Business

Two men were arrested from Phagwara in Punjab for allegedly abducting their 40-year-old business partner from Kashmiri Gate here over a monetary issue, police said on Saturday. The accused, who introduced themselves as police officers before the taxi driver who was hired by them, were forcibly taking the victim along with them to Jammu and Kashmir, they said. They have been identified as Nishar Ahmad (48) and Imtiyaz Ahmad (48), both residents of Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Police got a PCR call on Thursday where a person said that some Kashmiri people took his brother-in-law Sayad Tarikh from near Kashmiri Gate. The caller was contacted who said that he was calling from Kashmir, a senior police officer said. Local inquiry with passersby and vendors near the area was conducted and all tour and travel offices were visited. During the inquiry, it was revealed that two Kashmiri men abducted another Kashmiri from Hare Rama Travels, Kashmere Gate. The CCTV … [Read more...] about Man Abducted from Delhi by His Business Partners, Rescued from Punjab’s Phagwara

Bob Born, a Pennsylvania confectioner who brought the marshmallow candies known as Peeps to Easter baskets nationwide — and incidentally launched a pop-culture phenomenon in which people consume, dismember, microwave and even dress them up by the millions every spring — died on Jan. 29 at his home in Conshohocken, Pa. He was 98. His son, Ross, who succeeded him at the helm of Just Born Quality Confections, confirmed the death. Mr. Born’s company, which his father founded and which he led for more than 30 years, produces a variety of candies — its best seller is Mike and Ike, the bullet-shaped fruit chews — but Peeps are by far its most recognized, and its best loved. Thanks to mass-production equipment that Mr. Born designed, the company makes more than 5.5 million Peeps a day, or close to two billion a year, the vast majority of which sell in the months leading up to Easter. Most Peeps get eaten, sometimes in public displays of gluttony: In 2017 Matt Stonie ate 255 Peeps in just … [Read more...] about Bob Born, Who Brought Marshmallow Peeps to the Masses, Dies at 98

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Boris Johnson has thrown his weight behind calls for tax cuts to kickstart growth and boost the Tories’ chances of winning the next general election. The former prime minister said he had “no doubt” the Government would start to get the tax burden down “when the time comes” and would reap the reward at the ballot box. Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been resisting demands from some Tory MPs to cut taxes in next month’s Budget, insisting they have to get inflation down first. While Mr Johnson did not directly criticise the Government’s position, his comments – in an interview with former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries for TalkTV – are likely to encourage Conservatives impatient for taxes to come down. Recommended Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson backs tax cuts to boost economic growth

VERNON, Calif. — Teresa Robles begins her shift around dawn most days at a pork processing plant in an industrial corridor four miles south of downtown Los Angeles. She spends eight hours on her feet cutting tripe, a repetitive motion that has given her constant joint pain, but also a $17.85-an-hour income that supports her family. So in early June, when whispers began among the 1,800 workers that the facility would soon shut down, Ms. Robles, 57, hoped they were only rumors. “But it was true,” she said somberly at the end of a recent shift, “and now each day inches a little closer to my last day.” The 436,000-square-foot factory, with roots dating back nearly a century, is scheduled to close early next year. Its Virginia-based owner, Smithfield Foods, says it will be cheaper to supply the region from factories in the Midwest than to continue operations here. “Unfortunately, the escalating costs of doing business in California required this decision,” said Shane Smith, … [Read more...] about Who’s to Blame for a Factory Shutdown: A Company, or California?

When Microsoft announced its $70 billion acquisition of the video game maker Activision Blizzard last year, almost everyone involved expected antitrust inquiries from officials in the European Union and Britain, and many thought regulators there would try to block the deal. What U.S. enforcers would do, however, was less clear. By December, it had become apparent that all three regulators would scrutinize the deal — and that they were playing off one another’s plans. The tell? The Federal Trade Commission chose to sue Microsoft in its own administrative court rather than first moving to block the deal in a federal court. Typically, the agency would seek a temporary injunction from a federal judge to stop a transaction from going through before trial; in this case, the European Union’s antitrust authority had already announced it was reviewing the deal. And the F.T.C. knew Europe’s inquiry meant the deal was at least many months away from closing, so it went straight to its own, … [Read more...] about Microsoft’s Activision Deal Tests a New Global Alignment on Antitrust

Add escalating labor tensions at Walt Disney World to the list of problems at the world’s largest entertainment company. Unions that represent about 32,000 full-time workers at Disney World — ride operators, costumed performers, housekeepers, restaurant and shop employees, bus drivers, custodians — said on Friday night that members had voted to reject Disney’s offer for a new five-year contract. Matt Hollis, president of the Service Trades Council Union, a consortium of six unions, said that 96 percent of the votes cast went against Disney. “Disney can do better and must do better,” Mr. Hollis said at a union event in Orlando, Fla. In a statement, Disney said that its “strong offer” would provide more than 30,000 employees “a nearly 10 percent on average raise immediately, as well as retroactive increased pay in their paychecks, and we are disappointed that those increases will now be delayed.” The minimum starting wage for the Disney workers is currently $15. Florida’s state … [Read more...] about Disney World Workers Reject Contract Offer

Federal prosecutors are scrutinizing a growing array of people tied to Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed cryptocurrency empire, including his father, his brother and former colleagues, as part of a rapidly expanding investigation into one of the biggest American financial crime cases in more than a decade, according to 13 people with knowledge of the inquiry. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has created a special task force to pursue its investigation into the collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange founded by Mr. Bankman-Fried. More than half a dozen prosecutors, led by Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, are building the criminal case and tracking down the billions of dollars in customer money that Mr. Bankman-Fried has been charged with misappropriating. In recent weeks, prosecutors have had talks with lawyers representing a dozen former executives and employees at FTX and Alameda Research, the hedge fund Mr. Bankman-Fried also founded, 11 … [Read more...] about FTX Inquiry Expands as Prosecutors Reach Out to Former Executives

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email As traumatic learning encounters go, work experience is pretty tame compared to being mugged at knifepoint. Still, it remains something of an adolescent curve ball. Having gone through the first ordeal last week, my 16-year-old son is now obliged to cope with the second. In a proper, big office. At a proper, big newspaper. And he is quite nervous about it. “What will I do at lunchtime?” he asks his older sister, who went through the ritual two years ago. She looks at him as if she had gone through an experience far, far out of his comfort zone. “You will eat alone,” she decrees. Really? I think. “Every day. I ate alone.” A terrible silence descends over the kitchen. “I’m sure people will be nice to you,” I say brightly. I can almost see him squaring his shoulders, preparing for endless days of getting lost and solitary … [Read more...] about Be kind to those on the way up the career ladder – they’ll soon be gliding past you

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email An economic recovery should have been the story of 2022 . Yet despite his pledges, Rishi Sunak has been light on details on how he will dramatically overturn the UK’s challenges. Innovation could help. Creative ideas and legislation can lead to public policies that let people of all backgrounds fully participate in the economy . I’ve seen change happen in the US via ‘clean slate’ laws – and it could be the radical action Sunak needs to jump-start the economy here in the UK, particularly after Brexit. Here’s how it could play out: I am calling on the prime minster to propose and pass clean slate provisions in the UK, so people who have been free of convictions and out of prison for a period would have their criminal records sealed. In most cases, people would not need to disclose a sealed record when applying for a … [Read more...] about The radical US policy that could save Rishi Sunak – and the British economy

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email It’s been three years since we left the European Union – and three years since barriers to commerce with our largest trading partner were put in place. With Brexit, Britain entered into the first trade deal in history that increased friction, rather than reduced it. Small businesses are now entangled in red tape , making it harder for the NHS and care homes to get the staff they need, and preventing UK scientists from accessing vital funding for their research. Threats to break international law over the Northern Ireland Protocol have not been withdrawn – a remarkable decision given the need to work closely with our allies and partners in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The Retained EU Law Bill is being brought forward, which – despite its rather dry title – threatens to rip up many of the high-quality standards and … [Read more...] about How to rebuild our relationship with Europe after Brexit