Latest news with #O'Donnell
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Satellite Chemical, Vinmar get US govt letters preventing ethane unloading in China
Ethane traders Satellite Chemical USA and Vinmar International have received US government letters allowing them to load ethane on vessels destined for China but prohibiting unloading ethane in China without authorisation, sources familiar with the matter said. The letters received Wednesday from the US Department of Commerce follow a licensing requirement imposed several weeks ago on ethane exports to China, stalling shipments and leading vessels to drift or anchor around the US Gulf Coast. The letter could be perceived as the administration preparing to lift the restriction, industry sources and analysts said. Even so, there would likely still be some reluctance to load ethane - which is extracted from US shale gas and primarily used as a petrochemical feedstock - as China-bound vessels could be stuck in limbo depending on how long the full-path restriction plays out, said AJ O'Donnell, an analyst at Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. The US also sent similar letters to Enterprise Products Partners and Energy Transfer on Wednesday, Reuters reported exclusively. China's Satellite Chemical Co Ltd, the parent of Satellite Chemical USA, and Vinmar declined to comment. Around half of all US ethane exports head to China, and the halt in flows has pushed ethane prices lower on worries of domestic oversupply. The restrictions are likely to cut into profits of top ethane producers. Supertanker Gas Bluebonnet loaded for China's Satellite Chemicals at Energy Transfer's Nederland facility in Texas on June 12 and was near the Panama Canal on Thursday, ship tracking data on LSEG and Kpler showed. At least nine other tankers were drifting or anchored along the US Gulf, while two were moored at loading docks. In the near term, export terminal operators such as Energy Transfer and Enterprise could benefit as they can push their buyers to load at the docks, industry sources said. Still, Enterprises Morgan Point dock near Houston could see lower volumes as a result of the ethane restrictions, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co's O'Donnell said. Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane, extracted from natural gas, as a feedstock because it is a cheaper alternative than naphtha, while US oil and gas producers need China to buy their natural gas liquids as domestic supply exceeds demand.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Rosie O'Donnell tells Chris Cuomo she was ‘very depressed' and ‘overdrinking' after first Trump win
Rosie O'Donnell told former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo that she was 'very depressed' and 'overdrinking' following President Donald Trump's first election victory in 2016 on 'The Chris Cuomo Project' podcast on Tuesday. O'Donnell revealed that she left the United States for Ireland out of a sense of 'self-preservation' after Trump's second election victory, considering the difficulties she experienced after his first win in 2016. 'During his first go-round, it was very difficult, and I got myself into some bad places. You know, I was very, very depressed. I was overeating. I was overdrinking … I was so depressed, Chris,' she told the former cable host. She also shared that it hurt her heart to know that Americans 'believed the lies' of Trump and, furthermore, that she worked in a business that 'sells those lies for profit.' Another reason O'Donnell listed for leaving the U.S. was to ensure that she could be a 'good parent' to her 12-year-old child. On 'The Chris Cuomo Project' podcast, Rosie O'Donnell told ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo that she blamed President Trump's victory on election night in 2016 led her to be 'very depressed' and 'overdrinking.' Getty Images 'Coming to Ireland was totally a way to take care of myself and my non-binary autistic child, who's going to need services and help and counseling and all the things that he's [Trump is] threatening to cut in his horrible plan of the big, beautiful bill,' she stated. Later in their discussion, Cuomo recalled telling O'Donnell after Trump's first victory that 'this is going to affect you a lot more than it's going to affect him,' and asked how moving to Ireland has impacted her life. She told Cuomo that she enjoys the fact that people in Ireland typically don't approach celebrities the way they do in America, and also noted that she feels safe considering there's no 'MAGA support' in the country. After President Trump won the 2024 presidential election, O'Donnell moved out of the United States and now resides in Ireland. Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram O'Donnell related an experience she had in Ireland where an older man bought her a pint of Guinness after she told him that she had left the U.S. because of Trump being elected. She contrasted this with a story from the U.S., where the entertainer and her child were allegedly mocked in a CVS store after Trump won the 2024 election. 'One cursed at us, and she's like, 'Why are they cursing at us?' And I'm like 'Honey you know the bad guy? They're all bad guys too,'' she detailed.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Bigger than Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift': How SBS takes on the Tour de France
The commentary team is led by Matthew Keenan, with insights and colour from O'Donnell, a former hour world record holder, and Simon Gerrans, who was the first Australian to win stages in all three grand tours. They will drive about 300 kilometres a day around France to be at the finish line of every stage. Loading 'We spend a lot of time together – commentary box, dinner table, driving each day – so we get to know each other pretty well over the five weeks we're on the road,' Keenan says. Adds O'Donnell: 'We share music playlists, we tell stories, sometimes we don't talk and we definitely share the driving'. The excitement around the Tour is evident in SBS's coverage every year but having been lucky enough to watch the grand depart in Florence and the stage two finish in Bologna last year, I can report it's just as colourful up close as on TV, the crowds are infectiously cheerful and the final sprint is stunningly fast. For O'Donnell, seeing the excitement build in a new town every day is one of the best things about covering the Tour. 'Even as we're getting tired over the weeks, you see this whole new group of tens of thousands of people on the side of a mountain or in a beautiful village somewhere and it just shows you what joy and excitement the event brings to the people in France,' she says. So how are the races shaping up? While crashes and illness can always affect riders' chances, Keenan thinks Slovenia's Pogacar and Denmark's Vingegaard are equal favourites this year, with Belgium's Evenepoel a slim hope after his third place last year. There were some brilliant Australian performances at the Giro d'Italia in May and early June – stage wins for Kaden Groves, Luke Plapp and Chris Harper with Michael Storer finishing 10th – but Keenan nominates Ben O'Connor as Australia's best chance at the Tour. 'He's definitely a contender for the top five and a stage victory,' he says. 'He's going to be the rider that I'm sure we're going to be talking about a lot, particularly when the race gets to the high mountains.' Of the must-watch nights, stage seven is one of the most appealing. 'It goes to a place called Mur-de-Bretagne, where Cadel Evans won a stage in 2011 [on the way to winning the Tour],' Keenan says. 'As an Aussie, we always like that one.' Then there is Stage 13: a mountain time trial. 'It's only 11 kilometres – that's really short – but it goes to a climb called Peyragudes,' Keenan says. 'For a race that's more than 3000 kilometres, these 11 could be the most decisive.' But of all the nights to watch, stage 16 should be particularly compelling given it finishes on the mythical Mont Ventoux. Loading 'Can you remember the edition where Chris Froome was off his bike and running?' Keenan says. 'Richie Porte was off, [crashing into] the back of a motorbike, as well. The climb was shortened because of the wind at the top. Everything worked against that being a racing success and it was a day full of drama.' The Tour de France Femmes has had a different winner every year so far – Holland's Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022, Holland's Demi Vollering in 2023 then Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma last year. O'Donnell believes new stars will emerge this time. 'The nine stages are all road stages – so no time trials – and an average of around 130 kilometres every day,' she says. 'We're going to see extraordinary women rising to the fore that we might not have heard of, like Puck Pieterse, the Dutch sensation who won a stage last year and the overall young rider's jersey.' Loading Keenan thinks there are four or five big names in contention to win. 'The defending champion, Kasia Niewiadoma, [has] an Aussie, Neve Bradbury, as her key support rider and she's not even considered third or even fourth favourite,' he says. 'Demi Vollering has changed teams so she's now a big rival with her former key teammate Lotte Kopecky ... 'We've got the return of Anna van der Breggen, who was number one in the world when she retired four years ago and she was the mentor for Demi Vollering. And the French have got Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who's [also] a chance to win.' Keenan believes the popularity of the Netflix series Tour de France Unchained, with its insights into team tactics and focus on personalities and drama, has done for cycling what Drive To Survive has done for Formula 1, despite criticism by some riders that it overstates tensions within teams. 'A lot of people look at cycling and see it as an individual sport if they haven't followed it previously,' he says. 'But when they watch Unchained and they go into the team bus and they see the team meetings where some riders are sacrificing their chances of getting a good result to help somebody else win, it really provides an education on the sport that makes it more enjoyable to watch.' SBS's coverage of the Tour de France runs from July 5-27 and the Tour de France Femmes from July 26-August 3, with daily highlights on SBS on Demand. Tour de France Unchained screens on Netflix from July 2.
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Bigger than Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift': How SBS takes on the Tour de France
The commentary team is led by Matthew Keenan, with insights and colour from O'Donnell, a former hour world record holder, and Simon Gerrans, who was the first Australian to win stages in all three grand tours. They will drive about 300 kilometres a day around France to be at the finish line of every stage. Loading 'We spend a lot of time together – commentary box, dinner table, driving each day – so we get to know each other pretty well over the five weeks we're on the road,' Keenan says. Adds O'Donnell: 'We share music playlists, we tell stories, sometimes we don't talk and we definitely share the driving'. The excitement around the Tour is evident in SBS's coverage every year but having been lucky enough to watch the grand depart in Florence and the stage two finish in Bologna last year, I can report it's just as colourful up close as on TV, the crowds are infectiously cheerful and the final sprint is stunningly fast. For O'Donnell, seeing the excitement build in a new town every day is one of the best things about covering the Tour. 'Even as we're getting tired over the weeks, you see this whole new group of tens of thousands of people on the side of a mountain or in a beautiful village somewhere and it just shows you what joy and excitement the event brings to the people in France,' she says. So how are the races shaping up? While crashes and illness can always affect riders' chances, Keenan thinks Slovenia's Pogacar and Denmark's Vingegaard are equal favourites this year, with Belgium's Evenepoel a slim hope after his third place last year. There were some brilliant Australian performances at the Giro d'Italia in May and early June – stage wins for Kaden Groves, Luke Plapp and Chris Harper with Michael Storer finishing 10th – but Keenan nominates Ben O'Connor as Australia's best chance at the Tour. 'He's definitely a contender for the top five and a stage victory,' he says. 'He's going to be the rider that I'm sure we're going to be talking about a lot, particularly when the race gets to the high mountains.' Of the must-watch nights, stage seven is one of the most appealing. 'It goes to a place called Mur-de-Bretagne, where Cadel Evans won a stage in 2011 [on the way to winning the Tour],' Keenan says. 'As an Aussie, we always like that one.' Then there is Stage 13: a mountain time trial. 'It's only 11 kilometres – that's really short – but it goes to a climb called Peyragudes,' Keenan says. 'For a race that's more than 3000 kilometres, these 11 could be the most decisive.' But of all the nights to watch, stage 16 should be particularly compelling given it finishes on the mythical Mont Ventoux. Loading 'Can you remember the edition where Chris Froome was off his bike and running?' Keenan says. 'Richie Porte was off, [crashing into] the back of a motorbike, as well. The climb was shortened because of the wind at the top. Everything worked against that being a racing success and it was a day full of drama.' The Tour de France Femmes has had a different winner every year so far – Holland's Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022, Holland's Demi Vollering in 2023 then Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma last year. O'Donnell believes new stars will emerge this time. 'The nine stages are all road stages – so no time trials – and an average of around 130 kilometres every day,' she says. 'We're going to see extraordinary women rising to the fore that we might not have heard of, like Puck Pieterse, the Dutch sensation who won a stage last year and the overall young rider's jersey.' Loading Keenan thinks there are four or five big names in contention to win. 'The defending champion, Kasia Niewiadoma, [has] an Aussie, Neve Bradbury, as her key support rider and she's not even considered third or even fourth favourite,' he says. 'Demi Vollering has changed teams so she's now a big rival with her former key teammate Lotte Kopecky ... 'We've got the return of Anna van der Breggen, who was number one in the world when she retired four years ago and she was the mentor for Demi Vollering. And the French have got Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who's [also] a chance to win.' Keenan believes the popularity of the Netflix series Tour de France Unchained, with its insights into team tactics and focus on personalities and drama, has done for cycling what Drive To Survive has done for Formula 1, despite criticism by some riders that it overstates tensions within teams. 'A lot of people look at cycling and see it as an individual sport if they haven't followed it previously,' he says. 'But when they watch Unchained and they go into the team bus and they see the team meetings where some riders are sacrificing their chances of getting a good result to help somebody else win, it really provides an education on the sport that makes it more enjoyable to watch.' SBS's coverage of the Tour de France runs from July 5-27 and the Tour de France Femmes from July 26-August 3, with daily highlights on SBS on Demand. Tour de France Unchained screens on Netflix from July 2.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Meet the lawyers helping women fund their escape from domestic abuse
It was an idea hatched over a couple of beers, while airing frustrations at having to turn away victims of domestic violence who couldn't afford legal representation. Jack O'Donnell and Andy O'Connor came up with the idea of a first-of-its-kind divorce and separation loan, based not on someone's income or credit score, but on their likely property settlement. Three years on, the JustFund founders and co-CEOs have to date helped more than 2300 people – mainly women fleeing abusive relationships – and secured more than $1.3 billion in settlements. 'We'd come to realise after spending years working in it [law] that it is a really unfair system,' Mr O'Donnell told 'Unfortunately, we kept turning away really good people who deserved really good advice, simply because they couldn't afford our fees and that never seemed right to us,' he said. The duo believe their offering separates them from traditional banks, with those in need able to pay them back after the settlement is finalised with the divided assets. Mr O'Connor said traditional lenders will look at income and credit score when a loan is applied for, which can become difficult for those who don't work. 'For most people, that means it's a computer says no outcome for that request,' he said. 'It's in putting yourself in the shoes of the borrower, of a client going through separation, and understanding, a) how the product needs to work for their circumstances and b) looking at eligibility in an entirely different way. 'You can't take a copy paste approach to normal lending and apply it in this space. 'When someone's in the shoes of separating from their partner and they're staring at a lawyer charging six, seven, eight hundred dollars an hour, if they're fortunate, if they and their partner can reach a settlement very, quickly, very cheaply, that's great. 'But not everyone's as lucky as that, particularly when you throw into the mix the existence of increasing awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence and financial control. 'In particular, what we see in so many of the experience of our clients, is how the system can be weaponised and how financial imbalances can play out in the negotiation of a settlement for a client.' JustFund takes a 'family law approach' to value the assets that will be divided between the parties and forms a view as to what share the borrower is likely to receive. A borrower is able to access the approved funds within days, with the team of 18 lawyers able to move more quickly if someone's circumstances were urgent. Mr O'Connell said the most important thing to do was to empower those going through a difficult relationship, domestic abuse or financial control to 'take control of their own futures'. 'The reality is barriers to access to funding are really significant in how those situations play out, and we hear time and time again from clients that our approval of their funding application is the difference between them being able to move out of their homes and situations,' he said. In Australia, data shows that about one in six women have experienced financial abuse – a common form of family violence – from a former or current partner. 'This can include things like stopping someone from earning money, controlling finances or denying access to money,' a spokesperson for Safe and Equal told 'It also includes incurring debts in someone's name, stealing someone's possessions, or excluding someone from financial decisions that impact them. 'Economic abuse is particularly insidious because it keeps a victim survivor financially dependent on their perpetrator, trapped and unable to safely escape without facing immense financial stress or, in many cases, poverty and homelessness,' they said, adding that because the abuse can escalate after separation, many victim survivors feel like they must remain in the relationship for their own safety. 'If they do manage to safely escape, the impacts can be lifelong, causing significant stress and damage long after the relationship has ended. 'We see this a lot in cases where the perpetrator has accrued large debts in the victim survivor's name,' the spokesperson said. Safe and Equal said many victim survivors are unable or unwilling to go through costly separation or divorce proceedings, particularly when their abuser has the financial means to weaponise court systems and keep them embroiled in expensive litigation processes as a form of 'punishment' – such as prolonging family court proceedings, hiding assets, stalling joint property or debt settlements, or not paying child support. 'Victim survivors will often settle for much less than what they are entitled to, just to avoid the ongoing control and abuse,' the spokesperson said. 'In many cases, they never fully recover financially.'
