be counted under the substantial presence test, said Aaron Schumacher, a partner at Withersworldwide, an international law firm.

Your Office

Many professionals commute to another state for work. Working from home during the pandemic has raised the question of which state then gets to tax that income.The test is necessity versus convenience. If you simply don’t want to commute to the office, working from home is for your convenience and the state where your office is continues to collect its income tax. But if you cannot go to the office in another state because of a stay-at-home order, shouldn’t the state where you are working from home collect that tax?The answer could set up a battle between states.Ms. Hovanessian normally works in Midtown Manhattan, but she is telecommuting at her home in northern New Jersey because of lockdown orders. New Jersey has said it will not impose a tax on the income of people who usually work in another state but are now working from home.But this is not broadly the case. New York has not issued guidance on what it might do, said Mr. Sprechman of JPMorgan. He added that New York could continue to tax residents of other states who normally worked in New York but were now working from home. Likewise, the city could continue to tax residents of New York State who typically work in Manhattan. That could get messy.“New York could tax you for the days you continued to work from home as a matter of convenience,” he said. “You’re relying on official sources for that information telling you when you can go back to work.”States often give a credit for income tax exacted by another state, but what if there isn’t a state income tax to credit? Say North Carolina assesses an income tax, but your home state is Florida, where there is no income tax. The taxpayer is out of luck, said Lisa R. Featherngill, managing director and head of legacy and wealth planning at Abbot Downing.The situation is worse still for doctors, nurses and other emergency personnel from other parts of the country who went to New York to help. Their income could be taxed at higher rates.“If they’re earning income and not just volunteering, they’re earning New York income and their income will be taxed by New York,” Ms. Hovanessian said. “This is where the taxman looks more like the Grim Reaper.”The pandemic is not just creating tax uncertainty in the United States. It becomes more complicated — and perhaps costly — with international companies that have directors living in different countries. The United States taxes companies based on where they were formed, but other countries use a test called mind and management, which essentially means where the decisions are being made.“Typically, you manage for where those meetings take place,” Mr. Schumacher said. “The question now is, where are those decisions being made when all those directors are at their desks at home?”Having a tax treaty in place can change how taxation works, but absent one, there’s a lot of uncertainty, he said.

Your Estate

There may be a document no more refined than the estate plan of affluent people. Trusts are created and documents are drawn up for a particular state in which they spend most of their time.If they die outside their home state, the estate must be able to demonstrate where the home or domicile is.“In the estate tax context, it means the place you always intended to go back to, the place you consider home,” Mr. Sprechman said. “If you happen to be living in your pied-à-terre and you happen to die in New York, if all evidence indicates you were a Florida resident, New York will not tax you as a New York resident. But it may include the value of the New York apartment for taxes.”Another issue, Ms. Featherngill said, is inheritance taxes, which exist in states like Connecticut.But these, like all taxes, rest on the state’s being able to argue its case successfully. The only protection against that is meticulous record-keeping to prove where you were when the pandemic struck. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Government Projects Fourth Consecutive Year Of Record Food Grain Output

The country is estimated to achieve an all-time high food grains production of 295.67 million tonnes in 2019-20 crop year, the fourth consecutive year of record production, buoyed by good rains, the Agriculture Ministry's latest data released on Friday said.According to the data, the estimated output of food grains this year is up 3.67 per cent over the year-ago period and has even crossed its target of 291.10 million tonnes, which it had set before the beginning of the 2019-20 sowing season.Total food grains production includes crops grown during both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) seasons. At present, harvesting of rabi crops is in the final stages amid the COVID-19 crisis.This is the fourth consecutive year-on-year higher output of food grain since 2016-17 crop year (July-June). The previous record was 285.21 million tonnes during the 2018-19 crop year."The cumulative rainfall in the country during the monsoon season (June to September, 2019) had been 10 per cent higher than the Long Period Average (LPA).Accordingly, the production of most of the crops for the agricultural year 2019-20 has been estimated higher than their normal production," the ministry said releasing the third estimate of production.Among all crops, the output of wheat -- the main rabi crop -- is estimated at an all-time high level of 107.18 million tonnes in 2019-20, up from 103.60 million tonnes previous year. Harvesting of wheat crop is in the final stage of completion.Similarly, the output of rice -- the main kharif crop -- is estimated to be a record 117.94 million tonnes this year, higher from 116.48 million tonnes last year.At the same time, the production of coarse cereals is estimated to be a record 47.54 million tonnes as against 43.06 million tonnes in the said period.Production of maize is pegged at a record 28.98 million tonnes this year, up from 27.72 million tonnes in the 2018-19 crop year, but barley output is estimated to lower at 1.59 million tonnes as against 1.63 million tonnes in the said period.In case of pulses, total production is estimated to increase to 23.01 million tonnes this year from 22.08 million tonnes last year. Of which, tur production is pegged at 3.75 million tonnes and chana at 10.90 million tonne for this year.Food grains basket comprises wheat, rice, coarse cereals and pulses.As far as oilseeds were concerned, total production is estimated to increase marginally to 33.50 million tonnes in the 2019-20 crop year from 31.52 million tonnes last year.Among cash crops, the country would see an all-time high production of cotton at 36.04 million bales (of 170 kg each) in the current year, much higher than 28.04 million bales last year. The previous record was 35.90 million bales in 2013-14 crop year.Meanwhile, sugarcane production is estimated to decline to 358.13 million tonnes this year from 405.4 million tonnes last year due to fall in production mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka.The output of jute is estimated flat at 9.43 million bales (of 180 kg) this year as against 9.49 million bales in 2018-19 crop year, while mesta output is estimated to increase to 4.89 million bales from 3.23 million tonnes in the said period.Although the third estimate might just be revised after harvest of rabi crops, the final output figures may not be less than what is estimated right now.The Agricultural Ministry releases four advance estimates of production followed by a final estimate. In fact, the fourth advance estimates are considered as good as the final estimates. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Moody's Sees India's Economic Growth At 'Zero' In Current Financial Year Amid COVID-19

Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it estimated India's GDP growth to hit 'zero' in FY21 and pointed to a wide fiscal deficit, high government debt, weak social and physical infrastructure, and a fragile financial sector.The quality of India's economic growth has declined in recent years, demonstrated by financial stress among rural households, relatively low productivity and weak job creation, the agency said.In its forecast for the current financial year, the agency estimated India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at zero, meaning the country's economic growth will remain flat this financial year, and the same is seen accelerating to 6.6 per cent in the next financial year (FY22).In its credit opinion which comes following the change in the forecast, Moody's warned that the COVID-19 "shock will exacerbate an already material slowdown in economic growth, which has significantly reduced prospects for durable fiscal consolidation".Analysts across the board have been certain about the heavy economic toll that the pandemic will take on the country.Moody's local arm ICRA had earlier pegged for a contraction of up to 2 per cent in the economic growth as a result of the crisis, which has seen the country being put under a lockdown for nearly two months to arrest the spread of virus.Late last month, Moody's had slashed its calendar year 2020 GDP growth forecast to 0.2 per cent.Its negative outlook on the sovereign rating, which was revised last in November 2019 from 'stable', reflects increasing risks that economic growth will remain significantly lower than in the past, it said, adding that this takes into account the deep shock triggered by the virus outbreak.Meanwhile, India's credit strengths include a large and diverse economy, favourable demographic potential and a stable domestic financing base to fund the government debt, it noted.In March, the government had announced a relief package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore, and there are speculations of another follow-up package in the offing.These measures will reduce the depth and duration of India's growth slowdown, but there is a probability of an 'entrenched weakening' on prolonged financial stress among rural households, weak job creation and a credit crunch among non-bank financial institutions, it said.Reform prospects, which can take care of some of the concerns with the Indian economy, have diminished, the agency said.It further warned that a downgrade in the rating could happen if the fiscal metrics weakened materially, and made it clear that a negative outlook indicates that an upgrade in the rating is unlikely in the near term.However, the outlook can be changed to stable" if the fiscal metrics stabilise, it added. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Leaving Lockdown, Entering Recession: Strike in Spain Shows Workers’ Fears

BARCELONA, Spain — This week’s reopening of Nissan’s main assembly plant in Spain was meant to be a moment of celebration for an industry that is a pillar of the Spanish economy.It proved very short-lived. The car factory was forced to close on Wednesday — just over two days after restarting — because of a strike called by labor unions to demand that the Japanese company commit to maintaining its presence in Spain.In a country that has been under lockdown since mid-March, the strike is the most visible labor conflict in Spain. Despite social-distancing rules, the authorities allowed up to 10 workers at a time to picket outside a Nissan plant on the outskirts of Barcelona.Labor unions in Europe have recently voiced concerns about the safety of employees who have been returning to work. But the strike at Nissan highlights what may be the next major concern of organized labor: protecting jobs in a post-pandemic economy.The coronavirus has brought about a recession that is expected to be the worst ever in the European Union, one that will most likely push companies to close down struggling factories.Automakers in particular are believed to have excess capacity, as demand for new cars has slipped in recent years. About a fifth of carmaking capacity worldwide is not being used.The Nissan strike “can be seen as an example of things to come,” said Anna Ginès, the director of the Institute for Labor Studies at Esade, a Spanish university.She said she expected more labor conflict, particularly as some companies sought to turn temporary furloughs and salary reductions into permanent cuts, “even before they are able to see exactly the coronavirus impact on their business.”Nissan has about 4,000 employees in Spain, about three-quarters of whom work in the Barcelona area, mostly in its Zona Franca assembly plant, which makes the NV200 van and pickups. Labor unions, which are trying to pressure the company to protect jobs, decided to strike at a smaller Nissan facility in Montcada, outside Barcelona, that supplies doors and hoods to the Zona Franca plant.Workers at the smaller shop went on strike on Monday, creating a bottleneck in Nissan’s supply chain that forced the Zona Franca assembly line to grind to a halt after its morning shift on Wednesday.By avoiding a broader walkout, the unions ensured that Nissan itself would stop production, rather than having most workers forfeit their wages by going on strike.Javier Hernández, the lead representative of the U.G.T., or General Workers’ Union, at the Zona Franca factory, said he had never seen a strike organized in that way, targeting a link in the supply chain rather than the main plant. He argued that it was an innovative way of adapting to a lockdown that has barred workers from holding mass street demonstrations.“I guess unique circumstances like this coronavirus require an unusual response,” he said.Automakers around the world, like other industries, have been crushed by the lockdowns, which have shuttered factories as well as auto dealerships. The Spanish Automobile and Truck Manufacturers’ Association, known as ANFAC, called on the government to provide immediate relief to the car industry, which accounts for 10 percent of Spain’s economy. Without such help, “the automotive sector in Spain is seriously endangered,” José Vicente de los Mozos, the president of the association, said in a statement.ANFAC said it was expecting vehicle sales to plunge this year to levels last seen after the 2008 financial crisis, which forced Spain to negotiate a European banking bailout.After that bailout, the automotive sector was a critical part of an export-led economic recovery in Spain. Car factories benefited from falling labor costs compared with Germany and other European production centers, which helped persuade Ford and some other carmakers to make fresh investments in Spain.However, Nissan was not among them. Instead, the Japanese company has steadily reduced its footprint in Spain as it sank into a management crisis, including the 2018 ouster of its chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Nissan’s annual production in Spain fell to about 50,000 vehicles, from 200,000 a decade earlier.Nissan would not comment on “rumors and speculations about the future of the plants.” The company, which posted a quarterly loss of 26 billion yen, or about $244 million, in February, is set to unveil a new global operational plan on May 28.Local lawmakers have recently pledged to fight for the autoworkers’ jobs. But Javier Adalid, a representative for the Comisiones Obreras union, argued that Spanish officials had limited influence over foreign carmakers.“We have a huge industry that is controlled by outsiders,” Mr. Adalid said. “Executives in Tokyo will be more responsive to the pleas coming from within Japan rather than from here.”Ford, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen also have factories in Spain, some of which have performed strongly. Volkswagen recently reopened its main Spanish plant outside Barcelona, which makes vehicles under its subsidiary brand Seat, and last year lifted production there to the highest level in two decades.This is a fragile time for Spanish labor unions, which have gradually lost membership. Their collective bargaining position was also reduced in the aftermath of the financial crisis, under a 2012 law that gave companies more leeway to fire workers. Ms. Ginès, the professor of labor law, said her research showed that Spanish unions were now among the weakest in Europe.As he stood on the picket line, Mr. Adalid, the union official, said he was ready to fight for a Nissan job he had held for 20 years. He wore a T-shirt with the slogan “Never forget” and illustrations of a cassette tape, a VHS video cartridge and a floppy disk.The job uncertainties coming out of the lockdown “give me a sense of nostalgia,” he said. “We have certainly worked in better times.” Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Gold Futures Rise To Rs 45,800 Per 10 Grams Mark Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Gold Rate Today: MCX gold futures climbed as much as 0.56% to Rs 45,801/10 gramsGold Price In India: Domestic gold futures rose on Thursday to touch the Rs 45,800 per 10 grams mark despite weakness in global rates. MCX gold futures climbed by as much as Rs 255 per 10 grams - or 0.56 per cent - to Rs 45,801 per 10 grams, compared to their previous close of Rs 45,546 per 10 grams. At 11:37 am, the gold futures contract (delivery on June 5) was up by Rs 184.00 per 10 grams - or 0.40 per cent - at Rs 45,730 per 10 grams. Gold prices are more than 3 per cent off their all-time high of Rs 47,327 per 10 grams registered this month, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has boosted its appeal as a safe haven. (Track Gold Prices In India Here)#Gold and #Silver Opening #Rates for 29/04/2020#IBJApic.twitter.com/qygnsajAAQIBJA #StayHomeStaySafe (@IBJA1919) April 29, 2020Gold jewellery prices vary in different parts of India - the second largest consumer of the precious metal - due to factors such as excise duty, state taxes and making charges. In the international market, gold prices edged lower as risk appetite was boosted by positive trial results of an experimental COVID-19 treatment, although the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates near zero kept bullion above the $1,700 per ounce level.Spot gold was last seen trading 0.1 per cent lower at $1,710.21 per ounce.The dollar index - which gauges the greenback's strength against six peers overseas - weakened as much as 0.09 per cent on Wednesday, and was last seen trading flat.Domestic stock markets rose more than 3 per cent tracking Asian peers, where equities touched up to seven-week highs. The S&P BSE Sensex index climbed to as high as 33,778.34, up 1,058.18 points from the previous close, at the strongest level in the first half of the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark touched 9,860.40, having started the day at 9,753.50 compared to its previous close of 9,553.35.Last month, commodity exchanges cut down trading hours, in a shift from the practice of allowing trading till midnight, in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. The trading now begins at 9 am and ends at 5 pm, instead of 11:50 pm earlier.

Gold Price: What Analysts Say On Current Gold Rate

“Today, gold is trading at $1725/oz up by almost 0.7 per cent. The Fed Chairman called for more policy action to support the economy that helped gold's recovery,” said Ravindra Rao, VP-head commodity research at Kotak Securities."After a three steady days, inflows were seen in gold ETF (exchange traded fund) indicating robust investor interest. Improved risk sentiment has however kept a check on the gains. Gold expected to trade in a broad range due to lack of fresh triggers,” he added. Read the full article

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S&P BSE Sensex NSE Nifty 50 LIVE Gap Up Opening Likely For Nifty Tracking Global Markets COVID-19

Investors around the globehave been excited by the prospect of a COVID-19 treatmentDomestic stock markets are likely to start the last trading session of the week on a positive note, tracking gains in Asian peers, where equities touched a seven-week high lifted by encouraging early results from a coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment trial. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures - an early indicator of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty index back home - jumped as much as 202.85 points to touch 9,752.00 ahead of the opening of Indian markets. At 8:00 am, the SGX Nifty futures were up 196.35 points - or 2.06 per cent - at 9,745.50.Equities elsewhere in Asia jumped, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rising 0.8 per cent to its highest level recorded since mid-March. Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark index, returning from a holiday the previous day, jumped 2.5 per cent to a seven-week high.Asian stocks followed strong moves in US markets overnight, where shares rallied after Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, said Gilead's antiviral remdesivir will become the standard of care for COVID-19 after early results from a trial seemed to show it helped speed recovery. Investors around the globe have been excited by the prospect of a COVID-19 treatment because it may help countries emerge from lockdowns - even though investors' hopes don't seem to take into account regulatory and distribution difficulties should a treatment be found.Moreover, the Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday left interest rates near zero and repeated a vow to do what it takes to shore up the economy, saying the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will “weigh heavily” on the near-term outlook and poses “considerable risks” for the medium term.The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite indices ended 2.66 per cent, 2.21 per cent and 3.57 per cent higher respectively. US futures, however, gave up early gains to turn flat, indicating a lacklustre start on Thursday.The markets are likely to be volatile in today's session as this is the last day of the April derivatives series. The market participants will also keep an eye on news developments on the Covid-19 front. As of April 30 morning, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 31,787 and the death toll is 1,008. During his interaction with chief ministers on April 27, PM Modi reportedly hinted that restrictions may continue in hotspots and containment zones.On Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had added 605.64 points - up 1.89 per cent from the previous close - to end at 32,720.16 and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark settled at 9,553.35, up 172.45 points (1.84 per cent) from the previous close.The domestic financial markets will remain closed on Friday due to Maharashtra Day. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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‘Staying Nimble’: How Small Businesses Can, and Do, Shift Gears

The first week after Cristina McCarter closed her Memphis food tour company, a casualty of the pandemic, she had only tears.“It was a lot of emotions,” she said. “It was like going back to when I first started and everyone said I was crazy to give up my job to be an entrepreneur. I was like, this is what my granddaddy was talking about.”But then, she had an idea. As Ms. McCarter saw restaurants in town reopen to serve takeout, she realized she could take her business, City Tasting Tours, virtual.She could team up with the restaurants to create special meals that she could deliver to clients along with a link to a 30-minute video tour about the food, the chefs and Memphis.“I realized we could focus on the local,” she said. “We’re so used to focusing on tourists, but now is the time to show the locals the richness of what you have.”Like Ms. McCarter, small-businesses owners across the country are looking for ways to survive the coronavirus pandemic, even as they fill out paperwork for federal stimulus funds that they no longer believe they can count on. Instead, they are adapting their business models and innovating products so that they, and their employees, can get back to work.“Small businesses are really great at staying nimble,” said Laura Huang, associate professor at Harvard Business School and author of “Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage.” “This is something they’ve been set up to do because they’ve always had to deal with adversity in some way.”But it’s hard, too. The most recent Optimism Index, from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, fell 8.1 points in March — the largest monthly drop in the survey’s 34-year history. Ninety-two percent of businesses surveyed recently by the federation said they had been negatively affected by the virus; just 3 percent said they were better off.The ones that succeed, Dr. Huang said, “understand that even though they are looking to do new, innovative things, they need to grow where they are planted.”That means that small-business owners should not completely change what they do but find new ways to deliver their product, dust off old ideas, experiment with existing strengths, search for new customers or change their story.Even before the coronavirus hit, Kevin Peterson and his wife, Jane Larson, were notably adaptable — they own a scent shop in Detroit that doubles as a bar. Each evening, the shop’s cupboards close, display tables become cocktail tables, and guests sip cocktails served with scent strips designed to enhance their drink.When the stay-at-home order was issued in Michigan, their shop, Castalia at Sfumato, was about to celebrate its second birthday. Mr. Peterson was finally feeling that the business had turned a corner: Their staff was stable, he wasn’t working crazy hours, and there was money left after they paid the bills.That changed overnight. They temporarily laid off their four employees and went into creation mode, since Michigan is not allowing bars to sell takeout or delivery cocktails. In a week, Mr. Peterson had developed their new product: frozen juice cubes that allow home bartenders to mix a perfect drink. All they have to do is add the spirit.“The big thing for me was not thinking of a recipe as just the ingredients but also the dilution, aeration and temperature,” said Mr. Peterson, who went to culinary school and has degrees in physics and engineering. “That’s the big difference between drinks at a bar and drinks at home.”The idea for a take-home cocktail cube had percolated when Castalia first opened, but the couple were so focused on getting people in the bar that they didn’t have time for extraneous products. Now they are making — and selling out of — 750 cubes every weekend. They would do more, but they are limited to the space in their home freezer.“I take solace in doing stuff,” Mr. Peterson said.

Experiment with what you know.

Some businesses find themselves in a position to help fight the pandemic. Distilleries like Cathead Distillery in Jackson, Miss., are converting production to hand sanitizer, while apparel companies, like Simms Fishing Products in Bozeman, Mont., are making hospital gowns. Still others are making masks.But all that product has to find its way to hospitals and homeless shelters. That’s where Garry Cooper comes in. His Chicago technology firm, Rheaply, specializes in connecting resources to the people who need them to reduce waste and overbuying.He normally works with universities, government agencies and the world’s largest companies to help them better manage their inventories. When the pandemic broke out, he realized that there was no single place to go to find out who needed what — and who had it.“This is a breakdown of Supply Chain 101,” Dr. Cooper said. “We are a climate tech company, and we have been thinking a climate crisis would cause what we just saw.”In three weeks, his team built a stripped-down exchange — “a prettier Craigslist,” he called it — where people with masks could list them for donation or sale, and hospitals that needed ventilators could post their requests.So far, 50 organizations have signed up for the free service, and Dr. Cooper is in talks with cities and states about developing custom options. He hired three more employees — and is looking for three additional computer programmers — to manage the workload.That’s the type of pivot that Larry Downes, a senior fellow at Accenture Research, advises businesses to make.“Trying something new is relatively cheap,” said Mr. Downes, a co-author of “Pivot to the Future.” “It doesn’t cost a lot to quickly launch an experiment.”

Search high and low for new customers.

An experiment may be the thing that saves Washbnb, a start-up in Milwaukee that was to open this month.Originally, Washbnb planned to provide laundry service to Airbnb hosts. One of the company’s founders, Daniel Cruz, is a host himself, and he hatched the idea because he was always buried in laundry — and worse, fitted sheets — at the end of each week. His four Airbnb properties created too much laundry for his residential machines but too little for a lot of commercial laundry facilities. When he discovered that others had the same problem, he started planning to build his own facility.But when the pandemic hit Milwaukee, all his Airbnb bookings dried up.“At first, we were actually really bullish,” Mr. Cruz said. “We were talking about investing in another property to add more units. But then we took a week and watched our market evaporate around us.”Instead, he decided to find new customers. He realized that the elderly and people with compromised immune systems might not have laundry facilities or be able to go into laundromats. He and his two partners quickly started a sister company, Washhero, targeting those customers with a curbside laundry service. They offer wash-and-fold for $20 a bag, as well as pay-what-you-can options.In the first two weeks, 22 clients signed up, and word got around to other businesses. Mr. Cruz received calls from restaurants doing takeout that need towels washed and an invitation from a new hotel to bid on its laundry contract. He has been so busy that he has hired three new team members and signed a lease for his laundry facility.“The Covid situation is accelerating our timeline, not only in how we give back but how we build out our own facility instead of relying on partners,” Mr. Cruz said.

Reposition your product.

Sometimes, innovating is as simple as changing the story, or updating marketing to reflect a new reality.“If you have a firm understanding of where your roots are and what your product delivers, then you can think really creatively about all the different ways your product can be beneficial and tell that story,” said Dr. Huang of Harvard.Wheelhaus, a maker of tiny homes and modular cabins, is trying to do just that. It is now marketing its smallest home — just 250 square feet — as a home office. It can be pulled straight into a backyard on a trailer and has all the amenities of a workplace.“It’s kind of funny how these things kick you in the butt,” said Jamie Mackay, founder of Wheelhaus. “It’s like, whoa! You wake up and think outside the box. That’s key right now.”The company manufactures its line of homes in Salt Lake City and normally sells about 180 a year. Demand has slipped, but there has been enough work for Mr. Mackay to keep all 80 employees and subcontractors on the job. There have been seven sales of the $88,000 home office since the new marketing began, and Mr. Mackay said he expected higher demand for small home offices as real estate trends changed and businesses realized employees could work from home.The fact that Mr. Mackay is already thinking about that future pleases Mr. Downes. The biggest challenge facing businesses, Mr. Downes said, is the failure to look forward.“One thing this crisis has taught us is that the distant future can show up fast,” he said. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Women Are ‘Claiming Their Power’ in Investment Clubs of Their Own

During the 2008 financial crisis, Lauren Winfield found herself starting over in Austin, Texas, without a job, a network or a nest egg.She had just come out as gay. In her 20s with no savings or financial support from her family, she worked minimum-wage jobs to pay off college loans and credit card debt.Ms. Winfield tried to save, but emergencies often washed those attempts away. The result: a feeling of insecurity that left her reluctant to try investing.Things changed when Ms. Winfield started attending women’s finance group meetings. She eventually joined the Austin Women’s Investing Group, which she found on Meetup, and started connecting with its members on Facebook. The community she found in the groups gave her the support to begin investing for retirement in her 30s.“It’s confidence boosting to be in the same room or online group as other women claiming their power and autonomy with their money,” said Ms. Winfield, now 34. She went on to create Signum City, a fintech start-up that developed an app-based game to help young adults learn to invest.Her financial journey mirrors the challenges many women face when investing for retirement: Their short-term financial needs have a way of eclipsing long-term goals. Across the country, women’s investing groups, from Meetup to clubs organized by the nonprofit BetterInvesting, are helping some women to focus on their finances in ways, their members say, where Wall Street firms, fund companies and financial advisers have fallen short.Just 17 percent of women said planning for retirement was their top financial goal in a 2018 survey by Pimco, the Newport Beach, Calif., investment firm that manages $1.8 trillion for central banks, pension funds and financial advisers. Respondents ranked it behind goals like achieving financial stability, creating a wide-ranging financial plan and becoming financially independent.Researchers cite myriad reasons, namely: Women’s longer life expectancy, lower wages, marital status, and responsibility for child care and caregiving. The challenge women often face is how to take a nest egg that is typically smaller than men’s and extend it to last their lifetime.The disconnect between women’s priorities and what the financial services industry typically emphasizes — strategies to beat the market — is especially apparent when it comes to retirement. In Pimco’s survey, 72 percent of women, and 81 percent of millennial women, said the investing system was “set up to be confusing.” Women identified honesty, knowledge and transparency as the top values they sought in advisers and financial institutions.Major financial institutions have taken note. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Fidelity are among a growing number that have built websites and issued reports to try to attract female investors. They’re competing with women-focused investment houses like Ellevest, a platform that uses human advisers and roboadviser technology. What’s at stake, according to the Bank of Montreal, is an estimated $22 trillion in personal wealth that women in the United States control.Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, an associate professor of economics and a research fellow for the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said many such Wall Street initiatives were “just marketing.”A 2019 study by the center noted that a typical woman who was approaching retirement had spent about half her adult life married. This didn’t ensure greater financial stability, however. Even though married women are in households with higher earnings and wealth, the study said, they’re less likely than single women to maintain their standard of living in retirement because nearly half of two-earner couples “tend to undersave in their retirement plans.”If only one spouse has a 401(k), that spouse needs to “save even more,” said Dr. Sanzenbacher, a co-author of the study. Yet most people don’t do that, he added.This is where women’s investment groups and clubs are making a difference.After some time with the Austin group, Ms. Winfield opened Roth I.R.A.s to invest in exchange-traded funds and some real estate investment trusts. She encouraged her partner to maximize 401(k) contributions and taught her partner about emergency savings.“As a lesbian, I constantly remind myself to claim a seat at a table that was not initially designed for me,” she said. “Finance is a male-dominated field, but saving for retirement is a must for everyone.”Monthly gatherings in public libraries, cafes, conference rooms or living rooms used to be the preferred way for women’s investment groups and clubs to meet. But now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, organizers are holding virtual meetings instead.The Austin group stands out, in part, because it has built a membership of over 2,000. Sara Glakas, an investment adviser and the founder of Black Barn Financial, said she helped start the group in 2011 because women were being underserved by financial advisers with a “significant blind spot.”Gathering together matters because the topic is stressful. “Much of the tone and approach of experts, along with the financial news you read, tends to cause anxiety for people,” Ms. Glakas, 40, said. “We seek to create simplicity, clarity and give people control.”One recurring topic of discussion is how avoiding riskier parts of the financial markets, such as growth stocks and the technology sector, puts women at a disadvantage because they miss the effects of compounding.“By focusing so much on the emergency fund and the mortgage paydown and the kids’ education, women are being steered into shorter-term, lower-return investments to the detriment of the longer-term, higher-return investments that can build great amounts of wealth,” Ms. Glakas said.Kamie Zaracki, 64, who recently retired as chief executive of BetterInvesting, a national organization with a network of clubs that educate people about investing in high-quality growth stocks, has been making retirement contributions since her 20s.“With every job since, I’ve participated in the 401(k) as soon as possible and immediately contributed the maximum amount,” she said.Ms. Zaracki is single, lives in the Detroit area and for the last decade has consulted with a male chartered financial analyst to try to grow her retirement portfolio of stocks, E.T.F.s and bonds into a $2 million nest egg. But she also learned to find stocks to help increase her portfolio returns from participating in Baker’s Dozen, a BetterInvesting club with mostly female members that meets monthly in Milford, Mich.Through February, Ms. Zaracki held a high percentage of equities (nearly 87 percent) in her retirement accounts, she said. Now, with the downturn, she and her adviser decided to sell some stocks so she could cover three years of living expenses.About half of the women in the Pimco survey said they were so strapped for time that they felt “more time-poor than financially poor” — and preferred to hire someone else to manage their money. But Ms. Zaracki said managing investments didn’t have to take a lot of time.Even with help, the hours she spends on it are “very empowering,” she said. “I have a clear picture of my finances and greater confidence in my financial decisions.”Investor confidence remains in short supply with the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the markets. Laura LaTourette, who runs Family Wealth Management Group in Dahlonega, Ga., has fielded lots of calls from worried clients, many of whom are in the L.G.B.T.Q. community and older than 50. She is also concerned about her wife’s and her own portfolios.Ms. LaTourette has run up against some of the same obstacles to money management that other women have — even though she is a financial planner.“I am now just starting to really prioritize my own retirement savings,” said Ms. LaTourette, 59, who manages her own Roth I.R.A. and 401(k) accounts. “After living through the last recession, getting my children through college and helping my siblings with financial trouble, I find myself behind on investable assets for retirement.”She said that she had come to appreciate how female clients valued “deep conversations” to learn about all facets of investing and the economy, and that she believed the industry needed to hire more women.That’s the approach that Sallie Krawcheck, a co-founder and the chief executive of Ellevest, took.“We have built Ellevest completely around serving women,” she said. Most of its clients — Ms. Krawcheck said they numbered in the “multiple tens of thousands” — are women, as are more than 70 percent of the company’s employees. This strategy “helped us see both the problem and solution from a vantage point that others have not,” Ms. Krawcheck said.Ellevest’s platform has what Ms. Krawcheck called a “gender aware” algorithm that accounts for how women live six to eight years longer than men, often have lower earnings (with salaries that peak earlier) and take more career breaks. She said it was designed to “take on the least amount of risk necessary for women to reach their investment goals.”The firm’s research also underscores the need for community engagement. “If you bring up the topic of money to a woman,” Ms. Krawcheck said, “the words that come to mind for her are ‘isolation,’ ‘uncertainty’ and ‘loneliness.’”Those are exactly the feelings the Austin group is trying to help women avoid.“Frankly, I believe we have yet to see what women investors can achieve as a force,” Ms. Glakas said. “We’re very serious about creating a space for that change.” Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Reliance Industries Shares Soar More Than 8% On Reliance Jio-Facebook Deal

At 10:35 am, the shares of Reliance Industries had gained more than 6.4 per cent on the BSEReliance Industries skyrocketed more than 10 per cent on the BSE after Facebook bought a 9.9 per cent stake in Reliance Jio, the telecom subsidiary of Reliance Industries for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore). This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a tech company anywhere in the world. The transaction is, however, subject to regulatory approvals.The shares of Reliance Industries ended at Rs 1,363, higher by Rs 126 or 10.2 per cent, on the BSE. The shares had opened at Rs 1,320 and touched a low of Rs 1,300 and a high of Rs 1,384.The mega deal will give the social media giant a foothold in the massive Indian market and help the Indian oil-to-telecom conglomerate to cut its debt significantly.Reliance Jio, the fast-growing telecom carrier controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, began operations in late 2016. It provides telecom and digital services under brand Jio, and provides a connectivity platform to more than 38.8 crore subscribers.The BSE Sensex ended the day with gains of 743 points or 2.4 per cent and Nifty added 205 points or 2.2 per cent. Read the full article

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Coronavirus Live Updates: Clues Emerge on Virus’s Path; Trump Orders Halt on Green Cards

Neither of the victims had a travel history, meaning that in all probability they were infected in the community, indicating that the virus was already spreading at that time — a reminder of how swiftly the epidemic has transformed life in the country and around the world.The first recorded death on Feb. 6 was only 73 days ago.In a little over two months, the economy would grind to a halt, nearly the entire country and much of the world would be ordered to shelter at home and life would be transformed for nearly the entire planet.Just as swiftly as the virus swept around the world, there was more evidence that the path out of the crisis would be a long, hard slog.The list of events being canceled started to stretch into the summer and fall: the U.S. national spelling bee in June; the running of the bulls in Spain in July; and Oktoberfest in Germany.And public health officials are warning that in the absence of a vaccine or reliable therapy, the risk of a “second wave” of infections later in the year remains a grave threat.The stunning collapse of the world oil market — with the price of crude briefly falling into negative territory this week — was a reflection of the depth of the economic crisis and an indication of the lasting damage already inflicted.The Senate on Tuesday passed a bipartisan $484 billion coronavirus relief package that would replenish a depleted loan program for distressed small businesses and provide funds for hospitals, states and coronavirus testing.But that may not be enough. The initial $349 billion for putatively for small businesses was drained in just days, with much of the money going to bigger businesses and little or none to smaller establishments. In weeks to come, Congress is considering legislation that could result in another $1 trillion or more in relief.As that went ahead, President Trump’s decision to order a 60-day halt in issuing green cards to prevent people from immigrating to the United States could go into effect today.Families that have waited years to be reunited, businesses that rely on foreign workers, universities that recruit international students with the promise of high-paying American jobs — all of their plans faced uncertainty on Tuesday as the Trump administration announced new restrictions on permanent residency in the United States.Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would order a temporary halt in issuing green cards to prevent people from immigrating to the United States, but he backed away from plans to suspend guest worker programs after business groups exploded in anger at the threat of losing access to foreign labor.The president signaled that a 60-day ban on most green cards, which could be imposed as early as Wednesday, was intended to protect work opportunities for the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic. But if it is extended, its impact on businesses and families could be much broader.The new policy would close the doors to thousands of people hoping to enter the United States or to lay down permanent roots in the country through long-term work or family connections — at least temporarily.“It’s really worrying news,” said Elsa Ramos, whose 22-year-old son, Eder, is in Honduras, waiting for a green card that would allow him to join his parents and sister in the United States.“Imagine the excitement that you have that your son is on his way into the country and then Trump destroys that,” Ms. Ramos said. “It’s really hard.”Lawyers at the Justice Department were still studying whether the president had the legal authority to unilaterally suspend the issuance of green cards, an order that caught officials at the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security off guard, according to people with knowledge of the announcement.The decision not to block guest worker programs — which provide specific visas for technology workers, farm laborers and others — is a concession to business groups, which assailed the White House on Tuesday.Rob Larew, the president of the National Farmers Union, said that even talk of restrictions on immigrant farm workers was disruptive. “It just adds to an already stressed food system,” he said.But Santa Clara County officials said that autopsies of two people who died at their homes on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17 showed that the individuals were infected with the virus. The presence of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, was determined by tissue samples and was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, county health officials said in a statement.“Each one of those deaths is probably the tip of an iceberg of unknown size,” Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s chief medical officer, said in an interview. “It feels quite significant.”Scientists around the world are also racing to use small genetic changes in the virus — biological markers that act as something like fingerprints for disease detectives — to map how the pathogen swept across the country and around the world.Mike Baker and Sheri Fink report on how the high-tech detective work of the researchers in Seattle and their partners elsewhere have opened the first clear window into how and where the virus was spreading — and how difficult it will be to contain.Both studies were performed in California: one among residents of Santa Clara County, south of San Francisco, and the other among residents of Los Angeles County. In both cases, the estimates of the number of people infected in those counties were far higher than the number of confirmed cases.But in a reflection of how much remains unknown and how hard it is to draw sweeping conclusions, the studies, conducted by public health officials and scientists at Stanford University and the University of Southern California, have earned the ire of critics who questioned both the recruitment methods and the analyses.Struggling to keep their businesses alive in the second month of compulsory closings, many owners of independent restaurants and bars across the country are starting to despair of getting the help they need to return.The relief bills that have passed Congress don’t seem to be working for them, they say. Emergency loans made available in the first injection of funds into the Paycheck Protection Program, said one New York baker, went to “people who knew people, and things got pushed around.”“It just seemed — corrupt is the word to use,” he said.Many are doubtful that a fresh injection of aid — including a $484 billion plan expected to win approval later this week — will solve their problems, and other measures they favor seem to be going nowhere.They are confused, they are angry and they all say they know a dozen other small-business owners just like them.“Independent restaurants have never had a great voice in Washington,” said Andy Ricker, the chef and founder of several Thai restaurants in Portland, Ore. “The people who have a voice in Washington have the money to pay for it. I don’t have a spare $1,000 a month to pay for this stuff.”The propaganda efforts go beyond text messages and social media posts directed at Americans. In China, top officials have issued directives to agencies to engage in a global disinformation campaign, according to American officials.The efforts were detailed in an investigative report by The New York Times reporters Edward Wong, Matthew Rosenberg and Julian E. Barnes:The alarming messages came fast and furious in mid-March, popping up on the cellphone screens and social media feeds of millions of Americans grappling with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country.“They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters,” warned one of the messages, which cited a source in the Department of Homeland Security. “He said he got the call last night and was told to pack and be prepared for the call today with his dispatch orders.”The messages became so widespread over 48 hours that the White House’s National Security Council issued an announcement via Twitter that they were “FAKE.”Since that wave of panic, United States intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the disinformation showed up as texts on many Americans’ cellphones, a tactic that several of the officials said they had not seen before.That has spurred agencies to look at new ways in which China, Russia and other nations are using a range of platforms to spread disinformation during the pandemic, they said.The origin of the messages remains murky. American officials declined to reveal details of the intelligence linking Chinese agents to the dissemination of the disinformation, citing the need to protect their sources and methods for monitoring Beijing’s activities.An informal coalition of influential conservative leaders and groups, some with close connections to the White House, has been quietly working to nurture protests and apply political and legal pressure to overturn state and local orders intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus.Among those fighting the orders are FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots, which played pivotal roles in the beginning of Tea Party protests starting more than a decade ago, and a law firm led partly by former Trump White House officials. The effort picked up some influential support on Tuesday, when Attorney General William P. Barr expressed concerns about state-level restrictions potentially infringing on constitutional rights.While polls show a majority of Americans are more concerned about reopening the country too quickly, those helping orchestrate the fight against restrictions predict the effort could energize the right and potentially help President Trump as he campaigns for re-election.Noah Wall, the advocacy director for FreedomWorks, described the current efforts as appealing to a “much broader” group. “This is about people who want to get back to work and leave their homes,” he said.Jay Timmons, the head of the National Association of Manufacturers, one of America’s largest business lobbying groups, had another word for the protesters: idiots.“These people are standing so close together without any protection — with children, for God’s sakes,” Mr. Timmons said in an interview. “And they have no concern, and it’s all about them, and it’s all about what they want.”New York State has registered more than 14,800 deaths because of the coronavirus since the outbreak began in earnest in March, about 70 percent of them in New York City. Sandwiched between overflowing hospitals and backed up cemeteries, the city’s funeral homes have been functioning at maximum capacity. And the cases keep pouring in.Of the 50 crematories across the state, only four are in the city, and they have struggled to keep up with demand. Slots are now booked weeks in advance.Joe Neufeld Sr., a New York funeral home owner, did not know the professor, David Penepent, when he received his call, but he had heard of SUNY’s mortuary science program. Still, Mr. Neufeld said, he was initially “leery and unsure how this was going to work.”Now, he says, he cannot imagine how he would have managed without him.On Easter weekend, Mr. Penepent, 57, and his students moved about 70 bodies. Last week, using two vans, Mr. Penepent transported 150. This week they expected to take 300.“It’s a godsend,” said Mr. Neufeld, the owner of the Gerard J. Neufeld Funeral Home in Queens, which is just blocks from Elmhurst Hospital Center in one of the hardest hit areas in the country. “He came out of nowhere to save us.”

Eating in a pandemic: Here’s some advice.

Whether you are cooking meals from scratch every single day, turning to your childhood comfort foods, or don’t have much of an appetite, the coronavirus lockdown has probably changed your eating habits. Maybe for the better, or possibly for the worse. Here’s some tips to ensure your diet is healthy and that you remember moderation is key.

What else is happening in the world.

Track the progress of the pandemic and stay abreast of the latest developments with our team of international correspondents.Reporting was contributed by Marc Santora, Mike Baker, Sheri Fink, Gina Kolata, Thomas Fuller, Karen Barrow, Caitlin Dickerson, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Lisa Lerer, Alexandra E. Petri, Michael D. Shear, Natasha Singer, Jim Tankersley, Katie Thomas, Kenneth P. Vogel, Pete Wells. Read the full article

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