Tech industry

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The job offer from a Chinese semiconductor company was appealing. A higher salary. Work trips to explore new technologies. No matter that it would be less prestigious for Kevin Li than his job in Taiwan at one of the world’s leading chip makers. Mr. Li eagerly moved to northeast China in 2018, taking part in a wave of corporate migration as the Chinese government moved aggressively to build up its semiconductor industry. He went back to Taiwan after two years, as Covid-19 swept through China and global tensions intensified. Other highly skilled Taiwanese engineers are going home, too. For many, the strict pandemic measures have been tiresome. Geopolitics has made the job even more fraught, with China increasingly vocal about staking its claim on Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy. The Taiwanese government has begun to discourage local engineers from going to China, concerned that they were taking proprietary information with them. “Some who went to … [Read more...] about Engineers From Taiwan Bolstered China’s Chip Industry. Now They’re Leaving.

My life so far has often been distilled to numbers: 1.7 million subscribers, 1.8 million total followers, 155 million views. At 12 years old, I started posting videos on YouTube. In November, at 24, I quit . When I tell people about my videos, I often say, “imagine if Ferris Bueller had a YouTube channel.” I used the style and conventions of nostalgic teen films to romanticize what was otherwise an ordinary life. On YouTube, a romanticized life is also, paradoxically, a deeply personal one. My channel was as raw and honest as I would have been in my diary. That’s part of the culture. Being known as you are — and praised for it — lures in those of us with a deep desire to be seen. But another part of the culture is to make yourself into a product and figure out how to sell that product. Success is measured in views and subscriber counts, visible to all. The numbers feel like an adrenaline shot to your self-esteem. The validation is an addicting high, but its lows hit just as … [Read more...] about YouTube Gave Me Everything. Then I Grew Up.

In Albany, an outbreak of the coronavirus erupted among nurses and patients in the cancer unit of a hospital. Across the state, nurses at hospitals in the Buffalo area bought their own masks and face shields out of concern about the quality of supplies in stock. And when an emergency room nurse in New Rochelle began her shift, she was asked to care for 15 patients, after her co-workers called out sick. The accounts recall the early days of the pandemic, when the virus ravaged New York — but these scenes took place over the past several weeks. Nurses and other health care workers in the state have begun to warn about the conditions in hospitals, as virus patients are checking in at an alarming rate. “We’re worse off in some ways than we were in the beginning,” said Shalon Matthews, an emergency room nurse in New Rochelle. “We need staff, we need help, we need resources. I’m fearful for my patients and I’m fearful that the same thing that happened back in March, it’s … [Read more...] about Nurses Are Anxious and Angry in 2nd Wave: ‘We’re Not Prepared’

Big businesses often donate to both political parties and say their support is tied to narrow issues of specific interest to their industries. That practice became increasingly fraught last week, after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and some Republican lawmakers tried to overturn Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s win in the presidential election. A flurry of companies have since reviewed political giving via their corporate political action committees: Morgan Stanley is suspending all PAC contributions to members of Congress who did not vote to certify the results of the Electoral College, a spokesman said. Marriott said it would pause donations from its PAC “to those who voted against certification of the election,” a spokeswoman told DealBook. She did not say how long the break would last or how the hotel chain would decide when to resume donations. The chemicals giant Dow said it was suspending all PAC contributions “to any member of Congress who voted to object to the … [Read more...] about Big companies pause their political contributions.

Donald Trump, as expected, announced on Tuesday night that he’ll run for president again in 2024, despite being twice impeached, castigated for fomenting the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, investigated for potential fraud at his family’s business and blamed for Republicans’ weak showing in last week’s midterm elections. But while the former president is counting on faithful Republicans to once again flock to him, he appears to be losing supporters — including deep-pocketed conservative donors who are instead looking for alternatives. Just this morning, Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone , a longtime ally of Trump’s, told Axios that he would back someone from a “new generation” of Republicans. And the attendee list for Tuesday night’s announcement was telling: Loyalists like Roger Stone and Mike Lindell, the C.E.O. of MyPillow, were there, but few members of Congress made the trip. Mr. Trump outlined what a second term would look like. In his meandering 63-minute speech, he focused … [Read more...] about Big-Name Donors Are Moving On From Trump

If China’s show of force over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip was meant as a deterrent, it has not had the intended effect in Taiwan, where the military drills have reinforced a careful two-pronged strategy of shoring up international support, while avoiding overt confrontation. The exercises, which encircled the self-ruled island and simulated a blockade, appear instead to have hardened the Taiwanese belief in the value of the island’s diplomatic, economic and military maneuverings to stake out a middle ground in the big-power standoff between China and the United States. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese officials have quietly courted Washington, making gains with weapon sales and vows of support for the democracy. They have also held back from flaunting that success, in an effort to avoid outbursts from China, which claims the island as its own. As Beijing vows to normalize the military drills ever closer to Taiwan, that approach is likely to guide the island’s … [Read more...] about As China Vows More Military Exercises, Taiwan Is Undeterred

c *We may receive a referral fee from some of the companies featured in this article. This is not a financial advice article. Refer to a professional for financial advice. (Ad) When it comes to protecting your retirement account against market volatility and inflation, a gold-based IRA may be one of the best options at your disposal. Also referred to as a precious metals IRA, a gold IRA is a self-directed retirement account that allows you to invest in precious metals such as physical gold, silver, and platinum. Unlike a traditional IRA account, which can easily be setup by most investors, setting up a gold IRA account is a little more complicated and involves a few moving parts. That's why many people rely on the best gold IRA companies to facilitate the process for them. We’ve reviewed the best gold ira companies in the industry to help you find the right gold IRA investment firm. We rated each gold ira provider below on a variety of factors including reputation, annual … [Read more...] about 10 Best Gold IRA Companies for Precious Metals Investing in 2023