Business Contents Archive

Dozens of white-collar Starbucks employees and managers have signed an open letter protesting the company’s return-to-office mandate and its alleged union-busting, opening a new front in the battle over the avowedly progressive coffee chain’s treatment of its staff. “We love Starbucks, but these actions are fracturing trust in Starbucks leadership,” the workers wrote in their letter, which was sent to senior executives and board members and will be posted on a website Wednesday. “Morale is at an all-time low, and the brand reputation and financial value of this publicly traded company are at risk.” Both violating baristas’ unionization rights, and subjecting white-collar staff to an abrupt return-to-office mandate, the letter argues, reflect the same problem: “Not listening to partners.” Tap the link in bio for the full story.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said his department previously concluded that the Covid-19 virus most likely originated from a "potential lab incident" in China, contradicting scientific claims that it emerged naturally like other previous outbreaks. "The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan," Wray said in an interview with Fox News. The Chinese government "has been doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here, the work that we're doing," he added. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning urged the US to "respect science and facts," and stop "politicizing" the issue. Tap the link in our bio for more on Wray’s comments.

At least 36 people were killed and 66 more were injured in the worst train crash in Greece in decades. The disaster happened in the Tempe valley in the country’s north, when a passenger train traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided with a cargo train, igniting a fire. Authorities are investigating how the trains ended up on the same track "for many kilometers." Tap the link in our bio for the latest. 📷: Zekas Leonidas/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images

Venus Williams — seven-time Grand Slam title holder and four-time Olympic gold medalist — is joining private equity firm Topspin. The 42-year-old tennis icon will take on the role of operating partner, with a focus on investing in health and wellness businesses. "There's a lot of industries that African Americans have historically not penetrated — even tennis," Williams says. "I spend a lot of time in industries that need that penetration, and I also find in a lot of ways for that to be a calling." Tap the link in bio for more on her ambitions off the court.

Bridgewater Associates was bound to be different once billionaire founder Ray Dalio was no longer at the helm of the world's largest hedge fund. Very different, it turns out. Under new CEO Nir Bar Dea, Bridgewater is capping the size of its flagship funds, plowing more money and talent into AI, expanding in Asia and in equities and doubling down on sustainability. To pare costs and free up resources, it's also embarking on a firm-wide reorganization over the next two weeks, eliminating about 100 jobs in a workforce of roughly 1,300. "Just doing what we've been doing isn't good enough," says Bar Dea. "Evolve or die. That's what’s happening here." Tap the link in our bio for our exclusive story.

After three years of effective closure from the world, the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign is expected to woo back tourists and boost the economy by giving away 500,000 free airline tickets to the city. The tickets will be distributed by the city's airlines with their own conditions, eligibility requirements and application process. Cathay Pacific will require individuals to register and correctly answer three questions on a first-come-first-serve basis. The city recently dropped its travel restrictions and ended its two-and-a-half-year-long mask mandate, which was one of the world's longest. Tap the link in the bio to see how you can score a free flight. (via bloombergpursuits)

Japan posted the fewest births in its recorded history last year, continuing a seven-year decline that further aggravates the challenges of its rapidly aging society. The number of newborns fell to 799,728 in 2022, down 5.1% from a year earlier, to lowest since it began record-keeping in 1899. The number of deaths rose 8.9% to 1.58 million for the same period. The lack of births means Japan will have a smaller workforce and fewer taxpayers to sustain the world’s third-largest economy in the years to come. The rising cost of caring for its elderly citizens, who make up a higher proportion of the population than in any other country, is draining the nation’s coffers, helping make it the world’s most indebted country. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. (via BloombergEquality)

Apple's Chinese suppliers are likely to move capacity out of the country far faster than many observers anticipate to pre-empt fallout from escalating Beijing-Washington tensions. AirPods maker GoerTek is one of the many manufacturers exploring locations beyond its native China, which today cranks out the bulk of the world’s gadgets from iPhones to PlayStations. It’s investing an initial $280 million in a new Vietnam plant while considering an India expansion. Click the link in our bio to read how the expanding conflict between the US and China is spurring a rethink of the electronics industry’s decades-old supply chain.