Kategori arşivi: PrizmaBetim

Hurricanes Amplify Insurance Crisis in Riskiest Areas

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Until late last month, there was optimism in the insurance industry. Hurricane season had been quiet and the number of wildfires was still below the yearly average. Insurers were beginning to hope that the cost of reinsurance — that is, insurance for insurers — would only inch up next year, instead of shooting higher as it did the previous two years.

Two major hurricanes have upended their calculations.

Total economic losses from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene could soar over $200 billion, according to early estimates. While it’s far too soon to know exactly what portion will be covered by insurance companies, some consumer groups, lawmakers and analysts are already worried about a big hit to insurers’ finances that could ultimately affect millions of people living in the most vulnerable areas.

As climate change increases the intensity of natural disasters, insurance companies have pulled back from many high-risk areas by raising premiums or ending some types of coverage. The fallout from the two hurricanes, which landed within the span of two weeks, could accelerate that retreat. It could also further strain an already feeble federal flood insurance program that has filled in gaps for homeowners living in areas where private insurance companies no longer offer flood coverage.

Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, did not ultimately cause the catastrophe that had been predicted for the Tampa Bay area. But it still did plenty of damage.

Sridhar Manyem, an analyst for the insurance industry ratings agency AM Best, said that while it was too early to estimate insurers’ obligations, industry insiders were already beginning to compare Milton to Hurricane Ian, which caused more than $55 billion of insured losses in 2022 when it hit the same area.

“Because of lack of information at first blush, usually people do this,” Mr. Manyem said. “This storm is pretty comparable to another storm in terms of size and path and intensity, so we can try to figure out what an inflation-adjusted loss would be.”

Executives and Research Disagree About Hybrid Work’s Value. Why?

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Amazon’s C.E.O., Andy Jassy, made waves last month when he demanded that all employees return to the office five days a week. The proclamation seemed to validate similar demands made by executives like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon. And it naturally raised the question of whether others might follow suit. (It appears some have.)

But it also flew in the face of researchers and their studies that have found hybrid work benefits companies. Stanford’s Nick Bloom, for example, has found that employees who work two days a week at home are just as productive and less likely to quit. (Bloom, like others, speculated that Amazon’s pronouncement was really an attempt to reduce the work force without official layoffs.)

So why do so many employers that say they’re data-driven seem to move counter to science?

Executives are not convinced by the research. “It’s not like: ‘Aspirin definitely helps with headaches. It’s been proven again and again and again,’” Laszlo Bock, a former senior vice president for people operations at Google, told DealBook. “The academic studies that have been done, and there are not that many, show a range of outcomes — and they generally show a kind of neutral to slightly positive.”

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton, said he disagreed, pointing DealBook to a meta-analysis of 108 studies.

Some are just over it. Almost five years since the start of the pandemic, many C.E.O.s are ready to move on from an experiment they never wanted to start. “When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Jassy wrote in a memo about ending remote work at Amazon.

Grant says C.E.O.s may not always methodically control for whether an effect was caused by remote work, the pandemic or something else, as an academic researcher would.

The Cutting-Edge Hearing Aids That You May Already Own

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In your pocket or purse, you may be toting around small devices that, with the help of new software authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, could soon become inexpensive hearing aids. Millions of people already own them.

They’re Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, those white plastic knobs protruding from so many ears in malls and workplaces, on buses and sidewalks. The users may not be among the 30 million American adults reporting some degree of hearing loss; they’re probably just listening to music or podcasts, or talking on their phones.

Within weeks, however, consumers will be able to use those AirPods Pro 2 earbuds to bolster their hearing. Last month, Apple software called Hearing Aid and Hearing Test received a green light from the F.D.A., a first for the regulatory agency.

With the upcoming software and a compatible iPhone or iPad, users will be able test their hearing. For those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, the AirPods Pro 2 will adjust sounds in their environments and on their devices.

Users will be able to customize their AirPods for volume, tone and balance. All that should allow them to hear better — at least for the devices’ roughly five to six hours of battery life.

Apple plans to release the free software later this fall for iPhones running iOS 18 or later and iPads running iPadOS 18 or later, a spokesperson said. A set of AirPods Pro 2 costs $249 from Apple, and less at big box stores or through online retailers.

Political Uncertainty and Budget Reality Put France in a Financial Vise

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France has become one of the most financially troubled countries in Europe, with an outsize debt and deficit that are likely to keep ballooning despite efforts by a fragile new government to address the problem, the Fitch Ratings agency said on Friday.

A day after France’s new prime minister, Michel Barnier, introduced a tough austerity budget aimed at mending the nation’s rapidly deteriorating finances, Fitch issued a negative outlook for France’s sovereign credit rating. The rating was left unchanged at an AA– level for now, but Fitch warned that it could be revised lower if the government’s budget plans fall apart.

The outlook reflects greater financial risks that have swirled in France since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower house of Parliament in June and took until last month to appoint a new government. The episode left Parliament deeply divided, split nearly evenly between warring political factions on the left, right and center, and leaving Mr. Barnier with no clear majority. That will make it harder to pass a belt-tightening budget and assuage nervous international investors at a time when France’s national debt has ballooned to more than 3 trillion euros ($3.28 trillion).

In a statement late Friday after Fitch’s announcement, France’s economy minister, Antoine Armand, said the government was determined “to turn around the trajectory of public finances and control debt.”

France is the second-largest economy among the 20 countries that use the euro currency, and as such, is considered too big to fail. European Union rules require members to have sound finances, including capping debt at 60 percent of economic output and not letting government spending exceed revenues by more than 3 percent.

But France is now well in excess of both of those limits, drawing a formal rebuke recently from the European Union. France’s debt has spiraled to more than 110 percent of economic output, the worst in the bloc after Greece and Italy. Fitch warned that the debt could surge to more than 118 percent of gross domestic product by 2028 if nothing is done. The annual budget deficit is set to widen to 6.1 percent of gross domestic product this year, much higher than expected, and an increase of more than 10 percent from last year.

Composting Bin Dos and Don’ts: Can Your Building Restrict Your Access?

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Q: The management company for my New York City co-op is restricting our access to the new composting bins, which the city provides, to one 24-hour period every week. These “brown bins” are part of the city’s mandatory composting program. The city says there are no special days or limited hours for composting, but the management company says it is limiting the collection time to minimize pests and odors. I have a galley kitchen and cannot keep a week’s worth of food waste. I can use the orange smart bins on the street, but it’s frustrating that the management company is disregarding the purpose of the program. What can we do?

A: Your management company is not breaking any laws, but this policy seems to be in conflict with the spirit of the city’s program, and you can push for greater access to the composting bin.

New York City’s new mandatory composting program is in place in all boroughs. The benefits of composting food scraps and yard waste include controlling the rat population, diverting compostable material out of landfills and incinerators, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Every building is different, and decisions regarding internal trash and recycling storage are up to the residents and managers, according to a spokesman for the city’s Department of Sanitation. Your situation is not expressly prohibited.

Try to enlist your neighbors to approach the management with your concerns, emphasizing that this is a mandatory program, and that composting is good for the building. Storing food waste in apartments is not ideal and can create unsanitary conditions. Separating it reduces garbage-chute cleaning and makes trash bags less heavy, said Clare Miflin, executive director of Center for Zero Waste Design.

The city has anticipated your landlord’s stated concerns, and has said that a bin with a secure lid and a clear plastic liner bag does not generate more odor than food waste in the trash. Newspapers placed on top of each resident’s food waste can also reduce odors in the bin.

It’s possible that your management is limiting access out of a concern that residents won’t know how to use the bin. The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board has tips for educating residents and encouraging participation.

“It is a mandatory program, and access should be reasonable,” Ms. Miflin said. “The less convenient it is, the less people will participate.”

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Secret Documents Show Hamas Tried to Persuade Iran to Join Its Oct. 7 Attack

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For more than two years, Yahya Sinwar huddled with his top Hamas commanders and plotted what they hoped would be the most devastating and destabilizing attack on Israel in the militant group’s four-decade history.

Minutes of Hamas’s secret meetings, seized by the Israeli military and obtained by The New York Times, provide a detailed record of the planning for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, as well as Mr. Sinwar’s determination to persuade Hamas’s allies, Iran and Hezbollah, to join the assault or at least commit to a broader fight with Israel if Hamas staged a surprise cross-border raid.

The documents, which represent a breakthrough in understanding Hamas, also show extensive efforts to deceive Israel about its intentions as the group laid the groundwork for a bold assault and a regional conflagration that Mr. Sinwar hoped would cause Israel to “collapse.”

The documents consist of minutes from 10 secret planning meetings of a small group of Hamas political and military leaders in the run-up to the attack, on Oct. 7, 2023. The minutes include 30 pages of previously undisclosed details about the way Hamas’s leadership works and the preparations that went into its attack.

The documents, which were verified by The Times, lay out the main strategies and assessments of the leadership group:

  • Hamas initially planned to carry out the attack, which it code-named “the big project,” in the fall of 2022. But the group delayed executing the plan as it tried to persuade Iran and Hezbollah to participate.

  • As they prepared arguments aimed at Hezbollah, the Hamas leaders said that Israel’s “internal situation” — an apparent reference to turmoil over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious plans to overhaul the judiciary — was among the reasons they were “compelled to move toward a strategic battle.”

  • In July 2023, Hamas dispatched a top official to Lebanon, where he met with a senior Iranian commander and requested help with striking sensitive sites at the start of the assault.

  • The senior Iranian commander told Hamas that Iran and Hezbollah were supportive in principle, but needed more time to prepare; the minutes do not say how detailed a plan was presented by Hamas to its allies.

  • The documents also say that Hamas planned to discuss the attack in more detail at a subsequent meeting with Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader at the time, but do not clarify whether the discussion happened.

  • Hamas felt assured of its allies’ general support, but concluded it might need to go ahead without their full involvement — in part to stop Israel from deploying an advanced new air-defense system before the assault took place.

  • The decision to attack was also influenced by Hamas’s desire to disrupt efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the entrenchment of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Israeli efforts to exert greater control over the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, sacred in both Islam and Judaism and known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

  • Hamas deliberately avoided major confrontations with Israel for two years from 2021, in order to maximize the surprise of the Oct. 7 attack. As the leaders saw it, they “must keep the enemy convinced that Hamas in Gaza wants calm.”

  • Hamas leaders in Gaza said they briefed Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Qatar-based political leader, on “the big project.” It was not previously known whether Mr. Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in July, had been briefed on the attack before it happened.

Prelude to War

The documents provide greater context to one of the most pivotal moments in modern Middle Eastern history, showing it was both the culmination of a yearslong plan, as well as a move partly shaped by specific events after Mr. Netanyahu returned to power in Israel in late 2022.

Yahya Sinwar in April 2023 in Gaza City. Documents show that he and other Hamas leaders wanted time to lull Israeli leaders into a false sense of security before attacking Israel. Credit…Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times

How Roger Goodell Became the N.F.L.’s $20 Billion Man

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As they met in the lobby of the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel in Minnesota in late August, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, greeted each other warmly, sharing fist bumps as a small entourage that included their oldest sons surrounded them.

“Boy, you’re looking trim,” Mr. Jones, wearing a light blue jacket with a diamond star pin on his lapel, told Mr. Kraft, wearing his signature Nike dress sneakers. The two men, who have nine Super Bowl wins between them (six for Mr. Kraft, 83, and three for Mr. Jones, who turns 82 on Sunday), were upbeat and refreshed after their summer vacations in the South of France and the Hamptons.

Soon they were joined in the lobby by other N.F.L. royalty: the Kansas City Chiefs owner, Clark Hunt; the Pittsburgh Steelers owner, Art Rooney II; and, most significant, Roger Goodell, the league commissioner. There were smiles all around — and for good reason.

Over the next three hours, Mr.Goodell, 65, would preside over yet another decision that would make these already extremely wealthy individuals even richer: The league’s owners voted 31 to 1 to allow teams to sell up to 10 percent of their multibillion-dollar clubs to private equity groups.

Afterward, as other owners slipped into their waiting limousines, Mr. Jones, the most ardent proponent of growing the league, said to a gaggle of waiting reporters: “This is good for anybody that’s in love with the N.F.L., any part of it — the game part, on the field, off the field. This is a good thing.”

Robert Kraft, left, the owner of the New England Patriots, and Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, have both strongly supported Mr. Goodell’s expansionist vision for the N.F.L.Credit…Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Why I Don’t Regret Paying My Kid $100 to Read a Book

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By Mireille Silcoff

Produced by Kristina Samulewski

Mirielle Silcoff received backlash when she wrote a guest essay for Times Opinion about paying her 12-year-old daughter $100 to read a novel. In this audio essay, Ms. Silcoff explains why she doesn’t regret her decision, and why she felt like the experience for her daughter was worth the cost.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Credit…Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by MoMo Productions/Getty

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Kristina Samulewski. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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Letters in Song Lyrics and Poetry

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Elections of Yore

(to the tune of “Yesterday”)

Yesterday, politics was just a game we’d play

Now hostility is here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday

Suddenly, there’s an absence of civility

There’s no common ground that I can see

Oh, yesterday came suddenly

Why we disagree

I don’t know, it’s hard to say

We’re so far apart

Now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, bipartisan was just how we’d play

Now consensus just has gone away

Oh, I believe in yesterday

Why things are so wrong

I don’t know, I’m sad to say

All my hope is gone

My heart longs for yesterday

Yesterday, I looked forward to Election Day

Now the discord takes my joy away

Oh, I believe in yesterday

Bill Archibald
Arlington, Va.

Trump’s Campaign Love Song to America

David Garrard Lowe, Defender of Historic Architecture, Dies at 91

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David Garrard Lowe, a writer and architectural historian whose passion for historic preservation — and in particular for the Beaux-Arts mansions, museums and towers of the Gilded Age — helped stem the tide of urban renewal that was leveling large swaths of American cities in the decades after World War II, died on Sept. 21 in Manhattan. He was 91.

Terence Law, a close friend, confirmed the death, in a hospice.

As a child in Chicago, Mr. Lowe marveled at how architects like Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan had refashioned his city in the late 19th century, outfitting its homes, department stores and public buildings in neo-Classical and Baroque splendor, a resplendent mishmash of styles referred to as Beaux-Arts.

But by the 1960s, when he began writing about architecture, many of those buildings were falling victim to the wrecking ball, both in Chicago and in his adopted hometown, New York City.

Like many lovers of the Beaux-Arts era, he was shocked when, in the mid-1960s, developers tore down the original Pennsylvania Station, a sprawling transit hall inspired in part by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, replaced by a claustrophobic warren of underground passageways below Madison Square Garden.

Everywhere he looked, architecture that spoke to the grandeur of urban life was coming down, replaced largely by anonymous modernist structures. He decided to act.

Mr. Lowe spent years traveling back to Chicago, where in various archives he found photos and other historical materials about the many Beaux-Arts buildings around that city that had since been destroyed.