Man accidentally throws away $23K in savings, somehow recovers it at a recycling facility

This Friday, Aug. 2, 2019, photo provided by Recology, shows nearly $23,000 in cash discarded at a recycling bin in a shoebox, which was recovered by a worker at the Samoa Resource Recovery Center operated by Recology in Samoa, Calif. (Photo: Brian Sollom, AP)

EUREKA, Calif. – A man who accidentally tossed $23,000 into the recycling bin reunited with his life savings Saturday after a worker at a recycling facility in Northern California spotted a shoebox stuffed with money.

When the man from Ashland, Oregon, realized his mistake on Thursday, the recycling bin had already been emptied into a truck bound for the Recology sorting facility in Humboldt County.

The facility’s general manager told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat most of the recyclables from the truck had been sorted by the time the man contacted Recology. Workers were nonetheless told to be on the lookout for the box.

Someone spotted the box down the sorting line Friday and recovered all but $320.

The money somehow stayed in the box during the 200-mile trip to the facility.

U.S. plan to deploy mid-range missiles to Asia threatens new arms race

BEIJING — China said Tuesday it “will not stand idly by” and will take countermeasures if the U.S. deploys intermediate-range missiles in the Indo-Pacific region, which it plans to do within months.

Russia says it plans to deploy such missiles if the U.S. does, as the expiration of a Cold War treaty raised the possibility of an arms race.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said during security meetings in Asia over the weekend that he wanted to deploy midrange conventional missiles in the Asia-Pacific within months.

They would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by Russia and the U.S. in 1987. It expired Friday, with Washington saying it withdrew because of Russia’s alleged violations of the pact. Russia denies breaching the terms.

China’s chief arms control official Fu Cong in his remarks Tuesday warned neighboring countries not to allow the U.S. to deploy intermediate-range missiles on their territory.

Australia previously said the locations for the bases were not yet known but it would not be one of them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia would only deploy new intermediate-range missiles if the United States does and called for urgent arms control talks to prevent a chaotic arms race.

Fu said China had no intention of entering a trilateral arms control deal with the U S. and Russia but would remain engaged in multilateral discussions on disarmament.

Nikon Q1 Results Down; Backs FY View For Weak Earnings, Revenues – Quick Facts

Japanese image and video equipment manufacturer Nikon Corp. (NINOF.PK,NINOY.PK) reported Tuesday that its net profit attributable to owners of the parent for the first quarter of fiscal year ending March 31, 2020 plunged 49.8 percent to 8.20 billion Japanese yen from 16.34 billion yen last year. Earnings per share fell to 20.72 yen from 41.10 yen a year ago.

Operating profit for the period declined 51.1 percent to 9.30 billion yen from last year’s 19 billion yen.

Revenue declined 14.4 percent to 142.95 billion yen from 166.91 billion yen a year ago.

Looking ahead, for the first half ending September 30, Nikon forecast attributable net profit of 13 billion yen, operating profit of 15 billion yen, and net sales of 290 billion yen. From the previous year, attributable net profit would be down 43 percent, operating profit down 51 percent and net sales would be down 13.6 percent.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, Nikon continues to expect attributable net profit of 42 billion yen, operating profit of 52 billion yen, and net sales of 670 billion yen. Compared to last year, attributable net profit would be down 36.9 percent, operating profit down 37.1 percent and net sales would be down 5.5 percent.

German industrial orders beat expectations in June

BERLIN, Aug 6 (Reuters) – German industrial orders rose far more than expected in June, data showed on Tuesday and the Economy Ministry said the downward trend for this sector of Europe’s biggest economy had slowed noticeably in the second quarter.

Contracts for ‘Made in Germany’ goods were up 2.5% from the previous month, the biggest jump since August 2017, boosted by a big rise in bookings for big-ticket items from non-euro zone countries, the Ministry said. That exceeded the Reuters consensus forecast for a 0.5% increase.

The reading for May was revised up to -2.0 from a previously reported -2.2%.

New York Decriminalizes Marijuana Use

New York State has decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana by signing a bill by Governor Andrew Cuomo. With the change, possession of a small amount of the drug in the state would now be a violation of the law rather than a criminal charge.

The state’s existing marijuana laws have affected African American and Latino communities for years. The new law reduces the penalty for unlawful possession of marijuana to a violation punishable by a fine, and would address racial and ethnic disparities.

Cuomo, who is said to be aiming for the full legalization of the drug, said in a Twitter post, “I just signed legislation decriminalizing marijuana use in New York & creating a process for expunging past convictions. Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice.”

Under the new legislation, there will be no criminal penalties for possession of any amount of marijuana under two ounces. People with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana will have to pay a fine of up to $50, while possession of two ounces will a fine of up to $200. The law is expected to me made effective in 30 days.

The Governor had first proposed the further decriminalization of the drug in 2013, and again in the FY2020 Budget.

Among US states, New York is the 16th one to decriminalize the drug’s use, while certain other states and the Districts of Columbia have legalized its personal use.