Exxon warns of Russia risks to its $2.5 billion Kazakhstan income

Exxon stock rises after boasting record $56 billion of annual profit in 2022

Wed, February 22, 2023 
By Sabrina Valle

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Wednesday warned in a securities filing of potential risks to its Kazakhstan oil operations, which provided $2.5 billion in earnings last year.

Threats to Kazakhstan oil exports have been in the spotlight since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago this week. Exxon and Chevron are major holders in the Central Asia country's oil production and related export pipeline.

Kazakhstan shares a 4,750 mile (7,644 km) border with Russia and its oil exports travel mainly through a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line through Russia and lands at a Russian Black Sea export terminal.

Any closure of the CPC pipeline or terminal would shut in more than 1% of global oil supply and cost its producers billions of dollars in lost income.

Exxon said its stake in Kazak oil fields produced 246,000 barrels of oil and gas per day last year. That oil provided after-tax earnings of about $2.5 billion, the filing said.

Exxon "could experience a loss of cash flows of uncertain duration from its operations in Kazakhstan," the filing said, if oil exports through the CPC pipeline are "disrupted, curtailed, temporarily suspended."

The U.S. oil major owns a 25% interest in the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) oil production joint venture, which controls the Tengiz and Korolev oil fields in Kazakhstan, and a 16.8% working interest in the Kashagan field.

Chevron produces around 380,000 bpd, or more than 12% of its total output from Kazakhstan. The company aims to boost total output by 40% at Kazakhstan's largest field Tengiz, to around 1 million bpd.

Last month, Chevron finance chief Pierre Breber said its 2022 Kazak production lost less than 10,000 barrels a day on average from temporary outages.

"We have risks in our business, everywhere. And of course, we manage those risks," Breber said. "I can't predict the future but CPC was very reliable in 2022."

London-based Shell PLC and Italy's Eni also have stakes in the CPC.

Exxon's filing showed its global workforce fell by 1,000 last year to 62,000 employees as it continued to cut costs and boost shareholder returns. It was the third year in a row Exxon reduced its workforce.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Stephen Coates)

CRYPTO CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Bankman-Fried faces new criminal charges, is accused of hiding political donations


Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried exits the Manhattan federal court in New York

Thu, February 23, 2023 

By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with new criminal charges on Thursday, in an expanded indictment accusing the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to make more than 300 illegal political donations.

Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges, including four for fraud and eight for conspiracy, up from eight charges in an earlier indictment, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

The new indictment adds to pressure on the 30-year-old former billionaire, who has already seen two of his former top lieutenants plead guilty. He is also trying to convince a judge he should remain free on bail.

A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried conspired with two other former FTX executives to donate tens of millions of dollars in order to influence lawmakers to pass legislation favorable to the company.

The donations were unlawful because they were made through "straw" donors or with corporate funds, often allowing Bankman-Fried to evade contribution limits, prosecutors said.

While Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to Democratic campaigns in the 2022 midterms, the indictment said he "did not want to be known as a left-leaning partisan, or to have his name publicly attached to Republican candidates."

Prosecutors said that Bankman-Fried directed one executive to donate primarily to left-leaning candidates and organizations and the other to Republicans, with many donations funded by his Alameda Research hedge fund and including FTX customer funds.

The indictment said a political consultant working for Bankman-Fried told one of the executives, identified as CC-1, that "you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke shit for transactional purposes."

EXPLOITING CUSTOMER TRUST

After founding FTX in 2019, Bankman-Fried rode a boom in the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets to attain an estimated $26 billion net worth.

The exchange collapsed in November amid a flurry of customer withdrawals over concerns the exchange was commingling assets with Alameda.

Bankman-Fried's new indictment details how he allegedly used stolen FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda and fund donations, "exploiting the trust that FTX customers placed in him and his exchange."

The additional charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried told a unnamed California bank that he wanted to open an account for a trading company, when in fact he would use the account to process deposits and withdrawals for FTX customers.

The bank had previously told him it was unwilling to process such transactions, prosecutors said.

Alameda's former chief executive, Caroline Ellison, and a former FTX executive, Gary Wang, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Anna Driver)

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces four new criminal charges

Fraud and campaign finance violations could add to any prison sentence.


TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Jon Fingas ·Reporter
Thu, February 23, 2023 

FTX co-creator Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) is now dealing with four new charges over the collapse of his crypto exchange. A newly unsealed indictment in a New York federal court accuses SBF of fraudulent activity through both FTX and the linked Alameda Research hedge fund. The co-founder also allegedly violated federal campaign finance laws by making secret donations to a congressional super PAC using the names of two executives.

The expanded charges now include 12 counts. A source speaking to CNBC claims the additional allegations could lead to an additional 40 years in prison if SBF is convicted.

SBF was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12th, and quickly dropped plans to fight extradition to the US. He has already pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include multiple wire fraud counts. He also faces a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as action from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Prosecutors claim Bankman-Fried defrauded investors of nearly $2 billion, but the ex-CEO maintains he never tried to commit fraud and doesn't think he's criminally liable for FTX's downfall. Two executives, Caroline Ellison and Zixiao "Gary Wang," have pleaded guilty to their own fraud charges.

FTX isn't alone in falling from grace. Other major crypto brands, such as Binance, Celsius and Terraform Labs, are also grappling with varying degrees of criminal charges (for themselves or ex-leadership), civil suits and bankruptcy. However, FTX and its former CEO remain the most prominent examples of the crypto industry's tumult — the new charges are only likely to cement that position.

The further indictments also reflect the federal government's increasing eagerness to crack down on crypto assets and cryptocurrency. House and Senate politicians are hoping to more tightly regulate the industry, while agencies like the SEC, CFTC and Treasury Department are pushing for more charges and clearer rules.

Sam Bankman-Fried faces new criminal charges for unlawful political contributions



Amanda Silberling
Thu, February 23, 2023 

According to a new filing from the Southern District of New York's attorney's office, former FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now faces four additional counts of fraud, bringing his total to twelve charges.

With these new charges, the former crypto wunderkind has been accused of defrauding the Federal Elections Committee (FEC), along with additional counts related to wire fraud and money laundering.

U.S. campaign finance law places limits on how much money political donors can give per election cycle; also, it is illegal for donors to skirt these limits by making additional donations under others' names. SBF is now being charged with violating these regulations. The filing says that SBF and one or more other conspirators "agreed to and did make corporate contributions to candidates and committees in the Southern District of New York that were reported in the name of another person."

Leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, SBF gave more than $40 million to primarily Democratic-leaning PACs and politicians, yet he claimed in an interview with YouTube crypto reporter Tiffany Fong that he gave about an equal amount to Republican groups, much of which is not public.

"All my Republican donations were dark," SBF said. "The reason was not for regulatory reasons. It's 'cause reporters freak the fuck out if you donate to Republicans -- they're all super liberal."

The initial charges, unveiled in December, were filed in parallel actions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He faces a slew of allegations that he led a "years-long fraud" designed to hide from FTX investors the fact that their funds were being redirected to SBF’s Alameda crypto hedge fund. He is also facing charges for misusing FTX customer funds. SBF is currently awaiting trial on a $250 million bail bond, secured against his parents' property.

SEC, CFTC and SDNY attorney’s office charge FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors

Ah, so SBF’s FTX was all BS

Donald Trump Jr. goes on homophobic rant against ‘gay guy’ Pete Buttigieg

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News
Thu, February 23, 2023 

Donald Trump Jr. went on a homophobic rant against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during an appearance on a far-right cable news network Wednesday night.

The eldest son of former President Donald Trump was a guest on Newsmax’s “Prime News,” where he was asked to comment on President Joe Biden’s handling of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous substances in Ohio earlier this month.

Shortly after saying “Joe doesn’t give a crap” and “couldn’t care less” about East Palestine, Ohio, he set his sights on Buttigieg’s qualifications for his cabinet position.

Despite the 41-year-old’s impressive resume — he’s a Harvard graduate, a Rhodes scholar, an Iraq War veteran, and a two-term mayor of his hometown of South Bend, Ind. — Junior was emphatic to assert Buttigieg only got a job in the Biden administration because he is an openly gay man.

“You know, Pete has no business in that position,” the 45-year-old Trump told Newsmax’s Carl Higbie.

“But, you know, he’s the guy who had no business running for president but they let him do that cause he’s gay and they check off a box and then he didn’t win, so [they said] ‘he’s the gay guy, so we gotta give him something, let’s make him transportation secretary,’” he said.

“Plus the time he spent chest-feeding while we were in the midst of a supply chain crisis,” Junior added, referring to Buttigieg’s paternity leave in late 2021.

The first openly LGBTQ cabinet member and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, announced they had become fathers to twins on Aug. 17, 2021.

Junior’s father traveled to East Palestine on Wednesday, where he slammed Pres. Biden’s response, while handing out Trump-branded water bottles and MAGA hats — in an appearance slammed as “pure political theatre” by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican PAC.

Buttigieg, who traveled to East Palestine on Thursday, was widely criticized for not visiting the area earlier.

However, the twice-impeached president — whose administration proudly moved to downsize the Environmental Protection Agency — has also been criticized for abandoning rail safety rules that had been pursued during the Obama administration.

“Trump shredded the safety regulations that could have kept East Palestine residents safe and then rolled into town with Trump water and a campaign slogan,” the Lincoln Project tweeted. “He’s as useless now as he was as a president.”

GM to idle Indiana truck plant for two weeks as demand plateaus


Thu, February 23, 2023
By Priyamvada C

(Reuters) -General Motors said on Thursday it will halt production at its Fort Wayne Assembly truck plant in Indiana for two weeks from March 27 as inventory starts to outweigh demand with the easing of supply-chain snags.

Shares of the U.S. automaker fell 3% in early trade, while rival Ford Motor Co was about 1% lower.

After two years of U.S. automakers scrambling to keep pace with demand amid a parts shortage, GM's decision to cut production of its highly-profitable pickup trucks signals a shift in the status quo.

"GM probably is trying to maintain pricing power with this move but it's also contradictory to what they've been saying for a while recently that demand remains very strong," Morningstar analyst David Whiston said.

Analysts have warned that rising interest rates and high vehicle prices could begin to depress demand, even as inventories of new vehicles have been rising over recent weeks.

GM said in a statement that its production was up over the past month, while demand remained "fairly consistent", leading to an increase in inventory.

"It is disappointing to see given the overall industry doesn't have enough inventory ... it does raise concerns that demand is slowing either due to inflation or another macro headwind," Whiston said.

Carmaker Stellantis NV does not have any downtime planned for its North American assembly plants, a company spokesperson said.

Last year, GM's truck plant was idled for two weeks over semiconductor chip shortages. It sold 1.2 million trucks across the United States in 2022, according to the company's latest annual filing.

The Indiana facility builds full-size trucks, including Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

Newspaper The Detroit News had reported the production halt on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru and Joseph White in Detroit; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

The Witch of Ukraine Reveals How 'Teeny-Weeny' American Weapons Are Beating Russians

Sébastien Roblin
Thu, February 23, 2023 

'Witch' of Ukraine Talks Up American Small Arms

Wikimedia Commons

The United States has supplied weapons of increasing cost and sophistication to Ukraine including M777 towed howitzers, Javelin top-attack anti-tank missiles, and eventually M1 Abrams main battle tanks and Patriot air defense systems.

But military aid need not always be exotic to have an impact. Starting before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago and continued since, the U.S. also provided modest quantities of low-tech infantry support weapons—M240 and M2 machine guns, 60-millimeter mortars, Mark 19 automatic grenade launchers, and M82 Barret sniper rifles.

These small arms have made their way both to elite commando units, but also to some of Ukraine’s most under-equipped troops, where they are making a difference as testified by Olha Bihar, known by her callsign “Witch” (Vyzdma).


Formerly a lawyer working on her Ph.D., Witch now commands a mortar platoon in the 204th battalion of the 241st Separate Territorial Defense Force (TDF) Brigade. At least 57,000 women serve in Ukraine’s armed forces, including at least 13,000 in roles near frontline combat.

The lightly armed 241st—ostensibly formed for local defense of the capital Kyiv—was one of several brigades thrust into the thick of the fighting for Bakhmut, a town in Eastern Ukraine of middling strategic value that has become an obsessive focus of Russian offensive operations. Since the fall of 2022, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and mercenaries have been killed or wounded attempting to capture the city.

In a video, Witch recounts an intense battle between October 5-8, 2022 when her platoon defended Bakhmut’s Siniat ALC asphalt mixing plant. (Her translated comments have been lightly altered for concision.)

“The battle was brutal. We faced the enemy three times our number in close quarter gun fights—and Russian long-range artillery on top of that. The Muscovites [Russians] were able to penetrate a quarter of the territory we were defending…So, the orcs occupied part of the planet and we set out to provide fire support to our people pinned there. The fire support team had to work from a depression, without a line of sight.”

“As far as artillery, all we had was a small 60-millimeter mortar—firing range 1.5 kilometers [1 mile] at most. And the American Mark 19 grenade launcher, that saved our butts on multiple occasions, despite its equally short 2 kilometer [1.24 mile] firing range. But again, you don’t see what you’re shooting at, you fire blindly, guided from a drone.”

Though intended for direct fire as particularly beastly machine gun, the Mark 19 can be adapted for high-angle indirect attacks, a method improvised by a Marine unit to dispatch Taliban ambushers in Afghanistan. Reportedly, tables for indirect fire between 900 meters to 2 kilometers were included in prior Mark 19 field manuals, but not the latest publication.

Witch continues:

“In my platoon, I have this hothead name Sheva. He supported us with the Mark 19 in that depression to fire ballistically [in an arc] at the attacking Russians—you have to shoot carefully so as not to hit your own troops. He fires one—nails a Moscovite right in the ass. Fires a second—hits another one. Sheva is holding off the Russian attack when suddenly the Mark 19 jams.

“Meanwhile, the Russians called in the artillery and started adjusting it towards Sheva’s position. Without much deliberation, Sheva whips out that teeny-weeny mortar, basically a toy, an oversized under-barrel grenade launcher. He sticks it into the ground and starts blasting. Just look at how he was aiming it!”

In the interview, Witch produces a cell phone video in which Sheva can bee seen adjusting the mortar’s firing angle by propping it up with a chunk of rock.

“How else were you gonna aim it? That old American mortar didn’t have a bipod. Yet he managed to hit the same enemy trench three times with it. Russian artillery eventually wounded Sheva and his entire crew. He was forcibly evacuated, because he refused to leave, and I had to threaten to arrest him if he didn’t go to the hospital. A shell fragment had busted his helmet and sliced his rifle’s [noise-reducing] suppressor cleanly in half, as if with a knife. When he left, the first thing he did was to pluck a rose. Bakhmut is famous for its roses.”

This is not Witch’s only story involving Bakhmut, Sheva, and their creative use of American weapons, as recounted in an earlier video.

“From where we are, we couldn’t see the Russian positions. But from the recon drone I can see them constantly mucking about in the rear. So I said, ‘What if we put a Mark 19 on a pickup truck, race up the ‘Road of Life’ [one of the few supply lines Ukraine maintains with Bakhmut] stop behind a hill and lob a full magazine of grenades at them. There’s enough time to empty out all 32 grenades and be gone before return mortar fire reaches us. I did the math!”

Though the driver was “aghast,” they gave the idea a try:

“Minefield to the right, minefield to the left, orcs in front, clear line of sight. They swerve the truck, loose a full belt of 40-millimeter grenades. As soon as they dart off, mortar bombs begin falling where they just stood. We terrorized them for two whole weeks this way.”

Intercepted communications apparently revealed Russians forces were vexed by the ‘devil’s chariot,’ which seemed to combine the rate of fire of an automatic grenade launcher with the trajectory of a mortar.

The asphalt plant eventually fell to Russian troops in mid-October 2022, only to be recaptured later that month by a Ukrainian counterattack. Control has seesawed since. While Russia has struggled to hold any parts of Bakhmut proper, it has made progress interdicting all but one of the road Ukraine relies upon to resupply the Ukrainian garrison. Ukrainian forces may therefore eventually be compelled to withdraw while a line of retreat remains open—but only after having absorbed much of the brunt of Russia’s winter offensive.

Tiny Artillery in a Big War

60-millimeter mortars are a relatively recent addition to Ukraine’s armed forces, as their progenitor, the Soviet Red Army, didn’t much use of light mortars, unlike the U.S. and British armies in World War II. Though much less powerful than medium or heavy mortars, light mortars are highly portable, and can give low-level infantry units a weapon that can accurately bombard points targets with indirect fire.

Given the prevalence of small-unit actions in Ukraine (squads/platoons/companies), and the difficulty such units can have obtaining support from distant artillery, the mortars give lower-level commanders more flexibility.

The U.S. is known to have supplied Ukraine with 60-millimeter M224 systems, which weighs 47 pounds (or 37.5-lbs for the newer M224A1 model), have a maximum range of 2.1 miles using modern ammunition, and a maximum firing rate of 20 to 30 rounds per minute. This weapon ordinarily should come with a bipod, so it’s unclear if this is the mortar used by Olha’s unit.

Poland also began donating LM-60D and LMP-2017 commando mortars just before the war began. Croatian M84 mortars, Chinese Type 63, and Bulgarian M60CMA 60-millimeter mortars have also been sighted. Ukraine also appears to have acquired Chinese 60-millimeter shells via Albania, Japanese-manufactured bombs and fuses likely supplied via the United States, and even Iranian and Croatian mortar rounds.

Ukraine itself has devised its own light 60-millimeter mortar, the KBA-118, which at 27.5 pounds is two-thirds the weight of the older World War II-era American M2 mortar it’s based on. It’s also producing the beefier 44-pound M-60A Kamerton (“Tuning Fork”) which has a greater range of 2.17-3.4 miles.

Kyiv’s forces have more experience with automatic grenade launchers like the 30-millimeter Soviet AGS-17. The larger-caliber 40-millimeter Mark 19 supplied by the U.S. weighs 77 pounds—and thus is often mounted on a vehicle—and has a practical rate of fire of 60 rounds per minute. It is fed belts of 32 or 48 grenades, shot out at a velocity of 241 meters a second, with an effective blast radius of 10-15 meters using M383 high-explosive rounds. The dual-purpose M430 round has a smaller radius of 5 meters but can penetrate up to three inches of armor, making it effective against light armored vehicles.

No cow needed: Oat and soy can be called milk, FDA proposes

JONEL ALECCIA
Wed, February 22, 2023 

Milk is displayed at a grocery store in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Food and Drug Administration officials issued guidance that says plant-based beverages don’t pretend to be from dairy animals – and that U.S. consumers aren’t confused by the difference. 

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Soy, oat, almond and other drinks that bill themselves as “milk” can keep using the name, according to draft federal rules released Wednesday.

Food and Drug Administration officials issued guidance that says plant-based beverages don’t pretend to be from dairy animals – and that U.S. consumers aren’t confused by the difference.

Dairy producers for years have called for the FDA to crack down on plant-based drinks and other products that they say masquerade as animal-based foods and cloud the real meaning of “milk.”

Under the draft rules, the agency recommends that beverage makers label their products clearly by the plant source of the food, such as “soy milk” or “cashew milk.”

The rules also call for voluntary extra nutrition labels that note when the drinks have lower levels of nutrients than dairy milk, such as calcium, magnesium or vitamin D. They would continue to allow labels that note when plant-based drinks have higher levels. Fortified soy milk is the only plant-based food included in the dairy category of U.S. dietary guidelines because of its nutrient levels.

The new guidelines are aimed at providing consumers clear nutrition information, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a statement. The draft rules do not apply to nondairy products other than beverages, such as yogurt.

The National Milk Producers Federation, an industry trade group, applauded the call for extra nutrition information on drink labels, but said they rejected the FDA’s conclusion that plant-based drinks can be called milk because it’s a “common and usual name.”

The Good Food Institute, a group that advocates for plant-based products, objected to the extra labeling in a statement, saying “the guidance misguidedly admonishes companies to make a direct comparison" with cow’s milk, even though key nutrients are already required to be listed.

In recent years, the number of plant-based drinks has exploded to include dozens of varieties, including cashew, coconut, hemp and quinoa-based beverages. Although the drinks are made from the liquid extracts of plant materials, they are frequently labeled – and described – as “milks.”

In the U.S., almond milk is the most popular variety, but oat milk has been seeing the fastest growth. Still, nondairy sales are dwarfed by traditional milk. Sales of refrigerated cow’s milk grew to $12.3 billion in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 28, compared to $2.5 billion for nondairy milk, according to NielsenIQ.

In the past, lawmakers in dairy states have tried to get bills passed that would require the FDA to enforce a federal standard that defines “milk” as the product of “milking one or more healthy cows.”

The agency will accept comments on the draft guidelines through April 23.

___

AP Business Writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

What inflation? 

Many employers will offer less generous pay raises this year.

How U.S. workers can expect to see an average wage increase in 2023

But pay raises have been around  3% for most of the last decade.


Kerry Hannon
·Senior Columnist
Wed, February 22, 2023

Payscale this week came out with its highly anticipated 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report, which turns out to be a mixed bag for employees: smaller raises, maybe semi-annual salary bumps and a dollop of extras to make up for companies’ Scrooge-like behavior.

The bad news for many of us: fewer employers plan to bump up salaries this year.

Only in 8 in 10 organizations said they would offer base pay increases in 2023, down significantly from more than nine in 10 last year, according to Payscale’s new report, conducted between October 2022 and December 2022, of nearly 5,000 employers headquartered in the U.S. (69%), Canada (8%), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (17%).

A sizable 15% were unsure of whether or not they would pony up for bigger salaries, up from 3% last year.

Fewer employers 'committed' to give base pay raises

That’s a bit surprising after all the handwringing last year about labor shortages and the stress of retaining workers who were more than happy to hit the exits for higher pay and more opportunity at another employer.

“But fewer organizations are committed to give base pay increases,” Amy Stewart, Payscale’s associate director of content and editorial, told Yahoo Finance.

To be sure, six in ten organizations experienced labor shortages and trouble attracting and retaining talent in 2022, according to the report. But that may not be as big of an issue this year. Some evidence: while new postings rose on the job board Indeed last week, they are declining on a month-over-month basis; total postings growth trended slower, said Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed.

For those of you who work for a firm that does plan to provide annual salary bumps, don’t expect cork popping raises to help offset the current inflation rate of 6.4%. Although more than half (56%) of employers surveyed said raises would be above 3%, the average overall average raise will be lower in 2023 than it was in 2022.

For employers that do sweeten salaries, around one in four plan an increase of between 4% and 5% with 12% reporting tiny bumps of between 3% and 3.99%—and 8% between 3.01 to 3.49%. Last year, 18% of those surveyed reported average pay increases of more than 5%, compared to 11% for 2023.

What happened to the anticipated largest raises since 2007?

Those numbers throw water on the upbeat figures tossed about last fall when employers were in throes of desperation to hold on to workers and attract new ones to the fold. In November, employers were planning to bump up salaries by an average of 4.6% this year — the most since 2007, according to a Willis Tower Watson (WTW) survey of 1,550 U.S. companies.

But even that optimistic forecast was probably not going to be enough to keep workers content. A separate study from SHRM Research Institute found that most of the 1,500 HR professionals surveyed said it would take 8% to 10% pay raises to retain workers.

The muddled expectations spotlight the relentless dueling between employers and employees that started when the labor market emerged from the pandemic in 2021.

Fewer workers are expected to jump ship this year than last, according to the Payscale report; the turnover rate is still expected to be around 25%, down from 36%. (More than a third of organizations cite compensation as most to blame for workers choosing to quit.) And that looks to be the picture into 2023, Stewart said. But hopefully for employers, the rate will continue to decline.

Source: Payscale’s 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report,

Workers still have bargaining chips

It’s perplexing that employers aren’t taking the time to read the tea leaves when it comes to hiring workers who can get the job done. “Although we may enter a recession in 2023, attracting and retaining talent looks like it will remain a top challenge for organizations,” Stewart said. “Compensation and pay progression are key factors in the employee experience and will take center stage in 2023.”

The good news: Often, organizations discover that annual pay increases are too infrequent to retain talent, especially if they miscalculated what employees expect around performance reviews, she said. As a result, the number of organizations that give formal pay increases twice annually has increased from from 4% in 2022 to 11% this year, according to Payscale data.

Moreover, roughly one in four of employers surveyed plan to offer bonuses to ease the impact of rising costs.

Other benefits to winnow the gap between rising costs and compensation are also on the rise. The Payscale research found small increases in mental health or wellness programs, paid sabbaticals, and extended family leave. Employers also reported an upswing in help with student loan repayments, financial/debt services, travel benefits, and the four-day workweek.

More than half of employers ask job candidates how much they made in their last position, according to the new Payscale report. (Getty Creative)

What did you make in your last job?

And for those jobseekers out there, beware. Less than half ( 42%) of organizations refrain from asking applicants to disclose their current salary, or most recent one, according to the data.

That’s deeply troubling. In particular, it puts women and racial minorities who already grapple with a pay gap in an uncomfortable negotiating position.

Over half of U.S. states and many countries have passed salary history bans forbidding employers from asking this question, according to Payscale research. That said, a number of employers (11%) persist in the practice of asking prospective employees about their salary history, even where it may be illegal.

That takes chutzpah.

The Yahoo Finance Take: Money matters. Keeping pay apace with cost of living is crucial and, the truth is skilled workers will still be in hot demand this year.

Kerry is a Senior Reporter and Columnist at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon.

Pictured: Banksy artworks in Ukraine protected by shockproof glass

Jessica Carpani
Wed, 22 February 2023 

One of the works by Bansky features a gymnast performing the ribbon routine in Irpin - Thibault Camus

Paintings on the ruins of Ukrainian buildings by British graffiti artist Banksy have received new protections.

The artworks have been covered by shockproof glass, in the hope that they will survive any further damage brought on by Russia's bombardments.

The artist is believed to have painted the murals, including in Borodyanka, just outside Kyiv, in November last year.

Shockproof walls protect Banksy's boy defeating an adult man in judo sparring in Borodianka - Ukrinform/Shutterstock

An artwork made by British street artist Banksy is seen at the bottom of a destroyed building in Horenka, near Kyiv - Thibault Camus

A protective glass case seals the art piece that depicts a gymnast performing the ribbon routine on the wall of the apartment building affected by the shelling of Russian troops, Irpin, Kyiv - AKGS


Borodyanka was heavily damaged during Russia's attempt to capture the capital in February, when it was subjected to air strikes and artillery shelling. With the area blockaded, civilians faced starvation until Ukrainian forces recaptured the area in April.

Four murals in his signature style were spotted in total on damaged buildings in and around Kyiv, including one depicting a gymnast doing a handstand amid debris.

UK Ministers could offer one-off payments as way to end public sector strikes

Jessica Elgot, Denis Campbell, Heather Stewart, Pippa Crerar and Richard Adams
Wed, 22 February 2023 


Ministers have been given the freedom to talk to unions about pay settlements that could include backdated or one-off payments as ways to end the escalating series of public sector strikes.

But Downing Street said it was critical unions agreed to call off planned industrial action before talks could begin, as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) did on Tuesday.

It is understood that the Cabinet Office has given guidance to secretaries of state about the new parameters within which they can negotiate. They underline the expectation that new efficiency reforms will be announced in return for pay deals and the pre-condition that planned strike action must be cancelled for intensive negotiations to commence.

However, the Treasury has said any pay increases above the 3.5% maximum planned for 2023-24 must be funded from existing budgets, which could force departments to find billions in savings.

For example, if NHS staff do receive a 5% uplift next year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England could have to find about £1.8bn from their budgets to bridge the gap between that amount and the 3.5% the government said on Tuesday was all it could afford.

“It is up to secretaries of state how that works in practice,” one Whitehall source said. “But categorically, pay awards will be from existing departmental budgets. That has not changed.” Asked if that restriction came with potential cost for tackling the NHS backlog, the source said it was important that broader efficiencies were part of the final package.

The health secretary, Steve Barclay, is understood to be prepared to discuss backdating next year’s pay settlement, which would be a way of meeting the red line for all 12 health unions that pay for this year must be on the table – without reopening the full settlement.

A DHSC source rejected the GMB union’s claim that Barclay is trying to “divide and rule” the health unions by holding “intensive” pay talks with only the RCN. The source stressed that the RCN had shown “huge amount of goodwill” in backchannels and conversations with officials, and that calling off planned action was crucial to entering the intensive talks.

Barclay and RCN officials on Wednesday began discussing a number of options for improving nurses’ pay both this year and in 2023-24. They are thought to include both consolidated and also non-consolidated pay rises, a strategy which the Labour government in Wales is using as part of its efforts to reach a settlement with NHS unions there.

As well as pay, the talks will examine ways to lift administrative burdens on nurses and ways to reduce agency costs, as well as non-pay issues raised by unions including flexible working. Talks are expected to be ongoing over the coming days.

No 10 has made it a red line that the intensive phase of talks can only begin when strike action is called off.

“Strike action is very disruptive and there needs to be a lot of focus from all departments on contingency planning if they’re going ahead, which means it makes it more difficult to have these sort of detailed negotiations. It means being in a good constructive place,” one official said.

However, the National Education Union has said it will not pause planned industrial action next week until it has a clear indication of what is on offer from the government. Downing Street said the offer of talks would only stand once that had been called off.

“We’re obviously disappointed given I think the NEU and many other unions have wanted to talk about pay and have wanted to have these discussions for some time,” Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said. “The discussions and the talks are on the basis that they do stop strike action – there will be no talks, obviously, if they do not take that step.”

Leaders of teaching unions including the NEU say the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has failed to offer any movement on pay, with several characterising the talks to date as “polite discussions”, and one describing them as “meandering”.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said Keegan was making matters worse by insisting that strikes first be ruled out, adding: “After a series of meaningless encounters, the secretary of state holds out a public olive branch with thorns attached that make it impossible to grab.”

The NEU’s leaders said the union’s executive could call off next week’s regional strikes in England if the government makes a “serious proposal” by Saturday. “As things stand, however, no such offer has been made and the strikes remain in place,” the union said.

Sunak himself is understood to be taking a keen interest in the detail of the reforms that are possible, particularly in the NHS, which can free up frontline health workers from bureaucratic burdens.

“He is getting into the detail, he wants to fix those problems,” one senior official said. “Over the spring we want to see these issues being worked through and fixed. I think there is a realisation that we must demonstrate he is a prime minister fixing problems and improving long-term issues. Then we get breathing space to talk about long-term ambitions.”

Scottish oil services giant rejects takeover bid approaches


Ian McConnell
Wed, 22 February 2023

Wood has rejected the bid approaches

Aberdeen-based energy services group Wood has tonight revealed it rejected unsolicited bid approaches from private equity player Apollo Global Management.

Wood said its board had "engaged on a limited basis" with Apollo, before rejecting the proposals.

It made the announcement after the stock market had closed.

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The company told the London Stock Exchange: "The board of Wood notes the recent speculation and confirms that it has received three unsolicited, preliminary and conditional proposals from Apollo Global Management Inc, regarding a possible cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Wood.

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"The most recent approach was received on 26 January 2023 and proposed a cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Wood at a price of 230 pence per Wood share...The board carefully considered each of the proposals, together with its financial advisers, and has engaged on a limited basis with Apollo. The board unanimously rejected each of the proposals, having concluded that they each significantly undervalued the repositioned group's prospects."

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Shares in Wood had finished 3.7p higher on the session at 154.7p.

Wood said: "Any offer for Wood is governed by the Code (The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers). Under Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Apollo must, by not later than 5.00pm on 22 March 2023, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Wood in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Panel (the Takeover Panel) in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code."