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U.S. entered recession in February, ending record expansion
The declaration underscores the widespread economic pain that has resulted from measures taken to combat the pandemic. Congress and the Federal Reserve have poured trillions of dollars into the economy since the recession began, and there are early signs that those efforts helped head off a much worse outcome; the unemployment rate, though still quite high, dropped in May from April. President Donald Trump has sold the economy as the biggest asset in his reelection bid, but he faces a tough task in lifting the country out of a downturn. Many economists warn that the green shoots starting to crop up in economic data might disappear if extended unemployment benefits and other federal support is allowed to run out. The NBER announcement makes official what was already widely apparent, from do...
Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ Debuts at No. 1 in Australia
Lady Gaga scores her fourth No. 1 in Australia as Chromatica (Interscope/Universal) debuts at the summit of the ARIA Albums Chart. Gaga’s sixth studio set eclipses the No. 2 best of Joanne, from Oct 2016, though it’ll need some real staying power to match her soundtrack to A Star Is Born, which spent eleven weeks at No. 1 in 2018/2019. Previously, the U.S. pop superstar snagged top spot in Australia with The Fame Monster (April 2010) and Born This Way (May 2011). Also making a splash this week is Kip Moore’s Wild World (MER/Universal), which bows at a career-high No. 4. It’s the followup to Slowheart, which peaked at No. 6 in September 2017, and the November 2018 EP Room To Spare: The Acoustic Sessions, which hit No. 18. Rounding out the top five is Cold Chisel’s classic third album East (...
Lady Gaga and DaBaby Battle It Out For U.K. Chart Supremacy
Lady Gaga has a chance of securing the U.K. chart double. Though a rockstar stands in her way. DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (Interscope) featuring Roddy Ricch takes a narrow early lead in the sprint to the U.K. singles chart crown. “Rockstar” is the most streamed song in the week so far to lead the First Look survey, while “Rain On Me” (Interscope) by Gaga and Ariana Grande is close behind. “Rain On Me” has the advantage on downloads in the first two days of the chart cycle and is firmly in the race, according to the Official Charts Company. Don’t count out Gaga just yet. Her sixth and latest album Chromatica on Friday landed the biggest opening week for any artist on the U.K. albums chart this year. Making moves on the sales blast are dance tracks “Flowers” (No. 11 via A...
Ennio Morricone and John Williams Honored For Film Scores
A Spanish foundation on Friday (May 5) awarded one of the country’s most prestigious awards to composers Ennio Morricone and John Williams for their film work. The jury that decides the Princess of Asturias Awards said the Italian and American composers “have enriched hundreds of films with their talent.” The pair “demonstrate complete mastery of composition as well as narrative, building emotion, tension and lyricism at the service of cinematographic images.” Williams, 88, has scored movies such as “Star Wars,” “Jaws,” the “Indiana Jones” series and the first three “Harry Potter” films. Morricone, 91, has over the past seven decades created more than 400 scores for cinema and television. The €50,000 award ($56,700) is the first of eight prizes, including in the arts, social sciences and s...
American crusade against ‘Putin’s pipeline’ intensifies
“The original sanctions legislation … was tremendously effective at thwarting the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. “We must now continue that effort and ensure that Russia does not surreptitiously extend its malign influence throughout Europe.” The announcement comes on the heels of a Monday article in Russian outlet RBC saying that the pipe-laying ship most likely to resume construction on Nord Stream 2, Akademik Cherskiy, was removed from the Gazprom fleet’s official website. It is now listed in Russia’s ship registration database as belonging to the Samara Thermal Energy Property Fund — a private joint venture between two regional Gazprom subsidiaries handling real estate, RBC repo...
Singapore ends two-month virus lockdown
Singapore on Tuesday began allowing activities that “do not pose a high risk of transmission” to resume after two months of lockdown. Despite reporting the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in East Asia, the government chose to stick to its plans of easing restrictions from June. Asides China, Singapore has recorded more coronavirus cases than any country in East or South-East Asia. Yet, offices, factories, schools and worship centres are now opened. Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, had said on Monday that the relaxation will likely prove “a big relief to all’’ but one that is “certainly not without its risks’’. Some restrictions will, however, remain for several more weeks. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online....
Olivier Giroud explains decision to extend Chelsea stay
Getty Images Olivier Giroud has opened up on his decision to extend his stay at Chelsea, outlining his plans to “keep winning trophies” and show Frank Lampard “he can count on me”. Giroud completed a surprise move to Chelsea from Arsenal back in January 2018, and has since scored 21 goals in 76 outings for the club across all competitions. The World Cup winner played a key role in the Blues’ run to glory in the Europa League last season, but fell down the squad pecking order after Lampard was drafted in to replace Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Tammy Abraham has served as Chelsea’s first-choice centre-forward throughout the 2019-20 campaign, with Giroud restricted to just nine Premier League appearances in total. The 33-year-old was tipped to leave the club in January amid...
How music legend Majek Fashek passed on
Legendary reggae artiste, Majekodunmi Fasheke, aka Majek Fashek is dead. The artiste died in a New York hospital after a protracted illness on Monday about 5:45pm. He was aged 71. His manager, Uzoma Omenka, confirmed this in a video uploaded on the late singer’s Instagram handle. “Yes, it is true that the legend has gone to be with the Lord. But this time I want to say we should all celebrate him, his achievements. He has done a lot for Nigeria and for Africa. Whatever the family decides, I will get it to you. This is all I have to say for now.” He said. Fashek, who battled a mysterious protracted illness had been down since 2019 and was at a time on admission at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich in England . Fashek was born in Benin-City, Edo state to an Ijesha father and a Benin mot...
Senegal postpones school restart after teachers test positive for coronavirus
Senegal has postponed the restart of schools until further notice after several teachers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the education ministry said late on Monday. Schools were scheduled to gradually resume on Tuesday, after weeks of shutdown due to the pandemic. Senegal has recorded 3,739 positive COVID-19 cases since the start of the outbreak, with 43 deaths. An education ministry statement said teachers tested positive for coronavirus in Ziguinchor, in the Casamance area, south of the country. It said Senegal’s President Macky Sall decided to “postpone the restart of classes until a later date, in order to avoid any risk of the virus spreading in schools.” The government began bussing teachers from the capital Dakar to schools in the other regions last week in preparation for ...
Sony Music Launches $100M Fund to Support Social Justice & Anti-Racist Initiatives
The company has also pledged to expand mental health resources for employees and work with outside experts to advise the company on its inclusion and diversity commitments. Sony Music Group has launched a $100 million fund “to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives around the world,” the company announced Friday (June 5), noting it will immediately begin donating to “organizations that foster equal rights.” “Racial injustice is a global issue that affects our artists, songwriters, our people and of course society at large,” said Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer in a statement. “We stand against discrimination everywhere and we will take action accordingly with our community fully involved in effectively using these funds.” Sony Music earlier revealed it would be mat...
How the U.S. economic response could change as people go back to work
Republicans have raised concerns that the enhanced unemployment benefits could discourage people from returning to work, because in some cases they are making more than their original wages. Stephen Moore, a conservative economist and outside adviser to President Donald Trump, said Friday that the topline number of jobs being created could have been higher for May if the unemployment sweetener were not in place. “We need to go back to the old unemployment insurance system as quickly as possible now,” Moore said. But others say the higher level of aid is bolstering consumer confidence and keeping demand closer to normal levels as businesses begin to reopen. “Every dollar in unemployment insurance churns in the community, keeping it afloat in recessions,” Michele Evermore, a senior policy an...
Trump declares victory amid turmoil
But they were wrong. And Trump pounced. He was ready to declare victory. Victory over the coronavirus. Victory over a slumping economy. Victory over racial inequality. He had his solution: jobs. At 10:30 a.m., Trump marched his top economic advisers to the White House Rose Garden for an unexpected news conference to celebrate the surprisingly positive jobs report — 2.2 million jobs added after months of historic, precipitous declines; an unemployment rate that had fallen to 13.3 percent after weeks of unimaginable rises. The numbers had him ebullient, gleeful that the upswing indicated all of America’s ills were on the mend. It was a great day, he said, for American workers. It was a great day, he said, for the fight against the coronavirus. It was a great day, he said, for “equality” and ...
