‘We can help’: Brits sign up to defend Ukraine against Russia

Ukraine has waived visa requirements for foreigners entering 

the nation in order to help fight against the Russian military - 

 Copyright AP Photo

By Ben Anthony Horton with AP • Updated: 01/03/2022 - 19:06

British volunteers eager to fight against Vladimir Putin's forces are heading to the Ukrainian embassy in London to enlist - despite warnings from ministers that they could be breaking the law if they do so.

Groups of men were seen speaking with Ukranian officials outside the embassy in west London, after answering Ukraine's call to arms for foreign fighters wishing to join the country's defence.

Among them was gym owner Leon Dawson, who said he was prepared to lose his life fighting in the country's newly formed International Legion.

We can help, so why not?

"They look like they need help,” says Dawson. “We're young, strong, fit men. We can help, so why not?"

As well as young men, 60-year-old Brian Grove was among the Brits hoping to travel to Ukraine.

The former Territorial Army member from Kent says he is “ready to get on a flight tomorrow” if permitted.

“I'm 60, which means I'm just about within the age range they will accept,” jokes Grove.

Can British citizens travel to Ukraine to fight?

An armoured vehicle rolls outside Mykolaivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine

AP Photo

It is still unclear whether foreign nationals will be legally allowed to represent the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the current conflict.

Warnings from UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urged Brits against joining the fighting, suggesting there were better ways to assist Ukraine - including volunteering to support refugees, or donating to the Ukrainian embassy.

But while Wallance remained resistant to the idea, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she “wouldn’t oppose” British nationals travelling to the country to fight the Russian invasion.

For those determined to go, Ukraine has waived visa requirements for foreigners entering the nation in order to help fight against the Russian military.

In a decree signed on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised a ‘temporary visa-free regime’ for foreigners who want to aid the country's defence, effective immediately.

Citizens of the United States and European Union had previously required visas for tourist visits of more than 90 days within a six-month period.

The risk versus the reward

Soldiers train for combat in UkraineAP Photo

On day six of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting is intensifying across the nation - with civilian casualties becoming more and more common.

A 27-kilometre long convoy of Russian armoured vehicles was spotted inching closer to the Ukrainian capital, while shelling in Kharkiv continued to target residential buildings.

Reports indicate that more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka.

You're not guaranteed to make it back.

Despite the increasing danger, Leon Dawson remains adamant that he is doing the right thing by joining the Ukrainian armed forces.

"As soon as you get off the train in Ukraine your life is on the line. You're not guaranteed to make it back," says the gym owner.

"It's a hard time, but if I'm this scared and apprehensive, what are the people over there going through?"

‘I'm staying here for my animals’: The Italian man rescuing stray dogs in Ukraine

Andrea Cisternino with some of his stray animals. - 

 Copyright Andrea Cisternino / Facebook

By Diego Malcangi & Maeve Campbell • Updated: 01/03/2022 - 

There is shooting going on outside, as we speak. He has a tired voice, maybe a bit resigned, but calm.

Andrea Cisternino has been living in Ukraine for 13 years, not far from Kyiv, where he created his own award-winning animal shelter. We chat about his life and what his experience has been on the ground since the invasion began.

Originally a fashion photographer from Italy, Cisternino married a Ukrainian woman. He tells us that they don't want to have to abandon the 400 animals they have rescued so far in his shelter.

Cisternino has already faced some hardship in his life. During the Euro football championships, he was targeted by ‘dog hunters’ looking to locate the animals for a reward. At the time, the government was giving out licences and money to those who killed stray dogs. As a result, his shelter was set on fire.

So what did he do? He started all over again.

Then, a few years ago, the first tensions of the conflict in the Donbas erupted - and for the first time he thought he better accumulate provisions, because you never know what's to come.

But a war like this…no, he didn’t believe a Russian invasion was possible. Cisternino did not expect this would happen. For the first time in his life he discovered the smell of gunpowder.

He doesn't speak like a member of the media, it's just the strange normality of someone who's suddenly immersed in a war. Not only does he speak of shooting or bomb shelters forming in supermarkets, he also speaks about normal life.

They're shooting, unfortunately this is the situation. This is a sudden and incomprehensible war.

A life so different from other normal lives, and yet similarly shaken by a sudden and incomprehensible war.

"They're shooting, unfortunately this is the situation,” says the animal rescuer.

“Also here, in the close-by villages, they destroyed a bridge so that Russians won't be able to cross. We hear the Russian planes and the helicopters going to the Antonov airport (also known as Hostomel) which they took over and which is some 30 kms away from here.”

“Usually they start shooting at 5.00 in the morning and go on until 8.00. Then, after a while... well, it's a bewildering situation."

Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022.

Emilio Morenatti/Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

You say "usually", but it's been happening for a couple of days, right?

"Yes, we have been in this situation for a few days but it already feels like six months.”

And you’ve lived here for many years?

"I've been here since 2009. I married and, as a photographer, I started documenting what was happening during the 2012 Euros Championship, then I decided to build an animal shelter and many things changed - my life changed."

“It is an animal shelter that was initially for dogs, then also other animals, like horses.”

Do you think you'll now need to shelter people - maybe fleeing from Kyiv, as it might remain a bit safer there? Or maybe you'll have to escape yourself - what do you foresee?

"I don't know, I’m staying here for my animals. It depends on what happens, but 400 animals is a huge number to transport anywhere, to bring them away, and to find a place for them. There are horses, cows, dogs, cats…a bit of everything.”

“Also the shelter cost a lot for me - it was a sacrifice, so it's not easy to leave everything behind. At the moment I don't know, I'm here."

You don't have any supply difficulties yet, do you?

"I never imagined he (Putin) could bring about this madness, because for me this is pure madness.”

“But, I was already accumulating some extra provisions for the dogs, the cats and the horses because of what happened in 2014 with the situation in the Donbas. I’ve been trying to never find myself in the same situation, I was thinking it was not going to happen, but I was able to buy some stuff before everything was shut down.”

Andrea with one of the cows in his animal shelter.

Andrea Cisternino / Facebook

Your shelter has had some problems in the past with locals, because there was a dog hunt authorised by the government - are you more accepted now?

"Today we collaborate as a community - after three hard years I won my battle. We buy the food for the dogs nearby, we buy wood from locals. I even started a free sterilisation campaign and many came from the village. They started understanding and they even apologised for the way they had been behaving. Because they hadn't understood until then. So it's okay, more than anything for my animals."

You say your wife is Ukrainian, how is she feeling about all this? Did she ask you to leave, or does she agree that you should stay?

"She's in Kyiv now, I spoke to her on the phone just a few minutes ago. She said she's been out shopping and for a stroll. She wants to stay there in the city centre - and I'm here. But no, for now there's no question of leaving, we’ve never thought about this.”

Your wife is in Kyiv and the situation is not easy there. There's fighting, there are continuous alerts, and some necessities must be difficult to find - people must be panicking and buying in bulk?

"That has already happened, yesterday the supermarkets were empty."

But your wife was able to buy some things. Did she feel calm about it?

"Yes, she's not leaving the flat now, she is calm, anyway there's the curfew from 10pm to 7am, we have to turn everything off.”

(sound of an incoming message on his phone, he looks down)

“I'm receiving a lot of messages, people want me to update them, as they haven't heard from me for a few hours and they're a bit worried. I'll post on Facebook, hoping nothing happens before that."

If anything does happen, you have no place to take refuge here. There is no metro or anti-aircraft shelter, what will you do?

"Well, the underground stations in the city are not really anti-aircraft shelters, I don't know if they could resist a bombing.”

(phone rings, he answers)

“Nothing, they wanted to know if everything's ok. Let's say so.” ("they" are his friends in Italy and elsewhere)

Andrea with one of his dogs.

Andrea Cisternino / Facebook

This is a very difficult situation to comment on, even more so to live ...

"I’ve never seen a war before. This morning I was looking out of the window, 1 km away there was a mortar hit and I smelt gunpowder, I was not used to it.”

“In life, well, the important thing is that everything goes well, we are here in open fields, out of the militarised zones. Everyone here in the village is all at home, they are all staying here, nobody is going away. Also because they wouldn't know where to go."

“Now they're shooting again, outside..."

Now?

"Yes, yes."

Light or heavy guns?

"Heavy artillery. So I don't know, the guys who work with me are here…"

How many are you there?

"Five. Now the other two should arrive.”

The explosions you hear from time to time, where do they come from? The airport zone or a different direction?

"Now there are shots coming from two opposite sides, the smoke is arising from the right and left. But mainly they start from there (the airport), I think. But now they're fighting not far from here, so..."

So they are not just shots by the Russians against infrastructures - they are combat blows, exchanges?

"Yes, I think so. Exchanges. I can't move from here. It would be dangerous to move."

Original story published in Italian by Diego Malcangi.

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Ukraine war: St Javelin and the missile that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance

St Javelin, named after the US-made rocket launcher (right) is becoming a symbol of resistance against Russia's invasion. -

Copyright St Javelin (left), Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP (right)

By David Walsh • Updated: 01/03/2022 - 

For people of faith, Mary Magdalene is an icon of redemption; the embodiment of the mantra that no matter how far you fall, there is always hope for a second chance. For the people of Ukraine, a reimagined image of her bearing a particular weapon has become a potent symbol of resistance.

Having started as a meme, St Javelin of Ukraine, as she is now known, is becoming an increasingly familiar sight on social media and elsewhere.

In her most recent iteration, the halo encircling her head is not the radiant gold you would expect from centuries of religious iconography but rather the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. Her flowing robes are green, reminiscent of khaki army fatigues. Rather than joined in prayer, her hands instead cradle a FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile launcher

The US-made, shoulder-fired weapon is being widely seen as pivotal to Ukraine's defence against Russia's ongoing invasion - and has been taken to the hearts of both fearful Ukrainians trapped inside the besieged country and the diaspora watching in horror outside its borders.

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How does Ukraine's army size up to the Russian war machine? The numbers make for grim reading

Amongst the latter is Christian Borys, a Ukrainian-Canadian marketer and former journalist who worked in Ukraine from 2014 to 2018. He first embraced the original meme after first seeing it months ago as geopolitical tensions simmered.

"A friend of mine who is in the Ukrainian defence industry told me he had made some stickers out of that meme and sent them out to some friends across Europe and it was just a symbol of support for Ukraine," he told Euronews Next.

"Because everybody knew Ukraine was getting left in the dark".

When it became clear that hostilities were imminent, the germ of an idea took root.

"I wanted to just have the stickers myself," Borys said. "I wanted to put them on my car. I wanted to give them out to some friends. I wanted to use them to raise a little bit of money. You know, if I make a few stickers, I can make a little bit of money and put it towards Ukraine".

And raise money he did.

Setting up a fundraising merchandise store called St Javelin a week before the invasion, Borys has so far raised more than $400,000 (€358,000) for Help us Help, a Canada-registered Ukrainian charity, by selling items bearing the saint's likeness.

"Although I'm not a journalist anymore... I still followed everything and I was still friends with people whose job it is to follow these things so they were ringing alarm bells in October, November, December," he said.

"I started it last Wednesday and it was because it was increasingly clear an attack was imminent".

Why is the Javelin so popular? It's just a symbol of support, honestly. I really thought it caught a nerve with people, looking for ways that they can support Ukraine.

Christian Borys

 
St Javelin campaign

Printing just 100 stickers of the missile-toting idol, the operation rapidly grew after the redesigned meme was shared in the stories of the campaign's Instagram account, selling out in its first 24 hours. A new print run of 1,000s stickers sold out just as quick.

"Why is the Javelin [sticker] so popular?" Borys asked. "It's just a symbol of support, honestly. I really thought it caught a nerve with people, looking for ways that they can support Ukraine.

"Russia has completely destroyed their reputation with this. He's [Putin] really done irreversible damage to Russia and the Russian reputation. And I think a large part of what you're seeing now is people really, genuinely, understanding what Russia has done is a completely unprovoked, unjustified action.

"They [people buying the stickers] just want to help Ukraine as much as possible. It's like seeing a kid get beat up by a bully. And you're like, 'no, I want to help that person as much as I can'".

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The Disinformation War: The falsehoods about the Ukraine invasion and how to stop them spreading

The Javelin missile: Ukraine's best hope?

The most prominent feature of the sticker's design is the Javelin missile launcher itself. So why is it so significant and why has it captured the beleaguered public's imagination?

Far from being a wonder weapon, the Javelin is nonetheless being lauded by many Ukrainians as an invaluable tool for the defenders slowing the advance of Russian ground forces further into its territory.

Deployed for the past 20 years in the US military and 20 allied nations, the Ukrainian army now has more Javelin missiles than some NATO members, Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu claimed in a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Monday.

The US furnished Ukraine with 300 missiles at the end of January, having sent a further 180 projectiles and 30 launchers in October 2021.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden announced a further $350 million (€310 million) in military assistance to the Ukrainians, including more Javelins.

"Javelin is probably quite effective against most Russian armoured vehicles, and it is probably more capable against heavy armour (like tanks) than any other missile system available to Ukraine that can be carried by an individual soldier," Scott Boston, a senior defence analyst at RAND Corporation, told Euronews Next.

"Javelin’s warhead is excellent and the missile can be set to fly in a diving attack profile so that it impacts the less-well-protected roof of the target vehicle. The missile is guided, and is locked on to a specific target by the firer, so even if the target is moving, Javelin has a chance to hit it".

Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with US Javelin missiles during military exercises in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, December. 23, 2021.

AP/Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service

Perhaps its most useful feature is its fire-and-forget system which means the soldiers using it can point and shoot before running for cover, unlike traditional guided anti-tank weapons. It also has a range of up to 4 km, giving an advantage of infantrymen over fast-moving armoured vehicles.

The weapon's effectiveness, however, is limited by various factors, including topological and geographical constraints. Much of central and eastern Ukraine is flat, so there are limited options to conceal its use.

Another is that it is an infantry weapon that needs to be used alongside "a combined arms team that includes tanks, other armored vehicles, artillery, and aircraft," Boston added.

Javelin’s warhead is excellent and the missile can be set to fly in a diving attack profile so that it impacts the less-well-protected roof of the target vehicle.

Scott Boston

Senior defence analyst, RAND Corporation

It's also an expensive piece of equipment coming in at $80,000 (€71,000), making its widespread use in the long-term prohibitive in terms of cost.

"Javelin is very, very expensive for an infantry weapon," Boston said. "This isn’t so much of a problem for Ukraine because they got theirs for free, of course, but it does mean that they were never going to receive as many of them as they would have wanted. They are useful for a lot of things so you have to be selective in what targets you use them against".

The importance of anti-tank weapons in the war - which has so far witnessed intense fighting in large urban centres in Ukraine where inhabitants have been sheltered in metro stations and basements - has been further underlined by donations of Javelins and similar weapons from foreign countries, including NATO members.

Germany, for instance, announced on Saturday in a surprise foreign policy volte-face that it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz followed this on Sunday by further announcing that Germany would be permanently increasing its defence spending above the required NATO threshold of 2 per cent of GDP.

"Another important weapon provided to Ukraine in the weeks before the invasion was the NLAW (Next Generation Antitank Weapon), sent by the United Kingdom," Boston said.

"This was an inspired choice, in my view.

"The weapon is easy to use and can evidently be fired from inside buildings. It also appears to have been sent in much higher numbers, which makes sense because it’s a less complex system, as well as shorter ranged than Javelin".

Balancing hopes, dreams and a low-paying college major

Humanities majors are more than a punchline. Not everyone can or wants to be a STEM major, and the world would be a poorer place if they were.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

To have great things to read, music that inspires, perspectives that challenge us — to have a sense of reward and meaning in life — we must have students who pursue college degrees that don’t lead directly to a big paycheck.

That turns the pursuit of intellectual curiosity and artistic appreciation into a balancing act: the likelihood you’ll make a good living versus the debt you incur along the way.

“I encourage students to find this balance between what they like and what pays,” says Nicole Smith, research professor and chief economist at the Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce. “I’m not discounting how beneficial these positions are to our society as a whole, but if you can’t pay back your student loan, you’ll be in a serious state,” Smith says.

Liberal arts grads face longer odds compared with science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees, but a well-chosen humanities major doesn’t have to be a vow of poverty.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOUP WHAT YOU PAID?

To assess the value of earning a specific degree at a specific institution, consider the concept of price-to-earnings premium, spearheaded by Michael Itzkowitz, senior fellow of higher education at Third Way, a center-left think tank.

It measures what you pay out of pocket, including loans, against the amount you’ll earn each year above the earnings of a typical high school graduate. The results show how quickly you can get a return on investment in your college major.

The majority of liberal arts degrees lead to a “pretty good ROI,” says Itzkowitz, but the specific program you graduate with and the type of degree you earn will affect individual outcomes.

The bachelor’s degree programs that allow graduates to recoup their costs within five years or less include what you’d expect: Registered nursing, electrical engineering and dental assistants all make the list.

Among the programs with no economic ROI at all: drama, fine arts and anthropology.

Itzkowitz says the majority of college programs enable students to recoup costs within 10 years or less. “College is still worth it the vast majority of the time,” he says.

Unfortunately, his research also found nearly one-quarter of all college programs of study show graduates failing to recoup their costs in the 20 years after graduation.

There are several tools that can help you compare data on costs, earnings and debt:

— The College Scorecard, a data tool from the U.S. Department of Education.

— An interactive map of price-to-earnings premiums from Third Way.

— The Buyer Beware tool from the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce.

Of course, education and major aren’t the only predictors of income. Your wages will also be affected by where you live, your gender and race, whether you work in the public or private sector, and your experience level.

SHOULD YOU GET A GRADUATE DEGREE?

Your humanities degree could go much further if you get an advanced degree — generally, the more education you have, the greater your earnings, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

But you should continue to weigh cost versus benefit since it’s also easier to rack up debt. A graduate degree may increase your earning potential, or it may just increase your debt.

For example, if you majored in liberal arts for your bachelor’s degree you can expect a median annual wage of $50,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But if you get a graduate degree in law, taking on more debt, you could earn a median of $126,930. A master’s of fine arts, on the other hand, is unlikely to yield higher earnings: The annual median wage is $42,000.

Your other options could include a minor in a field with higher earnings, an internship to get on-the-job experience or finding less-expensive graduate programs if your intended field requires it.

If you’re taking on additional student debt, remember that the federal government offers payment plans that tie the size of your payment to your income. Most private loans don’t.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS IF YOUR EARNINGS ARE LOW?

If you’re already working in a low-paying field and you have student loan debt, look at how you can lower payments or discharge your debt.

If you’re having trouble making payments, consider enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan, which ties payments to your monthly income. Your payment amounts will increase as your earnings do, too.

Those working in public sector fields should learn the ins and outs of public service loan forgiveness, a red-tape-laden process of getting your loans discharged after 10 years of payments on a qualifying payment plan while working full time in a qualifying field.

___________________________

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Anna Helhoski is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: Calculate: Are Student Loans Worth It Based on Your Major https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-student-loans-is-college-worth-it

Third Way: Interactive Map of the Price-to-Earnings Premium for All Students https://www.thirdway.org/graphic/interactive-map-of-the-price-to-earnings-premium-for-all-students

Department of Education: College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov

Anna Helhoski Of Nerdwallet, The Associated Press

NO SUCH THING; GREEN CAPITALI$M

World's major companies lag on climate, some markets regress since Paris

By Simon Jessop

© Reuters/David Gray 

Pedestrians walk along a footpath in front of a massive chimney billowing smoke for a coal burning power station in central Beijing

LONDON (Reuters) - The corporate world remains far from being aligned with global climate goals, and in some countries has gone backwards since a landmark agreement to cap global warming was signed in 2015, data shows.

Limiting the world's temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average by mid-century was crucial in order to avoid irreversible damage to the planet, U.N. climate scientists warned on Monday.

The corporate world was not moving fast enough towards this target by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, warned Arabesque, a corporate sustainability data firm and asset manager, in an annual analysis of the world's main markets.

To reach that target, emissions need to drop by around 45% by 2030; yet, across the globe, they continue to rise.

On average, only about a fifth to a quarter of companies across the markets was on course to hit the global target, Arabesque Chief Executive Daniel Klier said, even as more boards pledge to do so amid growing regulatory and investor pressure to act.

In two markets, Germany's DAX 40 and India's BSE 30, the percentage of companies on course with their emissions reductions toward meeting that 1.5-degree target has actually regressed in the six years since the Paris Agreement was signed, data shared exclusively with Reuters showed.

In 2015, 29% of German companies were aligned with the 2050 climate target, dropping only slightly to 28% in 2021. In India, alignment dropped from 25% to 24%, whilst in Britain, the figure remained the same, at 21%.

S&P 500 https://tmsnrt.rs/35ipHYc

FTSE 100 https://tmsnrt.rs/3MoLSNp

DAX 40 https://tmsnrt.rs/3HvIdcU

BSE 30 https://tmsnrt.rs/3vrZt02

Nikkei 225 https://tmsnrt.rs/3K67AUh

SSE 50 https://tmsnrt.rs/3hvvjkm

There were signs of progress in the United States, where alignment in companies on the benchmark S&P 500 index rose to 22% from 14%. Japan's Nikkei rose to 30% from 24%; and China's SSE 50 edged higher to 4% from 0%.

"Broadly across the world, there's not a lot of progress," said Klier. "If we want to maintain a world that is liveable, we need to deliver a 1.5 degree pathway. At the moment there are only really 20-25% of companies that fulfil the criteria."

"It's increasingly important that capital shifts to those companies which are really delivering, versus companies that have the right ambition but which don't show the right progress."

Despite the sobering performance of the world's biggest listed companies - responsible for the lion's share of global emissions - there were signs of improvement in corporate disclosures.

In 2021 in China, for example, 44% of companies did not disclose any climate impact to investors, down considerably from 95% in 2015.

The figures for the analysis were created by scientifically modelling corporate climate data collated in the 'ESG Book', a digital source of sustainability data backed by some of the world's top investors, regulators and companies, including HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

Companies that did not disclose their climate impact were scored as contributing a default 3-degrees-Celsius temperature rise.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE
Inaccurate medical bills are trapping Americans in a 'doom loop' costing them $88 billion last year, Biden's top consumer watchdog finds

asheffey@businessinsider.com (Ayelet Sheffey) 

 A person walks past the emergency room of a hospital in New York, on December 13, 2021. 

Wang Ying/Xinhua via Getty Image

The CFPB found $88 billion in medical debt landed on consumers' credit reports last year.

Patients were often stuck with big bills from emergency situations that were processed inaccurately.

Medical bills that end up in collections can reduce access to credit and lead to avoidance of medical care.

Paying off medical debt is difficult on its own, and President Joe Biden's top consumer watchdog just found that billions of dollars of that debt hurt Americans' credit reports last year.

Some of those bills weren't even accurate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on Tuesday that estimated $88 billion in medical debt landed on consumer credit reports as of June 2021. According to the agency, the "complicated and burdensome" medical billing system in the US has not only pushed patients into debt they struggle to pay off — it's also a result of errors in hospital bills that are difficult to resolve and reflect poorly on credit scores.

"When it comes to medical bills, Americans are often caught in a doom loop between their medical provider and insurance company," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. "Our credit reporting system is too often used as a tool to coerce and extort patients into paying medical bills they may not even owe."

Total medical debt in the US stands at $140 billion, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, and it continues to grow. While lawmakers have taken steps to act on the issue, like making surprise medical billing illegal early this year, patients continue to bear significant medical costs for often unavoidable emergency health situations. Some advocates say medical debt shouldn't even be included on a credit report as it doesn't reflect a choice the consumer made.

That's why the CFPB says it will work with credit reporting companies to ensure Americans aren't suffering unnecessary financial costs for vital healthcare.

Here are the other main findings from the CFPB's report:
About 20% of US households reported having medical debt, and data on that debt appeared on 43 million credit reports.
Most medical debts on credit reports are under $500 each, but many people have multiple.
Overdue medical debt is more prevalent among individuals of color and is more common in the Southern US regions, where Medicaid coverage hasn't been expanded.
As of 2021, medical debt was the most common debt collection type on credit reports.

The CFPB also noted that medical debt appearing on credit reports is particularly problematic given that type of debt does not indicate whether an individual might fall behind on other payments in the future. Given most of the debt is unavoidable, and is incurred for emergency medical situations, taking on that debt is often not a choice the patient makes.

"Medical bills placed on credit reports can result in reduced access to credit, increased risk of bankruptcy, avoidance of medical care, and difficulty securing employment, even when the bill itself is inaccurate or erroneous," the report said.

To ensure credit reporting does not further hurt patients with medical debt, the CFPB said it will take action, if necessary, against companies that report inaccurate information, work with other government agencies to ensure patients do not pay more than they owe, and determine whether unpaid medical bills should be included in credit reports.

The CFPB has been overseeing medical billing over the past decade, and this is only the latest action it's taking to protect American patients. In 2014, a CFPB a 2014 report found medical debt was typically not a good indicator of whether someone would default on future debt, partly because of most of that debt resulted from emergency circumstances.

More recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs worked with CFPB to allow most of veterans' medical debt to go unreported to credit bureaus, following years of unfair processing of veterans' debt that left them paying amounts they didn't owe.

Insurer AIG steps back from coal, Arctic energy underwriting

(Reuters) - U.S. insurer American International Group said on Tuesday it would no longer provide underwriting services and investments for the construction of any new coal-fired power plants, thermal coal mines or oil sands.

© Reuters/Brendan McDermid FILE PHOTO: The AIG logo is seen at its building in New York's financial district

The company also said it would stop providing insurance cover and investments for any new Arctic energy exploration activities.

It also revealed a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global underwriting and investment portfolios by 2050.

"As one of the last major insurers without restrictions on coal insurance, AIG's new commitments to reduce underwriting for coal, tar sands oil, and Arctic oil and gas are a major step forward for people and the planet," said Hannah Saggau, an insurance campaigner with Public Citizen, an influential consumer advocacy group.

Lloyd's of London in late 2020 asked its members to stop providing new insurance cover for thermal coal, oil sands, or new Arctic energy exploration from Jan. 1, 2022, with a target date of Jan. 1, 2030 to phase out the renewal of existing cover.

European insurers, including AXA and Zurich, have for long pulled back from underwriting fossil fuels such as coal and oil sands, turning the focus on their U.S. and Asian peers, which have long been viewed as laggards.

Chubb in November set a new goal to achieve carbon neutrality in its global operations by 2022 end through a combination of renewable energy and carbon offset purchases.

AIG said on Tuesday it would phase out the underwriting of all existing operation insurance risks and cease new investments in clients that derive 30% or more of their revenues from coal-fired power, thermal coal mines or oil sands, or generate more than 30% of their energy production from coal by Jan. 1, 2030 or sooner.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in London; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)

WORKING CONDITIONS
More than half of Americans who switched jobs in 2021 took a pay cut. 

How to budget for a lower salary

About 47 million workers left their jobs in 2021 amid the Great Resignation.

© Provided by CNBC

Carmen Reinicke 

Many of them did so for less pay.

Last year, 53% of workers who left their jobs said they made less money in their new roles, according to a January online survey of 1,000 adults by Real Estate Witch.

The average pay cut was around $8,000 per year, according to the survey, but some workers indicated they would be willing to take an even bigger reduction. What's more, those who quit in 2021 but have yet to find another job said they would take an average $23,000 pay cut, the survey found.

The catalyst for taking that lower-paying job? Overall satisfaction and work/life balance. More than 60% of those surveyed said they were happy in their new roles, and those who said they were very satisfied compared to their previous position jumped nearly 50%.

An earlier survey of workers from Paro, which provides accounting and finance solutions for businesses, focused on workers who do mental tasks for a living — such as programmers, pharmacists and lawyers. The survey found the group also prioritized their work/life balance over making more money.

"The pandemic and experiences they have had have shifted their values," said Anita Samojednik, CEO of Paro. "Right now, the salary is just not enough."

To be sure, many people who switched jobs have seen increases in take-home pay. A survey from The Conference Board found that about one-third of workers who left jobs during the pandemic are making 30% more in new roles. However, about 27% who switched jobs said pay was the same or less in their new job.
What to consider

Of course, taking a pay cut will directly affect your finances and may not be advisable right away, according to Tania Brown, an Atlanta-based certified financial planner and founder of FinanciallyConfidentMom.com.

If you're considering taking a job where you will make less money, there are a few things you need to consider before you do so, she said.

First, ask yourself why you want to leave your current job, she said. Are you burned out? Will a different job or career be more fulfilling? Are you planning to move?

Contemplating the answers to these questions will help ensure that you don't make a rash decision you'll later regret, said Brown.

"Emotions have no logic, and you're trying to make a math decision based on emotion," Brown said. "It's just not going to turn out."

More from Invest in You:
66% of employers plan to address pay equity this year, survey finds

Additionally, if you're only a few months from paying off debts or hitting a similar financial goal, you may want to hold off.

Plus, you may realize you don't want to leave your job, but instead would like more flexibility or a change in your role. If that is the case, now is a great time to ask for a different schedule, to take on different responsibilities or to try to introduce other flexibilities into your job, Samojednik said.

She said she's seen many people dip their toes into freelancing in addition to a full-time job to test the waters of a new gig or becoming their own boss.
Doing the math

If you discover that switching jobs is truly what you want, then you have some important math to do, Brown said.

That includes doing a deep dive into your current budget needs and financial goals and seeing if you can achieve your objectives on a smaller income.

Brown suggests you should over a trial period of a few months, say, try to see if you can meet your goals on smaller take-home pay. That test run could help you decide if a pay cut is right for you.

You should also think about how making less will affect your long-term goals, Brown said. If you're saving up for a house or plan on having a baby, how will your new income change the timelines on those milestones? If it will take longer, is it worth it for you to wait?

If you're part of a family, you should also consult the other members in your household before making your move. That means talking with your spouse and children about what changes would take place, such as fewer trips or less money for extra activities — and deciding if it works for everyone.

"This has to be a family decision because your decision is impacting everyone in the household," said Brown.

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With MLB games canceled and fan apathy blooming, blame rests solely on owners

Ryan Fagan 7 hrs ago

This lockout will be the final straw for some baseball fans. Truth is, I can’t blame them.

My hope is that, before you bid a not-so-fond farewell to the game of your youth, know the truth about which side bears the blame for this unnecessary and disgusting interruption of what used to be America’s favorite pastime. This disastrous stoppage — the first two regular-season series for now — is solely because the owners are putting money over the good of the game and the people who make their living off the sport other than the players.

This isn’t a “both sides” problem. It’s just not, by any objective measure.

Baseball has been wildly profitable over the past decade, with franchise values soaring and season-over-season revenues skyrocketing. The players wanted to work out a fair and equitable way for both sides to share in the enormous wealth produced by the game; the owners wanted, essentially, a bending of every single knee in the MLBPA.

The players wanted to sit at the table and negotiate a way to end the owner-created lockout; the owners were completely immersed in a laughably transparent PR strategy aimed at deflecting blame on the other side, a marketing campaign that was see-through from the moment

Commissioner Rob Manfred issued his “create urgency” statement in the early moments of Dec. 2, then waited 43 days to make a proposal. He was asked about that during his news conference Tuesday afternoon, and he deflected.

“I think the best answer to that question is the last 10 days,” he said. “We’ve been here, ready to bargain, full committees, owners and players for 10 days, and it got going two days before the deadline. That’s the best explanation I can give you.”

So, basically, ignore the inaction of the previous two-plus months. Gotcha.

The bottom line: The players want to play ball and made considerable concessions that would have resulted in a deal that would have still been overwhelmingly favorable to the owners — again, by any objective measure — but the owners were more concerned about controlling the narrative than actually working out a deal to restart this game fans want to love but are constantly being force-fed reasons to turn away.

The owners made a series of long-overdue, bare minimum upgrades, true. Manfred was careful to talk about those in his news conference at length — such as with the minimum salaries. Manfred trumpeted MLB’s offer of $700,000, a raise of $130,000, failing to mention that the NBA minimum is $925,258, the NHL’s is $750,000 and the NFL’s is $660,000 (and $780,000 for players with one year of experience). Sorry, but a minimum that falls short of the NHL is not something to be proud of. The financials of the two sports are not comparable.

Meanwhile, the owners barely budged on the real money, the Competitive Balance Tax, even while landing a deal with ESPN for an extra $85 million if the playoffs are expanded to 12 teams ($100 million if 14 teams). It’s something that only affects a handful of teams — in 2021, only the Dodgers and Padres exceeded the number and the Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Astros were within $5 million. The number was $210 million in 2021, and the owners proposed an increase of 5 percent (less than inflation), and stalled that $220 number for two more years.

This is their line in the sand? Owners preventing owners from spending money? This is worth canceling games? Yikes.

What’s the actual PR hit of turning this negotiation into a debacle? Hard to know exactly, but it ain’t good.

MORE: Delayed regular season could send MLB to a very bad place

Here’s what I do know: People hate being lied to. They hate being treated like they don’t matter. Listen to the players vent on social media and it’s pretty clear they felt both of those things. And, maybe more importantly, that’s exactly how the owners treated fans of their sport for the past three months.

The words Manfred said sounded good — “create urgency” by starting the lockout on Dec. 2.

“I see missing games as a disastrous outcome” on Feb. 10 — but the actions?

When your actions don’t match your words, people notice. Distrust grows. Resentment blooms. Anger flowers. The only thing worse than anger?

Apathy.

Folks, for a large portion of would-be baseball audience, that’s settled in.

And, yeah, it’s hard to blame them.

Canada's Nutrien eyes prolonged global fertilizer disruption from invasion of Ukraine

By Rod Nickel

© Reuters/TODD KOROL

 The Nutrien Redwater Fertilizer plant near Fort Saskatchewan

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) -Canada’s Nutrien Ltd, the world’s biggest fertilizer producer, said on Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could result in prolonged disruptions to the global supply of potash and nitrogen crop nutrients.

Interim Chief Executive Ken Seitz said Nutrien will boost potash production if it sees sustained supply problems in Russia and Belarus, the world’s second- and third-largest potash producing countries after Canada.

The United States, European Union and other countries have imposed economic sanctions against Russia, moves that could hinder its exports of natural gas, potash and nitrogen. Belarus, Russia's ally, is already subject to European and U.S. sanctions that have restricted its potash exports.

Russia's war on Ukraine has also raised concerns about wheat, corn and vegetable oil supply problems in the Black Sea region, driving up world prices.

"We could probably see a prolonged, more prolonged disruption in (potash) supply out of that part of the world," Seitz said at a BMO Capital Markets investor conference.

"We're looking very closely at, if this is sustained, how do we deploy miners and open up ground in a very practical, pragmatic way?" he added.

Nutrien expects to sell up to 14.3 million tonnes of potash this year, its most ever, and has said it is considering further expansion.

Brazilian agricultural exports are especially vulnerable to a scarcity of fertilizer, with Russia a key supplier.

Russia's aggression also has jeopardized its nitrogen fertilizer exports. Prices of European natural gas, a key input in nitrogen production, have jumped in the past week, much higher than North American prices.

"We're going to run our plants, run them flat out," Seitz said. "Could we see interruptions in exports out of Russia? Yes. Can we see plant closures? We could."

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in WinnipegEditing by Bill Berkrot)