Business

Corner Offices Are Out; Collaboration Is In. Say Hello to the New Law Firm.
Business

Corner Offices Are Out; Collaboration Is In. Say Hello to the New Law Firm.

Related media - Associated media There was “a lot of interior space and very little access to natural light,” said Kelley M. Bender, the firm’s chief operating partner. And retrofitting the old offices for current technology, including that needed for hybrid meetings, would be difficult. The firm also acknowledged that the work force had changed, requiring less space. Lawyers who commit to returning to work three days of week are assigned their own offices; those who don’t still have office space, “but not necessarily one with their name on the door,” Ms. Bender said. Chapman’s decision was in keeping with others in the Chicago market, said Daniel Arends, the chairman of the law firm services group at Colliers, a real estate services firm. He added that in the past nine years, 33 law...
China’s Country Garden Faces Winding Up Petition In Hong Kong
Business

China’s Country Garden Faces Winding Up Petition In Hong Kong

Related media - Connected media More than 50 Chinese property developers have defaulted on debts since 2021. They have refused to repay overseas creditors while still making arrangements with Chinese banks for possible eventual repayment. Many of these developers have shares listed on the Hong Kong stock market or have borrowed there, or both. But creditors face formidable obstacles in seeking to recover loans from Chinese real estate developers through petitions to the court system in Hong Kong, said Zerlina Zeng, the head of East Asia corporate credits at CreditSights, a global credit research firm. Most of the assets of Chinese developers are in mainland China, where courts might not recognize liquidation orders from Hong Kong. Even if mainland courts order liquidation sales of de...
Eye Ointments at CVS and Walmart Pulled Because of Infection Risk
Business

Eye Ointments at CVS and Walmart Pulled Because of Infection Risk

Associated media - Related media “The products are being recalled due to lack of sterility assurance at the facility noted during an inspection conducted by the Food and Drug Administration,” the announcement said. It added that, as of Feb. 16, the company had not received any reports of adverse reactions related to these products. The products are intended to be sterile, the administrator said, because drugs applied to the eyes bypass some of the body’s natural defense systems. Other eye products have been recalled in recent months. In October, the F.D.A. advised consumers to stop using more than two dozen over-the-counter eyedrop products sold at stores including Target, CVS and Walmart after inspectors found unsanitary conditions at a manufacturing plant. Bacterial tests came back...
Starbucks and Union Agree to Work Out Framework for Contract Talks
Business

Starbucks and Union Agree to Work Out Framework for Contract Talks

Associated media - Linked media Workers who have helped lead the organizing said the development had surprised them. “It still feels pretty surreal right now,” said Michelle Eisen, a longtime barista at a Starbucks in Buffalo that was the first company-owned store to unionize during the current campaign. “There has not been a single call I’ve been on today where either I wasn’t crying or everyone else wasn’t crying.” If a framework is agreed to and quickly leads to contracts, experts said, it could be a major development in labor relations in corporate America, where companies like Amazon and Apple have resisted union organizing to varying degrees. “If Starbucks genuinely intends to respect workers’ right to organize, stop its intimidation and harassment of pro-union workers, and eng...
Alabama IVF Ruling: What to Know About the Costs of Moving Embryos
Business

Alabama IVF Ruling: What to Know About the Costs of Moving Embryos

Associated media - Linked media “There’s a lot that goes into moving these safely and properly,” said Angeline Beltsos, chief executive physician at Kindbody, which has 35 clinics across the country and provides fertility benefit coverage for employers, including Walmart. Will my health insurance cover the cost to move my embryos if I can no longer get I.V.F. in my home state? Maybe. Some coverage could be broad enough to pay for the transport of embryos. “It is likely that employees working for large employers have some kind of coverage,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, the chief executive officer of Purchaser Business Group on Health, which represents large employers that provide benefits for their workers. Would fertility coverage pick up my treatment elsewhere? Maybe, and it’s more like...