E.U. Likes Trump’s Stance on China, but Hates His Methods

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E.U. Likes Trump’s Stance on China, but Hates His Methods Photo President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing last year. Their tariff proposals have raised fears of a global trade war — and Europe worries it will be caught in the middle. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times BRUSSELS — Virtually no one in Europe wants President Trump to plunge headlong into a trade war with China. But nearly everyone thinks that it is time to stand up to China’s closed markets and trade manipulation.
The European Union may not like Mr. Trump or the way he is doing things — but that does not mean it dislikes his aims when it comes to trading with China.
But Europe would also like the conflict to go away, fearing the bloc will be caught between the United States, its primary market and second-largest supplier, and China, its primary supplier and second-largest market.
The way to make that happen, it believes, is challenging China through negotiations within the existing trading system, avoi..

EU plans to give consumer more rights against big companies

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Consumers will be allowed to take collective legal action when wronged
EU consumers will get more powers to challenge big companies in the courts, and a right to clearer information about who they are buying from, under proposals unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday.
The new package of measures comes on the heels of the Dieselgate scandal, that saw consumers sold cars that emitted up to 40 times more toxic fumes in real-world driving than claimed.
Under the proposals, consumer groups would gain powers to sue large corporations for collective redress on the behalf of those affected by such unfair commercial practices.
Read more Sticking to EU law 'vastly' better than making our own, say businesses Penalties for firms that break the law would also be increased, with a maximum fine of at least 4 per cent of the trader's annual turnover in any given member state – and national governments allowed to go higher if they want.
British consumers could miss o..

John Boehner: Ex-Republican speaker joins marijuana firm despite previously being 'unalterably opposed' to legalisation

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'My thinking on cannabis has evolved'
A former senior Republican politician, who for many years was “unalterably opposed” to the legalisation of cannabis, is to join the advisory board of a marijuana company.
John Boehner, who served as Speaker of the House until 2015, announced he will be joining a cannabis company that has operations across 11 states, because his “thinking on cannabis has evolved”.
“I’m convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans, and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities,” he said.
I’m joining the board of #AcreageHoldings because my thinking on cannabis has evolved. I’m convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans, and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities. @AcreageCannabis https://t.co/f5i9KcQD0W
— John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) April 11, 2018 Mr Boehner, 68, was appointed to the board of Acreage Holdings, a business that aims to “make cannab..

Melrose bosses take home annual pay of £42m each ahead of GKN takeover

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Company says the incentive arrangement is 'highly effective and essential”
Top bosses at turnaround specialist Melrose have raked in pay packets worth nearly £42m ahead of the company's pending takeover of British engineering giant GKN.
Melrose’s annual report showed four executives benefited from the payout of a five-year long-term incentive plan (LTIP), which meant the top brass were handed an extra £41.7m each on top of their salaries for 2017.
Executive chairman Christopher Miller, executive vice chairman David Roper, chief executive Simon Peckham, and group finance director Geoffrey Martin all claimed the awards.
Read more Melrose takeover offer approved in GKN shareholder vote Melrose said the LTIP payment – which was approved back in 2012 – was linked to the creation of £3.6bn in value for shareholders between 2012 and 2017, representing an average annual return of 22 per cent.
The company's remuneration committee added that the performance “validates” the..

Tech We’re Using: How to Stay on Top of Breaking News

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How to Stay on Top of Breaking News How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Jonah Bromwich, a breaking news reporter for The Times in New York, discussed the tech he’s using.
You cover breaking and trending news with an extremely quick turnaround. What are some of the tech tools you rely on to stay on top of the news and file stories quickly and accurately?
It’s true! I use a couple of surfacing tools, most prominently Dataminr. Basically what it does is provide us with a continuously updating feed of tweets that have breaking news in them.
Photo Mr. Bromwich listens to a lot of music. When he wants it louder, a Bose SoundTouch system is his go-to option. Credit Mark Abramson for The New York Times For example, we could become aware of a story that we want to monitor (and possibly cover) when a tweet from a local Houston reporter says something like, “Gunshots fired in Harris County Institute of the Forensic Sciences.” And then secon..