The crow

12/09/2022

It's not just money. Unions are fighting for better schedules, safety and work conditions
It's not just about the money.

There has been a surge in union activism — including strikes and organizing efforts — in the last year that is being driven by factors far beyond pay rates and benefits packages.
If pay was the only issue, the nation probably wouldn't be facing the risk of its first national rail strike in 30 years this coming week, a walkout that could knock the legs out from under the still struggling supply chain and be another body blow to the US economy.
A presidential panel looking at that labor dispute recommended the two sides agree to a five-year contract that includes an immediate 14% raise, backpay from 2020, and a 24% pay increase over the course of the contract. That's less than the 31% in raises over five years the union is seeking, but more than the 17% previously offered by railroad management.
That was enough to get some of the unions to agree to tentative deals, but not the unions that represent more than 90,000 workers, including those who make up the two-person crews on freight trains. They appear poised to strike unless Congress acts to keep them on the job.
Those unions say they're not rejecting the wage offer. Rather, it's the work rules, staffing and scheduling proposals they object to, which require them to be on call, and ready to report to work, seven days a week for much of the year. If it were just a question of wages, a deal between the two sides would likely already be in place.

It's not just about the money.

11/09/2022

Ukraine's surprising comeback could be giving markets a boost
Ukrainian forces have made sweeping advances in September in their fight against Russia, easing some investor fears of a prolonged war-induced energy crisis in Europe.

European markets closed higher Friday, as did markets in the Asia-Pacific area. The Dow (INDU) jumped more than 200 points in the US and the major indexes appeared on track to end a three-week slump.
Equity prices tend to rise on news of Ukrainian gains or improvement on the ground, explained Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Friday that the country's military has retaken more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of this month, as they continue to press on in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.
Over the past three days, Ukrainian forces have raised their country's flag in the Kharkiv settlement of Shevchenkove, an important Russian logistics hub inside Ukraine, a photo geolocated by CNN shows.
If you map those three days over the direction of the market, said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial, it's clear that this is a contributing factor to equity gains. "This is good news, even at the margin," she added.

Ukrainian forces have made sweeping advances in September in their fight against Russia, easing some investor fears of a prolonged war-induced energy crisis in Europe.

09/09/2022

How the world learned about Queen Elizabeth's death
Few nations do ritual better than Britain. And no medium covers it more skillfully than television.

Both were in high gear Thursday with the death of Queen Elizabeth at the age of 96. Together they provided a sense of continuity and comfort at a time when many were feeling sadness and loss at the passing of someone who had been a part of their media lives for seven decades.
CNN and MSNBC started their rolling coverage Thursday morning. After the announcement of the queen's death Thursday afternoon, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox News interrupted their regular programming to do the same.
The imagery Thursday morning was one of foreboding and passage with shots of darkened skies and the gates of Balmoral in the rain. Even as experts spoke about the queen during morning coverage, split screens regularly held the scene-setting shots of the gates and the gloom and the rain. The images powerfully communicated a timeless feeling of waiting at the gates for word from the castle.
The nighttime images of a sea of black umbrellas in the rain outside Buckingham Place were just as evocative and moving.

Few nations do ritual better than Britain. And no medium covers it more skillfully than television.

08/09/2022

These companies are looking at using rockets to blast cargo across the planet
New York (CNN Business)The US military is racking up deals with commercial rocket companies to explore the idea of using rockets typically tasked with launching satellites or astronauts to shuttle military cargo around the world at record speeds.

The companies so far tapped to join the military in exploring ways to bring that idea to fruition include Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and, most recently, Rocket Lab, according to a Tuesday press release.
Two other startups, Colorado-based Sierra Space Corporation and the Richard Branson-backed company Virgin Orbit, have also signed deals.
Essentially, the lineup is a who's-who of the commercial "new space" sector — relatively young rocket companies that are already shaking up the business of getting satellites to orbit at cheaper price points.
But these deals with the military are something different. Rather than rockets leaving their freight in Earth's orbit, this program aims to use them to get weapons, supplies or perhaps even people from one country to another at speeds far surpassing that of other types of transportation.
And that's because rockets have a speed advantage over airplanes. Rockets that can shoot into the high atmosphere have much less air to cut through as they zoom over the planet. With less air dragging them back, they can go much faster than something that needs air to move, like a jet. The tradeoff, however, is that rockets tend to be far more expensive than aircraft.

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07/09/2022

The problem that should be keeping Liz Truss awake at night
London (CNN Business)Liz Truss has a lot on her plate. The United Kingdom is heading for a recession. Workers are going on strike as inflation erodes their living standards. And millions of people and thousands of businesses need immediate relief from soaring energy bills to get through the winter.

"This is a tough time for the economy," former Prime Minister Boris Johnson conceded Tuesday in his farewell speech.
Speaking on her arrival in Downing Street, Truss said she would "ride out the storm," promising help with energy bills as well as tax cuts. But the incoming prime minister is in a bind. If her government borrows a lot of money, it risks further fanning inflation and inflaming burgeoning fears among investors that the country's finances are becoming unsustainable.

Liz Truss has a lot on her plate. The United Kingdom is heading for a recession. Workers are going on strike as inflation erodes their living standards. And millions of people and thousands of businesses need immediate relief from soaring energy bills to get through the winter.

04/08/2022