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Teen Social Media Ban Moves Closer in Australia After Tech Trial

Teen Social Media Ban Moves Closer in Australia After Tech Trial

Bloomberg4 hours ago

Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s moved closer to implementation after a key trial found that checking a user's age is technologically possible and can be integrated into existing services.
The conclusions are a blow to Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok and Snap Inc., which opposed the controversial legislation. Some platform operators had questioned whether a user's age could be reliably established using current technology.

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Stocks struggle, oil up for 3rd week as Trump weighs US action on Iran
Stocks struggle, oil up for 3rd week as Trump weighs US action on Iran

Yahoo

time10 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Stocks struggle, oil up for 3rd week as Trump weighs US action on Iran

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Share markets in Asia struggled for direction on Friday as fears of a potential U.S. attack on Iran hung over markets, while oil prices were poised to rise for a third straight week on the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Overnight, Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel as a week-old air war intensified with no sign yet of an exit strategy from either side. The White House said President Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran war. The U.S. President is facing uproar from some of his MAGA base over a possible strike on Iran. Brent fell 2% on Friday to $77.22 per barrel, but is still headed for a strong weekly gain of 4%, following a 12% surge the previous week. "The 'two-week deadline' is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions, including those involving Russia and Ukraine, and tariffs," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. "Often, these deadlines expire without concrete action, (similar to TACO), and there is certainly a risk of this happening again, given the complexities of the situation." Still, a cautious mood prevailed in markets with Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures both 0.3% lower in Asia. U.S. markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday, offering little direction for Asia. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1% but was set for a weekly drop of 1%. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%. China's blue chips rose 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5%, after the central bank held the benchmark lending rates steady as widely expected. In the currency markets, the dollar was on the back foot again, slipping 0.2% to 145.17 yen after data showed Japan's core inflation hit a two-year high in May, which kept pressure on the Bank of Japan to resume interest rate hikes. Investors, however, see little prospects of a rate hike from the BOJ until December this year, which is a little over 50% priced in. The U.S. bond market, which was also closed on Thursday, started trading in Asian hours on a subdued note. Ten-year Treasury bond yield was flat at 4.389%, while two-year yields slipped 2 basis points to 3.925%. Overnight, the Swiss National Bank cut rates to zero and did not rule out going negative, while the Bank of England held policy steady but saw the need for further easing and Norway's central bank surprised everyone and cut rates for the first time since 2020. Gold prices eased 0.2% to $3,363 an ounce, but were set for a weekly loss of 2%. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

"Recession Nails" Are Trending As People Realize They Can No Longer Spend Hundreds Of Dollars On Getting Their Nails Done
"Recession Nails" Are Trending As People Realize They Can No Longer Spend Hundreds Of Dollars On Getting Their Nails Done

Yahoo

time17 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

"Recession Nails" Are Trending As People Realize They Can No Longer Spend Hundreds Of Dollars On Getting Their Nails Done

Ro Wilson used to spend up to $150 on fresh gel extensions with intricate nail art every month. 'Christmas nails, Halloween nails, spring nails,' she said. 'For the last couple of years, I was very loyal ... the nail that I got always matched the theme of the month.' But this January, the New York-based marketing professional decided to stop and give her weakened nail beds a break ― and she noticed the reprieve her wallet got as well. She now considers her Gel X habit an 'unnecessary spend.' 'Right now, it's more important for me to have a one-bedroom apartment and have less money to spend on beauty than it would be for me to have two, three roommates,' Wilson said about her current priorities. She's dubbed her current bare short nails a 'recession indicator,' a play on the 'recession nail' trend, or 'princess nails' as some more positively call it, that has taken off on TikTok in recent days. According to these TikTokers, short, understated nails are in, and more expensive long coffin nails and gel extensions are out this year. As one TikToker with plain, manicured nails put it, these are 'low-maintenance nails for the recession.' Related: Hairstylists Share The One Thing They'd Never Do To Their Hair But can the state of how you do your nails actually be a sign of where the economy is going? Washington State University economist Christopher Clarke said short, simple nails could possibly be a recession indicator, but beauty trends are a 'noisy' signal of an economic downturn because 'things go in and out of style, and that has nothing to do with the economy, it just has to do with the seasonality of human preferences,' he said. For Clarke, the key recession indicators are a rise in unemployment claims, the overall unemployment rate, and declining investments. But he understands why we want to make TikTok videos with our own interpretation of recession indicators, because humans crave a narrative to explain their anxieties about the future. 'When we feel anxiety about all these changes in the economy ... we need a story to help us frame it, to help us understand what we're going through,' he said. What Nail Artists Think 'Recession Nails' Look Like Related: "Recession Nails" Are Trending As People Realize They Can No Longer Spend Hundreds Of Dollars On Getting Their Nails Done Nail artists themselves are more skeptical, however, about whether short, simple nails are a recession indicator. Long nails 'won't be going anywhere anytime soon,' said Christa Cole, a Pasadena, California-based nail technician. 'My clients love the way they can be creative and express their style with their nails.' Nail artists said the length of the nail doesn't indicate tightening budgets, but how often you come to the salon does. Los Angeles-based nail artist Christina Tran has noticed a trend over the past year, where clients are opting for simpler nail art and stretching out the time between appointments to save money. When clients ask for 'basic and boring,' understated short nails, 'I'm not going to chew her out about it. I'll be like, 'Oh, maybe it's a financial thing, or they have to get out of here in a hurry or something.' But it's like, girl, don't you see what I could do?' Tran said about the simple, short nail look. In Tran's view, the ultimate recession nails are when you no longer have the budget to get your nails done at all. Similarly, Los Angeles-based nail artist Sigourney Nuñez said recession nails are not dependent on length ― they are the nails you do yourself to save money. She believes we'll soon see parallels between what was popular during the 2008 recession and what's trending now. 'Back then, DIY nail art really took off and drugstore polish was super affordable, so people got creative at home,' she said. As one TikToker recently put it, 'Recession core is just gluing the same $5 press-on nails back every time they pop off for two months.' When times are tough, Clarke said people will cut out unnecessary luxury items, citing how budget retailer Walmart's stock price rose during the 2008 recession while Target's fell. However, what makes nail trends difficult to track as recession indicators is that what some consider a luxury, others view as a necessity. Even though gel manicures with nail art can cost more than $100, some customers will never give them up, no matter the cost. 'There will always be those loyal clients who would rather skip eating out than miss their nail appointment,' Nuñez said. Tran said she has clients who will tell her 'how they're struggling, but they'll still come and get their nails done, because it's been so ingrained in their personality.' As for Wilson, she has given up her monthly gel extension habit. But she still plans to reserve elaborate nail art for special occasions in the future. 'I like the idea of growing my own nail out,' Wilson said, 'and just doing designs and getting gel on that, versus paying $120-plus for fake nails that were going to break off anyway.' This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Trump signs executive order delaying ban on TikTok
Trump signs executive order delaying ban on TikTok

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Trump signs executive order delaying ban on TikTok

Trump signs executive order delaying ban on TikTok - again The 90-day extension marks the third time that Trump has delayed a TikTok sell-or-ban law from going into effect after it it was passed by Congress. Show Caption Hide Caption Tiktok stays as President Donald Trump extends deadline for ban President Donald Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline to ban Tiktok. WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump has again extended the deadline for a TikTok ban to go into effect, allowing the Chinese-owned social platform to continue operating for the 90 days. Trump said earlier in the week that he planned to give TikTok a third extension and signed an executive order on June 19 making it official. It was the third time that Trump authorized a delay. TikTok and Tariffs: Trump postpones TikTok deadline as talks continue to sell social media giant The popular social media app's parent company, ByteDance, now has until Sept. 17 to secure a deal that satisfies a legal requirement. Lawmakers ordered TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States over national security concerns. Former President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law. And the Supreme Court held the ban. But since returning to office, Trump has directed the Department of Justice not to enforce it. His executive orders have kept the app from going dark. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration's lawyers "strongly believe" the president has the legal authority to delay enforcement. "The political reasoning for this, of course, is because the president made a promise to keep TikTok on," she said. "He also wants to protect American's data and privacy concerns on this app, and he believes we can do both things at the same time. So he's making an extension so we can get this deal done." Trump ordered Vice President JD Vance and his then-national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to help facilitate a deal that would prevent user data from being accessed by the Chinese government. U.S. officials said they were on the verge of reaching an agreement in April but hit stumbling blocks when Trump ratcheted up tariffs on China. Is TikTok getting banned? Trump says he'll 'probably' extend deadline again Trade relations between the two nations have improved since then but a TikTok deal remains on ice. It was not clear if TikTok came up when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump spoke by phone for the first time on June 5. "We probably have to get China approval. I think we'll get it," Trump told reporters on June 17. "I think President Xi will ultimately approve it." TikTok has 135 million users in the United States, most of them young Americans, who Trump has said he does not believe are at risk from being spied on. "If China is going to get information about young kids, I don't know. To be honest with you, I think we have bigger problems than that," he told reporters. China denies that it interferes in the affairs of private businesses. Its embassy spokesman in Washington said in a June 19 statement that Trump has not changed its position on the United States ban. In response to a request, Liu Pengyu reiterated that the nation would "handle relevant matters in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations" and said the United States "should provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment." Contributing: Joey Garrison

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