Boston Dynamics robots dance better than you in unsettling music video

Boston Dynamics robots can do a lot more than run these days: they can mash potato, they can do the twist and they can dance (hopefully not on our graves after the uprising).

© Boston Dynamics/YouTube Two Atlas robots and a Spot dance at a Boston Dynamics facility in this image from video released Dec. 29, 2020.

The Massachusetts-based robotics company shot to the top of the YouTube charts this week with a spectacular — and slightly unsettling — new music video, which shows its highly mobile robots dancing to Do You Love Me by The Contours.

The video shows off the tech firm's impressive achievements in artificial intelligence, including the ability to make a robot dance better than a drunk human at a wedding. The comparison isn't even close.

"Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year," the Waltham, Mass.-based company wrote on YouTube.

The nearly three-minute video starts with a bipedal Atlas robot jumping, shuffling and hopping around to the music. Its movements are smooth, precise and on beat — just like Patrick Swayze's in Dirty Dancing.

A second Atlas robot soon joins the fun, followed by a dog-like robot called Spot and another one on wheels, known as Handle.

The video is a departure from Boston Dynamics' typical fare. The company is renowned for releasing videos of its robots moving like living creatures, including humans, in uncanny and disturbing ways.

Read more: Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot can now parkour, one step closer to destroying us all

The firm has been at the cutting edge of robot movement for years, and its Spot dogs are have become popular tools for rescue and bomb-disposal operations. They're also for sale online, if you've got a cool $US74,500 to spare.

Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot is designed to look and move much like a human. Atlas operators showcased its agility in another video posted last year, which showed the robot performing parkour moves in a warehouse.

Hyundai Motor Group recently bought a controlling interest in the company, all but ensuring that the dancing Terminators of the future will all have the letter "H" emblazoned on their foreheads.

Video: Singapore tests out canine-like robot to enforce distancing measures in parks

The video triggered a tide of jokes on Twitter, where many were slightly unsettled by the notion of losing a dance battle to a walking pile of scrap.

"We are so dead," one user tweeted.

Supercluster, a pro-space initiative, imagined how humans might deal with a robot uprising in the distant future.

“You have to fight back,” it tweeted. “It’s the dance off from West Side Story.”

“This is cool and all,” one user wrote. “But when they rise up and destroy us all, I won’t feel very good knowing there could be a Boston Dynamics robot Default Dancing over my grave.”

RAVE ON

Study of virus screening at concert reports zero infections

BARCELONA, Spain — The organizers of an indoor music festival in Barcelona to test the effectiveness of same-day coronavirus screening said Wednesday that preliminary results indicate there was zero transmission inside the venue.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The results were released over two weeks since 1,000 music fans volunteered to take part in the experiment. After passing an antigen test on site, around 500 people were randomly selected to enter the concert hall. The other 500 were sent home and used as a control group.

All participants were called back to take a second test eight days later. The results showed zero infections among the 463 concertgoers who complied with the second round of testing, while the control group of 496 people who did not get into the concert had two positive cases.

The concertgoers were obliged to wear masks inside the concert, but dancing and singing were allowed.

The experiment was organized by Barcelona’s The Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation along with the Primavera Sound music festival.

The Associated Press

Iranian women's group empowers amid pandemic by making masks

TEHRAN, Iran — As the coronavirus pandemic ravages Iran, home to the Mideast’s worst outbreak, a women’s group hopes to empower its members by helping them make and sell face masks.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The organization called “Bavar,” or “Belief” in Farsi, formed in 2016, allowing women looking for work to make handicrafts with donated sewing machines. It gave widows and others a way to earn cash in a country whose anemic economy only worsened since, two years later, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.


Sara Chartabian, the founder of Bavar, said the group tries to teach women to be self-sufficient as unemployment and inflation remain high.

“We teach them fishing instead of giving them a fish,” Chartabian said.

The pandemic, however, has seen the demand for handicrafts drop. Iran has 1.2 million reported cases of the virus, with about 1 million recoveries and over 55,000 deaths — with officials acknowledging the true toll could be far higher. Meanwhile, the women in need still had to earn money to support their families.

So the women at Bavar decided to begin making cloth face masks. Today, some 50 women sit with their sewing machines, creating two-ply cloth masks. A third layer can be added with material sold in local pharmacies.

Elham Karami, a 41-year-old woman who works five days a week to support her two sons, said she makes around 10,000 rials (3 U.S. cents) for each face mask she sews. Clients for Bavar include companies and others.

“I am grateful for this (organization) because they turned me to a skilled tailor for free,” Karami said. “They allowed me to use a sewing machine to learn how to sew. They also provided materials for me to work on.”

Depending on the order size, Bavar then sells the masks for as much as 250,00 rials (96 U.S. cents) apiece.

In Iran, where the capital of Tehran has been hard-hit by the virus, authorities have mandated mask wearing. While fines for not wearing a mask remain low and poorly enforced, the public increasingly has been seen wearing them.

Chartabian said Bavar’s sales help support buying materials, sewing machines and other matters. The organization also provides women with psychological counselling and other support. She declined to offer specific sales figures for the masks so far, but said every bit helped support women in need.

“Maybe the money is not so much, but we provide them services such as psychological counselling and also equipment,” she said.

___

“One Good Thing” is a series that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing

Vahid Salemi, The Associated Press

Month on, women hold the fort at India farmer protests

NEW DELHI — The men arrived first. And they arrived with a bang.

© Provided by The Canadian Press
Tens of thousands of them, marching like an army, driving trucks and trailers, prepared to choke key highways that feed into India's bustling capital.

But once the male farmers hunkered down and laid a siege of sorts around New Delhi, something remarkable happened over the weeks that followed: A stream of women, young and old, started jostling through a teeming crowd of men.

First, it was a trickle — a dozen or two of them, draped in yellow and green scarfs, accompanying a legion of male farmers who arrived each day at the protest site. Then their numbers slowly started to swell. From students, teachers and nurses to housewives and grandmothers, the women appeared in cars and buses. Some even drove tractors with flags mounted atop bulky metal bonnets that called for a “revolution.”

Now a month into the protests, these women are on the front lines, smiling, laughing, singing songs of revolution and resolutely demanding a rollback of new agricultural laws passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that farmers fear will favour big corporations and make family-owned farms unviable, eventually leaving them landless.

The highway is their new home, and they are forming the backbone of the protests and making their voices heard.

“After all, we are the ones who toil the most in the farms and feed the country,” said Ramandeep Kaur, who was at the very front column of the protest site that stretches for miles. “Our men are here to fight. We will stand with them as long as it takes.”

On a normal day, Kaur, 45, would spend long hours teaching science in a government-run school in the city of Bathinda in the northern state of Punjab. At day's end, she would do the household chores and then work on the family farm, feeding the cattle, milking them and turning their dung into fuel cakes.

But after travelling some 340 kilometres (211 miles) along with her friends this past weekend, she is now part of an impenetrable army of protesters who have threatened to stay put until their demands to abolish the new agricultural laws are met.

The work at the protest site comes with a grueling daily schedule of 10-12 hours. During the day, Kaur commands a group of volunteers who make flatbread and curry for thousands of protesters camping on New Delhi's outskirts. At night, she prepares bedding for dozens of grandmothers who have hunkered down at the protest site, inside trailers and makeshift tents.

“We have long fulfilled the demands of farm and family, making sure both are tended to properly," said Kaur. “But we don’t want our future generations to say that when men went fighting for a good cause, women stayed back and didn’t raise their voice.”

Kaur embodies the “invisible” workforce on India’s vast farmlands that often goes unnoticed.

Nearly 75% of rural women in India who work full-time are farmers, according to the nongovernmental organization Oxfam India, and the numbers are only expected to rise as more men migrate to cities for jobs. Yet, a little less than 13% of women own the land they till.

Participation at the protest site, however, still may not be enough for the women to voice their concerns.

“That fight is for another day,” said Kavitha Kuruganti, a female farm leader who is part of the nearly 40-member farmers delegation whose talks with government representatives to end the impasse have failed so far. “For now, women are here to fight equally like men and to make a point that they are not taking a back seat.”

Kuruganti's words ring true, as many women who arrived during the first wave of protests are still hunkering down with unflagging resolve. They are unwilling to leave.

On a recent afternoon, a group of grandmothers cooped inside a trailer exuberantly chanted “Haq lenge,” a colloquial Punjabi phrase for “We'll take what is ours.” With a toothless grin and a clenched fist raised to the skies, their loud chants alerted a passerby who joined the chorus at a protest site that has become a nationwide symbol of resistance.

The grandmothers said they have always stayed behind closed doors, remained busy with their daily chores and barely brushed with politics their entire life. That was until last month.

For over 30 days, the frail but feisty women have camped out on the highways day and night, side by side with thousands of other protesters, braving New Delhi's bone-chilling temperatures and a pandemic that has killed more than 148,000 Indians.

“I have never been in a protest before, but I would happily die for my land and for my future generation,” said Manjeet Kaur, 60. “We will fight for our rights.”

Women have taken part in recent protest movements across India. A core of so-called “dadis,” or grandmothers, many from a largely Muslim neighbourhood in New Delhi, were integral to demonstrations against a discriminatory new citizenship law brought by Modi's government in 2019 that culminated in violence.

The involvement of social-media-savvy young women has shifted the tenor of the current protests. Many are well-educated daughters of farmers, and they wonder why women shouldn't be on the front lines.

For weeks, Karamjeet Kaur led awareness marches in her village in Punjab while the men in her family were out protesting in New Delhi. Armed with a smartphone, Kaur, 28, broadcast the visuals of protests from her village to thousands of her followers on Instagram.

“People had to know that women were even protesting from their homes,” she said.

Kaur said she was aware of the "uphill task" the farming community was facing but didn’t realize what it actually took to keep the fight going until she decided to come down to New Delhi herself.

The temperatures in the capital have plummeted to their lowest in recent years, and hygienic sanitation facilities for thousands of female farmers remain a challenge at the protest site. Worse, the fears of getting infected with the coronavirus always loom large.

“But we are prepared to stay until Modi abolishes these black laws,” said Kaur.

Her family had initially been resistant to her taking part in the protests, “but now they know why I am fighting," Kaur said, sweeping the roadside clean with a wooden broom as a bustling crowd walked past her.

“We thought Modi would give us jobs, but all he has done is brought us out on the roads,” she said. “And we will stay on the roads.”

Sheikh Saaliq, The Associated Press

MINING IS NOT GREEN
Indonesia says $9.8 billion EV battery MOU agreed with LG Energy Solution
By Bernadette Christina

© Reuters/SERGIO PEREZ FILE PHOTO: 

A man walks past an LG logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia and a unit of South Korean firm LG Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a $9.8 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery investment deal, the head of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board said on Wednesday.

The deal was signed on Dec. 18 and includes investments across the EV supply chain, the board head, Bahlil Lahadalia, told a news conference.

An official at LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, confirmed it had agreed an MOU but could not provide details or the deal's value. LG Group in Seoul referred Reuters to its affiliate.

Bahlil said the agreement made Indonesia the first country in the world to integrate the electric battery industry from mining to producing electric car lithium batteries.

"We have signed an MOU for the construction of an integrated electric battery factory from upstream to downstream," Bahlil said.

"Mines, smelters, precursors, cathodes, cars to recycling facilities will be built in Indonesia," he said, adding that the project will be located in North Maluku and Central Java.

Under the MOU, at least 70% of the nickel ore used to produce the EV batteries must be processed in Indonesia, he said.

Indonesia aims to start processing its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries as part of a bid to eventually become a global hub for producing and exporting EVs.

Indonesia said earlier this month that U.S. automaker Tesla, will send delegations to Indonesia in January to discuss potential investment in a supply chain for its electric vehicles.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe and Heekyong Yang in Seoul; Writing by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Martin Petty)

BEING A JUNKIE IS AN EXISTING PRECONDITION

Gov. Cuomo wants to give people recovering from drug addictions who live in crowded housing COVID-19 vaccine priority, and Republicans are furious

© Spencer Platt/Getty Images New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that people recovering from drug addictions in New York will get vaccinated this week.

He explained that they would be prioritized because many of them live in "problematic" shared accommodation.

Republican lawmakers expressed their outrage that people recovering from addiction are being prioritized over some senior citizens and healthcare workers.

Rep. Elise Stefanik called Cuomo "an absolute disgrace."

Sen. Rick Scott followed suit by accusing the governor of "failing the people of New York."

The Office of Addiction Services and Supports said drug users were being stigmatized. "Those at high risk of COVID should be vaccinated in line with other high-risk populations," it said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed in a press conference that people recovering from addiction would be among those in New York vaccinated against COVID-19 this week.

The announcement, however, sparked fury from Republican lawmakers.

On Monday, Cuomo told reporters that a batch of the 259,000 expected vaccine doses would go, as a matter of priority, to people served by OASAS - the Office of Addiction Services and Supports.

Cuomo explained that people recovering from addiction will be prioritized because they are living in 'congregate facilities.' These are "problematic" because of how densely populated they are, the governor said.

Read more: Primary-care clinics hope to play a big role in vaccinating Americans, but some don't know when they'll receive coronavirus shots. 3 major chains lay out how they're preparing despite little information.

He outlined that, in addition to those at OASAS facilities, people living in nursing homes, and individuals who are administering coronavirus vaccines would also be vaccinated in the upcoming seven days.

"We'll then continue with high-risk hospital workers, federally qualified health center employees, EMS workers," Cuomo said.

"Who's getting the vaccines next week? We expect to open to ambulatory care health workers, public-facing public health workers," he continued.

The vaccine roll-out plans mean that residents and staffers in state-run and privately-operated rehab across New York will get jabs this week.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York congresswoman and Trump favorite, dismissed the plans as "an absolute disgrace."

In a tweet, she expressed her fury that people recovering from addiction would get the jab before some senior citizens.

Stefanik called Cuomo "the worst governor in America."

She then continued: "This time prioritizing vaccines for drug addicts over tens of thousands of seniors who have been homebound since the start of the pandemic. An absolute disgrace."

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida also tweeted criticism of Cuomo. He accused the governor of "once again failing the people of New York."

Scott added: "We should be making sure senior citizens, those most vulnerable, and Americans on the front lines combating this virus get priority for the vaccine."

LIKE NEW YORK SENIOR CITIZEN RUPERT MURDOCK WHO GOT HIS SHOT AS A 1% WHO COULD PAY

OASAS, the agency that will oversee the vaccination of their residents, responded to the backlash in a statement made to CBS Albany News.

A spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, there continues to be a stigma against those in recovery when it comes to equal access to health care. These individuals deserve the same access to medical care as everyone else, and those at high risk of COVID should be vaccinated in line with other high-risk populations."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Coinbase paid women and Black employees significantly less than counterparts in comparable roles, and the wage gaps were wider than at other tech firms, report says

© Anthony Harvey / Stringer Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase. Anthony Harvey/Stringer

Coinbase paid women and Black employees significantly less than their male and non-Black counterparts, a new report from The New York Times said.

The report used internal compensation data from 2018 for most of Coinbase's 830 employees.

Coinbase has denied discrimination against Black workers.

60 employees voluntarily resigned this year after CEO Brian Armstrong forbade employees from discussing political and social issues at work.

Coinbase paid women and Black employees significantly less than their male and non-Black counterparts, internal compensation data obtained by The New York Times showed.

Women at Coinbase were paid, on average, $13,000, or 8%, less than men in comparable jobs, while Black employees were paid $11,500, or 7%, less than other races, The Times said. The report used 2018 pay data for most of Coinbase's 830 employees, including 16 total salaried Black employees.

Read more: Coinbase salaries revealed: From $90,000 to $280,000, here are the salaries it pays engineers, data scientists, and designers

The gender wage gap at Coinbase was larger than the industry average, which amounts to 0.1% when adjusted for comparable jobs, The Times reported.

The Times previously reported on Black Coinbase employees' experience with racism and discrimination at work. A manager reportedly suggested in public that a Black employee was dealing drugs and carrying a gun, and another worker said she'd heard a colleague describe Black employees as less capable.

Coinbase had preemptively denied discrimination against Black workers before The Time story's publication.

"Overall, we expect the story will paint an inaccurate picture that lacks complete information and context, despite our best efforts to fact-check details of the story with the reporter," Coinbase executives said in an unsigned November blog post.

Internal issues have sparked conflict between some Coinbase employees and management this year. After Brian Armstrong, the chief executive, forbade employees from discussing political and social issues at work, 60 employees voluntarily resigned. After the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, Black employees at many big firms, like Pinterest and Nike, spoke out against corporate racism they said they experienced.

Read more: Microsoft is starting to award bonuses based on whether employees 'generate and protect Microsoft trust by modeling integrity,' leaked documents show

Coinbase employees from the customer-success and engineering departments staged a virtual walkout in June after Armstrong declined to say "Black lives matter" during a company meeting.

Employees told Business Insider's Melia Russell the company took down bathroom signs that encouraged employees to use the bathroom most comfortable for them, which caused a controversy known as "bathroomgate."

Coinbase confidentially filed paperwork to go public earlier this month, as the price of Bitcoin reached record highs. The firm would be the first cryptocurrency exchange to go public.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO PROGRESSIVES IS WALL ST DEMOCRATS 

Here are 9 fascinating facts to know about BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager popping up in the Biden administration

© AP BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink was reportedly under consideration by 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to run the Treasury Department. AP

The world's biggest fund manager, BlackRock, has become an increasingly influential player in Washington, DC. 

The firm's global head of sustainable investing is set to head Biden's National Economic Council, and a former advisor to BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink will serve as a top official at Treasury.

Here's a rundown of fast facts you need to know about BlackRock. 

BlackRock, the world's largest investment manager, has become an increasingly influential Wall Street player in Washington, DC as a poster child of the revolving door between finance and politics.

The firm has hired notable policy-makers over the years, and two executives with the New York-based asset manager on their resumes are now set to hold prominent roles in President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet.

BlackRock investment executive Brian Deese is set to head Biden's National Economic Council, effectively serving as his top advisor on economic matters. Biden has also tapped Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, a former chief of staff to BlackRock chief executive and longtime Democrat Larry Fink, to serve as a top official at the Treasury Department.

But unlike Goldman Sachs, a household brand name synonymous with executives leaving finance to go shape public policy, BlackRock isn't as well-known to people outside the investment industry.

Here's a rundown of fast facts you need to know about the firm.

Read more: The US government has pitched a policy that would allow private equity into your retirement fund. BlackRock is salivating at the possibility - here's how the $7 trillion manager would benefit.

1. BlackRock controls $7.8 trillion, making it the largest money manager in the world.

BlackRock manages a staggering $7.8 trillion in other people's money. That's more than the gross domestic product of every country in the world, except for the US and China.

For its largesse in investment management, it's a new firm by Wall Street institution standards. BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Fink, who also serves as the chairman, and seven others, including BlackRock President Robert Kapito and Vice Chairman Barbara Novick.

BlackRock's makes most of its money handling investments for outside clients, mostly institutions like public pension plans, endowments, and foundations.

As of September, 60% of its overall assets under management are for institutional investors, most of which is products linked to stock markets. It also has a $222 billion alternative investments business, managing products like private equity, private credit, and hedge funds.

Read more: Meet the 17 BlackRock power players carrying out CEO Larry Fink's vision to turbocharge private equity and alternative investments growth

2. It runs a massive technology platform that oversees at least $21.6 trillion in assets.

In 1999, BlackRock started selling Aladdin, which analyses and tracks investors' portfolios, which can help professional money managers spot risks. Today, it is a juggernaut widely used in the money management industry and beyond.

One of the definitive descriptions of Aladdin and all its connections, a February report in the Financial Times, detailed its sheer scale:

"Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors, the largest fund managers after BlackRock, are users, as are half the top 10 insurers by assets, as well as Japan's $1.5tn government pension fund, the world's largest. Apple, Microsoft, and Google's parent firm, Alphabet - the three biggest US public companies - all rely on the system to steward hundreds of billions of dollars in their corporate treasury investment portfolios."

In February, $21.6 trillion in assets sat on the platform from just a third of its 240 clients, the FT reported, citing public documents verified with the companies and first-hand accounts. Firms try to replicate it as a product, but none have been able to do so at the same scale.

Read more: BlackRock is eyeing aggressive growth for its Aladdin platform, and says it could manage risk for the entire asset management industry by 2025

3. BlackRock has hired many former government officials into senior roles.

By the time Deese and Adeyemo got to BlackRock, they already had experience working in government. Deese was previously a senior advisor to President Barack Obama and served as deputy director of the National Economic Council, which he is now set to lead under Biden.

Adeyemo, who was appointed as deputy Treasury secretary in the Biden administration, had previously worked as Obama's senior international economics advisor. While at BlackRock, one of his roles was Fink's interim chief of staff.

Thomas Donilon, who is now chairman of the asset manager's research arm, previously served as national security advisor to Obama. (Donilon's brother, Mike, was Biden's chief strategist during his presidential campaign).

Read more: Joe Biden's Cabinet-in-waiting: Meet the people in play for a new administration, and Biden's picks for key roles like Secretary of State and national security advisor

BlackRock has hired other former policy-makers and regulators. Coryann Stefansson, who previously worked on bank supervision matters at the Federal Reserve Board and held senior positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, joined BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory (FMA) unit in 2016. She left last year, according to LinkedIn.
4. The firm played a significant role in aiding the Federal Reserve this year.

The FMA unit, which is effectively BlackRock's consulting arm, separate from its investment management operations, had a significant role to play in the US government's coronavirus pandemic response this year.

In March, the Federal Reserve picked the FMA division to handle an emergency asset-purchasing program. There was no process where other asset managers could have bid for the job, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

After an analyst said on an April earnings call that investors viewed BlackRock's mandate as a "bailout" for his firm or the exchange-traded fund industry broadly, Fink called the question "insulting."

Read more: BlackRock has shaken up leadership in its influential advisory business that works on projects like the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program
5. The Federal Reserve tapped BlackRock during the last financial crisis, too.

The investment manager had been there before, defending its connection to the Federal Reserve. During the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked BlackRock's FMA division to handle assets of Bear Stearns and AIG, both on the verge of collapsing.

"They have access to information when the Federal Reserve will try to sell securities, and what price they will accept. And they have intricate financial relations with people across the globe," Republican Senator Chuck Grassley told the New York Times at the time. "The potential for a conflict of interest is great and it is just very difficult to police."

BlackRock has emphasized that the division handling Fed mandates, the FMA, is distinct from its core money management business to prevent conflicts.
6. Fink has been vocal on matters of climate change, urging other companies' leaders to consider the associated risks.

"Climate change has become a defining factor in companies' long-term prospects," he wrote in his open letter to chief executives in January.

"Disclosure should be a means to achieving a more sustainable and inclusive capitalism. Companies must be deliberate and committed to embracing purpose and serving all stakeholders - your shareholders, customers, employees, and the communities where you operate," he said.

The firm rolled out related initiatives, like exiting investments that carry sustainability-related risks and launching new products that screen for exposure to fossil fuels.
7. But his firm has been scrutinized for its record on supporting shareholder requests for climate-related disclosures.

In a September report, Morningstar, a firm that analyzes fund information, said it found support for those type of requests rose at asset management giants Fidelity, State Street Global Advisors, and Vanguard, but fell at BlackRock compared to the year prior.

"While 2020's results mark a higher level of support than BlackRock had given such proposals from 2016 through 2018 - when its backing never made it to double digits - the 2020 level of 'for' votes was down to 14% from 25% in 2019," analysts wrote of the 14 climate-related resolutions shareholders requested this year.

Read more: 'Pleasantly surprised': Activists say BlackRock's climate change strategy is a good first step, but more needs to be done
8. It has long been rumored that Fink himself will head to DC.

BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink was reportedly under consideration by 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to run the Treasury Department. He was also rumored to be under consideration for Biden's administration.

But he has squashed that chatter. Last month, private equity founder David Rubenstein asked Fink during Bloomberg's virtual New Economy Forum how he would respond to a request from Biden to serve in his cabinet.

"Thank you for that honor, but I'm very happy at BlackRock. I've committed to my employees and to my board and to my family already. I'm staying in New York for the time being," he said, according to a transcript of the event.
9. BlackRock has made lots of acquisitions.

Think of BlackRock as a firm that has gobbled up lots of competitors in its path over the years.

The firm has purchased legacy businesses and fintech startups, looking to keep an edge as traditional money management isn't as profitable or unique as it once was.

Read more: What BlackRock's $1 billion bid for a trendy indexing business means for the money management industry

Last month, the firm said it would acquire a California-based investment provider called Aperio for approximately $1 billion in cash. Last year, BlackRock acquired eFront, a French startup that runs alternative investments management software, for $1.3 billion.

In 2009, BlackRock acquired Barclays Global Investors in a deal that included Barclays' iShares ETF business; and three years before that, the firm acquired Merrill Lynch Investment Management.
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Planned increase in CPP premiums on Jan. 1 to hit some workers more due to pandemic

ITS NOT A TAX ITS A SAVINGS ACCOUNT 

FOR YOUR FUTURE

OTTAWA — Come Jan. 1, Canada Pension Plan contributions are going up again, although higher than originally planned. The reason is largely because of the pandemic's effect on the labour market, which has some groups noting the impact will be felt by some workers more than others.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Here's a rundown of what's happening, and how long the effect might last.

Why premiums are going up

The planned increase on Jan. 1 is part of a multi-year plan approved by provinces and the federal government four years ago to boost retirement benefits through the public plan by increasing contributions over time.

The first premium bump was in 2019, another was earlier this year and the next is due at the beginning of 2021.

A KPMG note in November said the maximum employer and employee contributions will hit $3,166 each in 2021, an increase from the $2,898 this year. 

$268 ANNUALLY, OR $10.31 PER PAYCHEQUE

For self-employed contributions, the maximum amount will be $6,332, up from $5,796.

$536 BECAUSE THEY PAY BOTH EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE SHARE

WHICH IS WHY GOVT LIKES CONTRACTING OUT

Why next year is different

The plan requires contributions to go up alongside the upper limit on earnings that are subject to those premiums.

For next year, the earnings ceiling, known as the yearly maximum pensionable earnings or YMPE, was supposed to be $60,200, an increase of $1,500 from the 2020 limit. But the actual amount is going to be higher at $61,600.

The reason is due to the pandemic's effects on the labour market and how the YMPE is calculated.

The formula to calculate the earnings limit relies on increases in the average weekly earnings recorded over the year ending June 30, compared to the same figure during the preceding 12-month period.

Over the course of the pandemic, average weekly earnings have increased, but not because people are earning more.

More lower-income workers lost their jobs between March and June than higher-wage workers meaning there were fewer low-wage workers as part of the calculation. The federal chief actuary's office says that's why the overall increase is larger than originally projected

The reaction

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, estimates that anyone around the maximum earnings limit will effectively see a 9.3 per cent increase in premiums, beyond the just over five-per-cent bump baked into law.

"That's going to be hundreds of dollars of new CPP premiums out of paycheques of middle-income Canadians not because they got a raise, but because the formula has not had a COVID adjustment," Kelly says.

"We think this is deeply unfair." FOR EMPLOYERS WHO PAY

Provincial finance ministers had asked the government to put a pause on increases for next year, pointing to the economic fallout from COVID-19, but that was easier said than done.

Any changes to contribution rates or the earnings ceiling at which point contributions top-out would need the approval of Parliament and seven provinces representing at least two-thirds of the national population — a higher bar than what's required to amend the Constitution.

Bottom line

Contributions are going up next year. So too will the maximum earnings limit, beyond what was planned.

But federal officials expect the effect from the higher earnings limit to dissipate over time as jobs continue to come back after steep losses earlier in 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2020.

CPP Investments Net Assets Total $456.7 Billion at 2nd Quarter Fiscal 2021 | CPP Investments

Explainer: How does Canada's Clean Fuel Standard policy work?


By Nia Williams

© Reuters/CANDACE ELLIOTT

 Suncor Energy facility is seen in Sherwood Park, Alberta

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada published the draft Clean Fuel Standard this month, which is central to the ruling Liberal Party's commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. The proposed regulation is also a key part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge that Canada will hit net-zero emissions by 2050.

WHAT WILL IT DO?

The Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) requires suppliers of liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene, to gradually cut the amount of carbon in their product.

There will be carbon-intensity reduction targets set for each fuel, starting in 2022 and increasing annually until 2030. Carbon intensity is measured on a full lifecycle basis, from crude oil extraction, to refining, to a fuel's end use by consumers.

The CFS is intended to cut carbon emissions, spur investment in clean-energy technology and create a credit trading scheme, where fuel suppliers that are not meeting carbon-intensity reduction requirements can buy credits generated by other companies producing cleaner fuel.

The federal government says the CFS will cut annual emissions by more than 20 megatons by 2030, which would be around 10% of the reductions needed to meet Canada's climate commitments. Canada currently produces around 730 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and has pledged to cut that to 511 megatons by 2030. It is the tenth largest greenhouse gas emitter globally.

WHO HAS TO COMPLY?

A fuel supplier is any company that produces or imports liquid fuels in Canada. That includes integrated oil companies like Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil that produce and refine crude, and refiners like Irving Oil.

HOW CAN CARBON-INTENSITY OF FUEL BE CUT?

There are numerous options available. For example, companies could blend biofuels into their product, cut emissions associated with oil production, improve the energy efficiency of refineries, and invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. They could also invest in low-carbon energy sources like hydrogen or renewables.

If they fail to meet carbon-reduction obligations suppliers can purchase credits in the CFS market. Credits are expected to start out relatively cheap and become more expensive as carbon-intensity reduction targets get tougher.

Companies providing alternatives to petroleum-based fuels, such as renewable energy or hydrogen, or those involved in charging electric vehicles, will generate CFS credits.

WHAT WILL IT COST?
Canada estimates the CFS will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 221 megatonnes between 2021 and 2040, at a net cost of C$94 per tonne. In total, there will be a net cost to society of C$20.6 billion.

A government analysis said poorer families will be hit hardest as fuel suppliers pass on their increased costs.

The government originally planned to regulate gaseous and solid fuels as well but narrowed its scope to just liquids. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers welcomed that move, but refiners have previously warned the CFS risks increasing their costs.

WHEN DOES IT START?
The draft regulation is in a 75-day comment period and if adopted next year will come into force at the end of 2022.

HOW DOES CANADA'S PLAN COMPARE GLOBALLY?

California, British Columbia and the European Union all have clean fuel regulations. Canada's CFS goes further in that it applies to any type of liquid fuels, not just those used in transportation.

(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)