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-Eclipse flights swarm airports: 'We had to close the runway to park planes',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/solar-eclipse-flights-swarm-small-airports.html,2024-04-08T22:58:57+0000,"Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun.The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday. The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC. The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets and larger turboprops. ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen.""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations. It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic.""It's the most we've seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""It's going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman. Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.The FAA had previously warned pilots about possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path.Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality."" United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"[""Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun."", 'The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.', 'Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.', 'The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.', '""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airportin Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC.', 'The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets andlarger turboprops. ""', ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen."", '""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations.', ""It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic."", '""It\'s the most we\'ve seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""', 'It\'s going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.', ""The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman."", 'Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.', ""The FAA had previouslywarned pilotsabout possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path."", 'Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.', 'Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality.""', 'United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.', 'The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.']",0.0381660378961861,"Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",0.1714410015514918,"United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",2024-04-10
-"Boeing CEO Calhoun took home $5 million last year, compensation package hit by Max crisis",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/boeing-ceo-calhoun-took-home-5-million-last-year-ahead-of-737-max-crisis.html,2024-04-06T00:35:25+0000,"In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year. But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock. Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year. His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit. The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday. The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft. Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow.The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes. The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control.Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million. An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.",CNBC,06/04/2024,"[""In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max."", ""Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year."", 'But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock.', 'Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.', 'Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.', 'Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year.', 'His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit.', 'The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.', 'Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday.', 'The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.', '""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.', 'The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected.', 'The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max.', ""In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft."", ""Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow."", 'The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes.', ""The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control."", 'Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.', ""Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million."", 'An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.']",0.0372878203927185,"Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.","In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft.",-0.5336477292908562,"Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.","In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.",2024-04-10
-"Jamie Dimon says AI may be as impactful on humanity as printing press, electricity and computers",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/jamie-dimon-says-ai-may-be-as-impactful-on-humanity-as-printing-press-electricity-and-computers.html,2024-04-08T14:46:42+0000,"In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.""Dimon's letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics. The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out. The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries. Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.  JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said. The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles.""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.""Here are excerpts from Dimon's letter:""Many key economic indicators today continue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation. But when looking ahead to tomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight. These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates. I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others. Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies. Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business…. Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences. Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.""""Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history. America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies. In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today. I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity. People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do. And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good. We recorded an accounting gain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.', 'In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.', '""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.', 'The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.', '""Dimon\'s letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics.', ""The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out."", ""The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries."", 'Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.', 'JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said.', 'The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.', ""The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles."", '""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""', 'It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.', '""Here are excerpts from Dimon\'s letter:""Many key economic indicatorstodaycontinue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation.', 'But when looking ahead totomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.', '""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight.', 'These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates.', 'I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.', '""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others.', 'Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.', 'Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.', '""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business….', 'Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences.', 'Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.', '""""Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history.', ""America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies."", 'In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.', '""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users\' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today.', 'I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.', '""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity.', 'People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do.', 'And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good.', 'We recorded an accountinggain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.', '""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.']",0.1597391741300232,"I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.","The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out.",-0.0500199510937645,Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.,"Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.",2024-04-10
-"Delta forecasts quarterly earnings ahead of expectations, focuses on efficiency as growth steadies",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/10/delta-air-lines-dal-q1-2024-earnings.html,2024-04-10T15:28:18+0000,"In this articleDelta Air Lines swung to a profit in the first quarter, and CEO Ed Bastian said bookings for both leisure and business travel are strong as the peak travel season approaches, despite persistent inflation.""Consumers continue to prioritize travel as a discretionary investment in themselves,"" Bastian said in an interview.Delta forecast second-quarter earnings of $2.20 to $2.50 per share, while analysts forecast between $2.23 per share on average, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. It said revenue in the current period could rise as much as 7%, ahead of analysts' estimates. Delta also reiterated its full-year forecast for $6 to $7 a share and free cash flow of between $3 billion and $4 billion.Business travel improved in the last quarter and solid demand is likely to continue, executives said, citing 14% growth in corporate travel sales. They called out the technology, consumer and financial services sectors as particularly strong.Delta has slowed hiring, like other carriers, after a massive spree in the wake of the pandemic, and is focusing more on efficiency. Bastian told CNBC that the company's headcount will likely be up low single digits this year compared with 2023.Here's how the company performed in the three months ended March 31, compared with Wall Street expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:The carrier made $37 million, or 6 cents per share, in the first three months of the year, up from a loss of $363 million, or 57 cents per share, in the year-earlier period, it said Wednesday. Delta's adjusted earnings of $288 million, or 45 cents a share, rose from $163 million, or 25 cents a share in the first quarter of 2023.Revenue of $12.56 billion, adjusted to strip out refinery sales, was up 6% from last year, and slightly below analysts' expectations.Delta's unit cost, when stripping out fuel, rose 1.5% on the year. Delta said domestic unit revenue rose 3% from a year ago with airplane loads at records for the quarter, traditionally a slow period for travel. Airfare rose 1% from February to March, but was down 7% last month compared with the same month last year, according to Wednesday's U.S. inflation report.""Growth is normalizing and we are in a period of optimization, with a focus on restoring our most profitable core hubs and delivering efficiency gains,"" CFO Dan Janki said in an earnings release.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"['In this articleDelta Air Lines swung to a profit in the first quarter, and CEO Ed Bastian said bookings for both leisure and business travel are strong as the peak travel season approaches, despite persistent inflation.', '""Consumers continue to prioritize travel as a discretionary investment in themselves,"" Bastian said in an interview.', 'Delta forecast second-quarter earnings of $2.20 to $2.50 per share, while analysts forecast between $2.23 per share on average, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.', ""It said revenue in the current period could rise as much as 7%, ahead of analysts' estimates."", 'Delta also reiterated its full-year forecast for $6 to $7 a share and free cash flow of between $3 billion and $4 billion.', 'Business travel improved in the last quarter and solid demand is likely to continue, executives said, citing 14% growth in corporate travel sales.', 'They called out the technology, consumer and financial services sectors as particularly strong.', 'Delta has slowed hiring, like other carriers, after a massive spree in the wake of the pandemic, and is focusing more on efficiency.', ""Bastian told CNBC that the company's headcount will likely be up low single digits this year compared with 2023.Here's how the company performed in the three months ended March 31,compared with Wall Street expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:The carrier made $37 million, or 6 cents per share, in the first three months of the year, up from a loss of $363 million, or 57 cents per share, in the year-earlier period, it said Wednesday."", ""Delta's adjusted earnings of $288 million, or 45 cents a share, rose from $163 million, or 25 cents a share in the first quarter of 2023.Revenue of $12.56 billion, adjusted to strip out refinery sales, was up 6% from last year, and slightly below analysts' expectations."", ""Delta's unit cost, when stripping out fuel, rose 1.5% on the year."", 'Delta said domestic unit revenue rose 3% from a year ago with airplane loads at records for the quarter, traditionally a slow period for travel.', ""Airfare rose 1% from February to March, but was down 7% last month compared with the same month last year, according to Wednesday's U.S. inflation report."", '""Growth is normalizing and we are in a period of optimization, with a focus on restoring our most profitable core hubs and delivering efficiency gains,"" CFO Dan Janki said in an earnings release.']",0.3776985509568563,"""Growth is normalizing and we are in a period of optimization, with a focus on restoring our most profitable core hubs and delivering efficiency gains,"" CFO Dan Janki said in an earnings release.",,0.6383908661929044,"Delta said domestic unit revenue rose 3% from a year ago with airplane loads at records for the quarter, traditionally a slow period for travel.","Airfare rose 1% from February to March, but was down 7% last month compared with the same month last year, according to Wednesday's U.S. inflation report.",2024-04-10
-Spain to axe 'golden visas' scheme,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68761491,2024-04-09T14:32:42.000Z,"The Spanish government has begun the process of eliminating the so-called ""golden visa"" scheme. Under the scheme, foreign investors are provided with fast-tracked residency. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more. The visa scheme was created in 2013 by the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy.  It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard. A total of 6,200 visas were issued until 2023 for investment in property, according to the organisation Transparency International, although other sources put the number higher. Nearly half of beneficiaries of Spain's Golden Visa - a total of 2,712 - were Chinese, according to Transparency International.  Russians were the next most numerous recipients, with 1,159, followed by Iranians (203), and citizens of the US (179) and the UK (177). The ""golden visa"" scheme also provided residency in exchange for investing €2m (£1.7m) or more in state bonds, or for investing in emerging Spanish companies.  However, only 6% of visas were awarded for reasons other than the purchase of property, the government said. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government's intention to scrap the scheme was intended ""to guarantee that housing is a right and not merely the subject of business speculation"". He said that the majority of visas awarded were linked to the purchase of properties in places such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante and the Balearic Islands - all areas where the housing market ""is under enormous pressure and where it is almost impossible for people who live and work in those places and pay their taxes each day to find affordable housing"". Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands. Last year, the government introduced a housing law which aimed to cap rental increases in areas where they have been spiralling. Mr Sánchez's left-wing allies in his coalition government had been calling for an end to the visa system. However, critics say that its elimination will not improve matters. ""The problem with housing in Spain, both in terms of sales and rental, is not caused by the Golden Visa, but rather by the increasing lack of supply [of housing] and the accelerating growth in demand,"" said Francisco Iñareta, of the Idealista property portal. However, pressure has also come from outside Spain, with the European Commission calling on EU members to clamp down on such schemes, in great part because of security concerns, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the UK government ended a scheme allowing wealthy foreign nationals to settle in the country if they brought assets with them.  The following year, Ireland scrapped its Golden Visa, while Portugal revised its own version of it, no longer allowing residency in exchange for property purchases. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['The Spanish government has begun the process of eliminating the so-called ""golden visa"" scheme.', 'Under the scheme, foreign investors are provided with fast-tracked residency.', 'At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more.', 'The visa scheme was created in 2013 by the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy.', ""It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard."", 'A total of 6,200 visas were issued until 2023 for investment in property, according to the organisation Transparency International, although other sources put the number higher.', ""Nearly half of beneficiaries of Spain's Golden Visa - a total of 2,712 - were Chinese, according to Transparency International."", 'Russians were the next most numerous recipients, with 1,159, followed by Iranians (203), and citizens of the US (179) and the UK (177).', 'The ""golden visa"" scheme also provided residency in exchange for investing €2m (£1.7m) or more in state bonds, or for investing in emerging Spanish companies.', 'However, only 6% of visas were awarded for reasons other than the purchase of property, the government said.', 'Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government\'s intention to scrap the scheme was intended ""to guarantee that housing is a right and not merely the subject of business speculation"".', 'He said that the majority of visas awarded were linked to the purchase of properties in places such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante and the Balearic Islands - all areas where the housing market ""is under enormous pressure and where it is almost impossible for people who live and work in those places and pay their taxes each day to find affordable housing"".', 'Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands.', 'Last year, the government introduced a housing law which aimed to cap rental increases in areas where they have been spiralling.', ""Mr Sánchez's left-wing allies in his coalition government had been calling for an end to the visa system."", 'However, critics say that its elimination will not improve matters. ""', 'The problem with housing in Spain, both in terms of sales and rental, is not caused by the Golden Visa, but rather by the increasing lack of supply [of housing] and the accelerating growth in demand,"" said Francisco Iñareta, of the Idealista property portal.', ""However, pressure has also come from outside Spain, with the European Commission calling on EU members to clamp down on such schemes, in great part because of security concerns, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine."", 'In 2022, the UK government ended a scheme allowing wealthy foreign nationals to settle in the country if they brought assets with them.', 'The following year, Ireland scrapped its Golden Visa, while Portugal revised its own version of it, no longer allowing residency in exchange for property purchases.']",0.0564440552613411,"At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more.","It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard.",-0.6073799530665079,"It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard.","Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands.",2024-04-10
-Why there's a revolution on the way in glass making,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68429393,2024-04-01T23:03:38.000Z,"I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.  Despite being empty, it's heavy.  I ask how much the bottle costs. ""About £270,"" I'm told. I hand the bottle back - very carefully.  The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. Glassware has been made on this site since 1871. In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry.  It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.  Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia. When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace. To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage. While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers. The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste. It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.  It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval. Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets. There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium.  ""Light doesn't mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically."" While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive.  Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2. The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years, the company says. It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size. What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature. Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years. So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity. If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050. Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive. But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch. Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense. But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss. However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles. Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE's director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet. An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in. Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply. But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles. In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP). Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day. When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting. And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP. AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen. Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.   The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated. They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process. The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge. One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass. In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment.  ""Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out.  ""The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle. We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says. More technology of business ",BBC,01/04/2024,"[""I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck."", ""Despite being empty, it's heavy."", 'I ask how much the bottle costs. ""', 'About £270,"" I\'m told.', 'I hand the bottle back - very carefully.', 'The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire.', 'Glassware has been made on this site since 1871.', ""In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry."", 'It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.', 'Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.', 'When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace.', 'To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""', 'What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage.', 'While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers.', 'The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste.', 'It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.', 'It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval.', 'Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets.', 'There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium. ""', 'Light doesn\'t mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""', 'Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically.""', ""While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive."", 'Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2.', ""The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years, the company says."", 'It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size.', ""What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature."", 'Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years.', 'So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.', 'If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050.', 'Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive.', 'But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch.', 'Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""', ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense."", 'But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss.', 'However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles.', 'Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""', 'For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE\'s director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet.', 'An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in.', 'Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply.', 'But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles.', ""In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP)."", 'Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day.', 'When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.', 'Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""', 'There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting.', 'And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP.', 'AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen.', 'Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.', 'The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated.', 'They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process.', 'The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge.', 'One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass.', 'In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment. ""', 'Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out. ""', 'The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle.', 'We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says.', 'More technology of business']",0.1202638344950185,I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.,So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.,0.451889619231224,"Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.","Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. """,2024-04-10
-Boeing's quarterly airplane deliveries drop to 83 amid safety crisis,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/boeing-airplane-deliveries-drop-during-q1-amid-safety-crisis.html,2024-04-09T17:21:00+0000,"In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarter to the lowest number since mid-2021 as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period. Solely in March, Boeing delivered 29 planes. Airbus said Tuesday that it delivered 142 planes in the first three months of the year, 63 of them in March.Boeing customers are still ordering new jets from the manufacturer, which along with Airbus dominates the large jetliner market. The company logged orders for 111 for new planes last month when stripping out two cancellations, 85 of them 737 Max aircraft for American Airlines, which the carrier announced in early March.The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe. Federal accident investigators said the door plug was missing bolts that hold it in place. Since the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration has inspected Boeing's 737 Max production and barred the plane maker from increasing output of the jets until it signs off on its quality control procedures.Boeing executives have said the company is slowing down its production to improve quality control and avoid so-called traveled work, when repairs or other tasks occur out of sequence.""We won't rush or go too fast,"" Boeing CFO Brian West said at a Bank of America conference last month. ""In fact, we're deliberately going to slow to get this right. And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready. And we'll feel the impact of that over the next several months.""Aircraft delivery delays sparked criticism from the CEOs of some of Boeing's biggest airline customers, and in its wake, CEO Dave Calhoun last month announced he will step down by year's end. Boeing also replaced its board chair and the head of its commercial airplane unit.Alaska Airlines said last week it received $160 million in compensation from Boeing in the first quarter stemming from a brief grounding of the plane after the accident.Boeing is scheduled to report first-quarter results and update investors on April 24.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"['In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarterto the lowest number since mid-2021as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.', 'The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.', 'Solely in March, Boeing delivered 29 planes.', 'Airbus said Tuesday that it delivered 142 planes in the first three months of the year, 63 of them in March.', 'Boeing customers are still ordering new jets from the manufacturer, which along with Airbus dominates the large jetliner market.', 'The company logged orders for 111 for new planes last month when stripping out two cancellations, 85 of them 737 Max aircraft for American Airlines, which the carrier announced in early March.', 'The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe.', 'Federal accident investigators said the door plug was missing bolts that hold it in place.', ""Since the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration has inspected Boeing's 737 Max production and barred the plane maker from increasing output of the jets until it signs off on its quality control procedures."", 'Boeing executives have said the company is slowing down its production to improve quality control and avoid so-called traveled work, when repairs or other tasks occur out of sequence.', '""We won\'t rush or go too fast,"" Boeing CFO Brian West said at a Bank of America conference last month. ""', ""In fact, we're deliberately going to slow to get this right."", ""And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready."", ""And we'll feel the impact of that over the next several months."", '""Aircraft delivery delays sparked criticism from the CEOs of some of Boeing\'s biggest airline customers, and in its wake, CEO Dave Calhoun last month announced he will step down by year\'s end.', 'Boeing also replaced its board chair and the head of its commercial airplane unit.', 'Alaska Airlines said last week it received $160 million in compensation from Boeing in the first quarter stemming from a brief grounding of the plane after the accident.', 'Boeing is scheduled to report first-quarter results and update investors on April 24.']",-0.1149832774170058,And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready.,The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe.,-0.1954715847969055,"The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.",In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarterto the lowest number since mid-2021as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.,2024-04-10
-Ted Baker to close 15 stores and cut 245 jobs,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68762097,2024-04-08T13:39:15.000Z,"High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said. Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses. In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts. The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month. When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions. US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK. When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"". It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year. The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"". Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"". She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added. Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health."" The 11 stores closing by 19 April are:  The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States. It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.  Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said.', ""Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses."", 'In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts.', ""The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month."", 'When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions.', 'US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK.', 'When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".', 'It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year.', 'The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"".', 'Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"".', 'She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""', 'Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added.', 'Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""', 'These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""', 'The 11 stores closing by 19 April are: The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States.', 'It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.', 'Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.094643484200579,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".",-0.1099107265472412,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses.",2024-04-10
-Could AI take the grind out of accountancy?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68553123,2024-03-26T00:24:13.000Z,"Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre. He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year.  What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers. Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt. That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can't yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says. So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that's where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK. Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs. According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams. Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks. This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""Generally, the nature of a junior accountant's role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says. As a result, training programmes are changing. ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices. I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""We're already starting to see that, so we've invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master's degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together."" The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years. In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi. And it's not alone in making errors. Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly. Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings. As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis."" AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client. KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""We get to a point where it's a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell. More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too. Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult. Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper. However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they'd be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""The bits of their role that it's taking away is stuff that they weren't enjoying."" ",BBC,26/03/2024,"['Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre.', ""He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year."", ""What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers."", 'Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""', 'These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt.', 'That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""', 'Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can\'t yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says.', 'So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""', 'When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that\'s where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK.', ""Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs."", 'According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams.', 'Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks.', 'This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""', 'Generally, the nature of a junior accountant\'s role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says.', 'As a result, training programmes are changing. ""', ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices."", 'I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'We\'re already starting to see that, so we\'ve invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master\'s degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together.""', 'The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years.', 'In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi.', ""And it's not alone in making errors."", 'Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly.', ""Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings."", 'As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""', 'As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""', 'The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis.""', 'AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.', 'KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""', 'We get to a point where it\'s a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell.', 'More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too.', 'Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult.', 'Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.', 'However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they\'d be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""', 'They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'The bits of their role that it\'s taking away is stuff that they weren\'t enjoying.""']",0.1626808889918358,"AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",0.3071964780489604,"Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",2024-04-10
-Record levels of funding propel Denver-Boulder to the top of the life sciences market,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/record-funding-propels-denver-boulders-life-sciences-market.html,2024-04-10T19:37:28+0000,"In this articleThis story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.The Denver-Boulder region is rapidly emerging as a major hub for the life sciences industry, attracting companies that develop cutting-edge medical treatments and technologies.Life sciences research aims to understand living things, from cells to our planet, to improve health, food and the environment. The funding growth is being fueled by a combination of factors: a surge in venture capital and government funding, a collaborative research environment and a booming market for lab space.San Diego-based BioMed Realty, a major real estate player (acquired by Blackstone in 2016 for $8 billion), made headlines in 2022 with a record-breaking $625 million purchase of Flatiron Park, a massive complex in Boulder, Colorado. The 1 million square feet across 23 buildings is being converted into lab and tech space to meet the region's surging demand.""This was a logical next step … to invest in Boulder and scale,"" said Tim Schoen, BioMed Realty's president and CEO. ""Boulder has all the elements you want in an innovation ecosystem — research universities, scientists, venture capital, and then ourselves who provide the mission-critical infrastructure.""In addition to Boulder, the firm operates in five other core life science and tech markets including San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, the Boston and Cambridge area in Massachusetts, and Cambridge, U.K.According to commercial real estate group CBRE, 14 companies were seeking a cumulative 506,000 square feet of lab space across the Denver-Boulder market in 2023, which includes the neighboring city of Aurora. In addition, the Denver-Boulder market saw 370,000 square feet of lab space completed and move-in ready with another 560,000 square feet under construction or renovation.""I would describe Boulder as unique and explosive. Unique from the standpoint of its setting at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains,"" said Schoen, ""and then explosive in terms of how the ecosystem has really grown and expanded over the last decade.""Investors are taking notice.""Investors from Colorado as well as across the coasts are seeing opportunities here,"" said Elyse Blazevich, president and CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association. ""Our ecosystem has raised in excess of a billion dollars for the past seven consecutive years — and early stage funding in Colorado in 2023 grew faster than other life sciences markets around the country.""Founded in 2003, the Bioscience Association supports the growth of life sciences, with a focus on access to capital, education, networking and more.According to Blazevich, funding for pre-seed ventures, series A and series B rounds increased from 2022 to 2023. The biggest increase was seen in series A and series B funding, which grew by $53 million, or 28%, year over year. Pre-seed funding, the earliest stage of venture capital, grew by $18 million, surging 163%, over that time period.A recent CBRE report found Denver-Boulder to be the top U.S. life sciences real estate market, fueled by record investment from venture capitalists and the National Institutes of Health.The report also found the pool of qualified workers in life sciences is growing much faster in the region than the national average, growing 35% over the past five years, compared to 16% growth for the U.S. overall.The recent surge in venture capital flowing into Denver-Boulder builds on the area's proven track record of success over the past several decades.In 1998, entrepreneur Kevin Koch co-founded biotech company Array BioPharma in Boulder. The company was acquired by Pfizer for $10.64 billion in 2019, and now Koch is co-founder and CEO of clinical-stage startup Edgewise Therapeutics.Edgewise develops therapies for rare muscle disorders and generated net proceeds of $186.1 million in its initial public offering in March 2021.But the company started small.""We were in an incubator within the University of Colorado. And we brought in talented folks from the University of Colorado,"" Koch told CNBC. ""We had interns come in, who ultimately became employees.""Today, Edgewise has a much bigger space in Boulder: 28,000 square feet in total, with half of its 93 employees working in the city office. The company plans to expand its footprint and to hire more workers in the coming years.Koch said the Boulder region's history of research into DNA and RNA in the 1980s was key to unlocking protein-based medicines to battle disease, which helped to attract capital to the life science hub.""[That research] nucleated investment in the Boulder area,"" he said. ""Now, those companies that commercialized those products, they reinvested in Boulder.""With the help of top venture firms, Edgewise Therapeutics has raised more than half a billion dollars — $550 million in cash runway through 2027.""We decided that Boulder really was the right place. And I think it turns out that that was the case. We've been able to attract a lot of fantastic talent,"" Koch said.Denver-Boulder's innovation ecosystem is churning out ideas, fast.Aurora, Denver's biggest suburb, is the epicenter of life sciences research: a 256-acre complex that's home to the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus, which receives $700 million in annual grant funding.Dan LaBarbera is professor of pharmaceutical sciences and founding director of the medical campus's Center for Drug Discovery.""Our goal here at the Center for Drug Discovery is to function as a bridge to move innovation from academia, to industry, and then to the clinic,"" LaBarbera told CNBC.Founded in 2021, the center develops drugs for a wide range of diseases from cancer to Alzheimer's — using state-of-the-art technology including robots and 3D bioprinters.""I think people in general are familiar with 3D printers, in their ability to print plastics, or even metals,"" LaBarbera said. ""We're using very similar technologies to print complex tissues that mimic aspects of human disease.""Historically, it took roughly 10 to 15 years for a drug to move from discovery phase to approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.""Now we can expedite that with this technology to make that process roughly six to eight years,"" LaBarbera said.The center helps shorten the timeline from drug discovery to treatment, aiding startups and existing companies to get breakthrough medications to patients faster.""Our goal is not to compete with the pharmaceutical industry,"" said LaBarbera. ""Our goal is actually to work with them to develop really innovative potential drug therapies.""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver & Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""In this articleThis story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees."", 'The Denver-Boulder region is rapidly emerging as a major hub for the life sciences industry, attracting companies that develop cutting-edge medical treatments and technologies.', 'Life sciences research aims to understand living things, from cells to our planet, to improve health, food and the environment.', 'The funding growth is being fueled by a combination of factors: a surge in venture capital and government funding, a collaborative research environment and a booming market for lab space.', 'San Diego-based BioMed Realty, a major real estate player (acquired by Blackstone in 2016 for $8 billion), made headlines in 2022 with a record-breaking $625 million purchase of Flatiron Park, a massive complex in Boulder, Colorado.', ""The 1 million square feet across 23 buildings is being converted into lab and tech space to meet the region's surging demand."", '""This was a logical next step … to invest in Boulder and scale,"" said Tim Schoen, BioMed Realty\'s president and CEO. ""', 'Boulder has all the elements you want in an innovation ecosystem — research universities, scientists, venture capital, and then ourselves who provide the mission-critical infrastructure.', '""In addition to Boulder, the firm operates in five other core life science and tech markets including San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, the Boston and Cambridge area in Massachusetts, and Cambridge, U.K.According to commercial real estate group CBRE, 14 companies were seeking a cumulative 506,000 square feet of lab space across the Denver-Boulder market in 2023, which includes the neighboring city of Aurora.', 'In addition, the Denver-Boulder market saw 370,000 square feet of lab space completed and move-in ready with another 560,000 square feet under construction or renovation.', '""I would describe Boulder as unique and explosive.', 'Unique from the standpoint of its setting at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains,"" said Schoen, ""and then explosive in terms of how the ecosystem has really grown and expanded over the last decade.', '""Investors are taking notice.', '""Investors from Colorado as well as across the coasts are seeing opportunities here,"" said Elyse Blazevich, president and CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association. ""', 'Our ecosystem has raised in excess of a billion dollars for the past seven consecutive years — and early stage funding in Colorado in 2023 grew faster than other life sciences markets around the country.', '""Founded in 2003, the Bioscience Association supports the growth of life sciences, with a focus on access to capital, education, networking and more.', 'According to Blazevich, funding for pre-seed ventures, series A and series B rounds increased from 2022 to 2023.', 'The biggest increase was seen in series A and series B funding, which grew by $53 million, or 28%, year over year.', 'Pre-seed funding, the earliest stage of venture capital, grew by $18 million, surging 163%, over that time period.', 'A recent CBRE report found Denver-Boulder to be the top U.S. life sciences real estate market, fueled by record investment from venture capitalists and the National Institutes of Health.', 'The report also found the pool of qualified workers in life sciences is growing much faster in the region than the national average, growing 35% over the past five years, compared to 16% growth for the U.S. overall.', ""The recent surge in venture capital flowing into Denver-Boulder builds on the area's proven track record of success over the past several decades."", 'In 1998, entrepreneur Kevin Koch co-founded biotech company Array BioPharma in Boulder.', 'The company was acquired by Pfizer for $10.64 billion in 2019, and now Koch is co-founder and CEO of clinical-stage startup Edgewise Therapeutics.', 'Edgewise develops therapies for rare muscle disorders and generated net proceeds of $186.1 million in its initial public offering in March 2021.But the company started small.', '""We were in an incubator within the University of Colorado.', 'And we brought in talented folks from the University of Colorado,"" Koch told CNBC. ""', 'We had interns come in, who ultimately became employees.', '""Today, Edgewise has a much bigger space in Boulder: 28,000 square feet in total, with half of its 93 employees working in the city office.', 'The company plans to expand its footprint and to hire more workers in the coming years.', ""Koch said the Boulder region's history of research into DNA and RNA in the 1980s was key to unlocking protein-based medicines to battle disease, which helped to attract capital to the life science hub."", '""[That research] nucleated investment in the Boulder area,"" he said. ""', 'Now, those companies that commercialized those products, they reinvested in Boulder.', '""With the help of top venture firms, Edgewise Therapeutics has raised more than half a billion dollars — $550 million in cash runway through 2027.""We decided that Boulder really was the right place.', 'And I think it turns out that that was the case.', 'We\'ve been able to attract a lot of fantastic talent,"" Koch said.', ""Denver-Boulder's innovation ecosystem is churning out ideas, fast."", ""Aurora, Denver's biggest suburb, is the epicenter of life sciences research: a 256-acre complex that's home to the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus, which receives $700 million in annual grant funding."", ""Dan LaBarbera is professor of pharmaceutical sciences and founding director of the medical campus's Center for Drug Discovery."", '""Our goal here at the Center for Drug Discovery is to function as a bridge to move innovation from academia, to industry, and then to the clinic,"" LaBarbera told CNBC.Founded in 2021, the center develops drugs for a wide range of diseases from cancer to Alzheimer\'s — using state-of-the-art technology including robots and 3D bioprinters.', '""I think people in general are familiar with 3D printers, in their ability to print plastics, or even metals,"" LaBarbera said. ""', ""We're using very similar technologies to print complex tissues that mimic aspects of human disease."", '""Historically, it took roughly 10 to 15 years for a drug to move from discovery phase to approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.', '""Now we can expedite that with this technology to make that process roughly six to eight years,"" LaBarbera said.', 'The center helps shorten the timeline from drug discovery to treatment, aiding startups and existing companies to get breakthrough medications to patients faster.', '""Our goal is not to compete with the pharmaceutical industry,"" said LaBarbera. ""', 'Our goal is actually to work with them to develop really innovative potential drug therapies.', '""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuringDenver & Boulderwill air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.']",0.2185394731886792,"We've been able to attract a lot of fantastic talent,"" Koch said.","""Our goal here at the Center for Drug Discovery is to function as a bridge to move innovation from academia, to industry, and then to the clinic,"" LaBarbera told CNBC.Founded in 2021, the center develops drugs for a wide range of diseases from cancer to Alzheimer's — using state-of-the-art technology including robots and 3D bioprinters.",0.9898780243737356,Our ecosystem has raised in excess of a billion dollars for the past seven consecutive years — and early stage funding in Colorado in 2023 grew faster than other life sciences markets around the country.,,2024-04-10
-New York Community Bank’s online arm is paying the nation’s highest interest rate,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/10/nycb-is-paying-the-nations-highest-interest-rate-apy.html,2024-04-10T11:12:40+0000,"In this articleNew York Community Bank, the regional lender that needed a $1 billion-plus lifeline last month, is offering the country's highest interest rate for a savings account.NYCB raised the annual percentage yield offered via its online arm, My Banking Direct, to 5.55%, higher than any other bank's widely available account, according to Ken Tumin, an analyst who tracks rates for his website DepositAccounts.The standout rate could be a sign that NYCB is facing funding pressure, Tumin said.""It looks like they're trying really hard to attract deposits,"" Tumin said. ""My Banking Direct has been around for a long time, more than 10 years, so them having an aggressive rate could be a sign of neediness"" for funding.NYCB's woes began in January, when it said it was preparing for far greater losses on commercial real estate loans than analysts had expected. That set off a downward spiral in its stock price, downgrades from rating agencies and multiple management changes. The bank announced a capital injection from investors led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital on March 6.In the month before the rescue was announced, NYCB shed 7% of its deposits, falling to $77.2 billion by March 5, the bank said in a presentation.During a conference call held after the capital raise, analysts asked how NYCB managed to retain so much of its deposits during the tumultuous period.""We didn't do anything crazy relative to deposit pricing,"" NYCB chairman Sandro DiNello replied. ""We didn't go out and offer 6% CDs or something like that in order to make the numbers look good, if that's what you're concerned with.""NYCB didn't return a call for comment on its funding strategy.Joseph Otting, a former comptroller of the currency, took over as the bank's CEO on April 1, about a week before the rate increase.Despite the turnaround plan, shares of NYCB still trade for under $4 apiece and are off more than 68% year to date.Other banks offering rates higher than 5% right now tend to be newer or smaller players than NYCB, according to Tumin.Among established banks, the average high-yield savings rate is about 4.4%, and several of them (including American Express, Goldman Sachs and Ally) have dropped rates in the past month, he said. The NYCB rate also tops accounts listed on NerdWallet and Bankrate.Customer deposits at My Banking Direct are insured by the FDIC up to the standard $250,000.Over the past two years, savings account rates have broadly been on the rise.Since the regional banking crisis consumed Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic last year, smaller players have been forced to pay higher rates for deposits compared to giants like JPMorgan Chase in order to compete, said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual.""When a bank has to go out and advertise a much higher rate, it's typically because they have a deposit problem,"" Stucky said. ""It's not hard for customers to switch banks anymore.""",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""In this articleNew York Community Bank, the regional lender that needed a $1 billion-plus lifeline last month, is offering the country's highest interest rate for a savings account."", ""NYCB raised the annual percentage yield offered via its online arm, My Banking Direct, to 5.55%, higher than any other bank's widely available account, according to Ken Tumin, an analyst who tracks rates for his website DepositAccounts."", 'The standout rate could be a sign that NYCB is facing funding pressure, Tumin said.', '""It looks like they\'re trying really hard to attract deposits,"" Tumin said. ""', 'My Banking Direct has been around for a long time, more than 10 years, so them having an aggressive rate could be a sign of neediness"" for funding.', ""NYCB's woes began in January, when it said it was preparing for far greater losses on commercial real estate loans than analysts had expected."", 'That set off a downward spiral in its stock price, downgrades from rating agencies and multiple management changes.', ""The bank announced a capital injection from investors led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital on March 6.In the month before the rescue was announced, NYCB shed 7% of its deposits, falling to $77.2 billion by March 5, the bank said in a presentation."", 'During a conference call held after the capital raise, analysts asked how NYCB managed to retain so much of its deposits during the tumultuous period.', '""Wedidn\'tdoanythingcrazyrelativetodepositpricing,"" NYCB chairman Sandro DiNello replied. ""', ""Wedidn't go out and offer 6% CDs or something like that in order to make the numbers look good, if that's what you're concerned with."", '""NYCB didn\'t return a call for comment on its funding strategy.', ""Joseph Otting, a former comptroller of the currency, took over as the bank's CEO on April 1, about a week before the rate increase."", 'Despite the turnaround plan, shares of NYCB still trade for under $4 apiece and are off more than 68% year to date.', 'Other banks offering rates higher than 5% right now tend to be newer or smaller players than NYCB, according to Tumin.', 'Among established banks, the average high-yield savings rate is about 4.4%, and several of them (including American Express, Goldman Sachs and Ally) have dropped rates in the past month, he said.', 'The NYCB rate also tops accounts listed on NerdWallet and Bankrate.', 'Customer deposits at My Banking Direct are insured by the FDIC up to the standard $250,000.Over the past two years, savings account rates have broadly been on the rise.', 'Since the regional banking crisis consumed Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic last year, smaller players have been forced to pay higher rates for deposits compared to giants like JPMorgan Chase in order to compete, said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual.', '""When a bank has to go out and advertise a much higher rate, it\'s typically because they have a deposit problem,"" Stucky said. ""', 'It\'s not hard for customers to switch banks anymore.""']",0.0767157870111379,"The bank announced a capital injection from investors led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital on March 6.In the month before the rescue was announced, NYCB shed 7% of its deposits, falling to $77.2 billion by March 5, the bank said in a presentation.","Since the regional banking crisis consumed Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic last year, smaller players have been forced to pay higher rates for deposits compared to giants like JPMorgan Chase in order to compete, said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual.",-0.4568496563217856,"NYCB raised the annual percentage yield offered via its online arm, My Banking Direct, to 5.55%, higher than any other bank's widely available account, according to Ken Tumin, an analyst who tracks rates for his website DepositAccounts.","That set off a downward spiral in its stock price, downgrades from rating agencies and multiple management changes.",2024-04-10
-Skydance's unique offer for Paramount Global would give it a large stake while keeping the company public,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/skydance-paramount-global-deal-details-of-david-ellison-bid.html,2024-04-05T16:55:23+0000,"Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover. The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer. Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly. Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders. But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and 5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company.While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people. He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years. Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was $29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022. Paramount+ continues to lose money. Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billion in long-term debt at the end of 2023. When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business. That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.David Ellison would likely lead the new company.Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role. Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem. No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global. That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said.Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come. The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.There still could be other avenues to pursue. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity. Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter. The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"[""Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover."", ""The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer."", 'Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly.', ""Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private."", 'No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.', 'Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.', 'The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders.', ""But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company."", 'While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people.', 'He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.', 'Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.', 'It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.', ""Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years."", ""Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022."", 'Paramount+ continues to lose money.', ""Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel."", 'Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billionin long-term debt at the end of 2023.', 'When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.', 'Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.', 'In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.', 'That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.', 'David Ellison would likely lead the new company.', 'Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role.', 'Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.', ""New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem."", 'No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.', ""The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global."", ""That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said."", ""Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish."", ""The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come."", 'The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.', 'There still could be other avenues to pursue.', 'Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.', 'But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity.', 'Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.', 'Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.', 'WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.']",0.0942132138570413,"Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.",Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.,-0.1901104867458343,"In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.","Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022.",2024-04-10
-"More than 7 million adults still struggling to pay bills, survey finds",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68765769,2024-04-09T23:10:40.000Z,"Some 7.4 million UK adults are still struggling to pay bills due to the high cost of living, a survey suggests. The number has fallen from last year, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but many households still feel ""heavily burdened"". Its survey suggested one in nine adults (5.5 million) had missed a bill or credit payment in the six months to January 2024. One in nine people also had no disposable income, the FCA said. Despite inflation - the rate at which consumer prices are rising - slowing in recent months, the cost of living is still hitting households hard. Energy bills and food costs remain much higher than they were a few years ago. It is also more expensive to borrow money after interest rates were hiked to their highest level in 16 years in an effort to slow cost increases for goods. Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said its survey showed ""many people are still struggling with their bills"", but added it was ""encouraging to see some benefitting from the help that's available"". The regulator, which oversees the UK's financial companies and financial markets, said its annual cost-of-living survey consulted 3,450 UK adults, which its researchers then analysed to make projections for the whole population. Its main findings suggested that in January 2024: The FCA said about half of all adults had cut back or delayed spending on smaller things such as eating out and clothes, and cut back on food shopping.  How is the cost of living affecting you? Get in touch. Meanwhile 26% had resorted to working more hours or working overtime or taking a second job or starting a ""side hustle"" to earn extra money. Some 12% had gone without some meals because they could not afford them, the survey found. Caroline Dove and Becky Ward, from Cambridgeshire, have been cooking and delivering hundreds of hot meals for people in need. They used to supply up to 40 meals twice a week when they started 18 months ago, but now it is about 90. ""One of my elderly ladies was actually buying dog food because it was cheaper than human food,"" said Ms Ward. ""She said she's gone through the war and the rations and all that sort of stuff and so dog food didn't taste any different to her."" Ms Dove said she pays for all the costs for ingredients and cooking, adding: ""We are all hitting hard times, as long as I have enough to get by myself, my grandkids, what else do I need?"" The FCA said people who rent, single adults with children, adults from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people living in the north east of England were ""more likely to be in financial difficulty"". The headline figure in the research, that 7.4 million - or one in seven people - were struggling to pay bills and debts, has come down from 10.9 million in 2023. But the number of people experiencing such problems was still well above the level (5.8 million) that results suggested in 2020, before the cost-of-living crisis began. Similar to 2023's survey, utility bills were the most commonly missed bills over the six months to January 2024, followed by credit card bills and council tax. While mortgage holders were slightly less likely than average to be in financial trouble, the FCA said there was an increase in the proportion struggling who had asked their provider to reduce their monthly payments or provide a payment holiday.  It added more than a fifth of adults in the year to January 2024 cancelled an insurance or protection policy, reduced their level of cover, or chose not to buy a policy to save money. Mr Mills urged people worried about keeping up with payments to contact their lender ""straight away"" as support options are available, and discussing these will not affect a credit score. In response to the FCA's findings, Conor D'Arcy, interim chief executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said it was ""encouraging"" that the number of people struggling with bills had dipped but added with millions still behind on payments, ""the impact of the cost of living crisis on our finances and mental health is likely to last a long time"". He said there was ""more for lenders to do"" to help, including ""reaching out to customers with support before people seek it"". Richard Lane, chief client officer at StepChange, said people on lower incomes were ""particularly struggling to repay significant household debt and relying on credit to keep up"". ""Research has shown that people in financial difficulty are often struggling with anxiety, embarrassment and stigma, and tend to try and juggle their finances and cope for too long before seeking help, when they could benefit from lender support and free debt advice sooner,"" he added. What to do if I can't pay my debts: ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Some 7.4 million UK adults are still struggling to pay bills due to the high cost of living, a survey suggests.', 'The number has fallen from last year, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but many households still feel ""heavily burdened"".', 'Its survey suggested one in nine adults (5.5 million) had missed a bill or credit payment in the six months to January 2024.', 'One in nine people also had no disposable income, the FCA said.', 'Despite inflation - the rate at which consumer prices are rising - slowing in recent months, the cost of living is still hitting households hard.', 'Energy bills and food costs remain much higher than they were a few years ago.', 'It is also more expensive to borrow money after interest rates were hiked to their highest level in 16 years in an effort to slow cost increases for goods.', 'Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said its survey showed ""many people are still struggling with their bills"", but added it was ""encouraging to see some benefitting from the help that\'s available"".', ""The regulator, which oversees the UK's financial companies and financial markets, said its annual cost-of-living survey consulted 3,450 UK adults, which its researchers then analysed to make projections for the whole population."", 'Its main findings suggested that in January 2024: The FCA said about half of all adults had cut back or delayed spending on smaller things such as eating out and clothes, and cut back on food shopping.', 'How is the cost of living affecting you?', 'Get in touch.', 'Meanwhile 26% had resorted to working more hours or working overtime or taking a second job or starting a ""side hustle"" to earn extra money.', 'Some 12% had gone without some meals because they could not afford them, the survey found.', 'Caroline Dove and Becky Ward, from Cambridgeshire, have been cooking and delivering hundreds of hot meals for people in need.', 'They used to supply up to 40 meals twice a week when they started 18 months ago, but now it is about 90. ""', 'One of my elderly ladies was actually buying dog food because it was cheaper than human food,"" said Ms Ward. ""', 'She said she\'s gone through the war and the rations and all that sort of stuff and so dog food didn\'t taste any different to her.""', 'Ms Dove said she pays for all the costs for ingredients and cooking, adding: ""We are all hitting hard times, as long as I have enough to get by myself, my grandkids, what else do I need?""', 'The FCA said people who rent, single adults with children, adults from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people living in the north east of England were ""more likely to be in financial difficulty"".', 'The headline figure in the research, that 7.4 million - or one in seven people - were struggling to pay bills and debts, has come down from 10.9 million in 2023.', 'But the number of people experiencing such problems was still well above the level (5.8 million) that results suggested in 2020, before the cost-of-living crisis began.', ""Similar to 2023's survey, utility bills were the most commonly missed bills over the six months to January 2024, followed by credit card bills and council tax."", 'While mortgage holders were slightly less likely than average to be in financial trouble, the FCA said there was an increase in the proportion struggling who had asked their provider to reduce their monthly payments or provide a payment holiday.', 'It added more than a fifth of adults in the year to January 2024 cancelled an insurance or protection policy, reduced their level of cover, or chose not to buy a policy to save money.', 'Mr Mills urged people worried about keeping up with payments to contact their lender ""straight away"" as support options are available, and discussing these will not affect a credit score.', 'In response to the FCA\'s findings, Conor D\'Arcy, interim chief executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said it was ""encouraging"" that the number of people struggling with bills had dipped but added with millions still behind on payments, ""the impact of the cost of living crisis on our finances and mental health is likely to last a long time"".', 'He said there was ""more for lenders to do"" to help, including ""reaching out to customers with support before people seek it"".', 'Richard Lane, chief client officer at StepChange, said people on lower incomes were ""particularly struggling to repay significant household debt and relying on credit to keep up"". ""', 'Research has shown that people in financial difficulty are often struggling with anxiety, embarrassment and stigma, and tend to try and juggle their finances and cope for too long before seeking help, when they could benefit from lender support and free debt advice sooner,"" he added.', ""What to do if I can't pay my debts:""]",-0.0966422450315468,"Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said its survey showed ""many people are still struggling with their bills"", but added it was ""encouraging to see some benefitting from the help that's available"".","But the number of people experiencing such problems was still well above the level (5.8 million) that results suggested in 2020, before the cost-of-living crisis began.",-0.2738065859850715,"While mortgage holders were slightly less likely than average to be in financial trouble, the FCA said there was an increase in the proportion struggling who had asked their provider to reduce their monthly payments or provide a payment holiday.","The number has fallen from last year, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but many households still feel ""heavily burdened"".",2024-04-10
-Barstool's Dave Portnoy won $2.7 million betting on UConn in NCAA men's final,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/barstools-dave-portnoy-won-2point7-million-on-uconn-ncaa-bet.html,2024-04-09T16:13:07+0000,"In this articleBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is cashing in $2.76 million on UConn's big win over Purdue on Monday night in the NCAA men's championship game.Portnoy tweeted the massive score off a March 20 $600,000 wager on the Huskies winning the national championship. Portnoy's bet was a moneyline wager placed right before the NCAA tournament began, and required UConn to win six straight games for it to pay off for him. The bet paid off at 3.6-to-1.DraftKings confirmed to CNBC it took the bet.""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.""Barstool signed a multiyear deal with DraftKings in February. The sports media company was previously owned by Penn Entertainment.DraftKings reported a record NCAA tournament, with sports betting now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C. — five additional states since this time last year.The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year. That's equivalent to 2.2% of the total handle wagered on any sporting events last year.Geolocation tracking company GeoComply, which operators use to police bettors' locations, told CNBC it saw a 42% increase in checks over the 2023 tournament.DraftKings said Monday's game was the most bet-on college basketball game of all time for the sportsbook.FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle.At Caesars Sportsbook, Monday's championship game accounted for the most same-game parlays ever placed on a college basketball game.""It was a tournament for the customers as favorites covered the spread 61% of the time,"" Craig Mucklow, Caesars Sportsbook's vice president of trading, said in an email.Betting on the women's tournament was particularly lucrative for the sportsbooks.South Carolina's undefeated season and the heroics of superstar Caitlin Clark fueled a massive influx of bets. FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics say the championship game was their single biggest betting event on women's sports. Caesars said the women's championship saw double the previous handle record for a women's college basketball game.""We could only imagine the handle if the game was given a proper primetime slot,"" Mucklow said of the women's final.— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is cashing in $2.76 million on UConn's big win over Purdue on Monday night in the NCAA men's championship game."", 'Portnoy tweeted the massive score off a March 20 $600,000 wager on the Huskies winning the national championship.', ""Portnoy's bet was a moneyline wager placed right before the NCAA tournament began, and required UConn to win six straight games for it to pay off for him."", 'The bet paid off at 3.6-to-1.DraftKings confirmed to CNBC it took the bet.', '""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.', '""Barstool signed a multiyear deal with DraftKings in February.', 'The sports media company was previously owned by Penn Entertainment.', 'DraftKings reported a record NCAA tournament, with sports betting now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C. — five additional states since this time last year.', 'The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year.', ""That's equivalent to 2.2% of the total handle wagered on any sporting events last year."", ""Geolocation tracking company GeoComply, which operators use to police bettors' locations, told CNBC it saw a 42% increase in checks over the 2023 tournament."", ""DraftKings said Monday's game was the most bet-on college basketball game of all time for the sportsbook."", ""FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle."", ""At Caesars Sportsbook, Monday's championship game accounted for the most same-game parlays ever placed on a college basketball game."", '""It was a tournament for the customers as favorites covered the spread 61% of the time,"" Craig Mucklow, Caesars Sportsbook\'s vice president of trading, said in an email.', ""Betting on the women's tournament was particularly lucrative for the sportsbooks."", ""South Carolina's undefeated season and the heroics of superstar Caitlin Clark fueled a massive influx of bets."", ""FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics say the championship gamewas their single biggest betting event on women's sports."", ""Caesars said the women's championship saw double the previous handle record for a women's college basketball game."", '""We could only imagine the handle if the game was given a proper primetime slot,"" Mucklow said of the women\'s final.—', ""CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.""]",0.3113093424054897,"""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.",The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year.,0.9950777232646942,FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle.,,2024-04-10
-"Disney's Iger says Peltz proxy battle was a 'distraction,' board is focused on picking his successor",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/bob-iger-discusses-proxy-fight-with-nelson-peltz-after-board-vote.html,2024-04-04T15:46:01+0000,"In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans.Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board's No. 1 priority."" He said Disney's succession committee, which was established when he returned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024. Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process. Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events. Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself.""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""It was not reacting really to the activist.""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date. They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games and would launch a flagship ESPN streaming service.For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats. Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance.""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. "" I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do. I'll watch and wait. If they do it, they won't hear from me again.""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday's investor meeting. Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said. In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022. He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing. Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years.Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we're trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn't expect significant cannibalization between the two products.Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have. He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleNelson Peltz\'s proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC\'s ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.', '""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.', ""While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans."", 'Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board\'s No.', '1 priority.""', ""He said Disney'ssuccession committee, which was established whenhereturned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024."", ""Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process."", ""Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events."", 'Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.', '""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we\'re prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.', 'In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.', '""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.', ""Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself."", '""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""', 'It was not reacting really to the activist.', '""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.', ""They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it hadobtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Gamesand would launcha flagship ESPN streaming service."", ""For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats."", 'Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.', ""Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance."", '""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. ""', 'I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do.', ""I'll watch and wait."", ""If they do it, they won't hear from me again."", '""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday\'s investor meeting.', 'Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said.', 'Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.', 'A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.', 'Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said.', 'In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.', 'Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022.', 'He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing.', ""Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years."", 'Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we\'re trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn\'t expect significant cannibalization between the two products.', 'Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have.', 'He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.']",0.1477550938283659,"""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.","In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.",0.2601167985371181,"""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.","Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.",2024-04-10
-Iowa-South Carolina NCAA women's final draws record 18.7 million viewers,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/iowa-south-carolina-ncaa-womens-final-draws-18point7-million-viewers.html,2024-04-08T22:11:53+0000,"The NCAA Women's Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.The game peaked at 24 million viewers, ESPN said, and was the most-watched NCAA women's college basketball game since 1992. Viewership jumped 89% from last year's women's championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men's or women's and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday's Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. ""These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it's incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going.""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport's greatest of all time, fueling interest in women's basketball and attracting new viewers. Clark, 22, has dominated the court and set several records, luring in more fans with the ""Caitlin Clark Effect.""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women's sports in recent months.Women's sports broke records in 2023, with estimates from Deloitte predicting that revenue generated by women's elite sports could surpass $1 billion this year — that is a 300% increase from just three years ago.Between groundbreaking media deals for women's sports and private investors and celebrities alike looking to get in, valuations for women's sports have been driven to record levels.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"[""The NCAA Women's Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.The game peaked at 24 million viewers, ESPN said, and was the most-watched NCAA women's college basketball game since 1992."", 'Viewership jumped 89% from last year\'s women\'s championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men\'s or women\'s and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday\'s Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women\'s Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. ""', ""These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it's incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going."", '""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport\'s greatest of all time, fueling interest in women\'s basketball and attracting new viewers.', 'Clark, 22, has dominated the court and set several records, luring in more fans with the ""Caitlin Clark Effect.', '""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women\'s sports in recent months.', ""Women's sports broke records in 2023, with estimates from Deloitte predicting that revenue generated by women's elite sports could surpass $1 billion this year — that is a 300% increase from just three years ago."", ""Between groundbreaking media deals for women's sports and private investors and celebrities alike looking to get in, valuations for women's sports have been driven to record levels.""]",0.18015693465326,"""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport's greatest of all time, fueling interest in women's basketball and attracting new viewers.","""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women's sports in recent months.",0.9979097843170166,"Viewership jumped 89% from last year's women's championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men's or women's and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday's Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. """,,2024-04-10
-"Former Bowlero exec says company threatened to report him to FBI in proposed extortion, retaliation suit",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/former-bowlero-exec-says-company-threatened-to-report-him-to-fbi.html,2024-04-09T19:02:18+0000,"In this articleA former executive at Bowlero, the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, has asked a court's permission to countersue his former employer for extortion and retaliation, after an executive on a recorded call threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversation filed in court.The allegations by Bowlero's former chief information officer, Thomas Tanase, filed Wednesday in a proposed countersuit in Virginia federal court, come after he and dozens of others filed discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging they were fired based on their age or out of retaliation, according to company securities filings and the proposed countersuit. Bowlero denies the claims.The company, which went public in late 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, was among the select successful stocks to emerge from the SPAC boom. It owns two of the biggest brands in bowling — AMF and Lucky Strike — and operated more than 300 bowling centers across North America as of July. Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.Tanase started with the company's information technology department in 2001 before climbing his way up to the C-suite, where he worked closely with the company's CEO and frequently had access to sensitive information contained in the CEO's email accounts, he said in court filings. He says the company fired him in May because of his age, and in August, he filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC, according to a copy of the claim, which was included as an exhibit to the proposed countersuit.Bowlero says that Tanase resigned and then had a change of heart when he realized he wouldn't get severance pay. In July, the company sued him, alleging he hacked into the email account of CEO Thomas Shannon, copied company documents onto a personal USB drive and refused to hand over his company-issued devices. Tanase denies the claims.Now, Tanase is seeking the court's permission to countersue Bowlero and the company's executive vice chairman, Brett Parker. Federal rules require Tanase to get permission to countersue given the timing of the filings.In the proposed countersuit, Tanase alleges that Parker threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to accessing Shannon's emails and ""come clean"" about information he shared with Daniel Dowe, the attorney representing the EEOC complainants, and with CNBC, which has previously written about the discrimination allegations against Bowlero. During a March deposition, Tanase testified that he hadn't spoken with CNBC, or any other media outlet, about the company.In a phone conversation between Tanase and Parker that Tanase recorded in June 2023, Bowlero's vice chairman and former finance chief allegedly asked Tanase numerous times to reveal what he'd said and told him that if he did, all would be forgiven, according to a transcript attached as an exhibit to the proposed counterclaim.""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that's transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that's ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.""Then there can be a number and there can be a go away and we can move on. But we have to get the truth and full clarity,"" Parker said, according to the transcript. ""You can ... Fall back into our good graces and be our friend in this matter and you will get paid to do that, but it has to start with the truth.""According to the transcript, Parker told Tanase if he explained everything and shared what information he had disclosed, the company could give him a ""severance,"" but ""you really don't want this to start with the police."" ""I'm not going to be able to fight this internally, and you're going to be trying to explain to the FBI that some device did this and I don't want you to be in that position,"" Parker said, according to the transcript. ""You gotta help me help you,"" he added.In response, Tanase repeatedly told Parker he didn't share any information with anyone and had been in the hospital when Shannon's email account was allegedly breached, according to the transcript. As Bowlero's former CIO, he previously had access to the CEO's account and said it may have still been logged in on another device.  ""I haven't done anything illegal ... I haven't done anything malicious either. I haven't talked to anything or given out any information to anybody. I've told you this before,"" said Tanase, according to the transcript.  Bowlero said the transcript simply shows the company trying to extend an ""olive branch"" to Tanase if he were to confess to the hacking allegations. ""Far from wrongfully seeking to obtain a benefit from Tanase, Mr. Parker ... acknowledges that he is 'trying to help.' These are all actions which, in the face of Tanase's hacking of Bowlero computer systems, neither Bowlero nor Mr. Parker were required to do,"" Bowlero said in filings.  ""Indeed, what Tanase suggests is 'extortion' is obviously no such thing. Hence, even if Tanase had a private right of action for an extortion claim, the elements of such a claim are not met here,"" the company said.Tanase further alleges that Bowlero's suit against him was brought in retaliation for his refusal to sign a termination agreement that required him to waive his right to pursue legal action against the company. He also claims Bowlero sued him to deter him from filing a complaint with the EEOC or serving as a witness in its investigation into Bowlero.Tanase's attorneys are seeking around $8 million in damages from Bowlero on the extortion claim and more than $27 million on the retaliation claim.Late Thursday, Bowlero asked the judge overseeing the case to deny the request to countersue and to sanction Tanase by either issuing a default judgment in the company's favor or precluding Tanase from further testimony. In court filings, the company said Tanase admitted he misstated facts in an earlier court affidavit, which he later corrected, and pointed out that he has hired at least three different law firms since the onset of the case.""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions. Bowlero's attorney Alex Spiro at law firm Quinn Emanuel, who has also represented A-listers such as Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement to CNBC Tanase ""will lose"" his request to file a countersuit, and that it ""is almost certainly going to be denied."" ""Mr. Tanase is now seeking the court's permission to file baseless counterclaims against Bowlero, five months after the deadline and five days before fact discovery will close. This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.""His counterclaims are completely frivolous and we are seeking fees for responding to his motion,"" he said.In response, Tanase's attorney Scott Pickus told CNBC if the court doesn't permit Tanase to move forward with his counterclaim in the case, the suit can and ""likely will"" be filed as a new action. He said he ""very much"" disagrees that the assertions made in the proposed counterclaim are frivolous. He said he won't comment on remarks Tanase made about misstating facts.""Suffice it to say that we disagree with Bowlero's interpretation of the law, disagree with Bowlero's recitation of the facts, and look forward to the trial of this matter,"" Pickus said.Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 involving more than 70 former employees who claim they were unlawfully fired. They allege that Bowlero fired them for being too old as it worked to transform its hundreds of locations from what the company has referred to as ""dingy"" bowling alleys to upmarket experiences with elevated food and drink offerings. Complaints and an affidavit filed by three former employees, including Tanase, say Shannon hosted ""beauty contests"" with prospective hires over brief video calls to evaluate a candidate's appearance as part of the hiring process. Tanase's complaint accused Shannon of making ""racial and especially inappropriate 'blonde women' jokes"" and ""always treated wom[e]n as an inferior class to men."" Tanase also alleged that the company's policies banning Timberland boots and ball caps worn backward were ""designed to deter African American males from using"" the company's bowling centers.The EEOC has found reasonable cause in the majority of the complaints brought against Bowlero, including Tanase's, while the rest remain under investigation, according to Tanase's complaint and company reports. When the EEOC finds reasonable cause in a complaint, it means it believes discrimination occurred.The EEOC previously tried to settle the complaints with Bowlero for $60 million in January 2023, but those efforts failed last April, CNBC previously reported. The agency now has the ability to file a federal lawsuit against the company, but it's unclear if it will. Before the agency can sue Bowlero in federal court, the EEOC's commissioners need to vote on the matter. Spiro, Bowlero's attorney, told CNBC the employment discrimination claims ""are without merit.""""The so-called eeoc issues are age based discrimination claims, some of which date back to nearly a decade ago and no civil nor eeoc suit has ever even occurred with respect to those claims,"" Spiro wrote in an email. Pickus, Tanase's attorney, said the EEOC's reasonable cause findings that Bowlero engaged in discriminatory practices dating back to 2013 ""would seem to belie Mr. Spiro's assertions"" that his client's counterclaims are ""frivolous.""""Those findings by the EEOC may well be why Bowlero has sued Mr. Tanase. Bowlero's actions remind me of a sports cliche: the best defense is a good offense,"" Pickus added.""We look forward to proving both claims,"" he said.Still at issue is whether Tanase resigned or was fired from his position — a dispute that's at the center of Bowlero's lawsuit, Tanase's proposed countersuit and his EEOC claim, which are all separate but related actions.In the leadup to his separation from Bowlero, Tanase said, the company began micromanaging him and harassing him by closely supervising his work so they could find a reason to fire him — a process he described as ""managing out,"" according to his EEOC complaint and proposed counterclaim. ""Although Tanase suspected for several months that his employment might be in jeopardy, at no time did he seek to secure confidential information, remove property, or engage in any other self-serving conduct while having full access to Bowlero's offices, office files, and computer servers,"" Tanase's attorneys wrote in the proposed counterclaim.In the EEOC's determination letter ruling that Tanase's claims of age discrimination had cause, Director Rosemarie Rhodes wrote that the conduct of Tanase's then-supervisor, current Bowlero President Lev Ekster, ""included unwarranted hostility, frequent criticism, unnecessary correction of his work, and undermining his authority and role vis-a-vis subordinates and vendors."" Bowlero alleged that following Tanase's separation from the company, he vowed to get ""revenge"" on his former employer and ""bury"" its CEO, according to its lawsuit against Tanase. The company alleged in its suit that Tanase told Bowlero Vice President of Human Resources Heather Webb that he had spoken with CNBC and several lawyers, including Dowe, about the company.""Mr. Tanase said he would 'walk away', which Ms. Webb understood to mean that he would no longer attempt to seek revenge or retribution on Bowlero or Mr. Shannon, if Bowlero were to pay him a $1.2 million 'severance' payment. Bowlero refused to make the payment,"" Bowlero's lawsuit said. Tanase denies the claims.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleA former executive at Bowlero, the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, has asked a court's permission to countersue his former employer for extortion and retaliation, after an executive on a recorded call threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversationfiled in court."", ""The allegations by Bowlero's former chief information officer, Thomas Tanase, filed Wednesday in a proposed countersuit in Virginia federal court, come after he and dozens of others filed discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging they were fired based on their age or out of retaliation, according to company securities filings and the proposed countersuit."", 'Bowlero denies the claims.', 'The company, which went public in late 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, was among the select successful stocks to emerge from the SPAC boom.', 'It owns two of the biggest brands in bowling — AMF and Lucky Strike — and operated more than 300 bowling centers across North America as of July.', 'Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.', ""Tanase started with the company's information technology department in 2001 beforeclimbing his way up to the C-suite, where he worked closely with the company's CEO and frequently had access to sensitive information contained in the CEO's email accounts, he said in court filings."", 'He says the company fired him in May because of his age, and in August, he filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC, according to a copy of the claim, which was included as an exhibit to the proposed countersuit.', ""Bowlero says that Tanase resigned and then had a change of heart when he realized he wouldn't get severance pay."", 'In July, the company sued him, alleging he hacked into the email account of CEO Thomas Shannon, copied company documents onto a personal USB drive and refused to hand over his company-issued devices.', 'Tanase denies the claims.', ""Now, Tanase is seeking the court's permission to countersue Bowlero and the company's executive vice chairman, Brett Parker."", 'Federal rules require Tanase to get permission to countersue given the timing of the filings.', 'In the proposed countersuit, Tanase alleges that Parker threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn\'t admit to accessing Shannon\'s emails and ""come clean"" about information he shared with Daniel Dowe, the attorney representing the EEOC complainants, and with CNBC, which has previously written about the discrimination allegations against Bowlero.', ""During a March deposition, Tanase testified that he hadn't spoken with CNBC, or any other media outlet, about the company."", ""In a phone conversation between Tanase and Parker that Tanase recorded in June 2023, Bowlero's vice chairman and former finance chief allegedly asked Tanase numerous times to reveal what he'd said and told him that if he did, all would be forgiven, according to a transcript attached as an exhibit to the proposed counterclaim."", '""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that\'s transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that\'s ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.', '""Then there can be a number and there can be a go away and we can move on.', 'But we have to get the truth and full clarity,"" Parker said, according to the transcript.', '""You can ... Fall back into our good graces and be our friend in this matter and you will get paid to do that, but it has to start with the truth.', '""According to the transcript, Parker told Tanase if he explained everything and shared what information he had disclosed, the company could give him a ""severance,"" but ""you really don\'t want this to start with the police.', '""""I\'m not going to be able to fight this internally, and you\'re going to be trying to explain to the FBI that some device did this and I don\'t want you to be in that position,"" Parker said, according to the transcript.', '""You gotta help me help you,"" he added.', ""In response, Tanase repeatedly told Parker he didn't share any information with anyone and had been in the hospital when Shannon's email account was allegedly breached, according to the transcript."", 'As Bowlero\'s former CIO, he previously had access to the CEO\'s account and said it may have still been logged in on another device. ""', ""I haven't done anything illegal ... I haven't done anything malicious either."", ""I haven't talked to anything or given out any information to anybody."", 'I\'ve told you this before,"" said Tanase, according to the transcript.', 'Bowlero said the transcript simply shows the company trying to extend an ""olive branch"" to Tanase if he were to confess to the hacking allegations.', '""Far from wrongfully seeking to obtain a benefit from Tanase, Mr. Parker ... acknowledges that he is \'trying to help.\'', 'These are all actions which, in the face of Tanase\'s hacking of Bowlero computer systems, neither Bowlero nor Mr. Parker were required to do,"" Bowlero said in filings.', '""Indeed, what Tanase suggests is \'extortion\' is obviously no such thing.', 'Hence, even if Tanase had a private right of action for an extortion claim, the elements of such a claim are not met here,"" the company said.', ""Tanase further alleges that Bowlero's suit against him was brought in retaliation for his refusal to sign a termination agreement that required him to waive his right to pursue legal action against the company."", 'He also claims Bowlero sued him to deter him from filing a complaint with the EEOC or serving as a witness in its investigation into Bowlero.', ""Tanase's attorneys are seeking around $8 million in damages from Bowlero on the extortion claim and more than $27 million on the retaliation claim."", ""Late Thursday, Bowlero asked the judge overseeing the case to deny the request to countersue and to sanction Tanase by either issuing a default judgment in the company's favor or precluding Tanase from further testimony."", 'In court filings, the company said Tanase admitted he misstated facts in an earlier court affidavit, which he later corrected, and pointed out that he has hired at least three different law firms since the onset of the case.', '""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions.', 'Bowlero\'s attorney Alex Spiro at law firm Quinn Emanuel, who has also represented A-listers such as Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement to CNBC Tanase ""will lose"" his request to file a countersuit, and that it ""is almost certainly going to be denied.', '""""Mr.', ""Tanase is now seeking the court's permission to file baseless counterclaims against Bowlero, five months after the deadline and five days before fact discovery will close."", 'This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.', '""His counterclaims are completely frivolous and we are seeking fees for responding to his motion,"" he said.', 'In response, Tanase\'s attorney Scott Pickus told CNBC if the court doesn\'t permit Tanase to move forward with his counterclaim in the case, the suit can and ""likely will"" be filed as a new action.', 'He said he ""very much"" disagrees that the assertions made in the proposed counterclaim are frivolous.', ""He said he won't comment on remarks Tanase made about misstating facts."", '""Suffice it to say that we disagree with Bowlero\'s interpretation of the law, disagree with Bowlero\'s recitation of the facts, and look forward to the trial of this matter,"" Pickus said.', 'Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 involving more than 70 former employees who claim they were unlawfully fired.', 'They allege that Bowlero fired them for being too old as it worked to transform its hundreds of locations from what the company has referred to as ""dingy"" bowling alleys to upmarket experiences with elevated food and drink offerings.', 'Complaints and an affidavit filed by three former employees, including Tanase, say Shannon hosted ""beauty contests"" with prospective hires over brief video calls to evaluate a candidate\'s appearance as part of the hiring process.', 'Tanase\'s complaint accused Shannon of making ""racial and especially inappropriate \'blonde women\' jokes"" and ""always treated wom[e]n as an inferior class to men.""', 'Tanase also alleged that the company\'s policies banning Timberland boots and ball caps worn backward were ""designed to deter African American males from using"" the company\'s bowling centers.', ""The EEOC has found reasonable cause in the majority of the complaints brought against Bowlero, including Tanase's, while the rest remain under investigation, according to Tanase's complaint and company reports."", 'When the EEOC finds reasonable cause in a complaint, it means it believes discrimination occurred.', 'The EEOC previously tried to settle the complaints with Bowlero for $60 million in January 2023, but those efforts failed last April, CNBC previously reported.', ""The agency now has the ability to file a federal lawsuit against the company, but it's unclear if it will."", ""Before the agency can sue Bowlero in federal court, the EEOC's commissioners need to vote on the matter."", 'Spiro, Bowlero\'s attorney, told CNBC the employment discrimination claims ""are without merit.', '""""The so-called eeoc issues are age based discrimination claims, some of which date back to nearly a decade ago and no civil nor eeoc suit has ever even occurred with respect to those claims,"" Spiro wrote in an email.', 'Pickus, Tanase\'s attorney, said the EEOC\'s reasonable cause findings that Bowlero engaged in discriminatory practices dating back to 2013 ""would seem to belie Mr. Spiro\'s assertions"" that his client\'s counterclaims are ""frivolous.', '""""Those findings by the EEOC may well be why Bowlero has sued Mr. Tanase.', 'Bowlero\'s actions remind me of a sports cliche: the best defense is a good offense,"" Pickus added.', '""We look forward to proving both claims,"" he said.', ""Still at issue is whether Tanase resigned or was fired from his position — a dispute that's at the center of Bowlero's lawsuit, Tanase's proposed countersuit and his EEOC claim, which are all separate but related actions."", 'In the leadup to his separation from Bowlero, Tanase said, the company began micromanaging him and harassing him by closely supervising his work so they could find a reason to fire him — a process he described as ""managing out,"" according to his EEOC complaint and proposed counterclaim.', '""Although Tanase suspected for several months that his employment might be in jeopardy, at no time did he seek to secure confidential information, remove property, or engage in any other self-serving conduct while having full access to Bowlero\'s offices, office files, and computer servers,"" Tanase\'s attorneys wrote in the proposed counterclaim.', 'In the EEOC\'s determination letter ruling that Tanase\'s claims of age discrimination had cause, Director Rosemarie Rhodes wrote that the conduct of Tanase\'s then-supervisor, current Bowlero President Lev Ekster, ""included unwarranted hostility, frequent criticism, unnecessary correction of his work, and undermining his authority and role vis-a-vis subordinates and vendors.', '""Bowlero alleged that following Tanase\'s separation from the company, he vowed to get ""revenge"" on his former employer and ""bury"" its CEO, according to its lawsuit against Tanase.', 'The company alleged in its suit that Tanase told Bowlero Vice President of Human Resources Heather Webb that he had spoken with CNBC and several lawyers, including Dowe, about the company.', '""Mr.', ""Tanase said he would 'walk away', which Ms. Webb understood to mean that he would no longer attempt to seek revenge or retribution on Bowlero or Mr. Shannon, if Bowlero were to pay him a $1.2 million 'severance' payment."", 'Bowlero refused to make the payment,"" Bowlero\'s lawsuit said.', 'Tanase denies the claims.']",-0.0728504854179812,"""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that's transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that's ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.","This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.",-0.2596658955920826,"Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.","""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions.",2024-04-10
-Quantum rush: Denver-Boulder area aims to be the Silicon Valley of the future,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/quantum-rush-denver-boulder-aims-to-be-silicon-valley-of-the-future.html,2024-04-10T13:25:36+0000,"This story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today's machines can, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery.That's the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a global leader in this revolution.Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem.""The future looks really bright for us here. … We've built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,"" Hays said in CNBC's primetime special ""Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,"" which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. ""The fact that we've been able to do that in 18 months is pretty remarkable.""In Denver, Maybell Quantum, another key player in the industry, is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.""It's 10 millikelvin,"" said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick. That equates to negative 459.652 degrees Fahrenheit.Why so cold? The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate. The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that can disrupt a quantum chip's delicate subatomic calculations.Just like semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today's complex internet possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology. ""This technology is going to be as important to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the internet or cellular technology. It'll transform everything from medicine to defense to agriculture,"" he said.The CEO said he envisions data centers filled with rows of quantum computers tackling the world's most pressing problems.""There will come a time not too far in the future … you will walk into a data center and there will be thousands of [quantum computers] lined up just like you have servers today, working on workloads from all over the world to solve these critical problems,"" he said.Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the 1980s. It's come a long way since then. According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States. This designation is part of a program to invest in regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.Leading the charge to solidify Colorado's position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of more than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and local governments, federal labs and private companies.""The idea is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren't Silicon Valleys today against the most important technologies of our time,"" said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado's CEO. Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to become one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.""We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we're fortunate to be selected as one of 31,"" Yerushalmi explained. ""This is where things really get hot … we're competing for $70 million from the federal government.""Only a handful of hubs will be selected to receive the funding — and Yerushalmi says he's optimistic of their chances, expecting a decision later this year.Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum's potential, is upping the stakes. In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest an additional $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions selected to receive federal funding.""I'm bullish on quantum tech,"" Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. ""I think its time has come.""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica. An earlier version of this story misstated the metric.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""This story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees."", ""Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today's machines can, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery."", ""That's the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential."", 'In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a global leader in this revolution.', ""Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem."", '""The future looks really bright for us here. …', 'We\'ve built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,"" Hays said in CNBC\'s primetime special ""Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,"" which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. ""', ""The fact that we've been able to do that in 18 months is pretty remarkable."", '""In Denver, Maybell Quantum, another key player in the industry, is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.', '""It\'s 10 millikelvin,"" said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick.', 'That equates to negative 459.652 degrees Fahrenheit.', 'Why so cold?', 'The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate.', ""The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that can disrupt a quantum chip's delicate subatomic calculations."", ""Just like semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today's complex internet possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology."", '""This technology is going to be as important to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the internet or cellular technology.', 'It\'ll transform everything from medicine to defense to agriculture,"" he said.', ""The CEO said he envisions data centers filled with rows of quantum computers tackling the world's most pressing problems."", '""There will come a time not too far in the future … you will walk into a data center and there will be thousands of [quantum computers] lined up just like you have servers today, working on workloads from all over the world to solve these critical problems,"" he said.', 'Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the 1980s.', ""It's come a long way since then."", 'According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States.', 'This designation is part of a program to invest in regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.', ""Leading the charge to solidify Colorado's position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of more than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and local governments, federal labs and private companies."", '""The idea is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren\'t Silicon Valleys today against the most important technologies of our time,"" said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado\'s CEO.Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to become one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.', '""We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we\'re fortunate to be selected as one of 31,"" Yerushalmi explained. ""', ""This is where things really get hot … we're competing for $70 million from the federal government."", '""Only a handful of hubs will be selected to receive the funding — and Yerushalmi says he\'s optimistic of their chances, expecting a decision later this year.', ""Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum's potential, is upping the stakes."", 'In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest an additional $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions selected to receive federal funding.', '""I\'m bullish on quantum tech,"" Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. ""', 'I think its time has come.', '""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.', 'An earlier version of this story misstated the metric.']",0.1755340387361876,"""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.","Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem.",0.7769354701042175,"According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States.",That equates to negative 459.652 degrees Fahrenheit.,2024-04-10
-"Department stores face another squeeze. This time, with store credit card revenue",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/10/store-credit-cards-deal-department-stores-another-revenue-squeeze.html,2024-04-10T15:33:01+0000,"In this articleDepartment stores like Macy's and Kohl's have long used store-branded credit cards to drive purchases and get a cut of cash. Starting this spring, though, those cards will become less lucrative. Late fees for customers will be capped at $8, down from an industry average of around $32, under a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The change faces legal challenges, but is scheduled to take effect on May 14.The new rule will benefit customers with overdue balances, but will take a bite out of retailers' highly profitable business of making money from customers' credit card swipes and the interest or late fees that get tacked onto their unpaid balances.Specialty retailers with store cards, such as Gap, will feel the pinch, but it'll be the most significant at department stores since their revenue is already under pressure, according to Jane Hali, CEO and retail analyst at equity research firm Jane Hali & Associates.""We are talking about an area of weakness, so any cut in revenue is going to be more important to them than another area of retail,"" she said.For fiscal 2023, credit card revenue totaled $619 million for Macy's and approximately $475 million for Nordstrom.Kohl's reported $924 million in ""other"" revenue in 2023, a broader category that includes unused gift cards and third-party advertising on its website, though Fitch Ratings estimates the majority of that revenue category is from credit cards.The three companies do not break out how much of total credit card revenue comes from late fees.Store-branded credit cards are a clear boon for retailers: They encourage purchases and come with virtually no overhead, said David Silverman, a retail analyst at Fitch Ratings.They're typically issued through financial services companies and banks, such as Synchrony Financial, TD Bank or Capital One. And they often come with extra perks for shoppers, such as additional discounts or rewards for repeat purchases.For retailers, the branded cards provide insights into customer behavior, since they track purchases, and can amount to a perpetual advertisement, right in customers' wallets, Silverman said.""If I'm constantly using my Macy's card or my Home Depot card or whatever it is, that brand is even more so part of my daily life,"" he said.Even before the CFPB ruling, retailers' credit cards faced challenges.Shoppers, particularly those who are younger, are paying in new ways like buy now, pay later, which allows a customer to pay back a purchase in installments. Use of buy now, pay later with online purchases between January and March totaled $19.2 billion, an increase of 12.3% from the year-ago period, according to Adobe Analytics, which analyzes online transactions across retail sites.Some customers are opting for credit cards that offer experience-based perks, such as access to airport lounges or early purchases of high-demand concert tickets.Plus, in a higher interest rate environment, getting customers to sign up for store cards or use them may be a trickier proposition. For retailer-issued credit cards, interest rates — also called APRs, or annual percentage rates — were about 29.33% on average as of early April, according Bankrate. That compares with an average of 20.75% for all U.S. credit cards.All of that adds up to dwindling credit card revenue for retailers, who can now expect to see it shrink even further.For all the millions brought in by private-label cards, they drive a small portion of retailers' net sales. The retailers' credit cards accounted for nearly 3% of Macy's net sales and a little over 3% of Nordstrom's net sales in the most recent fiscal year.Kohl's, Macy's and Target all reported year-over-year declines in credit card revenue for the most recent fiscal year — a reflection of reduced discretionary spending and normalizing credit patterns, according to the companies.Target's credit card revenue fell to $667 million last year, down from $734 million in the prior fiscal year. Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke said at an investor meeting in March that the discounter has seen softer spending on credit cards, but has been able to make it up with growth of its advertising business, Roundel.The big-box retailer recently relaunched its loyalty program as a three-tiered offering that includes a free tier, a paid annual membership and a credit card that's now called the Target Circle Card.Macy's, too, has dealt with falling credit card revenue. The segment's $619 million during the most recent fiscal year was a decline of about 28%. And the company said it expects that to tumble even further to between $475 million and $490 million for this fiscal year as net sales fall.That outlook doesn't take into account the credit card late fee ruling.Adrian Mitchell, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, told investors on the company's earnings call that Macy's is working with Citi, its financial partner, to try to offset the late fee ruling. It's also looking for strategies to increase customers' use of Macy's and Bloomingdale's credit cards, he said.Nordstrom, for its part, has reported year-over-year gains in credit card revenue for each of the past three years, though its haul is smaller than that of Kohl's, Macy's and Target. It downplayed the CFPB change, saying the average credit quality of its portfolio tends to be higher than other retailers, meaning it relies less on late fees.Gap does not disclose credit card revenue, but its chief financial officer, Katrina O'Connell, said on an earnings call that losses from late fees will be ""largely offset in 2024 by other levers within our credit card program."" The company declined to share specifics about those offsets.Some card issuers, such as Synchrony, have said they will make changes in the coming months, such as increasing APRs, to try to blunt the federal rule's effect. Synchrony is a major issuer of store cards, including the cards for Sam's Club and Lowe's.At Kohl's, it's a bit of a different story.Kohl's customers typically have lower household incomes than those of other retailers, such as Nordstrom, which makes them more likely to miss a payment and be subject to a late fee, said Lorraine Hutchinson, a research analyst at Bank of America.And, off-mall department store retailer Kohl's is chasing a turnaround under CEO Tom Kingsbury, the former chief of off-price chain Burlington, and is leaning in part on co-branded cards to pull it off.To offset losses, Kohl's has been working to get customers to switch from store-branded credit cards, which can only be used in its stores and on its website, to co-branded Capital One cards that can be used to pay for other purchases, too.In an interview with CNBC in mid-March, Kingsbury said the company had previously planned to introduce the co-branded cards, but accelerated its plans because of the impending CFPB late fee cap.Co-branded cards ""will help offset any late fee changes that we have,"" he said.Kingsbury said as of March that Kohl's has converted nearly 700,000 private-label cardholders. It plans to convert about 5 million more later this year, covering more than a quarter of its 20 million active cardholders.He also underscored why Kohl's — and other retailers — want to be in the credit card business.On average, Kohl's credit customers spend six times more per year than shoppers who don't belong to its loyalty program, Kingsbury said. Incremental credit revenue from the co-branded card is expected to grow to between $250 million and $300 million annually by 2025, he said.— CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""In this articleDepartment stores like Macy's and Kohl's have long used store-branded credit cards to drive purchases and get a cut of cash."", 'Starting this spring, though, those cards will become less lucrative.', 'Late fees for customers will be capped at $8, down from an industry average of around $32, under a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.', ""The change faces legal challenges, but is scheduled to take effect on May 14.The new rule will benefit customers with overdue balances, but will take a bite out of retailers' highly profitable business of making money from customers' credit card swipes and the interest or late fees that get tacked onto their unpaid balances."", ""Specialty retailers with store cards, such as Gap, will feel the pinch, but it'll be the most significant at department stores since their revenue is already under pressure, according to Jane Hali, CEO and retail analyst at equity research firm Jane Hali & Associates."", '""We are talking about an area of weakness, so any cut in revenue is going to be more important to them than another area of retail,"" she said.', ""For fiscal 2023, credit card revenue totaled $619 million for Macy's and approximately $475 million for Nordstrom."", 'Kohl\'s reported $924 million in ""other"" revenue in 2023, a broader category that includes unused gift cards and third-party advertising on its website, though Fitch Ratings estimates the majority of that revenue category is from credit cards.', 'The three companies do not break out how much of total credit card revenue comes from late fees.', 'Store-branded credit cards are a clear boon for retailers: They encourage purchases and come with virtually no overhead, said David Silverman, a retail analyst at Fitch Ratings.', ""They're typically issued through financial services companies and banks, such as Synchrony Financial, TD Bank or Capital One."", 'And they often come with extra perks for shoppers, such as additional discounts or rewards for repeat purchases.', ""For retailers, the branded cards provide insights into customer behavior, since they track purchases, and can amount to a perpetual advertisement, right in customers' wallets, Silverman said."", '""If I\'m constantly using my Macy\'s card or my Home Depot card or whatever it is, that brand is even more so part of my daily life,"" he said.', ""Even before the CFPB ruling, retailers' credit cards faced challenges."", 'Shoppers, particularly those who are younger, are paying in new ways like buy now, pay later, which allows a customer to pay back a purchase in installments.', 'Use of buy now, pay later with online purchases between January and March totaled $19.2 billion, an increase of 12.3% from the year-ago period, according to Adobe Analytics, which analyzes online transactions across retail sites.', 'Some customers are opting for credit cards that offer experience-based perks, such as access to airport lounges or early purchases of high-demand concert tickets.', 'Plus, in a higher interest rate environment, getting customers to sign up for store cards or use them may be a trickier proposition.', 'For retailer-issued credit cards, interest rates — also called APRs, or annual percentage rates — were about 29.33% on average as of early April, according Bankrate.', 'That compares with an average of 20.75% for all U.S. credit cards.', 'All of that adds up to dwindling credit card revenue for retailers, who can now expect to see it shrink even further.', ""For all the millions brought in by private-label cards, they drive a small portion of retailers' net sales."", ""The retailers' credit cards accounted for nearly 3% of Macy's net sales and a little over 3% of Nordstrom's net sales in the most recent fiscal year."", ""Kohl's, Macy's and Target all reported year-over-year declines in credit card revenue for the most recent fiscal year — a reflection of reduced discretionary spending and normalizing credit patterns, according to the companies."", ""Target's credit card revenue fell to $667 million last year, down from $734 million in the prior fiscal year."", 'Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke said at an investor meeting in March that the discounter has seen softer spending on credit cards, but has been able to make it up with growth of its advertising business, Roundel.', ""The big-box retailer recently relaunched its loyalty program as a three-tiered offering that includes a free tier, a paid annual membership and a credit card that's now called the Target Circle Card."", ""Macy's, too, has dealt with falling credit card revenue."", ""The segment's $619 million during the most recent fiscal year was a decline of about 28%."", 'And the company said it expects that to tumble even further to between $475millionand $490million for this fiscal year as net sales fall.', ""That outlook doesn't take into account the credit card late fee ruling."", ""Adrian Mitchell, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, told investors on the company's earnings call that Macy's is working with Citi, its financial partner, to try to offset the late fee ruling."", ""It's also looking for strategies to increase customers' use of Macy's and Bloomingdale's credit cards, he said."", ""Nordstrom, for its part, has reported year-over-year gains in credit card revenue for each of the past three years, though its haul is smaller than that of Kohl's, Macy's and Target."", 'It downplayed the CFPB change, saying the average credit quality of its portfolio tends to be higher than other retailers, meaning it relies less on late fees.', 'Gap does not disclose credit card revenue, but its chief financial officer, Katrina O\'Connell, said on an earnings call that losses from late fees will be ""largely offset in 2024 by other levers within our credit card program.""', 'The company declined to share specifics about those offsets.', ""Some card issuers, such as Synchrony, have said they will make changes in the coming months, such as increasing APRs, to try to blunt the federal rule's effect."", ""Synchrony is a major issuer of store cards, including the cards for Sam's Club and Lowe's."", ""At Kohl's, it's a bit of a different story."", ""Kohl's customers typically have lower household incomes than those of other retailers, such as Nordstrom, which makes them more likely to miss a payment and be subject to a late fee, said Lorraine Hutchinson, a research analyst at Bank of America."", ""And, off-mall department store retailer Kohl's is chasing a turnaround under CEO Tom Kingsbury, the former chief of off-price chain Burlington, and is leaning in part on co-branded cards to pull it off."", ""To offset losses, Kohl's has been working to get customers to switch from store-branded credit cards, which can only be used in its stores and on its website, to co-branded Capital One cards that can be used to pay for other purchases, too."", 'In an interview with CNBC in mid-March, Kingsbury said the company had previously planned to introduce the co-branded cards, but accelerated its plans because of the impending CFPB late fee cap.', 'Co-branded cards ""will help offset any late fee changes that we have,"" he said.', ""Kingsbury said as of March that Kohl's has converted nearly 700,000 private-label cardholders."", 'It plans to convert about 5 million more later this year, covering more than a quarter of its 20 million active cardholders.', ""He also underscored why Kohl's — and other retailers — want to be in the credit card business."", ""On average, Kohl's credit customers spend six times more per year than shoppers who don't belong to its loyalty program, Kingsbury said."", 'Incremental credit revenue from the co-branded card is expected to grow to between $250 million and $300 million annually by 2025, he said.—', ""CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.""]",0.2639977157326827,"The change faces legal challenges, but is scheduled to take effect on May 14.The new rule will benefit customers with overdue balances, but will take a bite out of retailers' highly profitable business of making money from customers' credit card swipes and the interest or late fees that get tacked onto their unpaid balances.","""We are talking about an area of weakness, so any cut in revenue is going to be more important to them than another area of retail,"" she said.",-0.0032207988775693,"Incremental credit revenue from the co-branded card is expected to grow to between $250 million and $300 million annually by 2025, he said.—","Kohl's, Macy's and Target all reported year-over-year declines in credit card revenue for the most recent fiscal year — a reflection of reduced discretionary spending and normalizing credit patterns, according to the companies.",2024-04-10
-"Spire Global bets on AI to help improve weather forecasts, with boost from Nvidia",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/spire-global-nvidia-see-potential-in-using-ai-to-help-predict-weather.html,2024-04-05T15:19:51+0000,"In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia.""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC's Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast. ""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service. It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting. In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.Follow and listen to CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia's generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire's satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"['In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.', ""That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia."", '""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC\'s Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC\'s ""Manifest Space"" podcast.', '""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""', 'For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.', '""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service.', 'It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.', 'The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.', 'He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting.', 'In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.', 'Follow and listen to CNBC\'s""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.', 'So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""', 'It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.', 'Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.', ""As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March."", 'Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia\'s generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire\'s satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.', 'Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.', 'Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.', '""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""', ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability."", '""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.']",0.3070225516946503,"For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.","Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.",0.96539615922504,"Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.",,2024-04-10
-"The rich are getting second passports, citing risk of instability",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/10/rich-americans-get-second-passports-citing-risk-of-instability.html,2024-04-10T12:44:24+0000,"A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Wealthy U.S. families are increasingly applying for second citizenships and national residences as a way to hedge their financial risk, according to a leading law firm.The wealthy are building these ""passport portfolios"" — collections of second, and even third or fourth, citizenships — in case they need to flee their home country. Henley & Partners, a law firm that specializes in high-net-worth citizenships, said Americans now outnumber every other nationality when it comes to securing alternative residences or added citizenships.""The U.S. is still a great country, it's still an amazing passport,"" said Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners. ""But if I'm wealthy, I would like to hedge against levels of volatility and uncertainty. The idea of diversification is well understood by wealthy individuals around what they invest. It makes no sense to have one country of citizenship and residence when I have the ability to actually diversify that aspect of my life as well.""Recent high-profile examples of second citizenships include billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who added a citizenship in New Zealand, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who applied for citizenship in Cyprus.Of course, the wealthy aren't packing up en masse and ditching their American citizenship. While a relatively small number of Americans do renounce their citizenship every year to declare a new home country, mainly due to tax-filing requirements, the so-called ""exit tax"" required to renounce citizenship makes it financially prohibitive for most except the ultra-wealthy to simply renounce and declare a new citizenship.Instead, many wealthy Americans are shopping around for an added visa or citizenship program to supplement their U.S. passport.According to Henley, the top destinations for supplemental passports among Americans are Portugal, Malta, Greece and Italy. Portugal's ""Golden Visa"" program is especially popular since it provides a path to residency and citizenship — with visa-free travel in Europe — in exchange for an investment of 500,000 euros (roughly $541,000) in a fund or private equity. Malta offers a Golden Visa for 300,000 euros invested in real estate, which Volek said has become ""especially popular with Americans.""""With Malta you become a European citizen, with complete settlement rights across Europe,"" he said. ""So you can live in Germany, your kids can go and study in France and you have the right to live, work and study throughout Europe.""There are three main reasons for the rise of American passport portfolios, or ""domicile diversification."" An alternative passport makes travel easier for Americans venturing to parts of the world that are less friendly to the U.S.""For American, British, and Israeli citizens suddenly unsure of their welcome abroad, supplementary passports provide vital flexibility,"" according to a Henley report. ""With rising global instability, holding citizenship in another country, particularly one that is considered more neutral or politically benign, now provides a valuable back-up or alternative option.""Another reason is business travel, which can be safer and less conspicuous with a non-U.S. passport in many countries. U.S. business leaders could be targets for ""resentment, hostage-taking, or random terrorism in the chaos of collapsed states or high-risk countries they need to travel to for business purposes,"" according to the report, which says interested parties range from hedge-fund managers who meet with global clients to mining company executives who visit operations sites.Using a secondary passport can also help cross-border financial transfers or deals within the new country.Finally, some wealthy Americans simply want a back-up residency for possible retirement, to be closer to their families who live abroad or for lifestyle reasons in the new age of remote work. For others, U.S. politics is the driver.  ""We all live in uncertain times, not just in the U.S., but in all nations globally,"" Volek said. ""Who knows what's going to happen next. It's really about having not only a Plan B but Plan C and D in place as well.""Globally, millionaire migration is expected to hit a new high in 2024, as wars, government crackdowns on wealth, and political uncertainty drive more wealthy residents to other countries. An estimated 128,000 millionaires are forecast to move to a new country this year, up from 120,000 in 2023 and up from 51,000 in 2013, according to Henley.The U.S. remains a top destination for global millionaires leaving other countries, with a net inflow of 2,200 millionaires in 2023 and a projected inflow of 3,500 in 2024, according to Henley.China remains the biggest source of millionaire out-migration, losing a net 13,500 millionaires last year.""The wealth-creation opportunities in the U.S. are second to none globally,"" Volek said.Sign up to receive future editions of CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer."", 'Sign upto receive future editions, straight to your inbox.', 'Wealthy U.S. families are increasingly applying for second citizenships and national residences as a way to hedge their financial risk, according to a leading law firm.', 'The wealthy are building these ""passport portfolios"" — collections of second, and even third or fourth, citizenships — in case they need to flee their home country.', 'Henley & Partners, a law firm that specializes in high-net-worth citizenships, said Americans now outnumber every other nationality when it comes to securing alternative residences or added citizenships.', '""The U.S. is still a great country, it\'s still an amazing passport,"" said Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners. ""', ""But if I'm wealthy, I would like to hedge against levels of volatility and uncertainty."", 'The idea of diversification is well understood by wealthy individuals around what they invest.', 'It makes no sense to have one country of citizenship and residence when I have the ability to actually diversify that aspect of my life as well.', '""Recent high-profile examples of second citizenships include billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who added a citizenship in New Zealand, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who applied for citizenship in Cyprus.', ""Of course, the wealthy aren't packing up en masse and ditching their American citizenship."", 'While a relatively small number of Americans do renounce their citizenship every year to declare a new home country, mainly due to tax-filing requirements, the so-called ""exit tax"" required to renounce citizenship makes it financially prohibitive for most except the ultra-wealthy to simply renounce and declare a new citizenship.', 'Instead, many wealthy Americans are shopping around for an added visa or citizenship program to supplement their U.S. passport.', 'According to Henley, the top destinations for supplemental passports among Americans are Portugal, Malta, Greece and Italy.', 'Portugal\'s ""Golden Visa"" program is especially popular since it provides a path to residency and citizenship — with visa-free travel in Europe — in exchange for an investment of 500,000 euros (roughly $541,000) in a fund or private equity.', 'Malta offers a Golden Visa for 300,000 euros invested in real estate, which Volek said has become ""especially popular with Americans.', '""""With Malta you become a European citizen, with complete settlement rights across Europe,"" he said. ""', 'So you can live in Germany, your kids can go and study in France and you have the right to live, work and study throughout Europe.', '""There are three main reasons for the rise of American passport portfolios, or ""domicile diversification.""', 'An alternative passport makes travel easier for Americans venturing to parts of the world that are less friendly to the U.S.""For American, British, and Israeli citizens suddenly unsure of their welcome abroad, supplementary passports provide vital flexibility,"" according to a Henley report. ""', 'With rising global instability, holding citizenship in another country, particularly one that is considered more neutral or politically benign, now provides a valuable back-up or alternative option.', '""Another reason is business travel, which can be safer and less conspicuous with a non-U.S. passport in many countries.', 'U.S. business leaders could be targets for ""resentment, hostage-taking, or random terrorism in the chaos of collapsed states or high-risk countries they need to travel to for business purposes,"" according to the report, which says interested parties range from hedge-fund managers who meet with global clients to mining company executives who visit operations sites.', 'Using a secondary passport can also help cross-border financial transfers or deals within the new country.', 'Finally, some wealthy Americans simply want a back-up residency for possible retirement, to be closer to their families who live abroad or for lifestyle reasons in the new age of remote work.', 'For others, U.S. politics is the driver. ""', 'We all live in uncertain times, not just in the U.S., but in all nations globally,"" Volek said. ""', ""Who knows what's going to happen next."", ""It's really about having not only a Plan B but Plan C and D in place as well."", '""Globally, millionaire migration is expected to hit a new high in 2024, as wars, government crackdowns on wealth, and political uncertainty drive more wealthy residents to other countries.', 'An estimated 128,000 millionaires are forecast to move to a new country this year, up from 120,000 in 2023 and up from 51,000 in 2013, according to Henley.', 'The U.S. remains a top destination for global millionaires leaving other countries, with a net inflow of 2,200 millionaires in 2023 and a projected inflow of 3,500 in 2024, according to Henley.', 'China remains the biggest source of millionaire out-migration, losing a net 13,500 millionaires last year.', '""The wealth-creation opportunities in the U.S. are second to none globally,"" Volek said.', ""Sign up to receive future editions of CNBC'sInside Wealthnewsletter with Robert Frank.""]",0.2671963679040812,"An alternative passport makes travel easier for Americans venturing to parts of the world that are less friendly to the U.S.""For American, British, and Israeli citizens suddenly unsure of their welcome abroad, supplementary passports provide vital flexibility,"" according to a Henley report. ""","U.S. business leaders could be targets for ""resentment, hostage-taking, or random terrorism in the chaos of collapsed states or high-risk countries they need to travel to for business purposes,"" according to the report, which says interested parties range from hedge-fund managers who meet with global clients to mining company executives who visit operations sites.",0.6473015944163004,"An estimated 128,000 millionaires are forecast to move to a new country this year, up from 120,000 in 2023 and up from 51,000 in 2013, according to Henley.","China remains the biggest source of millionaire out-migration, losing a net 13,500 millionaires last year.",2024-04-10
-Your ultimate guide to the American Express Membership Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/american-express-membership-rewards-guide,"
-  Updated
-        1:03 PM EDT, Mon April 1, 2024
-    ","American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there. That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.
-    
-            In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.
-    
-            Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing. If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.
-    
-            You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways. Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift. It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings. Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.
-    
-            The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards. Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.
-    
-            These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card. With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance. Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.
-    
-            Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:
-    
-            All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.
-    
-            All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:
-    
-            Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses. If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).
-    
-            If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel. Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.
-    
-            When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules. For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days. Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.
-    
-            As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer. One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.
-    
-             Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings. That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.
-    
-            Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder. Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.
-    
-            If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.
-    
-            American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card. You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.
-    
-            To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site. You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card. Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card. You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.
-    
-            Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family. Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.
-    
-            Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards. For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.
-    
-            As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection. In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.
-    
-            Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers. With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.
-    
-            To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account. From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page. Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer. From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase. Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.
-    
-            Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards. It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.
-    
-            If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards. Simply log into your account and follow these steps:
-    
-            After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.
-    
-            Now, for the fun part! Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use. Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel. You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.
-    
-            Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.
-    
-            American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners. The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers. But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels. So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above. Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.
-    
-            By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.
-    
-            Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you. But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.
-    
-            Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions. This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.
-    
-            Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value. If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.
-    
-            You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings. By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings. Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.
-    
-            If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value. However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.
-    
-            Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points. However, that’s not always the case for everyone. You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online. Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.
-    
-            When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them. The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.
-    
-            Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits. Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point. The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above. Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.
-    
-            American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there. By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more. Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.
-    
-            Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,01/04/2024,"['American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there.', 'That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.', 'In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.', 'Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing.', 'If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.', 'You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways.', 'Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift.', 'It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings.', 'Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.', 'The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.', 'These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card.', 'With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.', 'Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:  All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.', 'All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:  Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses.', 'If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).', 'If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel.', 'Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.', 'When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules.', 'For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days.', 'Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.', 'As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer.', 'One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.', 'Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings.', 'That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.', 'If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.', 'American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card.', 'You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.', 'To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site.', 'You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card.', 'Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card.', 'You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.', 'Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family.', 'Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.', 'Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards.', 'For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.', 'As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection.', 'In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.', 'Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers.', 'With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers.', 'In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.', 'To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account.', 'From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page.', 'Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer.', 'From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase.', 'Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.', 'Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards.', 'It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.', 'If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards.', 'Simply log into your account and follow these steps:  After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.', 'Now, for the fun part!', 'Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use.', 'Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel.', 'You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.', 'American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners.', 'The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.', 'It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels.', 'So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above.', 'Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.', 'By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.', 'Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you.', 'But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.', 'Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions.', 'This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.', 'Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value.', 'If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.', 'You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings.', 'By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings.', 'Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.', 'If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value.', 'However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.', 'Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points.', 'However, that’s not always the case for everyone.', 'You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online.', 'Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.', 'When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them.', 'The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each.', 'Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.', 'Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits.', 'Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point.', 'The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above.', 'Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.', 'American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there.', 'By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more.', 'Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5246481979610982,"If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.",But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.,0.9622429311275482,"With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.",,2024-04-10
-How to make high interest rates work for your hard-earned savings,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/20/success/interest-rates-savings-cash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:00 PM EDT, Wed March 20, 2024
-    ","The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high. That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.
-    
-            That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).
-    
-            But with the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.
-    
-            That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.
-    
-            However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing. There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”
-    
-            So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.
-    
-            The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate. That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.
-    
-            By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts. Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.
-    
-            Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.
-    
-            While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.
-    
-            As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings account rates can change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it. So make sure to check your monthly statement.
-    
-            Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.
-    
-            You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity. That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.
-    
-            As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.
-    
-            If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.
-    
-            To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period. You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.
-    
-            As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%. CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.
-    
-            Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36% APY. At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator. If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest. The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.
-    
-            “It makes sense to go long with CDs. To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years. Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.
-    
-            If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.
-    
-            For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs. Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.
-    
-            But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.
-    
-            If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.
-    
-            Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.
-    
-            But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments. As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.
-    
-            Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC. But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.
-    
-            Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
-    
-            Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33% respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08% respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment. Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.
-    
-            If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov. But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.
-    
-            And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said. An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%. Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.
-    
-            When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.
-    
-            What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?” Smith said.
-    
-            That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty. Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.
-    
-            Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “Most of the time convenience is really important. Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.",CNN,20/03/2024,"['The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high.', 'That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.', 'That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).', 'Butwith the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.', 'That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.', 'However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing.', 'There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “', 'But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “', 'If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”', 'So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.', 'The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate.', 'That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.', 'By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts.', 'Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.', 'Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “', 'If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.', 'While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.', 'As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings accountratescan change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it.', 'So make sure to check your monthly statement.', 'Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.', 'You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity.', 'That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.', 'As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.', 'If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.', 'To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period.', 'You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.', 'As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%.', 'CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.', 'Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36%APY.', 'At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator.', 'If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest.', 'The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.', '“It makes sense to go long with CDs.', 'To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years.', 'Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.', 'If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.', 'For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.', 'Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.', 'But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.', 'If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.', 'Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.', 'But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.', 'As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.', 'Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC.', 'But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.', 'Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.', 'Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33%respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08%respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment.', 'Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.', 'If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov.', 'But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.', 'And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said.', 'An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%.', 'Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.', 'When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.', 'What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “', 'What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?”', 'Smith said.', 'That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.', 'Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.', 'Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “', 'Most of the time convenience is really important.', 'Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.']",0.1607169988950149,That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.,"But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.",0.3840319812297821,"For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.","That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).",2024-04-10
-GM's Cruise to relaunch vehicles with human drivers in Phoenix,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/gms-cruise-to-relaunch-vehicles-with-human-drivers-in-phoenix.html,2024-04-09T17:38:49+0000,"In this articleGeneral Motors' Cruise self-driving vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roadways Tuesday for the first time since October, beginning with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, the company said.The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.The redeployed vehicles will not operate as they previously did — as robotaxis — but will ""create maps and gather road information in select cities, starting in Phoenix,"" the company said.Cruise said its ""goal is to resume driverless operations,"" however it did not provide a timeline for doing so. It also did not announce a timetable for expanding human-driven vehicles to other cities.""We have not yet made a commitment to where or when we will start supervised or driverless operations,"" a spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.Still, the company called the relaunched fleet with human drivers ""a critical step for validating our self-driving systems as we work towards returning to our driverless mission.""""In October 2023, we paused operations of our fleet to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and to redesign our approach to safety,"" Cruise said in a blog post. ""We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate. We are committed to this improvement as a continuous effort.""A third-party probe into the October incident and subsequent fallout, which was ordered by GM and Cruise, found culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership were at the center of regulatory oversights that led to the accident. The probe also investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise leadership, but did not find any evidence to support those claims.Cruise said in January that it ""accepts"" the conclusions found in the report. The San Francisco-based company, of which GM owns about 80%, said it will ""act on all"" recommendations and is ""fully cooperating"" with investigations by state and federal agencies following the Oct. 2 accident.The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.Prior to the accident, Cruise was planning an aggressive expansion of robotaxis outside its home market where the majority of its vehicles operated.In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted. The venture also laid off 24% of its workforce as well as a round of contractors.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleGeneral Motors' Cruise self-driving vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roadways Tuesday for the first time since October, beginning with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, the company said."", 'The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.', 'The redeployed vehicles will not operate as they previously did — as robotaxis — but will ""create maps and gather road information in select cities, starting in Phoenix,"" the company said.', 'Cruise said its ""goal is to resume driverless operations,"" however it did not provide a timeline for doing so.', 'It also did not announce a timetable for expanding human-driven vehicles to other cities.', '""We have not yet made a commitment to where or when we will start supervised or driverless operations,"" a spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.Still, the company called the relaunched fleet with human drivers ""a critical step for validating our self-driving systems as we work towards returning to our driverless mission.', '""""In October 2023, we paused operations of our fleet to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and to redesign our approach to safety,"" Cruise said in a blog post. ""', ""We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate."", 'We are committed to this improvement as a continuous effort.', '""A third-party probe into the October incident and subsequent fallout, which was ordered by GM and Cruise, found culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership were at the center of regulatory oversightsthat led to the accident.', 'The probe also investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise leadership, but did not find any evidence to support those claims.', 'Cruise said in January that it ""accepts"" the conclusions found in the report.', 'The San Francisco-based company,of which GM owns about 80%, said it will ""act on all"" recommendations and is ""fully cooperating"" with investigations by state and federal agencies following the Oct. 2 accident.', 'The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.', 'Prior to the accident, Cruise was planning an aggressive expansion of robotaxis outside its home market where the majority of its vehicles operated.', 'In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted.', 'The venture alsolaid off 24% of its workforce as well as a round of contractors.']",0.1384270886543398,"The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.",The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.,0.1824014902114868,"We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate.","In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted.",2024-04-10
-"'Mandalorian & Grogu,' 'Toy Story 5,' and another 'Tron' coming to theaters from Disney",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/disney-slate-mandalorian-grogu-toy-story-5-and-another-tron.html,2024-04-08T22:10:28+0000,"The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company's theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers' box-office habits shifted. All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship. He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content. He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made.Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative team prioritizing messaging over storytelling.Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences.Notably, the company's ""Moana"" live-action remake has been pushed to July 2026. It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date. And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu."" It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that the ""Moana"" film slated to open in July 2026 is a live-action remake.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company\'s theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers\' box-office habits shifted.', 'All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.', 'Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship.', ""He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content."", 'He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made.', ""Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative teamprioritizing messaging over storytelling."", ""Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences."", 'Notably, the company\'s ""Moana"" live-action remake has been pushed to July 2026.', 'It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.', 'And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""', 'It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that the ""Moana"" film slated to open in July 2026 is a live-action remake.']",-0.0528422595632968,"It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.","And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""",-0.997926930586497,,"All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.",2024-04-10
-3G Capital quietly exited its Kraft Heinz investment last year,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/3g-capital-quietly-exited-its-kraft-heinz-investment-last-year.html,2024-04-09T13:05:13+0000,"In this articleBrazilian private equity firm 3G Capital quietly sold off its 16.1% stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter, nearly nine years after masterminding the blockbuster merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz with Warren Buffett.The sale marks the end of an era for 3G. The firm's influence over Kraft Heinz had been dwindling in recent years as its number of board seats slipped from three to none by July 2022.""3G has not been involved in the management of Kraft Heinz, nor have they been on the Board for several years. They had continued to be an investor and were treated as we do any investor,"" Kraft Heinz said in a statement to CNBC. ""We did learn from their recent filing that 3G exited the Kraft Heinz stock entirely in 2023.""The company added that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, its largest shareholder with a 26.8% stake, is a committed long-term owner.3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.Berkshire and 3G's doomed romance began on Valentine's Day in 2013 when the two firms announced they were teaming up to take Heinz private. The merger with Kraft Foods followed two years later.The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.But the packaged food business presented new challenges. Consumers were shifting to eating more fresh food. Plus, retailers' private-label brands and newcomers touting themselves as a healthier option were stealing Big Food's shoppers. Kraft Heinz sought to drive inorganic growth through a takeover bid for Unilever, but the Popsicle owner rejected its offer.Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019. In a single earnings report, the company slashed its dividend, disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting practices and wrote down its brands by $15 billion.Several months later, Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for Kraft Heinz, buoyed by optimism that its brands were more valuable than they actually were. Still, he stood by both 3G and Kraft Heinz. Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles.To reverse the company's downward spiral, 3G handpicked the food giant's new chief executive, an AB InBev veteran, and Kraft Heinz went into turnaround mode. The company announced plans to ramp up its marketing and advertising spending and shift its strategy for making new products. To reduce its exposure to private-label competition, it also sold its cheese business to Lactalis, a French dairy giant, and its Planters nuts brand to Hormel.In 2021, 3G founding partner Jorge Paulo Lemann stepped down from Kraft Heinz's board. The following year, fellow founding partner Alexandre Behring left the board. And two months after Behring's departure, 3G's final board member, former AB InBev CEO Joao Castro-Neves, also stepped down. Kraft Heinz disclosed his departure in a regulatory filing but no press release — or fanfare — accompanied it.3G had been periodically trimming its stake in Kraft Heinz since 2018. When it sold 25 million shares in 2019, at the height of the company's troubles, the stock fell 4% in response to the disclosure. In 2022, it distributed about 7% of Kraft Heinz to investors in its fund, which reportedly included tennis star Roger Federer.Last year, Kraft Heinz tapped Carlos Abrams-Rivera as its new chief executive. While he's been with the company since 2020, he's notably the company's first CEO without ties to 3G.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"['In this articleBrazilian private equity firm 3G Capital quietly sold off its 16.1% stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter, nearly nine years after masterminding the blockbuster merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz with Warren Buffett.', 'The sale marks the end of an era for 3G. The firm\'s influence over Kraft Heinz had been dwindling in recent years as its number of board seats slipped from three to none by July 2022.""3G has not been involved in the management of Kraft Heinz, nor have they been on the Board for several years.', 'They had continued to be an investor and were treated as we do any investor,"" Kraft Heinz said in a statement to CNBC. ""', 'We did learn from their recent filing that 3G exited the Kraft Heinz stock entirely in 2023.""The company added that Buffett\'s Berkshire Hathaway, its largest shareholder with a 26.8% stake, is a committed long-term owner.3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.Berkshire and 3G\'s doomed romance began on Valentine\'s Day in 2013 when the two firms announced they were teaming up to take Heinz private.', 'The merger with Kraft Foods followed two years later.', 'The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.', 'But the packaged food business presented new challenges.', 'Consumers were shifting to eating more fresh food.', ""Plus, retailers' private-label brands and newcomers touting themselves as a healthier option were stealing Big Food's shoppers."", 'Kraft Heinz sought to drive inorganic growth through a takeover bid for Unilever, but the Popsicle owner rejected its offer.', 'Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019.', 'In a single earnings report, the company slashed its dividend, disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting practices and wrote down its brands by $15 billion.', 'Several months later, Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for Kraft Heinz, buoyed by optimism that its brands were more valuable than they actually were.', 'Still, he stood by both 3G and Kraft Heinz.', ""Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles."", ""To reverse the company's downward spiral, 3G handpicked the food giant's new chief executive, an AB InBev veteran, and Kraft Heinz went into turnaround mode."", 'The company announced plans to ramp up its marketing and advertising spending and shift its strategy for making new products.', 'To reduce its exposure to private-label competition, it also sold its cheese business to Lactalis, a French dairy giant, and its Planters nuts brand to Hormel.', ""In 2021, 3G founding partner Jorge Paulo Lemann stepped down from Kraft Heinz's board."", 'The following year, fellow founding partner Alexandre Behring left the board.', ""And two months after Behring's departure, 3G's final board member, former AB InBev CEO Joao Castro-Neves, also stepped down."", 'Kraft Heinz disclosed his departure in a regulatory filing but no press release — or fanfare — accompanied it.3G had been periodically trimming its stake in Kraft Heinz since 2018.', ""When it sold 25 million shares in 2019, at the height of the company's troubles, the stock fell 4% in response to the disclosure."", 'In 2022, it distributed about 7% of Kraft Heinz to investors in its fund, which reportedly included tennis star Roger Federer.', 'Last year, Kraft Heinz tapped Carlos Abrams-Rivera as its new chief executive.', ""While he's been with the company since 2020, he's notably the company's first CEO without ties to 3G.""]",-0.0180330622793108,"The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.",Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles.,0.1386075570033146,"The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.",Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019.,2024-04-10
-TSMC wins subsidies to expand US chip manufacturing in Arizona,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68763232,2024-04-08T15:03:37.000Z,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).  The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans. The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US. The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.  But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks. In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry. The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030.  Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation's leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"". TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple.  It announced its first US factory in 2020. That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028. The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade. The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.  TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives. The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.  Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.  She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs. The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating. Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters. Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".  But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its 'peaceful rise', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started. And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I'm afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched."" ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).', 'The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans.', 'The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US.', 'The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.', 'But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks.', 'In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry.', ""The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030."", 'Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation\'s leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"".', ""TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple."", 'It announced its first US factory in 2020.', 'That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028.', 'The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade.', 'The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.', 'TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.', 'The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.', 'Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.', 'She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.', 'The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating.', 'Chinese officials said that their companies\' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.', 'Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".', 'But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""', 'China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its \'peaceful rise\', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""', 'Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started.', 'And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I\'m afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched.""']",0.3058278687548064,"Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.","She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.",0.6616085271040598,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).","TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.",2024-04-10
-Toyota's first new 4Runner SUV in 15 years will offer a hybrid engine,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/2025-toyota-4runner-new-off-road-suv-will-include-a-hybrid-engine.html,2024-04-10T02:42:40+0000,"In this articleToyota Motor revealed a new 4Runner SUV for the first time in nearly 15 years — completing a recent redesign of the automaker's current trucks and SUVs.Aside from its new looks, which are similar to the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickup, the 2025 4Runner will be offered with a hybrid engine for the first time as well as new ""Platinum"" and ""Trailhunter"" high-end trims.""This all-new 4Runner has incredible versatility and capability that nicely rounds out our truck family,"" Dave Christ, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a release. ""We've sold over 3 million 4Runners over the past 40 years, and this sixth-generation model offers a cool new look and incredible features yet retains the rugged style and capability our customers love about this adventure icon.""Toyota's ""truck family"" is also known as the ""five brothers"": the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and the 4Runner, Land Cruiser and Sequoia SUVs. The 4Runner is the last to be redesigned and built on Toyota's global truck platform, which debuted with the Land Cruiser and Tundra in 2021.Toyota said pricing of the 2025 4Runner will be released closer to its on-sale date. Starting prices for the 2024 model range from about $41,000 to more than $55,000.While Toyota is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius, its larger ""brother"" SUVs, including the 4Runner, had much worse fuel ratings prior to being updated — at 17 mpg combined or less, according to federal ratings. The current 4Runner has been on sale, with some updates, since 2010.Toyota said miles per gallon ratings for the new 4Runner will be released closer to the vehicle arriving in showrooms in the fall. Toyota's other redesigned trucks and SUVs have notably improved fuel economy.Jack Hollis, executive vice president of Toyota Motor North America, last month told CNBC that the company continues to balance out its truck and SUV portfolio, including potential hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models.""Those brothers, they all have a lot of similarities, and they have a lot of differences,"" he said. ""How do we curb carbon emissions fastest with everyone, everywhere? It's having the right mix between those five products.""The 4Runner's available hybrid engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with a 48-horsepower electric motor integrated into the eight-speed transmission to produce up to 326 horsepower and 465 foot-pounds of torque. The vehicle's standard turbocharged 2.4-liter engine produces 278 horsepower and 317 foot-pounds of torque.The 2025 4Runner will be offered in nine models: SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.The new Trailhunter model features additional off-road styling and equipment including rock rails and high strength steel skid plates, while the Platinum model is geared toward more convenience and luxury features.Production of the 2025 4Runner is taking place at Toyota's Tahara plant in Japan.Correction: The 2025 Toyota 4Runner is the first new version of the vehicles in 15 years. A previous version of the article misstated how many years it had been.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""In this articleToyota Motor revealed a new 4Runner SUV for the first time in nearly 15 years — completing a recent redesign of the automaker's current trucks and SUVs."", 'Aside from its new looks, which are similar to the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickup, the 2025 4Runner will be offered with a hybrid engine for the first time as well as new ""Platinum"" and ""Trailhunter"" high-end trims.', '""This all-new 4Runner has incredible versatility and capability that nicely rounds out our truck family,"" Dave Christ, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a release. ""', ""We've sold over 3 million 4Runners over the past 40 years, and this sixth-generation model offers a cool new look and incredible features yet retains the rugged style and capability our customers love about this adventure icon."", '""Toyota\'s ""truck family"" is also known as the ""five brothers"": the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and the 4Runner, Land Cruiser and Sequoia SUVs.', ""The 4Runner is the last to be redesigned and built on Toyota's global truck platform, which debuted with the Land Cruiser and Tundra in 2021.Toyota said pricing of the 2025 4Runner will be released closer to its on-sale date."", 'Starting prices for the 2024 model range from about $41,000 to more than $55,000.While Toyota is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius, its larger ""brother"" SUVs, including the 4Runner, had much worse fuel ratings prior to being updated — at 17 mpg combined or less, according to federal ratings.', 'The current 4Runner has been on sale, with some updates, since 2010.Toyota said miles per gallon ratings for the new 4Runner will be released closer to the vehicle arriving in showrooms in the fall.', ""Toyota's other redesigned trucks and SUVs have notably improved fuel economy."", 'Jack Hollis, executive vice president of Toyota Motor North America, last month told CNBC that the company continues to balance out its truck and SUV portfolio, including potential hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models.', '""Those brothers, they all have a lot of similarities, and they have a lot of differences,"" he said. ""', 'How do we curb carbon emissions fastest with everyone, everywhere?', ""It's having the right mix between those five products."", '""The 4Runner\'s available hybrid engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with a 48-horsepower electric motor integrated into the eight-speed transmission to produce up to 326 horsepower and 465 foot-pounds of torque.', ""The vehicle's standard turbocharged 2.4-liter engine produces 278 horsepower and 317 foot-pounds of torque."", 'The 2025 4Runner will be offered in nine models: SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.', 'The new Trailhunter model features additional off-road styling and equipment including rock rails and high strength steel skid plates, while the Platinum model is geared toward more convenience and luxury features.', ""Production of the 2025 4Runner is taking place at Toyota's Tahara plant in Japan."", 'Correction: The 2025 Toyota 4Runner is the first new version of the vehicles in 15 years.', 'A previous version of the article misstated how many years it had been.']",0.1106137197191722,"We've sold over 3 million 4Runners over the past 40 years, and this sixth-generation model offers a cool new look and incredible features yet retains the rugged style and capability our customers love about this adventure icon.","The 2025 4Runner will be offered in nine models: SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.",0.3299002846082051,Toyota's other redesigned trucks and SUVs have notably improved fuel economy.,"Starting prices for the 2024 model range from about $41,000 to more than $55,000.While Toyota is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius, its larger ""brother"" SUVs, including the 4Runner, had much worse fuel ratings prior to being updated — at 17 mpg combined or less, according to federal ratings.",2024-04-10
-Fitch downgrades China’s outlook over economic worries,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/economy/china-fitch-rating-downgrade-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:43 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Fitch downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating on Tuesday, citing increasing risks to its finances as it faces economic challenges.
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-            Lowering its outlook from stable to negative does not automatically mean the ratings agency will downgrade China’s creditworthiness, but it increases the chances.
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-            Fitch has kept its rating on Chinese sovereign bonds at A+.
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-            The revision “reflects increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook as the country contends with more uncertain economic prospects amid a transition away from property-reliant growth to what the government views as a more sustainable growth model,” it said in a statement.
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-            Fitch believes the general government deficit will rise to 7.1% of gross domestic product in 2024 from 5.8% last year. This year’s deficit is expected to be the highest since 2020, when pandemic related controls began to weigh heavily on public coffers.
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-            China’s Finance Ministry has expressed “regret” over the revision.
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-            “We had a lot of in-depth communication with the Fitch Ratings team in the early stage, and the report partly reflected China’s views,” it said in a Wednesday  statement.
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-            It added that the agency’s methodology “fails to effectively and prospectively reflect the positive role of fiscal policy in promoting economic growth.”
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-            “In the long run, maintaining a moderate deficit and making good use of precious debt funds will help expand domestic demand, support economic growth, and ultimately help maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.
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-            The fiscal budget deficit ratio for 2024 is set at 3%, according to the statement, which describes it as “overall moderate” and “conducive to stable economic growth.”
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-            The ministry has targeted 5% for economic growth for this year, which it says is “in line with realistic conditions.”
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-            “The long-term positive trend of China’s economy has not changed, nor has the Chinese government’s ability and determination to maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.
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-            In December, rival ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating from stable to negative, citing risks related to “structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth” and ongoing troubles in its property sector.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Fitch downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating on Tuesday, citing increasing risks to its finances as it faces economic challenges.', 'Lowering its outlook from stable to negative does not automatically mean the ratings agency will downgrade China’s creditworthiness, but it increases the chances.', 'Fitch has kept its rating on Chinese sovereign bonds at A+.', 'The revision “reflects increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook as the country contends with more uncertain economic prospects amid a transition away from property-reliant growth to what the government views as a more sustainable growth model,” it said in a statement.', 'Fitch believes the general government deficit will rise to 7.1% of gross domestic product in 2024 from 5.8% last year.', 'This year’s deficit is expected to be the highest since 2020, when pandemic related controls began to weigh heavily on public coffers.', 'China’s Finance Ministry has expressed “regret” over the revision.', '“We had a lot of in-depth communication with the Fitch Ratings team in the early stage, and the report partly reflected China’s views,” it said in a Wednesday statement.', 'It added that the agency’s methodology “fails to effectively and prospectively reflect the positive role of fiscal policy in promoting economic growth.”', '“In the long run, maintaining a moderate deficit and making good use of precious debt funds will help expand domestic demand, support economic growth, and ultimately help maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.', 'The fiscal budget deficit ratio for 2024 is set at 3%, according to the statement, which describes it as “overall moderate” and “conducive to stable economic growth.”', 'The ministry has targeted 5% for economic growth for this year, which it says is “in line with realistic conditions.”', '“The long-term positive trend of China’s economy has not changed, nor has the Chinese government’s ability and determination to maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.', 'In December, rival ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating from stable to negative, citing risks related to “structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth” and ongoing troubles in its property sector.']",0.1522739449458446,"“In the long run, maintaining a moderate deficit and making good use of precious debt funds will help expand domestic demand, support economic growth, and ultimately help maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.","In December, rival ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating from stable to negative, citing risks related to “structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth” and ongoing troubles in its property sector.",-0.3233635127544403,"“In the long run, maintaining a moderate deficit and making good use of precious debt funds will help expand domestic demand, support economic growth, and ultimately help maintain good sovereign credit,” it said.","In December, rival ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating from stable to negative, citing risks related to “structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth” and ongoing troubles in its property sector.",2024-04-10
-India's army of gold refiners face new competition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68596195,2024-03-28T23:19:19.000Z,"Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars. He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says. Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke. It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold. It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash. Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars. Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash.  ""Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units. A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold."" According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources. But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners.  They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré. Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year. But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running. In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints. So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera. More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub. We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera. CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year. Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels.  ""The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR. It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads. So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold. This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose. In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry. In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions. BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India. Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground. According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%. The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says. And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology. They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting.  ""The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form."" ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke.', 'Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars.', 'He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.', 'Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""', 'Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says.', 'Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke.', 'It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold.', 'It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash.', 'Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars.', 'Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. ""', 'Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units.', 'A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold.""', 'According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources.', ""But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners."", 'They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.', ""Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year."", 'But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.', 'In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints.', 'So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""', 'At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera.', 'More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""', ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub."", 'We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera.', ""CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year."", 'Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels. ""', 'The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR.', 'It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""', 'Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads.', 'So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold.', 'This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose.', 'In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry.', 'In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions.', 'BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""', 'The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India.', 'Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground.', 'According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.', 'The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""', 'Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says.', 'And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology.', 'They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting. ""', 'The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""', 'Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form.""']",0.0799652359830087,"Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. """,But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.,0.5293744140201144,"They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.","According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.",2024-04-10
-"Macy's settles proxy fight with activist Arkhouse, adds two of the firm's nominees as directors",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/10/macys-settles-proxy-fight-with-activist-arkhouse-adds-two-directors.html,2024-04-10T18:59:22+0000,"In this articleMacy's on Wednesday said it settled its proxy fight with real estate investor Arkhouse, appointing two of the firm's nominees to its 15-person board.Ric Clark and Rick Markee will join Macy's board effective immediately. They'll be part of the committee that's in charge of overseeing and evaluating Arkhouse's bid to take the department store private and making recommendations to the board on its acquisition proposal. ""The appointment of Clark and Markee to the Board and the Finance Committee, which is tasked with reviewing our proposal and any alternative transactions, will ensure that our discussions continue to be constructive and that our proposal is treated seriously and expeditiously,"" Arkhouse managing partners Jonathon Blackwell and Gavriel Kahane said. ""We appreciate the Board's engagement and look forward to working with them to unlock shareholder value.""Clark has spent nearly 40 years in the real estate industry and previously served as chairman and CEO of Brookfield Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Brookfield Office Properties. Markee brings retail chops to Macy's board: He previously served as the CEO of Vitamin Shoppe and currently sits on the board of discount retailer Five Below.Macy's shares fell slightly in intraday trading Wednesday.The reshuffle comes as Arkhouse makes strides in its efforts to take the 165-year-old department store private, a deal that Macy's had previously resisted. The department store has provided the Arkhouse-led investor group with confidential business information as the two sides continue to negotiate the terms of a possible sale. ""The Board is open-minded about the best path to create shareholder value and is committed to continuing to take actions that it believes are in the best interests of the Company and all Macy's, Inc. shareholders,"" Macy's said in a statement. Arkhouse first submitted an offer to take the retailer private in 2023. The investor, which is working in concert with Brigade Management, has since increased its offer multiple times. The investment-firm-turned-activist then launched a proxy fight at the company in February, putting up a nine-director slate.The storied retailer has struggled to hold on to its market share as it faces increased competition from retailers like TJX Companies, the owner of TJ Maxx, and Target. Department stores have had to work harder to differentiate themselves and entice customers as brands move away from wholesalers and work to drive sales through their own website and stores. Macy's said in February that it would close around 150 of its roughly 500 stores, just weeks after CEO Tony Spring stepped into the top job, and has laid off thousands of workers in recent years. Macy's has attracted activist attention before. Starboard Value, a well-established investor in the space, took a position in the retailer in 2015, only to sell it off two years later after a potential acquisition fizzled.Arkhouse's bid differs from past engagements at the company. The real estate investor seeks to take the company private, remove it from the rigors of the public market and monetize its real estate assets. During a meeting with JPMorgan retail analysts, Arkhouse said it views Macy's as a ""real estate company with an Adjacent Retail Business"" because it thinks the department store's owned real estate is worth more than the current enterprise value of the company, according to a March research note. ""The key distinction stated in Arkhouse's thesis is to run the organization as a real estate operator with a focus on improving the fundamental creditworthiness of Macy's as a tenant driven by EBITDA dollar growth as a private company,"" the research note stated. ""To be clear, Arkhouse does not believe in selling Macy's real estate assets in short order, but intends to own the assets and monetize on the real estate via financing (not outright asset sales) to provide cash for shareholder returns or for business reinvestments.""In a subsequent meeting with Macy's brass, CEO Tony Spring disagreed with Arkhouse's view. ""We do not believe we are a real estate company first and that all decisions should be looked at through the prism of real estate,"" Spring said, according to a JPMorgan research note. The company believes its current turnaround plan will accelerate same-store sales growth and overtime, get the Macy's store fleet into a healthier position for long-term growth.",CNBC,10/04/2024,"[""In this articleMacy's on Wednesday said it settled its proxy fight with real estate investor Arkhouse, appointing two of the firm's nominees to its 15-person board."", ""Ric Clark and Rick Markee will join Macy's board effective immediately."", ""They'll be part of the committee that's in charge of overseeing and evaluating Arkhouse's bid to take the department store private and making recommendations to the board on its acquisition proposal."", '""The appointment of Clark and Markee to the Board and the Finance Committee, which is tasked with reviewing our proposal and any alternative transactions, will ensure that our discussions continue to be constructive and that our proposal is treated seriously and expeditiously,"" Arkhouse managing partners Jonathon Blackwell and Gavriel Kahane said. ""', ""We appreciate the Board's engagement and look forward to working with them to unlock shareholder value."", '""Clark has spent nearly 40 years in the real estate industry and previously served as chairman and CEO of Brookfield Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Brookfield Office Properties.', ""Markee brings retail chops to Macy's board: He previously served as the CEO of Vitamin Shoppe and currently sits on the board of discount retailer Five Below."", ""Macy's shares fell slightly in intraday trading Wednesday."", ""The reshuffle comes as Arkhouse makes strides in its efforts to take the 165-year-old department store private, a deal that Macy's had previously resisted."", 'The department store has provided the Arkhouse-led investor group with confidential business information as the two sides continue to negotiate the terms of a possible sale.', '""The Board is open-minded about the best path to create shareholder value and is committed to continuing to take actions that it believes are in the best interests of the Company and all Macy\'s, Inc. shareholders,"" Macy\'s said in a statement.', 'Arkhouse first submitted an offer to take the retailer private in 2023.', 'The investor, which is working in concert with Brigade Management, has since increased its offer multiple times.', 'The investment-firm-turned-activist then launched a proxy fight at the company in February, putting up a nine-director slate.', 'The storied retailer has struggled to hold on to its market share as it faces increased competition from retailers like TJX Companies, the owner of TJ Maxx, and Target.', 'Department stores have had to work harder to differentiate themselves and entice customers as brands move away from wholesalers and work to drive sales through their own website and stores.', ""Macy's said in February that it would close around 150 of its roughly 500 stores, just weeks after CEO Tony Spring stepped into the top job, and has laid off thousands of workers in recent years."", ""Macy's has attracted activist attention before."", 'Starboard Value, a well-established investor in the space, took a position in the retailer in 2015, only to sell it off two years later after a potential acquisition fizzled.', ""Arkhouse's bid differs from past engagements at the company."", 'The real estate investor seeks to take the company private, remove it from the rigors of the public market and monetize its real estate assets.', 'During a meeting with JPMorgan retail analysts, Arkhouse said it views Macy\'s as a ""real estate company with an Adjacent Retail Business"" because it thinks the department store\'s owned real estate is worth more than the current enterprise value of the company, according to a March research note.', '""The key distinction stated in Arkhouse\'s thesis is to run the organization as a real estate operator with a focus on improving the fundamental creditworthiness of Macy\'s as a tenant driven by EBITDA dollar growth as a private company,"" the research note stated.', '""To be clear, Arkhouse does not believe in selling Macy\'s real estate assets in short order, but intends to own the assets and monetize on the real estate via financing (not outright asset sales) to provide cash for shareholder returns or for business reinvestments.', '""In a subsequent meeting with Macy\'s brass, CEO Tony Spring disagreed with Arkhouse\'s view.', '""We do not believe we are a real estate company first and that all decisions should be looked at through the prism of real estate,"" Spring said, according to a JPMorgan research note.', ""The company believes its current turnaround plan will accelerate same-store sales growth and overtime, get the Macy's store fleet into a healthier position for long-term growth.""]",0.245258692028108,"""The Board is open-minded about the best path to create shareholder value and is committed to continuing to take actions that it believes are in the best interests of the Company and all Macy's, Inc. shareholders,"" Macy's said in a statement.","In this articleMacy's on Wednesday said it settled its proxy fight with real estate investor Arkhouse, appointing two of the firm's nominees to its 15-person board.",0.3982523571361195,"The company believes its current turnaround plan will accelerate same-store sales growth and overtime, get the Macy's store fleet into a healthier position for long-term growth.",Macy's shares fell slightly in intraday trading Wednesday.,2024-04-10
-Boeing orders bounce back on demand for a plane it can’t deliver yet,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/boeing-orders-deliveries/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        10:42 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.
-    
-            American placed orders for 85 of the Boeing 737 Max 10, the largest version of that troubled aircraft. It also converted previous orders for 30 of the shorter Max 8 version of the plane, which is currently flying, into additional Max 10 orders. American also has options to buy another 75 Max 10s in the future.
-    
-            The order had been announced a month ago, and it was included in the March and first quarter sales and delivery report by Boeing on Tuesday. That report showed no other orders for any version of the 737 Max. Besides American’s large Max order, Boeing also received orders for 28 of its widebody 777 jets during the month.
-    
-            But certification of the Max 10, which had been due to start flying passengers by this year, has been pushed back in the wake of the January 5 Alaska Airlines flight of a 737 Max 9, which had a door plug blow out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.
-    
-            Questions about anti-icing equipment on the Max engines would have required Boeing to get a waiver from the FAA to get the Max 10 and a smaller Max 7 model certified. But criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdrawal its request for a waiver, thus bringing the certification process to a temporary halt.
-    
-            The door plug incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane. While it has yet to drop its orders for the Max 10, Kirby has said the airline is interested in possibly buying competing planes from Boeing rival Airbus. But it would likely be a much longer wait for United to get planes from Airbus due the backlog of orders the European aircraft maker has.
-    
-            Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall. But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic. While it bounced back to report 15 orders in February, that was far below Boeing’s normal monthly volume.
-    
-            Thus, the order from American, which has its mainline fleet roughly split between Airbus and Boeing, was an important vote of confidence for the trouble aircraft maker. Orders for planes before certification are not unusual in the aerospace industry but not typically when there are questions about when the plane might be cleared to carry passengers.
-    
-            Boeing also reported it delivered only 24 of the 737 Max jets in the month, and five 787 Dreamliners. Its production of planes has been slowed by the questions about its quality controls since the Alaska Air incident as well, and the lack of deliveries has caused problems for some of its airline customers, including United Airlines, which has put a freeze on pilot hiring and asked some pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.
-    
-            Southwest Airlines also reduced hiring plans, saying it will bring on 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flight attendants than planned this year due to Boeing cutting 737 Max deliveries to the airline by about 40%.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.', 'American placed orders for 85 of the Boeing 737 Max 10, the largest version of that troubled aircraft.', 'It also converted previous orders for 30 of the shorter Max 8 version of the plane, which is currently flying, into additional Max 10 orders.', 'American also has options to buy another 75 Max 10s in the future.', 'The order had been announced a month ago, and it was included in the March and first quarter sales and delivery report by Boeing on Tuesday.', 'That report showed no other orders for any version of the 737 Max.', 'Besides American’s large Max order, Boeing also received orders for 28 of its widebody 777 jets during the month.', 'But certification of the Max 10, which had been due to start flying passengers by this year, has been pushed back in the wake of the January 5 Alaska Airlines flight of a 737 Max 9, which had a door plug blow out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.', 'Questions about anti-icing equipment on the Max engines would have required Boeing to get a waiver from the FAA to get the Max 10 and a smaller Max 7 model certified.', 'But criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdrawal its request for a waiver, thus bringing the certification process to a temporary halt.', 'The door plug incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane.', 'While it has yet to drop its orders for the Max 10, Kirby has said the airline is interested in possibly buying competing planes from Boeing rival Airbus.', 'But it would likely be a much longer wait for United to get planes from Airbus due the backlog of orders the European aircraft maker has.', 'Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall.', 'But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.', 'While it bounced back to report 15 orders in February, that was far below Boeing’s normal monthly volume.', 'Thus, the order from American, which has its mainline fleet roughly split between Airbus and Boeing, was an important vote of confidence for the trouble aircraft maker.', 'Orders for planes before certification are not unusual in the aerospace industry but not typically when there are questions about when the plane might be cleared to carry passengers.', 'Boeing also reported it delivered only 24 of the 737 Max jets in the month, and five 787 Dreamliners.', 'Its production of planes has been slowed by the questions about its quality controls since the Alaska Air incident as well, and the lack of deliveries has caused problems for some of its airline customers, including United Airlines, which has put a freeze on pilot hiring and asked some pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.', 'Southwest Airlines also reduced hiring plans, saying it will bring on 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flight attendants than planned this year due to Boeing cutting 737 Max deliveries to the airline by about 40%.']",-0.020658569030878,"Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.","But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.",-0.1791717658440272,"Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall.","But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.",2024-04-10
-"Spirit Airlines will defer Airbus orders, furlough 260 pilots in race to shore up liquidity",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/spirit-airlines-will-defer-airbus-orders-furlough-260-pilots.html,2024-04-08T21:15:00+0000,"In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031. The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall. Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday. The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday. Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand. Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing. The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes. United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots.An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group.""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week. It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.', '""Of course, these steps aren\'t ones we want to take but they\'re necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.', 'Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026.', 'It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031.', 'The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.', 'The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.', '""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.', 'Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall.', 'Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.', 'The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.', 'The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday.', 'The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday.', 'Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.', ""Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand."", 'Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.', ""United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing."", ""The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes."", ""United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots."", 'An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.', '""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots\' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.', '""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""', ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group."", '""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week.', 'It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.']",0.089810687267966,"""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.","Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.",0.0585053920745849,The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.,Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.,2024-04-10
-Alan Bates says Post Office was run by 'thugs in suits',https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769090,2024-04-09T11:48:54.000Z,"Former sub-postmaster and campaigner Alan Bates has said the Post Office was being run by ""little more than thugs in suits"" in 2010. In a strongly worded witness statement to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, he accused the Post Office of lying about the accounting system. He also said the organisation had spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him. The Post Office apologised for hurt caused by the scandal. It also said it regretted not disclosing documents to the inquiry ""as early as all parties would have liked"". Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to the faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.  Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes. Many were left financially ruined. Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice. Mr Bates has been campaigning on behalf of sub-postmasters for decades and was recently catapulted into the national spotlight by an ITV drama about the scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. On Tuesday, the public inquiry resumed and Mr Bates was the first person to provide evidence ahead of more key witnesses appearing over the next 15 weeks. In response to a letter from former postal affairs minister Sir Ed Davey in 2010, Mr Bates wrote back: ""It's not that you can't get involved or cannot investigate the matter, after all you do own 100% of the shares and normally shareholders are concerned about the morality of the business they own. ""It is because you have adopted an arm's length relationship that you have allowed a once great institution to be asset stripped by little more than thugs in suits, and you have enabled them to carry on with impunity regardless of the human misery and suffering they inflict."" Responding to Mr Bates's statement, the Liberal Democrats said: ""As Alan Bates told the inquiry, the bulk of the blame lies with officials. ""Ed was the first minister to meet with Mr Bates and hear his concerns.  ""He put those concerns to the Post Office, but their officials lied to him as they did to so many people.""  Mr Bates told reporters after the hearing had ended on Tuesday that it had been an ""an interesting day"", adding he wanted the original group of sub-postmasters to ""get their money"". He joked that once the whole process was over, he planned to ""buy a little post office and put his feet up"". In Mr Bates's witness statement, the former sub-postmaster said he had ""spent the last 23 years campaigning to expose the truth, and justice"". He also told the inquiry that before he was sacked he had repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon, including in a letter he had sent in December 2000, two months after the system had been installed in his post office branch in Craig-y-Don in Llandudno. When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986. However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data. He refused to accept that shortfalls in his accounts were his responsibility to make good, maintaining that it was the software that was faulty. When his employment was terminated in November 2003, he was ""annoyed"" with that ""to put it mildly"". But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon. The inquiry was shown slides from an undated presentation prepared by Dave Smith, a former Post Office manager, which said Mr Bates ""had discrepancies"" but was ""dismissed because he became unmanageable"". ""Clearly struggled with accounting, and despite copious support, did not follow instructions,"" the presentation said. When asked by lead counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC if it was ever explained to him that he became ""unmanageable"", he smiled and said: ""No, not at all."" He also denied having ever struggled with accounting, or being given ""copious"" support. Over more than two years he and his staff made 507 calls to the Post Office helpline, 85 of which related to Horizon. He said the helpline was not much help. ""Stating the bleeding obvious is one description I might use. It was all things that I'd tried."" In a surprise appearance on Wednesday, Post Office chief executive Nick Read was present in the inquiry room. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Read admitted financial redress for sub-postmasters had been ""slow"".  While he did not want to go into the specifics of Mr Bates's case and why his claim had not yet been settled, he said he wanted to ""demonstrate [his] support"" for sub-postmasters and for Mr Bates. A Post Office spokesperson said: ""Post Office is deeply sorry for the hurt and suffering that has been caused to victims and their loved ones, and we are committed to ensuring that they receive the justice and redress that they so deserve."" Following criticism of its document disclosure by Mr Beer, the Post Office said it had disclosed the ""vast majority"" of documents needed for the next round of hearings in a timely way. But it said it regretted that ""a very small proportion of documents were not disclosed as early as all parties would have liked"". ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Former sub-postmaster and campaigner Alan Bates has said the Post Office was being run by ""little more than thugs in suits"" in 2010.', 'In a strongly worded witness statement to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, he accused the Post Office of lying about the accounting system.', 'He also said the organisation had spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him.', 'The Post Office apologised for hurt caused by the scandal.', 'It also said it regretted not disclosing documents to the inquiry ""as early as all parties would have liked"".', 'Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to the faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.', 'Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes.', 'Many were left financially ruined.', 'Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice.', 'Mr Bates has been campaigning on behalf of sub-postmasters for decades and was recently catapulted into the national spotlight by an ITV drama about the scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.', 'On Tuesday, the public inquiry resumed and Mr Bates was the first person to provide evidence ahead of more key witnesses appearing over the next 15 weeks.', 'In response to a letter from former postal affairs minister Sir Ed Davey in 2010, Mr Bates wrote back: ""It\'s not that you can\'t get involved or cannot investigate the matter, after all you do own 100% of the shares and normally shareholders are concerned about the morality of the business they own. ""', 'It is because you have adopted an arm\'s length relationship that you have allowed a once great institution to be asset stripped by little more than thugs in suits, and you have enabled them to carry on with impunity regardless of the human misery and suffering they inflict.""', 'Responding to Mr Bates\'s statement, the Liberal Democrats said: ""As Alan Bates told the inquiry, the bulk of the blame lies with officials. ""', 'Ed was the first minister to meet with Mr Bates and hear his concerns. ""', 'He put those concerns to the Post Office, but their officials lied to him as they did to so many people.""', 'Mr Bates told reporters after the hearing had ended on Tuesday that it had been an ""an interesting day"", adding he wanted the original group of sub-postmasters to ""get their money"".', 'He joked that once the whole process was over, he planned to ""buy a little post office and put his feet up"".', 'In Mr Bates\'s witness statement, the former sub-postmaster said he had ""spent the last 23 years campaigning to expose the truth, and justice"".', 'He also told the inquiry that before he was sacked he had repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon, including in a letter he had sent in December 2000, two months after the system had been installed in his post office branch in Craig-y-Don in Llandudno.', 'When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986.', 'However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.', 'He refused to accept that shortfalls in his accounts were his responsibility to make good, maintaining that it was the software that was faulty.', 'When his employment was terminated in November 2003, he was ""annoyed"" with that ""to put it mildly"".', 'But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon.', 'The inquiry was shown slides from an undated presentation prepared by Dave Smith, a former Post Office manager, which said Mr Bates ""had discrepancies"" but was ""dismissed because he became unmanageable"". ""', 'Clearly struggled with accounting, and despite copious support, did not follow instructions,"" the presentation said.', 'When asked by lead counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC if it was ever explained to him that he became ""unmanageable"", he smiled and said: ""No, not at all.""', 'He also denied having ever struggled with accounting, or being given ""copious"" support.', 'Over more than two years he and his staff made 507 calls to the Post Office helpline, 85 of which related to Horizon.', 'He said the helpline was not much help. ""', 'Stating the bleeding obvious is one description I might use.', 'It was all things that I\'d tried.""', 'In a surprise appearance on Wednesday, Post Office chief executive Nick Read was present in the inquiry room.', 'Speaking to the BBC, Mr Read admitted financial redress for sub-postmasters had been ""slow"".', 'While he did not want to go into the specifics of Mr Bates\'s case and why his claim had not yet been settled, he said he wanted to ""demonstrate [his] support"" for sub-postmasters and for Mr Bates.', 'A Post Office spokesperson said: ""Post Office is deeply sorry for the hurt and suffering that has been caused to victims and their loved ones, and we are committed to ensuring that they receive the justice and redress that they so deserve.""', 'Following criticism of its document disclosure by Mr Beer, the Post Office said it had disclosed the ""vast majority"" of documents needed for the next round of hearings in a timely way.', 'But it said it regretted that ""a very small proportion of documents were not disclosed as early as all parties would have liked"".']",-0.0494374138414349,"But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon.","However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.",-0.3753935032420688,"When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986.","However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.",2024-04-10
-"Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells accused of false statement, inquiry hears",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68779080,2024-04-10T13:22:53.000Z,"Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has been accused of previously making a ""false statement"" about the outcomes of sub-postmasters' court cases. The inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal heard Ms Vennells wrote to a government minister in 2012: ""In every instance, the court has found in our favour."" Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC said: ""It's just not true."" Ms Vennells has been asked to comment and previously said she was co-operating with the inquiry. She is due to give evidence to the inquiry in May. On Wednesday, the inquiry was taking evidence from Lord Arbuthnot, a long-time campaigner for the sub-postmasters. He first got involved with their cases in 2009, when he met former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton at a constituency coffee morning. Since then, he has continued to speak out on behalf of victims and sits on the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, which advises the government financial redress for those affected.  The inquiry heard that in a 2012 letter to MP Oliver Letwin, Ms Vennells wrote: ""In some cases, which are fortunately very few and far between, we have had to prosecute sub-postmasters for theft or false accounting and provide evidence which substantiates our legal position. ""In every instance, the court has found in our favour."" Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC said: ""Now, that's a false statement there, that in every instance the courts have found in our favour. It's just not true."" He asked Lord Arbuthnot if he would have known at the time that it may have been a false statement, to which he replied: ""No, I wouldn't."" Lord Arbuthnot added that he would have accepted the statement at face value and would have expected public officials such as Ms Vennells would tell the truth. Mr Beer also asked Lord Arbuthnot whether Post Office officials had disclosed a long list of cases which found bugs within the IT system, and listed a number of specific cases in which postmasters had been acquitted. Lord Arbuthnot answered: ""No."" In an earlier statement to the press, Ms Vennells said: ""I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further while it remains ongoing."" Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.  Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes. Many were left financially ruined. Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice. Sir Anthony Hooper, who was chairman of the Post Office's mediation scheme, told the inquiry on Wednesday that the wrongful prosecutions were ""the greatest scandal that I have ever seen in the criminal justice process"". ""We've had many miscarriages of justice but nowhere as many as these,"" he said. Earlier, Lord Arbuthnot, a former Conservative MP, said he had received the ""brush off"" from Ms Vennells in a letter she wrote to him defending the Horizon IT system.  The inquiry was told how in December 2011, Lord Arbuthnot wrote to the Post Office and the government saying the situation with the Horizon IT system had not been rectified and needed further investigation. He received a response the following month from Ms Vennells in which she said there was ""no evidence to support any of the allegations [from former sub-postmasters]"" ""We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the system, which we remain confident is robust and fit for purpose,"" the letter from Ms Vennells said. In his witness statement, Lord Arbuthnot said: ""At this stage I did not know the truth of the matter but it was clear that a detailed investigation was needed."" He said the sub-postmasters he had met ""seemed to me to be transparently honest"". ""I was therefore not satisfied with the brush off I was getting by way of reply to my letters,"" he added. In another letter seen by the inquiry on Wednesday, Ms Vennells denied there were any problems with Horizon, saying it had been ""rigorously tested"". She wrote: ""The Post Office takes very seriously any perception that there is an issue with the accuracy of the Horizon system: there isn't. ""The Horizon system has been rigorously tested using independent assessors and robust procedures.""   The inquiry was shown minutes from a May 2012 meeting with MPs, including Lord Arbuthnot.  The notes read: ""It appears that some subpostmasters have been borrowing money from the Post Office account/till in the same way they might do in a retail business, but this is not how the Post Office works. Post Office cash is public money and the Post Office must recover it if any goes missing."" Mr Beer asked Lord Arbuthnot whether he agreed that a ""fair"" summary of this meeting was that ""the problem is that a small number of postmasters borrow money from the till. The problem is not Horizon. Every prosecution involving Horizon has found in favour of the Post Office"". Lord Arbuthnot replied: ""Yes."" ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has been accused of previously making a ""false statement"" about the outcomes of sub-postmasters\' court cases.', 'The inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal heard Ms Vennells wrote to a government minister in 2012: ""In every instance, the court has found in our favour.""', 'Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC said: ""It\'s just not true.""', 'Ms Vennells has been asked to comment and previously said she was co-operating with the inquiry.', 'She is due to give evidence to the inquiry in May.', 'On Wednesday, the inquiry was taking evidence from Lord Arbuthnot, a long-time campaigner for the sub-postmasters.', 'He first got involved with their cases in 2009, when he met former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton at a constituency coffee morning.', 'Since then, he has continued to speak out on behalf of victims and sits on the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, which advises the government financial redress for those affected.', 'The inquiry heard that in a 2012 letter to MP Oliver Letwin, Ms Vennells wrote: ""In some cases, which are fortunately very few and far between, we have had to prosecute sub-postmasters for theft or false accounting and provide evidence which substantiates our legal position. ""', 'In every instance, the court has found in our favour.""', 'Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC said: ""Now, that\'s a false statement there, that in every instance the courts have found in our favour.', 'It\'s just not true.""', 'He asked Lord Arbuthnot if he would have known at the time that it may have been a false statement, to which he replied: ""No, I wouldn\'t.""', 'Lord Arbuthnot added that he would have accepted the statement at face value and would have expected public officials such as Ms Vennells would tell the truth.', 'Mr Beer also asked Lord Arbuthnot whether Post Office officials had disclosed a long list of cases which found bugs within the IT system, and listed a number of specific cases in which postmasters had been acquitted.', 'Lord Arbuthnot answered: ""No.""', 'In an earlier statement to the press, Ms Vennells said: ""I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further while it remains ongoing.""', 'Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.', 'Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes.', 'Many were left financially ruined.', 'Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice.', 'Sir Anthony Hooper, who was chairman of the Post Office\'s mediation scheme, told the inquiry on Wednesday that the wrongful prosecutions were ""the greatest scandal that I have ever seen in the criminal justice process"". ""', 'We\'ve had many miscarriages of justice but nowhere as many as these,"" he said.', 'Earlier, Lord Arbuthnot, a former Conservative MP, said he had received the ""brush off"" from Ms Vennells in a letter she wrote to him defending the Horizon IT system.', 'The inquiry was told how in December 2011, Lord Arbuthnot wrote to the Post Office and the government saying the situation with the Horizon IT system had not been rectified and needed further investigation.', 'He received a response the following month from Ms Vennells in which she said there was ""no evidence to support any of the allegations [from former sub-postmasters]"" ""We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the system, which we remain confident is robust and fit for purpose,"" the letter from Ms Vennells said.', 'In his witness statement, Lord Arbuthnot said: ""At this stage I did not know the truth of the matter but it was clear that a detailed investigation was needed.""', 'He said the sub-postmasters he had met ""seemed to me to be transparently honest"". ""', 'I was therefore not satisfied with the brush off I was getting by way of reply to my letters,"" he added.', 'In another letter seen by the inquiry on Wednesday, Ms Vennells denied there were any problems with Horizon, saying it had been ""rigorously tested"".', 'She wrote: ""The Post Office takes very seriously any perception that there is an issue with the accuracy of the Horizon system: there isn\'t. ""', 'The Horizon system has been rigorously tested using independent assessors and robust procedures.""', 'The inquiry was shown minutes from a May 2012 meeting with MPs, including Lord Arbuthnot.', 'The notes read: ""It appears that some subpostmasters have been borrowing money from the Post Office account/till in the same way they might do in a retail business, but this is not how the Post Office works.', 'Post Office cash is public money and the Post Office must recover it if any goes missing.""', 'Mr Beer asked Lord Arbuthnot whether he agreed that a ""fair"" summary of this meeting was that ""the problem is that a small number of postmasters borrow money from the till.', 'The problem is not Horizon.', 'Every prosecution involving Horizon has found in favour of the Post Office"".', 'Lord Arbuthnot replied: ""Yes.""']",-0.0212114297826114,"He received a response the following month from Ms Vennells in which she said there was ""no evidence to support any of the allegations [from former sub-postmasters]"" ""We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the system, which we remain confident is robust and fit for purpose,"" the letter from Ms Vennells said.","Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.",-0.9359880536794662,,"Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes.",2024-04-10
-The NCAA women’s basketball final outrated the men’s for the first time ever,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/media/ncaa-womens-tournament-outrated-mens-for-first-time/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:14 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","For the first time in its 42-year history, more people watched the women’s NCAA basketball final than the men’s.
-    
-            The total number of viewers for Sunday’s women’s national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa was 18.9 million, peaking at 24.1 million in the game’s final 15 minutes, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever and doubled the previous year’s 9.9 million viewers.
-    
-            On Monday, the University of Connecticut’s victory over Purdue in the men’s final drew 14.8 million viewers, Nielsen said. That was up a smidge from the 14.7 million who watched last year’s men’s championship game, but fell 4 million viewers short of the women’s final.
-    
-            The biggest reason why the women outrated the men this year: Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark, who scored 30 points in the Hawkeyes’ 87-75 defeat by the undefeated Gamecocks.
-    
-            Clark captivated fans all year, setting records on the court and driving the women’s game to viewership records throughout the regular season and the March Madness tournament. Clark finished the 2023-2024 season as the highest scoring collegiate basketball player in history, outpacing Louisiana State sensation (and future NBA legend and Hall of Famer) Pete Maravich, who had set the previous record in 1970.
-    
-            Clark had been playing with a chip on her shoulder all season after her Hawkeyes lost in the finals the previous year to LSU — a team she and Iowa vanquished earlier in the tournament. She is widely expected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft next week.
-    
-            To put the women’s championship game viewership in perspective, it outrated every 2023 World Series game and every NBA finals game from last year, according to Nielsen.
-    
-            The success of this year’s tournament led to many hot takes in sports media about women’s sports finally reaching equal status with men’s. But Clark’s exit from the college game and likely rookie season on the dreadful Indiana Fever — which has the first pick in the WNBA draft — will put those theories to the test later this year.
-    
-            The WNBA remains financially miniscule, bringing in a reported $200 million in revenue — compared to the NBA’s more than $10 billion. ESPN’s SportsCenter provided 91 seconds of coverage for the average WNBA game, compared to 266 seconds for the average NBA game, according to Nielsen. The WNBA Finals last year averaged just 728,000 viewers a game.
-    
-            Still, the league is growing, and a celebrity with nationwide name recognition and star power could work to change the WNBA’s fortunes. So far, even before Clark has been drafted, the buzz is boosting ticket sales.
-    
-            Ticket reseller TickPick said WNBA ticket sales for next season are up 222% from this point last year, and Fever tickets have already outpaced last year’s total by 86%. And Fever home games are setting back fans $81 a ticket — up from just $45 for last season.
-    
-            Away games won’t get you any help — an opportunity to watch Caitlin Clark play in a rival city costs $108 on average, TickPick said, up 151% from last year’s $43 average ticket price to watch the Fever play an away game.
-    
-            Oh, yeah, and in the men’s college basketball final Monday, the Huskies won their second-straight championship, beating the Boilermakers, who were in their first final since 1969. Whatever.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['For the first time in its 42-year history, more people watched the women’s NCAA basketball final than the men’s.', 'The total number of viewers for Sunday’s women’s national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa was 18.9 million, peaking at 24.1 million in the game’s final 15 minutes, according to Nielsen.', 'It was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever and doubled the previous year’s 9.9 million viewers.', 'On Monday, the University of Connecticut’s victory over Purdue in the men’s final drew 14.8 million viewers, Nielsen said.', 'That was up a smidge from the 14.7 million who watched last year’s men’s championship game, but fell 4 million viewers short of the women’s final.', 'The biggest reason why the women outrated the men this year: Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark, who scored 30 points in the Hawkeyes’ 87-75 defeat by the undefeated Gamecocks.', 'Clark captivated fans all year, setting records on the court and driving the women’s game to viewership records throughout the regular season and the March Madness tournament.', 'Clark finished the 2023-2024 season as the highest scoring collegiate basketball player in history, outpacing Louisiana State sensation (and future NBA legend and Hall of Famer) Pete Maravich, who had set the previous record in 1970.', 'Clark had been playing with a chip on her shoulder all season after her Hawkeyes lost in the finals the previous year to LSU — a team she and Iowa vanquished earlier in the tournament.', 'She is widely expected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft next week.', 'To put the women’s championship game viewership in perspective, it outrated every 2023 World Series game and every NBA finals game from last year, according to Nielsen.', 'The success of this year’s tournament led to many hot takes in sports media about women’s sports finally reaching equal status with men’s.', 'But Clark’s exit from the college game and likely rookie season on the dreadful Indiana Fever — which has the first pick in the WNBA draft — will put those theories to the test later this year.', 'The WNBA remains financially miniscule, bringing in areported$200 million in revenue — compared to the NBA’s more than $10 billion.', 'ESPN’s SportsCenter provided 91 seconds of coverage for the average WNBA game, compared to 266 seconds for the average NBA game, according to Nielsen.', 'The WNBA Finals last year averaged just 728,000 viewers a game.', 'Still, the league is growing, and a celebrity with nationwide name recognition and star power could work to change the WNBA’s fortunes.', 'So far, even before Clark has been drafted, the buzz is boosting ticket sales.', 'Ticket reseller TickPick said WNBA ticket sales for next season are up 222% from this point last year, and Fever tickets have already outpaced last year’s total by 86%.', 'And Fever home games are setting back fans $81 a ticket — up from just $45 for last season.', 'Away games won’t get you any help — an opportunity to watch Caitlin Clark play in a rival city costs $108 on average, TickPick said, up 151% from last year’s $43 average ticket price to watch the Fever play an away game.', 'Oh, yeah, and in the men’s college basketball final Monday, the Huskies won their second-straight championship, beating the Boilermakers, who were in their first final since 1969.', 'Whatever.']",0.1104765147784542,"Away games won’t get you any help — an opportunity to watch Caitlin Clark play in a rival city costs $108 on average, TickPick said, up 151% from last year’s $43 average ticket price to watch the Fever play an away game.",But Clark’s exit from the college game and likely rookie season on the dreadful Indiana Fever — which has the first pick in the WNBA draft — will put those theories to the test later this year.,0.8351023842891058,"Ticket reseller TickPick said WNBA ticket sales for next season are up 222% from this point last year, and Fever tickets have already outpaced last year’s total by 86%.","The WNBA remains financially miniscule, bringing in areported$200 million in revenue — compared to the NBA’s more than $10 billion.",2024-04-10
-Digital humans: the relatable face of artificial intelligence?,https://edition.cnn.com/business/digital-humans-ai-dj-dex-spc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        5:33 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
-    ","Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.
-    
-            However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.
-    
-            For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans. She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture. Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.
-    
-            “She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “You can ask her anything. She is a genius about music.”
-    
-            Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.
-    
-            For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications. The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.
-    
-            According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “It becomes natural.”
-    
-            Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.
-    
-            Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook. In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude. As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.
-    
-            US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.
-    
-            Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech. However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market. 
-    
-            “When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?” asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”
-    
-            Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.
-    
-            “Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”",CNN,19/03/2024,"['Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.', 'However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.', 'For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans.', 'She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture.', 'Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.', '“She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “', 'You can ask her anything.', 'She is a genius about music.”', 'Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.', 'For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications.', 'The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “', 'Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.', 'According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “', 'What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “', 'It becomes natural.”', 'Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.', 'Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook.', 'In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude.', 'As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.', 'US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.', 'Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech.', 'However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.', '“When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?”', 'asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “', 'In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “', 'However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”', 'Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “', 'Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.', '“Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “', 'We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”']",0.1214444180579973,"Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.","However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”",0.2107271328568458,"Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “","However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.",2024-04-10
-Tesco says price pressures easing as profits soar,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68776913,2024-04-10T06:24:56.000Z,"Tesco has said price pressures on grocers have eased as it reported bumper sales and profits for the past year. The UK's biggest supermarket chain said pre-tax profits hit £2.3bn, up from £882m, while sales rose by 4.4% to £68.2bn in the year to 24 February. The company said price inflation in groceries had ""lessened substantially"". However, its boss Ken Murphy said the firm was conscious ""things were still difficult for many customers"". Tesco had ""worked hard"" to cut prices, he said, and ""doubled down"" on schemes aimed at offering shoppers better value for money, such as its Aldi Price Match offer and Clubcard promotions. More than 4,000 products were cheaper at the end of the year than at the start, with an average price cut of about 12%, the firm said.  Mr Murphy said he expected food inflation - which measures the rate at which food prices rise over time - to stabilise in the ""low single digits for the rest of the year"". However, he said that the cost increases seen across select items like cocoa, potatoes and coffee might prove ""sticky"". The chain also came in for criticism from the Unite union. General secretary Sharon Graham said Tesco was ""raking in mountains of cash while families struggle to put food on the table because of sky high prices"". Tesco has more than 330,000 employees and a 27.3% share of the grocery market, which Mr Murphy said was growing as customers ""respond to the improvements we've made to the value and quality of our products"".  He told reporters on Wednesday that shoppers were also sticking to habits they had taken on over the last two years as the cost of living soared. ""I do think there is a little bit more now of a habit of eating in and entertaining in and then treating yourself,"" he said. Like-for-like food sales, which strip out the effect of new shops opening, were up by 7.7% in the UK, with consumers opting for premium ranges like Tesco Finest and meat-free ready meals to treat themselves at home. While home and clothing sales were flat as the retailer stopped offering big-ticket electrical items, it said that womenswear had held up well. Global retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Charles Allen told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the company had done a ""lot of work"" to keep up with its rivals such as German discounters Aldi and Lidl. He said that the results were ""broadly in line"" with expectations, though ""just a shade weaker than anticipated"". He said things would not get any easier for the retailer during the coming year as increasing staff bills would take effect just as inflation was slowing down. This meant ""you haven't got the same sales boost"" from higher prices, he said, adding that the company would need to focus on selling a higher number of items. Asked what Tesco was doing to hang on to new customers, Mr Allen said ""mostly it's been very price competitive"". It had also ""worked away at its costs"". For example, he said they were taking specialist counters out of the shops, which cut costs and enables it to be ""attractive to a wider group of consumers"". In the year ahead, the supermarket was still, however, continuing on its cost-cutting drive, aiming for £500m in savings in the year ahead. It also confirmed that it would have to spend in the ""mid to high single digit"" millions on changing its Clubcard price signs in shops after losing a long legal battle with rival Lidl over the logos. Like many other retailers, it will also face a higher wage bill as a higher minimum wage has come in and it joined other retailers in increasing pay overall in a bid to retain staff. Read more tips here ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['Tesco has said price pressures on grocers have eased as it reported bumper sales and profits for the past year.', ""The UK's biggest supermarket chain said pre-tax profits hit £2.3bn, up from £882m, while sales rose by 4.4% to £68.2bn in the year to 24 February."", 'The company said price inflation in groceries had ""lessened substantially"".', 'However, its boss Ken Murphy said the firm was conscious ""things were still difficult for many customers"".', 'Tesco had ""worked hard"" to cut prices, he said, and ""doubled down"" on schemes aimed at offering shoppers better value for money, such as its Aldi Price Match offer and Clubcard promotions.', 'More than 4,000 products were cheaper at the end of the year than at the start, with an average price cut of about 12%, the firm said.', 'Mr Murphy said he expected food inflation - which measures the rate at which food prices rise over time - to stabilise in the ""low single digits for the rest of the year"".', 'However, he said that the cost increases seen across select items like cocoa, potatoes and coffee might prove ""sticky"".', 'The chain also came in for criticism from the Unite union.', 'General secretary Sharon Graham said Tesco was ""raking in mountains of cash while families struggle to put food on the table because of sky high prices"".', 'Tesco has more than 330,000 employees and a 27.3% share of the grocery market, which Mr Murphy said was growing as customers ""respond to the improvements we\'ve made to the value and quality of our products"".', 'He told reporters on Wednesday that shoppers were also sticking to habits they had taken on over the last two years as the cost of living soared. ""', 'I do think there is a little bit more now of a habit of eating in and entertaining in and then treating yourself,"" he said.', 'Like-for-like food sales, which strip out the effect of new shops opening, were up by 7.7% in the UK, with consumers opting for premium ranges like Tesco Finest and meat-free ready meals to treat themselves at home.', 'While home and clothing sales were flat as the retailer stopped offering big-ticket electrical items, it said that womenswear had held up well.', 'Global retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Charles Allen told BBC Radio 4\'s Today programme that the company had done a ""lot of work"" to keep up with its rivals such as German discounters Aldi and Lidl.', 'He said that the results were ""broadly in line"" with expectations, though ""just a shade weaker than anticipated"".', 'He said things would not get any easier for the retailer during the coming year as increasing staff bills would take effect just as inflation was slowing down.', 'This meant ""you haven\'t got the same sales boost"" from higher prices, he said, adding that the company would need to focus on selling a higher number of items.', 'Asked what Tesco was doing to hang on to new customers, Mr Allen said ""mostly it\'s been very price competitive"".', 'It had also ""worked away at its costs"".', 'For example, he said they were taking specialist counters out of the shops, which cut costs and enables it to be ""attractive to a wider group of consumers"".', 'In the year ahead, the supermarket was still, however, continuing on its cost-cutting drive, aiming for £500m in savings in the year ahead.', 'It also confirmed that it would have to spend in the ""mid to high single digit"" millions on changing its Clubcard price signs in shops after losing a long legal battle with rival Lidl over the logos.', 'Like many other retailers, it will also face a higher wage bill as a higher minimum wage has come in and it joined other retailers in increasing pay overall in a bid to retain staff.', 'Read more tips here']",0.0906959583167569,"Like-for-like food sales, which strip out the effect of new shops opening, were up by 7.7% in the UK, with consumers opting for premium ranges like Tesco Finest and meat-free ready meals to treat themselves at home.","It also confirmed that it would have to spend in the ""mid to high single digit"" millions on changing its Clubcard price signs in shops after losing a long legal battle with rival Lidl over the logos.",0.6354675184596669,"Like-for-like food sales, which strip out the effect of new shops opening, were up by 7.7% in the UK, with consumers opting for premium ranges like Tesco Finest and meat-free ready meals to treat themselves at home.","However, he said that the cost increases seen across select items like cocoa, potatoes and coffee might prove ""sticky"".",2024-04-10
-Nigeria Binance dispute: Cryptocurrency official denies money laundering,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68762553,2024-04-08T17:07:59.000Z,"An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court. US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national. Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil. Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown. On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja. The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians. Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location. In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""  A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"". They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""  The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m). In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country. Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn). The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.   The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria. Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism. As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"". Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"". As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol's red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"". ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.', 'US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national.', ""Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil."", 'Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown.', ""On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)."", 'After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja.', 'The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians.', 'Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location.', 'In a statement released after Monday\'s hearing, Mr Gambaryan\'s wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""', 'A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"".', 'They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""', 'The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m).', ""In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country."", 'Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn).', 'The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.', 'The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.', ""Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism."", 'As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).', 'After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"".', 'Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"".', 'As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol\'s red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"".']",-0.3249722933220262,"The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.","In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""",-0.7206885317961375,An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.,"The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.",2024-04-10
-Top soccer clubs are using an AI-powered app to scout future stars,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/tech/aiscout-app-soccer-scouting-spc-intl/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:14 AM EST, Fri March 1, 2024
-    ","A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.
-    
-            Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills. It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.
-    
-            Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.
-    
-            The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.
-    
-            “We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.
-    
-            “To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”
-    
-            It already appears to be working for some. Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019. After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club. He signed a contract with EPL team Bournemouth in 2021.
-    
-            Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.
-    
-            Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.
-    
-            Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform. Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.
-    
-            The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, including AI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes. The global market for sports analytics, valued at $2.7 billion in 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.
-    
-            Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry? For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.
-    
-            “It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.
-    
-            “We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity? What happens when he’s 2-0 down? What happens when someone’s shouting at him? What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”
-    
-            “We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”
-    
-            While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years. Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.
-    
-            “You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.",CNN,01/03/2024,"['A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.', 'Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills.', 'It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.', 'Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.', 'The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.', 'The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.', '“We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.', '“To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”', 'It already appears to be working for some.', 'Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019.', 'After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club.', 'He signed a contractwith EPL team Bournemouthin 2021.', 'Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.', 'Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.', 'Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform.', 'Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.', 'The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, includingAI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes.', 'The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.', 'Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?', 'For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.', '“It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.', '“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?', 'What happens when he’s 2-0 down?', 'What happens when someone’s shouting at him?', 'What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”', '“We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”', 'While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years.', 'Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.', '“You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.']",0.2022322827681825,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.","“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?",0.6922526359558105,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.",Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?,2024-04-10
-"Consumer Reports says Lunchables ‘should not be allowed on menu’ for schools, petitions USDA for removal",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/lunchables-for-school-high-sodium-consumer-reports-wellness/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        9:42 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","The school cafeteria versions of popular kids’ grocery store snack kit Lunchables is packed with too much sodium, a consumer watchdog group warned on Tuesday.
-    
-            Lunchables developed two new versions of the snack kit specifically to be available nationally as part of school lunch programs for the first time last year. But a new report from Consumer Reports said it recently compared the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits served in schools and found they have even higher levels of sodium than the Lunchables kits consumers can buy in stores.
-    
-            Consumer Reports said sodium levels in the store-bought lunch and snack kits it tested ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, or “nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium.” The group found that sodium levels in the turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained 930 mg of sodium compared to 740 mg in the store-bought version.
-    
-            Consumer Reports said it tested 12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit. The testing also surfaced high levels of sodium in the other lunch kits.
-    
-            Cadmium has been linked to kidney and bone disease and cancer, according to the World Health Organization.  As natural elements, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are in the soil in which crops are grown and thus can’t be avoided. Some crop fields and regions, however, contain more toxic levels than others, partly due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.
-    
-            There is no safe level of lead for children, however, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-    
-            Lead bio-accumulates in the body, which means it stays and builds up over time, so ongoing exposure, even at extremely low levels, can become toxic. Children, especially infants, are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead can have a larger health effect on them compared with adults.
-    
-            Consumer Reports’ tests also detected at least one type of phthalate or phthalate replacement chemical in every kit it tested, except for Lunchables Extra Cheesy Pizza, it said. Lead and cadmium can cause developmental problems in children over time, even in small amounts.
-    
-            Called “everywhere chemicals” because they are so common, studies have linked phthalates to childhood obesity, asthma, cardiovascular issues, cancer and reproductive problems such as genital malformations and undescended testes in baby boys and low sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult males.
-    
-            The non-profit consumer group said it has petitioned the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federally assisted school meal program, to remove Lunchables food kits from school cafeterias, as a result.
-    
-            “Lunchables are not a healthy option for kids and shouldn’t be allowed on the menu as part of the National School Lunch Program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “The Lunchables and similar lunch kits we tested contain concerning levels of sodium and harmful chemicals that can lead to serious health problems over time. The USDA should remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program and ensure that kids in schools have healthier options.”
-    
-            Lunchables, made by Kraft Heinz, took its packaged ready-to-eat kids meals directly into K-12 school lunchrooms nationwide through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the first time last year. The NSLP, established in 1946, provides lunch daily to nearly 30 million students in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions.
-    
-            But the company first had to re-formulate the ingredients to ensure the products met federal guidelines.
-    
-            The rollout included two specially-created Lunchables options for schools (separate from Lunchables sold in grocery stores) – labeled “turkey and cheddar” and “extra cheesy pizza.” Kraft Heinz told CNN that the turkey and cheese option contains 6 grams of saturated fat and 930 milligrams of sodium while the extra cheesy variety contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 700 milligrams of sodium.
-    
-            Kraft Heinz said both options were made using “a specialized recipe that incorporates more protein and whole grains to keep kids powered throughout the day, reduced saturated fat and sodium, and an increased serving size.”
-    
-            The Lunchables pizza variety for schools (with 700 mg of sodium) compared to 510 mg in the store version. Eating foods with too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension, Consumer Reports said.
-    
-            The introduction of Lunchables in schools came amid proposed changes to school food guidelines by the USDA, which oversees the federally assisted school meal program. The proposed changes aimed to reduce added sugars and sodium levels in school-provided lunches. The standards would reduce sodium limits gradually over several school years.
-    
-            The USDA in a statement to CNN late Tuesday said the agency “takes very seriously our responsibility to ensure school meals are of the highest nutritional quality.”
-    
-            At the same time, it said the USDA doesn’t allow or disallow individual food items. “Our requirements address the overall content of meals – some of them on a daily basis and others on a weekly basis. So, the Lunchables described in the article would need to be paired with fruit, vegetables and milk. In addition, a school who wanted to serve a higher sodium product one day has to balance that with lower sodium items on others.”
-    
-            Kraft Heinz told CNN in a statement Tuesday the company has taken steps to improve the nutrition profile of Lunchables. The effort, it said, includes launching Lunchables with fresh fruit, in partnership with Fresh Del Monte, and “reducing the sodium in all Lunchables crackers by 26%.”
-    
-            “All our foods meet strict safety standards that we happily feed to our own families. We are proud of Lunchables and stand by the quality and integrity that goes into making them,” the company said.
-    
-            Consumer Reports also pointed to concerning additives included in many of the Lunchable products. Additives are ingredients added by manufacturers to stimulate appetite and extend shelf life.
-    
-            The presence of additives is a key indicator of whether a food is ultraprocessed, said Carlos Monteiro, emeritus professor at the school of public health at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2009 Monteiro created NOVA, a system of classifying food into categories from minimally processed to ultraprocessed.
-    
-            “In terms of food processing, additives are essential to creating ultraprocessed foods,” Monteiro said. “Additives in ultraprocessed foods are those that use color, texture, flavor, and everything people like. So these products are made appealing not with real food, but with additives,” he said.
-    
-            Such additives include preservatives to resist mold and bacteria; emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating; artificial colorings and dyes; de-foaming, bulking and bleaching agents; and added or altered sugar, salt and fats intended to boost flavor to a “bliss point” that is hard to resist.
-    
-            Food additives are considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, but not everyone agrees. Watchdog groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provide lists of concerning chemicals found in food, as well as added sugars, salt and fats. A growing number of grocery stores and a few restaurants have also taken steps to ban worrisome chemicals from foods they sell.
-    
-            According to ingredients listed on the Kraft-Heinz “Away from Home” website, CNN found the turkey and cheese Lunchables contains tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based chemical found in pesticides. Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA. 
-    
-            The Lunchables also contains the pesticide sodium diacetate, which adds sourness and fights fungus and bacteria, carrageenan, which has been shown to create inflammation and digestive issues in animals, and sodium nitrate, a preservative used in cured deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and sausage that has been linked to cancer and other diseases.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['The school cafeteria versions of popular kids’ grocery store snack kit Lunchables is packed with too much sodium, a consumer watchdog group warned on Tuesday.', 'Lunchables developed two new versions of the snack kit specifically to be available nationally as part of school lunch programs for the first time last year.', 'But a new report from Consumer Reports said it recently compared the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits served in schools and found they have even higher levels of sodium than the Lunchables kits consumers can buy in stores.', 'Consumer Reports said sodium levels in the store-bought lunch and snack kits it tested ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, or “nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium.”', 'The group found that sodium levels in the turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained 930 mg of sodium compared to 740 mg in the store-bought version.', 'Consumer Reports said it tested12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit.', 'The testing also surfaced high levels of sodium in the other lunch kits.', 'Cadmium has been linked to kidney and bone disease and cancer,according to the World Health Organization.', 'As natural elements, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are in the soil in which crops are grown and thus can’t be avoided.', 'Some crop fields and regions, however, contain moretoxic levels than others, partly due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.', 'There isno safe level of leadfor children, however, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.', 'Lead bio-accumulates in the body, which means it stays and builds up over time, so ongoing exposure, even at extremely low levels, can become toxic.', 'Children, especially infants, are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead can have a larger health effect on them compared with adults.', 'Consumer Reports’ tests also detected at least one type of phthalate or phthalate replacement chemical in every kit it tested, except for Lunchables Extra Cheesy Pizza, it said.', 'Lead and cadmium can cause developmental problems in children over time, even in small amounts.', 'Called“everywhere chemicals” because they are so common, studies have linked phthalates tochildhood obesity,asthma,cardiovascular issues,cancerandreproductive problemssuch asgenital malformationsandundescended testesin baby boys andlow sperm countsandtestosterone levelsin adult males.', 'The non-profit consumer group said it has petitioned the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees thefederally assisted school meal program, to remove Lunchables food kits from school cafeterias, as a result.', '“Lunchables are not a healthy option for kids and shouldn’t be allowed on the menu as part of the National School Lunch Program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “', 'The Lunchables and similar lunch kits we tested contain concerning levels of sodium and harmful chemicals that can lead to serious health problems over time.', 'The USDA should remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program and ensure that kids in schools have healthier options.”', 'Lunchables, made by Kraft Heinz, took its packaged ready-to-eat kids meals directly into K-12 school lunchrooms nationwide through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the first time last year.', 'The NSLP, established in 1946, provides lunch daily to nearly 30 million students in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions.', 'But the company first had to re-formulate the ingredients to ensure the products met federal guidelines.', 'The rollout included two specially-created Lunchables options for schools (separate from Lunchables sold in grocery stores) – labeled “turkey and cheddar” and “extra cheesy pizza.”', 'Kraft Heinz told CNN that the turkey and cheese option contains 6 grams of saturated fat and 930 milligrams of sodium while the extra cheesy variety contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 700 milligrams of sodium.', 'Kraft Heinz said both options were made using “a specialized recipe that incorporates more protein and whole grains to keep kids powered throughout the day, reduced saturated fat and sodium, and an increased serving size.”', 'The Lunchables pizza variety for schools (with 700 mg of sodium) compared to 510 mg in the store version.', 'Eating foods with too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension, Consumer Reports said.', 'The introduction of Lunchables in schools came amid proposed changes to school food guidelines by the USDA, which oversees thefederally assisted school meal program.', 'Theproposed changesaimed to reduce added sugars and sodium levels in school-provided lunches.', 'The standards would reduce sodium limits gradually over several school years.', 'The USDA in a statement to CNN late Tuesday said the agency “takes very seriously our responsibility to ensure school meals are of the highest nutritional quality.”', 'At the same time, it said the USDA doesn’t allow or disallow individual food items. “', 'Our requirements address the overall content of meals – some of them on a daily basis and others on a weekly basis.', 'So, the Lunchables described in the article would need to be paired with fruit, vegetables and milk.', 'In addition, a school who wanted to serve a higher sodium product one day has to balance that with lower sodium items on others.”', 'Kraft Heinz told CNN in a statement Tuesday the company has taken steps to improve the nutrition profile of Lunchables.', 'The effort, it said, includes launching Lunchables with fresh fruit, in partnership with Fresh Del Monte, and “reducing the sodium in all Lunchables crackers by 26%.”', '“All our foods meet strict safety standards that we happily feed to our own families.', 'We are proud of Lunchables and stand by the quality and integrity that goes into making them,” the company said.', 'Consumer Reports also pointed to concerning additives included in many of the Lunchable products.', 'Additives are ingredients added by manufacturers to stimulate appetite and extend shelf life.', 'The presence of additives is a key indicator of whether a food is ultraprocessed, said Carlos Monteiro, emeritus professor at the school of public health at theUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil.', 'In 2009 Monteiro created NOVA, a system of classifying food into categories from minimally processed to ultraprocessed.', '“In terms of food processing, additives are essential to creating ultraprocessed foods,” Monteiro said. “', 'Additives in ultraprocessed foods are those that use color, texture, flavor, and everything people like.', 'So these products are made appealing not with real food, but with additives,” he said.', 'Such additives include preservatives to resist mold and bacteria; emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating; artificial colorings and dyes; de-foaming, bulking and bleaching agents; and added or altered sugar, salt and fats intended to boost flavor to a “bliss point” that is hard to resist.', 'Food additives are considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, but not everyone agrees.', 'Watchdog groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provide lists of concerning chemicals found in food, as well as added sugars, salt and fats.', 'A growing numberof grocery stores and a few restaurants have also taken steps to ban worrisome chemicals from foods they sell.', 'According to ingredients listed on the Kraft-Heinz “Away from Home” website, CNN found the turkey and cheese Lunchables contains tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based chemical found in pesticides.', 'Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.', 'The Lunchables also contains the pesticide sodium diacetate, which adds sourness and fights fungus and bacteria, carrageenan, which has been shown to create inflammation and digestive issues in animals, and sodium nitrate, a preservative used in cured deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and sausage that has been linked to cancer and other diseases.']",0.0917775450024976,"Consumer Reports said it tested12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit.","Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.",-0.1163270964342005,Kraft Heinz told CNN in a statement Tuesday the company has taken steps to improve the nutrition profile of Lunchables.,"Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.",2024-04-10
-Trump Media stock sinks to post-merger low,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/business/trump-media-stock-sinks-post-merger-low/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:49 PM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","Shares of Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group tumbled 12% on Friday, sinking to their lowest level since the company went public last week.
-    
-            The selloff has erased nearly $2 billion from the value of former President Donald Trump’s stake in the company this week.
-    
-            Trump Media shared surged to as high as $79.38 on March 26, the day trading began on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DJT.”
-    
-            Since then, the Truth Social owner’s share price has plunged by 49% to the closing price of $40.49 on Friday.
-    
-            Trump Media’s shares have lost about a third of their value this week. Despite this week’s losses, Trump Media shares have still spiked by more than 130% so far this year.
-    
-            Trump’s personal stake in the company is now valued at about $3.2 billion. That’s down from $4.9 billion at the end of last week.
-    
-            Trump Media recently disclosed losing $58 million last year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million. The financial results underscore concerns raised by some experts that the company is being vastly overvalued by Wall Street.
-    
-            Barry Diller, the billionaire chairman of Expedia and People Magazine owner IAC, told CNBC on Thursday that Trump Media is a “scam” and people buying the stock are “dopes.”
-    
-            “I mean, it’s ridiculous,” Diller said on CNBC. “The company has no revenue.”
-    
-            A Trump Media spokesperson denounced critics of the company.
-    
-            “It is unsurprising to see die-hard Trump haters and leftwing flacks blow a gasket now that Truth Social has become a public company that, still today, refuses to suppress political expression that contradicts the narratives they want to enforce,” Shannon Devine, a Trump Media spokesperson, said in a statement to CNN",CNN,05/04/2024,"['Shares of Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group tumbled 12% on Friday, sinking to their lowest level since the company went public last week.', 'The selloff has erased nearly $2 billion from the value of former President Donald Trump’s stake in the company this week.', 'Trump Media shared surged to as high as $79.38 on March 26, the day trading began on the Nasdaqunder the ticker symbol “DJT.”', 'Since then, the Truth Social owner’s share price has plunged by 49% to the closing price of $40.49 on Friday.', 'Trump Media’s shares have lost about a third of their value this week.', 'Despite this week’s losses, Trump Media shares have still spiked by more than 130% so far this year.', 'Trump’s personal stake in the company is now valued at about $3.2 billion.', 'That’s down from $4.9 billion at the end of last week.', 'Trump Media recentlydisclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.', 'The financial results underscore concerns raised by some experts that the company is beingvastly overvalued by Wall Street.', 'Barry Diller, the billionaire chairman of Expedia and People Magazine owner IAC,told CNBCon Thursday that Trump Media is a “scam” and people buying the stock are “dopes.”', '“I mean, it’s ridiculous,” Diller said on CNBC. “', 'The company has no revenue.”', 'A Trump Media spokesperson denounced critics of the company.', '“It is unsurprising to see die-hard Trump haters and leftwing flacks blow a gasket now that Truth Social has become a public company that, still today, refuses to suppress political expression that contradicts the narratives they want to enforce,” Shannon Devine, a Trump Media spokesperson, said in a statement to CNN']",-0.0423329420203094,"Since then, the Truth Social owner’s share price has plunged by 49% to the closing price of $40.49 on Friday.","“It is unsurprising to see die-hard Trump haters and leftwing flacks blow a gasket now that Truth Social has become a public company that, still today, refuses to suppress political expression that contradicts the narratives they want to enforce,” Shannon Devine, a Trump Media spokesperson, said in a statement to CNN",-0.6045853007923473,"Despite this week’s losses, Trump Media shares have still spiked by more than 130% so far this year.",That’s down from $4.9 billion at the end of last week.,2024-04-10
-"With inflation back up, the long-predicted storm clouds in the economy may actually be forming",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/economy/economic-storm-clouds-as-inflation-stalls/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        11:22 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Progress on inflation is moving in the wrong direction.
-    
-            The latest Consumer Price Index, released Wednesday, showed that annual inflation ticked up to 3.5% in March from 3.2% in February. That marked the largest annual gain in half a year.
-    
-            Even though the current inflation rate is better than last March’s 4.9% rate, it signifies the highly anticipated rate cuts investors were banking on may not come this year. Now, instead, they may need to brace for another rate hike as interest rates stand at a 23-year high.
-    
-            This could mean that the many influential leaders and economists who long predicted storm clouds and a hurricane hitting the US economy may finally be right.
-    
-            Chief among them is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, whose annual shareholder letter this week highlighted “persistent inflationary pressures.” He also expressed skepticism regarding whether the economy will achieve a soft landing, where inflation continues to cool without causing an unemployment spike.
-    
-            Federal Reserve officials share Dimon’s concerns, leading some to question whether any rate cuts should happen this year, starkly contrasting the median forecast of three cuts they made at last month’s meeting and first signaled back in December. But potentially persistent inflation isn’t the only red flag in the economy right now.
-    
-            Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman said last week she’s even willing to consider raising rates “should progress on inflation stall or even reverse.” For now, she doesn’t think there’s a high likelihood that hikes will be merited.
-    
-            Inflation measured by the Fed’s preferred gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, is a percentage point lower than CPI. But it too accelerated in the latest report.
-    
-            The significant progress in bringing inflation down from 2022’s multi-decade high last year came from supply chain improvements, a higher supply of workers due in part to immigration, and lower energy prices, Bowman said in a speech last week.
-    
-            “It is unclear whether further supply-side improvements will continue to lower inflation,” Bowman added. At the same time, like Dimon, she’s worried geopolitical conflicts and fiscal spending could put more pressure on prices.
-    
-            “In one word, the report was discouraging for the Fed and the prospects of a June cut,” Bank of America economists said in a note published after Wednesday’s CPI report. “Inflation is proving sticky.”
-    
-            They still feel a June cut will happen but have “low confidence.” Investors, on the other hand, were much more convinced that won’t happen given the March CPI report.
-    
-            Although the economy is booming by many measures, including last month’s blowout jobs report, small business owners aren’t feeling gung-ho about it.
-    
-            An index produced by the National Federation of Independent Business gauging how small-business owners expect to fare in the future dropped to its lowest level since 2012 last month.
-    
-            The main contributor to the decline was a significant fall in the share of business owners who expect their inflation-adjusted sales to be higher during the next three months compared to current levels.
-    
-            “The small business sector is showing signs of a potential slowdown,” NFIB head Holly Wade and the trade organization’s chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a report published Tuesday. “Continued stress in navigating inflation pressures leads as the top business problem,” they added.
-    
-            Higher inflation is also weighing on consumers who are shouldering a record level of credit card debt.
-    
-            And the highest share of consumers since the onset of the pandemic said they’re unsure if they’ll make a minimum debt payment on time, according to the New York Fed’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations that was released on Monday.
-    
-            Across all age groups, the uptick was most profound among 40- to 60-year-olds. That’s significant because that cohort is experiencing an even lower unemployment rate than the nation overall.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Progress on inflation is moving in the wrong direction.', 'The latest Consumer Price Index, released Wednesday, showed that annual inflation ticked up to 3.5% in March from 3.2% in February.', 'That marked the largest annual gain in half a year.', 'Even though the current inflation rate is better than last March’s 4.9% rate, it signifies the highly anticipated rate cuts investors were banking on may not come this year.', 'Now, instead, they may need to brace for another rate hike as interest rates stand at a 23-year high.', 'This could mean that the many influential leaders and economists who long predicted storm clouds and a hurricane hitting the US economy may finally be right.', 'Chief among them is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, whose annual shareholder letter this week highlighted “persistent inflationary pressures.”', 'He also expressed skepticism regarding whether the economy will achieve a soft landing, where inflation continues to cool without causing an unemployment spike.', 'Federal Reserve officials share Dimon’s concerns, leading some to question whether any rate cuts should happen this year, starkly contrasting the median forecast of three cuts they made at last month’s meeting and first signaled back in December.', 'But potentially persistent inflation isn’t the only red flag in the economy right now.', 'Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman said last week she’s even willing to consider raising rates “should progress on inflation stall or even reverse.”', 'For now, she doesn’t think there’s a high likelihood that hikes will be merited.', 'Inflation measured by the Fed’s preferred gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, is a percentage point lower than CPI.', 'But it too accelerated in the latest report.', 'The significant progress in bringing inflation down from 2022’s multi-decade high last year came from supply chain improvements, a higher supply of workers due in part to immigration, and lower energy prices, Bowman said in a speech last week.', '“It is unclear whether further supply-side improvements will continue to lower inflation,” Bowman added.', 'At the same time, like Dimon, she’s worried geopolitical conflicts and fiscal spending could put more pressure on prices.', '“In one word, the report was discouraging for the Fed and the prospects of a June cut,” Bank of America economists said in a note published after Wednesday’s CPI report. “', 'Inflation is proving sticky.”', 'They still feel a June cut will happen but have “low confidence.”', 'Investors, on the other hand, were much more convinced that won’t happen given the March CPI report.', 'Although the economy is booming by many measures, including last month’s blowout jobs report, small business owners aren’t feeling gung-ho about it.', 'An index produced by the National Federation of Independent Business gauging how small-business owners expect to fare in the future dropped to its lowest level since 2012 last month.', 'The main contributor to the decline was a significant fall in the share of business owners who expect their inflation-adjusted sales to be higher during the next three months compared to current levels.', '“The small business sector is showing signs of a potential slowdown,” NFIB head Holly Wade and the trade organization’s chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a report published Tuesday. “', 'Continued stress in navigating inflation pressures leads as the top business problem,” they added.', 'Higher inflation is also weighing on consumers who are shouldering a record level of credit card debt.', 'And the highest share of consumers since the onset of the pandemic said they’re unsure if they’ll make a minimum debt payment on time, according to the New York Fed’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations that was released on Monday.', 'Across all age groups, the uptick was most profound among 40- to 60-year-olds.', 'That’s significant because that cohort is experiencing an even lower unemployment rate than the nation overall.']",0.0105054916044833,"Investors, on the other hand, were much more convinced that won’t happen given the March CPI report.","Continued stress in navigating inflation pressures leads as the top business problem,” they added.",-0.1337400942013181,"The latest Consumer Price Index, released Wednesday, showed that annual inflation ticked up to 3.5% in March from 3.2% in February.",The main contributor to the decline was a significant fall in the share of business owners who expect their inflation-adjusted sales to be higher during the next three months compared to current levels.,2024-04-10
-Jessica Alba steps down as chief creative officer at The Honest Company,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/jessica-alba-steps-down-as-chief-creative-officer-honest-company/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:20 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Jessica Alba is stepping down as chief creative officer at The Honest Company, the baby products and personal care business founded by the actress in 2012.
-    
-            In a statement Tuesday, the company said Alba’s move away from her position will allow her to “shift her creative energy to new endeavors.” The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.
-    
-            The Honest Company posted a strong fourth quarter in March. Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases. The earnings report said its diaper and baby clothing businesses performed especially well.
-    
-            The company — which went public and began trading on Nasdaq in 2021 ��� markets an aspirational “clean” lifestyle through its baby products and clothing, as well as skin and personal care.
-    
-            “When I created The Honest Company, I set out to change the consumer product industry and I can proudly say, we did just that,” Alba said in a statement Tuesday. “Honest has been a true labor of love for me - one that showed me what’s possible when you infuse purpose into business.”",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Jessica Alba is stepping down as chief creative officer at The Honest Company, the baby products and personal care business founded by the actress in 2012.', 'In a statement Tuesday, the company said Alba’s move away from her position will allow her to “shift her creative energy to new endeavors.”', 'The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.', 'The Honest Company posted a strong fourth quarter in March.', 'Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases.', 'The earnings report said its diaper and baby clothing businesses performed especially well.', 'The company — which went public and began trading on Nasdaq in 2021 — markets an aspirational “clean” lifestyle through its baby products and clothing, as well as skin and personal care.', '“When I created The Honest Company, I set out to change the consumer product industry and I can proudly say, we did just that,” Alba said in a statement Tuesday. “', 'Honest has been a true labor of love for me - one that showed me what’s possible when you infuse purpose into business.”']",0.7406218711732586,"The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.",,0.9996504386266072,"Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases.",,2024-04-10
-Tesla: Elon Musk's EV maker to settle over fatal Autopilot crash,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c14kggkr4vro,2024-04-09T05:18:02.807Z,"Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier. The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week. If the trial had gone ahead, it would have brought increased scrutiny of the firm's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and reports have said the deal still needs to be approved by a judge. Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment. Before the settlement, Tesla argued that Mr Huang had misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident. The firm has previously won trials in California by arguing that drivers involved had not followed its instructions to maintain attention while using the system. The electric vehicle (EV) maker faces a series of lawsuits over crashes related to the alleged use of its driver-assistant technology. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also been investigating some accidents involving Autopilot. For many years, Tesla has promised to produce an autonomous car but has yet to launch one. On Friday, Mr Musk said the company plans to unveil a self-driving robotaxi in August. The settlement with Mr Huang's family comes at a time when the company is battling weakening sales.  Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition. Tesla has cut prices repeatedly in response to increased competition from rivals such as BYD but demand in key markets like China has fallen. Tesla's shares have lost almost a third of their value since the start of this year. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.', ""The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week."", ""If the trial had gone ahead, it would have brought increased scrutiny of the firm's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology."", 'The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and reports have said the deal still needs to be approved by a judge.', 'Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.', 'Before the settlement, Tesla argued that Mr Huang had misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident.', 'The firm has previously won trials in California by arguing that drivers involved had not followed its instructions to maintain attention while using the system.', 'The electric vehicle (EV) maker faces a series of lawsuits over crashes related to the alleged use of its driver-assistant technology.', 'The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also been investigating some accidents involving Autopilot.', 'For many years, Tesla has promised to produce an autonomous car but has yet to launch one.', 'On Friday, Mr Musk said the company plans to unveil a self-driving robotaxi in August.', ""The settlement with Mr Huang's family comes at a time when the company is battling weakening sales."", 'Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition.', 'Tesla has cut prices repeatedly in response to increased competition from rivals such as BYD but demand in key markets like China has fallen.', ""Tesla's shares have lost almost a third of their value since the start of this year.""]",-0.0477430980774904,"The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week.","Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.",-0.4115793364388602,"Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.","Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition.",2024-04-10
-Boeing hit after new whistleblower raises safety concerns,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68775413,2024-04-09T21:47:35.000Z,"Boeing is facing new pressure after a whistleblower reported safety concerns over the manufacturing of some of its planes to US regulators. Engineer Sam Salehpour accused Boeing of taking shortcuts in the construction of its 787 and 777 jets. He claimed he was ""threatened with termination"" after raising concerns with bosses. But Boeing said the claims were ""inaccurate"" and added it was confident its planes were safe. ""The issues raised have been subject to rigorous engineering examination under [Federal Aviation Administration] oversight,"" the company said. ""This analysis has validated that these issues do not present any safety concerns and the aircraft will maintain its service life over several decades."" Shares in the plane manufacturer sank almost 2% on Tuesday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating the claims, and the company reported it had delivered just 83 planes to customers in the first three months of the year - the smallest number since 2021.  The whistleblower complaint, which was first reported by the New York Times, is the latest incident to focus attention on the safety of planes made by US-based Boeing, one of the world's two major producers of commercial planes.  The company was already facing criminal investigation and other legal troubles, after an unused exit door broke off of one of its smaller 737 Max 9 planes shortly after take-off in January. Passengers escaped serious injury but the incident has plunged the company into crisis, forcing a temporary grounding of dozens of 737 Max 9 planes, drawing regulatory probes and prompting Boeing to dramatically slow production of its planes. The company coming under intense scrutiny again led its chief executive David Calhoun to announce last month that he would step down by the end of the year. On Tuesday, attorneys for engineer Mr Salehpour said Boeing had made decisions for 787 aircraft assembly which placed stress on joints that linked up parts of the body of the jets, an issue affecting more than 1,000 planes.  In a whistleblower complaint filed with the FAA in January, he alleged the method could reduce the lifespan of the plane.  ""These problems are the direct result of Boeing's decision in recent years to prioritize profits over safety, and a regulator in the FAA that has become too deferential to industry,"" his lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said in a statement. The attorneys added Mr Salehpour had been transferred to work on the 777 plane after he raised concerns. They said he had soon observed other issues in the assembly of that plane. ""He was threatened with termination, excluded from important meetings, projects, and communication, denied reasonable requests for medical leave,  assigned work outside of his expertise, and effectively declared persona non grata to his colleagues,"" they said. The 787 Dreamliner is a bigger plane than the 737, often used on international flights. It has been flying commercially since 2011, but almost from the start has been the target of quality complaints.  Boeing eventually slowed production and stopped deliveries for almost two years, responding to issues that had been raised. The FAA in 2022 cleared Boeing to resume deliveries.  The FAA, which has increased its oversight of Boeing since the door plug blowout in January, said in a statement that it encouraged people in the aviation industry to share information.  ""We thoroughly investigate all reports,"" the agency said when asked about the report.  ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Boeing is facing new pressure after a whistleblower reported safety concerns over the manufacturing of some of its planes to US regulators.', 'Engineer Sam Salehpour accused Boeing of taking shortcuts in the construction of its 787 and 777 jets.', 'He claimed he was ""threatened with termination"" after raising concerns with bosses.', 'But Boeing said the claims were ""inaccurate"" and added it was confident its planes were safe. ""', 'The issues raised have been subject to rigorous engineering examination under [Federal Aviation Administration] oversight,"" the company said. ""', 'This analysis has validated that these issues do not present any safety concerns and the aircraft will maintain its service life over several decades.""', 'Shares in the plane manufacturer sank almost 2% on Tuesday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating the claims, and the company reported it had delivered just 83 planes to customers in the first three months of the year - the smallest number since 2021.', ""The whistleblower complaint, which was first reported by the New York Times, is the latest incident to focus attention on the safety of planes made by US-based Boeing, one of the world's two major producers of commercial planes."", 'The company was already facing criminal investigation and other legal troubles, after an unused exit door broke off of one of its smaller 737 Max 9 planes shortly after take-off in January.', 'Passengers escaped serious injury but the incident has plunged the company into crisis, forcing a temporary grounding of dozens of 737 Max 9 planes, drawing regulatory probes and prompting Boeing to dramatically slow production of its planes.', 'The company coming under intense scrutiny again led its chief executive David Calhoun to announce last month that he would step down by the end of the year.', 'On Tuesday, attorneys for engineer Mr Salehpour said Boeing had made decisions for 787 aircraft assembly which placed stress on joints that linked up parts of the body of the jets, an issue affecting more than 1,000 planes.', 'In a whistleblower complaint filed with the FAA in January, he alleged the method could reduce the lifespan of the plane. ""', 'These problems are the direct result of Boeing\'s decision in recent years to prioritize profits over safety, and a regulator in the FAA that has become too deferential to industry,"" his lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said in a statement.', 'The attorneys added Mr Salehpour had been transferred to work on the 777 plane after he raised concerns.', 'They said he had soon observed other issues in the assembly of that plane. ""', 'He was threatened with termination, excluded from important meetings, projects, and communication, denied reasonable requests for medical leave, assigned work outside of his expertise, and effectively declared persona non grata to his colleagues,"" they said.', 'The 787 Dreamliner is a bigger plane than the 737, often used on international flights.', 'It has been flying commercially since 2011, but almost from the start has been the target of quality complaints.', 'Boeing eventually slowed production and stopped deliveries for almost two years, responding to issues that had been raised.', 'The FAA in 2022 cleared Boeing to resume deliveries.', 'The FAA, which has increased its oversight of Boeing since the door plug blowout in January, said in a statement that it encouraged people in the aviation industry to share information. ""', 'We thoroughly investigate all reports,"" the agency said when asked about the report.']",-0.087826611616349,"But Boeing said the claims were ""inaccurate"" and added it was confident its planes were safe. ""","The company was already facing criminal investigation and other legal troubles, after an unused exit door broke off of one of its smaller 737 Max 9 planes shortly after take-off in January.",-0.5008389143382802,"But Boeing said the claims were ""inaccurate"" and added it was confident its planes were safe. ""","Shares in the plane manufacturer sank almost 2% on Tuesday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating the claims, and the company reported it had delivered just 83 planes to customers in the first three months of the year - the smallest number since 2021.",2024-04-10
-Opinion: The drama around Sam Altman is an urgent warning,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/21/opinions/sam-altman-openai-ouster-danger-filipovic/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:50 AM EST, Tue November 21, 2023
-    ","The biggest tech news this week is the ouster of Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry. Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened to resign. Altman has already moved on to a role at Microsoft. And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on its third CEO in as many days.
-    
-            It’s all very juicy. But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisions that will determine so much of our technological future? What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions? And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?
-    
-            OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.” But that sensibility hasn’t lasted. The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm. They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the public before some employees believed they were ready. The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they also won’t tell reporters or the public exactly what it is.
-    
-            This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing. The OpenAI board, according to CNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.” At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot. This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.
-    
-            But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder. Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants. And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.
-    
-            AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence. At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work). And the ramifications could be much more extreme. AI technologies have already demonstrated the ability to lie and to cover their tracks. They have already been able to suggest the design to make a virus spread more quickly. Many researchers acutely understand just how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans, according to reporting in the New Yorker.
-    
-            But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils – the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technology is worth a read).
-    
-            AI is very exciting technology. But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”
-    
-            Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed. And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to be largely men) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe. And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.
-    
-            Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden? Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?
-    
-            One thing is clear: AI is coming. And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century. It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.
-    
-            “Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first. But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.
-    
-            So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition. But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.
-    
-            The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world. But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?",CNN,21/11/2023,"['The biggest tech news this week is theousterof Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry.', 'Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened toresign.', 'Altman has alreadymoved onto a role at Microsoft.', 'And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on itsthird CEOin as many days.', 'It’s all very juicy.', 'But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisionsthat will determine so much of our technological future?', 'What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions?', 'And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?', 'OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.”', 'But that sensibility hasn’t lasted.', 'The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm.', 'They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the publicbefore some employees believed they were ready.', 'The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they alsowon’t tellreporters or the public exactly what it is.', 'This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing.', 'The OpenAI board, according toCNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.”', 'At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot.', 'This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.', 'But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder.', 'Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants.', 'And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.', 'AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence.', 'At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work).', 'And the ramifications could be much more extreme.', 'AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.', 'They have already been able tosuggest the designto make a virus spread more quickly.', 'Many researchersacutely understandjust how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans,according to reporting in the New Yorker.', 'But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (', 'If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils –the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technologyis worth a read).', 'AI is very exciting technology.', 'But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”', 'Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed.', 'And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to belargelymen) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe.', 'And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.', 'Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden?', 'Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?', 'One thing is clear: AI is coming.', 'And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century.', 'It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.', '“Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first.', 'But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.', 'So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition.', 'But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.', 'The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world.', 'But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?']",0.0034737194649936,"But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.","But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",-0.2999433577060699,AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.,"But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",2024-04-10
-Jamie Dimon: Bank boss warns US interest rates could rise to 8%,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769561,2024-04-09T09:44:35.000Z,"The boss of one of the world's biggest banks has warned US interest rates could climb to 8%. Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said his bank has prepared for interest rates to jump because of ""persistent inflationary pressures"". Central banks around the world have been busy raising rates in a bid to dampen rising prices. But with US inflation gradually easing, the overwhelming expectation is for the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year. Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts in 2024. In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Dimon said that the bank was ready for a ""very broad range"" of rates, from 2% to 8% or even higher, potentially pushed up because of high government spending and the need to curb price rises. Mr Dimon's comments come as US interest rates rest in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% - higher than they have been for more than 20 years.  By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices. Mr Dimon has long warned that investors may be overly confident in their bet that interest rates will rapidly fall back to lower levels. Last year he suggested rates could hit 7%. ""All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year's letter. The US Federal Reserve will make its next decision on which way interest rates will move at the end of the month.  The expectation is that it will hold rates at the current level with the first cut potentially coming in June. The European Central Bank is also expected to make its first cut in June.  On Tuesday, some analysts questioned, however, whether rate cuts lie in store for the summer in the US. To date, higher borrowing costs have not been the big drag on the US economy that they were expected to be. Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.  The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts. In a speech delivered at Stanford University at the beginning of April, the Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said: ""If the economy evolves broadly as we expect, most Federal Open Market Committee participants see it as likely to be appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year."" Mr Dimon has been chief executive of JPMorgan Chase since the end of 2005. One year later he also became chairman and president of the bank. He is the longest-serving chief executive of a major investment bank.  In his letter to shareholders, he also said that he sees the United States as being at a ""pivotal moment"" in the midst of global uncertainty. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"[""The boss of one of the world's biggest banks has warned US interest rates could climb to 8%."", 'Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said his bank has prepared for interest rates to jump because of ""persistent inflationary pressures"".', 'Central banks around the world have been busy raising rates in a bid to dampen rising prices.', 'But with US inflation gradually easing, the overwhelming expectation is for the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year.', 'Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts in 2024.', 'In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Dimon said that the bank was ready for a ""very broad range"" of rates, from 2% to 8% or even higher, potentially pushed up because of high government spending and the need to curb price rises.', ""Mr Dimon's comments come as US interest rates rest in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% - higher than they have been for more than 20 years."", 'By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices.', 'Mr Dimon has long warned that investors may be overly confident in their bet that interest rates will rapidly fall back to lower levels.', 'Last year he suggested rates could hit 7%. ""', 'All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year\'s letter.', 'The US Federal Reserve will make its next decision on which way interest rates will move at the end of the month.', 'The expectation is that it will hold rates at the current level with the first cut potentially coming in June.', 'The European Central Bank is also expected to make its first cut in June.', 'On Tuesday, some analysts questioned, however, whether rate cuts lie in store for the summer in the US.', 'To date, higher borrowing costs have not been the big drag on the US economy that they were expected to be.', 'Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.', 'The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts.', 'In a speech delivered at Stanford University at the beginning of April, the Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said: ""If the economy evolves broadly as we expect, most Federal Open Market Committee participants see it as likely to be appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year.""', 'Mr Dimon has been chief executive of JPMorgan Chase since the end of 2005.', 'One year later he also became chairman and president of the bank.', 'He is the longest-serving chief executive of a major investment bank.', 'In his letter to shareholders, he also said that he sees the United States as being at a ""pivotal moment"" in the midst of global uncertainty.']",0.041136728252818,"By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices.","Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.",0.376718323964339,"The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts.","All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year's letter.",2024-04-10
-FTC investigating TikTok over privacy and security,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/ftc-tiktok-probe-privacy-and-security/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:11 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.
-    
-            The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.
-    
-            The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.
-    
-            The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.
-    
-            The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources. Politico reported news of the probe earlier.
-    
-            When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”
-    
-            TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-    
-            The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores. The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk. Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach — which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.
-    
-            The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens. TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.
-    
-            Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands — a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk. To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.
-    
-            TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions. TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.', 'The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.', 'The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.', 'The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.', 'The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources.', 'Politico reported news of the probe earlier.', 'When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”', 'TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.', 'The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US.', 'Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores.', 'The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk.', 'Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.', 'The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens.', 'TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.', 'Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands—a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk.', 'To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.', 'TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions.', 'TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.']",-0.232320081688102,"The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.","The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.",-0.8880722284317016,,"Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.",2024-04-10
-Your complete guide to earning and redeeming points in the Citi ThankYou Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/citi-thankyou-points-rewards,"
-  Updated
-        12:10 PM EST, Wed January 10, 2024
-    ","The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot. In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.
-    
-            When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings. And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.
-    
-            If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.
-    
-            You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways. The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card. But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program. Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.
-    
-            Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards. The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards and cash back cards. However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.
-    
-            Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly. These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.
-    
-            As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditional cash back credit cards in the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings. They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything — 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay. By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.
-    
-            Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense. You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.
-    
-            By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.
-    
-            Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases. First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account. Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders. These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.
-    
-            Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card. Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.
-    
-            If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account. That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account. With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities. The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities. Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.
-    
-            Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member. Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge. The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt. So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them. Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.
-    
-            Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them. And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points. You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.
-    
-            Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.
-    
-            Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points. Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary. You can redeem them for stays at all-inclusive resorts, international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more. But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles and American Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.
-    
-            Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel. That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards. These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile. Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal. That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions. While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible. If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.
-    
-            Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point. This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings. While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.
-    
-            For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense. Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:
-    
-            Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value. However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option. Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy. The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to. Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights. While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.
-    
-            Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals. Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value. Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.
-    
-            Looking for a new travel credit card? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards currently available.
-    
-            Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
-    
-            Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.",CNN,10/01/2024,"['The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®.', 'Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot.', 'In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.', 'When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings.', 'And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.', 'If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.', 'You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways.', 'The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card.', 'But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program.', 'Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.', 'Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.', 'The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards andcash back cards.', 'However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.', 'Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly.', 'These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.', 'As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.', 'They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything —1% when you buy, 1% when you pay.', 'By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.', 'Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense.', 'You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.', 'By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.', 'Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases.', 'First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account.', 'Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders.', 'These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.', 'Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as anauthorized useron your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account.', 'That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account.', 'With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities.', 'The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities.', 'Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.', 'Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member.', 'Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge.', 'The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.', 'It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt.', 'So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them.', 'Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.', 'Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them.', 'And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points.', 'You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.', 'Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.', 'Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points.', 'Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary.', 'You can redeem them for stays atall-inclusive resorts,international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles andAmerican Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.', 'By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.', 'Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel.', 'That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards.', 'These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile.', 'Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal.', 'That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.', 'While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible.', 'If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.', 'Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point.', 'This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings.', 'While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.', 'For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense.', 'Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:  Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value.', 'However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option.', 'Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy.', 'The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to.', 'Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights.', 'While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.', 'Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.', 'Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals.', 'Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value.', 'Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.', 'Looking for a new travel credit card?', 'Check out CNN Underscored’s list of thebest credit cardscurrently available.', 'Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.', 'Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.']",0.4187524857201869,"Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.","Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.",0.8707016060749689,"As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.",That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.,2024-04-10
-The rise of magnets – from surgery to outer space,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68629800,2024-04-04T23:09:15.000Z,"The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place. Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder. But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body.  In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant. This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this. But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets. Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology. They've been used for centuries, after all. And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before. This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines. They are, therefore, crucial for electrification. However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations. And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share. Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities. The future, they say, depends on it. ""My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""Nobody else, I don't think, gets involved in so many things."" His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers. Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa. Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved. For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum. But now N52 grade versions are commercially available.  ""You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow. In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin. This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example. Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall. The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency.  One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie. Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""It's a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you're outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton. That hasn't stopped some from trying. US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths. Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets. This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields. Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets. The first of these will be used in speakers.  Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla. Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride. Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch. In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example. A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year. Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling. When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result. The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production. It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton. And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.  But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling.  ""There's a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton. Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime. More technology of business Niron's targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains. Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley. And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth. Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before. Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""It's almost limitless,"" he says. ""This is just the beginning."" ",BBC,04/04/2024,"['The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place.', ""Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder."", ""But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body."", 'In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""', 'We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.', ""It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant."", 'This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""', 'It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this.', 'But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets.', 'Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology.', ""They've been used for centuries, after all."", 'And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.', 'This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines.', 'They are, therefore, crucial for electrification.', 'However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations.', 'And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share.', 'Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities.', 'The future, they say, depends on it. ""', 'My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""', 'Nobody else, I don\'t think, gets involved in so many things.""', 'His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers.', 'Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa.', 'Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.', 'For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum.', 'But now N52 grade versions are commercially available. ""', 'You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow.', 'In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin.', 'This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example.', 'Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall.', ""The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency."", 'One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie.', 'Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""', 'It\'s a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you\'re outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton.', ""That hasn't stopped some from trying."", 'US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths.', 'Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets.', 'This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields.', ""Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets."", 'The first of these will be used in speakers.', ""Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla."", 'Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride.', 'Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch.', 'In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example.', 'A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year.', 'Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling.', 'When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result.', 'The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production.', 'It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton.', 'And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.', 'But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling. ""', 'There\'s a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton.', 'Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime.', 'More technology of business Niron\'s targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""', 'It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains.', 'Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley.', 'And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth.', 'Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before.', 'Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""', 'It\'s almost limitless,"" he says. ""', 'This is just the beginning.""']",0.1639147133339751,"And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.","And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.",0.988849639892578,"Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.",,2024-04-10
-Judge’s stern rebuke of Elon Musk’s X gives researchers fresh hope,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/judges-stern-rebuke-of-elon-musks-x-gives-researchers-fresh-hope/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:17 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.
-    
-            On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.
-    
-            Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers. Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.
-    
-            Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.
-    
-            The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California — has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.
-    
-            And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.
-    
-            “This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.
-    
-            “Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.
-    
-            X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.
-    
-            In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively. None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.
-    
-            He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over its analysis highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers. Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.
-    
-            This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone. Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.
-    
-            The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”
-    
-            As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation. The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.
-    
-            “They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “They get the political benefits, they get the attention. There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet. And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”
-    
-            A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.
-    
-            Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022. Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics. But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.
-    
-            Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year — were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.
-    
-            The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.
-    
-            Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.
-    
-            “We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter. Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”
-    
-            “This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”
-    
-            Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.
-    
-            “The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.
-    
-            Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.', 'On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.', 'Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers.', 'Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.', 'Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.', 'The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California —has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.', 'And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.', '“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.', '“Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.', 'X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.', 'In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively.', 'None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.', 'He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over itsanalysishighlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers.', 'Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.  This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone.', 'Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.', 'The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”', 'As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation.', 'The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.', '“They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “', 'They get the political benefits, they get the attention.', 'There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet.', 'And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”', 'A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.', 'Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022.', 'Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics.', 'But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.', 'Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.', 'The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.', 'Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.', '“We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter.', 'Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “', 'These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”', '“This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”', 'Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.', '“The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.', 'Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”']",0.0427064270235155,"Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.","“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.",-0.3806276832308088,"Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.","Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.",2024-04-10
-A ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion Powerball jackpot,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/07/business/powerball-jackpot-saturday/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        6:48 AM EDT, Sun April 7, 2024
-    ","A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.
-    
-            Saturday’s winning numbers are 44, 27, 52, 22, 69 and Powerball 9.
-    
-            A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion. The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes, according to Powerball.
-    
-            Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1.3 billion. It’s now the eighth largest among US lottery jackpot games, Powerball said in a news release.
-    
-            Others also won big this weekend. Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.
-    
-            Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours. Powerball said one lottery needed additional time to complete the required pre-draw procedures before the drawing could take place.
-    
-            This has been one of the game’s longest streaks, according to Powerball. The jackpot was previously won on New Year’s Day when a ticket in Michigan scored an $842.4 million jackpot.
-    
-            The largest Powerball jackpot – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was $2.04 billion by a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery. Ranking second through third are $1.765 billion (one ticket in California, 2023); $1.586 billion (three tickets, 2016).
-    
-            Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball. The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
-    
-            Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Florida.",CNN,07/04/2024,"['A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.', 'Saturday’s winning numbers are 44, 27, 52, 22, 69 and Powerball 9.', 'A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion.', 'The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes, according to Powerball.', 'Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1.3 billion.', 'It’s now the eighth largest among US lottery jackpot games, Powerball said in a news release.', 'Others also won big this weekend.', 'Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.', 'Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours.', 'Powerball said one lottery needed additional time to complete the required pre-draw procedures before the drawing could take place.', 'This has been one of the game’s longest streaks, according to Powerball.', 'The jackpot was previously won on New Year’s Day when a ticket in Michigan scored an $842.4 million jackpot.', 'The largest Powerball jackpot – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was$2.04 billionby a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery.', 'Ranking second through third are $1.765 billion (one ticket in California, 2023); $1.586 billion (three tickets, 2016).', 'Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball.', 'The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.', 'Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.', 'Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Florida.']",0.3807590771825594,A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion.,Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours.,0.9926169812679292,"A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.",,2024-04-10
-Everyone got duped by Sam Bankman-Fried's big gamble,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67302950,2023-11-03T11:14:42.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.  On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.  Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run.  In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?"" he asked them.  They considered their options. Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism? Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote. Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.  For a while, that approach seemed to work. As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence. The flameout was even faster.  The tweet was, as discussed, net bad. Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days. When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt. Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged. In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose. In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught.  Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.  Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich. But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.  An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.   As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.  To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.  Bankman-Fried was sold. In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.  Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.  At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries. The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.  In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors. Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.  Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn.  Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward.  ""He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""  According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried.  ""He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""He would walk around the office in bare feet."" Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""It could be cult-like.""  Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried's schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves."" It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled. Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.  Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded. He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial. He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla. Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away.  ""It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it.""  ""The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.  In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine. At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.  In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world. It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""But the math couldn't be clearer."" ""To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he'd be a coin toss away from going totally bust."" A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX. The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies.  Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.  On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it.  For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected. As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics.  In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.  In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said. It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said. Until they began talking, that is. ""He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?"" the actor said.  Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire. On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.  The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company.  ""The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.  Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother. They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank. The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda. His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader. But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""Of the United States."" While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.  On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified. The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate. But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don't think it's because he was greedy,"" she said. ""Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""It was not an act,"" she said.  Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history. Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said.  ""He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street. The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?"" You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton ",BBC,03/11/2023,"['Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.', ""It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady."", 'On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.', ""Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run."", 'In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""', 'To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?""', 'he asked them.', 'They considered their options.', 'Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism?', 'Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""', 'Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote.', 'Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.', 'For a while, that approach seemed to work.', 'As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence.', 'The flameout was even faster.', 'The tweet was, as discussed, net bad.', 'Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days.', 'When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt.', 'Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.', 'Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged.', 'In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose.', ""In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught."", 'Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.', ""Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich."", 'But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.', 'An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.', 'As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.', 'To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.', 'Bankman-Fried was sold.', 'In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.', 'Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.', 'At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries.', 'The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.', 'In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors.', 'Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.', ""Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn."", 'Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward. ""', 'He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""', 'As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""', 'According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried. ""', 'He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""', 'He would walk around the office in bare feet.""', 'Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""', 'It could be cult-like.""', 'Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried\'s schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""', 'We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""', 'To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves.""', ""It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled."", 'Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.', 'Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded.', ""He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial."", 'He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla.', 'Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""', 'In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto\'s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.', 'And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away. ""', 'It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""', 'People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""', 'The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.', 'In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine.', 'At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.', ""In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world."", 'It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""', 'But the math couldn\'t be clearer."" ""', 'To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he\'d be a coin toss away from going totally bust.""', 'A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX.', ""The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies."", 'Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.', ""On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it."", ""For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected."", ""As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics."", 'In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.', 'In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""', 'I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said.', 'It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said.', 'Until they began talking, that is. ""', 'He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?""', 'the actor said.', ""Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire."", 'On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.', 'The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company. ""', 'The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.', ""Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother."", 'They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank.', 'The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda.', 'His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader.', 'But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""', 'He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""', 'Of the United States.""', 'While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.', 'On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified.', 'The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate.', 'But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""', 'He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don\'t think it\'s because he was greedy,"" she said. ""', 'Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""', 'It was not an act,"" she said.', 'Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history.', 'Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""', 'I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said. ""', 'He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street.', 'The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?""', ""You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton""]",0.0933476610366481,"People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""","Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.",-0.0221979083686039,"Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.","It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.",2024-04-10
-Apple announces its annual developers conference is set for June 10,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apple-annual-developers-conference-june-10/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        2:20 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.
-    
-            The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.
-    
-            Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts. The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.
-    
-            As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space. A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.
-    
-            Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1. A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.
-    
-            In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.', 'The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.', 'Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts.', 'The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.', 'As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space.', 'A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.', 'Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1.', 'A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.', 'In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.']",0.3259092919755588,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,0.9975101351737976,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,2024-04-10
-UK passport: How much does it cost to get or renew and what is the 10-year rule?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68675348,2024-03-28T09:28:04.000Z,"The price of a getting or renewing a UK passport is going up on Thursday.  Meanwhile, UK holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""10-year rule"".  It currently costs £82.50 to renew or replace your passport if you apply online and £93 if you fill in a paper form. A child's passport costs £53.50 if you apply online, or £64 if you apply by post. It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently. Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.  But passport fees are going up from Thursday 11 April.  A standard online application for an adult will cost £88.50, or £57.50 for a child. Postal applications will cost £100 for adults or £69 for children.  The increased fees apply to both new passport applications and renewals. You must renew your passport before you travel if either: How much time you need on your passport depends on where you are going.  You can check entry requirements for individual countries on the UK government's website. You can renew online at HM Passport Office or by filling in a paper application from certain Post Offices. You'll need your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country. For online applications, you'll also need a digital photo that meets specific requirements. For paper applications, you need two identical printed photos. The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details. It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport in the UK, but it can take longer during periods of high demand, such as before school holidays.  To get a passport issued urgently in the UK, you can book an appointment at your nearest passport office, subject to availability. It then takes up to a week to be issued. You can get more information on the Passport Office website or you can call the helpline on 0300 222 0000. The line is open 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 17:30 on Saturday, Sunday and UK bank holidays. Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel. UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months left on an old passport over to a new one. This meant that a passport could be valid for more than 10 years. But the rules changed after Brexit, and the majority of EU countries no longer accept British passports that were issued more than 10 years before the date of travel.  This is known as the ""10-year rule"".  To enter those countries now, your UK passport must: If your passport does not meet these requirements, you will be refused entry. The rules apply in all 27 EU countries, except Ireland, which has its own separate travel arrangements with the UK. They also apply to passengers traveling to Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) - and Switzerland. ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['The price of a getting or renewing a UK passport is going up on Thursday.', 'Meanwhile, UK holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""10-year rule"".', 'It currently costs £82.50 to renew or replace your passport if you apply online and £93 if you fill in a paper form.', ""A child's passport costs £53.50 if you apply online, or £64 if you apply by post."", 'It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently.', 'Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.', 'But passport fees are going up from Thursday 11 April.', 'A standard online application for an adult will cost £88.50, or £57.50 for a child.', 'Postal applications will cost £100 for adults or £69 for children.', 'The increased fees apply to both new passport applications and renewals.', 'You must renew your passport before you travel if either: How much time you need on your passport depends on where you are going.', ""You can check entry requirements for individual countries on the UK government's website."", 'You can renew online at HM Passport Office or by filling in a paper application from certain Post Offices.', ""You'll need your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country."", ""For online applications, you'll also need a digital photo that meets specific requirements."", 'For paper applications, you need two identical printed photos.', 'The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details.', 'It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport in the UK, but it can take longer during periods of high demand, such as before school holidays.', 'To get a passport issued urgently in the UK, you can book an appointment at your nearest passport office, subject to availability.', 'It then takes up to a week to be issued.', 'You can get more information on the Passport Office website or you can call the helpline on 0300 222 0000.', 'The line is open 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 17:30 on Saturday, Sunday and UK bank holidays.', 'Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel.', 'UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months left on an old passport over to a new one.', 'This meant that a passport could be valid for more than 10 years.', 'But the rules changed after Brexit, and the majority of EU countries no longer accept British passports that were issued more than 10 years before the date of travel.', 'This is known as the ""10-year rule"".', 'To enter those countries now, your UK passport must: If your passport does not meet these requirements, you will be refused entry.', 'The rules apply in all 27 EU countries, except Ireland, which has its own separate travel arrangements with the UK.', 'They also apply to passengers traveling to Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) - and Switzerland.']",0.0200703739313045,Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.,"The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details.",0.1307669579982757,But passport fees are going up from Thursday 11 April.,Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel.,2024-04-10
-Bilt’s March Rent Day promotion: Vote for your favorite benefit with the Bilt Bracket,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/bilt-rent-day-promotion,"
-  Updated
-        10:57 AM EST, Mon February 26, 2024
-    ","The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception. With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.
-    
-            And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards — the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard — also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.
-    
-            With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion — which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month. Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.
-    
-            Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one. Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.
-    
-            A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit. Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round. The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.
-    
-            And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).
-    
-            Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.
-    
-            For four days straight — between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 — Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com. There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.
-    
-            The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.
-    
-            However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer, giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.
-    
-            With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others. Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program. Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.
-    
-            For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases — such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants — will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.
-    
-            Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee. Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.
-    
-            On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games. Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
-    
-            You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority. This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.
-    
-            Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).
-    
-            So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase. And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar. But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).
-    
-            Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions. Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.
-    
-            Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.
-    
-            Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cards currently available.",CNN,26/02/2024,"['The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (seerates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception.', 'With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.', 'And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.', 'With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion —which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month.', 'Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.', 'Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one.', 'Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.', 'A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit.', 'Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round.', 'The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.', 'And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).', 'Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.', 'For four days straight —between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 —Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com.', 'There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.', 'The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.', 'However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer,giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.', 'With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others.', 'Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program.', 'Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.', 'For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases —such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants —will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.', 'Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee.', 'Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.', 'On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games.', 'Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.', 'You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority.', 'This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.  Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).', 'So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase.', 'And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar.', 'But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).', 'Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions.', 'Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.', 'Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.', 'Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5132379666371525,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,0.9566517621278764,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,2024-04-10
-It’s back: Targeted Amex card holders can get up to 30% off at Amazon,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/deals/amazon-amex-discount-promotion,"
-  
-        11:21 AM EST, Wed February 14, 2024
-    ","Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities. While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon. Right now, you may be eligible for an Amazon promotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.
-    
-            Targeted American Express card members can save as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout. However, your offer may be higher or lower.
-    
-            This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings. That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.
-    
-            With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated. But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping at Amazon.
-    
-            To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points. Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work. But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.
-    
-            Next, you’ll need to link your Amazon and American Express accounts. Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already. Then look for the option to enroll in “Shop with Points” under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.
-    
-            Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer by clicking on this link. Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them. When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.
-    
-            But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope. If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.
-    
-            If you’re eligible, activate the offer by clicking on the “Activate now” button — the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount. You can then shop at Amazon as you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts. Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though other third-party retailer gift cards sold by Amazon might be eligible.
-    
-            But wait! There’s one more step. When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method. Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.
-    
-            When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents. That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.
-    
-            However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entire Amazon purchase with points to get these discounts. In fact, you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order. However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points — 714 to be exact — to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.
-    
-            To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change, Amazon may automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.
-    
-            Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order. The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings — which will depend on your particular offer.
-    
-            Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcoming Amazon purchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.
-    
-            With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings. An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.
-    
-            Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99. But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.
-    
-            Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.
-    
-            Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available. You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.
-    
-            Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, so keep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.
-    
-            Also, make sure you read our guide to the best credit cards for Amazon to be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,14/02/2024,"['Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.', 'While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon.', 'Right now, you may be eligible for anAmazonpromotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.', 'Targeted American Express card members cansave as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout.', 'However, your offer may be higher or lower.', 'This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings.', 'That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.', 'With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated.', 'But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping atAmazon.', 'To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points.', 'Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work.', 'But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.', 'Next, you’ll need tolink your Amazon and American Express accounts.', 'Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already.', 'Then look for the option toenroll in “Shop with Points”under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.', 'Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer byclicking on this link.', 'Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them.', 'When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.', 'But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope.', 'If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.', 'If you’re eligible, activate the offer byclicking on the “Activate now” button— the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount.', 'You can thenshop at Amazonas you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts.', 'Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though otherthird-party retailer gift cardssold by Amazon might be eligible.', 'But wait!', 'There’s one more step.', 'When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method.', 'Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.', 'When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents.', 'That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.', 'Frequent flyer websiteThe Points Guyvalues Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.', 'However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entireAmazonpurchase with points to get these discounts.', 'In fact,you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order.', 'However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points —714 to be exact —to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.', 'To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change,Amazonmay automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.', 'Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order.', 'The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings —which will depend on your particular offer.', 'Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcomingAmazonpurchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.', 'With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings.', 'An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.', 'Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99.', 'But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.', 'Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.', 'Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available.', 'You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.', 'Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.', 'Also, make sure you read our guide to thebest credit cards for Amazonto be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.2766683229921542,Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.,That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.,-0.0578339397907257,"Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.",But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.,2024-04-10
-Commercial featuring nuns taking potato chips for communion sparks outrage in Italy,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/business/chip-commercial-nuns-italy-scli-intl/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:02 PM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","A potato chip commercial that features nuns receiving the crispy snacks for communion is “blasphemy” and should be taken off the air, according to an Italian Catholic organization.
-    
-            The spot by Amica Chips features doe-eyed young nuns inside a convent delighting that their communion wafer, known as the host, is actually a potato chip.
-    
-            A mother superior figure looks on as the nuns giggle, and it is revealed that it was her that substituted the hosts for potato chips in the box where communion wafers are kept, called a tabernacle.
-    
-            Catholics believe the communion wafer represents the body and blood of Christ.
-    
-            Giovanni Baggio, the head of AIART, a Catholic group that monitors Italian radio and television, called the ad “blasphemy.”
-    
-            In a statement, Baggio said the 30-second commercial was “outrageous” and that it “offends the sensitivity of millions of practicing Catholics by trivializing the comparison between the potato chip and the consecrated object.”
-    
-            The Catholic newspaper Avvenire also criticized the ad in an editorial: “Christ has been reduced to a potato chip. Debased and vilified like 2,000 years ago.”
-    
-            Amid the backlash, Italy’s advertising standards authority, the IAP, announced an order for the commercial to be taken off air. Amica Chips has seven days to appeal the decision, during which time broadcasts will continue. The order does not apply to online placements.
-    
-            Social media users also reacted in horror to the ad.
-    
-            “This is blasphemy! Respect Our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!” wrote one Instagram user.
-    
-            Another said: “You don’t play with God. To my Italian friends, I suggest a total boycott of this company.”
-    
-            One user said Amica Chips had “offended all the Catholics of the world,” and another accused the company of “a very serious lack of respect.”
-    
-            Amica Chips did not reply to a request for comment.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['A potato chip commercial that features nuns receiving the crispy snacks for communion is “blasphemy” and should be taken off the air, according to an Italian Catholic organization.', 'The spot by Amica Chips features doe-eyed young nuns inside a convent delighting that their communion wafer, known as the host, is actually a potato chip.', 'A mother superior figure looks on as the nuns giggle, and it is revealed that it was her that substituted the hosts for potato chips in the box where communion wafers are kept, called a tabernacle.', 'Catholics believe the communion wafer represents the body and blood of Christ.', 'Giovanni Baggio, the head of AIART, a Catholic group that monitors Italian radio and television, called the ad “blasphemy.”', 'In a statement, Baggio said the 30-second commercial was “outrageous” and that it “offends the sensitivity of millions of practicing Catholics by trivializing the comparison between the potato chip and the consecrated object.”', 'The Catholic newspaper Avvenire also criticized the ad in an editorial: “Christ has been reduced to a potato chip.', 'Debased and vilified like 2,000 years ago.”', 'Amid the backlash, Italy’s advertising standards authority, the IAP, announced an order for the commercial to be taken off air.', 'Amica Chips has seven days to appeal the decision, during which time broadcasts will continue.', 'The order does not apply to online placements.', 'Social media users also reacted in horror to the ad.', '“This is blasphemy!', 'Respect Our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!”', 'wrote oneInstagram user.', 'Another said: “You don’t play with God.', 'To my Italian friends, I suggest a total boycott of this company.”', 'One user said Amica Chips had “offended all the Catholics of the world,” and another accused the company of “a very serious lack of respect.”', 'Amica Chips did not reply to a request for comment.']",0.0293129612790484,"A mother superior figure looks on as the nuns giggle, and it is revealed that it was her that substituted the hosts for potato chips in the box where communion wafers are kept, called a tabernacle.","In a statement, Baggio said the 30-second commercial was “outrageous” and that it “offends the sensitivity of millions of practicing Catholics by trivializing the comparison between the potato chip and the consecrated object.”",-0.7933283547560374,,"One user said Amica Chips had “offended all the Catholics of the world,” and another accused the company of “a very serious lack of respect.”",2024-04-10
-Dow closes 422 points lower after a surprisingly bad inflation report,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/markets/markets-fall-cpi-inflation-report/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        4:02 PM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","US stocks fell sharply Wednesday after inflation data for March came in higher than expected.
-    
-            The blue-chip Dow closed 422 points, or 1.1% lower. The S&P 500 lost 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.8%.
-    
-            US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the 12 months ended in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
-    
-            That’s up considerably from February’s 3.2% rate and marks the highest annual gain in the past six months. And while gas and shelter costs contributed more than half of that monthly increase, prices rose in pretty much every major category last month, the BLS said.
-    
-            Investors worry that the hotter-than-expected report will push back the Federal Reserve’s timeline for the rate cuts it has been hinting would come this year.
-    
-            When the Fed raises interest rates or indicates that they may stay higher for longer, markets tend to fall. This happens because when it costs more for companies to borrow money, other investments might look better compared to stocks. Some areas like housing and utilities can get hit harder because they’re more affected by interest rate changes.
-    
-            “Today’s crucial CPI print has likely sealed the fate for the June [Fed] meeting with a cut now very unlikely,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, in a note Wednesday. “Even if inflation were to cool next month to a more comfortable reading, there is likely sufficient caution within the Fed now to mean that a July cut may also be a stretch, by which point the US election will begin to intrude with Fed decision making.”
-    
-            Just 16.5% of investors expect an interest rate cut at the Fed’s June meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That’s down from 56% one day ago.
-    
-            About 57% of investors also believe rates will remain unchanged at the July meeting. That rate has more than doubled since Tuesday.
-    
-            Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, meanwhile, showed that some Fed officials fretted over inflation remaining stubbornly high.
-    
-            Central bank officials “observed that significant progress had been made over the past year,” despite disappointing inflation readings for January and February, but some “noted that the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based,” according to the minutes, released on Wednesday afternoon.
-    
-            The 10-year Treasury yield, which serves as a standard for mortgage and loan rates, surged past 4.5% after the March inflation report was released.
-    
-            Wednesday’s market drop was broad as investors worried about what higher-for-longer interest rates could mean for the economy.
-    
-            Shares of bank stocks fell. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, which reports first quarter earnings on Friday, all closed lower on Wednesday.
-    
-            Tech stocks, including Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, also closed lower.
-    
-            But investors may be getting ahead of themselves, said EY chief economist Gregory Daco. There are two more CPI reports and two Personal Consumption Expenditures reports due out before the Fed’s June policy meeting.
-    
-            Many Fed officials “will wait to observe the read on their favored inflation gauge — PCE inflation — later this month before adjusting their views,” he wrote in a note on Wednesday.
-    
-            Still, President Joe Biden acknowledged there is “more to do” to keep costs down.
-    
-            “Today’s report shows inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, but we have more to do to lower costs for hardworking families. Prices are still too high for housing and groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday morning.
-    
-            As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['US stocks fell sharply Wednesday afterinflationdata for March came in higher than expected.', 'The blue-chip Dow closed 422 points, or 1.1% lower.', 'The S&P 500 lost 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.8%.', 'US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the 12 months ended in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'That’s up considerably from February’s 3.2% rate and marks the highest annual gain in the past six months.', 'And while gas and shelter costs contributed more than half of that monthly increase, prices rose in pretty much every major category last month, the BLS said.', 'Investors worry that the hotter-than-expected report will push back the Federal Reserve’s timeline for the rate cuts it has been hinting would come this year.', 'When the Fed raises interest rates or indicates that they may stay higher for longer, markets tend to fall.', 'This happens because when it costs more for companies to borrow money, other investments might look better compared to stocks.', 'Some areas like housing and utilities can get hit harder because they’re more affected by interest rate changes.', '“Today’s crucial CPI print has likely sealed the fate for the June [Fed] meeting with a cut now very unlikely,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, in a note Wednesday. “', 'Even if inflation were to cool next month to a more comfortable reading, there is likely sufficient caution within the Fed now to mean that a July cut may also be a stretch, by which point the US election will begin to intrude with Fed decision making.”', 'Just 16.5% of investors expect an interest rate cut at the Fed’s June meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool.', 'That’s down from 56% one day ago.', 'About 57% of investors also believe rates will remain unchanged at the July meeting.', 'That rate has more than doubled since Tuesday.', 'Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, meanwhile, showed that some Fed officials fretted over inflation remaining stubbornly high.', 'Central bank officials “observed that significant progress had been made over the past year,” despite disappointing inflation readings for January and February, but some “noted that the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based,” according to the minutes, released on Wednesday afternoon.', 'The 10-year Treasury yield, which serves as a standard for mortgage and loan rates, surged past 4.5% after the March inflation report was released.', 'Wednesday’s market drop was broad as investors worried about what higher-for-longer interest rates could mean for the economy.', 'Shares of bank stocks fell.', 'Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, which reports first quarter earnings on Friday, all closed lower on Wednesday.', 'Tech stocks, including Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, also closed lower.', 'But investors may be getting ahead of themselves, said EY chief economist Gregory Daco.', 'There are two more CPI reports and two Personal Consumption Expenditures reports due out before the Fed’s June policy meeting.', 'Many Fed officials “will wait to observe the read on their favored inflation gauge — PCE inflation — later this month before adjusting their views,” he wrote in a note on Wednesday.', 'Still, President Joe Biden acknowledged there is “more to do” to keep costs down.', '“Today’s report shows inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, but we have more to do to lower costs for hardworking families.', 'Prices are still too high for housing and groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday morning.', 'As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.']",0.1004816650993037,"And while gas and shelter costs contributed more than half of that monthly increase, prices rose in pretty much every major category last month, the BLS said.",Investors worry that the hotter-than-expected report will push back the Federal Reserve’s timeline for the rate cuts it has been hinting would come this year.,-0.1566822032133738,"US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the 12 months ended in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.",US stocks fell sharply Wednesday afterinflationdata for March came in higher than expected.,2024-04-10
-Fallen 'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68677487,2024-03-28T16:12:40.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.  The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022. He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure. Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction. A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son."" Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.  FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency.  Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.  He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments. Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried's behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes.  ""He knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he's not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said. Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.  While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines. Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary. But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law. Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years.  They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court.  ""The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""Sentence him to work hard and give it all away."" Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years. But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it's not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.  He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.  The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.  Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.  Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith. In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""They've been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange's customers. ""It's been excruciating to watch."" Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks.  ""They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""It haunts me every day."" Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome. Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"".  ""I don't wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.  Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said. Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.  He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison. Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges. But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.  Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin. His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.  Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.  ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.', ""The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022."", 'He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure.', ""Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction."", 'A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.""', 'Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""', ""I'm sorry about that."", 'I\'m sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.', ""FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency."", ""Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes."", 'He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments.', 'Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried\'s behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes. ""', 'He knew it was wrong.', 'He knew it was criminal.', 'He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he\'s not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said.', 'Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.', 'While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines.', 'Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary.', 'But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law.', ""Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years."", 'They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""', 'The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""', 'Sentence him to work hard and give it all away.""', 'Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years.', 'But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""', 'It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said.', 'In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""', 'There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it\'s not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.', 'He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.', 'The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.', 'Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.', 'Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith.', 'In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""', 'They\'ve been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange\'s customers. ""', 'It\'s been excruciating to watch.""', 'Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. ""', 'They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""', 'It haunts me every day.""', 'Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome.', 'Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"". ""', 'I don\'t wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.', 'Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""', 'Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said.', 'Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.', ""He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison."", ""Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges."", 'But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.', 'Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin.', 'His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.', 'Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""', 'The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.']",-0.2778604803875567,"Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. """,Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.,-0.2853165732489692,"They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""","Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.",2024-04-10
-Banks say they’re meeting climate pledges. A new report says they’re ineffective,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:01 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.
-    
-            The biggest banks in the world have pledged to go green. But a new study, published by the European Central Bank, has found that those promises often amount to more talk than walk.
-    
-            What’s happening: Just over two years ago, the world’s largest lenders and asset managers gathered in Glasgow and pledged to spend a collective $130 trillion (that’s nearly five times larger than the US economy) to tackle climate change. What emerged was the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – now made up of 675 financial powerhouses spanning 50 countries.
-    
-            “We now have the essential plumbing in place to move climate change from the fringes to the forefront of finance so that every financial decision takes climate change into account,” Mark Carney, the alliance co-chair, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and former head of the Bank of England, said in a statement at the time.
-    
-            The financial institutions voluntarily pledged to make sure that the companies they invested in slashed their emissions. They also said they would align their lending policies with the goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels.
-    
-            But a new report that analyzed lending by some European signatories, published by economists from the ECB, MIT and Columbia Business School, casts doubts on whether the promises had made any substantive changes.
-    
-            “Our results cast doubt on the efficacy of voluntary climate commitments for reducing financed emissions, whether through divestment or engagement,” they wrote in their report.
-    
-            About 10% of the 300 banks the study analyzed had joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (a group led by GFANZ and backed by the United Nations).
-    
-            They found that banks in the alliance did not increase interest rates on loans to companies with high carbon emissions and the companies receiving loans from banks in the alliance were not more likely to set goals for decarbonization.
-    
-            Since 2018, they found, European banks had reduced their lending by just 20% to carbon-heavy sectors like oil, gas and transport.
-    
-            Researchers found that the decline was the same for all banks, regardless of whether they signed onto the commitment.
-    
-            GFANZ declined to comment, but a BloombergNEF research report that showed that banks in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance deployed a much greater percentage of their finance into clean energy than banks that weren’t in the alliance.
-    
-            Leaving the group: The study comes at a time when some large banks are pulling out of high-commitment climate pledges and Republican backlash grows against investing strategies that evaluate stocks using environmental, social and governance factors.
-    
-            The insurers’ climate alliance, another group under GFANZ, lost nearly half of its members last year as a group of Republican attorneys general accused the insurers of potentially breaking US antitrust laws.
-    
-            JPMorgan Chase and State Street quit Climate Action 100+, an investor-led climate change initiative, last year.
-    
-            “The climate challenge is immense and complex,” said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in his annual letter to shareholders this week. “Addressing it requires more than making simplistic statements and rules.”
-    
-            Dimon said JPMorgan erred when it used the word “commitment” instead of “aspirations we are actively striving toward.”
-    
-            “While we don’t necessarily disagree with some of the principles many organizations have, we make our own business decisions,” he added, noting JPMorgan has invested in its own in-house climate team.
-    
-            State Street did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
-    
-            Climate experts expect that over $5 trillion must be invested into climate action annual to meet current goals.
-    
-            From central banks to Costco customers, it seems everyone is buying gold these days, reports CNN’s John Towfighi.
-    
-            The price of spot gold reached $2,364 per ounce Tuesday after hitting record highs for seven straight sessions and trading at $2,336 per ounce Monday. Year on year, gold is up 16.5%.
-    
-            Investors who expect the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate are the main force driving up prices, but the surge is boosted by other factors, including central banks — led by China — buying up gold to ease reliance on US dollars.
-    
-            Central banks see gold as a long-term store of value and a safe haven during times of economic and international turmoil.
-    
-            Gold is considered a resilient investment. When interest rates fall, gold prices tend to rise, as bullion becomes more appealing than income-paying assets like bonds. Investors also regard gold as a hedge against inflation, betting bullion will retain its value when prices rise.
-    
-            The People’s Bank of China bought gold for the 17th straight month in March, adding 160,000 ounces to bring reserves to 72.74 million troy ounces of gold, according to Reuters.
-    
-            Central banks may want to “diversify away” from US dollars and buy gold amid geopolitical uncertainty, according to an April 9 UBS research note. As China builds its reserves, demand is pushing up prices already boosted by usual investors.
-    
-            Chinese investors are looking to gold as an alternative asset amid downturns in property valuations and equity prices in past years, according to an April 9 Capital Economics research note.
-    
-            Other central banks, including India and Turkey, are also increasing their gold reserves. India’s GDP growth is driving those purchases, according to UBS.
-    
-            Read more here.
-    
-            Jessica Alba is stepping down as chief creative officer at The Honest Company, the baby products and personal care business founded by the actress in 2012, reports my colleague Ramishah Maruf.
-    
-            In a statement Tuesday, the company said Alba’s move away from her position will allow her to “shift her creative energy to new endeavors.” The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.
-    
-            The Honest Company posted a strong fourth quarter in March. Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases. The earnings report said its diaper and baby clothing businesses performed especially well.
-    
-            Still, shares of the stock are down more than 80% from their market peak in 2021. The company is not profitable, and reported a net loss of about of $39 million in 2023.
-    
-            The company — which went public and began trading on Nasdaq in 2021 — markets an aspirational “clean” lifestyle through its baby products and clothing, as well as skin and personal care.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter.', 'Not a subscriber?', 'You can sign upright here.', 'You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.', 'The biggest banks in the world have pledged to go green.', 'But a new study, published by the European Central Bank, has found that those promises often amount to more talk than walk.', 'What’s happening: Just over two years ago, the world’s largest lenders and asset managers gathered in Glasgow and pledged to spend a collective $130 trillion (that’s nearly five times larger than the US economy) to tackle climate change.', 'What emerged was the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – now made up of 675 financial powerhouses spanning 50 countries.', '“We now have the essential plumbing in place to move climate change from the fringes to the forefront of finance so that every financial decision takes climate change into account,” Mark Carney, the alliance co-chair, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and former head of the Bank of England, said in a statement at the time.', 'The financial institutions voluntarily pledged to make sure that the companies they invested in slashed their emissions.', 'They also said they would align their lending policies with the goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels.', 'But a new report that analyzed lending by some European signatories, published by economists from the ECB, MIT and Columbia Business School, casts doubts on whether the promises had made any substantive changes.', '“Our results cast doubt on the efficacy of voluntary climate commitments for reducing financed emissions, whether through divestment or engagement,” they wrote in their report.', 'About 10% of the 300 banks the study analyzed had joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (a group led by GFANZ and backed by the United Nations).', 'They found that banks in the alliance did not increase interest rates on loans to companies with high carbon emissions and the companies receiving loans from banks in the alliance were not more likely to set goals for decarbonization.', 'Since 2018, they found, European banks had reduced their lending by just 20% to carbon-heavy sectors like oil, gas and transport.', 'Researchers found that the decline was the same for all banks, regardless of whether they signed onto the commitment.', 'GFANZ declined to comment, but a BloombergNEF research report that showed that banks in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance deployed a much greater percentage of their finance into clean energy than banks that weren’t in the alliance.', 'Leaving the group: The study comes at a time when some large banks are pulling out of high-commitment climate pledges and Republican backlash grows against investing strategies that evaluate stocks using environmental, social and governance factors.', 'The insurers’ climate alliance, another group under GFANZ, lost nearly half of its members last year as a group of Republican attorneys general accused the insurers of potentially breaking US antitrust laws.', 'JPMorgan Chase and State Street quit Climate Action 100+, an investor-led climate change initiative, last year.', '“The climate challenge is immense and complex,” said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in his annual letter to shareholders this week. “', 'Addressing it requires more than making simplistic statements and rules.”', 'Dimon said JPMorgan erred when it used the word “commitment” instead of “aspirations we are actively striving toward.”', '“While we don’t necessarily disagree with some of the principles many organizations have, we make our own business decisions,” he added, noting JPMorgan has invested in its own in-house climate team.', 'State Street did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.', 'Climate experts expect that over $5 trillion must be invested into climate action annual to meet current goals.', 'From central banks toCostcocustomers, it seems everyone is buying gold these days, reports CNN’s John Towfighi.', 'The price of spot gold reached$2,364 per ounceTuesday after hitting record highs for seven straight sessions and trading at $2,336 per ounce Monday.', 'Year on year, gold is up 16.5%.', 'Investors who expect the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate are the main force driving up prices, but the surge is boosted by other factors, including central banks — led by China — buying up gold to ease reliance on US dollars.', 'Central banks see gold as a long-term store of value and a safe haven during times of economic and international turmoil.', 'Gold is considered a resilient investment.', 'When interest rates fall, gold prices tend to rise, as bullion becomes more appealing than income-paying assets like bonds.', 'Investors also regard gold as a hedge against inflation, betting bullion will retain its value when prices rise.', 'The People’s Bank of China bought gold for the 17th straight month in March, adding 160,000 ounces to bring reserves to 72.74 million troy ounces of gold, according to Reuters.', 'Central banks may want to “diversify away” from US dollars and buy gold amid geopolitical uncertainty, according to an April 9 UBS research note.', 'As China builds its reserves, demand is pushing up prices already boosted by usual investors.', 'Chinese investors are looking to gold as an alternative asset amid downturns in property valuations and equity prices in past years, according to an April 9 Capital Economics research note.', 'Other central banks, including India and Turkey, are also increasing their gold reserves.', 'India’s GDP growth is driving those purchases, according to UBS.', 'Read more here.', 'Jessica Alba is stepping down as chief creative officer at The Honest Company, the baby products and personal care business founded by the actress in 2012, reports my colleague Ramishah Maruf.', 'In astatementTuesday, the company said Alba’s move away from her position will allow her to “shift her creative energy to new endeavors.”', 'The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.', 'The Honest Company posted a strong fourth quarter in March.', 'Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases.', 'The earnings report said its diaper and baby clothing businesses performed especially well.', 'Still, shares of the stock are down more than 80% from their market peak in 2021.', 'The company is not profitable, and reported a net loss of about of $39 million in 2023.', 'The company — whichwent public and began trading on Nasdaqin 2021 — markets an aspirational “clean” lifestyle through its baby products and clothing, as well as skin and personal care.']",0.2267326055598773,"The actress, known for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” will remain on The Honest Company’s board of directors.","The company is not profitable, and reported a net loss of about of $39 million in 2023.",0.3123219520957381,"Its revenue increased 10% to $90 million, according to the company’s earnings report, driven by growth in its digital channel and price increases.","The insurers’ climate alliance, another group under GFANZ, lost nearly half of its members last year as a group of Republican attorneys general accused the insurers of potentially breaking US antitrust laws.",2024-04-10
-Iowa women’s basketball sets another ratings record in Final Four win over UConn,https://edition.cnn.com/business/iowa-womens-basketball-ratings-record/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:36 PM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","Days after the Iowa Hawkeyes set the all-time ratings record for a women’s college basketball game in their Elite Eight win over the Louisiana State University Tigers, the team set yet another record.
-    
-            The Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory on Friday over the UConn Huskies in the Final Four averaged 14.2 million viewers, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game and the largest viewership for an ESPN basketball broadcast, according to the sports network.
-    
-            Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.
-    
-            Monday’s Elite Eight matchup saw more than 12 million viewers tune in to watch the much-hyped rematch of 2023’s women’s national championship game, which saw Iowa avenge last year’s loss and advance to its second straight Final Four.
-    
-            The audience for that game peaked at 16.1 million viewers, according to ESPN.
-    
-            The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.
-    
-            The Hawkeyes will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday for the women’s NCAA tournament national championship in Cleveland, Ohio.",CNN,06/04/2024,"['Days after the Iowa Hawkeyes set the all-time ratings record for a women’s college basketball game in their Elite Eight win over the Louisiana State University Tigers, the team set yet another record.', 'The Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory on Friday over the UConn Huskies in the Final Four averaged 14.2 million viewers, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game and the largest viewership for an ESPN basketball broadcast, according to the sports network.', 'Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.', 'Monday’s Elite Eight matchup saw more than 12 million viewers tune in to watch the much-hyped rematch of 2023’s women’s national championship game, which saw Iowa avenge last year’s loss and advance to its second straight Final Four.', 'The audience for that game peaked at 16.1 million viewers, according to ESPN.', 'The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.', 'The Hawkeyes will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday for the women’s NCAA tournament national championship in Cleveland, Ohio.']",0.289203262627152,"Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.",,0.97069351375103,"The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.",,2024-04-10
-NBC News boss Cesar Conde faces backlash from his network’s anchors over ‘inexplicable’ decision to hire ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-cesar-conde-ronna-mcdaniel-backlash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:05 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.
-    
-            The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.
-    
-            Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.” And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press. They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air. Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.
-    
-            Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory. Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion. Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year. It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.
-    
-            While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network. McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.
-    
-            It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it. Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.
-    
-            As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican. It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican. It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election. That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.
-    
-            The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd. If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens. They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party. In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel. So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors. Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)
-    
-            But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move. How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.
-    
-            Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted. It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring. If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.” The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.
-    
-            At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours. It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed. After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?
-    
-            The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible. To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.
-    
-            But no such announcement came.
-    
-            Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control. MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire. NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.” The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.
-    
-            All the while, Conde has remained silent. I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation. Does he have any regret? I didn’t get an on-the-record response. Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values. It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.
-    
-            In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.
-    
-            “Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions. Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course. Not digging in. Not blaming others. Take a minute. Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”
-    
-            “It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “It is a sign of strength. And our country needs us to be strong now.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.', 'The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.', 'Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”', 'And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press.', 'They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air.', 'Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.', 'Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory.', 'Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion.', 'Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year.', 'It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.', 'While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.', 'It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it.', 'Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican.', 'It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican.', 'It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election.', 'That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.', 'The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd.', 'If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens.', 'They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party.', 'In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel.', 'So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (', 'Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors.', 'Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)', 'But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move.', 'How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.', 'Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted.', 'It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring.', 'If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.”', 'The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.', 'At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours.', 'It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed.', 'After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?', 'The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible.', 'To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.', 'But no such announcement came.', 'Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control.', 'MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire.', 'NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.”', 'The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.', 'All the while, Conde has remained silent.', 'I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation.', 'Does he have any regret?', 'I didn’t get an on-the-record response.', 'Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values.', 'It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.', 'In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.', '“Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.', '”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions.', 'Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course.', 'Not digging in.', 'Not blaming others.', 'Take a minute.', 'Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”', '“It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “', 'It is a sign of strength.', 'And our country needs us to be strong now.”']",-0.032955005531589,"Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”",The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.,-0.5018035081716684,"To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.","The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.",2024-04-10
-Stubbornly high US inflation grew stronger than expected in March,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/economy/cpi-consumer-price-index-inflation-march/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:06 PM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Surging gas prices and sky-high mortgages and rent sent inflation rising more than expected in March, adding to Americans’ prolonged and painful battle with high costs. That could force the Federal Reserve to keep its punishing rates higher for longer.
-    
-            US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the 12 months ended in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
-    
-            That’s up considerably from February’s 3.2% rate and marks the highest annual gain in the past six months. Wednesday’s report further highlights that the path to lower inflation remains extremely bumpy — and continue to be a drag on Americans’ hard-earned finances — and that any loosening of monetary policy might not happen soon.
-    
-            President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday there is “more to do” to bring down inflation.
-    
-            “Today’s report shows inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, but we have more to do to lower costs for hardworking families. Prices are still too high for housing and groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago,” Biden said in a statement.
-    
-            Inflation has been a bane on Biden’s presidency, with voters consistently giving him low marks for his handling of the economy.
-    
-            “You can kiss a June interest rate cut goodbye,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, wrote in commentary issued Wednesday. Following the report’s release, the markets’ probability of a June rate cut sank to 21%, down from 53% on Tuesday and 73% last month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
-    
-            US stocks tanked Wednesday after the release of the hotter-than-expected inflation data, with the blue-chip Dow falling by more than 500 points. The S&P 500 lost 1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1%.
-    
-            On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged from February’s 0.4% gain.
-    
-            Gas and shelter costs contributed more than half of that monthly increase, but price increases were broad-based, according to the BLS. Aside from prices falling in only a couple of categories — used and new cars as well as fuel oil — or remaining flat (grocery store food), prices rose in pretty much every major category last month.
-    
-            Economists were expecting a 0.3% monthly increase and an annual rate of 3.4%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
-    
-            The Fed has been wanting to see meaningful progress on inflation before it starts cutting rates.
-    
-            The pace of price hikes slowed markedly in 2023, but that progress not only hit a roadblock to start this year, it moved into reverse.
-    
-            Since the headline index can be heavily influenced by highly volatile categories such as food and energy, central bankers often look closely to the “core” index that strips out those categories.
-    
-            However, core CPI did not slow as expected.
-    
-            Excluding gas and food prices, categories that tend to be more volatile, core inflation rose 0.4% from the month before, bringing the annual rate to 3.8%, the same as February’s reading. Economists had anticipated a 0.3% monthly gain and for the annual rate to inch lower to 3.7%, according to FactSet.
-    
-            “The headline number was expected to go up because of energy prices, but the fact that core came in hotter than expected is a real bummer,” Tyler Schipper, assistant professor in economics and data analytics at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, told CNN. “That’s the number to fixate on in terms of underlying inflation trends, and they are very persistent and very stubborn.”
-    
-            On a three-month annualized basis, core inflation is running at 4.5%, Sarah House, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, told CNN.
-    
-            The housing component of inflation has proved frustrating for economists and other observers because even while the government’s evaluation of shelter costs — which have a time lag — remains high, private sources of more recent data have shown rent cooling over the past year.
-    
-            On an annual basis, the shelter index in the March CPI didn’t budge from the 5.7% rate seen a month before.
-    
-            “Shelter was a touch firmer, and I think that does continue to raise some doubt over how quickly and how far shelter inflation can cool ahead,” House said.
-    
-            It’s not just shelter keeping services inflation stuck in the mud. The services excluding shelter index continued to outpace overall inflation, rising 0.5% for the month and 5.3% for the year, according to the report.
-    
-            Medical care services, which saw prices fall slightly in February, bounced higher by 0.6% last month. Car insurance shot up by 2.6%, bringing the annual price hike to a distasteful 22.2%.
-    
-            “We’re still seeing very stubborn services inflation,” she said. “This is the element that the Fed has really focused on. They feel like they have a better grip on goods prices and what’s going to happen ahead, but we’re still not seeing the improvement they need in the services sector if we’re going to continue to drive inflation significantly lower this year.”
-    
-            Since the pandemic-era supply chain snarls resolved, the goods sector has helped overall inflation move lower because prices have not only slowed there but, in some cases, outright fallen.
-    
-            However, supply chain pressures are building back up because of developments such as ongoing turmoil in the Red Sea, the Panama Canal’s drought, and the Key bridge collapse that blocked the Port of Baltimore.
-    
-            “You’re losing that disinflationary impulse from goods while you’re still waiting to see more progress on lowering services inflation,” House said.
-    
-            Economists have long expected that lower market-rate rents would help bring shelter inflation and overall inflation lower (the CPI’s measurement of shelter prices comes with a delay in how BLS captures the data and the natural lag effect of the signing of annual leases). But there still is hope on the services side, Schipper said.
-    
-            “Wages are one of the primary inputs into services, and those have been relatively stable and coming down nicely in the labor market,” he said. “Hopefully that starts to put some calming pressure on services over the longer term.”
-    
-            Additionally, grocery prices (categorized as “food at home” in the CPI report) were flat for the second month in a row and restaurant prices slowed 4.2% annually, the lowest rate since June 2021.
-    
-            But even though food prices aren’t rocketing higher like they were, Americans are still feeling the pressure from rising prices for services-related businesses as well as at the gas pump.
-    
-            It’s going to be a “slow, slow process” for inflation to get back to a place where consumers aren’t having to think about it in their daily lives, House said.
-    
-            “Prices are not going to revert to where they were, so the best we can look for is a moderation in the rate at which prices are going up,” she said. “You see some stabilization in some key areas like the grocery store; but overall, you’re still going to see consumers bothered by the current price environment for some time.”
-    
-            This story has been updated with additional developments and context. It also corrects the date of the report, which was issued Wednesday.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Surging gas prices and sky-high mortgages and rent sentinflationrising more than expected in March, adding to Americans’ prolonged and painful battle with high costs.', 'That could force theFederal Reserveto keep its punishingrateshigher for longer.', 'US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the 12 months ended in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'That’s up considerably from February’s 3.2% rate and marks the highest annual gain in the past six months.', 'Wednesday’s report further highlights that the path to lower inflation remains extremely bumpy — and continue to be a drag on Americans’ hard-earned finances — and that any loosening of monetary policy might not happen soon.', 'President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday there is “more to do” to bring downinflation.', '“Today’s report showsinflationhas fallen more than 60% from its peak, but we have more to do to lower costs for hardworking families.', 'Prices are still too high forhousingand groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago,” Biden said in a statement.', 'Inflationhas been a bane on Biden’s presidency, with voters consistently giving him low marks for his handling of theeconomy.', '“You can kiss a June interest rate cut goodbye,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, wrote in commentary issued Wednesday.', 'Following the report’s release, the markets’ probability of a June rate cut sank to 21%, down from 53% on Tuesday and 73% last month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.', 'US stocks tanked Wednesday after the release of the hotter-than-expected inflation data, with the blue-chip Dow falling by more than 500 points.', 'The S&P 500 lost 1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1%.', 'On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged from February’s 0.4% gain.', 'Gas and shelter costs contributed more than half of that monthly increase, but price increases were broad-based, according to the BLS.', 'Aside from prices falling in only a couple of categories — used and new cars as well as fuel oil — or remaining flat (grocery store food), prices rose in pretty much every major category last month.', 'Economists were expecting a 0.3% monthly increase and an annual rate of 3.4%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.', 'The Fed has been wanting to see meaningful progress on inflation before it starts cutting rates.', 'The pace of price hikes slowed markedly in 2023, but that progress not only hit a roadblock to start this year, it moved into reverse.', 'Since the headline index can be heavily influenced by highly volatile categories such as food and energy, central bankers often look closely to the “core” index that strips out those categories.', 'However, core CPI did not slow as expected.', 'Excluding gas and food prices, categories that tend to be more volatile, core inflation rose 0.4% from the month before, bringing the annual rate to 3.8%, the same as February’s reading.', 'Economists had anticipated a 0.3% monthly gain and for the annual rate to inch lower to 3.7%, according to FactSet.', '“The headline number was expected to go up because of energy prices, but the fact that core came in hotter than expected is a real bummer,” Tyler Schipper, assistant professor in economics and data analytics at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, told CNN. “', 'That’s the number to fixate on in terms of underlying inflation trends, and they are very persistent and very stubborn.”', 'On a three-month annualized basis, core inflation is running at 4.5%, Sarah House, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, told CNN.', 'The housing component of inflation has proved frustrating for economists and other observers because even while the government’s evaluation of shelter costs — which have a time lag — remains high, private sources of more recent data have shown rent cooling over the past year.', 'On an annual basis, the shelter index in the March CPI didn’t budge from the 5.7% rate seen a month before.', '“Shelter was a touch firmer, and I think that does continue to raise some doubt over how quickly and how far shelter inflation can cool ahead,” House said.', 'It’s not just shelter keeping services inflation stuck in the mud.', 'The services excluding shelter index continued to outpace overall inflation, rising 0.5% for the month and 5.3% for the year, according to the report.', 'Medical care services, which saw prices fall slightly in February, bounced higher by 0.6% last month.', 'Car insurance shot up by 2.6%, bringing the annual price hike to a distasteful 22.2%.', '“We’re still seeing very stubborn services inflation,” she said. “', 'This is the element that the Fed has really focused on.', 'They feel like they have a better grip on goods prices and what’s going to happen ahead, but we’re still not seeing the improvement they need in the services sector if we’re going to continue to drive inflation significantly lower this year.”', 'Since the pandemic-era supply chain snarls resolved, the goods sector has helped overall inflation move lower because prices have not only slowed there but, in some cases, outright fallen.', 'However, supply chain pressures are building back up because of developments such as ongoing turmoil in the Red Sea, the Panama Canal’s drought, and the Key bridge collapse that blocked the Port of Baltimore.', '“You’re losing that disinflationary impulse from goods while you’re still waiting to see more progress on lowering services inflation,” House said.', 'Economists have long expected that lower market-rate rents would help bring shelter inflation and overall inflation lower (the CPI’s measurement of shelter prices comes with a delay in how BLS captures the data and the natural lag effect of the signing of annual leases).', 'But there still is hope on the services side, Schipper said.', '“Wages are one of the primary inputs into services, and those have been relatively stable and coming down nicely in the labor market,” he said. “', 'Hopefully that starts to put some calming pressure on services over the longer term.”', 'Additionally, grocery prices (categorized as “food at home” in the CPI report) were flat for the second month in a row and restaurant prices slowed 4.2% annually, the lowest rate since June 2021.', 'But even though food prices aren’t rocketing higher like they were, Americans are still feeling the pressure from rising prices for services-related businesses as well as at the gas pump.', 'It’s going to be a “slow, slow process” for inflation to get back to a place where consumers aren’t having to think about it in their daily lives, House said.', '“Prices are not going to revert to where they were, so the best we can look for is a moderation in the rate at which prices are going up,” she said. “', 'You see some stabilization in some key areas like the grocery store; but overall, you’re still going to see consumers bothered by the current price environment for some time.”', 'This story has been updated with additional developments and context.', 'It also corrects the date of the report, which was issued Wednesday.']",0.0215260451633802,"“Prices are not going to revert to where they were, so the best we can look for is a moderation in the rate at which prices are going up,” she said. “","However, supply chain pressures are building back up because of developments such as ongoing turmoil in the Red Sea, the Panama Canal’s drought, and the Key bridge collapse that blocked the Port of Baltimore.",0.2241469479742504,"Economists were expecting a 0.3% monthly increase and an annual rate of 3.4%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.","Following the report’s release, the markets’ probability of a June rate cut sank to 21%, down from 53% on Tuesday and 73% last month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.",2024-04-10
-Panama Papers: Money laundering trial of 27 defendants begins,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnek443n8zvo,2024-04-09T03:10:45.612Z,"The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court. The leak of secret financial documents in 2016 revealed how some of the world's wealthiest people stashed their assets in offshore companies. The defendants include Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora who founded the now defunct law firm, Mossack Fonseca. They face money-laundering charges but say neither they, the firm nor its employees were involved in unlawful acts. In 2017, the firm said it was the victim of a computer hack and that the information leaked was being misrepresented. If found guilty, Mr Mossack and Mr Fonseca could face up to twelve years each in prison. The leak, which included a collection of 11 million financial documents, implicated more than a hundred politicians, including then-heads of state and government, billionaires and sports stars. It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax. The records were first leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016. Mr Mossack was present in the courtroom, while lawyers for Mr Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama. Mr Fonseca had served as a minister in Panamanian former President Juan Carlos Varela's government but stepped aside in 2016. Mossack Fonseca was shut down in 2018. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court.', ""The leak of secret financial documents in 2016 revealed how some of the world's wealthiest people stashed their assets in offshore companies."", 'The defendants include Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora who founded the now defunct law firm, Mossack Fonseca.', 'They face money-laundering charges but say neither they, the firm nor its employees were involved in unlawful acts.', 'In 2017, the firm said it was the victim of a computer hack and that the information leaked was being misrepresented.', 'If found guilty, Mr Mossack and Mr Fonseca could face up to twelve years each in prison.', 'The leak, which included a collection of 11 million financial documents, implicated more than a hundred politicians, including then-heads of state and government, billionaires and sports stars.', 'It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax.', 'The records were first leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016.', 'Mr Mossack was present in the courtroom, while lawyers for Mr Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama.', ""Mr Fonseca had served as a minister in Panamanian former President Juan Carlos Varela's government but stepped aside in 2016."", 'Mossack Fonseca was shut down in 2018.']",-0.1079611745445361,It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax.,The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court.,,,,2024-04-10
-Will the total solar eclipse disrupt your cell service?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/06/business/cell-service-disruption-solar-eclipse/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        2:40 PM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","As darkness envelops millions of people during Monday’s total solar eclipse, spectators will hold their cellphones skyward to capture the moment. But could the surge in cell usage cause networks to go dark?
-    
-            Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.
-    
-            The path of totality — where it’s possible to see the moon completely block the sun’s face — will draw thousands of tourists to states from Texas to Maine. Travelers will rely on the network infrastructure in those areas as they use social media, livestreams and video calls to commemorate their experience.
-    
-            The eclipse itself has no effect on wireless networks. But the influx of tourists to cities and towns creates an environment similar to a football game or a concert in a crowded stadium — the larger the crowd, the more difficult it can be to find a cell connection.
-    
-            “Any location that’s in the center of the path of totality is going to see a significant increase in cellphone usage, particularly during the period and shortly after totality,” said Caty Pilachowski, a professor of astronomy at Indiana University, Bloomington, in an interview with CNN.
-    
-            Bloomington, which last saw a total eclipse in 1869, will be in the path of totality on Monday and may host hundreds of thousands of visitors.
-    
-            “An eclipse is very often seen as a shared activity,” Pilachowski said, noting that people will be taking pictures and videos and sharing those images with others.
-    
-            AT&T anticipates an increase in network traffic as people “pick up their devices to capture and share content” during totality, according to a spokesperson for the company.
-    
-            When the last total solar eclipse cut a path across America in 2017, AT&T reported network usage spikes up to 15% around certain cell towers in the path of totality. But the company, which experienced an outage affecting millions in February, says it’s ready for Monday. “The eclipse itself will have no direct operational impact on our wireless network,” an AT&T spokesperson wrote in an email.
-    
-            And other major providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile echo AT&T’s confidence ahead of Monday’s celestial spectacle.
-    
-            “We do not expect any impact from the 2024 solar eclipse on the operation of our network,” Chris Serico, a spokesperson for Verizon, told CNN.
-    
-            Verizon says it has developed its US infrastructure across the eclipse path in the past year. Serico said the wireless provider has built and activated 19 new cell sites in Niagara and Erie counties in New York — locations along the path of totality — since the start of 2023.
-    
-            In Northeast Ohio, Verizon has activated 60 new cell sites in six counties positioned in the path of totality. In the Dallas area, Verizon has activated 375 new cell sites.
-    
-            “In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.
-    
-            T-Mobile says it’s also deploying extra temporary cell sites that will be on stand-by in areas expecting high tourist traffic. These portable sites — cellular on wheels — are called COWs for short.
-    
-            Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse. AT&T has expanded its 5G network to reach more than 295 million people in up to 24,500 cities and towns cross the US.
-    
-            “All 5G launches and upgrades have been layered into our network since the last solar eclipse stretched across the United States in 2017,” Verizon’s Serico said.
-    
-            In New York, which will experience its first total eclipse in nearly a century, state and local governments say they have coordinated with wireless providers for more than a year to prepare for the event.
-    
-            “The carriers are aware of the influx of people expected to visit New York for this event and they have conducted site audits and evaluated coverage maps,” said Heather Groll, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, in an email.
-    
-            Nonetheless, officials expect large influxes of visitors: Buffalo, NY, could see up to 1 million tourists, and Rochester, NY, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000, according to Groll. This means people in those areas may experience standard disruptions to service.
-    
-            “Visitors and New Yorkers alike should expect that there will be limited coverage in places where there are large gatherings and plan accordingly,” Groll wrote in an email.
-    
-            While some cities can expect disruption, it all depends on the number of people using a tower and the area’s specific capacity, according to Lisa Winter, a program scientist at NASA.
-    
-            “It may be difficult in a crowded area if many people are using the same towers,” Winter said in an email.
-    
-            Bloomington has coordinated with service providers to deploy COWs in low coverage areas, said Rick Dietz, director of the city’s Information & Technology Services Department, in an email.
-    
-            He said providers are indicating regular calls should go through, but data services may be strained or unavailable.
-    
-            In Little Rock, Arkansas, city officials say they are not concerned about disruptions to cell service.
-    
-            “We know that state and federal government have allocated resources primarily for rural areas of the State that may have limited cell network access,” Little Rock spokesperson Aaron Sadler said in an email. “The City of Little Rock does not have the same coverage concerns and we are hopeful there are no network issues next week.”
-    
-            People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.
-    
-            Whether on your phone or not, most important, Pilachowski said, is to the enjoy the experience.
-    
-            “A total eclipse of the sun is unlike any other experience that a human being can have. It is so profound in giving us this connection to not just nature, but the universe,” she said. “We’re connected to the sun and the moon and a whole broad universe in a way that we don’t normally experience. And so it’s a profound moment that we want everyone to feel and to share.”",CNN,06/04/2024,"['As darkness envelops millions of people during Monday’s total solar eclipse, spectators will hold their cellphones skyward to capture the moment.', 'But could the surge in cell usage cause networks to go dark?', 'Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.', 'The path of totality — where it’s possible to see the moon completely block the sun’s face — will draw thousands of tourists to states from Texas to Maine.', 'Travelers will rely on the network infrastructure in those areas as they use social media, livestreams and video calls to commemorate their experience.', 'The eclipse itself has no effect on wireless networks.', 'But the influx of tourists to cities and towns creates an environment similar to a football game or a concert in a crowded stadium — the larger the crowd, the more difficult it can be to find a cell connection.', '“Any location that’s in the center of the path of totality is going to see a significant increase in cellphone usage, particularly during the period and shortly after totality,” said Caty Pilachowski, a professor of astronomy at Indiana University, Bloomington, in an interview with CNN.', 'Bloomington, which last saw a total eclipse in 1869, will be in the path of totality on Monday and may host hundreds of thousands of visitors.', '“An eclipse is very often seen as a shared activity,” Pilachowski said, noting that people will be taking pictures and videos and sharing those images with others.', 'AT&T anticipates an increase in network traffic as people “pick up their devices to capture and share content” during totality, according to a spokesperson for the company.', 'When the last total solar eclipse cut a path across America in 2017, AT&T reported network usage spikes up to 15% around certain cell towers in the path of totality.', 'But the company, which experienced an outage affecting millions in February, says it’s ready for Monday. “', 'The eclipse itself will have no direct operational impact on our wireless network,” an AT&T spokesperson wrote in an email.', 'And other major providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile echo AT&T’s confidence ahead of Monday’s celestial spectacle.', '“We do not expect any impact from the 2024 solar eclipse on the operation of our network,” Chris Serico, a spokesperson for Verizon, told CNN.', 'Verizon says it has developed its US infrastructure across the eclipse path in the past year.', 'Serico said the wireless provider has built and activated 19 new cell sites in Niagara and Erie counties in New York — locations along the path of totality — since the start of 2023.', 'In Northeast Ohio, Verizon has activated 60 new cell sites in six counties positioned in the path of totality.', 'In the Dallas area, Verizon has activated 375 new cell sites.', '“In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.', 'T-Mobile says it’s also deploying extra temporary cell sites that will be on stand-by in areas expecting high tourist traffic.', 'These portable sites — cellular on wheels — are called COWs for short.', 'Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse.', 'AT&T has expanded its 5G network to reach more than 295 million people in up to 24,500 cities and towns cross the US.', '“All 5G launches and upgrades have been layered into our network since the last solar eclipse stretched across the United States in 2017,” Verizon’s Serico said.', 'In New York, which will experience its first total eclipse in nearly a century, state and local governments say they have coordinated with wireless providers for more than a year to prepare for the event.', '“The carriers are aware of the influx of people expected to visit New York for this event and they have conducted site audits and evaluated coverage maps,” said Heather Groll, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, in an email.', 'Nonetheless, officials expect large influxes of visitors: Buffalo, NY, could see up to 1 million tourists, and Rochester, NY, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000, according to Groll.', 'This means people in those areas may experience standard disruptions to service.', '“Visitors and New Yorkers alike should expect that there will be limited coverage in places where there are large gatherings and plan accordingly,” Groll wrote in an email.', 'While some cities can expect disruption, it all depends on the number of people using a tower and the area’s specific capacity, according to Lisa Winter, a program scientist at NASA.', '“It may be difficult in a crowded area if many people are using the same towers,” Winter said in an email.', 'Bloomington has coordinated with service providers to deploy COWs in low coverage areas, said Rick Dietz, director of the city’s Information & Technology Services Department, in an email.', 'He said providers are indicating regular calls should go through, but data services may be strained or unavailable.', 'In Little Rock, Arkansas, city officials say they are not concerned about disruptions to cell service.', '“We know that state and federal government have allocated resources primarily for rural areas of the State that may have limited cell network access,” Little Rock spokesperson Aaron Sadler said in an email. “', 'The City of Little Rock does not have the same coverage concerns and we are hopeful there are no network issues next week.”', 'People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.', 'Whether on your phone or not, most important, Pilachowski said, is to the enjoy the experience.', '“A total eclipse of the sun is unlike any other experience that a human being can have.', 'It is so profound in giving us this connection to not just nature, but the universe,” she said. “', 'We’re connected to the sun and the moon and a whole broad universe in a way that we don’t normally experience.', 'And so it’s a profound moment that we want everyone to feel and to share.”']",0.0246670864473676,Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse.,"People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.",0.3109791766513478,"“In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.","Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.",2024-04-10
-World of Warcraft: Popular game to return to China,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czq5xyj2dw2o,2024-04-10T04:46:07.063Z,"Popular games such as World of Warcraft will be back in China this summer, according to Chinese video games giant NetEase. Last year, NetEase and game developer Activision Blizzard ended their 14-year partnership due to disagreement over intellectual property control. The breakup sparked outcry with millions of Chinese internet users complaining that they would lose access to their favourite games. All games require a local publisher and licences from the Chinese government to operate there. The earlier disagreement escalated into an open feud that saw the two companies sue each other.  But the tension eased after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69bn (£54bn) in October last year which was the gaming industry's biggest ever deal. “We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years,” Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment, said in a statement. ""We are focused on bringing our universes back to players with excellence and dedication."" Other Blizzard titles which will return to China include Hearthstone, Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft franchises. China is the world's biggest online gaming market, with its domestic revenue rising 13% to 303 billion yuan ($42bn; £33) at the end of last year.  NetEase is the country's second-largest video games company by revenue after Tencent. Microsoft and NetEase also said that they have agreed to explore bringing new NetEase titles to Microsoft's Xbox gaming consoles and its other gaming platforms. “Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming. The lucrative sector has also had frequent run-ins with the authorities. Beijing first moved against the gaming sector in 2021, ruling that online gamers under the age of 18 would only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays. Late last year, the authorities announced further restrictions to limit in-game purchases but China seems to have backtracked on strict rules to combat what the regulator deemed ""obsessive"" gaming. ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['Popular games such as World of Warcraft will be back in China this summer, according to Chinese video games giant NetEase.', 'Last year, NetEase and game developer Activision Blizzard ended their 14-year partnership due to disagreement over intellectual property control.', 'The breakup sparked outcry with millions of Chinese internet users complaining that they would lose access to their favourite games.', 'All games require a local publisher and licences from the Chinese government to operate there.', 'The earlier disagreement escalated into an open feud that saw the two companies sue each other.', ""But the tension eased after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69bn (£54bn) in October last year which was the gaming industry's biggest ever deal. “"", 'We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years,” Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment, said in a statement. ""', 'We are focused on bringing our universes back to players with excellence and dedication.""', 'Other Blizzard titles which will return to China include Hearthstone, Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft franchises.', ""China is the world's biggest online gaming market, with its domestic revenue rising 13% to 303 billion yuan ($42bn; £33) at the end of last year."", ""NetEase is the country's second-largest video games company by revenue after Tencent."", ""Microsoft and NetEase also said that they have agreed to explore bringing new NetEase titles to Microsoft's Xbox gaming consoles and its other gaming platforms. “"", 'Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.', 'The lucrative sector has also had frequent run-ins with the authorities.', 'Beijing first moved against the gaming sector in 2021, ruling that online gamers under the age of 18 would only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays.', 'Late last year, the authorities announced further restrictions to limit in-game purchases but China seems to have backtracked on strict rules to combat what the regulator deemed ""obsessive"" gaming.']",0.0883152421946721,"We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years,” Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment, said in a statement. """,The breakup sparked outcry with millions of Chinese internet users complaining that they would lose access to their favourite games.,0.2293050050735473,"China is the world's biggest online gaming market, with its domestic revenue rising 13% to 303 billion yuan ($42bn; £33) at the end of last year.",The breakup sparked outcry with millions of Chinese internet users complaining that they would lose access to their favourite games.,2024-04-10
-"NBC cut ties with Ronna McDaniel after extraordinary pressure, but its problems aren’t over",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/27/media/nbc-ronna-mcdaniel-problems-are-not-over/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:16 AM EDT, Wed March 27, 2024
-    ","Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role. But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80 painful hours.
-    
-            On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”
-    
-            “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”
-    
-            Conde had no real choice. The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel. The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.
-    
-            “What a sh*t show!” a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.
-    
-            In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire. But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.” Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.
-    
-            Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent. As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”
-    
-            “Has Cesar lost the room?” wondered a third media executive.
-    
-            While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess. Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.
-    
-            “These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.
-    
-            Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong. Good. Let NBC be for Democrats only.”
-    
-            Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest. The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican. It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican. No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote. And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.
-    
-            Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come. As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.
-    
-            NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter. The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told. Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.
-    
-            While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars. Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,27/03/2024,"['Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role.', 'But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80painful hours.', 'On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”', '“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”', 'Conde had no real choice.', 'The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel.', 'The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.', '“What a sh*t show!”', 'a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.', 'In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire.', 'But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.”', 'Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.', 'Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent.', 'As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”', '“Has Cesar lost the room?”', 'wondered a third media executive.', 'While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess.', 'Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.', '“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.', 'Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong.', 'Good.', 'Let NBC be for Democrats only.”', 'Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest.', 'The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican.', 'It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican.', 'No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.', 'Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come.', 'As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.', 'NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter.', 'The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told.', 'Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.', 'While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.', 'Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0743400881523301,"“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “","“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.",-0.3914040706374428,"While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.","As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.",2024-04-10
-US inflation jumps as fuel and housing costs rise,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68781482,2024-04-10T13:35:16.000Z,"Consumer prices in the US rose faster than expected last month, in a sign that the fight to slow inflation has stalled. Prices rose 3.5% over the 12 months to March, up from 3.2% in February, the US Labor Department said.  Higher costs for fuel, housing, dining out and clothing drove the increase. Analysts warned the lack of progress will force the US central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer. Higher interest rates help stabilise prices by making it more expensive to borrow for business expansions and other spending. In theory, that in turn slows the economy, and eases the pressures pushing up prices.  But the Federal Reserve's key interest rate is now set at the highest levels in more than two decades, in the range of 5.25%-5.5%. Forecasters had expected the bank to start lowering borrowing costs this year, reflecting the fact that the inflation rate, which tracks the pace of price rises, has fallen significantly since hitting 9.1% in 2022. But recent economic data, including strong jobs creation figures last week, has raised doubts about how soon those cuts might come.  Analysts, who once expected rate cuts as soon as March, have been rapidly revising bets, with many now not expecting any until later this summer and some predicting the bank could wait until next year. What the Fed decides to do is likely to shape decisions by central bankers all around the world, said Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Diversified Funds. ""The Fed has got some head scratching to do and if other central banks were waiting for the Fed to move, they have got a conundrum on their hands now,"" he said.  Inflation cooled rapidly over 2023 as pandemic-era supply issues healed and the spike in food and energy prices sparked by the war in Ukraine faded, but it still remains higher than the bank's 2% target. An uptick in oil prices prices in recent months has also pushed energy costs higher, while prices for services show little sign of stabilising.  The Labor Department said prices jumped 0.4% from March to February, the same as in February. Higher petrol and housing costs accounted for more than half the increase.  Car insurance, medical care and costs for internet also contributed. So-called core inflation, which is seen by economists as a better indicator of future trends because it does not include more volatile food and energy prices, stood at 3.8%, the same as in February.  ""We shouldn't overreact to the jump in headline inflation - which was all about energy,"" said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings. But he added: ""The details are not at all reassuring for the Fed."" ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['Consumer prices in the US rose faster than expected last month, in a sign that the fight to slow inflation has stalled.', 'Prices rose 3.5% over the 12 months to March, up from 3.2% in February, the US Labor Department said.', 'Higher costs for fuel, housing, dining out and clothing drove the increase.', 'Analysts warned the lack of progress will force the US central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer.', 'Higher interest rates help stabilise prices by making it more expensive to borrow for business expansions and other spending.', 'In theory, that in turn slows the economy, and eases the pressures pushing up prices.', ""But the Federal Reserve's key interest rate is now set at the highest levels in more than two decades, in the range of 5.25%-5.5%."", 'Forecasters had expected the bank to start lowering borrowing costs this year, reflecting the fact that the inflation rate, which tracks the pace of price rises, has fallen significantly since hitting 9.1% in 2022.', 'But recent economic data, including strong jobs creation figures last week, has raised doubts about how soon those cuts might come.', 'Analysts, who once expected rate cuts as soon as March, have been rapidly revising bets, with many now not expecting any until later this summer and some predicting the bank could wait until next year.', 'What the Fed decides to do is likely to shape decisions by central bankers all around the world, said Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Diversified Funds. ""', 'The Fed has got some head scratching to do and if other central banks were waiting for the Fed to move, they have got a conundrum on their hands now,"" he said.', ""Inflation cooled rapidly over 2023 as pandemic-era supply issues healed and the spike in food and energy prices sparked by the war in Ukraine faded, but it still remains higher than the bank's 2% target."", 'An uptick in oil prices prices in recent months has also pushed energy costs higher, while prices for services show little sign of stabilising.', 'The Labor Department said prices jumped 0.4% from March to February, the same as in February.', 'Higher petrol and housing costs accounted for more than half the increase.', 'Car insurance, medical care and costs for internet also contributed.', 'So-called core inflation, which is seen by economists as a better indicator of future trends because it does not include more volatile food and energy prices, stood at 3.8%, the same as in February. ""', 'We shouldn\'t overreact to the jump in headline inflation - which was all about energy,"" said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings.', 'But he added: ""The details are not at all reassuring for the Fed.""']",0.1008307177690678,Higher interest rates help stabilise prices by making it more expensive to borrow for business expansions and other spending.,"Forecasters had expected the bank to start lowering borrowing costs this year, reflecting the fact that the inflation rate, which tracks the pace of price rises, has fallen significantly since hitting 9.1% in 2022.",0.5770586803555489,"Prices rose 3.5% over the 12 months to March, up from 3.2% in February, the US Labor Department said.",Analysts warned the lack of progress will force the US central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer.,2024-04-10
-The Chevrolet Corvette is officially going electric,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/25/business/electric-hybrid-corvette/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:22 PM EDT, Mon April 25, 2022
-    ","General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning. 
-    
-            Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote. An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered. All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.
-    
-            While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.
-    
-            “Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.” It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system. Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.
-    
-            Various companies are working on electric sports cars. Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles. Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.
-    
-            Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle. Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.
-    
-            To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower. A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall. The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version. Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.
-    
-            Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines. Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.  
-    
-            GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.",CNN,25/04/2022,"['General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning.', 'Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “', 'We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote.', 'An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered.', 'All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.', 'While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.', '“Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.”', 'It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system.', 'Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.', 'Various companies are working on electric sports cars.', 'Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles.', 'Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.', 'Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.', 'Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.', 'To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower.', 'A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall.', 'The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version.', 'Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.', 'Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.', 'Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.', 'GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.']",0.0521320736918344,Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.,"While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.",0.3646016319592793,"Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.","Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.",2024-04-10
-Abrdn hits out at 'corporate bullying' over name change,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769562,2024-04-09T11:48:12.000Z,"An executive at a centuries-old investment firm has accused the media of ""corporate bullying"" after it changed its name to Abrdn. The asset manager rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen three years ago, shortening its name and dropping the vowels.  Chief investment officer Peter Branner complained the press was making ""childish"" jokes about the change. He said it would be unethical to treat an individual in the same way. In an interview with the trade publication Financial News, he said: ""I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it's a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name."" The Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read ""Lv Abrdn aln"" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page on Tuesday that read ""Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls"". The fund group was born out of the £3.8bn ($4.8bn) merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 and has its roots dating as far back as 1825. It proceeded with a name change in 2021 after offloading its UK and European life insurance arm and selling its Standard Life brand name to smaller rival Phoenix Group. Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"". Mr Branner told Financial News: ""Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out? It's probably not ethical to do it, but apparently with companies it is different."" Other notable name changes that have been heavily criticised include Elon Musk's decision to rename Twitter as X last year, as well as the planned move to change Royal Mail to Consignia in 2001.  An Abrdn spokesperson said: ''As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about."" ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['An executive at a centuries-old investment firm has accused the media of ""corporate bullying"" after it changed its name to Abrdn.', 'The asset manager rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen three years ago, shortening its name and dropping the vowels.', 'Chief investment officer Peter Branner complained the press was making ""childish"" jokes about the change.', 'He said it would be unethical to treat an individual in the same way.', 'In an interview with the trade publication Financial News, he said: ""I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it\'s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name.""', 'The Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read ""Lv Abrdn aln"" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page on Tuesday that read ""Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls"".', 'The fund group was born out of the £3.8bn ($4.8bn) merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 and has its roots dating as far back as 1825.', 'It proceeded with a name change in 2021 after offloading its UK and European life insurance arm and selling its Standard Life brand name to smaller rival Phoenix Group.', 'Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".', 'Mr Branner told Financial News: ""Would you do that with an individual?', 'How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out?', 'It\'s probably not ethical to do it, but apparently with companies it is different.""', ""Other notable name changes that have been heavily criticised include Elon Musk's decision to rename Twitter as X last year, as well as the planned move to change Royal Mail to Consignia in 2001."", 'An Abrdn spokesperson said: \'\'As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about.""']",-0.1130232895938554,"An Abrdn spokesperson said: ''As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about.""","Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".",-0.7906963676214218,,"Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".",2024-04-10
-Apple sparks Palestinian flag emoji controversy,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68778830,2024-04-10T15:12:08.000Z,"Apple has been criticised after the Palestinian flag emoji was automatically suggested to iPhone users who type ""Jerusalem."" Both Israel and the Palestinians hold competing claims to the ancient city.  TV presenter Rachel Riley, who is Jewish, noted on social media that national flags were not suggested for other capitals. Apple has told the BBC that the change - which followed a recent software update - was not intentional. The issue will be remedied in a future software update, Apple says, but it is not known how rapidly this will happen. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Ms Riley demanded that Apple explain what had happened. ""Showing double standards with respect to Israel is a form of antisemitism"", she argued. The issue, according to Apple, relates to a feature called predictive emoji. iPhones can suggest emojis when words are typed in messages, and other apps.  The notes accompanying the latest iOS update say that it includes ""new emojis."" The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest disputes in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel sees the whole of Jerusalem as its eternal, undivided capital, while Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of their hoped-for future state. East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, were captured by Israel from Jordan and Egypt in a war in 1967, and have since been viewed internationally as occupied Palestinian territory. This is not the first time a big tech company has found itself embroiled in the bitter dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.  Last year rival tech giant Meta had to apologise after a bug resulted in it adding ""terrorist"" to the biographies of some Instagram users describing themselves as Palestinian. Meta said it fixed a problem ""that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations"" in some of its products. ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['Apple has been criticised after the Palestinian flag emoji was automatically suggested to iPhone users who type ""Jerusalem.""', 'Both Israel and the Palestinians hold competing claims to the ancient city.', 'TV presenter Rachel Riley, who is Jewish, noted on social media that national flags were not suggested for other capitals.', 'Apple has told the BBC that the change - which followed a recent software update - was not intentional.', 'The issue will be remedied in a future software update, Apple says, but it is not known how rapidly this will happen.', 'Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Ms Riley demanded that Apple explain what had happened. ""', 'Showing double standards with respect to Israel is a form of antisemitism"", she argued.', 'The issue, according to Apple, relates to a feature called predictive emoji.', 'iPhones can suggest emojis when words are typed in messages, and other apps.', 'The notes accompanying the latest iOS update say that it includes ""new emojis.""', 'The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest disputes in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.', 'Israel sees the whole of Jerusalem as its eternal, undivided capital, while Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of their hoped-for future state.', 'East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, were captured by Israel from Jordan and Egypt in a war in 1967, and have since been viewed internationally as occupied Palestinian territory.', 'This is not the first time a big tech company has found itself embroiled in the bitter dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.', 'Last year rival tech giant Meta had to apologise after a bug resulted in it adding ""terrorist"" to the biographies of some Instagram users describing themselves as Palestinian.', 'Meta said it fixed a problem ""that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations"" in some of its products.']",-0.1742546137985572,"Israel sees the whole of Jerusalem as its eternal, undivided capital, while Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of their hoped-for future state.",This is not the first time a big tech company has found itself embroiled in the bitter dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.,-0.827385405699412,,"Meta said it fixed a problem ""that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations"" in some of its products.",2024-04-10
-"NBC hires former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who has demonized the press and refused to acknowledge Biden was fairly elected",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/22/media/ronna-mcdaniel-nbc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:53 PM EDT, Fri March 22, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedly attacked the network and its journalists, assailed the news media as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020 vote, as an on-air commentator ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
-    
-            “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memo to staff.
-    
-            McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.
-    
-            During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.
-    
-            McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.” At times, she even targeted NBC News and MSNBC with dishonest attacks.
-    
-            In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”
-    
-            “How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?” McDaniel asked.
-    
-            McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role. In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”
-    
-            An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.
-    
-            In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.
-    
-            McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
-    
-            The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.” The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in a detailed fact check posted online.
-    
-            In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.
-    
-            “I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real. I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “I’m from Wayne County. We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots. We had to look into that. That’s deeply concerning. When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning. We have every right to look at that.”
-    
-            In the interview, Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.
-    
-            “I think there were lots of problems with 2020. Ultimately, he won the election but there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “But I don’t think he won it fair. I don’t. I’m not going to say that.”
-    
-            NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at the network’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.
-    
-            Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on air without scrutiny.
-    
-            MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do. Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lies on the air is dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”",CNN,22/03/2024,"['NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedlyattacked the network and its journalists,assailed thenewsmedia as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020vote,as an on-air commentatorahead of the 2024 presidential election.', '“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memoto staff.', 'McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.', 'During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.', 'McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.”', 'At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.', 'In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”', '“How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?”', 'McDaniel asked.', 'McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role.', 'In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies��� and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”', 'An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.', 'In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.', 'McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.', '”The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in adetailed fact checkposted online.', 'In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.', '“I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real.', 'I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “', 'I’m from Wayne County.', 'We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots.', 'We had to look into that.', 'That’s deeply concerning.', 'When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning.', 'We have every right to look at that.”', 'In the interview,Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.', '“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.', 'Ultimately, he won the electionbut there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “', 'But I don’t think he won it fair.', 'I don’t.', 'I’m not going to say that.”', 'NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.', 'Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on airwithout scrutiny.', 'MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do.', 'Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lieson the airis dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”']",-0.069193576701305,But I don’t think he won it fair.,"At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.",-0.2803101042906443,"NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.",“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.,2024-04-10
-NBC News ousts Ronna McDaniel after network’s anchors launch unprecedented on-air rebellion,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-ousts-ronna-mcdaniel/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:44 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.
-    
-            “There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”
-    
-            “I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
-    
-            Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.
-    
-            The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.
-    
-            McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
-    
-            As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
-    
-            In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.
-    
-            NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists. The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network. Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.
-    
-            Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”
-    
-            “There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.
-    
-            The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”
-    
-            “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said. “We hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”
-    
-            Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.
-    
-            “NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.
-    
-            Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.” Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.
-    
-            “We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.
-    
-            “And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work. That this last election wasn’t a real result. That American elections are fraudulent.“
-    
-            The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring. MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.
-    
-            In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.', '“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “', 'After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”', '“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “', 'While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”', 'Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.', 'Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.', 'The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.', 'As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.', 'NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists.', 'The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network.', 'Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.', 'Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”', '“There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.', 'The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”', '“To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,”Brzezinski said. “', 'We hope NBC will reconsider its decision.', 'It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”', 'Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.', '“NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.', 'Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.”', 'Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.', '“We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.', '“And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “', 'Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work.', 'That this last election wasn’t a real result.', 'That American elections are fraudulent.“', 'The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring.', 'MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.', 'In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0710578434549836,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”","Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.",-0.4204912036657333,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”",The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.,2024-04-10
-3 ways Apple’s monopoly lawsuit could change the iPhone experience for fans,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apples-iphone-changes-lawsuit/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:30 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market. The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.
-    
-            That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.
-    
-            But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far. On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market. In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.
-    
-            The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them. Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”
-    
-            But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services. Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:
-    
-            If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.
-    
-            One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before. The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.
-    
-             According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.
-    
-            “An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said. “What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”
-    
-            At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage. And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.
-    
-            The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.
-    
-            Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.
-    
-            The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy. It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.
-    
-            In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap. Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year. RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.
-    
-            The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms. The US government could require the same.
-    
-            Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+. The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.
-    
-            Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.
-    
-            “The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.
-    
-            The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services. Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.
-    
-            The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating. Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.
-    
-            David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation. But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.
-    
-            “If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.
-    
-            Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use. Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.
-    
-            “The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.
-    
-            But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market.', 'The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.', 'That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.', 'But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far.', 'On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.', 'In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.', 'The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.', 'Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”', 'But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services.', 'Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:  If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.', 'One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before.', 'The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.', 'According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.', '“An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said.', '“What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”', 'At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage.', 'And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.', 'The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.', 'Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.', 'The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy.', 'It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.', 'In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.', 'Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year.', 'RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.', 'The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems.', 'The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms.', 'The US government could require the same.', 'Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+.', 'The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.', 'Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.', '“The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.', 'The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services.', 'Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.', 'The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.', 'Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.', 'David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation.', 'But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.', '“If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.', 'Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use.', 'Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.', '“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.', 'But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”']",0.2470050112228104,"In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.",The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.,-0.151834687590599,"“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.","The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.",2024-04-10
-Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036,2021-04-21T23:08:36.000Z,"New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.  More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.  The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and several were financially ruined. In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office. In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees. A draft report uncovered by the BBC showed the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue. The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment on the report. Although campaigners won the right for their cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024. The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen. The Metropolitan Police is also investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences. Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.  It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.  Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds - but their concerns were dismissed. The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"". A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees. It resumed on Tuesday 9 April, with campaigner Alan Bates the first to appear.  This fifth phase of the inquiry is expected to last several weeks, with former Post Office chief executives Paula Vennells and Adam Crozier set to give evidence.  The inquiry will also hear from Lord Arbuthnot, who is a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, as well as several politicians who have overseen the work of the Post Office.  Mr Bates was the inspiration for the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was broadcast in January 2024.  Days later, the government announced new plans to clear and compensate those affected.  Mr Bates told the inquiry that the Post Office has spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him. Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.  Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses. Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.  Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death. In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected. New legislation was introduced on 13 March to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation. The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July. Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed. Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.  Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.  Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation. More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"". Former Post Office chief executive Ms Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal. In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE. In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.  Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson previously told the Post Office inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Mr Bates when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010. He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"". The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence. Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the [next] election"".  ",BBC,21/04/2021,"[""New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice."", 'Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.', 'More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.', 'The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015.', 'Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).', 'Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and several were financially ruined.', 'In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office.', 'In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees.', 'A draft report uncovered by the BBC showed the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue.', 'The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment on the report.', 'Although campaigners won the right for their cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024.', 'The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen.', 'The Metropolitan Police is also investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences.', 'Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.', 'It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.', 'Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds - but their concerns were dismissed.', 'The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"".', 'A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees.', 'It resumed on Tuesday 9 April, with campaigner Alan Bates the first to appear.', 'This fifth phase of the inquiry is expected to last several weeks, with former Post Office chief executives Paula Vennells and Adam Crozier set to give evidence.', 'The inquiry will also hear from Lord Arbuthnot, who is a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, as well as several politicians who have overseen the work of the Post Office.', 'Mr Bates was the inspiration for the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was broadcast in January 2024.', 'Days later, the government announced new plans to clear and compensate those affected.', 'Mr Bates told the inquiry that the Post Office has spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him.', 'Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.', 'Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses.', 'Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.', 'Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.', 'In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected.', ""New legislation was introduced on 13 March to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation."", 'The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July.', 'Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed.', 'Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.', 'Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.', 'Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation.', 'More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"".', 'Former Post Office chief executive Ms Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal.', 'In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE.', 'In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.', 'Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson previously told the Post Office inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments.', 'Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Mr Bates when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010.', 'He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"".', ""The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence."", 'Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the [next] election"".']",-0.0503384031934611,"In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.","Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.",-0.7225653827190399,"In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.","Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.",2024-04-10
-Passport price to rise for second time in 14 months in the UK,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68778006,2024-04-10T09:46:41.000Z,"The price of a UK passport will rise on Thursday, for the second time in just over 14 months.  The cost of applying online to get a new or renewed adult passport will go up from £82.50 to £88.50 from midnight. This 7% rise follows a 9% rise in February 2023. Consumer group Which? said travellers due to renew would ""likely be shocked"" by the hike. The Home Office said it did not make a profit from the applications and the fee rise would help improve services.  Which? Travel expert Guy Hobbs said: ""If you've been meaning to renew your passport, today is your last opportunity to beat the price hikes."" The cost of applying for a child's passport online is also going up from £53.50 to £57.50. If you apply by post the price rises from £64 to £69. A postal application for an adult passport will rise from £93 to £100. It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently. Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.  Prior to last year's rise, passport fees had not gone up for five years and a standard adult online application cost £75.50.  The Post Office, meanwhile, said its ""check and send"" service will still be on offer for £16. Mr Hobbs at Which? said: ""The cost of renewing a passport has jumped significantly in the last few years, with this latest price hike following hot on the heels of a hefty 9% rise just last year."" He added: ""While these price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe."" The online cost of an £88.50 UK passport is among the most expensive in Europe. The UK comes in behind countries like Switzerland (£122), Denmark (£103) and Italy (£99.50). The cost of a US passport, meanwhile, is £103. One reader called Ian told the BBC: ""The quality of these new passports is shocking. Although I use mine very often the gold embossing on the front is completely worn off."" Martyn James, a consumer rights campaigner, said: ""Just because a business or organisation can raise prices doesn't mean they should. The starting point with any price increase - and this is 16 percentage points over 14 months - should be what are you doing to make the service better."" In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic hundreds of thousands of people were affected by passport processing delays, with many experiencing travel disruptions. Some 360,000 customers waited more than 10 weeks to receive their passports in the first nine months of 2022, the National Audit Office found. Mr James said: ""The Passport Office has struggled with meeting its basic obligations, so many users will question what they are getting for their money."" Another reader, Hugh from Cheshire, however, told the BBC that he applied online and got his renewal within a week. ""It lasts me for 10 years, so just £8.25 per year."" The Home Office said the higher overall fees would go towards the cost of delivering passports and reduce the reliance on funding from tax. Separately, holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""passport 10-year rule"". UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months from an old passport over on to a new one. But post-Brexit, EU countries will not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago. Up to 32 million people applied for passports before the new rules, but it is unknown how many have been affected. Travel association ABTA on Wednesday reminded travellers to follow existing rules for airport security regarding liquids and hand luggage. It comes after the government extended the deadline for UK airports to install new security scanners, which would have brought an end to the 100ml liquid limit. Have you experienced delivery delays of your passport recently? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,10/04/2024,"['The price of a UK passport will rise on Thursday, for the second time in just over 14 months.', 'The cost of applying online to get a new or renewed adult passport will go up from £82.50 to £88.50 from midnight.', 'This 7% rise follows a 9% rise in February 2023.', 'Consumer group Which?', 'said travellers due to renew would ""likely be shocked"" by the hike.', 'The Home Office said it did not make a profit from the applications and the fee rise would help improve services.', 'Which?', 'Travel expert Guy Hobbs said: ""If you\'ve been meaning to renew your passport, today is your last opportunity to beat the price hikes.""', ""The cost of applying for a child's passport online is also going up from £53.50 to £57.50."", 'If you apply by post the price rises from £64 to £69.', 'A postal application for an adult passport will rise from £93 to £100.', 'It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently.', 'Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.', ""Prior to last year's rise, passport fees had not gone up for five years and a standard adult online application cost £75.50."", 'The Post Office, meanwhile, said its ""check and send"" service will still be on offer for £16.', 'Mr Hobbs at Which?', 'said: ""The cost of renewing a passport has jumped significantly in the last few years, with this latest price hike following hot on the heels of a hefty 9% rise just last year.""', 'He added: ""While these price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe.""', 'The online cost of an £88.50 UK passport is among the most expensive in Europe.', 'The UK comes in behind countries like Switzerland (£122), Denmark (£103) and Italy (£99.50).', 'The cost of a US passport, meanwhile, is £103.', 'One reader called Ian told the BBC: ""The quality of these new passports is shocking.', 'Although I use mine very often the gold embossing on the front is completely worn off.""', 'Martyn James, a consumer rights campaigner, said: ""Just because a business or organisation can raise prices doesn\'t mean they should.', 'The starting point with any price increase - and this is 16 percentage points over 14 months - should be what are you doing to make the service better.""', 'In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic hundreds of thousands of people were affected by passport processing delays, with many experiencing travel disruptions.', 'Some 360,000 customers waited more than 10 weeks to receive their passports in the first nine months of 2022, the National Audit Office found.', 'Mr James said: ""The Passport Office has struggled with meeting its basic obligations, so many users will question what they are getting for their money.""', 'Another reader, Hugh from Cheshire, however, told the BBC that he applied online and got his renewal within a week. ""', 'It lasts me for 10 years, so just £8.25 per year.""', 'The Home Office said the higher overall fees would go towards the cost of delivering passports and reduce the reliance on funding from tax.', 'Separately, holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""passport 10-year rule"".', 'UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months from an old passport over on to a new one.', 'But post-Brexit, EU countries will not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago.', 'Up to 32 million people applied for passports before the new rules, but it is unknown how many have been affected.', 'Travel association ABTA on Wednesday reminded travellers to follow existing rules for airport security regarding liquids and hand luggage.', 'It comes after the government extended the deadline for UK airports to install new security scanners, which would have brought an end to the 100ml liquid limit.', 'Have you experienced delivery delays of your passport recently?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.0456679376889854,Travel association ABTA on Wednesday reminded travellers to follow existing rules for airport security regarding liquids and hand luggage.,"In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic hundreds of thousands of people were affected by passport processing delays, with many experiencing travel disruptions.",0.3688118921385871,"said: ""The cost of renewing a passport has jumped significantly in the last few years, with this latest price hike following hot on the heels of a hefty 9% rise just last year.""","He added: ""While these price rises may well reflect rising production or processing costs, the UK passport is now amongst the priciest in Europe.""",2024-04-10
-The US Postal Service wants to hike stamp prices again in July. Here’s how much you’ll pay,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/business/stamp-prices-increase-usps/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:17 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Stamp prices are set to increase — again.
-    
-            The US Postal Service filed a notice with its regulators to increase prices on First-Class “Forever” stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents, marking yet another price hike for the financially beleaguered federal agency.
-    
-            If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the change would take effect in July, raising the cost of mailing services products by nearly 8%.
-    
-            Stamp prices alone have soared 36% since 2019 when they used to cost 50 cents. The Postal Service last raised First-Class stamp prices by two cents in January, just a few months after it raised prices three cents in July 2023.
-    
-            In a statement, the USPS said that the “price adjustments are needed to achieve the financial stability” sought in the agency’s 10-year plan announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in 2021 to make it more competitive and more modern.
-    
-            “USPS prices remain among the most affordable in the world,” the statement said.
-    
-            Other changes include domestic postcard prices increasing from 53 cents to 56 cents and international postcard prices increasing from $1.55 to $1.65.
-    
-            It’s rare, but not unheard of, for the regulators to decline USPS requests; they did so in 2010. The Postal Regulatory Commission denied a price hike because, according to its statement at the time, USPS “failed both to quantify the impact of the recession on its finances and to show how its rate request relates to the resulting loss of mail volume.”
-    
-            First-Class mail is becoming a smaller part of the Postal Service’s business because of online communication. The number of individual letters sent each year has fallen by about half in the past decade.
-    
-            DeJoy, appointed during the Trump administration, has pursued sweeping changes during his tenure to try to bolster the agency’s finances. USPS expects to lose $6.3 billion in 2024.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Stamp prices are set to increase — again.', 'The US Postal Service filed a notice with its regulators to increase prices on First-Class “Forever” stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents, marking yet another price hike for the financially beleaguered federal agency.', 'If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the change would take effect in July, raising the cost of mailing services products by nearly 8%.', 'Stamp prices alone have soared 36% since 2019 when they used to cost 50 cents.', 'The Postal Service last raised First-Class stamp prices by two cents in January, just a few months after it raised prices three cents in July 2023.', 'In a statement, the USPS said that the “price adjustments are needed to achieve the financial stability” sought in the agency’s 10-year plan announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in 2021 to make it more competitive and more modern.', '“USPS prices remain among the most affordable in the world,” the statement said.', 'Other changes include domestic postcard prices increasing from 53 cents to 56 cents and international postcard prices increasing from $1.55 to $1.65.', 'It’s rare, but not unheard of, for the regulators to decline USPS requests; they did so in 2010.', 'The Postal Regulatory Commission denied a price hike because, according to its statement at the time, USPS “failed both to quantify the impact of the recession on its finances and to show how its rate request relates to the resulting loss of mail volume.”', 'First-Class mail is becoming a smaller part of the Postal Service’s business because of online communication.', 'The number of individual letters sent each year has fallen by about half in the past decade.', 'DeJoy, appointed during the Trump administration, has pursued sweeping changes during his tenure to try to bolster the agency’s finances.', 'USPS expects to lose $6.3 billion in 2024.']",-0.0375008187333765,"If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the change would take effect in July, raising the cost of mailing services products by nearly 8%.","The Postal Regulatory Commission denied a price hike because, according to its statement at the time, USPS “failed both to quantify the impact of the recession on its finances and to show how its rate request relates to the resulting loss of mail volume.”",0.037438678741455,Stamp prices alone have soared 36% since 2019 when they used to cost 50 cents.,The number of individual letters sent each year has fallen by about half in the past decade.,2024-04-10
-The Toyota 4Runner is finally entering the future with a hybrid,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/toyotas-adds-4runner-off-road-suv-to-its-hybrid-line-up/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        10:53 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","It’s been almost 15 years since there has been any major change to the popular Toyota 4Runner SUV, a fan favorite among off-road enthusiasts. But an all-new version is finally coming, and among the most notable changes is the addition of a hybrid option.
-    
-            The 4Runner shares a lot of its engineering, and a lot of history, with Toyota pickups. The very first 4Runner, introduced about 40 years ago, was essentially a modified four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup, and, in this new generation the two models are again closely related.
-    
-            The new 2025 Toyota 4Runner, like the Tacoma, will be available with Toyota’s iForce Max hybrid system, adding another popular model to Toyota’s broadening hybrid line-up. It comes as more consumers, who may be wary of buying fully electric vehicles, are increasingly turning to hybrids.
-    
-            Since the beginning of 2023, hybrids have risen from about 6% of all new vehicles sold, a little less than electric vehicles at that time, to nearly 9% now, according to data from Edmnds.com. EV market share, meanwhile, is about the same as it was then.
-    
-            The hybrid system in the 4Runner adds a 48 horsepower electric motor to a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine to produce up to 326 horsepower in total. This version will be the most powerful 4Runner offered yet, although cheaper, less powerful gas-only versions will also be available.
-    
-            Adding a hybrid option to the 4Runner is part of Toyota’s broad strategy to “electrify” nearly every model in the automaker’s line-up while, for now, offering few fully electric vehicles. (Toyota currently sells only one electric model, the BZ4X, and one Lexus luxury EV in the US.) Toyota executives have long said that hybrid vehicles – which use an electric motor to assist a gas engine in driving a vehicle – offer broad benefits in greenhouse gas reductions, with less cost and inconvenience for consumers than fully electric vehicles.
-    
-            Critics, however, complain that Toyota’s insistence on offering hybrids instead of more electric vehicles – and its lobbying against government EV requirements – are holding back the auto industry’s EV transition. Consumers have responded positively, though, and Toyota’s hybrids have become extremely popular even as growth in sales of electric vehicles has slowed.
-    
-            Besides the Tacoma, which is also popular with off-road enthusiasts, the 4Runner will join a new retro-styled Land Cruiser in a trio of off-road-focused 4-cylinder hybrid models. The Land Cruiser will come only as a hybrid while, both the 4Runner and Tacoma will have hybrid power as an option. Toyota also now sells the larger, more powerful, Tundra pickup in an iForce Max hybrid version, but with a bigger six-cylinder gas engine.
-    
-            Hybrids can provide greatly increased fuel economy because they allow the gas engine to be shut off when the vehicle is stopped, or when only a little power is needed. Energy to run the electric motor is taken from the gas engine at times, and also during braking.
-    
-            Besides fuel economy, a hybrid’s electric motor can also provide benefits in off-road driving because of its ability to produce additional power, as in the 4Runner. Jeep has had a huge sales success with its Wrangler 4Xe, a plug-in hybrid with batteries that can be charged using an electric vehicle charger as well as from the SUV’s own gas engine.
-    
-            New engineering will provide a smoother on-road ride than the current rather stiff-riding 4Runner model, Toyota promises. The new 4Runner retains some functional features that are particularly important such as the roll-down back window, which allows long items to hang out the back. Side windows in the back wrap up over the roof, slightly, a design cue taken from the first generation of 4Runners in the 1980s.
-    
-            The 2025 4Runner will be available in a new off-road-tuned Trailhunter version as well as more luxurious Limited and Platinum versions. There will a number less well-equipped and cheaper versions, as well, of course.
-    
-            Some less expensive 4Runner models will be available with rear-wheel-drive only, while others will have a part-time four-wheel-drive system, designed to be turned off when driving on dry pavement. Others will have a permanent four-wheel-drive system.
-    
-            Toyota has not yet provided pricing or fuel economy information for the new 4Runner. Prices for the current of the 4Runner start at around $41,000.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['It’s been almost 15 years since there has been any major change to the popular Toyota 4Runner SUV, a fan favorite among off-road enthusiasts.', 'But an all-new version is finally coming, and among the most notable changes is the addition of a hybrid option.', 'The 4Runner shares a lot of its engineering, and a lot of history, with Toyota pickups.', 'The very first 4Runner, introduced about 40 years ago, was essentially a modified four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup, and, in this new generation the two models are again closely related.', 'The new 2025 Toyota 4Runner, like the Tacoma, will be available with Toyota’s iForce Max hybrid system, adding another popular model to Toyota’s broadening hybrid line-up.', 'It comes as more consumers, who may be wary of buying fully electric vehicles, are increasingly turning to hybrids.', 'Since the beginning of 2023, hybrids have risen from about 6% of all new vehicles sold, a little less than electric vehicles at that time, to nearly 9% now, according to data from Edmnds.com.', 'EV market share, meanwhile, is about the same as it was then.', 'The hybrid system in the 4Runner adds a 48 horsepower electric motor to a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine to produce up to 326 horsepower in total.', 'This version will be the most powerful 4Runner offered yet, although cheaper, less powerful gas-only versions will also be available.', 'Adding a hybrid option to the 4Runner is part of Toyota’s broad strategy to “electrify” nearly every model in the automaker’s line-up while, for now, offering few fully electric vehicles. (', 'Toyota currently sells only one electric model, the BZ4X, and one Lexus luxury EV in the US.)', 'Toyota executives have long said that hybrid vehicles – which use an electric motor to assist a gas engine in driving a vehicle – offer broad benefits in greenhouse gas reductions, with less cost and inconvenience for consumers than fully electric vehicles.', 'Critics, however, complain that Toyota’s insistence on offering hybrids instead of more electric vehicles – and its lobbying against government EV requirements – are holding back the auto industry’s EV transition.', 'Consumers have responded positively, though, and Toyota’s hybrids have become extremely popular even as growth in sales of electric vehicles has slowed.', 'Besides the Tacoma, which is also popular with off-road enthusiasts, the 4Runner will join a new retro-styled Land Cruiser in a trio of off-road-focused 4-cylinder hybrid models.', 'The Land Cruiser will come only as a hybrid while, both the 4Runner and Tacoma will have hybrid power as an option.', 'Toyota also now sells the larger, more powerful, Tundra pickup in an iForce Max hybrid version, but with a bigger six-cylinder gas engine.', 'Hybrids can provide greatly increased fuel economy because they allow the gas engine to be shut off when the vehicle is stopped, or when only a little power is needed.', 'Energy to run the electric motor is taken from the gas engine at times, and also during braking.', 'Besides fuel economy, a hybrid’s electric motor can also provide benefits in off-road driving because of its ability to produce additional power, as in the 4Runner.', 'Jeep has had a huge sales success with its Wrangler 4Xe, a plug-in hybrid with batteries that can be charged using an electric vehicle charger as well as from the SUV’s own gas engine.', 'New engineering will provide a smoother on-road ride than the current rather stiff-riding 4Runner model, Toyota promises.', 'The new 4Runner retains some functional features that are particularly important such as the roll-down back window, which allows long items to hang out the back.', 'Side windows in the back wrap up over the roof, slightly, a design cue taken from the first generation of 4Runners in the 1980s.', 'The 2025 4Runner will be available in a new off-road-tuned Trailhunter version as well as more luxurious Limited and Platinum versions.', 'There will a number less well-equipped and cheaper versions, as well, of course.', 'Some less expensive 4Runner models will be available with rear-wheel-drive only, while others will have a part-time four-wheel-drive system, designed to be turned off when driving on dry pavement.', 'Others will have a permanent four-wheel-drive system.', 'Toyota has not yet provided pricing or fuel economy information for the new 4Runner.', 'Prices for the current of the 4Runner start at around $41,000.']",0.2351227236789065,"It’s been almost 15 years since there has been any major change to the popular Toyota 4Runner SUV, a fan favorite among off-road enthusiasts.","Critics, however, complain that Toyota’s insistence on offering hybrids instead of more electric vehicles – and its lobbying against government EV requirements – are holding back the auto industry’s EV transition.",0.5564012196328905,"Since the beginning of 2023, hybrids have risen from about 6% of all new vehicles sold, a little less than electric vehicles at that time, to nearly 9% now, according to data from Edmnds.com.","Critics, however, complain that Toyota’s insistence on offering hybrids instead of more electric vehicles – and its lobbying against government EV requirements – are holding back the auto industry’s EV transition.",2024-04-10
-Delta posts strong earnings in tough quarter for US airlines,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/business/delta-earnings/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:19 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Delta Air Lines reported vastly improved earnings in the first quarter, and the company said results should remain strong the rest of the year.
-    
-            The Atlanta-based airline said its adjusted earnings came in at $380 million, or 45 cents a share, up from $217 million, up 75% from a year earlier. It easily topped Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast of 36 cents a share.
-    
-            Revenue of $12.6 billion was up 6% and a record for the first three months of the year. It posted the increase despite the average revenue passengers paid to fly every mile slipping 2% in the period. Passenger revenue when adjusted for capacity, another measure of fares, was flat compared to a year ago. The first quarter is typically the least profitable period of the year for US airlines.
-    
-            Delta predicted it would report record revenue in the second quarter, it said it expects thinner profit margins. So it now expects earnings per share of between $2.20 to $2.50, which would be down from the record adjusted earnings per share of $2.64 a year ago. But it said it remains on target to reach full-year of $6 to $7 per share, which could be above the $6.25 a share it reported for 2023.
-    
-            Delta has been less affected that some of its major rivals whose operations were disrupted by problems at Boeing. Delta has no 737 Max jets in its fleet currently, although it has placed orders for some of the jets. Only about half of its mainline jets come from Boeing, compared to about 80% of United Airlines’ fleet, and 100% of the planes flown by Southwest.
-    
-            And this is expected to be a difficult quarter for the US airline industry, with all the other US airlines among America’s nine largest carriers forecast to report losses in the period, whether or not they fly Boeing or Airbus jets. With fares flat to lower and costs including labor and fuel rising, making a profit in the historically slow period is likely to prove difficult.
-    
-            Delta CEO Ed Bastian said there is strong demand going forward though. The airline had its 11 busiest days for booking tickets in its history during the course of the quarter, and he says demand for business travel has been especially strong.
-    
-            But he acknowledged that there are rising concerns about airline safety in the wake of a January 5 Alaska Airlines flight in which the door plug of a 737 Max blew off, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the 737 Max flight. Subsequent incidents reported in the media have only added to passenger worries.
-    
-            “The headlines, you can’t escape it,” he said, but noted that safety at Delta, as well as at other airlines, is a top priority.
-    
-            “US aviation travel is the safest form of transportation in the world,” he added. “It’s safer than driving, it’s safer than trains, it’s safer than walking.”
-    
-            Delta has not taken a delivery of a Boeing jet since 2019. In July 2022 it placed an order for 100 of the Boeing 737 Max 10 jets, the largest version of the Max. It was originally due to start taking deliveries of those jets next year.
-    
-            The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to certify that plane to carry passengers, but criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdraw its request for a waiver necessary to get certification this year.
-    
-            That incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane. Bastian didn’t sound much more hopeful for when Delta might get the Max 10 jets it ordered.
-    
-            “I’m confident it will deliver at some point,” he said. “Whether it’s two years, three years, four years from now, I don’t think anyone knows.”
-    
-            Shares of Delta gained 4% in premarket trading on the report.
-    
-            This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Delta Air Lines reported vastly improved earnings in the first quarter, and the company said results should remain strong the rest of the year.', 'The Atlanta-based airline said its adjusted earnings came in at $380 million, or 45 cents a share, up from $217 million, up 75% from a year earlier.', 'It easily topped Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast of 36 cents a share.', 'Revenue of $12.6 billion was up 6% and a record for the first three months of the year.', 'It posted the increase despite the average revenue passengers paid to fly every mile slipping 2% in the period.', 'Passenger revenue when adjusted for capacity, another measure of fares, was flat compared to a year ago.', 'The first quarter is typically the least profitable period of the year for US airlines.', 'Delta predicted it would report record revenue in the second quarter, it said it expects thinner profit margins.', 'So it now expects earnings per share of between $2.20 to $2.50, which would be down from the record adjusted earnings per share of $2.64 a year ago.', 'But it said it remains on target to reach full-year of $6 to $7 per share, which could be above the $6.25 a share it reported for 2023.', 'Delta has been less affected that some of its major rivals whose operations were disrupted by problems at Boeing.', 'Delta has no 737 Max jets in its fleet currently, although it has placed orders for some of the jets.', 'Only about half of its mainline jets come from Boeing, compared to about 80% of United Airlines’ fleet, and 100% of the planes flown by Southwest.', 'And this is expected to be a difficult quarter for the US airline industry, with all the other US airlines among America’s nine largest carriers forecast to report losses in the period, whether or not they fly Boeing or Airbus jets.', 'With fares flat to lower and costs including labor and fuel rising, making a profit in the historically slow period is likely to prove difficult.', 'Delta CEO Ed Bastian said there is strong demand going forward though.', 'The airline had its 11 busiest days for booking tickets in its history during the course of the quarter, and he says demand for business travel has been especially strong.', 'But he acknowledged that there are rising concerns about airline safety in the wake of a January 5 Alaska Airlines flight in which the door plug of a 737 Max blew off, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the 737 Max flight.', 'Subsequent incidents reported in the media have only added to passenger worries.', '“The headlines, you can’t escape it,” he said, but noted that safety at Delta, as well as at other airlines, is a top priority.', '“US aviation travel is the safest form of transportation in the world,” he added. “', 'It’s safer than driving, it’s safer than trains, it’s safer than walking.”', 'Delta has not taken a delivery of a Boeing jet since 2019.', 'In July 2022 it placed an order for 100 of the Boeing 737 Max 10 jets, the largest version of the Max.', 'It was originally due to start taking deliveries of those jets next year.', 'The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to certify that plane to carry passengers, but criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdraw its request for a waiver necessary to get certification this year.', 'That incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane.', 'Bastian didn’t sound much more hopeful for when Delta might get the Max 10 jets it ordered.', '“I’m confident it will deliver at some point,” he said. “', 'Whether it’s two years, three years, four years from now, I don’t think anyone knows.”', 'Shares of Delta gained 4% in premarket trading on the report.', 'This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.']",0.217107201269336,"“The headlines, you can’t escape it,” he said, but noted that safety at Delta, as well as at other airlines, is a top priority.","And this is expected to be a difficult quarter for the US airline industry, with all the other US airlines among America’s nine largest carriers forecast to report losses in the period, whether or not they fly Boeing or Airbus jets.",0.1441646292805671,Revenue of $12.6 billion was up 6% and a record for the first three months of the year.,"Passenger revenue when adjusted for capacity, another measure of fares, was flat compared to a year ago.",2024-04-10
-Microsoft stock hits all-time high after hiring former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/20/investing/microsoft-stock-record-high-altman-openai/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        4:19 PM EST, Mon November 20, 2023
-    ","Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.
-    
-            Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.
-    
-            That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup. Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.
-    
-            Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.
-    
-            Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.
-    
-            Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year. The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.
-    
-            Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.
-    
-            “We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.
-    
-            Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday. Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.",CNN,20/11/2023,"['Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.', 'Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.', 'That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.', 'Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.', 'Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.', 'Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing.', 'Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.', 'Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.', 'The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.', 'Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.', '“We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.', 'Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday.', 'Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.']",0.3148943375907157,"The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.","Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.",0.7688216765721639,Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.,"That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.",2024-04-10
-Why lab-grown diamond sales are surging,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/27/business/diamonds-manmade-demand/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:49 AM EDT, Wed April 27, 2022
-    ","It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise. So are factory-made diamond sales.
-    
-            Not that you’d know the difference. Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones. The only noticeable difference is the price tag.
-    
-            “The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.
-    
-            He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.
-    
-            Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings. 
-    
-            “The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said. Too late. “It’s actually happening.” 
-    
-            Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds? Cost is the most obvious reason. The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.
-    
-            “This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said. Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.
-    
-            “A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.” 
-    
-            This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.
-    
-            The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.
-    
-            Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds. Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.
-    
-            Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.
-    
-            Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.
-    
-            Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.
-    
-            Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan. 
-    
-            Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream. In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora
-            
-                (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry. 
-    
-            Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.
-    
-            Signet,
-            
-                (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.
-    
-            Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year. 
-    
-            The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand. 
-    
-            Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.
-    
-            “As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free. They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”
-    
-            Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues. It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.
-    
-            There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value. 
-    
-            So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan. Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it. 
-    
-            But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.
-    
-            “As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “I always say, if you love it, be happy with it. An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”",CNN,27/04/2022,"['It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise.', 'So are factory-made diamond sales.', 'Not that you’d know the difference.', 'Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones.', 'The only noticeable difference is the price tag.', '“The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.', 'He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.', 'Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings.', '“The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said.', 'Too late. “', 'It’s actually happening.”', 'Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds?', 'Cost is the most obvious reason.', 'The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.', '“This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said.', 'Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.', '“A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “', 'Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.”', 'This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.', 'The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.', 'Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds.', 'Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.', 'Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.', 'Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.', 'Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.', 'Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.', 'Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream.', 'In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora  (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry.', 'Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.', 'Signet,  (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.', 'Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year.', 'The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand.', 'Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.', '“As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[', 'Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free.', 'They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”', 'Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues.', 'It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.', 'There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value.', 'So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan.', 'Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it.', 'But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.', '“As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “', 'I always say, if you love it, be happy with it.', 'An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”']",0.3714494325159568,"He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.",Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.,0.8542834222316742,"Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.","This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.",2024-04-10
-HSBC agrees to sell off its Argentina business,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68775630,2024-04-09T20:32:37.000Z,"Banking giant HSBC is selling off its business in Argentina at a $1bn (£790m) loss after years of battling with the country's unstable exchange rate.  HSBC Argentina, which has more than 100 branches and 3,100 employees, will be bought by Grupo Financiero Galicia, a major private financial group. Annual inflation in Argentina hit 276.2% last month, the highest in the world.  Five years ago, $1 would buy 43 pesos. It is now worth more than 860 pesos. HSBC has been in Argentina since 1997, when it took full control of the local Banco Roberts and renamed it. That same year, it established itself in neighbouring Brazil by taking over the ailing Bamerindus bank, leading some observers to speak of its ""relentless march into Latin America"". HSBC still holds on in Brazil, but purely as an investment bank: it sold its retail banking operation there in 2015.  Other operations elsewhere in the world have been sold off in recent years as the London-based bank has pivoted to focus more on faster-growing markets in Asia. HSBC said the sale of its Argentine business, for $550m, will see it book a $1bn loss in its first-quarter results this year. The size of the loss could vary for several reasons, including ""associated hyperinflation and foreign currency translation"", HSBC said on Tuesday. Over the next 12 months, the business will also recognise $4.9bn in losses from historical currency translation reserves. This refers to the loss that is racked up by translating the financial performance of the Argentine business, which is counted in pesos, on to HSBC's overall balance sheet, which is counted in US dollars. ""These reserve losses have accumulated over many years and arise from the cumulative translation of the Argentinian peso-denominated book value of HSBC Argentina into US dollars,"" HSBC said. In 2023 alone, these losses grew by $1.8bn, the bank added. The exact losses may well change between now and when the sale goes through, because the exchange rate is constantly changing.  HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn said: ""We are pleased to agree the sale of HSBC Argentina. ""This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher-value opportunities across our international network. ""HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network. ""Furthermore, given its size, it also generates substantial earnings volatility for the group when its results are translated into US dollars. Galicia is better placed to invest in and grow the business."" ",BBC,09/04/2024,"[""Banking giant HSBC is selling off its business in Argentina at a $1bn (£790m) loss after years of battling with the country's unstable exchange rate."", 'HSBC Argentina, which has more than 100 branches and 3,100 employees, will be bought by Grupo Financiero Galicia, a major private financial group.', 'Annual inflation in Argentina hit 276.2% last month, the highest in the world.', 'Five years ago, $1 would buy 43 pesos.', 'It is now worth more than 860 pesos.', 'HSBC has been in Argentina since 1997, when it took full control of the local Banco Roberts and renamed it.', 'That same year, it established itself in neighbouring Brazil by taking over the ailing Bamerindus bank, leading some observers to speak of its ""relentless march into Latin America"".', 'HSBC still holds on in Brazil, but purely as an investment bank: it sold its retail banking operation there in 2015.', 'Other operations elsewhere in the world have been sold off in recent years as the London-based bank has pivoted to focus more on faster-growing markets in Asia.', 'HSBC said the sale of its Argentine business, for $550m, will see it book a $1bn loss in its first-quarter results this year.', 'The size of the loss could vary for several reasons, including ""associated hyperinflation and foreign currency translation"", HSBC said on Tuesday.', 'Over the next 12 months, the business will also recognise $4.9bn in losses from historical currency translation reserves.', 'This refers to the loss that is racked up by translating the financial performance of the Argentine business, which is counted in pesos, on to HSBC\'s overall balance sheet, which is counted in US dollars. ""', 'These reserve losses have accumulated over many years and arise from the cumulative translation of the Argentinian peso-denominated book value of HSBC Argentina into US dollars,"" HSBC said.', 'In 2023 alone, these losses grew by $1.8bn, the bank added.', 'The exact losses may well change between now and when the sale goes through, because the exchange rate is constantly changing.', 'HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn said: ""We are pleased to agree the sale of HSBC Argentina. ""', 'This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher-value opportunities across our international network. ""', 'HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network. ""', 'Furthermore, given its size, it also generates substantial earnings volatility for the group when its results are translated into US dollars.', 'Galicia is better placed to invest in and grow the business.""']",-0.0110423732267407,"This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher-value opportunities across our international network. """,Banking giant HSBC is selling off its business in Argentina at a $1bn (£790m) loss after years of battling with the country's unstable exchange rate.,-0.2261015635270338,"HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn said: ""We are pleased to agree the sale of HSBC Argentina. """,Banking giant HSBC is selling off its business in Argentina at a $1bn (£790m) loss after years of battling with the country's unstable exchange rate.,2024-04-10
-Musk challenges Brazil court order to block certain X accounts,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2ygp5pdqlo,2024-04-08T04:19:09.965Z,"A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked. Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional. He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"". If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day. In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court. The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected. But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"". The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.  He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état. On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022. Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April. Meanwhile, Brazil's communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added. If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked."" Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked.', 'Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional.', 'He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"".', 'If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day.', 'In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.', ""The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected."", 'But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".', ""The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace."", 'Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.', ""He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état."", 'On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022.', 'Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April.', 'Meanwhile, Brazil\'s communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""', 'We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added.', 'If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""', 'Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""', 'I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""', 'Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva']",0.0650544143199842,"In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.","But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".",-0.3260461688041687,Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.,"I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""",2024-04-10
-OpenAI’s wild week. How the Sam Altman story unfolded,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/22/tech/openai-sam-altman-chaos-explained-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:32 PM EST, Wed November 22, 2023
-    ","In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.
-    
-            Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps the most visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move. Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.
-    
-            The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held its first-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.
-    
-            If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
-    
-            Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.
-    
-            Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.
-    
-            Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board. The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.
-    
-            OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.
-    
-            Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”
-    
-            Brockman promptly quit. “Please don’t spend any time being concerned. We will be fine,” Brockman said in a Friday post on X. “Greater things coming soon.”
-    
-            A key factor in the CEO’s firing was tension between Altman, who favored developing AI more aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously, according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher, who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.
-    
-            Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.
-    
-            OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.
-    
-            By Sunday afternoon, Altman was back at OpenAI’s headquarters — this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion. A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.
-    
-            But those talks broke down.
-    
-            As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group. At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch. Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.
-    
-            In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.
-    
-            But OpenAI employees were not convinced. More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman. They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.
-    
-            Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited. one team, one mission.”
-    
-            The drama was far from over. The Verge reported Monday afternoon that Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.
-    
-            And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.
-    
-            “Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”
-    
-            Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.
-    
-            “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.
-    
-            “We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.
-    
-            In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altman wrote that he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.
-    
-            It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return. Posting on X, Shear wrote: “I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”
-    
-            Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to his post on X.
-    
-            Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found. And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.
-    
-            “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadella said on X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”",CNN,22/11/2023,"['In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.', 'Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.', 'Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.', 'The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held itsfirst-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.', 'If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.', 'Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientistIlya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.', 'Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.', 'Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.', 'The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.', 'OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.', 'Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”', 'Brockman promptly quit. “', 'Please don’t spend any time being concerned.', 'We will be fine,” Brockmansaid in a Friday poston X. “Greater things coming soon.”', 'A key factor in the CEO’s firing wastension between Altman, who favored developing AImore aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously,according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher,who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.', 'Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.', 'OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.', 'By Sunday afternoon, Altman wasback at OpenAI’s headquarters— this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return.', 'Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion.', 'A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.', 'But those talks broke down.', 'As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group.', 'At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch.', 'Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.', 'In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.', 'He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.', 'But OpenAI employees were not convinced.', 'More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman.', 'They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.', 'Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before.', 'we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited.', 'one team, one mission.”', 'The drama was far from over.', 'The Verge reported Monday afternoonthat Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.', 'And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.', '“Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “', 'We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”', 'Altmanwas reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.  “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce.', 'Former Treasury SecretaryLarry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEOAdam D’Angelo.', '“We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.', 'In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altmanwrotethat he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.', 'It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return.', 'Posting on X, Shear wrote:“I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”', 'Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to hispost on X.  Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found.', 'And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.', '“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”']",0.062777217389235,"“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”","Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.",0.549453833273479,And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.,"Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.",2024-04-10
-FCC rolls out mandatory ‘nutrition labels’ for internet providers’ plans,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/tech/fcc-mandatory-nutrition-labels-internet-providers/index.html,"
-  Published
-        5:01 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","The next time you go shopping for a home or mobile internet plan, you’re going to see a new label lay out exactly what you can expect to pay, the typical download speeds you’ll get and information about the internet provider’s policies.
-    
-            That information will now be standardized across providers and displayed in a new disclosure modeled after the nutrition labels you see on food packaging in grocery store aisles, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
-    
-            The new labels, which go live beginning Wednesday and that all major internet service providers (ISPs) will now be required to show, are among the latest steps by the US government to help consumers make sense of the mix of plans, fees and promotional rates on the market today.
-    
-            The transparency the labels provide could help Americans save money, FCC and White House officials say.
-    
-            “The FCC borrowed the nutrition label model format from food products because we wanted to make basic information about broadband internet service easily recognizable and easy to understand,” Alejandro Roark, the FCC’s bureau chief for consumer and government affairs, told reporters on a conference call.
-    
-            Known as “consumer broadband labels,” the FCC-mandated disclosures must be offered at the point of sale both online and in stores — and in many cases, in both English and Spanish.
-    
-            They will have to include information about early termination fees, data caps and network practices such as speed throttling. And they will have to be easily accessible: Providers won’t be allowed to bury the labels in fine print or on separate web pages, and consumers will need to be able to refer to them conveniently anytime they pay their bills or want to compare plans, Roark said.
-    
-            Americans are still limited in many parts of the country to just a small number of providers. And in a report last month, the FCC found that tens of millions of Americans still don’t have access to high-speed internet at all. The problem is particularly acute in rural and tribal areas, where roughly a quarter of Americans lack broadband.
-    
-            Worse, an estimated 23 million households — representing nearly 1 in 5 US households and an estimated 59 million Americans overall — are at risk of losing their internet plans altogether due to the looming end of a popular federal aid program that will run out of money as soon as this month. Without the Affordable Connectivity Program, many will be forced to choose between having internet at home and paying for groceries, surveys show.
-    
-            Still, forcing ISPs to be more clear with consumers could be a small step toward improving competition among internet providers, and is part of a broader Biden administration push to fight junk fees and other misleading business practices, said a White House official on the call.
-    
-            “These are mechanisms which are designed to make it more likely that companies will compete with each other on the grounds of consumer price and quality of products and less likely to compete with each other on confusing terms or by misleading customers,” the official said.
-    
-            The labels have been years in the making. In 2016, an FCC advisory committee first released a version of the disclosures that providers were not required to adopt. Then, under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, the FCC moved to implement mandatory broadband disclosure labels and held a lengthy process to design and finalize them.
-    
-            The end result could give consumers an easier way to compare plans and offerings from providers such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. And because the labels must be machine-readable, they could help researchers and product review sites gather data on the ISPs’ plans and marketing.
-    
-            Because providers will be required to prominently display the labels, FCC officials will be monitoring for evidence or consumer complaints about non-compliance, which could lead to agency investigations or fines.
-    
-            “We’re going to be keeping a close eye to see if there are any issues with implementation,” said an FCC official on the call.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['The next time you go shopping for a home or mobile internet plan, you’re going to see a new label lay out exactly what you can expect to pay, the typical download speeds you’ll get and information about the internet provider’s policies.', 'That information will now be standardized across providers and displayed in a new disclosure modeled after the nutrition labels you see on food packaging in grocery store aisles, according to the Federal Communications Commission.', 'The newlabels, which go live beginning Wednesday and that all major internet service providers (ISPs) will now be required to show, are among the latest steps by the US government to help consumers make sense of the mix of plans, fees and promotional rates on the market today.', 'The transparency the labels provide could help Americans save money, FCC and White House officials say.', '“The FCC borrowed the nutrition label model format from food products because we wanted to make basic information about broadband internet service easily recognizable and easy to understand,” Alejandro Roark, the FCC’s bureau chief for consumer and government affairs, told reporters on a conference call.', 'Known as “consumer broadband labels,” the FCC-mandated disclosures must be offered at the point of sale both online and in stores — and in many cases, in both English and Spanish.', 'They will have to include information about early termination fees, data caps and network practices such as speed throttling.', 'And they will have to be easily accessible: Providers won’t be allowed to bury the labels in fine print or on separate web pages, and consumers will need to be able to refer to them conveniently anytime they pay their bills or want to compare plans, Roark said.', 'Americans are still limited in many parts of the country to just a small number of providers.', 'And in a report last month, the FCC found thattens of millions of Americansstill don’t have access to high-speed internet at all.', 'The problem is particularly acute in rural and tribal areas, where roughly a quarter of Americans lack broadband.', 'Worse, an estimated 23 million households — representing nearly 1 in 5 US households and an estimated 59 million Americans overall — are at risk oflosing their internet plansaltogether due to the looming end of a popular federal aid program that will run out of money as soon as this month.', 'Without the Affordable Connectivity Program, many will be forced to choose between having internet at home and paying for groceries, surveys show.', 'Still, forcing ISPs to be more clear with consumers could be a small step toward improving competition among internet providers, and is part of a broader Biden administration push to fight junk fees and other misleading business practices, said a White House official on the call.', '“These are mechanisms which are designed to make it more likely that companies will compete with each other on the grounds of consumer price and quality of products and less likely to compete with each other on confusing terms or by misleading customers,” the official said.', 'The labels have been years in the making.', 'In 2016, an FCC advisory committee first released a version of the disclosures that providers were not required to adopt.', 'Then, under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, the FCC moved to implement mandatory broadband disclosure labels and held a lengthy process to design and finalize them.', 'Theend resultcould give consumers an easier way to compare plans and offerings from providers such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. And because the labels must be machine-readable, they could help researchers and product review sites gather data on the ISPs’ plans and marketing.', 'Because providers will be required to prominently display the labels, FCC officials will be monitoring for evidence or consumer complaints about non-compliance, which could lead to agency investigations or fines.', '“We’re going to be keeping a close eye to see if there are any issues with implementation,” said an FCC official on the call.']",0.0107635361215824,"The transparency the labels provide could help Americans save money, FCC and White House officials say.","The problem is particularly acute in rural and tribal areas, where roughly a quarter of Americans lack broadband.",0.2457319498062133,"Still, forcing ISPs to be more clear with consumers could be a small step toward improving competition among internet providers, and is part of a broader Biden administration push to fight junk fees and other misleading business practices, said a White House official on the call.","Worse, an estimated 23 million households — representing nearly 1 in 5 US households and an estimated 59 million Americans overall — are at risk oflosing their internet plansaltogether due to the looming end of a popular federal aid program that will run out of money as soon as this month.",2024-04-10
-"Internet price hikes for low-income Americans could begin in May as federal funds run dry, FCC says",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/tech/internet-discount-low-income-americans-funding-fcc/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        9:28 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","The US government says that next month it can only pay about half of what low-income Americans are eligible for under a popular federal benefits program that is running out of money — a crisis that threatens to plunge millions of households into economic distress within weeks.
-    
-            The announcement by the Federal Communications Commission reflects the first concrete impacts of Congress’ failure to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era benefit that provides monthly discounts on internet service to more than 23 million US households, including seniors, veterans and schoolchildren.
-    
-            Due to lack of funds, April will be the final month the ACP can provide full benefits, the FCC said Tuesday. In May, the program will only have enough money to provide partial benefits before shutting down altogether. Next month, ACP subscribers can expect to receive only 46% of their usual benefit, the FCC said.
-    
-            After that, program subscribers may have to pay hundreds of dollars more per year to stay online, or could potentially have to give up internet service entirely. Many ACP subscribers have told CNN that without help, they could have to choose between paying for internet and putting food on the table.
-    
-            When Congress created the ACP in 2021, it promised qualifying low-income households a discount of up to $30 a month on internet service, or $75 a month for households on tribal lands. It funded the program with a one-time infusion of $14 billion.
-    
-            Now, that money is running out, and Congress has yet to extend the program. The Biden administration has blamed congressional Republicans for standing in the way of legislation that could renew the ACP and ensure Americans aren’t hit by higher bills. House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to say whether he backs that legislation, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he supports passage of additional ACP funding. The ACP is popular with Americans across the ideological spectrum, surveys show.
-    
-            On Wednesday, a bipartisan bill to approve $7 billion in new funding for the ACP gained two Senate sponsors: Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall. The Senate bill now has five cosponsors, while the House version is backed by 223, more than half of the members in that chamber.
-    
-            Internet service providers (ISPs) could still step in voluntarily to close the gap for the millions of Americans potentially affected by the end of the program, the FCC said Tuesday.
-    
-            “We encourage providers to take efforts to keep consumers connected at this critical time,” the agency said, adding that ISPs could offer their own discounts, shift consumers onto proprietary low-cost internet plans or take other steps to ensure low-income Americans’ service is not interrupted.
-    
-            CNN is reaching out to major internet providers for comment on the FCC’s call for those voluntary measures.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['The US government says that next month it can only pay about half of what low-income Americans are eligible for under a popular federal benefits program that is running out of money — a crisis that threatens to plunge millions of households into economic distress within weeks.', 'The announcementby the Federal Communications Commission reflects the first concrete impacts of Congress’ failure to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era benefit that provides monthly discounts on internet service to more than 23 million US households, including seniors, veterans and schoolchildren.', 'Due to lack of funds, April will be the final month the ACP can provide full benefits, the FCC said Tuesday.', 'In May, the program will only have enough money to provide partial benefits before shutting down altogether.', 'Next month, ACP subscribers can expect to receive only 46% of their usual benefit, the FCC said.', 'After that, program subscribers may have to pay hundreds of dollars more per year to stay online, or could potentially have to give up internet service entirely.', 'Many ACP subscribers have told CNN that without help, they could have to choose between paying for internet and putting food on the table.', 'When Congress created the ACP in 2021, it promised qualifying low-income households a discount of up to $30 a month on internet service, or $75 a month for households on tribal lands.', 'It funded the program with a one-time infusion of $14 billion.', 'Now, that money is running out, and Congress has yet to extend the program.', 'The Biden administration has blamed congressional Republicans for standing in the way of legislation that could renew the ACP and ensure Americans aren’t hit by higher bills.', 'House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to say whether he backs that legislation, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he supports passage of additional ACP funding.', 'The ACP is popular with Americans across the ideological spectrum, surveys show.', 'On Wednesday, a bipartisan bill to approve $7 billion in new funding for the ACP gained two Senate sponsors: Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.', 'TheSenate billnow has five cosponsors, while theHouse versionis backed by 223, more than half of the members in that chamber.', 'Internet service providers (ISPs) could still step in voluntarily to close the gap for the millions of Americans potentially affected by the end of the program, the FCC said Tuesday.', '“We encourage providers to take efforts to keep consumers connected at this critical time,” the agency said, adding that ISPs could offer their own discounts, shift consumers onto proprietary low-cost internet plans or take other steps to ensure low-income Americans’ service is not interrupted.', 'CNN is reaching out to major internet providers for comment on the FCC’s call for those voluntary measures.']",0.0949331054427558,"Next month, ACP subscribers can expect to receive only 46% of their usual benefit, the FCC said.",The US government says that next month it can only pay about half of what low-income Americans are eligible for under a popular federal benefits program that is running out of money — a crisis that threatens to plunge millions of households into economic distress within weeks.,-0.2399079799652099,"On Wednesday, a bipartisan bill to approve $7 billion in new funding for the ACP gained two Senate sponsors: Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.",The US government says that next month it can only pay about half of what low-income Americans are eligible for under a popular federal benefits program that is running out of money — a crisis that threatens to plunge millions of households into economic distress within weeks.,2024-04-10
-Meta is accused of censoring a non-profit newspaper and an independent journalist who criticized the company,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/tech/meta-nonprofit-newspaper-independent-journalist-alleged-censorship/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:24 PM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","Meta blocked a newspaper’s critical report about it on Facebook and its other social sites for hours, sparking a backlash that intensified after the company appeared to subsequently block links to the website of an independent journalist who republished the report.
-    
-            The controversy began Thursday morning when users noticed that all links to the non-profit newspaper the Kansas Reflector had been flagged as a cybersecurity threat and their posts were removed. About seven hours later, the paper said, most of its links had been restored, save for one — a column that had criticized Facebook and accused it of suppressing posts related to climate change.
-    
-            Meta apologized to the Reflector and its readers on Thursday for what the company’s communications chief, Andy Stone, called a “an error that had nothing to do with the Reflector’s recent criticism of Meta.”
-    
-            But on Friday, users who attempted to share the column on Facebook, Instagram or Threads, were shown a warning that it violated community guidelines. That seemed suspicious to Marisa Kabas, an independent journalist in New York, who asked the Reflector for permission to publish the text of the column on her own website, the Handbasket.
-    
-            “I thought it would be a cool experiment,” Kabas told CNN on Friday. Around 1pm ET, she published the story on her own site, “in an attempt to sidestep Meta’s censorship,” she wrote in a preface to the column.
-    
-            She then shared her post on Threads. “A couple minutes later, I got an alert that it had been flagged and taken down for malicious content,” Kabas told CNN.
-    
-            Kabas’s post was banned from all Meta platforms for several hours Friday. And for about two hours, she said, all of the links to her site were blocked. Her links were all restored by late afternoon Friday, she said.
-    
-            In a Threads post on Friday, Stone said the blocked links were “due to a security error” that also mistakenly blocked links to The Handbasket and the nonprofit news aggregator site News From The States.
-    
-            “The incorrectly applied blocks have now been lifted,” he wrote. “This is undoubtedly frustrating and we sincerely apologize to all who have been impacted.”
-    
-            Stone didn’t immediately reply to CNN’s request for details about the security concern.
-    
-            “Sounds like a bug with our share scraper or possibly that the domain is getting caught up in a safety measure by mistake,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a threads post Friday. “We certainly don’t block links to articles that are critical about us … I’ll talk to the team now though and chase down the bug so we can get it fixed ASAP.”
-    
-            The editor-in-chief of the Kansas Reflector, Sherman Smith, wrote on Friday that Stone “wouldn’t elaborate on how the mistake happened and said there would be no further explanation.”
-    
-            Kabas said the damage had already been done because the articles had already been flagged as malicious. “That’s a big problem, because that undermines our trust,” she said.",CNN,05/04/2024,"['Meta blocked a newspaper’s critical report about it on Facebook and its other social sites for hours, sparking a backlash that intensified after the company appeared to subsequently block links to the website of an independent journalist who republished the report.', 'The controversy began Thursday morning when users noticed that all links to the non-profit newspaper the Kansas Reflector had been flagged as a cybersecurity threat and their posts were removed.', 'About seven hours later, the paper said, most of its links had been restored, save for one — a column that had criticized Facebook and accused it of suppressing posts related to climate change.', 'Meta apologized to the Reflector and its readers on Thursday for what the company’s communications chief, Andy Stone, called a “an error that had nothing to do with the Reflector’s recent criticism of Meta.”', 'But on Friday, users who attempted to share the column on Facebook, Instagram or Threads, were shown a warning that it violated community guidelines.', 'That seemed suspicious to Marisa Kabas, an independent journalist in New York, who asked the Reflector for permission to publish the text of the column on her own website, the Handbasket.', '“I thought it would be a cool experiment,” Kabas told CNN on Friday.', 'Around 1pm ET, she published the story on her own site, “in an attempt to sidestep Meta’s censorship,” she wrote in a preface to the column.', 'She then shared her post on Threads. “', 'A couple minutes later, I got an alert that it had been flagged and taken down for malicious content,” Kabas told CNN.', 'Kabas’s post was banned from all Meta platforms for several hours Friday.', 'And for about two hours, she said, all of the links to her site were blocked.', 'Her links were all restored by late afternoon Friday, she said.', 'In a Threads post on Friday, Stone said the blocked links were “due to a security error” that also mistakenly blocked links to The Handbasket and the nonprofit news aggregator site News From The States.', '“The incorrectly applied blocks have now been lifted,” he wrote. “', 'This is undoubtedly frustrating and we sincerely apologize to all who have been impacted.”', 'Stone didn’t immediately reply to CNN’s request for details about the security concern.', '“Sounds like a bug with our share scraper or possibly that the domain is getting caught up in a safety measure by mistake,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a threads post Friday. “', 'We certainly don’t block links to articles that are critical about us … I’ll talk to the team now though and chase down the bug so we can get it fixed ASAP.”', 'The editor-in-chief of the Kansas Reflector, Sherman Smith, wrote on Friday that Stone “wouldn’t elaborate on how the mistake happened and said there would be no further explanation.”', 'Kabas said the damage had already been done because the articles had already been flagged as malicious. “', 'That’s a big problem, because that undermines our trust,” she said.']",-0.1426477305652488,"“Sounds like a bug with our share scraper or possibly that the domain is getting caught up in a safety measure by mistake,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a threads post Friday. “","Meta blocked a newspaper’s critical report about it on Facebook and its other social sites for hours, sparking a backlash that intensified after the company appeared to subsequently block links to the website of an independent journalist who republished the report.",-0.6613112807273864,"“The incorrectly applied blocks have now been lifted,” he wrote. “","That’s a big problem, because that undermines our trust,” she said.",2024-04-10
-‘I cannot afford to live’: Gen Z is full of financial angst despite inheriting a golden job market,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/business/gen-zs-financial-angst/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:49 PM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Gen Z is coming into the workforce and — in one of the grand traditions of what Millennials cringe-ily called “adulting” — they’re complaining about how much easier older generations had it.
-    
-            Before all the Boomers and Slackers throw their tablets across the room, let me note that Gen Zers — folks born between the late 1990s and early 2010s — are entering adulthood during one of strongest job markets in US history. Compared with Millennials, especially, who entered the workforce in the Dark Ages known as the Great Recession, the Gen Z experience is a dream.
-    
-            “This is the best economy we’ve seen for younger workers that anybody can remember,” Brendan Duke, senior director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, tells me. Their wages have gone up faster than inflation overall, and more quickly than any other age cohort, he added.
-    
-            See here: Last year, the unemployment rate for 16-to-24-year-olds was 7.9% — the lowest it’s been since 1953, and far better than the — wait for it — 18.4% unemployment rate for that age group in 2010, coming out of the recession.
-    
-            But Gen Z isn’t having an easy go of it either.
-    
-            Like all of us (hi, elder Millennial here), they’re struggling with an onslaught of inflation that pushed prices rapidly higher over the past three years. The essentials have been particularly expensive: Food prices surged during the pandemic, and companies haven’t been shy about keeping them elevated even as supply chains recovered. Shelter costs ballooned when the Federal Reserve jacked up interest rates, leading Boomers (or anyone with a less-than-3% mortgage) to stay in the homes they might otherwise have downsized out of. We can’t seem to build homes fast enough to meet demand. It’s a mess.
-    
-            “Housing is a huge challenge for younger workers,” Duke said. “I think that’s the part of the economy where we’ve seen the least progress when it comes to bringing down inflation, and that’s the part of the economy where younger workers bear the brunt.”
-    
-            Surviving inflation gets a lot easier if you own property. Homeowners can take out equity loans, or count on getting a chunk of change when they sell. Gen Z hasn’t had a chance to get a foot in the door.
-    
-            It’s important to remember, Duke tells me, that younger workers are always starting out at a disadvantage when they enter the workforce. You start at an entry level wage, gain experience, and, typically, you see your wages go up. Of course, the long view is little comfort when you’re 23 and slurping bodega ramen with your six roommates.
-    
-            One giant difference between now and any other moment in history: Gen Z is entering adulthood armed with a menagerie of social platforms where they can publicly broadcast their financial angst, or, conversely, gawk at peers who are having a better time thanks to generational wealth.
-    
-            Last week, a TikTok user posted an angry rant about the cost of living that’s since been viewed 5 million times on the platform, with tens of thousands of comments and shares.
-    
-            “I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live,” he shouts into the camera. “It is embarrassing to come out and say that it is a struggle to survive right now but I know so many people are struggling.”
-    
-            Later, he concludes: “The American Dream is dead.”
-    
-            Like much of the financial analysis on TikTok, the video goes a little off the rails. But the anger and despair point to a real and growing ennui that’s taken root among younger people.
-    
-            Gen Zers are reporting higher rates of anxiety, depression, and distress than any other age group, according to a 2022 McKinsey study. The same study found that Gen Z was the least likely cohort to seek out medical care for those conditions because behavioral health care is too expensive. “Many Gen Zers also indicated their first step in managing behavioral-health challenges was going to TikTok or Reddit for advice,” the report said.
-    
-            It’s hard to blame them: Many in Gen Z had their formative school years blown up by a global pandemic. Now the oldest ones are grappling with an adulthood that may not permit them the benefits of homeownership, a comfortable income or a stable climate.
-    
-            That fatalism is particularly problematic when it comes to inflation, which becomes harder to fight when consumers expect prices to keep running hot. A recent Bloomberg analysis based on UK data found that inflation expectations among people 16 to 24 have risen more than any other age group since the pandemic — a fact that researchers said can have a scarring effect.
-    
-            It’s not exactly sunny in Millennial-ville: We’re running up huge piles of debt, and many share the feeling the American Dream is out of reach.
-    
-            But distressed Gen Zers can take a bit of solace from the Millennial experience.
-    
-            Many of us had no job prospects to speak of straight out of college, and slogged through a decade of stagnant wages (all while the Boomers who blew up the economy shamed us for living at home and eating avocado toast). Other jobless Millennials flocked to graduate school, taking on even more debt that’s become a massive drag on economic mobility. (That’s another benefit of a strong labor market, Duke notes: You end up with fewer hapless young people taking on grad school debt that’ll come back to haunt them.)
-    
-            It took a long time, but Millennials have, in some ways, caught up. We’re outpacing Gen X in retirement savings as of 2022, according to Charles Schwab. And, since 2019, workers under the age of 40 saw wages go up 14% on average.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Gen Z is coming into the workforce and — in one of the grand traditions of what Millennials cringe-ily called “adulting” — they’re complaining about how much easier older generations had it.', 'Before all the Boomers and Slackers throw their tablets across the room, let me note that Gen Zers — folks born between the late 1990s and early 2010s — are entering adulthood during one of strongest job markets in US history.', 'Compared with Millennials, especially, who entered the workforce in the Dark Ages known as the Great Recession, the Gen Z experience is a dream.', '“This is the best economy we’ve seen for younger workers that anybody can remember,” Brendan Duke, senior director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, tells me.', 'Their wages have gone up faster than inflation overall, and more quickly than any other age cohort, he added.', 'See here: Last year, the unemployment rate for 16-to-24-year-olds was 7.9% — the lowest it’s been since 1953, and far better than the — wait for it — 18.4% unemployment rate for that age group in 2010, coming out of the recession.', 'But Gen Z isn’t having an easygo of it either.', 'Like all of us (hi, elder Millennial here), they’re struggling with an onslaught of inflation that pushed prices rapidly higher over the past three years.', 'The essentials have been particularly expensive: Food prices surged during the pandemic, and companies haven’t been shy about keeping them elevated even as supply chains recovered.', 'Shelter costs ballooned when the Federal Reserve jacked up interest rates, leading Boomers (or anyone with a less-than-3% mortgage) to stay in the homes they might otherwise have downsized out of.', 'We can’t seem to build homes fast enough to meet demand.', 'It’s a mess.', '“Housing is a huge challenge for younger workers,” Duke said. “', 'I think that’s the part of the economy where we’ve seen the least progress when it comes to bringing down inflation, and that’s the part of the economy where younger workers bear the brunt.”', 'Surviving inflation gets a lot easier if you own property.', 'Homeowners can take out equity loans, or count on getting a chunk of change when they sell.', 'Gen Z hasn’t had a chance to get a foot in the door.', 'It’s important to remember, Duke tells me, that younger workers are always starting out at a disadvantage when they enter the workforce.', 'You start at an entry level wage, gain experience, and, typically, you see your wages go up.', 'Of course, the long view is little comfort when you’re 23 and slurping bodega ramen with your six roommates.', 'One giant difference between now and any other moment in history: Gen Z is entering adulthood armed with a menagerie of social platforms where they can publicly broadcast their financial angst, or, conversely, gawk at peers who are having a better time thanks to generational wealth.', 'Last week, a TikTok user posted an angry rant about the cost of living that’s since been viewed 5 million times on the platform, with tens of thousands of comments and shares.', '“I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live,” he shouts into the camera. “', 'It is embarrassing to come out and say that it is a struggle to survive right now but I know so many people are struggling.”', 'Later, he concludes: “The American Dream is dead.”', 'Like much of the financial analysis on TikTok, the video goes a little off the rails.', 'But the anger and despair point to a real and growing ennui that’s taken root among younger people.', 'Gen Zers are reporting higher rates of anxiety, depression, and distress than any other age group, according to a 2022 McKinsey study.', 'The same study found that Gen Z was the least likely cohort to seek out medical care for those conditions because behavioral health care is too expensive. “', 'Many Gen Zers also indicated their first step in managing behavioral-health challenges was going to TikTok or Reddit for advice,” the report said.', 'It’s hard to blame them: Many in Gen Z had their formative school years blown up by a global pandemic.', 'Now the oldest ones are grappling with an adulthood that may not permit them the benefits of homeownership, a comfortable income or a stable climate.', 'That fatalism is particularly problematic when it comes to inflation, which becomes harder to fight when consumers expect prices to keep running hot.', 'A recent Bloomberg analysis based on UK data found that inflation expectations among people 16 to 24 have risen more than any other age group since the pandemic — a fact that researchers said can have a scarring effect.', 'It’s not exactly sunny in Millennial-ville: We’re running up huge piles of debt, and many share the feeling the American Dream is out of reach.', 'But distressed Gen Zers can take a bit of solace from the Millennial experience.', 'Many of us had no job prospects to speak of straight out of college, and slogged through a decade of stagnant wages (all while the Boomers who blew up the economy shamed us for living at home and eating avocado toast).', 'Other jobless Millennials flocked to graduate school, taking on even more debt that’s become a massive drag on economic mobility. (', 'That’s another benefit of a strong labor market, Duke notes: You end up with fewer hapless young people taking on grad school debt that’ll come back to haunt them.)', 'It took a long time, but Millennials have, in some ways, caught up.', 'We’re outpacing Gen X in retirement savings as of 2022, according to Charles Schwab.', 'And, since 2019, workers under the age of 40 saw wages go up 14% on average.']",0.0126737710323752,Gen Z is coming into the workforce and — in one of the grand traditions of what Millennials cringe-ily called “adulting” — they’re complaining about how much easier older generations had it.,But the anger and despair point to a real and growing ennui that’s taken root among younger people.,0.0784676885604858,"And, since 2019, workers under the age of 40 saw wages go up 14% on average.","Shelter costs ballooned when the Federal Reserve jacked up interest rates, leading Boomers (or anyone with a less-than-3% mortgage) to stay in the homes they might otherwise have downsized out of.",2024-04-10
-‘World of Warcraft’ and other hit games return to China as Blizzard and NetEase end dispute,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/business/china-netease-blizzard-games-return-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Published
-        2:00 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","China’s gaming giant NetEase will bring back the iconic “World of Warcraft” and other popular video games by Microsoft’s Blizzard Entertainment to the country, the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday.
-    
-            California-based Blizzard and Hangzhou-based NetEase had ceased their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious fallout, leaving millions of fans in China heartbroken.
-    
-            “After a year of negotiations, Blizzard and NetEase are pleased to align on a path forward to once again serve players in mainland China,” the companies said in a post on NetEase Games’ official Weibo account.
-    
-            The new deal will see the return of “World of Warcraft” and “Hearthstone” games to China, as well as other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft universes, according to the statement.
-    
-            “World of Warcraft,” also known as “WoW,” is a hugely popular online multiplayer game that allows users to fight monsters and journey through expeditions in the medieval world of Azeroth.
-    
-            The games will “sequentially return to the Chinese market beginning this summer,” the companies said, adding they will share further details at a later date.
-    
-            “We are thrilled to embark on the next chapter, built on trust and mutual respect, to serve our users in this unique community that we’ve built together,” said William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director, NetEase.
-    
-            Foreign publishers must work with local partners to offer video games in China. In November 2022, however, Blizzard and NetEase announced they would not renew licensing deals as they were unable to agree on key terms.
-    
-            Separately, Microsoft Gaming and NetEase have also entered into an agreement to explore bringing new titles by the Chinese company to Xbox consoles, according to the statement Wednesday. Microsoft had completed its takeover of Activision Blizzard— one of the world’s biggest video game developers— in 2023.
-    
-            “Blizzard’s universes have been part of players’ lives in the region for many years. Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
-    
-            China has launched a crackdown in recent years on its massive online gaming industry, as Beijing seeks to reverse what it sees as a growing trend of gaming addiction among young people.
-    
-            In 2021, China barred online gamers under age 18 from playing on weekdays and limited their play to just three hours most weekends.
-    
-            That was part of Beijing’s wider clampdown targeting what it sees as overly powerful companies, especially in Big Tech.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['China’s gaming giant NetEase will bring back the iconic “World of Warcraft” and other popular video games by Microsoft’s Blizzard Entertainment to the country, the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday.', 'California-based Blizzard and Hangzhou-based NetEase had ceased their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious fallout, leaving millions of fans in China heartbroken.', '“After a year of negotiations, Blizzard and NetEase are pleased to align on a path forward to once again serve players in mainland China,” the companies said in a post on NetEase Games’ official Weibo account.', 'The new deal will see the return of “World of Warcraft” and “Hearthstone” games to China, as well as other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft universes, according to the statement.', '“World of Warcraft,”also known as “WoW,” is a hugely popular online multiplayer game that allows users to fight monsters and journey through expeditions in the medieval world of Azeroth.', 'The games will “sequentially return to the Chinese market beginning this summer,” the companies said, adding they will share further details at a later date.', '“We are thrilled to embark on the next chapter, built on trust and mutual respect, to serve our users in this unique community that we’ve built together,” said William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director, NetEase.', 'Foreign publishers must work with local partners to offer video games in China.', 'In November 2022, however, Blizzard and NetEaseannouncedthey would not renew licensing deals as they were unable to agree on key terms.', 'Separately, Microsoft Gaming and NetEase have also entered into an agreement to explore bringing new titles by the Chinese company to Xbox consoles, according to the statement Wednesday.', 'Microsoft had completed its takeover of Activision Blizzard— one of the world’s biggest video game developers— in 2023.', '“Blizzard’s universes have been part of players’ lives in the region for many years.', 'Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.', 'China has launched a crackdown in recent years on its massive online gaming industry, as Beijing seeks to reverse what it sees as a growing trend of gaming addiction among young people.', 'In 2021, China barred online gamers under age 18 from playing on weekdays and limited their play to just three hours most weekends.', 'That was part of Beijing’s wider clampdown targeting what it sees as overly powerful companies, especially in Big Tech.']",0.2920022732609139,"“We are thrilled to embark on the next chapter, built on trust and mutual respect, to serve our users in this unique community that we’ve built together,” said William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director, NetEase.","California-based Blizzard and Hangzhou-based NetEase had ceased their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious fallout, leaving millions of fans in China heartbroken.",0.1531477740832737,"“After a year of negotiations, Blizzard and NetEase are pleased to align on a path forward to once again serve players in mainland China,” the companies said in a post on NetEase Games’ official Weibo account.","California-based Blizzard and Hangzhou-based NetEase had ceased their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious fallout, leaving millions of fans in China heartbroken.",2024-04-10
-Will Truth Social solve Donald Trump's money problems?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68716628,2024-04-02T23:56:00.000Z,"The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.   But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.  So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make? And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills? Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.  The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites. In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social. Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages. Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'. Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start. It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.  By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn. X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported. Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then. It doesn't.   Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.  The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn. As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.  By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn. Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others.  In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social. The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up. Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it. It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials. The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.  The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.  The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares. He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.  Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.  When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.  At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.  With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.  Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.  Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes. Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.  But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict. Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.  They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.  They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn.  But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024. Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling. ",BBC,02/04/2024,"[""The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange."", 'But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.', 'So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make?', ""And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills?"", 'Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.', 'The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites.', 'In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social.', ""Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages."", ""Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'."", 'Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start.', 'It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.', 'By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn.', 'X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported.', ""Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then."", ""It doesn't."", 'Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.', 'The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn.', 'As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.', 'By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn.', ""Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others."", 'In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social.', 'The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up.', 'Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it.', ""It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials."", 'The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.', 'The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.', 'The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares.', 'He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.', 'Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.', 'When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.', 'At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.', 'With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.', 'Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.', 'Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes.', 'Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.', 'But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict.', 'Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.', 'They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.', ""They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn."", 'But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024.', 'Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling.']",0.1382611243779417,Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages.,"Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.",0.1471985181172689,"Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.","Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.",2024-04-10
-CBS News is trying something new in streaming,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/media/cbs-news-streaming/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:48 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.
-    
-            CBS News is overhauling its streaming platform.
-    
-            The Tiffany Network’s news division announced Tuesday that it will invest more deeply into its digital offering, entirely rebranding the streamer as CBS News 24/7.
-    
-            The Wendy McMahon-led changes, set to be implemented April 22, will feature new programming. A slate of fresh shows includes “CBS News Confirmed,” a program solely devoted to combatting misinformation, as well as “CBS News 24/7,” a “live, whip-around newscast” that will “capture what’s happening across the globe in real time.” John Dickerson’s show will also expand to 90 minutes later in the spring. In addition, the network is expanding its presence across the country, staffing “news hubs” with journalists in cities from Cleveland to Las Vegas.
-    
-            The move by CBS News, of course, comes as legacy television news outlets grapple with the rapidly declining linear business. CNN and NBC News have invested in streaming networks of their own.
-    
-            We sent some questions over to McMahon about CBS News’ ambitions in the streaming space. Below you’ll find the Q&A, which has been edited for length.
-    
-            Can you elaborate on the decision-making process that led to the expansion and rebranding of CBS News’ streaming platform?
-    
-            Our ambition is to be #1 in free streaming, and we are leveraging the playbook we used to take our 14 owned-and-operated stations’ local news streams from fourth to first against their in-market competition in two short years. The three pillars for CBS News 24/7 are: lean into our iconic shows and talent, win breaking news, and optimize the programming.
-    
-            As linear television continues its rapid decline, other news organizations have also made big moves into streaming. What do you believe makes CBS News’ entreat into the space unique?
-    
-            CBS was the first network to launch streaming channels …. So, we benefit from being first movers. Fast forward to the present day, the things that help CBS News and Stations stand out is the enduring quality of the journalism we produce and how our network and local teams are working together like never before …. We’re combining the newsgathering and speed of our local teams with national scale and depth to serve all of America.
-    
-            It’s been a brutal several months for those who work in the news industry, with too many layoffs to count. When do you think these rapidly changing business models will find some stability?
-    
-            There’s a tremendous amount of change happening in our industry right now, and many companies are looking at ways to innovate and evolve. What I tell our teams is the only thing that’s constant is change, and we must adapt to and embrace change.
-    
-            You’re launching a show called “CBS News Confirmed.” The program aims to tackle head on misinformation. What led you to put more resources behind this and do you think, as an industry, the press is doing enough to combat conspiracy theories and dismantle outright disinformation?
-    
-            I can only speak for CBS News, and I know in this organization, trust is our currency. The scale of deep fakes and misinformation out there and the speed at which that false information gets around is quite staggering.
-    
-            What is the biggest threat to journalism in America, as you see it?
-    
-            Misinformation, deep fakes and disinformation are all certainly huge threats. That’s why we started and are investing heavily in CBS News Confirmed.
-    
-            You’re opening news hubs in cities across the South and Midwest. Can you tell us more about these hubs and why you believe it’s important to invest resources into establishing a presence in these specific areas?
-    
-            The plans that we announced today include introducing and embedding multi-skilled journalists in key cities where we can truly tap into communities and feature the voices and viewpoints of people who we otherwise might not be hear from. These news hubs will help us overall respond to stories faster during breaking news simply because we will have people there. Our national movement of community journalism is in response to population shifts across the country, and it’s an extension of what we did at CBS Stations to turn neighborhoods into newsrooms. And on the heels of the election, I can’t think of a better time to do this.
-    
-            Why do you believe journalism has a bright future, despite the herculean challenges confronting the industry?
-    
-            At our town hall meeting today, I said journalism matters — and it will continue to matter. … There will always be a need for independent, fact-based reporting.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Editor’s Note:A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.', 'Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.', 'CBS Newsis overhauling its streaming platform.', 'The Tiffany Network’s news divisionannounced Tuesdaythat it will invest more deeply into its digital offering, entirely rebranding the streamer asCBS News 24/7.', 'TheWendy McMahon-led changes, set to be implemented April 22, will feature new programming.', 'A slate of fresh shows includes“CBS News Confirmed,”a program solely devoted to combatting misinformation, as well as “CBS News 24/7,” a “live, whip-around newscast” that will “capture what’s happening across the globe in real time.', '”John Dickerson’sshow will also expand to 90 minutes later in the spring.', 'In addition, the network is expanding its presence across the country, staffing “news hubs” with journalists in cities from Cleveland to Las Vegas.', 'The move by CBS News, of course, comes as legacy television news outlets grapple with the rapidly declining linear business.', 'CNNandNBC Newshave invested in streaming networks of their own.', 'We sent some questions over to McMahon about CBS News’ ambitions in the streaming space.', 'Below you’ll find the Q&A, which has been edited for length.', 'Can you elaborate on the decision-making process that led to the expansion and rebranding of CBS News’ streaming platform?', 'Our ambition is to be #1 in free streaming, and we are leveraging the playbook we used to take our 14 owned-and-operated stations’ local news streams from fourth to first against their in-market competition in two short years.', 'The three pillars for CBS News 24/7 are: lean into our iconic shows and talent, win breaking news, and optimize the programming.', 'As linear television continues its rapid decline, other news organizations have also made big moves into streaming.', 'What do you believe makes CBS News’ entreat into the space unique?', 'CBS was the first network to launch streaming channels ….', 'So, we benefit from being first movers.', 'Fast forward to the present day, the things that help CBS News and Stations stand out is the enduring quality of the journalism we produce and how our network and local teams are working together like never before ….', 'We’re combining the newsgathering and speed of our local teams with national scale and depth to serve all of America.', 'It’s been a brutal several months for those who work in the news industry, with too many layoffs to count.', 'When do you think these rapidly changing business models will find some stability?', 'There’s a tremendous amount of change happening in our industry right now, and many companies are looking at ways to innovate and evolve.', 'What I tell our teams is the only thing that’s constant is change, and we must adapt to and embrace change.', 'You’re launching a show called “CBS News Confirmed.”', 'The program aims to tackle head on misinformation.', 'What led you to put more resources behind this and do you think, as an industry, the press is doing enough to combat conspiracy theories and dismantle outright disinformation?', 'I can only speak for CBS News, and I know in this organization, trust is our currency.', 'The scale of deep fakes and misinformation out there and the speed at which that false information gets around is quite staggering.', 'What is the biggest threat to journalism in America, as you see it?', 'Misinformation, deep fakes and disinformation are all certainly huge threats.', 'That’s why we started and are investing heavily in CBS News Confirmed.', 'You’re opening news hubs in cities across the South and Midwest.', 'Can you tell us more about these hubs and why you believe it’s important to invest resources into establishing a presence in these specific areas?', 'The plans that we announced today include introducing and embedding multi-skilled journalists in key cities where we can truly tap into communities and feature the voices and viewpoints of people who we otherwise might not be hear from.', 'These news hubs will help us overall respond to stories faster during breaking news simply because we will have people there.', 'Our national movement of community journalism is in response to population shifts across the country, and it’s an extension of what we did at CBS Stations to turn neighborhoods into newsrooms.', 'And on the heels of the election, I can’t think of a better time to do this.', 'Why do you believe journalism has a bright future, despite the herculean challenges confronting the industry?', 'At our town hall meeting today, I said journalism matters — and it will continue to matter. …', 'There will always be a need for independent, fact-based reporting.']",0.0766178529937449,"The three pillars for CBS News 24/7 are: lean into our iconic shows and talent, win breaking news, and optimize the programming.","What led you to put more resources behind this and do you think, as an industry, the press is doing enough to combat conspiracy theories and dismantle outright disinformation?",0.5939496457576752,"Why do you believe journalism has a bright future, despite the herculean challenges confronting the industry?","It’s been a brutal several months for those who work in the news industry, with too many layoffs to count.",2024-04-10
-Walmart shoppers could claim up to $500 as part of a class-action settlement,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/business/walmart-shoppers-class-action-settlement/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:52 PM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","Walmart shoppers could be entitled to as much as $500 as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement by the retailer over allegations that it overcharged customers for certain products.
-    
-            A lawsuit initially filed in late 2022, and subsequently amended in 2023, alleged that Walmart “falsely inflated” the prices of certain sold-by-weight products, including those that feature the retailer’s “rollbacks,” or discounts.
-    
-            It alleged that shoppers at checkout were deceptively led to think they were paying the lowered prices on those goods such as meats, poultry and seafood.
-    
-            The suit alleged Walmart also mislabeled the weight of bagged produce such as oranges, grapefruit and tangerines by falsely advertising the weight as more than the actual weight of those grocery items.
-    
-            Walmart reached a settlement late last year to pay $45 million to customers, while denying any allegations of wrongdoing.
-    
-            Walmart, in a statement to CNN on Friday, said it “will continue providing our customers everyday low prices to help them save money on the products they want and need. We still deny the allegations, however we believe a settlement is in the best interest of both parties.”
-    
-            According to the terms of the settlement, any Walmart customer who bought weighted goods and/or bagged citrus at a Walmart store, supercenter or neighborhood market store in the United States or Puerto Rico from Oct, 19, 2018, through January 19, 2024, could be eligible for a cash payment.
-    
-            The cash payments will vary, depending on what was bought during the period.
-    
-            They include:
-    
-            –$10 without a receipt, but a shopper can attest to buying up to 50 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus in-person in a Walmart store during the settlement class period.
-    
-            –$15 without a receipt or other proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 51 up to 75 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.
-    
-            –$20 without receipts or proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 76 up to 100 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.
-    
-            –$25 without receipts or proof of purchase but attest to buying 101 or more weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.
-    
-            –Up to $500 with receipts or other proof of purchase of each weighted goods and/or bagged citrus purchased in a Walmart store during the settlement class period, customers will receive 2% of “the total cost of the substantiated Weighted Goods and Bagged Citrus Purchased,” up to $500.
-    
-            Customers can also try to retrieve receipts from Walmart’s website.
-    
-            Walmart shoppers can file a claim online or via mail, postmarked, on or before June 5, 2024.",CNN,05/04/2024,"['Walmart shoppers could be entitled to as much as $500 as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement by the retailer over allegations that it overcharged customers for certain products.', 'A lawsuit initially filed in late 2022, and subsequently amended in 2023, alleged that Walmart “falsely inflated” the prices of certain sold-by-weight products, including those that feature the retailer’s “rollbacks,” or discounts.', 'It alleged that shoppers at checkout were deceptively led to think they were paying the lowered prices on those goods such as meats, poultry and seafood.', 'The suit alleged Walmart also mislabeled the weight of bagged produce such as oranges, grapefruit and tangerines by falsely advertising the weight as more than the actual weight of those grocery items.', 'Walmart reached a settlement late last year to pay $45 million to customers, while denying any allegations of wrongdoing.', 'Walmart, in a statement to CNN on Friday, said it “will continue providing our customers everyday low prices to help them save money on the products they want and need.', 'We still deny the allegations, however we believe a settlement is in the best interest of both parties.”', 'According to the terms of the settlement, any Walmart customer who bought weighted goods and/or bagged citrus at a Walmart store, supercenter or neighborhood market store in the United States or Puerto Rico from Oct, 19, 2018, through January 19, 2024, could be eligible for a cash payment.', 'The cash payments will vary, depending on what was bought during the period.', 'They include:  –$10 without a receipt, but a shopper can attest to buying up to 50 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus in-person in a Walmart store during the settlement class period.', '–$15 without a receipt or other proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 51 up to 75 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.', '–$20 without receipts or proof of purchase, but they can attest to buying from 76 up to 100 weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.', '���$25 without receipts or proof of purchase but attest to buying 101 or more weighted goods and/or bagged citrus.', '–Up to $500 with receipts or other proof of purchase of each weighted goods and/or bagged citrus purchased in a Walmart store during the settlement class period,customers will receive 2% of “the total cost of the substantiated Weighted Goods and Bagged Citrus Purchased,” up to $500.', 'Customers can also try to retrieve receipts fromWalmart’s website.', 'Walmart shoppers can file a claim online or via mail, postmarked, on or beforeJune 5, 2024.']",0.1103609768968021,"We still deny the allegations, however we believe a settlement is in the best interest of both parties.”","Walmart reached a settlement late last year to pay $45 million to customers, while denying any allegations of wrongdoing.",0.5045076608657837,"Walmart, in a statement to CNN on Friday, said it “will continue providing our customers everyday low prices to help them save money on the products they want and need.","A lawsuit initially filed in late 2022, and subsequently amended in 2023, alleged that Walmart “falsely inflated” the prices of certain sold-by-weight products, including those that feature the retailer’s “rollbacks,” or discounts.",2024-04-10
-"Some Fed officials worry inflation remains stubbornly high, minutes show",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/economy/fed-minutes-march-meeting-inflation-high/index.html,"
-  Published
-        2:40 PM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Federal Reserve officials said during their March policymaking meeting that inflation will likely continue to slow this year, according to minutes released Wednesday, but some still fretted over the possibility that inflation could remain stubbornly high.
-    
-            Those fears have now worsened, at least on Wall Street, which means that interest rates could remain higher for longer if prices don’t budge.
-    
-            While Fed officials “observed that significant progress had been made over the past year” despite disappointing inflation readings for January and February, some also “noted that the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based,” the minutes said.
-    
-            The Fed kept its key interest rate at a two-decade high for the fifth straight meeting last month, at a range of 5.25-5.5%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that policymakers want to see more evidence that inflation is headed toward their 2% goal.
-    
-            But Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report suggests that getting to that goal will continue to be a turbulent ride.
-    
-            Consumer prices rose 3.5% in March from a year earlier, up considerably from February’s 3.2% and higher than the 3.4% economists were excepting. On a monthly basis, consumer prices jumped 0.4% in March, also above expectations. Surging gas prices and sky-high mortgages and rent were the culprits behind the hotter-than-expected reading.
-    
-            Stocks tanked on Wednesday after the report was released as bond yields shot up. The odds that the first rate cut will come in June also dropped after CPI was released, according to futures. Goldman Sachs pushed back its call for the first rate cut to July from June and Bank of America is now projecting a June rate cut with “low confidence.”
-    
-            “The likelihood of a June Fed rate cut declined materially today,” Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, said in a note Wednesday. “Three months of surprisingly strong services inflation are difficult to explain away and suggest that demand strength could be sustaining elevated US inflation, which limits the Fed’s ability to ease policy.”
-    
-            According to the Fed minutes, officials generally noted that “they continued to expect that inflation would return to 2 percent over the medium term.” Economists have been expecting slowing rent growth to filter through to inflation gauges. Powell said it is only a matter of time until it happens, but that hasn’t happened yet. Insurance costs have also been pushing up inflation.
-    
-            Last year, inflation slowed considerably thanks to improving supply-side conditions, such as a bigger workforce due to immigration, and more efficient supply chains. It remains to be seen whether the supply side will continue to drag inflation lower this year or if weakening consumer demand and potentially rising unemployment will play more of a role.
-    
-            The timing of that first rate cut remains a key issue for the Fed because there are economic consequences if the central bank cuts too soon — or if it cuts too late. That’s why the Fed is waiting for more data before making any conclusions about the economy, including whether inflation has indeed stalled. But time is of the essence since it’s already been three months of surprising inflation growth.
-    
-            Powell frequently says that the road down to 2% will likely be a bumpy one, and it has been. The Fed chief said last month that the disappointing inflation readings for the beginning of the year might have been due to “seasonal factors,” but not all Fed policymakers agreed with that assessment during the March meeting, saying that “the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based and therefore should not be discounted as merely statistical aberrations,” according to the minutes.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Federal Reserve officials said during their March policymaking meeting that inflation will likely continue to slow this year, according to minutes released Wednesday, but some still fretted over the possibility that inflation could remain stubbornly high.', 'Those fears have now worsened, at leaston Wall Street, which means that interest rates could remain higher for longer if prices don’t budge.', 'While Fed officials “observed that significant progress had been made over the past year” despite disappointing inflation readings for January and February, some also “noted that the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based,” the minutes said.', 'The Fed kept its key interest rate at a two-decade highfor the fifth straight meetinglast month, at a range of 5.25-5.5%.', 'Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that policymakers want to seemore evidencethat inflation is headed toward their 2% goal.', 'But Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report suggests that getting to that goal will continue to be a turbulent ride.', 'Consumer pricesrose 3.5% in March from a year earlier, up considerably from February’s 3.2% and higher than the 3.4% economists were excepting.', 'On a monthly basis, consumer prices jumped 0.4% in March, also above expectations.', 'Surging gas prices and sky-high mortgages and rent were the culprits behind the hotter-than-expected reading.', 'Stocks tanked on Wednesday after the report was released as bond yields shot up.', 'The odds that the first rate cut will come in June also dropped after CPI was released, according to futures.', 'Goldman Sachs pushed back its call for the first rate cut to July from June and Bank of America is now projecting a June rate cut with “low confidence.”', '“The likelihood of a June Fed rate cut declined materially today,” Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, said in a note Wednesday. “', 'Three months of surprisingly strong services inflation are difficult to explain away and suggest that demand strength could be sustaining elevated US inflation, which limits the Fed’s ability to ease policy.”', 'According to the Fed minutes, officials generally noted that “they continued to expect that inflation would return to 2 percent over the medium term.”', 'Economists have been expecting slowing rent growth to filter through to inflation gauges.', 'Powell said it is only a matter of time until it happens, but that hasn’t happened yet.', 'Insurance costs have also been pushing up inflation.', 'Last year, inflation slowed considerably thanks to improving supply-side conditions, such as a bigger workforce due to immigration, and more efficient supply chains.', 'It remains to be seen whether the supply side will continue to drag inflation lower this year or if weakening consumer demand and potentially rising unemployment will play more of a role.', 'The timing of that first rate cut remains a key issue for the Fed because there are economic consequences if the central bank cuts too soon — or if it cuts too late.', 'That’s why the Fed is waiting for more data before making any conclusions about the economy, including whether inflation has indeed stalled.', 'But time is of the essence since it’s already been three months of surprising inflation growth.', 'Powell frequently says that the road down to 2% will likely be a bumpy one, and it has been.', 'The Fed chief said last month that the disappointing inflation readings for the beginning of the year might have been due to “seasonal factors,” but not all Fed policymakers agreed with that assessment during the March meeting, saying that “the recent increases in inflation had been relatively broad based and therefore should not be discounted as merely statistical aberrations,” according to the minutes.']",0.0412084692362285,"Three months of surprisingly strong services inflation are difficult to explain away and suggest that demand strength could be sustaining elevated US inflation, which limits the Fed’s ability to ease policy.”",It remains to be seen whether the supply side will continue to drag inflation lower this year or if weakening consumer demand and potentially rising unemployment will play more of a role.,-0.2583298656073483,"On a monthly basis, consumer prices jumped 0.4% in March, also above expectations.","“The likelihood of a June Fed rate cut declined materially today,” Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, said in a note Wednesday. “",2024-04-10
-Boom times for US green energy as federal cash flows in,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68667140,2024-04-08T23:03:36.000Z,"In February US company LanzaJet, which produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from ethanol, announced that it intended to build a second, larger plant on US soil. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a ""big influence"", says Jimmy Samartzis, its chief executive. The second plant would add to its facility in Soperton, Georgia - the world's first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. ""We have a global landscape that we are pursuing…[but] we have doubled down on building here in the United States because of the tax credits in the IRA, and because of the overall support system that the US government has put in place.""  Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, the IRA, along with the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in November 2021, are intended, amongst other things, to funnel billions of federal dollars into developing clean energy.  The aim is to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and incentivise private investment, to encourage the growth of green industries and jobs: a new foundation for the US economy. With a 10-year lifespan, and a cost originally estimated at $391bn (£310bn) but now predicted to reach over $1tn - the final figure is unknown - the IRA offers new and juicer tax credits, as well as loans and loan guarantees for the deployment of emissions reducing technology. The tax credits are available to companies for either domestically producing clean energy, or domestically manufacturing the equipment needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. Consumers can also receive tax credits, for example for buying an EV or installing a heat pump. The tax credit for SAF producers like LanzaJet is new in the IRA and, offers between $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF (though it only lasts five years). Complementary is the BIL, which runs for five years and provides direct investment largely in the form of government grants for research and development and capital projects. Under the BIL, about $77bn (£61bn) will go to clean energy technology projects, according to the Brookings Institution which monitors the law.  One company to benefit so far is EV battery recycling company Ascend Elements. It has won BIL grants totalling $480m (£380m), which it is matching a similar amount in private investment to build its second commercial facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  ""[The IRA and BIL] are massive investments… larger than the infrastructure related provisions in the New Deal,"" says Adie Tromer from the Brookings. ""There is a clear sense that America has become more serious about transitioning to a cleaner economy."" While rules for some tax credits are still being finalized, tens of billions in actual public spending is flowing into the economy, says Trevor Houser at the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider. Rhodium, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM) to track US clean technology investments. According to recently updated CIM data, in the 2023 fiscal year, the federal government invested approximately $34bn (£27bn) into clean energy, the vast majority through tax credits. The extent to which the policy instruments are so far spurring not just announcements - of which there are plenty - but real extra private investment is harder to know: clean energy investment has been on a general upward trend anyway and the IRA hasn't been around long. But experts believe it is rising. Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.  Clean energy investment in the US, as a share of total private investment, rose from 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The IRA has had two main positive effects thus far, says Mr Houser.  It has ""supercharged"" private investment in more mature technologies which were already growing very rapidly like solar, EVs and batteries.  It has also, combined with the BIL, led to a ""dramatic growth"" in investment in emerging climate technologies like clean hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and removal and SAF. While the total magnitude of those investments are still relatively small compared to the more mature technologies, ""the IRA fundamentally changed the economics"" says Mr Houser. But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA. On the industry's mind is the fate of the laws, particularly the longer-to-run IRA, should there be a change of government in the US November elections.  Repealing or amending the IRA (or BIL) would require Republican control of the Presidency, Senate and House - though wholesale repeal would likely face meaningful opposition from within. The rub is many of the projects that the IRA is incentivising are being or will be built in Republican states or counties.  Yet a Republican president alone could potentially frustrate things for example by slowing or deferring loans or grants, or amending the rules which serve the laws. ""A Trump presidency would definitely chill the atmosphere and possibly more,"" says Ashur Nissan of Kaya Partners, a climate policy advice firm. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and purveyor of hard-right ideas for the next conservative President, advocates repeal for both the IRA and BIL. For the organization's Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former Trump administration official, it is fiscally irresponsible for the US, with its vast deficit and debt, to be spending like this. It is also time, she says, that renewable energy such as solar and wind, into which subsidies have been poured for years, stood on their own feet.  Yet others argue the US can't afford not to do take this path. And the point of the loans program is to take risks to help unlock new solutions that scale. ""It would be failing if there weren't any so called 'failures' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm. More technology of business Meanwhile, the US's approach is putting competitive pressure on Europe to do more. Some European clean energy manufacturing companies are now building facilities in the US to take advantage of the tax credits that otherwise would have been built in Europe including solar panel maker Meyer Burger and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and John Cockerill.  ""The US wasn't a market for some of these companies in the past because Europe was more active,"" says Brandon Hurlbut, of Boundary Stone Partners, a clean energy advisory firm. The EU's Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is expected to enter into force this year. It doesn't involve new money, but seeks to coordinate existing financing and introduces domestic favourability for the first time - putting in place a non-binding target for the bloc to locally manufacture 40% of its clean energy equipment needs by 2030. In the UK, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has made clear he isn't interested, nor can the UK afford to copy the IRA's approach in some ""distortive global subsidy race"" and will stick to other ways of helping. The Labour party recently scrapped its $28bn green investment plan seen as a stab at leaning into an IRA style policy. A global audience will be watching as the US's clean energy juggernaut unfolds. And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['In February US company LanzaJet, which produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from ethanol, announced that it intended to build a second, larger plant on US soil.', 'The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a ""big influence"", says Jimmy Samartzis, its chief executive.', 'The second plant would add to its facility in Soperton, Georgia - the world\'s first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. ""', 'We have a global landscape that we are pursuing…[but] we have doubled down on building here in the United States because of the tax credits in the IRA, and because of the overall support system that the US government has put in place.""', 'Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, the IRA, along with the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in November 2021, are intended, amongst other things, to funnel billions of federal dollars into developing clean energy.', 'The aim is to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and incentivise private investment, to encourage the growth of green industries and jobs: a new foundation for the US economy.', 'With a 10-year lifespan, and a cost originally estimated at $391bn (£310bn) but now predicted to reach over $1tn - the final figure is unknown - the IRA offers new and juicer tax credits, as well as loans and loan guarantees for the deployment of emissions reducing technology.', 'The tax credits are available to companies for either domestically producing clean energy, or domestically manufacturing the equipment needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries.', 'Consumers can also receive tax credits, for example for buying an EV or installing a heat pump.', 'The tax credit for SAF producers like LanzaJet is new in the IRA and, offers between $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF (though it only lasts five years).', 'Complementary is the BIL, which runs for five years and provides direct investment largely in the form of government grants for research and development and capital projects.', 'Under the BIL, about $77bn (£61bn) will go to clean energy technology projects, according to the Brookings Institution which monitors the law.', 'One company to benefit so far is EV battery recycling company Ascend Elements.', 'It has won BIL grants totalling $480m (£380m), which it is matching a similar amount in private investment to build its second commercial facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. ""[', 'The IRA and BIL] are massive investments… larger than the infrastructure related provisions in the New Deal,"" says Adie Tromer from the Brookings. ""', 'There is a clear sense that America has become more serious about transitioning to a cleaner economy.""', 'While rules for some tax credits are still being finalized, tens of billions in actual public spending is flowing into the economy, says Trevor Houser at the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider.', 'Rhodium, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM) to track US clean technology investments.', 'According to recently updated CIM data, in the 2023 fiscal year, the federal government invested approximately $34bn (£27bn) into clean energy, the vast majority through tax credits.', ""The extent to which the policy instruments are so far spurring not just announcements - of which there are plenty - but real extra private investment is harder to know: clean energy investment has been on a general upward trend anyway and the IRA hasn't been around long."", 'But experts believe it is rising.', 'Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.', 'Clean energy investment in the US, as a share of total private investment, rose from 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023.', 'The IRA has had two main positive effects thus far, says Mr Houser.', 'It has ""supercharged"" private investment in more mature technologies which were already growing very rapidly like solar, EVs and batteries.', 'It has also, combined with the BIL, led to a ""dramatic growth"" in investment in emerging climate technologies like clean hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and removal and SAF.', 'While the total magnitude of those investments are still relatively small compared to the more mature technologies, ""the IRA fundamentally changed the economics"" says Mr Houser.', ""But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA."", ""On the industry's mind is the fate of the laws, particularly the longer-to-run IRA, should there be a change of government in the US November elections."", 'Repealing or amending the IRA (or BIL) would require Republican control of the Presidency, Senate and House - though wholesale repeal would likely face meaningful opposition from within.', 'The rub is many of the projects that the IRA is incentivising are being or will be built in Republican states or counties.', 'Yet a Republican president alone could potentially frustrate things for example by slowing or deferring loans or grants, or amending the rules which serve the laws. ""', 'A Trump presidency would definitely chill the atmosphere and possibly more,"" says Ashur Nissan of Kaya Partners, a climate policy advice firm.', 'The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and purveyor of hard-right ideas for the next conservative President, advocates repeal for both the IRA and BIL.', ""For the organization's Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former Trump administration official, it is fiscally irresponsible for the US, with its vast deficit and debt, to be spending like this."", 'It is also time, she says, that renewable energy such as solar and wind, into which subsidies have been poured for years, stood on their own feet.', ""Yet others argue the US can't afford not to do take this path."", 'And the point of the loans program is to take risks to help unlock new solutions that scale. ""', 'It would be failing if there weren\'t any so called \'failures\' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm.', ""More technology of business Meanwhile, the US's approach is putting competitive pressure on Europe to do more."", 'Some European clean energy manufacturing companies are now building facilities in the US to take advantage of the tax credits that otherwise would have been built in Europe including solar panel maker Meyer Burger and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and John Cockerill. ""', 'The US wasn\'t a market for some of these companies in the past because Europe was more active,"" says Brandon Hurlbut, of Boundary Stone Partners, a clean energy advisory firm.', ""The EU's Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is expected to enter into force this year."", ""It doesn't involve new money, but seeks to coordinate existing financing and introduces domestic favourability for the first time - putting in place a non-binding target for the bloc to locally manufacture 40% of its clean energy equipment needs by 2030."", 'In the UK, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has made clear he isn\'t interested, nor can the UK afford to copy the IRA\'s approach in some ""distortive global subsidy race"" and will stick to other ways of helping.', 'The Labour party recently scrapped its $28bn green investment plan seen as a stab at leaning into an IRA style policy.', ""A global audience will be watching as the US's clean energy juggernaut unfolds."", ""And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut.""]",0.3325934479260706,"And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut.","It would be failing if there weren't any so called 'failures' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm.",0.3432436046146211,"Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.","But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA.",2024-04-10
-"Japan seeks investment in AI, semiconductors from American companies",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/tech/japan-seeks-us-investment-ai-semiconductors-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:37 AM EDT, Wed April 10, 2024
-    ","Once seen as America’s greatest economic challenger, Japan is now looking to team up with the world’s biggest economy by appealing directly to US executives to invest in the Asian country’s emerging tech sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and clean energy.
-    
-            Speaking in Washington at a lunch with American CEOs, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan welcomes American collaboration in “critical and emerging technology” and assured them that any investment would flow both ways.
-    
-            “The economic growth our country obtains through your investments shall serve as the funding source of further investments into the United States by Japanese entities,” he said Tuesday.
-    
-            Kishida is in the US ahead of a Wednesday summit with President Joe Biden expected to focus on defense and economic ties.
-    
-            Last year, Japanese foreign direct investment to the US exceeded $750 billion, Kishida said, making Japan the biggest foreign investor in America and creating more than 1 million jobs.
-    
-            Shortly before the lunch, Microsoft (MSFT) announced it plans to invest $2.9 billion to increase its cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan, and open its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in the country. It is reportedly the company’s largest ever investment in Asia’s second largest economy.
-    
-            Microsoft’s vice chairman and president, Brad Smith, attended the event along with more than a dozen other executives including IBM (IBM) Vice Chairman Gary Cohn; Micron Technology (MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra; Boeing (BA) Defense, Space & Security CEO Ted Colbert and Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla.
-    
-            The closer business ties between Washington and Tokyo come as the two countries seek to modernize their political and military alliance. Both are eyeing regional threats from North Korea’s weapons testing and burgeoning relations with Russia to China’s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan.
-    
-            Speaking to CNN in Tokyo ahead of his trip, Kishida said spiraling geopolitical tensions have pushed the world to a “historic turning point” and are forcing Japan to change its defense posture.
-    
-            At the lunch event, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, the prime minister praised US-Japan joint investment in the semiconductor industry. Rapidus, a Tokyo-backed chipmaker, is working with IBM to bring advanced chip technology to Japan.
-    
-            “In the semiconductor field, Rapidus is partnering with a US company in research and development of next-generation chips. And there will surely be more such opportunities for collaboration between Japan and the United States,” he said.
-    
-            Earlier this month, Japan’s industry ministry approved subsidies worth up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for Rapidus. That’s on top of some 330 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in subsidies already pledged by the government.
-    
-            Utilizing technology from IBM, Rapidus is building a semiconductor fabrication plant, or fab, on the island of Hokkaido. It aims to start pilot production of two-nanometer chips from April 2025, with mass production intended to begin in 2027, the chipmaker previously told CNN.
-    
-            Japan once dominated the global semiconductor industry, but it lost its lead years ago to the likes of TSMC, Intel (INTC) and Samsung.
-    
-            Rapidus is meant to mark the country’s comeback in chipmaking. It comes as Washington adds increasing restrictions on the types of semiconductors that American companies are able to sell to China.
-    
-            The tech rivalry between the world’s two largest economies has been heating up in recent years. Over the past year, the US has enlisted its allies in Europe and Asia, including Japan, to restrict sales of advanced chipmaking equipment to China.
-    
-            On Tuesday, Kishida also sought to dispel doubts about the strength of the Japanese economy, which lost its position as the world’s third largest economy to Germany earlier this year.
-    
-            “We are hopeful that 2024 will be the year for the Japanese economy to completely break free from the deflationary sentiment and cost-cutting, scaling down mentality that had weighed heavily on our nation,” he said.
-    
-            Last month, Japan brought an end to its era of negative interest rates with its first rate hike in 17 years, marking a historic shift away from an aggressive monetary easing program that was implemented years ago to fight chronic deflation.
-    
-            — CNN’s Mayumi Maruyama contributed reporting.",CNN,10/04/2024,"['Once seen as America’s greatest economic challenger, Japan is now looking to team up with the world’s biggest economy by appealing directly to US executives to invest in the Asian country’s emerging tech sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and clean energy.', 'Speaking in Washington at a lunch with American CEOs, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan welcomes American collaboration in “critical and emerging technology” and assured them that any investment would flow both ways.', '“The economic growth our country obtains through your investments shall serve as the funding source of further investments into the United States by Japanese entities,” he said Tuesday.', 'Kishida is in the US ahead of a Wednesday summit with President Joe Biden expected to focus on defense and economic ties.', 'Last year, Japanese foreign direct investment to the US exceeded $750 billion, Kishida said, making Japan the biggest foreign investor in America and creating more than 1 million jobs.', 'Shortly before the lunch, Microsoft (MSFT) announced it plans to invest $2.9 billion to increase its cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan, and open its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in the country.', 'It is reportedly the company’s largest ever investment in Asia’s second largest economy.', 'Microsoft’s vice chairman and president, Brad Smith, attended the event along with more than a dozen other executives including IBM (IBM) Vice Chairman Gary Cohn; Micron Technology (MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra; Boeing (BA) Defense, Space & Security CEO Ted Colbert and Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla.', 'The closer business ties between Washington and Tokyo come as the two countries seek to modernize their political and military alliance.', 'Both are eyeing regional threats fromNorth Korea’s weapons testingand burgeoning relations with Russia to China’s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan.', 'Speaking to CNN in Tokyo ahead of his trip, Kishida said spiraling geopolitical tensions have pushed the world to a “historic turning point” and are forcingJapanto change its defense posture.', 'At the lunch event, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, the prime minister praised US-Japan joint investment in the semiconductor industry.', 'Rapidus, a Tokyo-backed chipmaker, is working with IBM to bring advanced chip technology to Japan.', '“In the semiconductor field, Rapidus is partnering with a US company in research and development of next-generation chips.', 'And there will surely be more such opportunities for collaboration between Japan and the United States,” he said.', 'Earlier this month, Japan’s industry ministry approved subsidies worth up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for Rapidus.', 'That’s on top of some 330 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in subsidies already pledged by the government.', 'Utilizing technology from IBM, Rapidus is building a semiconductor fabrication plant, or fab, on the island of Hokkaido.', 'It aims to start pilot production of two-nanometer chips from April 2025, with mass production intended to begin in 2027, the chipmaker previously told CNN.', 'Japan once dominated the global semiconductor industry, but it lost its lead years ago to the likes of TSMC, Intel (INTC) and Samsung.', 'Rapidus is meant to mark the country’s comeback in chipmaking.', 'It comes as Washington adds increasing restrictions on the types of semiconductors that American companies are able to sell to China.', 'The tech rivalry between the world’s two largest economies has been heating up in recent years.', 'Over the past year, the US has enlisted its allies inEuropeandAsia, including Japan, to restrict sales of advanced chipmaking equipment to China.', 'On Tuesday, Kishida also sought to dispel doubts about the strength of the Japanese economy, which lost its position as the world’s third largest economy to Germany earlier this year.', '“We are hopeful that 2024 will be the year for the Japanese economy to completely break free from the deflationary sentiment and cost-cutting, scaling down mentality that had weighed heavily on our nation,” he said.', 'Last month, Japan brought an end to its era of negative interest rates with its first rate hike in 17 years, marking a historic shift away from an aggressive monetary easing program that was implemented years ago to fight chronic deflation.', '— CNN’s Mayumi Maruyama contributed reporting.']",0.1858591018277013,"Once seen as America’s greatest economic challenger, Japan is now looking to team up with the world’s biggest economy by appealing directly to US executives to invest in the Asian country’s emerging tech sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and clean energy.",Both are eyeing regional threats fromNorth Korea’s weapons testingand burgeoning relations with Russia to China’s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan.,0.3802599012851715,"Earlier this month, Japan’s industry ministry approved subsidies worth up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for Rapidus.","On Tuesday, Kishida also sought to dispel doubts about the strength of the Japanese economy, which lost its position as the world’s third largest economy to Germany earlier this year.",2024-04-10
-Nigeria Binance dispute: Cryptocurrency official denies money laundering,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68762553,2024-04-08T17:07:59.000Z,"An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court. US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national. Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil. Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown. On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja. The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians. Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location. In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""  A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"". They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""  The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m). In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country. Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn). The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.   The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria. Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism. As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"". Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"". As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol's red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"". ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.', 'US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national.', ""Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil."", 'Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown.', ""On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)."", 'After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja.', 'The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians.', 'Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location.', 'In a statement released after Monday\'s hearing, Mr Gambaryan\'s wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""', 'A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"".', 'They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""', 'The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m).', ""In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country."", 'Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn).', 'The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.', 'The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.', ""Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism."", 'As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).', 'After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"".', 'Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"".', 'As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol\'s red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"".']",-0.3249722933220262,"The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.","In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""",-0.7206885317961375,An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.,"The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.",2024-04-09
-Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036,2021-04-21T23:08:36.000Z,"New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.  The next phase of a public inquiry into what went wrong is under way.  More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.  The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and several were financially ruined. In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office. In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees. A draft report uncovered by the BBC showed the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue. The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment on the report. Although campaigners won the right for their cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024. The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen. A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees. It resumed on Tuesday 9 April, with campaigner Alan Bates the first to appear.  This fifth phase of the inquiry is expected to last several weeks, with former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells and politicians who oversaw the Post Office among those set to give evidence. Mr Bates was the inspiration for the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was broadcast in January 2024.  Days later, the government announced new plans to clear and compensate those affected.  Mr Bates told the inquiry that the Post Office has spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him.  Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.  It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.  Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds. The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"". Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.  Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses. Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.  Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death. In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected. New legislation was introduced on 13 March, to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation. The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July. Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed. Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.  Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.  Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation. More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"". Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal. In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE. In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.  Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson previously told the Post Office inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments.  Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Mr Bates when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010. He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"". The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence.  Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the [next] election"".  ",BBC,21/04/2021,"[""New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice."", 'Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.', 'The next phase of a public inquiry into what went wrong is under way.', 'More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.', 'The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015.', 'Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).', 'Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and several were financially ruined.', 'In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office.', 'In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees.', 'A draft report uncovered by the BBC showed the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue.', 'The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment on the report.', 'Although campaigners won the right for their cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024.', 'The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen.', 'A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees.', 'It resumed on Tuesday 9 April, with campaigner Alan Bates the first to appear.', 'This fifth phase of the inquiry is expected to last several weeks, with former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells and politicians who oversaw the Post Office among those set to give evidence.', 'Mr Bates was the inspiration for the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was broadcast in January 2024.', 'Days later, the government announced new plans to clear and compensate those affected.', 'Mr Bates told the inquiry that the Post Office has spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him.', 'Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.', 'It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.', 'Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds.', 'The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"".', 'Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.', 'Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses.', 'Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.', 'Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.', 'In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected.', ""New legislation was introduced on 13 March, to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation."", 'The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July.', 'Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed.', 'Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.', 'Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.', 'Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation.', 'More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"".', 'Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal.', 'In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE.', 'In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.', 'Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson previously told the Post Office inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments.', 'Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Mr Bates when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010.', 'He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"".', ""The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence."", 'Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the [next] election"".']",-0.0562132538804236,"In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.","Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.",-0.730132919549942,"In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money awarded for his work on the Horizon inquiry.",Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds.,2024-04-09
-Post Office scandal: Bosses earned millions despite Horizon scandal,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68452842,2024-04-07T01:16:11.000Z,"How much did the people running the Post Office get paid while the flawed Horizon system was in place? By looking through the company accounts for the Post Office and Royal Mail, the BBC has come up with a figure - £19.4m over 24 years. Before 2012, Royal Mail and the Post Office were part of the same organisation - and its three successive chief executives, John Roberts, Adam Crozier and Dame Moya Greene, made a total of £12.8m. All three of them are due to appear at Horizon Inquiry which resumes on 9 April.  From 2012 onwards, the chief executives of the separated Post Office, Paula Vennells then Nick Read, have made a total of £6.5m. That's an average of less than £1m a year - compared to the £3.91m the average boss of Britain's 100 biggest listed companies earned in 2022. It's a huge sum compared to the salary of average workers, or for sub-postmasters still waiting for compensation. The Post Office argues that it is a very large, complex business which has to compete with other organisations for talent, and uses external consultants to advise on executive pay. So who are the Post Office bosses and what did each of them earn? Mr Read, a former captain of Dragoons who had been chief executive of Nisa Retail, joined in September 2019, a few months after 550 sub-postmasters won a dramatic High Court victory.  He agreed a much higher base salary than his predecessor, Ms Vennells, earning £415,000 a year compared to her £255,000. However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.  As a result has ended up earning slightly less on average than Ms Vennells.   He returned £54,000 which was incorrectly paid for helping the Inquiry to finish - it's still ongoing. For 2022/23 he made a bonus of £137,000 out of the maximum £383,210 he might have hoped to earn. In February, it emerged the Post Office had asked government for permission to double his pay. Ms Vennells took over as Post Office managing director in 2010, and stayed in the top job until April 2019. This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.  A part-time Church of England vicar, she became one of the most recognisable faces of the scandal, featuring prominently in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office.  Ms Vennells earned £5.1m during her time at the helm of the Post Office, peaking at £718,300 in 2018. That year her base salary was £253,800 and she earned £390,800 in bonuses (plus pensions and other benefits).  Through her lawyers, Ms Vennells issued the following statement: ""I remain truly sorry for the suffering caused to sub-postmasters, their families and all those whose lives were torn apart by being... wrongly prosecuted. I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry."" Mr Crozier became the Royal Mail's chief executive in 2003, following roles as boss of the Football Association and the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi.  He regularly drew headlines for his high salary - he earned as much as £3m in pay and bonuses in 2007-08, raising the ire of unions protesting about the closure of thousands of Post Offices.  He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008. From 2003 to 2009 the Post Office secured more than 400 convictions in England and Wales using Horizon data, according to evidence released to the Inquiry.  At the time the Post Office was part of Royal Mail, but had a separate board which Mr Crozier didn't sit on. He said in a statement: ""While I did not have any involvement in the Horizon issue during my time at Royal Mail, I feel deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened.""  He left unexpectedly in 2010 to become chief executive of ITV. Canadian Dame Moya took over in July 2010, and earned a total of £1.88m before the Royal Mail formally split with the Post Office.  Mr Smith briefly filled in as managing director of the Post Office before Ms Vennells, from April to October 2010, before moving to chief customer officer of Royal Mail. He was the one who greeted the conviction of Seema Misra, the Postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed while pregnant, with the words ""brilliant news,"" according to evidence submitted at the Horizon Inquiry. He was paid £636,000 in 2010-11. Mr Cook was Post Office managing director from 2006 to 2010. He earned a total of £3m in that time, including £1.2m in his final year. He was quoted by his local newspaper, the Milton Keynes Citizen saying he would ""never forgive himself"" for not knowing that hundreds of people were being prosecuted while he was in charge. He said he didn't know there were problems with Horizon until shortly before he left.  In 2010, a long-term bonus scheme paid out to a number of Royal Mail bosses, including Mr Cook. That year the Post Office convicted 58 people in England and Wales.  Mr Mills, a former HSBC banker who founded the pioneering telephone bank First Direct, joined as Post Office chief executive in 2002.   He earned a total of £1.3m in pay and bonuses over four years, peaking at £816,000 in the year he left, 2006, which included £486,000 compensation for loss of office.  Mr Roberts, who spent his whole career at the Post Office, was chief executive for six years, a period he described as a ""rollercoaster ride"".  His time in office saw the disastrous launch of Horizon and the short-lived rebrand to ""Consignia"". From 1999 to his retirement in 2002 he earned £1.2m. In his last year he earned £225,852 including benefits (with a final-salary pension on top). He and the finance director Jerry Cope both agreed to waive their salary increases for 2001-2, citing the ""perilous state"" of the business. The next year he earned £503,000 which included £119,000 pay in lieu of notice.  John Roberts declined to comment. Alan Cook, Dame Moya Greene, and David Smith did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.   Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,07/04/2024,"['How much did the people running the Post Office get paid while the flawed Horizon system was in place?', 'By looking through the company accounts for the Post Office and Royal Mail, the BBC has come up with a figure - £19.4m over 24 years.', 'Before 2012, Royal Mail and the Post Office were part of the same organisation - and its three successive chief executives, John Roberts, Adam Crozier and Dame Moya Greene, made a total of £12.8m. All three of them are due to appear at Horizon Inquiry which resumes on 9 April.', ""From 2012 onwards, the chief executives of the separated Post Office, Paula Vennells then Nick Read, have made a total of £6.5m. That's an average of less than £1m a year - compared to the £3.91m the average boss of Britain's 100 biggest listed companies earned in 2022."", ""It's a huge sum compared to the salary of average workers, or for sub-postmasters still waiting for compensation."", 'The Post Office argues that it is a very large, complex business which has to compete with other organisations for talent, and uses external consultants to advise on executive pay.', 'So who are the Post Office bosses and what did each of them earn?', 'Mr Read, a former captain of Dragoons who had been chief executive of Nisa Retail, joined in September 2019, a few months after 550 sub-postmasters won a dramatic High Court victory.', 'He agreed a much higher base salary than his predecessor, Ms Vennells, earning £415,000 a year compared to her £255,000.', 'However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.', 'As a result has ended up earning slightly less on average than Ms Vennells.', ""He returned £54,000 which was incorrectly paid for helping the Inquiry to finish - it's still ongoing."", 'For 2022/23 he made a bonus of £137,000 out of the maximum £383,210 he might have hoped to earn.', 'In February, it emerged the Post Office had asked government for permission to double his pay.', 'Ms Vennells took over as Post Office managing director in 2010, and stayed in the top job until April 2019.', ""This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court."", 'A part-time Church of England vicar, she became one of the most recognisable faces of the scandal, featuring prominently in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office.', 'Ms Vennells earned £5.1m during her time at the helm of the Post Office, peaking at £718,300 in 2018.', 'That year her base salary was £253,800 and she earned £390,800 in bonuses (plus pensions and other benefits).', 'Through her lawyers, Ms Vennells issued the following statement: ""I remain truly sorry for the suffering caused to sub-postmasters, their families and all those whose lives were torn apart by being... wrongly prosecuted.', 'I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry.""', ""Mr Crozier became the Royal Mail's chief executive in 2003, following roles as boss of the Football Association and the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi."", 'He regularly drew headlines for his high salary - he earned as much as £3m in pay and bonuses in 2007-08, raising the ire of unions protesting about the closure of thousands of Post Offices.', 'He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008.', 'From 2003 to 2009 the Post Office secured more than 400 convictions in England and Wales using Horizon data, according to evidence released to the Inquiry.', ""At the time the Post Office was part of Royal Mail, but had a separate board which Mr Crozier didn't sit on."", 'He said in a statement: ""While I did not have any involvement in the Horizon issue during my time at Royal Mail, I feel deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened.""', 'He left unexpectedly in 2010 to become chief executive of ITV.', 'Canadian Dame Moya took over in July 2010, and earned a total of £1.88m before the Royal Mail formally split with the Post Office.', 'Mr Smith briefly filled in as managing director of the Post Office before Ms Vennells, from April to October 2010, before moving to chief customer officer of Royal Mail.', 'He was the one who greeted the conviction of Seema Misra, the Postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed while pregnant, with the words ""brilliant news,"" according to evidence submitted at the Horizon Inquiry.', 'He was paid £636,000 in 2010-11.', 'Mr Cook was Post Office managing director from 2006 to 2010.', 'He earned a total of £3m in that time, including £1.2m in his final year.', 'He was quoted by his local newspaper, the Milton Keynes Citizen saying he would ""never forgive himself"" for not knowing that hundreds of people were being prosecuted while he was in charge.', ""He said he didn't know there were problems with Horizon until shortly before he left."", 'In 2010, a long-term bonus scheme paid out to a number of Royal Mail bosses, including Mr Cook.', 'That year the Post Office convicted 58 people in England and Wales.', 'Mr Mills, a former HSBC banker who founded the pioneering telephone bank First Direct, joined as Post Office chief executive in 2002.', 'He earned a total of £1.3m in pay and bonuses over four years, peaking at £816,000 in the year he left, 2006, which included £486,000 compensation for loss of office.', 'Mr Roberts, who spent his whole career at the Post Office, was chief executive for six years, a period he described as a ""rollercoaster ride"".', 'His time in office saw the disastrous launch of Horizon and the short-lived rebrand to ""Consignia"".', 'From 1999 to his retirement in 2002 he earned £1.2m. In his last year he earned £225,852 including benefits (with a final-salary pension on top).', 'He and the finance director Jerry Cope both agreed to waive their salary increases for 2001-2, citing the ""perilous state"" of the business.', 'The next year he earned £503,000 which included £119,000 pay in lieu of notice.', 'John Roberts declined to comment.', ""Alan Cook, Dame Moya Greene, and David Smith did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment."", 'Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.0778991624458385,"He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008.","This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.",0.2271839848586491,"This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.","However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.",2024-04-09
-3G Capital quietly exited its Kraft Heinz investment last year,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/3g-capital-quietly-exited-its-kraft-heinz-investment-last-year.html,2024-04-09T13:05:13+0000,"In this articleBrazilian private equity firm 3G Capital quietly sold off its 16.1% stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter, nearly nine years after masterminding the blockbuster merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz with Warren Buffett.The sale marks the end of an era for 3G. The firm's influence over Kraft Heinz had been dwindling in recent years as its number of board seats slipped from three to none by July 2022.""3G has not been involved in the management of Kraft Heinz, nor have they been on the Board for several years. They had continued to be an investor and were treated as we do any investor,"" Kraft Heinz said in a statement to CNBC. ""We did learn from their recent filing that 3G exited the Kraft Heinz stock entirely in 2023.""The company added that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, its largest shareholder with a 26.8% stake, is a committed long-term owner.3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.Berkshire and 3G's doomed romance began on Valentine's Day in 2013 when the two firms announced they were teaming up to take Heinz private. The merger with Kraft Foods followed two years later.The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.But the packaged food business presented new challenges. Consumers were shifting to eating more fresh food. Plus, retailers' private-label brands and newcomers touting themselves as a healthier option were stealing Big Food's shoppers. Kraft Heinz sought to drive inorganic growth through a takeover bid for Unilever, but the Popsicle owner rejected its offer.Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019. In a single earnings report, the company slashed its dividend, disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting practices and wrote down its brands by $15 billion.Several months later, Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for Kraft Heinz, buoyed by optimism that its brands were more valuable than they actually were. Still, he stood by both 3G and Kraft Heinz. Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles.To reverse the company's downward spiral, 3G handpicked the food giant's new chief executive, an AB InBev veteran, and Kraft Heinz went into turnaround mode. The company announced plans to ramp up its marketing and advertising spending and shift its strategy for making new products. To reduce its exposure to private-label competition, it also sold its cheese business to Lactalis, a French dairy giant, and its Planters nuts brand to Hormel.In 2021, 3G founding partner Jorge Paulo Lemann stepped down from Kraft Heinz's board. The following year, fellow founding partner Alexandre Behring left the board. And two months after Behring's departure, 3G's final board member, former AB InBev CEO Joao Castro-Neves, also stepped down. Kraft Heinz disclosed his departure in a regulatory filing but no press release — or fanfare — accompanied it.3G had been periodically trimming its stake in Kraft Heinz since 2018. When it sold 25 million shares in 2019, at the height of the company's troubles, the stock fell 4% in response to the disclosure. In 2022, it distributed about 7% of Kraft Heinz to investors in its fund, which reportedly included tennis star Roger Federer.Last year, Kraft Heinz tapped Carlos Abrams-Rivera as its new chief executive. While he's been with the company since 2020, he's notably the company's first CEO without ties to 3G.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"['In this articleBrazilian private equity firm 3G Capital quietly sold off its 16.1% stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter, nearly nine years after masterminding the blockbuster merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz with Warren Buffett.', 'The sale marks the end of an era for 3G. The firm\'s influence over Kraft Heinz had been dwindling in recent years as its number of board seats slipped from three to none by July 2022.""3G has not been involved in the management of Kraft Heinz, nor have they been on the Board for several years.', 'They had continued to be an investor and were treated as we do any investor,"" Kraft Heinz said in a statement to CNBC. ""', 'We did learn from their recent filing that 3G exited the Kraft Heinz stock entirely in 2023.""The company added that Buffett\'s Berkshire Hathaway, its largest shareholder with a 26.8% stake, is a committed long-term owner.3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.Berkshire and 3G\'s doomed romance began on Valentine\'s Day in 2013 when the two firms announced they were teaming up to take Heinz private.', 'The merger with Kraft Foods followed two years later.', 'The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.', 'But the packaged food business presented new challenges.', 'Consumers were shifting to eating more fresh food.', ""Plus, retailers' private-label brands and newcomers touting themselves as a healthier option were stealing Big Food's shoppers."", 'Kraft Heinz sought to drive inorganic growth through a takeover bid for Unilever, but the Popsicle owner rejected its offer.', 'Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019.', 'In a single earnings report, the company slashed its dividend, disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting practices and wrote down its brands by $15 billion.', 'Several months later, Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for Kraft Heinz, buoyed by optimism that its brands were more valuable than they actually were.', 'Still, he stood by both 3G and Kraft Heinz.', ""Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles."", ""To reverse the company's downward spiral, 3G handpicked the food giant's new chief executive, an AB InBev veteran, and Kraft Heinz went into turnaround mode."", 'The company announced plans to ramp up its marketing and advertising spending and shift its strategy for making new products.', 'To reduce its exposure to private-label competition, it also sold its cheese business to Lactalis, a French dairy giant, and its Planters nuts brand to Hormel.', ""In 2021, 3G founding partner Jorge Paulo Lemann stepped down from Kraft Heinz's board."", 'The following year, fellow founding partner Alexandre Behring left the board.', ""And two months after Behring's departure, 3G's final board member, former AB InBev CEO Joao Castro-Neves, also stepped down."", 'Kraft Heinz disclosed his departure in a regulatory filing but no press release — or fanfare — accompanied it.3G had been periodically trimming its stake in Kraft Heinz since 2018.', ""When it sold 25 million shares in 2019, at the height of the company's troubles, the stock fell 4% in response to the disclosure."", 'In 2022, it distributed about 7% of Kraft Heinz to investors in its fund, which reportedly included tennis star Roger Federer.', 'Last year, Kraft Heinz tapped Carlos Abrams-Rivera as its new chief executive.', ""While he's been with the company since 2020, he's notably the company's first CEO without ties to 3G.""]",-0.0180330622793108,"The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.",Other investors blamed 3G's aggressive cost cutting for the company's troubles.,0.1386075570033146,"The new company initially pleased investors with its earnings growth, thanks to its cost-cutting approach favored by 3G. The firm had already found success with that strategy when it created beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev through a series of megamergers and took Burger King private and revived its sales.",Then a disastrous quarter came for Kraft Heinz in 2019.,2024-04-09
-"Levi Strauss shares surge 18% on raised profit guidance, holiday earnings beat",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/shares-of-levi-strauss-surge-18percent-on-q1-2024-earnings.html,2024-04-04T21:15:02+0000,"In this articleShares of Levi Strauss surged 12% on Thursday after the retailer raised its full-year profit guidance and posted holiday earnings that beat expectations. Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25. Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. As the retailer contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending, it's focused on what it can control: cutting costs and becoming more efficient so it can boost its bottom line.In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs. As part of the project, Levi's cut about 12% of its global workforce. It also exited its Denizen business, which comes at a lower margin, and has relied less on aggressive discounting to drive sales. It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin.""The benefits from our Project Fuel initiative are just starting to unfold, which will continue to improve the agility and the efficiency of our business,"" finance chief Harmit Singh said on a call with analysts. ""We will also continue to deliver positive free cash flow through inventory and working capital management."" During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi's gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleShares of Levi Strauss surged 12% on Thursday after the retailer raised its full-year profit guidance and posted holiday earnings that beat expectations.', ""Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25.Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv."", ""As the retailer contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending, it's focused on what it can control: cutting costs and becoming more efficient so it can boost its bottom line."", ""In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs."", ""As part of the project, Levi's cut about 12% of its global workforce."", 'It also exited its Denizen business, which comes at a lower margin, and has relied less on aggressive discounting to drive sales.', ""It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin."", '""The benefits from our Project Fuel initiative are just starting to unfold, which will continue to improve the agility and the efficiency of our business,"" finance chief Harmit Singh said on a call with analysts. ""', 'We will also continue to deliver positive free cash flow through inventory and working capital management.', '""During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi\'s gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.']",0.348689543365999,"In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs.","""During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi's gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.",0.583313935995102,"Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25.Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.","It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin.",2024-04-09
-Barstool's Dave Portnoy won $2.7 million betting on UConn in NCAA men's final,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/barstools-dave-portnoy-won-2point7-million-on-uconn-ncaa-bet.html,2024-04-09T16:13:07+0000,"In this articleBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is cashing in $2.76 million on UConn's big win over Purdue on Monday night in the NCAA men's championship game.Portnoy tweeted the massive score off a March 20 $600,000 wager on the Huskies winning the national championship. Portnoy's bet was a moneyline wager placed right before the NCAA tournament began, and required UConn to win six straight games for it to pay off for him. The bet paid off at 3.6-to-1.DraftKings confirmed to CNBC it took the bet.""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.""Barstool signed a multiyear deal with DraftKings in February. The sports media company was previously owned by Penn Entertainment.DraftKings reported a record NCAA tournament, with sports betting now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C. — five additional states since this time last year.The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year. That's equivalent to 2.2% of the total handle wagered on any sporting events last year.Geolocation tracking company GeoComply, which operators use to police bettors' locations, told CNBC it saw a 42% increase in checks over the 2023 tournament.DraftKings said Monday's game was the most bet-on college basketball game of all time for the sportsbook.FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle.At Caesars Sportsbook, Monday's championship game accounted for the most same-game parlays ever placed on a college basketball game.""It was a tournament for the customers as favorites covered the spread 61% of the time,"" Craig Mucklow, Caesars Sportsbook's vice president of trading, said in an email.Betting on the women's tournament was particularly lucrative for the sportsbooks.South Carolina's undefeated season and the heroics of superstar Caitlin Clark fueled a massive influx of bets. FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics say the championship game was their single biggest betting event on women's sports. Caesars said the women's championship saw double the previous handle record for a women's college basketball game.""We could only imagine the handle if the game was given a proper primetime slot,"" Mucklow said of the women's final.— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleBarstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is cashing in $2.76 million on UConn's big win over Purdue on Monday night in the NCAA men's championship game."", 'Portnoy tweeted the massive score off a March 20 $600,000 wager on the Huskies winning the national championship.', ""Portnoy's bet was a moneyline wager placed right before the NCAA tournament began, and required UConn to win six straight games for it to pay off for him."", 'The bet paid off at 3.6-to-1.DraftKings confirmed to CNBC it took the bet.', '""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.', '""Barstool signed a multiyear deal with DraftKings in February.', 'The sports media company was previously owned by Penn Entertainment.', 'DraftKings reported a record NCAA tournament, with sports betting now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C. — five additional states since this time last year.', 'The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year.', ""That's equivalent to 2.2% of the total handle wagered on any sporting events last year."", ""Geolocation tracking company GeoComply, which operators use to police bettors' locations, told CNBC it saw a 42% increase in checks over the 2023 tournament."", ""DraftKings said Monday's game was the most bet-on college basketball game of all time for the sportsbook."", ""FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle."", ""At Caesars Sportsbook, Monday's championship game accounted for the most same-game parlays ever placed on a college basketball game."", '""It was a tournament for the customers as favorites covered the spread 61% of the time,"" Craig Mucklow, Caesars Sportsbook\'s vice president of trading, said in an email.', ""Betting on the women's tournament was particularly lucrative for the sportsbooks."", ""South Carolina's undefeated season and the heroics of superstar Caitlin Clark fueled a massive influx of bets."", ""FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics say the championship gamewas their single biggest betting event on women's sports."", ""Caesars said the women's championship saw double the previous handle record for a women's college basketball game."", '""We could only imagine the handle if the game was given a proper primetime slot,"" Mucklow said of the women\'s final.—', ""CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.""]",0.3113093424054897,"""The greatest bet of my life,"" Portnoy said in the post on social media site X. ""The biggest win of my life by a mile.",The American Gaming Association estimated Americans would legally wager $2.72 billion on the March Madness tournaments this year.,0.9950777232646942,FanDuel said the men's championship game saw a 52% year-over-year increase in bet count and a 42% year-over-year increase in handle.,,2024-04-09
-TSMC wins subsidies to expand US chip manufacturing in Arizona,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68763232,2024-04-08T15:03:37.000Z,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).  The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans. The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US. The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.  But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks. In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry. The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030.  Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation's leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"". TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple.  It announced its first US factory in 2020. That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028. The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade. The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.  TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives. The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.  Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.  She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs. The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating. Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters. Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".  But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its 'peaceful rise', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started. And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I'm afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched."" ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).', 'The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans.', 'The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US.', 'The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.', 'But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks.', 'In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry.', ""The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030."", 'Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation\'s leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"".', ""TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple."", 'It announced its first US factory in 2020.', 'That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028.', 'The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade.', 'The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.', 'TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.', 'The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.', 'Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.', 'She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.', 'The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating.', 'Chinese officials said that their companies\' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.', 'Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".', 'But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""', 'China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its \'peaceful rise\', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""', 'Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started.', 'And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I\'m afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched.""']",0.3058278687548064,"Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.","She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.",0.6616085271040598,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).","TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.",2024-04-09
-McDonald's: Behind the fast-food firm's boycott controversy,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68740617,2024-04-05T21:32:32.000Z,"The sudden decision by McDonald's to take over ownership of its branches in Israel has thrust the franchise company Alonyal and its chief executive Omri Padan into the spotlight. McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. The fast-food giant uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff. But the broader company came in for criticism after Mr Padan offered free meals to Israeli forces around the start of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October. A boycott was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm for what they saw as support of Israel. Mr Padan, however, is not new to controversy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the 30 years the businessman has been operating restaurants for McDonald's in Israel, he has been at the centre of a number of disputes. In 2013, the Israeli businessman angered Israel's settler movement when he refused calls to open a branch of the fast-food chain in the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. Mr Padan's company Alonyal was asked to set up a restaurant in a shopping centre but declined, saying the firm had a policy of staying out of the occupied territories.  At the time, the firm said the decision had not been co-ordinated with McDonald's headquarters in the US. Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war. The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. Mr Padan is one of the founders of the group Peace Now, which opposes all settlements and views them as obstacles to peace. Peace Now says he is no longer a member of the group, which was founded in 1978.  A leader of the Yesha Council, the settlers' umbrella organisation, said at the time that McDonald's had gone from being a for-profit company to one with an ""anti-Israeli political agenda"". Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport.  In response, several letters of protest were sent by settlement leaders in the West Bank that called on the finance and transportation ministries, as well as the Israel airport authority, to block the move. Protests were also held outside the fast-food chain's restaurants in Tel Aviv. And on Thursday, it was abruptly announced that Alonyal would sell the sprawling franchise back to the US food giant. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by McDonald's, although a reputation management expert, who has worked on behalf a number of large companies but did not want to speak on the record, said that those outraged by the decision to offer free meals to Israeli forces may be ""angry that this deal makes Mr Padan possibly a very rich man"". They might be pleased though, about the effect the boycott has had.  Mr Padan's departure comes after McDonald's said that the Israel-Gaza conflict had ""meaningfully impacted"" performance in some overseas markets in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the unit that includes the Middle East, China and India, sales growth stood at 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 - far below market expectations. At the start of the year, McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"". The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world. About 5% are located in the Middle East. The brand management expert said: ""I get it. They are buying back the franchises to regain control but I'm not sure they have."" They also questioned where the company might draw a line: ""Does this mean [McDonald's] will now need to act and offer deals in other areas where reputational damage has been caused?"" On Thursday, McDonald's said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""  It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel, while Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds."" BBC News did not receive further comment from Mr Padan or Alonyal through McDonald's. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"[""The sudden decision by McDonald's to take over ownership of its branches in Israel has thrust the franchise company Alonyal and its chief executive Omri Padan into the spotlight."", ""McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza."", 'The fast-food giant uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff.', 'But the broader company came in for criticism after Mr Padan offered free meals to Israeli forces around the start of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October.', 'A boycott was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm for what they saw as support of Israel.', 'Mr Padan, however, is not new to controversy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.', ""In the 30 years the businessman has been operating restaurants for McDonald's in Israel, he has been at the centre of a number of disputes."", ""In 2013, the Israeli businessman angered Israel's settler movement when he refused calls to open a branch of the fast-food chain in the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank."", ""Mr Padan's company Alonyal was asked to set up a restaurant in a shopping centre but declined, saying the firm had a policy of staying out of the occupied territories."", ""At the time, the firm said the decision had not been co-ordinated with McDonald's headquarters in the US."", 'Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.', 'The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.', 'Mr Padan is one of the founders of the group Peace Now, which opposes all settlements and views them as obstacles to peace.', 'Peace Now says he is no longer a member of the group, which was founded in 1978.', 'A leader of the Yesha Council, the settlers\' umbrella organisation, said at the time that McDonald\'s had gone from being a for-profit company to one with an ""anti-Israeli political agenda"".', ""Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport."", 'In response, several letters of protest were sent by settlement leaders in the West Bank that called on the finance and transportation ministries, as well as the Israel airport authority, to block the move.', ""Protests were also held outside the fast-food chain's restaurants in Tel Aviv."", 'And on Thursday, it was abruptly announced that Alonyal would sell the sprawling franchise back to the US food giant.', 'The terms of the deal were not disclosed by McDonald\'s, although a reputation management expert, who has worked on behalf a number of large companies but did not want to speak on the record, said that those outraged by the decision to offer free meals to Israeli forces may be ""angry that this deal makes Mr Padan possibly a very rich man"".', 'They might be pleased though, about the effect the boycott has had.', 'Mr Padan\'s departure comes after McDonald\'s said that the Israel-Gaza conflict had ""meaningfully impacted"" performance in some overseas markets in the fourth quarter of 2023.', 'For the unit that includes the Middle East, China and India, sales growth stood at 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 - far below market expectations.', 'At the start of the year, McDonald\'s chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"".', 'The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world.', 'About 5% are located in the Middle East.', 'The brand management expert said: ""I get it.', 'They are buying back the franchises to regain control but I\'m not sure they have.""', 'They also questioned where the company might draw a line: ""Does this mean [McDonald\'s] will now need to act and offer deals in other areas where reputational damage has been caused?""', 'On Thursday, McDonald\'s said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""', 'It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel, while Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds.""', ""BBC News did not receive further comment from Mr Padan or Alonyal through McDonald's.""]",-0.0953314720062135,"On Thursday, McDonald's said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""","The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world.",-0.2071464887032142,Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport.,McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.,2024-04-09
-How much is a UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68675348,2024-03-28T09:28:04.000Z,"The price of a new passport or a renewal will go up on Thursday.  Meanwhile, holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""passport 10-year rule"". Here's what you need to know to make sure your passport is up to date. It currently costs £82.50 to renew or replace your passport if you apply online and £93 if you fill in a paper form. A child's passport costs £53.50 if you apply online, or £64 if you apply by post. It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently. Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.  But passport fees are going up on Thursday. A standard online application for an adult will cost £88.50, or £57.50 for a child. Postal applications will cost £100 for adults or £69 for children.  The increased fees apply to both new passport applications and renewals. You must renew your passport before you travel if either: How much time you need on your passport depends on where you are going.  You can check entry requirements for individual countries on the UK government's website. You can renew online at HM Passport Office or by filling in a paper application from certain Post Offices. You'll need your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country. For online applications, you'll also need a digital photo that meets specific requirements. For paper applications, you need two identical printed photos. The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details. It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport in the UK, but it can take longer during periods of high demand, such as before school holidays.  To get a passport issued urgently in the UK, you can book an appointment at your nearest passport office, subject to availability. It then takes up to a week to be issued. You can get more information on the Passport Office website or you can call the helpline on 0300 222 0000. The line is open 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 17:30 on Saturday, Sunday and UK bank holidays. Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel. UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months left on an old passport over to a new one. This meant that a passport could be valid for more than 10 years. But the rules changed after Brexit, and the majority of EU countries no longer accept British passports that were issued more than 10 years before the date of travel.  This is known as the ""10-year rule"".  To enter those countries now, your UK passport must: If your passport does not meet these requirements, you will be refused entry. The rules apply in all 27 EU countries, except Ireland, which has its own separate travel arrangements with the UK. They also apply to passengers traveling to Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) - and Switzerland. ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['The price of a new passport or a renewal will go up on Thursday.', 'Meanwhile, holidaymakers travelling to the EU are being warned not to get caught out by the ""passport 10-year rule"".', ""Here's what you need to know to make sure your passport is up to date."", 'It currently costs £82.50 to renew or replace your passport if you apply online and £93 if you fill in a paper form.', ""A child's passport costs £53.50 if you apply online, or £64 if you apply by post."", 'It costs more if you apply from abroad, or if you require a passport urgently.', 'Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.', 'But passport fees are going up on Thursday.', 'A standard online application for an adult will cost £88.50, or £57.50 for a child.', 'Postal applications will cost £100 for adults or £69 for children.', 'The increased fees apply to both new passport applications and renewals.', 'You must renew your passport before you travel if either: How much time you need on your passport depends on where you are going.', ""You can check entry requirements for individual countries on the UK government's website."", 'You can renew online at HM Passport Office or by filling in a paper application from certain Post Offices.', ""You'll need your old passport and any valid passports you hold from a different country."", ""For online applications, you'll also need a digital photo that meets specific requirements."", 'For paper applications, you need two identical printed photos.', 'The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details.', 'It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport in the UK, but it can take longer during periods of high demand, such as before school holidays.', 'To get a passport issued urgently in the UK, you can book an appointment at your nearest passport office, subject to availability.', 'It then takes up to a week to be issued.', 'You can get more information on the Passport Office website or you can call the helpline on 0300 222 0000.', 'The line is open 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 17:30 on Saturday, Sunday and UK bank holidays.', 'Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel.', 'UK travellers used to be able to carry up to nine months left on an old passport over to a new one.', 'This meant that a passport could be valid for more than 10 years.', 'But the rules changed after Brexit, and the majority of EU countries no longer accept British passports that were issued more than 10 years before the date of travel.', 'This is known as the ""10-year rule"".', 'To enter those countries now, your UK passport must: If your passport does not meet these requirements, you will be refused entry.', 'The rules apply in all 27 EU countries, except Ireland, which has its own separate travel arrangements with the UK.', 'They also apply to passengers traveling to Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) - and Switzerland.']",0.0296878133777541,Passports are free for people born on or before 2 September 1929.,"The rules are different if you are renewing a passport for a child, your passport has been lost, stolen or damaged, or you need to change your name or personal details.",-0.0431674420833587,But passport fees are going up on Thursday.,Some British holidaymakers have been turned away at the airport because their passports are not valid for EU travel.,2024-04-09
-Paramount stock slumps on reports that Skydance merger would require company to raise new equity,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/paramount-stock-slumps-on-reports-of-equity-raise-for-merger.html,2024-04-04T17:21:41+0000,"In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal.This deal comes as media mogul Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is said to be in exclusive talks with Ellison on selling her stake to him, according to Bloomberg. The companies have also reportedly entered exclusive merger discussions.Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports.Redstone is looking to sell Paramount, as the company has been in talks with Warner Bros Discovery on its acquisition. The MTV and CBS parent company has a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion and about $13 billion of net debt.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"[""In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal."", 'This deal comes as media mogul Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is said to be in exclusive talks with Ellison on selling her stake to him, according to Bloomberg.', 'The companies have also reportedly entered exclusive merger discussions.', 'Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.', 'The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.', ""Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports."", 'Redstone is looking to sell Paramount, as the company has been in talks with Warner Bros Discovery on its acquisition.', 'The MTV and CBS parent company has a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion and about $13 billion of net debt.']",-0.0706650951508236,"Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.","The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.",-0.2512241204579671,Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports.,"In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal.",2024-04-09
-Tesla settles with Apple engineer’s family who said Autopilot caused his fatal crash,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/tesla-trial-wrongful-death-walter-huang/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:29 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Tesla has settled a high-profile case that was set to put the electric car company and its controversial automated-driving system on trial starting Monday.
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-            Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Jury selection was set to begin Monday in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a former Apple engineer who died after his Tesla Model X crashed while the Autopilot feature was engaged. The trial could have lasted several weeks, but the parties settled Monday.
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-            Walter Huang was killed when his Tesla struck a concrete highway median in Silicon Valley on March 23, 2018. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investigation, found that Autopilot was engaged for nearly 19 minutes before the fatal crash, when the car, traveling at 71 mph, veered off the highway.
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-            The settlement marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year. CEO Elon Musk and the company say that its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies are ahead of the competition and a big reason why Tesla has become the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — just ahead of Chinese rival BYD. But Huang’s family said Tesla oversold its Autopilot technology’s capabilities, and that it is not as safe to use as advertised.
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-            Representatives for Huang’s family and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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-            Tesla has come under intense scrutiny for its Autopilot technology over the six years since Huang’s fatal crash. After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security. It can be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when Autopilot may be unable to safely navigate the road, NHTSA found in December 2023.
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-            NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board have also been investigating crashes involving Tesla vehicles using the various driver assist features, including a series of crashes into emergency vehicles on the scene of other accidents.
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-            Immediately following the December NHTSA report, Tesla recalled all 2 million of its cars in the United States, giving drivers more warnings when Autopilot is engaged and they are not paying attention to the road or placing their hands on the wheel.
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-            Yet the company maintains that the technology is safe to use when used correctly and reduces fatalities. Autopilot requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and Tesla says people who use the automated-driving technology should keep their eyes on the road.
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-            That didn’t happen in the case of Huang’s crash, Tesla has said. In a March 30, 2018, blog post, Tesla said Huang’s hands were not detected on his car’s steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash. The company said it believes Huang was responsible for the crash because investigators found he was playing a video game on his phone while Autopilot was engaged. Huang did not brake or attempt to steer his car away from the concrete barrier before it crashed.
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-            Although Huang’s family acknowledges he was distracted while the car was driving, they argued Tesla is at fault because it falsely marketed Autopilot as self-driving software. They alleged Tesla knew that Autopilot was not ready for prime time and had flaws that could make its use unsafe.
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-            Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
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-            “Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said B. Mark Fong, the lawyer who brought the suit filed in California state court in a May 2019 complaint.
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-            If a jury had found in favor of Huang’s family, Tesla could have been forced to pay damages, and they could have added up quickly. Wrongful death suits involving big companies have at times resulted in awards north of $1 billion.
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-            Autopilot’s promise has also helped to boost Tesla’s stock in recent years to make it the most valuable automaker in the world — even as its stock is among the worst-performers in 2024. Musk in October 2023 on a call with analysts said autonomous driving “has the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far.”
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-            Tesla’s stock (TSLA) rose 5% Monday.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Tesla has settled a high-profile case that was set to put the electric car company and its controversial automated-driving system on trial starting Monday.', 'Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.', 'Jury selection was set to begin Monday in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a former Apple engineer who died after his Tesla Model X crashed while the Autopilot feature was engaged.', 'The trial could have lasted several weeks, but the parties settled Monday.', 'Walter Huang was killed when his Tesla struck a concrete highway median in Silicon Valley on March 23, 2018.', 'The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investigation, found that Autopilot was engaged for nearly 19 minutes before the fatal crash, when the car, traveling at 71 mph, veered off the highway.', 'The settlement marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year.', 'CEO Elon Musk and the company say that its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies are ahead of the competition and a big reason why Tesla has become the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — just ahead of Chinese rival BYD.', 'But Huang’s family said Tesla oversold its Autopilot technology’s capabilities, and that it is not as safe to use as advertised.', 'Representatives for Huang’s family and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.', 'Tesla has come under intense scrutiny for its Autopilot technology over the six years since Huang’s fatal crash.', 'After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security.', 'It can be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when Autopilot may be unable to safely navigate the road, NHTSA found in December 2023.', 'NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board have also been investigating crashes involving Tesla vehicles using the various driver assist features, including a series ofcrashes into emergency vehicleson the scene of other accidents.', 'Immediately following the December NHTSA report, Tesla recalled all 2 million of its cars in the United States, giving drivers more warnings when Autopilot is engaged and they are not paying attention to the road or placing their hands on the wheel.', 'Yet the company maintains that the technology is safe to use when used correctly and reduces fatalities.', 'Autopilot requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and Tesla says people who use the automated-driving technology should keep their eyes on the road.', 'That didn’t happen in the case of Huang’s crash, Tesla has said.', 'In a March 30, 2018, blog post, Tesla said Huang’s hands were not detected on his car’s steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash.', 'The company said it believes Huang was responsible for the crash because investigators found he was playing a video game on his phone while Autopilot was engaged.', 'Huang did not brake or attempt to steer his car away from the concrete barrier before it crashed.', 'Although Huang’s family acknowledges he was distracted while the car was driving, they argued Tesla is at fault because it falsely marketed Autopilot as self-driving software.', 'They alleged Tesla knew that Autopilot was not ready for prime time and had flaws that could make its use unsafe.', 'Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.', '“Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said B. Mark Fong, the lawyer who brought the suit filed in California state court in a May 2019 complaint.', 'If a jury had found in favor of Huang’s family, Tesla could have been forced to pay damages, and they could have added up quickly.', 'Wrongful death suits involving big companies have at times resulted in awards north of $1 billion.', 'Autopilot’s promise has also helped to boost Tesla’s stock in recent years to make it the most valuable automaker in the world — even as its stock is among the worst-performers in 2024.', 'Musk in October 2023 on a call with analysts said autonomous driving “has the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far.”', 'Tesla’s stock (TSLA) rose 5% Monday.']",-0.081596764380633,"After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security.","Although Huang’s family acknowledges he was distracted while the car was driving, they argued Tesla is at fault because it falsely marketed Autopilot as self-driving software.",-0.0101414918899536,Tesla’s stock (TSLA) rose 5% Monday.,The settlement marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year.,2024-04-09
-"Former Bowlero exec says company threatened to report him to FBI in proposed extortion, retaliation suit",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/former-bowlero-exec-says-company-threatened-to-report-him-to-fbi.html,2024-04-09T19:02:18+0000,"In this articleA former executive at Bowlero, the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, has asked a court's permission to countersue his former employer for extortion and retaliation, after an executive on a recorded call threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversation filed in court.The allegations by Bowlero's former chief information officer, Thomas Tanase, filed Wednesday in a proposed countersuit in Virginia federal court, come after he and dozens of others filed discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging they were fired based on their age or out of retaliation, according to company securities filings and the proposed countersuit. Bowlero denies the claims.The company, which went public in late 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, was among the select successful stocks to emerge from the SPAC boom. It owns two of the biggest brands in bowling — AMF and Lucky Strike — and operated more than 300 bowling centers across North America as of July. Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.Tanase started with the company's information technology department in 2001 before climbing his way up to the C-suite, where he worked closely with the company's CEO and frequently had access to sensitive information contained in the CEO's email accounts, he said in court filings. He says the company fired him in May because of his age, and in August, he filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC, according to a copy of the claim, which was included as an exhibit to the proposed countersuit.Bowlero says that Tanase resigned and then had a change of heart when he realized he wouldn't get severance pay. In July, the company sued him, alleging he hacked into the email account of CEO Thomas Shannon, copied company documents onto a personal USB drive and refused to hand over his company-issued devices. Tanase denies the claims.Now, Tanase is seeking the court's permission to countersue Bowlero and the company's executive vice chairman, Brett Parker. Federal rules require Tanase to get permission to countersue given the timing of the filings.In the proposed countersuit, Tanase alleges that Parker threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to accessing Shannon's emails and ""come clean"" about information he shared with Daniel Dowe, the attorney representing the EEOC complainants, and with CNBC, which has previously written about the discrimination allegations against Bowlero. During a March deposition, Tanase testified that he hadn't spoken with CNBC, or any other media outlet, about the company.In a phone conversation between Tanase and Parker that Tanase recorded in June 2023, Bowlero's vice chairman and former finance chief allegedly asked Tanase numerous times to reveal what he'd said and told him that if he did, all would be forgiven, according to a transcript attached as an exhibit to the proposed counterclaim.""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that's transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that's ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.""Then there can be a number and there can be a go away and we can move on. But we have to get the truth and full clarity,"" Parker said, according to the transcript. ""You can ... Fall back into our good graces and be our friend in this matter and you will get paid to do that, but it has to start with the truth.""According to the transcript, Parker told Tanase if he explained everything and shared what information he had disclosed, the company could give him a ""severance,"" but ""you really don't want this to start with the police."" ""I'm not going to be able to fight this internally, and you're going to be trying to explain to the FBI that some device did this and I don't want you to be in that position,"" Parker said, according to the transcript. ""You gotta help me help you,"" he added.In response, Tanase repeatedly told Parker he didn't share any information with anyone and had been in the hospital when Shannon's email account was allegedly breached, according to the transcript. As Bowlero's former CIO, he previously had access to the CEO's account and said it may have still been logged in on another device.  ""I haven't done anything illegal ... I haven't done anything malicious either. I haven't talked to anything or given out any information to anybody. I've told you this before,"" said Tanase, according to the transcript.  Bowlero said the transcript simply shows the company trying to extend an ""olive branch"" to Tanase if he were to confess to the hacking allegations. ""Far from wrongfully seeking to obtain a benefit from Tanase, Mr. Parker ... acknowledges that he is 'trying to help.' These are all actions which, in the face of Tanase's hacking of Bowlero computer systems, neither Bowlero nor Mr. Parker were required to do,"" Bowlero said in filings.  ""Indeed, what Tanase suggests is 'extortion' is obviously no such thing. Hence, even if Tanase had a private right of action for an extortion claim, the elements of such a claim are not met here,"" the company said.Tanase further alleges that Bowlero's suit against him was brought in retaliation for his refusal to sign a termination agreement that required him to waive his right to pursue legal action against the company. He also claims Bowlero sued him to deter him from filing a complaint with the EEOC or serving as a witness in its investigation into Bowlero.Tanase's attorneys are seeking around $8 million in damages from Bowlero on the extortion claim and more than $27 million on the retaliation claim.Late Thursday, Bowlero asked the judge overseeing the case to deny the request to countersue and to sanction Tanase by either issuing a default judgment in the company's favor or precluding Tanase from further testimony. In court filings, the company said Tanase admitted he misstated facts in an earlier court affidavit, which he later corrected, and pointed out that he has hired at least three different law firms since the onset of the case.""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions. Bowlero's attorney Alex Spiro at law firm Quinn Emanuel, who has also represented A-listers such as Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement to CNBC Tanase ""will lose"" his request to file a countersuit, and that it ""is almost certainly going to be denied."" ""Mr. Tanase is now seeking the court's permission to file baseless counterclaims against Bowlero, five months after the deadline and five days before fact discovery will close. This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.""His counterclaims are completely frivolous and we are seeking fees for responding to his motion,"" he said.In response, Tanase's attorney Scott Pickus told CNBC if the court doesn't permit Tanase to move forward with his counterclaim in the case, the suit can and ""likely will"" be filed as a new action. He said he ""very much"" disagrees that the assertions made in the proposed counterclaim are frivolous. He said he won't comment on remarks Tanase made about misstating facts.""Suffice it to say that we disagree with Bowlero's interpretation of the law, disagree with Bowlero's recitation of the facts, and look forward to the trial of this matter,"" Pickus said.Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 involving more than 70 former employees who claim they were unlawfully fired. They allege that Bowlero fired them for being too old as it worked to transform its hundreds of locations from what the company has referred to as ""dingy"" bowling alleys to upmarket experiences with elevated food and drink offerings. Complaints and an affidavit filed by three former employees, including Tanase, say Shannon hosted ""beauty contests"" with prospective hires over brief video calls to evaluate a candidate's appearance as part of the hiring process. Tanase's complaint accused Shannon of making ""racial and especially inappropriate 'blonde women' jokes"" and ""always treated wom[e]n as an inferior class to men."" Tanase also alleged that the company's policies banning Timberland boots and ball caps worn backward were ""designed to deter African American males from using"" the company's bowling centers.The EEOC has found reasonable cause in the majority of the complaints brought against Bowlero, including Tanase's, while the rest remain under investigation, according to Tanase's complaint and company reports. When the EEOC finds reasonable cause in a complaint, it means it believes discrimination occurred.The EEOC previously tried to settle the complaints with Bowlero for $60 million in January 2023, but those efforts failed last April, CNBC previously reported. The agency now has the ability to file a federal lawsuit against the company, but it's unclear if it will. Before the agency can sue Bowlero in federal court, the EEOC's commissioners need to vote on the matter. Spiro, Bowlero's attorney, told CNBC the employment discrimination claims ""are without merit.""""The so-called eeoc issues are age based discrimination claims, some of which date back to nearly a decade ago and no civil nor eeoc suit has ever even occurred with respect to those claims,"" Spiro wrote in an email. Pickus, Tanase's attorney, said the EEOC's reasonable cause findings that Bowlero engaged in discriminatory practices dating back to 2013 ""would seem to belie Mr. Spiro's assertions"" that his client's counterclaims are ""frivolous.""""Those findings by the EEOC may well be why Bowlero has sued Mr. Tanase. Bowlero's actions remind me of a sports cliche: the best defense is a good offense,"" Pickus added.""We look forward to proving both claims,"" he said.Still at issue is whether Tanase resigned or was fired from his position — a dispute that's at the center of Bowlero's lawsuit, Tanase's proposed countersuit and his EEOC claim, which are all separate but related actions.In the leadup to his separation from Bowlero, Tanase said, the company began micromanaging him and harassing him by closely supervising his work so they could find a reason to fire him — a process he described as ""managing out,"" according to his EEOC complaint and proposed counterclaim. ""Although Tanase suspected for several months that his employment might be in jeopardy, at no time did he seek to secure confidential information, remove property, or engage in any other self-serving conduct while having full access to Bowlero's offices, office files, and computer servers,"" Tanase's attorneys wrote in the proposed counterclaim.In the EEOC's determination letter ruling that Tanase's claims of age discrimination had cause, Director Rosemarie Rhodes wrote that the conduct of Tanase's then-supervisor, current Bowlero President Lev Ekster, ""included unwarranted hostility, frequent criticism, unnecessary correction of his work, and undermining his authority and role vis-a-vis subordinates and vendors."" Bowlero alleged that following Tanase's separation from the company, he vowed to get ""revenge"" on his former employer and ""bury"" its CEO, according to its lawsuit against Tanase. The company alleged in its suit that Tanase told Bowlero Vice President of Human Resources Heather Webb that he had spoken with CNBC and several lawyers, including Dowe, about the company.""Mr. Tanase said he would 'walk away', which Ms. Webb understood to mean that he would no longer attempt to seek revenge or retribution on Bowlero or Mr. Shannon, if Bowlero were to pay him a $1.2 million 'severance' payment. Bowlero refused to make the payment,"" Bowlero's lawsuit said. Tanase denies the claims.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleA former executive at Bowlero, the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, has asked a court's permission to countersue his former employer for extortion and retaliation, after an executive on a recorded call threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn't admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversationfiled in court."", ""The allegations by Bowlero's former chief information officer, Thomas Tanase, filed Wednesday in a proposed countersuit in Virginia federal court, come after he and dozens of others filed discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging they were fired based on their age or out of retaliation, according to company securities filings and the proposed countersuit."", 'Bowlero denies the claims.', 'The company, which went public in late 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, was among the select successful stocks to emerge from the SPAC boom.', 'It owns two of the biggest brands in bowling — AMF and Lucky Strike — and operated more than 300 bowling centers across North America as of July.', 'Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.', ""Tanase started with the company's information technology department in 2001 beforeclimbing his way up to the C-suite, where he worked closely with the company's CEO and frequently had access to sensitive information contained in the CEO's email accounts, he said in court filings."", 'He says the company fired him in May because of his age, and in August, he filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC, according to a copy of the claim, which was included as an exhibit to the proposed countersuit.', ""Bowlero says that Tanase resigned and then had a change of heart when he realized he wouldn't get severance pay."", 'In July, the company sued him, alleging he hacked into the email account of CEO Thomas Shannon, copied company documents onto a personal USB drive and refused to hand over his company-issued devices.', 'Tanase denies the claims.', ""Now, Tanase is seeking the court's permission to countersue Bowlero and the company's executive vice chairman, Brett Parker."", 'Federal rules require Tanase to get permission to countersue given the timing of the filings.', 'In the proposed countersuit, Tanase alleges that Parker threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn\'t admit to accessing Shannon\'s emails and ""come clean"" about information he shared with Daniel Dowe, the attorney representing the EEOC complainants, and with CNBC, which has previously written about the discrimination allegations against Bowlero.', ""During a March deposition, Tanase testified that he hadn't spoken with CNBC, or any other media outlet, about the company."", ""In a phone conversation between Tanase and Parker that Tanase recorded in June 2023, Bowlero's vice chairman and former finance chief allegedly asked Tanase numerous times to reveal what he'd said and told him that if he did, all would be forgiven, according to a transcript attached as an exhibit to the proposed counterclaim."", '""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that\'s transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that\'s ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.', '""Then there can be a number and there can be a go away and we can move on.', 'But we have to get the truth and full clarity,"" Parker said, according to the transcript.', '""You can ... Fall back into our good graces and be our friend in this matter and you will get paid to do that, but it has to start with the truth.', '""According to the transcript, Parker told Tanase if he explained everything and shared what information he had disclosed, the company could give him a ""severance,"" but ""you really don\'t want this to start with the police.', '""""I\'m not going to be able to fight this internally, and you\'re going to be trying to explain to the FBI that some device did this and I don\'t want you to be in that position,"" Parker said, according to the transcript.', '""You gotta help me help you,"" he added.', ""In response, Tanase repeatedly told Parker he didn't share any information with anyone and had been in the hospital when Shannon's email account was allegedly breached, according to the transcript."", 'As Bowlero\'s former CIO, he previously had access to the CEO\'s account and said it may have still been logged in on another device. ""', ""I haven't done anything illegal ... I haven't done anything malicious either."", ""I haven't talked to anything or given out any information to anybody."", 'I\'ve told you this before,"" said Tanase, according to the transcript.', 'Bowlero said the transcript simply shows the company trying to extend an ""olive branch"" to Tanase if he were to confess to the hacking allegations.', '""Far from wrongfully seeking to obtain a benefit from Tanase, Mr. Parker ... acknowledges that he is \'trying to help.\'', 'These are all actions which, in the face of Tanase\'s hacking of Bowlero computer systems, neither Bowlero nor Mr. Parker were required to do,"" Bowlero said in filings.', '""Indeed, what Tanase suggests is \'extortion\' is obviously no such thing.', 'Hence, even if Tanase had a private right of action for an extortion claim, the elements of such a claim are not met here,"" the company said.', ""Tanase further alleges that Bowlero's suit against him was brought in retaliation for his refusal to sign a termination agreement that required him to waive his right to pursue legal action against the company."", 'He also claims Bowlero sued him to deter him from filing a complaint with the EEOC or serving as a witness in its investigation into Bowlero.', ""Tanase's attorneys are seeking around $8 million in damages from Bowlero on the extortion claim and more than $27 million on the retaliation claim."", ""Late Thursday, Bowlero asked the judge overseeing the case to deny the request to countersue and to sanction Tanase by either issuing a default judgment in the company's favor or precluding Tanase from further testimony."", 'In court filings, the company said Tanase admitted he misstated facts in an earlier court affidavit, which he later corrected, and pointed out that he has hired at least three different law firms since the onset of the case.', '""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions.', 'Bowlero\'s attorney Alex Spiro at law firm Quinn Emanuel, who has also represented A-listers such as Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement to CNBC Tanase ""will lose"" his request to file a countersuit, and that it ""is almost certainly going to be denied.', '""""Mr.', ""Tanase is now seeking the court's permission to file baseless counterclaims against Bowlero, five months after the deadline and five days before fact discovery will close."", 'This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.', '""His counterclaims are completely frivolous and we are seeking fees for responding to his motion,"" he said.', 'In response, Tanase\'s attorney Scott Pickus told CNBC if the court doesn\'t permit Tanase to move forward with his counterclaim in the case, the suit can and ""likely will"" be filed as a new action.', 'He said he ""very much"" disagrees that the assertions made in the proposed counterclaim are frivolous.', ""He said he won't comment on remarks Tanase made about misstating facts."", '""Suffice it to say that we disagree with Bowlero\'s interpretation of the law, disagree with Bowlero\'s recitation of the facts, and look forward to the trial of this matter,"" Pickus said.', 'Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 involving more than 70 former employees who claim they were unlawfully fired.', 'They allege that Bowlero fired them for being too old as it worked to transform its hundreds of locations from what the company has referred to as ""dingy"" bowling alleys to upmarket experiences with elevated food and drink offerings.', 'Complaints and an affidavit filed by three former employees, including Tanase, say Shannon hosted ""beauty contests"" with prospective hires over brief video calls to evaluate a candidate\'s appearance as part of the hiring process.', 'Tanase\'s complaint accused Shannon of making ""racial and especially inappropriate \'blonde women\' jokes"" and ""always treated wom[e]n as an inferior class to men.""', 'Tanase also alleged that the company\'s policies banning Timberland boots and ball caps worn backward were ""designed to deter African American males from using"" the company\'s bowling centers.', ""The EEOC has found reasonable cause in the majority of the complaints brought against Bowlero, including Tanase's, while the rest remain under investigation, according to Tanase's complaint and company reports."", 'When the EEOC finds reasonable cause in a complaint, it means it believes discrimination occurred.', 'The EEOC previously tried to settle the complaints with Bowlero for $60 million in January 2023, but those efforts failed last April, CNBC previously reported.', ""The agency now has the ability to file a federal lawsuit against the company, but it's unclear if it will."", ""Before the agency can sue Bowlero in federal court, the EEOC's commissioners need to vote on the matter."", 'Spiro, Bowlero\'s attorney, told CNBC the employment discrimination claims ""are without merit.', '""""The so-called eeoc issues are age based discrimination claims, some of which date back to nearly a decade ago and no civil nor eeoc suit has ever even occurred with respect to those claims,"" Spiro wrote in an email.', 'Pickus, Tanase\'s attorney, said the EEOC\'s reasonable cause findings that Bowlero engaged in discriminatory practices dating back to 2013 ""would seem to belie Mr. Spiro\'s assertions"" that his client\'s counterclaims are ""frivolous.', '""""Those findings by the EEOC may well be why Bowlero has sued Mr. Tanase.', 'Bowlero\'s actions remind me of a sports cliche: the best defense is a good offense,"" Pickus added.', '""We look forward to proving both claims,"" he said.', ""Still at issue is whether Tanase resigned or was fired from his position — a dispute that's at the center of Bowlero's lawsuit, Tanase's proposed countersuit and his EEOC claim, which are all separate but related actions."", 'In the leadup to his separation from Bowlero, Tanase said, the company began micromanaging him and harassing him by closely supervising his work so they could find a reason to fire him — a process he described as ""managing out,"" according to his EEOC complaint and proposed counterclaim.', '""Although Tanase suspected for several months that his employment might be in jeopardy, at no time did he seek to secure confidential information, remove property, or engage in any other self-serving conduct while having full access to Bowlero\'s offices, office files, and computer servers,"" Tanase\'s attorneys wrote in the proposed counterclaim.', 'In the EEOC\'s determination letter ruling that Tanase\'s claims of age discrimination had cause, Director Rosemarie Rhodes wrote that the conduct of Tanase\'s then-supervisor, current Bowlero President Lev Ekster, ""included unwarranted hostility, frequent criticism, unnecessary correction of his work, and undermining his authority and role vis-a-vis subordinates and vendors.', '""Bowlero alleged that following Tanase\'s separation from the company, he vowed to get ""revenge"" on his former employer and ""bury"" its CEO, according to its lawsuit against Tanase.', 'The company alleged in its suit that Tanase told Bowlero Vice President of Human Resources Heather Webb that he had spoken with CNBC and several lawyers, including Dowe, about the company.', '""Mr.', ""Tanase said he would 'walk away', which Ms. Webb understood to mean that he would no longer attempt to seek revenge or retribution on Bowlero or Mr. Shannon, if Bowlero were to pay him a $1.2 million 'severance' payment."", 'Bowlero refused to make the payment,"" Bowlero\'s lawsuit said.', 'Tanase denies the claims.']",-0.0728504854179812,"""If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend ... You tell us everything that's transpired ... You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that's ever happened with respect to Dowe ... With respect to the CNBC,"" Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.","This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,"" said Spiro.",-0.2596658955920826,"Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.","""Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,"" Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions.",2024-04-09
-New housing development near Wymondham proposed,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2y725p1lvo,2024-04-06T06:25:39.224Z,"Plans for a new housing estate could significantly increase the population of a small Norfolk village.  The development would create 45 new homes off Bunwell Road in Spooner Row, near Wymondham.  The village has a population of about 800 people, but the proposals made to South Norfolk Council say the development would be a ""desirable place for family living"".  The plans will be considered by the council after being submitted in March. Developers KCS want to build a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses on nine acres of land, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Spooner Row parish councillor Robert Foster said he supported the plans, especially the inclusion of 15 affordable homes.  ""This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive. I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""Young people have told me that they want to stay in the village but there just isn't the housing stock available for them.""  However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.  Chairwoman of the council Sue Hewitson said: ""There has been a huge amount of furore and we are listening to what residents have to say."" Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830 ",BBC,06/04/2024,"['Plans for a new housing estate could significantly increase the population of a small Norfolk village.', 'The development would create 45 new homes off Bunwell Road in Spooner Row, near Wymondham.', 'The village has a population of about 800 people, but the proposals made to South Norfolk Council say the development would be a ""desirable place for family living"".', 'The plans will be considered by the council after being submitted in March.', 'Developers KCS want to build a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses on nine acres of land, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.', 'Spooner Row parish councillor Robert Foster said he supported the plans, especially the inclusion of 15 affordable homes. ""', 'This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive.', 'I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""', 'Young people have told me that they want to stay in the village but there just isn\'t the housing stock available for them.""', 'However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.', 'Chairwoman of the council Sue Hewitson said: ""There has been a huge amount of furore and we are listening to what residents have to say.""', 'Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story?', 'Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830']",0.1878489026166552,This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive.,"However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.",0.5062926560640335,"I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""","However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.",2024-04-09
-‘This thing is going crazy.’ Why Trump Media stock is subject to extreme turbulence,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/markets/truth-social-trump-media-stock/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:00 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Don’t blink. You might miss a massive move in Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock price.
-    
-            The Truth Social owner has only been public for two weeks but it has already sent traders on a stomach-churning ride. Gravity-defying spikes in the share price have been followed by earth-shattering crashes. Trump Media is so turbulent that it makes bitcoin’s volatility look tame.
-    
-            This extreme turbulence has caused wild swings in the net worth of the company’s largest shareholder and chairman: former President Donald Trump. His net worth has plunged by more than $2 billion since Trump Media’s closing price on March 27, the day after it went public. On just one particularly bad day, Trump’s net worth plunged by $1 billion.
-    
-            There are many reasons why Trump Media shares have been so volatile, including the fact that the company is inextricably linked to the former president. His name recognition, politically polarizing nature and close association with the company have captured the attention of retail investors, professional traders and the news media, creating a volatile environment for the stock.
-    
-            “Because it’s Trump, this thing is going crazy,” said Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, adding that it’s far too volatile for retail investors to buy the stock long term or bet against it.
-    
-            During Trump Media’s first nine trading days with the ticker symbol “DJT,” the stock has moved up or down by at least 5% each day. More than half the days it has moved by double-digit percentages.
-    
-            That is not normal.
-    
-            Trump Media’s daily stock performance has a standard deviation of about 13%, according to Michael Ohlrogge, associate professor at NYU School of Law. That’s more than six times the average over the same period for companies with a similar market valuation.
-    
-            One reason Trump Media is moving so much more than a typical stock is because it achieved a very lucrative valuation when it went public that experts say defies logic. And stocks with ridiculous valuations tend to be more volatile, with little support once they start plunging.
-    
-            Truth Social’s monthly active US users on iOS and Android plunged 51% year-over-year in February, according to Similarweb.
-    
-            Trump Media lost $58 million in 2023 and generated very little revenue: just $4.1 million that year. And yet it was valued at as much as $11 billion the day it started trading.
-    
-            “This stock seems to be completely untethered to fundamental value,” said Ohlrogge.
-    
-            Here’s how high Trump Media’s valuation is: Even if the stock price plunged by 50% each day this week, it would still be valued much more richly than any of its peers, according to Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital.
-    
-            One common way to value stocks is to measure their price-to-sales ratio. Kennedy pointed out that a 50% drop each day this week would leave Trump Media with a market valuation of about $173 million. That would equal about 40 times the company’s 2023 revenue. By comparison, Reddit is trading at 11 times trailing revenue, Facebook owner Meta is trading at 10 times and Snap at four times. Even Rumble, the video platform that describes itself as “immune to cancel culture,” is trading at 22 times sales.
-    
-            “A company with minimal revenue doesn’t have much of a floor,” said Kennedy.
-    
-            Another factor: Analysts say Trump Media’s shareholder base likely consists of a significant number of momentum traders. Those traders can amplify moves in the market, turning a 4% dip into a 12% one — and vice versa.
-    
-            “Traders who buy on momentum will just as quickly sell on momentum. Any piece of negative news can spark a selloff, or even a lack of news can,” said Kennedy.
-    
-            Another factor is the fact that Trump Media is a new stock.
-    
-            Companies that go public through a traditional initial public offering (IPO) or by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), like Trump Media did, tend to experience a bumpy ride at first.
-    
-            That’s in part because there isn’t much of a trading history and these are less established companies. Additionally, a chunk of the shares are stuck on the sidelines due to lock-up restrictions that prohibit insiders from selling their stock.
-    
-            That issue is magnified with Trump Media. The former president alone owns 78.8 million shares and he can’t sell that stock anytime soon.
-    
-            Trump Media has nearly 137 million shares outstanding. However, its free float — which measures the number of shares that are potentially available for trading — is just 40 million, according to Refinitiv.
-    
-            The actual number of shares changing hands is likely even smaller, making the stock subject to high levels of volatility.
-    
-            The tiny float makes it very difficult for skeptics who want to bet against Trump Media to do so.
-    
-            In order to short a stock, a trader must borrow shares elsewhere first. But that has been almost impossible with Trump Media because it’s been prohibitively expensive.
-    
-            As of last Thursday, Trump Media was easily the most expensive stock to borrow among those with more than $50 million of short interest, according to S3 Partners.
-    
-            Bob Sloan, managing partner at S3 Partners, told CNN that this distinction indicates speculative bearish investors see a “high probability” the stock will drop in the short term.
-    
-            “The rate to borrow is insane,” said Tuttle. “At one point, it was virtually impossible to make money shorting it because the stock could go to zero and the borrow rate would erode all of your gains, which is crazy.”
-    
-            Not only is the supply of shares to borrow very low, but the demand is high because some market veterans believe it is overvalued.
-    
-            “People really, really want to short it. That is driving up the borrowing rate exponentially, which then makes it very hard to short,” said Tuttle, who tried and failed to short even just $100 of stock from his Charles Schwab account on Monday and was unable to due to insufficient shares available.
-    
-            This dynamic makes it easier for investors to place bullish bets, sending Trump Media shares surging.
-    
-            “At some point, retail guys are going to pump this. We could be sitting here tomorrow and it could be trading at $70,” Tuttle said.
-    
-            Normally, when stocks spike above their fundamental value, short sellers swoop in and drive it back down, profiting along the way. But that has been trickier with Trump Media, allowing its stock to spike in its early days.
-    
-            “There is not the normal check on irrationally high prices,” said Ohlrogge, the NYU professor.
-    
-            All of this has been amplified by the Trump factor: The fact that this company is inextricably linked to the popularity and political fate of the former president.
-    
-            “If this was not DJT but my initials of MBT, this thing would be trading at a buck,” said Tuttle.
-    
-            In some ways, the stock has become a vehicle for people to bet on the political fortunes of Trump.
-    
-            “The company is worth some amount of money if Trump becomes president and a much, much lower amount if he doesn’t,” said Renaissance’s Kennedy.
-    
-            Some people are only betting on or against the stock because of their feelings about the former president. And that debate is playing out in real time.
-    
-            Jonathan Macey, a professor at Yale Law School, said this divide helps explain the tug-of-war in the marketplace.
-    
-            “There are Trump supporters who see a big balloon rising and think that it will never fall to earth,” Macey said. “There are sophisticated investors, who understand things like gravity, and are betting on its swift return to ground.”",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Don’t blink.', 'You might miss a massive move in Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock price.', 'The Truth Social owner has only been public for two weeks but it has already sent traders on a stomach-churning ride.', 'Gravity-defying spikes in the share price have been followed by earth-shattering crashes.', 'Trump Media is so turbulent that it makes bitcoin’s volatility look tame.', 'This extreme turbulence has caused wild swings in the net worth of the company’s largest shareholder and chairman: former President Donald Trump.', 'His net worth has plunged by more than $2 billion since Trump Media’s closing price on March 27, the day after it went public.', 'On just one particularly bad day, Trump’s net worth plunged by $1 billion.', 'There are many reasons why Trump Media shares have been so volatile, including the fact that the company is inextricably linked to the former president.', 'His name recognition, politically polarizing nature and close association with the company have captured the attention of retail investors, professional traders and the news media, creating a volatile environment for the stock.', '“Because it’s Trump, this thing is going crazy,” said Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, adding that it’s far too volatile for retail investors to buy the stock long term or bet against it.', 'During Trump Media’s first nine trading days with the ticker symbol “DJT,” the stock has moved up or down by at least 5% each day.', 'More than half the days it has moved by double-digit percentages.', 'That is not normal.', 'Trump Media’s daily stock performancehas a standard deviation of about 13%, according to Michael Ohlrogge, associate professor at NYU School of Law.', 'That’s more than six times the average over the same period for companies with a similar market valuation.', 'One reason Trump Media is moving so much more than a typical stock is because it achieved a very lucrative valuation when it went public that experts say defies logic.', 'And stocks with ridiculous valuations tend to be more volatile, with little support once they start plunging.', 'Truth Social’s monthly active US users on iOS and Android plunged 51% year-over-year in February, according to Similarweb.', 'Trump Media lost $58 million in 2023 and generated very little revenue: just $4.1 million that year.', 'And yet it was valued at as much as $11 billion the day it started trading.', '“This stock seems to be completely untethered to fundamental value,” said Ohlrogge.', 'Here’s how high Trump Media’s valuation is: Even if the stock price plunged by 50% each day this week, it would still be valued much more richly than any of its peers, according to Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital.', 'One common way to value stocks is to measure their price-to-sales ratio.', 'Kennedy pointed out that a 50% drop each day this week would leave Trump Media with a market valuation of about $173 million.', 'That would equal about 40 times the company’s 2023 revenue.', 'By comparison, Reddit is trading at 11 times trailing revenue, Facebook owner Meta is trading at 10 times and Snap at four times.', 'Even Rumble, the video platform that describes itself as “immune to cancel culture,” is trading at 22 times sales.', '“A company with minimal revenue doesn’t have much of a floor,” said Kennedy.', 'Another factor: Analysts say Trump Media’s shareholder base likely consists of a significant number of momentum traders.', 'Those traders can amplify moves in the market, turning a 4% dip into a 12% one — and vice versa.', '“Traders who buy on momentum will just as quickly sell on momentum.', 'Any piece of negative news can spark a selloff, or even a lack of news can,” said Kennedy.', 'Another factor is the fact that Trump Media is a new stock.', 'Companies that go public through a traditional initial public offering (IPO) or by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), like Trump Media did, tend to experience a bumpy ride at first.', 'That’s in part because there isn’t much of a trading history and these are less established companies.', 'Additionally, a chunk of the shares are stuck on the sidelines due to lock-up restrictions that prohibit insiders from selling their stock.', 'That issue is magnified with Trump Media.', 'The former president alone owns 78.8 million shares and he can’t sell that stock anytime soon.', 'Trump Media has nearly 137 million shares outstanding.', 'However, its free float — which measures the number of shares that are potentially available for trading — is just 40 million, according to Refinitiv.', 'The actual number of shares changing hands is likely even smaller, making the stock subject to high levels of volatility.', 'The tiny float makes it very difficult for skeptics who want to bet against Trump Media to do so.', 'In order to short a stock, a trader must borrow shares elsewhere first.', 'But that has been almost impossible with Trump Media because it’s been prohibitively expensive.', 'As of last Thursday, Trump Media was easily the most expensive stock to borrow among those with more than $50 million of short interest, according to S3 Partners.', 'Bob Sloan, managing partner at S3 Partners, told CNN that this distinction indicates speculative bearish investors see a “high probability” the stock will drop in the short term.', '“The rate to borrow is insane,” said Tuttle. “', 'At one point, it was virtually impossible to make money shorting it because the stock could go to zero and the borrow rate would erode all of your gains, which is crazy.”', 'Not only is the supply of shares to borrow very low, but the demand is high because some market veterans believe it is overvalued.', '“People really, really want to short it.', 'That is driving up the borrowing rate exponentially, which then makes it very hard to short,” said Tuttle, who tried and failed to short even just $100 of stock from his Charles Schwab account on Monday and was unable to due to insufficient shares available.', 'This dynamic makes it easier for investors to place bullish bets, sending Trump Media shares surging.', '“At some point, retail guys are going to pump this.', 'We could be sitting here tomorrow and it could be trading at $70,” Tuttle said.', 'Normally, when stocks spike above their fundamental value, short sellers swoop in and drive it back down, profiting along the way.', 'But that has been trickier with Trump Media, allowing its stock to spike in its early days.', '“There is not the normal check on irrationally high prices,” said Ohlrogge, the NYU professor.', 'All of this has been amplified by the Trump factor: The fact that this company is inextricably linked to the popularity and political fate of the former president.', '“If this was not DJT but my initials of MBT, this thing would be trading at a buck,” said Tuttle.', 'In some ways, the stock has become a vehicle for people to bet on the political fortunes of Trump.', '“The company is worth some amount of money if Trump becomes president and a much, much lower amount if he doesn’t,” said Renaissance’s Kennedy.', 'Some people are only betting on or against the stock because of their feelings about the former president.', 'And that debate is playing out in real time.', 'Jonathan Macey, a professor at Yale Law School, said this divide helps explain the tug-of-war in the marketplace.', '“There are Trump supporters who see a big balloon rising and think that it will never fall to earth,” Macey said. “', 'There are sophisticated investors, who understand things like gravity, and are betting on its swift return to ground.”']",0.0943768800921882,"There are sophisticated investors, who understand things like gravity, and are betting on its swift return to ground.”","Any piece of negative news can spark a selloff, or even a lack of news can,” said Kennedy.",-0.3988081251873689,"But that has been trickier with Trump Media, allowing its stock to spike in its early days.","Truth Social’s monthly active US users on iOS and Android plunged 51% year-over-year in February, according to Similarweb.",2024-04-09
-"AI will shrink workforces within five years, say company execs",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/business/ai-job-losses/index.html,"
-  Published
-        10:01 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","The use of artificial intelligence will reduce the number of workers at thousands of companies over the next five years, according to a global survey of C-suite executives published Friday.
-    
-            The wide-ranging poll of 2,000 executives, conducted by Swiss staffing firm Adecco Group in collaboration with research firm Oxford Economics, showed that 41% of them expect to employ fewer people because of the technology.
-    
-            The survey’s results provide another indication of the potential for AI and generative AI — which can create original text, images and other content in response to prompts from users — to revolutionize employment and the way people work.
-    
-            AI is emerging “as a great disruptor in the world of work,” Denis Machuel, chief executive of Adecco Group, said in a statement. “Companies must do more to re-skill and redeploy teams to make the most of this technological leap and avoid unnecessary upheaval.”
-    
-            The executives surveyed work in 18 industries — including energy, retail and the automotive sector — in nine countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan. Their workforces represent white-collar and blue-collar jobs.
-    
-            Some 46% of executives said they would redeploy employees internally if their jobs were impacted by AI. And two-thirds said they planned to recruit people skilled in AI compared with just over one-third who said they would train their existing workforce in the technology.
-    
-            The survey makes for grimmer reading for workers than another recent large poll, conducted by the World Economic Forum last year. Responses from more than 800 global companies showed that a quarter of them expected AI to cause job losses, while half thought the technology would create new jobs.
-    
-            The WEF said employers expected most technologies, including AI, to be “a net positive” for jobs over the following five years. “Big data analytics, climate change and environmental management technologies, and encryption and cybersecurity are expected to be the biggest drivers of job growth,” it noted.
-    
-            Still, that offers little consolation to the workers AI has already helped push out. In the past year, some tech firms, including file storage service Dropbox and language-learning app Duolingo, have cited AI as a reason for making lay-offs.
-    
-            Goldman Sachs economists said in March last year that as many as 300 million full-time jobs could be lost or diminished globally by the rise of generative AI, with white-collar workers likely to be the most at risk.",CNN,05/04/2024,"['The use of artificial intelligence will reduce the number of workers at thousands of companies over the next five years, according to a global survey of C-suite executives published Friday.', 'The wide-ranging poll of 2,000 executives, conducted by Swiss staffing firm Adecco Group in collaboration with research firm Oxford Economics, showed that 41% of them expect to employ fewer people because of the technology.', 'The survey’s results provide another indication of the potential for AI and generative AI — which can create original text, images and other content in response to prompts from users — to revolutionize employment and the way people work.', 'AI is emerging “as a great disruptor in the world of work,” Denis Machuel, chief executive of Adecco Group, said in a statement. “', 'Companies must do more to re-skill and redeploy teams to make the most of this technological leap and avoid unnecessary upheaval.”', 'The executives surveyed work in 18 industries— including energy, retail and the automotive sector — in nine countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan.', 'Their workforces represent white-collar and blue-collar jobs.', 'Some 46% of executives said they would redeploy employees internally if their jobs were impacted by AI.', 'And two-thirds said they planned to recruit people skilled in AI compared with just over one-third who said they would train their existing workforce in the technology.', 'The survey makes for grimmer reading for workers than another recent large poll, conducted by the World Economic Forum last year.', 'Responses from more than 800 global companies showed that a quarter of them expected AI to cause job losses, while half thought the technology would create new jobs.', 'The WEF said employers expected most technologies, including AI, to be “a net positive” for jobs over the following five years. “', 'Big data analytics, climate change and environmental management technologies, and encryption and cybersecurity are expected to be the biggest drivers of job growth,” it noted.', 'Still, that offers little consolation to the workers AI has already helped push out.', 'In the past year, some tech firms, including file storage service Dropbox and language-learning app Duolingo, have cited AI as a reason for making lay-offs.', 'Goldman Sachs economists said in March last year that as many as 300 million full-time jobs could be lost or diminished globally by the rise of generative AI, with white-collar workers likely to be the most at risk.']",0.1148714582669722,"AI is emerging “as a great disruptor in the world of work,” Denis Machuel, chief executive of Adecco Group, said in a statement. “","Goldman Sachs economists said in March last year that as many as 300 million full-time jobs could be lost or diminished globally by the rise of generative AI, with white-collar workers likely to be the most at risk.",0.3287943651278813,"The WEF said employers expected most technologies, including AI, to be “a net positive” for jobs over the following five years. “","Responses from more than 800 global companies showed that a quarter of them expected AI to cause job losses, while half thought the technology would create new jobs.",2024-04-09
-Everyone got duped by Sam Bankman-Fried's big gamble,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67302950,2023-11-03T11:14:42.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.  On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.  Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run.  In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?"" he asked them.  They considered their options. Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism? Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote. Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.  For a while, that approach seemed to work. As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence. The flameout was even faster.  The tweet was, as discussed, net bad. Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days. When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt. Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged. In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose. In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught.  Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.  Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich. But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.  An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.   As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.  To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.  Bankman-Fried was sold. In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.  Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.  At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries. The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.  In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors. Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.  Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn.  Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward.  ""He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""  According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried.  ""He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""He would walk around the office in bare feet."" Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""It could be cult-like.""  Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried's schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves."" It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled. Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.  Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded. He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial. He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla. Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away.  ""It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it.""  ""The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.  In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine. At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.  In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world. It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""But the math couldn't be clearer."" ""To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he'd be a coin toss away from going totally bust."" A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX. The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies.  Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.  On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it.  For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected. As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics.  In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.  In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said. It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said. Until they began talking, that is. ""He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?"" the actor said.  Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire. On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.  The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company.  ""The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.  Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother. They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank. The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda. His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader. But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""Of the United States."" While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.  On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified. The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate. But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don't think it's because he was greedy,"" she said. ""Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""It was not an act,"" she said.  Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history. Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said.  ""He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street. The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?"" You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton ",BBC,03/11/2023,"['Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.', ""It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady."", 'On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.', ""Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run."", 'In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""', 'To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?""', 'he asked them.', 'They considered their options.', 'Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism?', 'Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""', 'Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote.', 'Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.', 'For a while, that approach seemed to work.', 'As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence.', 'The flameout was even faster.', 'The tweet was, as discussed, net bad.', 'Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days.', 'When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt.', 'Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.', 'Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged.', 'In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose.', ""In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught."", 'Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.', ""Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich."", 'But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.', 'An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.', 'As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.', 'To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.', 'Bankman-Fried was sold.', 'In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.', 'Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.', 'At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries.', 'The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.', 'In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors.', 'Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.', ""Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn."", 'Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward. ""', 'He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""', 'As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""', 'According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried. ""', 'He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""', 'He would walk around the office in bare feet.""', 'Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""', 'It could be cult-like.""', 'Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried\'s schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""', 'We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""', 'To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves.""', ""It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled."", 'Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.', 'Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded.', ""He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial."", 'He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla.', 'Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""', 'In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto\'s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.', 'And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away. ""', 'It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""', 'People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""', 'The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.', 'In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine.', 'At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.', ""In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world."", 'It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""', 'But the math couldn\'t be clearer."" ""', 'To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he\'d be a coin toss away from going totally bust.""', 'A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX.', ""The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies."", 'Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.', ""On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it."", ""For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected."", ""As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics."", 'In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.', 'In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""', 'I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said.', 'It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said.', 'Until they began talking, that is. ""', 'He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?""', 'the actor said.', ""Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire."", 'On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.', 'The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company. ""', 'The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.', ""Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother."", 'They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank.', 'The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda.', 'His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader.', 'But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""', 'He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""', 'Of the United States.""', 'While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.', 'On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified.', 'The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate.', 'But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""', 'He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don\'t think it\'s because he was greedy,"" she said. ""', 'Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""', 'It was not an act,"" she said.', 'Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history.', 'Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""', 'I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said. ""', 'He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street.', 'The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?""', ""You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton""]",0.0933476610366481,"People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""","Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.",-0.0221979083686039,"Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.","It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.",2024-04-09
-"Disney wins proxy fight against activist investor Nelson Peltz, as shareholders reelect full board",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/disney-annual-meeting-shareholders-vote-on-nelson-peltz-and-bob-iger.html,2024-04-03T19:19:43+0000,"In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies.The widely expected victory caps a combative monthslong process and affirms the board's decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to reinvigorate the $223 billion media company. Peltz-led Trian Partners wanted to oust two directors, Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman, citing sustained share underperformance, a failed succession process, and billions in misdirected investments.Peltz lost to Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote. Former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by an even larger 5-1 margin. The person characterized it as Peltz's largest loss ever.Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said. In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long shot bid.""I want to thank our shareholders for their trust and confidence in our Board and management. With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we're eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,"" Iger said in a release.Disney deployed significant resources in the proxy fight. The company called in support from its founding family, Star Wars creator George Lucas, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Pixar and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.While Peltz will not end up on the Disney board, he and his firm have claimed some credit for the rebound in the company's shares.""While we are disappointed with the outcome of this proxy contest, Trian greatly appreciates all of the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders. We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance,"" Trian said in a statement.The company also spent an estimated $40 million fighting off Peltz. The full-court press worked. Disney's two largest shareholders, Vanguard and BlackRock, decided to back management in the final days before Wednesday's meeting.Ultimately, the activists failed to convince enough retail or institutional shareholders that he had a meaningful plan to fix the House of Mouse. While Peltz's candidacy picked up meaningful support from proxy advisors and smaller institutional investors, shareholders were less compelled by Rasulo.Though its choices did not win board seats, Blackwells cheered the fact that Peltz was not elected.""Blackwells' primary objective was achieved — keeping Nelson Peltz out of the Disney Boardroom,"" Blackwells said in a statement. ""The company would have benefited from any one of our candidates for the hard work needed over the next few years to advance this iconic company, but we respect the will of the shareholders and the outcome.""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy's, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding. Most of those shares are owned by Perlmutter.With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat. Peltz is partially on the hook for an estimated $25 million spent on the fight, a small amount compared to the paper gains in the stake he controls.As it moves past the battle with Peltz, Disney still faces unprecedented challenges. ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts. Disney's streaming business has spent billions to win subscribers and is losing money as it tries to catch market leader Netflix.Perhaps most significantly, the company is searching for a successor to Iger for the second time in five years. Disney's botched succession, where Iger's hand-picked replacement Bob Chapek was ousted just two years into his tenure, was a key point Trian used against the company.""Thank you for your trust and confidence in the Disney project management, and the ambitious strategy we're implementing across our businesses to build for the future,"" Iger said after the preliminary vote was reported. ""Now that this distracting proxy contest is behind us, we're here to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities, growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers. Thank you again for your support and for your continued investment in this.""There is evidence that major proxy advisors agreed with Peltz's argument that the board was ill-equipped to take on a second search process.Shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS both noted the succession issues in their recommendations to investors. Glass Lewis sided with Disney and asserted Iger's return, paired with this year's nominations of Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to the board, have given the company ""adequate opportunity to launch a more credible succession program and develop, communicate and execute on several key initiatives which appear to reasonably target acknowledged operational and financial weaknesses at Disney.""Investors rallied around Disney in February after the company made a series of major announcements durings its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games as well as a flagship ESPN streaming service.Peltz called the slew of announcements a ""spaghetti-against-the-wall"" plan that was meant to ""distract shareholders.""Shares of Disney have jumped 23% since Disney's fiscal first-quarter earnings report in early February.Disclosure: Sky News is owned by Comcast, CNBC's parent company.",CNBC,03/04/2024,"[""In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies."", ""The widely expected victory caps a combative monthslong process and affirms the board's decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to reinvigorate the $223 billion media company."", 'Peltz-led Trian Partners wanted to oust two directors, Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman, citing sustained share underperformance, a failed succession process, and billions in misdirected investments.', 'Peltz lost to Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said.', 'Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.', 'Former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by an even larger 5-1 margin.', ""The person characterized it as Peltz's largest loss ever."", 'Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said.', 'In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.', 'A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long shot bid.', '""Iwant to thank our shareholders for their trust and confidence in our Board and management.', 'With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we\'re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,"" Iger said in a release.', 'Disney deployed significant resources in the proxy fight.', 'The company called in support from its founding family, Star Wars creator George Lucas, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Pixar and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.', ""While Peltz will not end up on the Disney board, he and his firm have claimed some credit for the rebound in the company's shares."", '""While we are disappointed with the outcome of this proxy contest, Trian greatly appreciates all of the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders.', 'We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance,"" Trian said in a statement.', 'The company also spent an estimated $40 million fighting off Peltz.', 'The full-court press worked.', ""Disney's two largest shareholders, Vanguard and BlackRock, decided to back management in the final days before Wednesday's meeting."", 'Ultimately, the activists failed to convince enough retail or institutional shareholders that he had a meaningful plan to fix the House of Mouse.', ""While Peltz's candidacy picked up meaningful support from proxy advisors and smaller institutional investors, shareholders were less compelled by Rasulo."", 'Though its choices did not win board seats, Blackwells cheered the fact that Peltz was not elected.', '""Blackwells\' primary objective was achieved — keeping Nelson Peltz out of the Disney Boardroom,"" Blackwells said in a statement. ""', 'The company would have benefited from any one of our candidates for the hard work needed over the next few years to advance this iconic company, but we respect the will of the shareholders and the outcome.', '""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy\'s, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding.', 'Most of those shares are owned by Perlmutter.', ""With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat."", 'Peltz is partially on the hook for an estimated $25 million spent on the fight, a small amount compared to the paper gains in the stake he controls.', 'As it moves past the battle with Peltz, Disney still faces unprecedented challenges.', 'ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts.', ""Disney's streaming business has spent billions to win subscribers and is losing money as it tries to catch market leader Netflix."", 'Perhaps most significantly, the company is searching for a successor to Iger for the second time in five years.', ""Disney's botched succession, where Iger's hand-picked replacement Bob Chapek was ousted just two years into his tenure, was a key point Trian used against the company."", '""Thank you for your trust and confidence in the Disney project management, and the ambitious strategy we\'re implementing across our businesses to build for the future,"" Iger said after the preliminary vote was reported. ""', ""Now that this distracting proxy contest is behind us, we're here to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities, growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers."", 'Thank you again for your support and for your continued investment in this.', '""There is evidence that major proxy advisors agreed with Peltz\'s argument that the board was ill-equipped to take on a second search process.', 'Shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS both noted the succession issues in their recommendations to investors.', 'Glass Lewis sided with Disney and asserted Iger\'s return, paired with this year\'s nominations of Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to the board, have given the company ""adequate opportunity to launch a more credible succession program and develop, communicate and execute on several key initiatives which appear to reasonably target acknowledged operational and financial weaknesses at Disney.', '""Investors rallied around Disney in February after the company made a series of major announcements durings its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift\'s Eras Tour concert film, a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games as well as a flagship ESPN streaming service.', 'Peltz called the slew of announcements a ""spaghetti-against-the-wall"" plan that was meant to ""distract shareholders.', '""Shares of Disney have jumped 23% since Disney\'s fiscal first-quarter earnings report in early February.', ""Disclosure: Sky News is owned by Comcast, CNBC's parent company.""]",0.249180651507962,"""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy's, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding.","In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies.",0.2201350617408752,"With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat.","ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts.",2024-04-09
-Healthy Returns: J&J cell therapy gains new edge over Bristol Myers rival,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/healthy-returns-jj-cell-therapy-gains-edge-over-bristol-myers-rival.html,2024-04-09T18:42:47+0000,"In this articleThink a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up.Hi folks! Two competing cell therapies from Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson both got good news from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday. But J&J's drug is walking away with a notable edge over its rival.The FDA expanded the approvals of both therapies, allowing patients to use them as earlier lines of treatment for a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. That can damage the bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count.Before that decision, J&J's drug Carvykti and Bristol Myers's treatment Abecma were both only available to people who previously received at least four specific drug regimens for the incurable blood cancer. First and foremost, the expanded approvals are a major step for patients. They add more options to a growing arsenal of treatments that have helped improve outcomes for people with multiple myeloma. People with the disease often relapse or their cancer becomes resistant to one treatment, requiring them to switch to different drug regimens. There's no doubt that the approvals will expand the reach of both treatments to thousands of eligible patients. New cases of multiple myeloma crop up each year: More than 35,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2024 in the U.S., according to J&J's estimates. But the new approvals also give J&J's therapy, which was developed with Legend Biotech, a clear advantage over Bristol Myers's drug. The FDA's expanded approval says patients can use Carvykti after just one prior line of therapy for multiple myeloma and if certain conditions apply. J&J has said that earlier access to the drug may provide patients with the potential for a treatment-free period earlier in the progression of the disease. Bristol Myers's Abecma, which is co-marketed by 2seventy bio, can be administered after at least two drug regimens for multiple myeloma, under the new FDA approval. Here's what some analysts are saying: The product label difference between the two drugs offers a ""significant commercial advantage for Carvykti,"" Jefferies analyst Kelly Shi wrote in a Sunday note. Carvykti's eligibility as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma ""should limit the use"" of other similar cell therapies in the following lines of therapy, Shi said. Both Carvykti and Abecma belong to a class of personalized treatments known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell – or CAR-T – therapies that work by modifying white blood cells known as T-cells to attack cancer. J&J's drug has gradually gained ground over Abecma in the CAR-T market for multiple myeloma, even though it first entered the market a year later. With the new approval on Friday, Jefferies' Shi expects J&J's drug to win the majority of that market share. The firm believes Carvykti is ""well positioned"" to eventually reach more than 80,000 patients in the U.S., EU and Japan as a second, third or fourth line of therapy. The FDA's expanded approval of Carvykti could also put it on track to be a blockbuster product for J&J. Last year, the drug pulled in just $500 million in worldwide sales, according to Legend Biotech. The drug's long-term opportunity could be around $8 billion a year, and the expansion as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma makes for a ""key market segment for achieving this revenue,"" Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Rick Bienkowski wrote in a Wednesday note ahead of the approval. Guggenheim analyst Kelsey Goodwin said Abecma's peak annual sales could be around $450 million a year, according to a Reuters interview last week. Bristol Myers's drug brought in $472 million in worldwide sales in 2023. But even with new approvals under their belts, the two companies are grappling with the same long-term issue: supply constraints. Both J&J and Bristol Myers have outlined plans to boost production of their respective drugs. I'll be watching to see how that part of the story plays out later this year, so stay tuned.Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.On Monday, I visited part of the Mount Sinai Health System, which spans eight hospital campuses and a medical school, to learn about how it's using generative artificial intelligence. In a small corner of The Mount Sinai Hospital that currently serves as the med school's AI department, I spoke with executives about current initiatives and plans for the future – including plans to move that very department to a much larger, brand new building in June.While Mount Sinai has been exploring applications of more traditional machine learning models for years, like many health systems, the organization has been looking closely at generative AI since OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded onto the scene at the end of 2022.Dr. Bruce Darrow, the health system's interim chief digital and information officer, said Mount Sinai is evaluating use cases across patient care, education and research. Within patient care, anything the health system can do to safely help clinicians and staff speed up decision making is important, he said. For instance, Mount Sinai's radiologists (doctors who use medical images like CT scans, MRIs and X-rays to identify and treat conditions) are already working with a number of new AI tools. Dr. Laurie Margolies, director of breast imaging at Mount Sinai, said she is exposed to three different AI software tools in her day-to-day work. One tool can evaluate an entire mammogram, another can evaluate a breast ultrasound and the third evaluates image quality, which radiologists can use to check on their technique and positioning, Margolies said. While radiologists don't ever just defer to the computer, she said, AI can help provide an extra layer of assurance.   ""I think it's a wellness tool,"" Margolies said. ""I think it's making me much more relaxed. When I think a mammogram is normal, and the AI thinks it's normal, I'm more confident hitting that normal button.""Despite the ongoing hype and excitement around generative AI's potential in health care, Mount Sinai is trying to take a measured approach to its implementation. Dr. David Reich, president at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens, said a lot of the initial use cases have been rather quiet. One of the first places the technology was introduced, for instance, was in Mount Sinai's financial departments, where Reich said people are now processing bills more effectively. ""We'd rather be a little bit more slow and plodding and workflow-focused because we're in a very serious business,"" he said. Reich said it can be challenging to determine which AI solutions are actually worthwhile, so Mount Sinai has established a governance structure to help assess whether a tool is safe, feasible, practical and ethical to use. Above all else, the software needs to help address real problems, he said. ""A lot of people just want to sell an algorithm,"" Reich said.Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"['In this articleThink a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter?', 'Share this link with them to sign up.', 'Hi folks!', 'Two competing cell therapies from Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson both got good news from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday.', ""But J&J's drug is walking away with a notable edge over its rival."", 'The FDA expanded the approvals of both therapies, allowing patients to use them as earlier lines of treatment for a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma.', 'That can damage the bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count.', ""Before that decision, J&J's drug Carvykti and Bristol Myers's treatment Abecma were both only available to people who previously received at least four specific drug regimens for the incurable blood cancer."", 'First and foremost, the expanded approvals are a major step for patients.', 'They add more options to a growing arsenal of treatments that have helped improve outcomes for people with multiple myeloma.', 'People with the disease often relapse or their cancer becomes resistant to one treatment, requiring them to switch to different drug regimens.', ""There's no doubt that the approvals will expand the reach of both treatments to thousands of eligible patients."", ""New cases of multiple myeloma crop up each year: More than 35,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2024 in the U.S., according to J&J's estimates."", ""But the new approvals also give J&J's therapy, which was developed with Legend Biotech, a clear advantage over Bristol Myers's drug."", ""The FDA's expanded approval says patients can use Carvykti after just one prior line of therapy for multiple myeloma and if certain conditions apply."", 'J&J has said that earlier access to the drug may provide patients with the potential for a treatment-free period earlier in the progression of the disease.', ""Bristol Myers's Abecma, which is co-marketed by 2seventy bio, can be administered after at least two drug regimens for multiple myeloma, under the new FDA approval."", 'Here\'s what some analysts are saying: The product label difference between the two drugs offers a ""significant commercial advantage for Carvykti,"" Jefferies analyst Kelly Shi wrote in a Sunday note.', 'Carvykti\'s eligibility as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma ""should limit the use"" of other similar cell therapies in the following lines of therapy, Shi said.', 'Both Carvykti and Abecma belong to a class of personalized treatments known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell – or CAR-T – therapies that work by modifying white blood cells known as T-cells to attack cancer.', ""J&J's drug has gradually gained ground over Abecma in the CAR-T market for multiple myeloma, even though it first entered the market a year later."", ""With the new approval on Friday, Jefferies' Shi expects J&J's drug to win the majority of that market share."", 'The firm believes Carvykti is ""well positioned"" to eventually reach more than 80,000 patients in the U.S., EU and Japan as a second, third or fourth line of therapy.', ""The FDA's expanded approval of Carvykti could also put it on track to be a blockbuster product for J&J. Last year, the drug pulled in just $500 million in worldwide sales, according to Legend Biotech."", 'The drug\'s long-term opportunity could be around $8 billion a year, and the expansion as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma makes for a ""key market segment for achieving this revenue,"" Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Rick Bienkowski wrote in a Wednesday note ahead of the approval.', ""Guggenheim analyst Kelsey Goodwin said Abecma's peak annual sales could be around $450 million a year, according to a Reuters interview last week."", ""Bristol Myers's drug brought in $472 million in worldwide sales in 2023.But even with new approvals under their belts, the two companies are grappling with the same long-term issue: supply constraints."", 'Both J&J and Bristol Myers have outlined plans to boost production of their respective drugs.', ""I'll be watching to see how that part of the story plays out later this year, so stay tuned."", 'Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.', ""On Monday, I visited part of the Mount Sinai Health System, which spans eight hospital campuses and a medical school, to learn about how it's using generative artificial intelligence."", ""In a small corner of The Mount Sinai Hospital that currently serves as the med school's AI department, I spoke with executives about current initiatives and plans for the future – including plans to move that very department to a much larger, brand new building in June."", ""While Mount Sinai has been exploring applications of more traditional machine learning models for years, like many health systems, the organization has been looking closely at generative AI since OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded onto the scene at the end of 2022.Dr."", ""Bruce Darrow, the health system's interim chief digital and information officer, said Mount Sinai is evaluating use cases across patient care, education and research."", 'Within patient care, anything the health system can do to safely help clinicians and staff speed up decision making is important, he said.', ""For instance, Mount Sinai's radiologists (doctors who use medical images like CT scans, MRIs and X-rays to identify and treat conditions) are already working with a number of new AI tools."", 'Dr. Laurie Margolies, director of breast imaging at Mount Sinai, said she is exposed to three different AI software tools in her day-to-day work.', 'One tool can evaluate an entire mammogram, another can evaluate a breast ultrasound and the third evaluates image quality, which radiologists can use to check on their technique and positioning, Margolies said.', ""While radiologists don't ever just defer to the computer, she said, AI can help provide an extra layer of assurance."", '""I think it\'s a wellness tool,"" Margolies said. ""', ""I think it's making me much more relaxed."", ""When I think a mammogram is normal, and the AI thinks it's normal, I'm more confident hitting that normal button."", '""Despite the ongoing hype and excitement around generative AI\'s potential in health care, Mount Sinai is trying to take a measured approach to its implementation.', 'Dr. David Reich, president at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens, said a lot of the initial use cases have been rather quiet.', ""One of the first places the technology was introduced, for instance, was in Mount Sinai's financial departments, where Reich said people are now processing bills more effectively."", '""We\'d rather be a little bit more slow and plodding and workflow-focused because we\'re in a very serious business,"" he said.', 'Reich said it can be challenging to determine which AI solutions are actually worthwhile, so Mount Sinai has established a governance structure to help assess whether a tool is safe, feasible, practical and ethical to use.', 'Above all else, the software needs to help address real problems, he said.', '""A lot of people just want to sell an algorithm,"" Reich said.', 'Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.']",0.2677222357661215,"Reich said it can be challenging to determine which AI solutions are actually worthwhile, so Mount Sinai has established a governance structure to help assess whether a tool is safe, feasible, practical and ethical to use.",Both Carvykti and Abecma belong to a class of personalized treatments known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell – or CAR-T – therapies that work by modifying white blood cells known as T-cells to attack cancer.,0.7903706149051064,"J&J's drug has gradually gained ground over Abecma in the CAR-T market for multiple myeloma, even though it first entered the market a year later.","That can damage the bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count.",2024-04-09
-Child benefit: How much is it worth and how are the rules changing?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68500022,2024-03-07T14:09:20.000Z,"More families can now claim child benefit payments after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt increased the amount you can earn before it starts to be withdrawn. The government says the changes, which came into force on 6 April, will help more than half a million families. You can get child benefit if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is: Only one person can claim child benefit for a child. There is no limit to how many children you can claim for.  On 6 April 2024, it rose to: Child benefit is usually paid into a nominated bank account every four weeks.  But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly. You can find out how much child benefit you may be entitled to at the moment by using the government calculator. The rules apply across the whole of the UK.  In his 2024 Budget, the chancellor increased the amount you can earn before you start to lose child benefit. Previously, it was taken away entirely when one parent earned more than £60,000. This has been increased to £80,000. It won't start to be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000 - up from £50,000.  Payments are reduced as a result of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).  The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.  A household where two parents earn £60,000 - with a total household income of £120,000 - can get the full amount.  But if a household has one parent who earns just above £60,000, their child benefit will be be reduced, and cut altogether once they earn more than £80,000.   In the Budget, Mr Hunt also announced a consultation about letting HMRC collect information about all the adults in the child's house.  This would mean that from April 2026, child benefit claims would be based on total household income instead of the highest earner's wage - a move that has been broadly welcomed. You can claim child benefit 48 hours after you've registered a birth, or as soon as a child comes to live with you. If you claim at a later point, payments can be backdated for up to three months. You can claim online, by post or by phone. You need the following documents: Claiming child benefit for a child under the age of 12 means you automatically get National Insurance (NI) credits, which count towards your state pension. These credits can help fill gaps in your NI record if you're not working or if you don't earn enough to pay NI contributions. The government advises that you should still fill in the child benefit claim form, even if you opt out of getting payments, so that you can get NI credits. Doing so also means your child will automatically get an NI number when they turn 16. Otherwise they will have to apply for one. If a family splits up, the amount of child benefit paid depends on how many children there are, and where they live.  If you have two children and one stays with each parent, you would both get £25.60 a week for each child.  If you share custody of one or more children, only one of you can claim child benefit for them.  The eldest will still be entitled to £25.60 and any younger children will get £16.95 each.  If two families join together, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the higher rate, and any other eligible children get the smaller amount.  ",BBC,07/03/2024,"['More families can now claim child benefit payments after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt increased the amount you can earn before it starts to be withdrawn.', 'The government says the changes, which came into force on 6 April, will help more than half a million families.', ""You can get child benefit if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is: Only one person can claim child benefit for a child."", 'There is no limit to how many children you can claim for.', 'On 6 April 2024, it rose to: Child benefit is usually paid into a nominated bank account every four weeks.', ""But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly."", 'You can find out how much child benefit you may be entitled to at the moment by using the government calculator.', 'The rules apply across the whole of the UK.', 'In his 2024 Budget, the chancellor increased the amount you can earn before you start to lose child benefit.', 'Previously, it was taken away entirely when one parent earned more than £60,000.', 'This has been increased to £80,000.', ""It won't start to be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000 - up from £50,000."", 'Payments are reduced as a result of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).', 'The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.', 'A household where two parents earn £60,000 - with a total household income of £120,000 - can get the full amount.', 'But if a household has one parent who earns just above £60,000, their child benefit will be be reduced, and cut altogether once they earn more than £80,000.', ""In the Budget, Mr Hunt also announced a consultation about letting HMRC collect information about all the adults in the child's house."", ""This would mean that from April 2026, child benefit claims would be based on total household income instead of the highest earner's wage - a move that has been broadly welcomed."", ""You can claim child benefit 48 hours after you've registered a birth, or as soon as a child comes to live with you."", 'If you claim at a later point, payments can be backdated for up to three months.', 'You can claim online, by post or by phone.', 'You need the following documents: Claiming child benefit for a child under the age of 12 means you automatically get National Insurance (NI) credits, which count towards your state pension.', ""These credits can help fill gaps in your NI record if you're not working or if you don't earn enough to pay NI contributions."", 'The government advises that you should still fill in the child benefit claim form, even if you opt out of getting payments, so that you can get NI credits.', 'Doing so also means your child will automatically get an NI number when they turn 16.', 'Otherwise they will have to apply for one.', 'If a family splits up, the amount of child benefit paid depends on how many children there are, and where they live.', 'If you have two children and one stays with each parent, you would both get £25.60 a week for each child.', 'If you share custody of one or more children, only one of you can claim child benefit for them.', 'The eldest will still be entitled to £25.60 and any younger children will get £16.95 each.', 'If two families join together, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the higher rate, and any other eligible children get the smaller amount.']",0.2982759717427997,"But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly.",The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.,0.3473616242408752,"This has been increased to £80,000.",The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.,2024-04-09
-Bilt’s March Rent Day promotion: Vote for your favorite benefit with the Bilt Bracket,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/bilt-rent-day-promotion,"
-  Updated
-        10:57 AM EST, Mon February 26, 2024
-    ","The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception. With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.
-    
-            And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards — the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard — also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.
-    
-            With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion — which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month. Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.
-    
-            Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one. Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.
-    
-            A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit. Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round. The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.
-    
-            And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).
-    
-            Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.
-    
-            For four days straight — between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 — Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com. There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.
-    
-            The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.
-    
-            However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer, giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.
-    
-            With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others. Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program. Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.
-    
-            For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases — such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants — will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.
-    
-            Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee. Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.
-    
-            On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games. Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
-    
-            You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority. This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.
-    
-            Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).
-    
-            So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase. And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar. But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).
-    
-            Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions. Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.
-    
-            Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.
-    
-            Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cards currently available.",CNN,26/02/2024,"['The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (seerates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception.', 'With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.', 'And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.', 'With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion —which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month.', 'Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.', 'Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one.', 'Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.', 'A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit.', 'Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round.', 'The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.', 'And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).', 'Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.', 'For four days straight —between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 —Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com.', 'There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.', 'The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.', 'However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer,giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.', 'With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others.', 'Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program.', 'Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.', 'For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases —such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants —will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.', 'Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee.', 'Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.', 'On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games.', 'Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.', 'You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority.', 'This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.  Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).', 'So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase.', 'And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar.', 'But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).', 'Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions.', 'Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.', 'Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.', 'Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5132379666371525,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,0.9566517621278764,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,2024-04-09
-Fallen 'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68677487,2024-03-28T16:12:40.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.  The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022. He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure. Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction. A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son."" Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.  FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency.  Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.  He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments. Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried's behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes.  ""He knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he's not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said. Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.  While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines. Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary. But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law. Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years.  They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court.  ""The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""Sentence him to work hard and give it all away."" Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years. But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it's not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.  He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.  The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.  Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.  Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith. In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""They've been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange's customers. ""It's been excruciating to watch."" Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks.  ""They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""It haunts me every day."" Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome. Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"".  ""I don't wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.  Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said. Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.  He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison. Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges. But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.  Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin. His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.  Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.  ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.', ""The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022."", 'He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure.', ""Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction."", 'A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.""', 'Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""', ""I'm sorry about that."", 'I\'m sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.', ""FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency."", ""Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes."", 'He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments.', 'Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried\'s behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes. ""', 'He knew it was wrong.', 'He knew it was criminal.', 'He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he\'s not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said.', 'Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.', 'While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines.', 'Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary.', 'But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law.', ""Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years."", 'They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""', 'The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""', 'Sentence him to work hard and give it all away.""', 'Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years.', 'But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""', 'It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said.', 'In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""', 'There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it\'s not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.', 'He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.', 'The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.', 'Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.', 'Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith.', 'In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""', 'They\'ve been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange\'s customers. ""', 'It\'s been excruciating to watch.""', 'Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. ""', 'They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""', 'It haunts me every day.""', 'Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome.', 'Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"". ""', 'I don\'t wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.', 'Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""', 'Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said.', 'Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.', ""He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison."", ""Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges."", 'But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.', 'Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin.', 'His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.', 'Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""', 'The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.']",-0.2778604803875567,"Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. """,Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.,-0.2853165732489692,"They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""","Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.",2024-04-09
-Jamie Dimon: Bank boss warns US interest rates could rise to 8%,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769561,2024-04-09T09:44:35.000Z,"The boss of one of the world's biggest banks has warned US interest rates could climb to 8%. Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said his bank has prepared for interest rates to jump because of ""persistent inflationary pressures"". Central banks around the world have been busy raising rates in a bid to dampen rising prices. But with US inflation gradually easing, the overwhelming expectation is for the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year. Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts in 2024. In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Dimon said that the bank was ready for a ""very broad range"" of rates, from 2% to 8% or even higher, potentially pushed up because of high government spending and the need to curb price rises. Mr Dimon's comments come as US interest rates rest in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% - higher than they have been for more than 20 years.  By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices. Mr Dimon has long warned that investors may be overly confident in their bet that interest rates will rapidly fall back to lower levels. Last year he suggested rates could hit 7%. ""All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year's letter. The US Federal Reserve will make its next decision on which way interest rates will move at the end of the month.  The expectation is that it will hold rates at the current level with the first cut potentially coming in June. The European Central Bank is also expected to make its first cut in June.  On Tuesday, some analysts questioned, however, whether rate cuts lie in store for the summer in the US. To date, higher borrowing costs have not been the big drag on the US economy that they were expected to be. Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.  The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts. In a speech delivered at Stanford University at the beginning of April, the Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said: ""If the economy evolves broadly as we expect, most Federal Open Market Committee participants see it as likely to be appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year."" Mr Dimon has been chief executive of JPMorgan Chase since the end of 2005. One year later he also became chairman and president of the bank. He is the longest-serving chief executive of a major investment bank.  In his letter to shareholders, he also said that he sees the United States as being at a ""pivotal moment"" in the midst of global uncertainty. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"[""The boss of one of the world's biggest banks has warned US interest rates could climb to 8%."", 'Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said his bank has prepared for interest rates to jump because of ""persistent inflationary pressures"".', 'Central banks around the world have been busy raising rates in a bid to dampen rising prices.', 'But with US inflation gradually easing, the overwhelming expectation is for the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year.', 'Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts in 2024.', 'In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Dimon said that the bank was ready for a ""very broad range"" of rates, from 2% to 8% or even higher, potentially pushed up because of high government spending and the need to curb price rises.', ""Mr Dimon's comments come as US interest rates rest in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% - higher than they have been for more than 20 years."", 'By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices.', 'Mr Dimon has long warned that investors may be overly confident in their bet that interest rates will rapidly fall back to lower levels.', 'Last year he suggested rates could hit 7%. ""', 'All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year\'s letter.', 'The US Federal Reserve will make its next decision on which way interest rates will move at the end of the month.', 'The expectation is that it will hold rates at the current level with the first cut potentially coming in June.', 'The European Central Bank is also expected to make its first cut in June.', 'On Tuesday, some analysts questioned, however, whether rate cuts lie in store for the summer in the US.', 'To date, higher borrowing costs have not been the big drag on the US economy that they were expected to be.', 'Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.', 'The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts.', 'In a speech delivered at Stanford University at the beginning of April, the Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said: ""If the economy evolves broadly as we expect, most Federal Open Market Committee participants see it as likely to be appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year.""', 'Mr Dimon has been chief executive of JPMorgan Chase since the end of 2005.', 'One year later he also became chairman and president of the bank.', 'He is the longest-serving chief executive of a major investment bank.', 'In his letter to shareholders, he also said that he sees the United States as being at a ""pivotal moment"" in the midst of global uncertainty.']",0.041136728252818,"By making borrowing more expensive, higher interest rates encourage saving and reduce borrowing for home purchases and business investments, cooling the economy and easing the pressures pushing up prices.","Though some sectors, such as housing, have slowed sharply, the unemployment rate remains below 4% and businesses, bolstered by government and consumer spending, are still adding jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace.",0.376718323964339,"The latest US inflation figures, are due to be published on Wednesday, with the CPI measure of inflation expected to rise to 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.2% in February and perhaps making it harder to justify rate cuts.","All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs,"" Mr Dimon wrote in this year's letter.",2024-04-09
-"Mattel launches new, less ‘intimidating’ version of Scrabble",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/scrabble-together-game-scli-intl-gbr/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:12 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Scrabble, one of the world’s best-loved word games, is to get a new “collaborative” and “accessible” version.
-    
-            The game has been around for more than 75 years, entertaining and infuriating players in equal measure with the simple premise of competing to see who can make the highest scoring words from a random selection of letters.
-    
-            Now, an updated game named Scrabble Together adds “a second side to the board that is collaborative and faster-paced to make gameplay more accessible for anyone who finds word games intimidating,” according to a statement from Mattel published Tuesday.
-    
-            Instead of competing, players collaborate to complete goal cards, and there are helper cards if assistance is required.
-    
-            The aim is that the new game mode “brings people together,” Ray Adler, Global Head of Games at the company, said in the statement.
-    
-            “Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” he said. “For anyone who’s ever thought, ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated by the Classic game, Scrabble Together Mode is an ideal option.”
-    
-            Mattel said it conducted research among British board-gamers that shows that competitiveness is perceived as declining in younger generations. Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 35% believed baby boomers are the most competitive, followed by millennials on 31% and Gen-Z on 29%.
-    
-            “The game speaks to a trend in younger people who want to avoid competitive games, instead favouring teamwork and collaboration working towards a fun goal together,” Brett Smitheram, the current UK number one Scrabble player and 2016 World Scrabble Champion, said in the statement.
-    
-            Scrabble Together will be available across Europe, a Mattel spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.
-    
-            The updated version of the game won’t be available in the United States, however, as Mattel does not hold the license there.
-    
-            While this is the first major change to the look of the Scrabble board, the game regularly adds new words to its official dictionary in order to keep up as the English language evolves.
-    
-            In November 2022, more than 500 new words were added to the seventh edition of the dictionary, which now includes words that weren’t commonly used when the game was first created in the 1930s, like “adorbs,” “dox” or “zoodle.”",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Scrabble, one of the world’s best-loved word games, is to get a new “collaborative” and “accessible” version.', 'The game has been around for more than 75 years, entertaining and infuriating players in equal measure with the simple premise of competing to see who can make the highest scoring words from a random selection of letters.', 'Now, an updated game named Scrabble Together adds “a second side to the board that is collaborative and faster-paced to make gameplay more accessible for anyone who finds word games intimidating,” according to a statement from Mattel published Tuesday.', 'Instead of competing, players collaborate to complete goal cards, and there are helper cards if assistance is required.', 'The aim is that the new game mode “brings people together,” Ray Adler, Global Head of Games at the company, said in the statement.', '“Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” he said. “', 'For anyone who’s ever thought, ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated by the Classic game, Scrabble Together Mode is an ideal option.”', 'Mattel said it conducted research among British board-gamers that shows that competitiveness is perceived as declining in younger generations.', 'Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 35% believed baby boomers are the most competitive, followed by millennials on 31% and Gen-Z on 29%.', '“The game speaks to a trend in younger people who want to avoid competitive games, instead favouring teamwork and collaboration working towards a fun goal together,” Brett Smitheram, the current UK number one Scrabble player and 2016 World Scrabble Champion, said in the statement.', 'Scrabble Together will be available across Europe, a Mattel spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.', 'The updated version of the game won’t be available in the United States, however, as Mattel does not hold the license there.', 'While this is the first major change to the look of the Scrabble board, the game regularly adds new words to its official dictionary in order to keep up as the English language evolves.', 'In November 2022, more than 500 new words were added to the seventh edition of the dictionary, which now includes words that weren’t commonly used when the game was firstcreatedin the 1930s, like “adorbs,” “dox” or “zoodle.”']",0.2532435531654782,"“The game speaks to a trend in younger people who want to avoid competitive games, instead favouring teamwork and collaboration working towards a fun goal together,” Brett Smitheram, the current UK number one Scrabble player and 2016 World Scrabble Champion, said in the statement.","Now, an updated game named Scrabble Together adds “a second side to the board that is collaborative and faster-paced to make gameplay more accessible for anyone who finds word games intimidating,” according to a statement from Mattel published Tuesday.",0.4712965935468673,"“Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” he said. “",Mattel said it conducted research among British board-gamers that shows that competitiveness is perceived as declining in younger generations.,2024-04-09
-The stock market rally is sputtering. Earnings season could revive it,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/investing/premarket-stocks-trading-first-quarter-earnings/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:22 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.
-    
-            Stocks have been tumbling this week. Investors are hoping the upcoming earnings season will help bring back this year’s banner rally.
-    
-            Analysts polled by FactSet expect first-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies to grow 3.1% from the prior year. That would mark the third straight quarter of earnings growth. Full-year profits are expected to swell about 10.7%.
-    
-            All three major US indexes have notched repeated record highs this year after a gangbusters 2023, despite hot inflation data and hawkish Federal Reserve chatter forcing Wall Street to pull back its expectations for six interest rate cuts this year to three.
-    
-            Some traders credit strong fourth-quarter corporate earnings and the resilient economy for fueling optimism that the US will avoid a recession and in turn the market’s continued surge.
-    
-            But stocks began tumbling just after notching their best start to the year since 2019. The S&P 500 has fallen 2% this week after hot inflation data and warnings from Fed officials raised concerns that long-awaited rate cuts could come later than expected. Elevated bond yields and spiking oil prices are also weighing on stocks.
-    
-            The first-quarter earnings season could get the stock rally chugging along again, some investors say.
-    
-            “If we can see corporate earnings continuing to move higher, ultimately that provides the catalyst for the market to continue to work,” said Matthew Stith, director of equity research at Bartlett Wealth Management.
-    
-            Earnings season kicks off next week with quarterly updates from Delta Air Lines, Citigroup, BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
-    
-            Investors will parse the reports for clues that consumer spending continues to be strong. Recession fears have waned in recent months as the jobs market stays resilient against interest rates being held at a 23-year high. But Americans’ attitudes towards the economy have soured and lower-income consumers have pulled back their spending, painting a mixed picture of the economy’s health.
-    
-            “Earnings season is likely to show a bifurcated market where many companies are thriving, but an increasing minority are struggling,” wrote Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management, in a Wednesday note.
-    
-            Wall Street will get a glimpse of the economy’s strength when the latest jobs report is released on Friday morning. Economists project that the US economy added 200,000 jobs in March, according to Factset.
-    
-            A group of six Latino immigrant workers fell to their deaths while working on Baltimore’s doomed Francis Scott Key Bridge last week.
-    
-            When work begins to rebuild it, more Latino immigrants will almost certainly join the effort to reopen the crucial transportation artery, report my colleagues Ramishah Maruf and Gloria Pazmino.
-    
-            Latino workers make up about a third of America’s construction industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a huge overrepresentation considering they make up just 19% of the overall American population and 17.6% of its workforce. More than two-thirds of Hispanic construction workers in America are foreign born.
-    
-            For the millions of recent Latino immigrants in the US, construction jobs have low barriers to entry and the openings are plentiful. Stable construction jobs can also allow a path to upward mobility.
-    
-            “We’re not just here trying to change our lives and achieve our goals and dreams. It’s also everyone we have left behind in our countries, we sustain them, we help them,” construction worker Reinaldo Quintero said to CNN. “We are the ones people call when they’re sick, when they can’t afford food.”
-    
-            Read more here.
-    
-            Disney is curbing password sharing for its Disney+ streaming service as part of a larger effort to boost signups and revenue, reports my colleague Samantha Murphy Kelly.
-    
-            CEO Bob Iger, in a CNBC interview on Thursday, said its popular Disney+ streaming service will start cracking down on password sharing in June in some countries and more broadly in September. Although Disney+ and Disney’s other streaming services explicitly require customers to agree not to impersonate someone else by using their username or password, the company hasn’t been broadly enforcing its policy.
-    
-            Hulu, one of Disney’s other streaming services, began limiting how often customers can share account login information outside their households starting on March 14.
-    
-            The crackdown comes as its rival Netflix has attributed a jump in signups from its recent crackdown on password sharing. Shortly after the crackdown went into effect last May, Netflix added 100,000 new accounts the following two days, according to data from Antenna. Netflix had also achieved a more than 100% increase in sign-ups from the prior 60-day average.
-    
-            A similar boost at Disney could help move the company’s streaming platform toward profitability. Disney+ continues to lose money, although the company said it expects to turn a profit soon.
-    
-            Read more here.",CNN,05/04/2024,"['A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter.', 'Not a subscriber?', 'You can sign upright here.', 'You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.', 'Stocks have been tumbling this week.', 'Investors are hoping the upcoming earnings season will help bring back this year’s banner rally.', 'Analysts polled by FactSet expect first-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies to grow 3.1% from the prior year.', 'That would mark the third straight quarter of earnings growth.', 'Full-year profits are expected to swell about 10.7%.', 'All three major US indexes have notched repeated record highs this year after a gangbusters 2023, despite hot inflation data and hawkish Federal Reserve chatter forcing Wall Street to pull back its expectations for six interest rate cuts this year to three.', 'Some traders credit strong fourth-quarter corporate earnings and the resilient economy for fueling optimism that the US will avoid a recession and in turn the market’s continued surge.', 'But stocks began tumbling just after notching their best start to the year since 2019.', 'The S&P 500 has fallen 2% this week after hot inflation data and warnings from Fed officials raised concerns that long-awaited rate cuts could come later than expected.', 'Elevated bond yields and spiking oil prices are also weighing on stocks.', 'The first-quarter earnings season could get the stock rally chugging along again, some investors say.', '“If we can see corporate earnings continuing to move higher, ultimately that provides the catalyst for the market to continue to work,” said Matthew Stith, director of equity research at Bartlett Wealth Management.', 'Earnings season kicks off next week with quarterly updates from Delta Air Lines, Citigroup, BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.', 'Investors will parse the reports for clues that consumer spending continues to be strong.', 'Recession fears have waned in recent months as the jobs market stays resilient against interest rates being held at a 23-year high.', 'But Americans’ attitudes towards the economy have soured and lower-income consumers have pulled back their spending, painting a mixed picture of the economy’s health.', '“Earnings season is likely to show a bifurcated market where many companies are thriving, but an increasing minority are struggling,” wrote Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management, in a Wednesday note.', 'Wall Street will get a glimpse of the economy’s strength when the latest jobs report is released on Friday morning.', 'Economists project that the US economy added 200,000 jobs in March, according to Factset.', 'A group of six Latino immigrant workers fell to their deaths while working on Baltimore’s doomed Francis Scott Key Bridge last week.', 'When work begins to rebuild it, more Latino immigrants will almost certainly join the effort to reopen the crucial transportation artery, report my colleagues Ramishah Maruf and Gloria Pazmino.', 'Latino workers make up about a third of America’s construction industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a huge overrepresentation considering they make up just 19% of the overall American population and 17.6% of its workforce.', 'More than two-thirds of Hispanic construction workers in America are foreign born.', 'For the millions of recent Latino immigrants in the US, construction jobs have low barriers to entry and the openings are plentiful.', 'Stable construction jobs can also allow a path to upward mobility.', '“We’re not just here trying to change our lives and achieve our goals and dreams.', 'It’s also everyone we have left behind in our countries, we sustain them, we help them,” construction worker Reinaldo Quintero said to CNN. “', 'We are the ones people call when they’re sick, when they can’t afford food.”', 'Read more here.', 'Disney is curbing password sharing for its Disney+ streaming service as part of a larger effort to boost signups and revenue, reports my colleague Samantha Murphy Kelly.', 'CEO Bob Iger, in a CNBC interview on Thursday, said its popular Disney+ streaming service will start cracking down on password sharing in June in some countries and more broadly in September.', 'Although Disney+ and Disney’s other streaming services explicitly require customers to agree not to impersonate someone else by using their username or password, the company hasn’t been broadly enforcing its policy.', 'Hulu, one of Disney’s other streaming services, began limiting how often customers can share account login information outside their households starting on March 14.', 'The crackdown comes as its rival Netflix has attributed a jump in signups from its recent crackdown on password sharing.', 'Shortly after the crackdown went into effect last May, Netflix added 100,000 new accounts the following two days, according to data from Antenna.', 'Netflix had also achieved a more than 100% increase in sign-ups from the prior 60-day average.', 'A similar boost at Disney could help move the company’s streaming platform toward profitability.', 'Disney+ continues to lose money, although the company said it expects to turn a profit soon.', 'Read more here.']",0.187449425434995,But stocks began tumbling just after notching their best start to the year since 2019.,The S&P 500 has fallen 2% this week after hot inflation data and warnings from Fed officials raised concerns that long-awaited rate cuts could come later than expected.,0.2684832729142287,Netflix had also achieved a more than 100% increase in sign-ups from the prior 60-day average.,The S&P 500 has fallen 2% this week after hot inflation data and warnings from Fed officials raised concerns that long-awaited rate cuts could come later than expected.,2024-04-09
-"Retailers like Peloton and Saks keep paying vendors late, signaling possible 'financial distress'",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/retailers-like-peloton-saks-express-are-late-on-vendor-bills.html,2024-04-04T19:22:30+0000,"In this articleIn the months before Bed Bath & Beyond declared bankruptcy last April, the former home goods titan was trapped in a crushing cycle. The retailer had been failing to pay its vendors on time, if at all. During the pivotal holiday season, some began requiring payment when goods were delivered or refusing orders altogether, which left Bed Bath unable to stock shelves. Running low on cash and needing a strong holiday quarter, the retailer's position — and in turn its relationship with vendors — only got worse. The cycle continued until the big boxer succumbed to bankruptcy, and was liquidated a few months later. Similar dynamics accelerated the demise of other once-ubiquitous retailers, such as RadioShack and Toys R Us. While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks.Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months. But when companies have sudden fluctuations in unpaid bills, at the same time their sales fall or debts rise, late-payment rates help to build a picture of which businesses could face financial risks in the coming months and years if their operations don't improve.In some cases, Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works were later on their bills than usual, indicating they could be struggling to manage cash flows or planning for revenue fluctuations.""It is generally a telltale sign of financial distress,"" Perry Mandarino, the head of restructuring at B. Riley Securities, told CNBC in an interview. ""It's either they have liquidity issues, or they don't care."" To be sure, late payments don't always signal financial troubles. Some large retailers with many vendors could have a healthy balance sheet, but because they have leverage they could decide to pay their suppliers when it's convenient to them, said Mandarino. Those instances are bigger issues for vendors than for retailers.In other cases, inconsistent payments could indicate cash flow issues, especially when companies aren't profitable and have high debt. It's not unusual for a business to pay a vendor 10 days late, if that's what it typically does. But if that cadence suddenly changes, it's cause for concern, said Mandarino. Creditsafe's insights are based in part on companies' payment history with suppliers, collected through its ""global network of partners and trade payment contributors."" The firm uses the data and other insights to determine a company's credit risk. Investment banks also use the information when deciding lending terms with a company, or to gauge whether a business is in financial distress. The information is regularly updated, and the data used in this report was current as of last Wednesday.Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla said payment data is only one factor the firm considers when assessing a company's financial health.Though the data ""doesn't represent a company's total trading behavior, analysis has proven that it is hugely predictive of a company's financial health and creditworthiness,"" Bhalla said.The connected fitness company paid most of its bills on time in November, but the percentage of late payments spiked in December. It dipped in January, before jumping again in February, according to Creditsafe's report.""When the number of late payments increases like this, it's often indicative of financial challenges and poor cash flow forecasting,"" Creditsafe said.Peloton has consistently failed to reach positive free cash flow, it said in February when announcing fiscal second quarter earnings. CEO Barry McCarthy, who previously told employees that ""Cash is oxygen"" and ""Oxygen is life,"" aimed to achieve positive free cash flow by February. But the company has said it now expects to meet that goal during its fiscal fourth quarter, which concludes at the end of June. The company is struggling with cash flow partially because it's not selling enough of its exercise equipment, which is costly to make, according to an analysis of Peloton's securities filings. Demand has fallen since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns ended.In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier. The company is trying to return to growth by June, later than previously expected.Peloton makes plenty of money from subscriptions and could increase cash flow ""somewhat immediately"" if it focuses on sustaining its customer base rather than growing significantly, Simeon Siegel, senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told CNBC.""My view is, you can have a brand that's simply a good brand that generates a lot of cash and none of us will ever complain about liquidity, but that's not what's happening, they have to want to do that,"" said Siegel. Siegel said he's not concerned about Peloton's burn rate. But if the company cannot boost sales or cut costs, his view could change next year when it will need to make payments toward its term loan, Siegel said. Peloton's term loan requires it to pay down at least $800 million of its convertible notes by next November to avoid triggering an early maturity, he said.A Peloton spokesperson called Creditsafe's data ""inaccurate"" and said it doesn't align with the company's own payment information.""We have excellent relationships with our vendor partners and do not see the same fluctuations or monthly drivers in payment times that are being reported,"" the spokesperson said.Peloton uses a metric known as days payable outstanding (DPO) which it deems as being more accurate, the spokesperson said, and shows that payments are ""timely and consistent."" The metric, which can be approximated with a simple formula using information from a company's public filings, shows on average how long it takes businesses to pay bills and invoices. Peloton's DPO was largely consistent over the last six quarters, but the number has ticked up until it jumped to 104 days in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to CNBC estimates. The DPO was 95.5 days in the year-earlier period.The spokesperson added that Peloton is not facing a liquidity crunch.""Peloton is also adequately capitalized to execute our strategic objectives, and our access to capital remains strong. Our publicly reported cash and cash equivalents reinforce this,"" the spokesperson said.Creditsafe has classified Peloton as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.The private department store chain came under fire late last year after numerous vendors said Saks hadn't paid them, leading some brands to tighten orders or stop shipping products altogether. The rumors first arose on social media and were later confirmed by Business of Fashion. In a quarterly letter to vendors made public in December, CEO Marc Metrick insisted to his suppliers that the company has ""sufficient liquidity and a sound balance sheet,"" Women's Wear Daily reported. ""As we carefully manage our business against the industry wide softness in the U.S. luxury market, we are confident in our ability to continue meeting our financial obligations,"" Metrick wrote, according to the outlet. Creditsafe's data show a company increasingly behind on its bills. While Saks often made late payments last year, its on-time payments have dropped significantly since October 2023, the firm said.The average number of days that Saks is paying its bills late has also fluctuated.In response, a company spokesperson told CNBC, ""We believe the numbers you shared are incorrect.""To keep operations afloat, Saks' parent company HBC secured $200 million in capital and amended the terms of its revolving credit facility in February. The liquidity infusion will be used for ""growth initiatives"" and ""general working capital purposes,"" the retailer said in a news release. Creditsafe has classified Saks as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.The apparel retailer's business has faced pressure as discretionary spending slows and it manages a mounting pile of debt.The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release. Express had about $280 million in debt as of Oct. 28, with just $34.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its cash on hand improved from the prior-year period, but its ratio of assets to liabilities was under 1 at the time, indicating it didn't have sufficient assets to cover its liabilities, according to securities filings.In February, The Wall Street Journal reported Express is looking to restructure its debt and could be headed for bankruptcy if its lenders don't amend their repayment options or agree to give it more cash.Preventing bankruptcy also depends on whether Express's vendors will keep fulfilling orders without tightening payment schedules, which would only put more pressure on the retailer, the outlet said. Given the recent payment trends provided by Creditsafe, Express is already struggling to keep up.The average number of days that Express was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts grew from nine in January to 15 in February. The percentage of payments that were late also increased in that time frame.""This constant up-and-down pattern with the company's [payments] indicates that its cash flow isn't stable and is likely being affected by revenue changes, debt and other factors,"" said Creditsafe.Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat. Express expects to get at least $48 million back from the federal government, interim finance chief Mark Still said.He said the company is working with the IRS to move the claim forward ""given the importance of this receivable to our liquidity.""In the meantime, Express's newly appointment CEO Stewart Glendinning, who took the helm of the company in September after CEO Tim Baxter resigned, said he's working on recovering the company's ""full profit potential,"" including by cutting more costs, he told analysts during Express's third quarter earnings call in November.As of Monday's close, Express's stock was down about 83% year to date. On March 6, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because it couldn't sustain a market capitalization of at least $15 million for 30 consecutive trading days.Express has not announced a reporting date for its fourth quarter and full-year results, which it reported last year on March 24. Creditsafe has classified Express as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.Express didn't return a request for comment on the report.The home and body care retailer has seen sales slump as demand for its candles and soaps normalized after a pandemic boom. But it's regularly profitable, and had enough assets to cover its liabilities in the three months ended Feb. 3, securities filings show. Still, its payment patterns have been ""erratic"" over the last year, according to Creditsafe. While it may not face imminent risk of default, an unpredictable payment history could weigh against Bath & Body Works if it's looking to shore up fresh financing or secure new suppliers, said Bhalla, Creditsafe's spokesperson.The average number of days that Bath & Body Works was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts stood at 10 in September and October, and then grew to 22 and 28 in November and January, respectively. The percentage of payments that were late have also risen since December.Bloomberg data shows the average number of days that bills remained unpaid fell slightly from 37.63 in fiscal 2022 to 36.93 in fiscal 2023.""Bath & Body Works values being a good partner for our vendors,"" the company told CNBC. ""This is evident in our data — as reflected on reputable financial reporting platforms — which shows us providing consistent timely payment.""Creditsafe has classified Bath & Body Works as being at a ""moderate risk"" of failure.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleIn the months before Bed Bath & Beyond declared bankruptcy last April, the former home goods titan was trapped in a crushing cycle.', 'The retailer had been failing to pay its vendors on time, if at all.', 'During the pivotal holiday season, some began requiring payment when goods were delivered or refusing orders altogether, which left Bed Bath unable to stock shelves.', ""Running low on cash and needing a strong holiday quarter, the retailer's position — and in turn its relationship with vendors — only got worse."", 'The cycle continued until the big boxer succumbed to bankruptcy, and was liquidated a few months later.', 'Similar dynamics accelerated the demise of other once-ubiquitous retailers, such as RadioShack and Toys R Us.', ""While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks."", 'Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months.', ""But when companies have sudden fluctuations in unpaid bills, at the same time their sales fall or debts rise, late-payment rates help to build a picture of which businesses could face financial risks in the coming months and years if their operations don't improve."", 'In some cases, Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works were later on their bills than usual, indicating they could be struggling to manage cash flows or planning for revenue fluctuations.', '""It is generally a telltale sign of financial distress,"" Perry Mandarino, the head of restructuring at B. Riley Securities, told CNBC in an interview. ""', ""It's either they have liquidity issues, or they don't care."", '""To be sure, late payments don\'t always signal financial troubles.', ""Some large retailers with many vendors could have a healthy balance sheet, but because they have leverage they could decide to pay their suppliers when it's convenient to them, said Mandarino."", 'Those instances are bigger issues for vendors than for retailers.', ""In other cases, inconsistent payments could indicate cash flow issues, especially when companies aren't profitable and have high debt."", ""It's not unusual for a business to pay a vendor 10 days late, if that's what it typically does."", ""But if that cadence suddenly changes, it's cause for concern, said Mandarino."", 'Creditsafe\'s insights are based in part on companies\' payment history with suppliers, collected through its ""global network of partners and trade payment contributors.', '""The firm uses the data and other insights to determine a company\'s credit risk.', 'Investment banks also use the information when deciding lending terms with a company, or to gauge whether a business is in financial distress.', 'The information is regularly updated, and the data used in this report was current as of last Wednesday.', ""Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla said payment data is only one factor the firm considers when assessing a company's financial health."", 'Though the data ""doesn\'t represent a company\'s total trading behavior, analysis has proven that it is hugely predictive of a company\'s financial health and creditworthiness,"" Bhalla said.', 'The connected fitness company paid most of its bills on time in November, but the percentage of late payments spiked in December.', ""It dipped in January, before jumping again in February, according to Creditsafe's report."", '""When the number of late payments increases like this, it\'s often indicative of financial challenges and poor cash flow forecasting,"" Creditsafe said.', 'Peloton has consistently failed to reach positive free cash flow, it said in February when announcing fiscal second quarter earnings.', 'CEO Barry McCarthy, who previously told employees that ""Cash is oxygen"" and ""Oxygen is life,"" aimed to achieve positive free cash flow by February.', 'But the company has said it now expects to meet that goal during its fiscal fourth quarter, which concludes at the end of June.', ""The company is struggling with cash flow partially because it's not selling enough of its exercise equipment, which is costly to make,according to an analysis of Peloton's securities filings."", 'Demand has fallen since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns ended.', 'In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier.', 'The company is trying to return to growth by June, later than previously expected.', 'Peloton makes plenty of money from subscriptions and could increase cash flow ""somewhat immediately"" if it focuses on sustaining its customer base rather than growing significantly, Simeon Siegel, senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told CNBC.""My view is, you can have a brand that\'s simply a good brand that generates a lot of cash and none of us will ever complain about liquidity, but that\'s not what\'s happening, they have to want to do that,"" said Siegel.', ""Siegel said he's not concerned about Peloton's burn rate."", 'But if the company cannot boost sales or cut costs, his view could change next year when it will need to make payments toward its term loan, Siegel said.', ""Peloton's term loan requires it to pay down at least $800 million of its convertible notes by next November to avoid triggering an early maturity, he said."", 'A Peloton spokesperson called Creditsafe\'s data ""inaccurate"" and said it doesn\'t align with the company\'s own payment information.', '""We have excellent relationships with our vendor partners and do not see the same fluctuations or monthly drivers in payment times that are being reported,"" the spokesperson said.', 'Peloton uses a metric known as days payable outstanding (DPO) which it deems as being more accurate, the spokesperson said, and shows that payments are ""timely and consistent.""', ""The metric, which can be approximated with a simple formula using information from a company's public filings, shows on average how long it takes businesses to pay bills and invoices."", ""Peloton's DPO was largely consistent over the last six quarters, but the number has ticked up until itjumpedto 104 days in the three months ended Dec. 31,according to CNBC estimates."", 'The DPO was 95.5 days in the year-earlier period.', 'The spokesperson added that Peloton is not facing a liquidity crunch.', '""Peloton is also adequately capitalized to execute our strategic objectives, and our access to capital remains strong.', 'Our publicly reported cash and cash equivalents reinforce this,"" the spokesperson said.', 'Creditsafe has classified Peloton as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""The private department store chain came under fire late last year after numerous vendors said Saks hadn't paid them, leading some brands to tighten orders or stop shipping products altogether."", 'The rumors first arose on social media and were later confirmed by Business of Fashion.', 'In a quarterly letter to vendors made public in December, CEO Marc Metrick insisted to his suppliers that the company has ""sufficient liquidity and a sound balance sheet,"" Women\'s Wear Daily reported.', '""As we carefully manage our business against the industry wide softness in the U.S. luxury market, we are confident in our ability to continue meeting our financial obligations,"" Metrick wrote, according to the outlet.', ""Creditsafe's data show a company increasingly behind on its bills."", 'While Saks often made late payments last year, its on-time payments have dropped significantly since October 2023, the firm said.', 'The average number of days that Saks is paying its bills late has also fluctuated.', 'In response, a company spokesperson told CNBC, ""We believe the numbers you shared are incorrect.', '""To keep operations afloat, Saks\' parent company HBC secured $200 million in capital and amended the terms of its revolving credit facility in February.', 'The liquidity infusion will be used for ""growth initiatives"" and ""general working capital purposes,"" the retailer said in a news release.', 'Creditsafe has classified Saks as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""The apparel retailer's business has faced pressure as discretionary spending slows and it manages a mounting pile of debt."", ""The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release."", 'Express had about $280 million in debt as of Oct. 28, with just $34.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.', ""Its cash on hand improved from the prior-year period, but its ratio of assets to liabilities was under 1 at the time, indicating it didn't have sufficient assets to cover its liabilities, according to securities filings."", ""In February, The Wall Street Journal reported Express is looking to restructure its debt and could be headed for bankruptcy if its lenders don't amend their repayment options or agree to give it more cash."", ""Preventing bankruptcy also depends on whether Express's vendors will keep fulfilling orders without tightening payment schedules, which would only put more pressure on the retailer, the outlet said."", 'Given the recent payment trends provided by Creditsafe, Express is already struggling to keep up.', 'The average number of days that Express was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts grew from nine in January to 15 in February.', 'The percentage of payments that were late also increased in that time frame.', '""This constant up-and-down pattern with the company\'s [payments] indicates that its cash flow isn\'t stable and is likely being affected by revenue changes, debt and other factors,"" said Creditsafe.', ""Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat."", 'Express expects to get at least $48 million back from the federal government, interim finance chief Mark Still said.', 'He said the company is working with the IRS to move the claim forward ""given the importance of this receivable to our liquidity.', '""In the meantime, Express\'s newly appointment CEO Stewart Glendinning, who took the helm of the company in September after CEO Tim Baxter resigned, said he\'s working on recovering the company\'s ""full profit potential,"" including by cutting more costs, he told analysts during Express\'s third quarter earnings call in November.', ""As of Monday's close, Express's stock was down about 83% year to date."", ""On March 6, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because it couldn't sustain a market capitalization of at least $15 million for 30 consecutive trading days."", 'Express has not announced a reporting date for its fourth quarter and full-year results, which it reported last year on March 24.Creditsafe has classified Express as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""Express didn't return a request for comment on the report."", 'The home and body care retailer has seen sales slump as demand for its candles and soaps normalized after a pandemic boom.', ""But it's regularly profitable, and had enough assets to cover its liabilities in the three months ended Feb. 3, securities filings show."", 'Still, its payment patterns have been ""erratic"" over the last year, according to Creditsafe.', ""While it may not face imminent risk of default, an unpredictable payment history could weigh against Bath & Body Works if it's looking to shore up fresh financing or secure new suppliers, said Bhalla, Creditsafe's spokesperson."", 'The average number of days that Bath & Body Works was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts stood at 10 in September and October, and then grew to 22 and 28 in November and January, respectively.', 'The percentage of payments that were late have also risen since December.', 'Bloomberg data shows the average number of days that bills remained unpaid fell slightly from 37.63 in fiscal 2022 to 36.93 in fiscal 2023.""Bath&BodyWorksvalues being a good partner for our vendors,"" the company told CNBC. ""', 'This is evident in our data — as reflected on reputable financial reporting platforms — which shows us providing consistent timely payment.', '""Creditsafe has classified Bath & Body Works as being at a ""moderate risk"" of failure.']",0.0288589770897477,"Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat.","While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks.",-0.1500539213924084,"The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release.","In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier.",2024-04-09
-India's army of gold refiners face new competition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68596195,2024-03-28T23:19:19.000Z,"Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars. He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says. Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke. It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold. It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash. Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars. Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash.  ""Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units. A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold."" According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources. But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners.  They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré. Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year. But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running. In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints. So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera. More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub. We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera. CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year. Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels.  ""The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR. It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads. So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold. This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose. In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry. In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions. BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India. Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground. According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%. The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says. And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology. They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting.  ""The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form."" ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke.', 'Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars.', 'He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.', 'Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""', 'Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says.', 'Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke.', 'It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold.', 'It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash.', 'Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars.', 'Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. ""', 'Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units.', 'A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold.""', 'According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources.', ""But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners."", 'They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.', ""Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year."", 'But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.', 'In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints.', 'So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""', 'At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera.', 'More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""', ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub."", 'We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera.', ""CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year."", 'Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels. ""', 'The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR.', 'It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""', 'Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads.', 'So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold.', 'This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose.', 'In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry.', 'In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions.', 'BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""', 'The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India.', 'Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground.', 'According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.', 'The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""', 'Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says.', 'And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology.', 'They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting. ""', 'The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""', 'Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form.""']",0.0799652359830087,"Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. """,But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.,0.5293744140201144,"They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.","According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.",2024-04-09
-Shimao: China property giant hit with winding-up petition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ej4r95v12o,2024-04-08T04:49:59.351Z,"China's crisis-hit property market has been dealt a fresh blow as major real estate developer Shimao Group has been hit with a winding-up petition. State-owned China Construction Bank (Asia) filed the petition in Hong Kong over Shimao's failure to repay loans worth HK$1.58bn ($201.8m; £159.7m). It is rare for a Chinese bank to take such legal action against one of the country's developers. Similar cases against other property firms were launched by overseas-based creditors. Shimao said in a stock exchange filing it would ""vigorously"" oppose the lawsuit. Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading. Like several other Chinese property developers, Shanghai-based Shimao defaulted on offshore bonds in 2022. Last month, it laid out detailed plans to restructure its debts. In January, rival real estate giant China Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court. With  more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis. Property developer Country Garden also defaulted on its overseas debt last year and faces a winding-up petition. The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May. Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, a laminates maker and property investor. China's real estate industry has been facing a major financial squeeze since 2021 when the government introduced measures to curb the amount big developers could borrow. Since then several large property firms have defaulted on their debts. Problems in China's property market have a major impact on its economy as the sector accounts for around a third of the economy. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"[""China's crisis-hit property market has been dealt a fresh blow as major real estate developer Shimao Group has been hit with a winding-up petition."", ""State-owned China Construction Bank (Asia) filed the petition in Hong Kong over Shimao's failure to repay loans worth HK$1.58bn ($201.8m; £159.7m)."", ""It is rare for a Chinese bank to take such legal action against one of the country's developers."", 'Similar cases against other property firms were launched by overseas-based creditors.', 'Shimao said in a stock exchange filing it would ""vigorously"" oppose the lawsuit.', ""Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading."", 'Like several other Chinese property developers, Shanghai-based Shimao defaulted on offshore bonds in 2022.', 'Last month, it laid out detailed plans to restructure its debts.', 'In January, rival real estate giant China Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court.', ""With more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis."", 'Property developer Country Garden also defaulted on its overseas debt last year and faces a winding-up petition.', 'The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May.', 'Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, a laminates maker and property investor.', ""China's real estate industry has been facing a major financial squeeze since 2021 when the government introduced measures to curb the amount big developers could borrow."", 'Since then several large property firms have defaulted on their debts.', ""Problems in China's property market have a major impact on its economy as the sector accounts for around a third of the economy.""]",-0.0599847534183126,"The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May.","With more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis.",-0.9222415515354702,,"Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading.",2024-04-09
-Will Truth Social solve Donald Trump's money problems?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68716628,2024-04-02T23:56:00.000Z,"The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.   But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.  So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make? And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills? Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.  The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites. In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social. Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages. Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'. Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start. It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.  By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn. X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported. Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then. It doesn't.   Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.  The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn. As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.  By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn. Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others.  In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social. The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up. Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it. It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials. The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.  The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.  The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares. He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.  Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.  When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.  At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.  With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.  Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.  Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes. Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.  But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict. Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.  They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.  They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn.  But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024. Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling. ",BBC,02/04/2024,"[""The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange."", 'But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.', 'So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make?', ""And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills?"", 'Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.', 'The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites.', 'In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social.', ""Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages."", ""Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'."", 'Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start.', 'It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.', 'By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn.', 'X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported.', ""Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then."", ""It doesn't."", 'Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.', 'The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn.', 'As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.', 'By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn.', ""Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others."", 'In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social.', 'The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up.', 'Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it.', ""It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials."", 'The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.', 'The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.', 'The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares.', 'He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.', 'Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.', 'When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.', 'At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.', 'With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.', 'Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.', 'Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes.', 'Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.', 'But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict.', 'Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.', 'They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.', ""They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn."", 'But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024.', 'Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling.']",0.1382611243779417,Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages.,"Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.",0.1471985181172689,"Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.","Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.",2024-04-09
-Abrdn hits out at 'corporate bullying' over name change,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769562,2024-04-09T11:48:12.000Z,"An executive at a centuries-old investment firm has accused the media of ""corporate bullying"" after it changed its name to Abrdn. The asset manager rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen three years ago, shortening its name and dropping the vowels.  Chief investment officer Peter Branner complained the press was making ""childish"" jokes about the change. He said it would be unethical to treat an individual in the same way. In an interview with the trade publication Financial News, he said: ""I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it's a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name."" The Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read ""Lv Abrdn aln"" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page on Tuesday that read ""Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls"". The fund group was born out of the £3.8bn ($4.8bn) merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 and has its roots dating as far back as 1825. It proceeded with a name change in 2021 after offloading its UK and European life insurance arm and selling its Standard Life brand name to smaller rival Phoenix Group. Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"". Mr Branner told Financial News: ""Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out? It's probably not ethical to do it, but apparently with companies it is different."" Other notable name changes that have been heavily criticised include Elon Musk's decision to rename Twitter as X last year, as well as the planned move to change Royal Mail to Consignia in 2001.  An Abrdn spokesperson said: ''As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about."" ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['An executive at a centuries-old investment firm has accused the media of ""corporate bullying"" after it changed its name to Abrdn.', 'The asset manager rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen three years ago, shortening its name and dropping the vowels.', 'Chief investment officer Peter Branner complained the press was making ""childish"" jokes about the change.', 'He said it would be unethical to treat an individual in the same way.', 'In an interview with the trade publication Financial News, he said: ""I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it\'s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name.""', 'The Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read ""Lv Abrdn aln"" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page on Tuesday that read ""Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls"".', 'The fund group was born out of the £3.8bn ($4.8bn) merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 and has its roots dating as far back as 1825.', 'It proceeded with a name change in 2021 after offloading its UK and European life insurance arm and selling its Standard Life brand name to smaller rival Phoenix Group.', 'Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".', 'Mr Branner told Financial News: ""Would you do that with an individual?', 'How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out?', 'It\'s probably not ethical to do it, but apparently with companies it is different.""', ""Other notable name changes that have been heavily criticised include Elon Musk's decision to rename Twitter as X last year, as well as the planned move to change Royal Mail to Consignia in 2001."", 'An Abrdn spokesperson said: \'\'As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about.""']",-0.1130232895938554,"An Abrdn spokesperson said: ''As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about.""","Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".",-0.7906963676214218,,"Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from ""irritable vowel syndrome"".",2024-04-09
-John Lewis names former Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry as new chairman,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68760475,2024-04-08T09:10:36.000Z,"John Lewis has said the former boss of Tesco's UK business, Jason Tarry, will become its next chairman. Mr Tarry will start in September, taking over from Dame Sharon White who said last year that she would be standing down at the end of her term. The partnership, which includes the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, has come under increasing pressure in recent years. It has closed stores and cut jobs, but recently announced a return to profit. Mr Tarry, who will become only the seventh chairman of John Lewis, said it was a ""great privilege"" to lead the company. Dame Sharon was the first woman to lead John Lewis, but when she announced in October that she would step down after five years in the role, it made her the shortest-serving boss in the partnership's near 100-year history. Her predecessors had each served between 13 and 26 years. Dame Sharon's appointment made her one of the few black women leading a major UK business. However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.   But in an interview with the BBC in June last year, Dame Sharon defended her background, noting that some of her predecessors at John Lewis had also come from outside the retail sector. Rita Clifton, deputy chairman and chair of John Lewis's nomination committee, said: ""The board extends its huge thanks to Sharon for successfully leading the partnership through one of the most testing periods in its history - first Covid and then the cost-of-living crisis. ""She has faced the toughest decisions and overseen the partnership's financial recovery; we are in good financial health with a return to profit, and have a strong balance sheet with record investment planned this year."" Last month, John Lewis reported full-year profits of £56m compared with a £234m loss the year before.  Despite this, the partnership said it would not be paying a staff bonus for the second year in a row, which is only the third time it has not paid out such an award since 1953. Dame Sharon said: ""I'm delighted to be handing over to Jason, who has a combination of fantastic retail experience with leadership through transformation.""  Mr Tarry had worked at Tesco for more than 33 years, with his most recent role being chief executive of the supermarket's UK and Ireland business. ""The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it's a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said. Zoe Mills, retail analyst at GlobalData, said Mr Tarry ""certainly has the experience and knowhow to rejuvenate the John Lewis Partnership"". However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis's long-term success"". M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""Within Waitrose & Partners, Tarry must not lose sight of its more premium proposition,"" Ms Mills said. ""While remaining price-competitive will be crucial, as within general merchandise, the focus must be on quality and justifying higher price points to entice shoppers to trade up."" ",BBC,08/04/2024,"[""John Lewis has said the former boss of Tesco's UK business, Jason Tarry, will become its next chairman."", 'Mr Tarry will start in September, taking over from Dame Sharon White who said last year that she would be standing down at the end of her term.', 'The partnership, which includes the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, has come under increasing pressure in recent years.', 'It has closed stores and cut jobs, but recently announced a return to profit.', 'Mr Tarry, who will become only the seventh chairman of John Lewis, said it was a ""great privilege"" to lead the company.', ""Dame Sharon was the first woman to lead John Lewis, but when she announced in October that she would step down after five years in the role, it made her the shortest-serving boss in the partnership's near 100-year history."", 'Her predecessors had each served between 13 and 26 years.', ""Dame Sharon's appointment made her one of the few black women leading a major UK business."", 'However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.', 'But in an interview with the BBC in June last year, Dame Sharon defended her background, noting that some of her predecessors at John Lewis had also come from outside the retail sector.', 'Rita Clifton, deputy chairman and chair of John Lewis\'s nomination committee, said: ""The board extends its huge thanks to Sharon for successfully leading the partnership through one of the most testing periods in its history - first Covid and then the cost-of-living crisis. ""', 'She has faced the toughest decisions and overseen the partnership\'s financial recovery; we are in good financial health with a return to profit, and have a strong balance sheet with record investment planned this year.""', 'Last month, John Lewis reported full-year profits of £56m compared with a £234m loss the year before.', 'Despite this, the partnership said it would not be paying a staff bonus for the second year in a row, which is only the third time it has not paid out such an award since 1953.', 'Dame Sharon said: ""I\'m delighted to be handing over to Jason, who has a combination of fantastic retail experience with leadership through transformation.""', 'Mr Tarry had worked at Tesco for more than 33 years, with his most recent role being chief executive of the supermarket\'s UK and Ireland business. ""', 'The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it\'s a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said.', 'Zoe Mills, retail analyst at GlobalData, said Mr Tarry ""certainly has the experience and knowhow to rejuvenate the John Lewis Partnership"".', 'However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis\'s long-term success"".', 'M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""', 'Within Waitrose & Partners, Tarry must not lose sight of its more premium proposition,"" Ms Mills said. ""', 'While remaining price-competitive will be crucial, as within general merchandise, the focus must be on quality and justifying higher price points to entice shoppers to trade up.""']",0.2548270006474369,"The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it's a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said.","However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.",0.4975835956059969,"M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""","However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis's long-term success"".",2024-04-09
-Panama Papers: Money laundering trial of 27 defendants begins,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnek443n8zvo,2024-04-09T03:10:45.612Z,"The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court. The leak of secret financial documents in 2016 revealed how some of the world's wealthiest people stashed their assets in offshore companies. The defendants include Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora who founded the now defunct law firm, Mossack Fonseca. They face money-laundering charges but say neither they, the firm nor its employees were involved in unlawful acts. In 2017, the firm said it was the victim of a computer hack and that the information leaked was being misrepresented. If found guilty, Mr Mossack and Mr Fonseca could face up to twelve years each in prison. The leak, which included a collection of 11 million financial documents, implicated more than a hundred politicians, including then-heads of state and government, billionaires and sports stars. It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax. The records were first leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016. Mr Mossack was present in the courtroom, while lawyers for Mr Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama. Mr Fonseca had served as a minister in Panamanian former President Juan Carlos Varela's government but stepped aside in 2016. Mossack Fonseca was shut down in 2018. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court.', ""The leak of secret financial documents in 2016 revealed how some of the world's wealthiest people stashed their assets in offshore companies."", 'The defendants include Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora who founded the now defunct law firm, Mossack Fonseca.', 'They face money-laundering charges but say neither they, the firm nor its employees were involved in unlawful acts.', 'In 2017, the firm said it was the victim of a computer hack and that the information leaked was being misrepresented.', 'If found guilty, Mr Mossack and Mr Fonseca could face up to twelve years each in prison.', 'The leak, which included a collection of 11 million financial documents, implicated more than a hundred politicians, including then-heads of state and government, billionaires and sports stars.', 'It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax.', 'The records were first leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016.', 'Mr Mossack was present in the courtroom, while lawyers for Mr Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama.', ""Mr Fonseca had served as a minister in Panamanian former President Juan Carlos Varela's government but stepped aside in 2016."", 'Mossack Fonseca was shut down in 2018.']",-0.1079611745445361,It also highlighted how tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands were used by the rich and powerful to allegedly hide their wealth and avoid tax.,The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the Panama Papers money laundering scandal has started in a Panamanian criminal court.,,,,2024-04-09
-"NBC hires former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who has demonized the press and refused to acknowledge Biden was fairly elected",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/22/media/ronna-mcdaniel-nbc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:53 PM EDT, Fri March 22, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedly attacked the network and its journalists, assailed the news media as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020 vote, as an on-air commentator ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
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-            “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memo to staff.
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-            McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.
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-            During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.
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-            McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.” At times, she even targeted NBC News and MSNBC with dishonest attacks.
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-            In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”
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-            “How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?” McDaniel asked.
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-            McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role. In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”
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-            An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.
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-            In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.
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-            McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
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-            The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.” The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in a detailed fact check posted online.
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-            In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.
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-            “I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real. I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “I’m from Wayne County. We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots. We had to look into that. That’s deeply concerning. When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning. We have every right to look at that.”
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-            In the interview, Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.
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-            “I think there were lots of problems with 2020. Ultimately, he won the election but there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “But I don’t think he won it fair. I don’t. I’m not going to say that.”
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-            NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at the network’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.
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-            Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on air without scrutiny.
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-            MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do. Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lies on the air is dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”",CNN,22/03/2024,"['NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedlyattacked the network and its journalists,assailed thenewsmedia as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020vote,as an on-air commentatorahead of the 2024 presidential election.', '“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memoto staff.', 'McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.', 'During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.', 'McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.”', 'At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.', 'In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”', '“How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?”', 'McDaniel asked.', 'McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role.', 'In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”', 'An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.', 'In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.', 'McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.', '”The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in adetailed fact checkposted online.', 'In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.', '“I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real.', 'I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “', 'I’m from Wayne County.', 'We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots.', 'We had to look into that.', 'That’s deeply concerning.', 'When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning.', 'We have every right to look at that.”', 'In the interview,Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.', '“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.', 'Ultimately, he won the electionbut there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “', 'But I don’t think he won it fair.', 'I don’t.', 'I’m not going to say that.”', 'NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.', 'Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on airwithout scrutiny.', 'MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do.', 'Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lieson the airis dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”']",-0.069193576701305,But I don’t think he won it fair.,"At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.",-0.2803101042906443,"NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.",“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.,2024-04-09
-Alaska Airlines says Boeing paid it $160 million for 737 Max 9 grounding,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/boeing-pays-alaska-airlines-160-million-for-737-max-9-grounding.html,2024-04-04T15:00:57+0000,"In this articleBoeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation in the first quarter for the grounding of the 737 Max 9, according to the airline.The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the jets after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska when the flight was at 16,000 feet, coming inches from another tragedy involving Boeing's best-selling jet.Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.""Alaska said it expects additional compensation beyond the first quarter.Alaska also said demand was strong despite an immediate impact after the accident. ""Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations due to these core improvements,"" it said.The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.United Airlines' pilots union told members last week that the airline is offering pilots unpaid time off in May because of delayed Boeing deliveries, CNBC reported earlier this week.Boeing didn't immediately comment. The manufacturer and U.S. airlines report first-quarter results later in April.Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleBoeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation in the first quarter for the grounding of the 737 Max 9, according to the airline.', ""The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the jets after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska when the flight was at 16,000 feet, coming inches from another tragedy involving Boeing's best-selling jet."", 'Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.', '""Alaska said it expects additional compensation beyond the first quarter.', 'Alaska also said demand was strong despite an immediate impact after the accident. ""', 'Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations due to these core improvements,"" it said.', 'The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.', ""United Airlines' pilots union told members last week that the airline is offering pilots unpaid time off in May because of delayed Boeing deliveries, CNBC reported earlier this week."", ""Boeing didn't immediately comment."", 'The manufacturer and U.S. airlines report first-quarter results later in April.', 'Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.']",0.0390682150286612,"Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.","The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.",0.0089905560016632,"Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.","Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.",2024-04-09
-Jail those responsible for Post Office scandal - minister,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68760215,2024-04-08T12:53:24.000Z,"The Post Office minister has told the BBC that those responsible for the Horizon scandal ""should go to jail"". Kevin Hollinrake told a BBC Breakfast audience of sub-postmasters that ""people should be prosecuted"" when evidence is ""established"", and ""people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail"". More than 700 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015. To date, just 37 have received full and final compensation settlements. Mr Hollinrake's comments follow those of Alan Bates, whose campaign and battle against the Post Office was dramatised in an ITV mini-series earlier this year. ""People have got to be held accountable,"" the former sub-postmaster previously told the BBC. ""That's got to happen. And we're going to have to carry on campaigning for that to occur."" Mr Bates said the campaign group would ""start looking at prosecutions"" after the public inquiry into the scandal ends, adding that some of the bonuses paid to Post Office bosses over the years should be ""clawed back"". The public inquiry will resume on Tuesday. The latest hearings will last 15 weeks, and witnesses will include key figures at the heart of the scandal - including Mr Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the Post Office - which is owned by the government - based on a faulty accounting software system called Horizon. Many poured in their own life savings to cover shortfalls in the accounts. The Post Office scandal is widely regarded as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history. The government is introducing legislation to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters linked to Horizon.  Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. ""We do need to compensate people, that's the first thing we need to do and we haven't been compensating people quickly enough. We need to accelerate that,"" Mr Hollinrake said on the BBC Breakfast programme, which was broadcast from Fenny Compton, the Warwickshire village where Mr Bates convened the first gathering of sub-postmasters in 2009. There are also three main compensation schemes aimed at groups of victims who had different experiences of the scandal. The Post Office has further details on the scheme on its website. The government has provided funding to the Post Office for these payments, but MPs have warned that the Post Office is ""not fit"" to run any compensation scheme, that it is removed from involvement, and replaced by a new independent body. Mr Hollinrake told the audience: ""We need to simplify the process is what we need to do. If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time. We are keen to make that as streamlined as possible."" David Morley, a former sub-postmaster, said that in 2001: ""I proved in front of Post Office managers and in front of Fujitsu managers that the system was faulty and they did have remote access to postmasters' accounts. Now my question to you sir is do you think evidence of that meeting was deliberately suppressed?"" Mr Hollinrake said he couldn't say if it was deliberately suppressed ""because I wasn't there and wasn't party to the conversations afterwards but someone knew something at a very early stage"".  Many Post Office victims who appeared on the programme became emotional when telling their stories. Jess Kaur was a postmistress in Walsall in the West Midlands and suffered a mental breakdown after being wrongly accused in 2009 of stealing £11,000.  ""When I was in hospital, the Post Office sent their own doctors to see if I was actually ill. And that's what really hurt the most,"" she recalled. Other former postmasters gasped as she said the Post Office did not believe she was in hospital for having a mental breakdown. Charges against Ms Kaur were dropped in 2011, but she said there had been ""too many broken promises"" for her to know when the final ""win"" would happen for her and others falsely accused. Seema Misra was sent to prison while she was pregnant. She was a sub-postmistress in West Byfleet, Surrey, and was wrongfully accused of stealing £70,000.  Although she was cleared in 2021, she said she was ""still fighting on til the proper accountability is done"".  On the day she was sentenced it was her son's 10th birthday. ""We did not know what to say to him. We told him because mummy's pregnant she's just gone to a special hospital."" On the morning she was due to go to court, she had said to her son that she would see him later that day. ""Why would someone send me to prison for a crime I never committed?"" she said tearfully. Mark Kelly was a sub-postmaster in Swansea from 2003 to 2006, and came to the BBC studio with his support dog Gizmo who helps keep him calm after the anxiety resulting from being wrongfully accused of false accounting.  He said he felt like he wanted to take his own life, and became depressed and isolated.   ""Once I started hearing about all the problems which other postmasters were having, like people committing suicide and people going to prison when pregnant, I started to feel quite guilty from it all. I felt like I could have done something more [to help others],"" he said. Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.  He was played by the actor Will Mellor in ITV's drama about the scandal.  ""The journey for all of us has been so painful. We still have to give each other support because it's not over, it's still ongoing,"" Mr Castleton said. He said he still finds it hard to get up each morning. ""I can't believe what we've been through."" BBC Breakfast came live from Fenny Compton, the village where former sub-postmasters held their first meeting, on Monday. The programme brought together 60 people whose lives have been changed by the scandal.  You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['The Post Office minister has told the BBC that those responsible for the Horizon scandal ""should go to jail"".', 'Kevin Hollinrake told a BBC Breakfast audience of sub-postmasters that ""people should be prosecuted"" when evidence is ""established"", and ""people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail"".', 'More than 700 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015.', 'To date, just 37 have received full and final compensation settlements.', 'Mr Hollinrake\'s comments follow those of Alan Bates, whose campaign and battle against the Post Office was dramatised in an ITV mini-series earlier this year. ""', 'People have got to be held accountable,"" the former sub-postmaster previously told the BBC. ""', ""That's got to happen."", 'And we\'re going to have to carry on campaigning for that to occur.""', 'Mr Bates said the campaign group would ""start looking at prosecutions"" after the public inquiry into the scandal ends, adding that some of the bonuses paid to Post Office bosses over the years should be ""clawed back"".', 'The public inquiry will resume on Tuesday.', 'The latest hearings will last 15 weeks, and witnesses will include key figures at the heart of the scandal - including Mr Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells.', 'Hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the Post Office - which is owned by the government - based on a faulty accounting software system called Horizon.', 'Many poured in their own life savings to cover shortfalls in the accounts.', 'The Post Office scandal is widely regarded as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history.', 'The government is introducing legislation to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters linked to Horizon.', 'Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. ""', ""We do need to compensate people, that's the first thing we need to do and we haven't been compensating people quickly enough."", 'We need to accelerate that,"" Mr Hollinrake said on the BBC Breakfast programme, which was broadcast from Fenny Compton, the Warwickshire village where Mr Bates convened the first gathering of sub-postmasters in 2009.', 'There are also three main compensation schemes aimed at groups of victims who had different experiences of the scandal.', 'The Post Office has further details on the scheme on its website.', 'The government has provided funding to the Post Office for these payments, but MPs have warned that the Post Office is ""not fit"" to run any compensation scheme, that it is removed from involvement, and replaced by a new independent body.', 'Mr Hollinrake told the audience: ""We need to simplify the process is what we need to do.', ""If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time."", 'We are keen to make that as streamlined as possible.""', 'David Morley, a former sub-postmaster, said that in 2001: ""I proved in front of Post Office managers and in front of Fujitsu managers that the system was faulty and they did have remote access to postmasters\' accounts.', 'Now my question to you sir is do you think evidence of that meeting was deliberately suppressed?""', 'Mr Hollinrake said he couldn\'t say if it was deliberately suppressed ""because I wasn\'t there and wasn\'t party to the conversations afterwards but someone knew something at a very early stage"".', 'Many Post Office victims who appeared on the programme became emotional when telling their stories.', 'Jess Kaur was a postmistress in Walsall in the West Midlands and suffered a mental breakdown after being wrongly accused in 2009 of stealing £11,000. ""', 'When I was in hospital, the Post Office sent their own doctors to see if I was actually ill.', 'And that\'s what really hurt the most,"" she recalled.', 'Other former postmasters gasped as she said the Post Office did not believe she was in hospital for having a mental breakdown.', 'Charges against Ms Kaur were dropped in 2011, but she said there had been ""too many broken promises"" for her to know when the final ""win"" would happen for her and others falsely accused.', 'Seema Misra was sent to prison while she was pregnant.', 'She was a sub-postmistress in West Byfleet, Surrey, and was wrongfully accused of stealing £70,000.', 'Although she was cleared in 2021, she said she was ""still fighting on til the proper accountability is done"".', 'On the day she was sentenced it was her son\'s 10th birthday. ""', 'We did not know what to say to him.', 'We told him because mummy\'s pregnant she\'s just gone to a special hospital.""', 'On the morning she was due to go to court, she had said to her son that she would see him later that day. ""', 'Why would someone send me to prison for a crime I never committed?""', 'she said tearfully.', 'Mark Kelly was a sub-postmaster in Swansea from 2003 to 2006, and came to the BBC studio with his support dog Gizmo who helps keep him calm after the anxiety resulting from being wrongfully accused of false accounting.', 'He said he felt like he wanted to take his own life, and became depressed and isolated. ""', 'Once I started hearing about all the problems which other postmasters were having, like people committing suicide and people going to prison when pregnant, I started to feel quite guilty from it all.', 'I felt like I could have done something more [to help others],"" he said.', 'Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.', 'He was played by the actor Will Mellor in ITV\'s drama about the scandal. ""', 'The journey for all of us has been so painful.', 'We still have to give each other support because it\'s not over, it\'s still ongoing,"" Mr Castleton said.', 'He said he still finds it hard to get up each morning. ""', 'I can\'t believe what we\'ve been through.""', 'BBC Breakfast came live from Fenny Compton, the village where former sub-postmasters held their first meeting, on Monday.', 'The programme brought together 60 people whose lives have been changed by the scandal.', 'You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer.']",-0.1447916293305839,"If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time.","Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.",-0.8753040581941605,,"Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. """,2024-04-09
-Musk challenges Brazil court order to block certain X accounts,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2ygp5pdqlo,2024-04-08T04:19:09.965Z,"A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked. Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional. He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"". If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day. In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court. The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected. But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"". The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.  He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état. On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022. Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April. Meanwhile, Brazil's communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added. If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked."" Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked.', 'Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional.', 'He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"".', 'If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day.', 'In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.', ""The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected."", 'But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".', ""The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace."", 'Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.', ""He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état."", 'On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022.', 'Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April.', 'Meanwhile, Brazil\'s communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""', 'We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added.', 'If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""', 'Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""', 'I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""', 'Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva']",0.0650544143199842,"In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.","But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".",-0.3260461688041687,Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.,"I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""",2024-04-09
-Ted Baker to close 15 stores and cut 245 jobs,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68762097,2024-04-08T13:39:15.000Z,"High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said. Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses. In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts. The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month. When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions. US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK. When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"". It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year. The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"". Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"". She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added. Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health."" The 11 stores closing by 19 April are:  The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States. It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.  Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said.', ""Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses."", 'In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts.', ""The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month."", 'When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions.', 'US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK.', 'When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".', 'It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year.', 'The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"".', 'Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"".', 'She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""', 'Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added.', 'Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""', 'These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""', 'The 11 stores closing by 19 April are: The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States.', 'It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.', 'Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.094643484200579,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".",-0.1099107265472412,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses.",2024-04-09
-Spain to axe 'golden visas' scheme,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68761491,2024-04-09T14:32:42.000Z,"The Spanish government has begun the process of eliminating the so-called ""golden visa"" scheme. Under the scheme, foreign investors are provided with fast-tracked residency. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more. The visa scheme was created in 2013 by the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy.  It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard. A total of 6,200 visas were issued until 2023 for investment in property, according to the organisation Transparency International, although other sources put the number higher. Nearly half of beneficiaries of Spain's Golden Visa - a total of 2,712 - were Chinese, according to Transparency International.  Russians were the next most numerous recipients, with 1,159, followed by Iranians (203), and citizens of the US (179) and the UK (177). The ""golden visa"" scheme also provided residency in exchange for investing €2m (£1.7m) or more in state bonds, or for investing in emerging Spanish companies.  However, only 6% of visas were awarded for reasons other than the purchase of property, the government said. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government's intention to scrap the scheme was intended ""to guarantee that housing is a right and not merely the subject of business speculation"". He said that the majority of visas awarded were linked to the purchase of properties in places such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante and the Balearic Islands - all areas where the housing market ""is under enormous pressure and where it is almost impossible for people who live and work in those places and pay their taxes each day to find affordable housing"". Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands. Last year, the government introduced a housing law which aimed to cap rental increases in areas where they have been spiralling. Mr Sánchez's left-wing allies in his coalition government had been calling for an end to the visa system. However, critics say that its elimination will not improve matters. ""The problem with housing in Spain, both in terms of sales and rental, is not caused by the Golden Visa, but rather by the increasing lack of supply [of housing] and the accelerating growth in demand,"" said Francisco Iñareta, of the Idealista property portal. However, pressure has also come from outside Spain, with the European Commission calling on EU members to clamp down on such schemes, in great part because of security concerns, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the UK government ended a scheme allowing wealthy foreign nationals to settle in the country if they brought assets with them.  The following year, Ireland scrapped its Golden Visa, while Portugal revised its own version of it, no longer allowing residency in exchange for property purchases. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['The Spanish government has begun the process of eliminating the so-called ""golden visa"" scheme.', 'Under the scheme, foreign investors are provided with fast-tracked residency.', 'At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more.', 'The visa scheme was created in 2013 by the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy.', ""It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard."", 'A total of 6,200 visas were issued until 2023 for investment in property, according to the organisation Transparency International, although other sources put the number higher.', ""Nearly half of beneficiaries of Spain's Golden Visa - a total of 2,712 - were Chinese, according to Transparency International."", 'Russians were the next most numerous recipients, with 1,159, followed by Iranians (203), and citizens of the US (179) and the UK (177).', 'The ""golden visa"" scheme also provided residency in exchange for investing €2m (£1.7m) or more in state bonds, or for investing in emerging Spanish companies.', 'However, only 6% of visas were awarded for reasons other than the purchase of property, the government said.', 'Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his government\'s intention to scrap the scheme was intended ""to guarantee that housing is a right and not merely the subject of business speculation"".', 'He said that the majority of visas awarded were linked to the purchase of properties in places such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante and the Balearic Islands - all areas where the housing market ""is under enormous pressure and where it is almost impossible for people who live and work in those places and pay their taxes each day to find affordable housing"".', 'Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands.', 'Last year, the government introduced a housing law which aimed to cap rental increases in areas where they have been spiralling.', ""Mr Sánchez's left-wing allies in his coalition government had been calling for an end to the visa system."", 'However, critics say that its elimination will not improve matters. ""', 'The problem with housing in Spain, both in terms of sales and rental, is not caused by the Golden Visa, but rather by the increasing lack of supply [of housing] and the accelerating growth in demand,"" said Francisco Iñareta, of the Idealista property portal.', ""However, pressure has also come from outside Spain, with the European Commission calling on EU members to clamp down on such schemes, in great part because of security concerns, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine."", 'In 2022, the UK government ended a scheme allowing wealthy foreign nationals to settle in the country if they brought assets with them.', 'The following year, Ireland scrapped its Golden Visa, while Portugal revised its own version of it, no longer allowing residency in exchange for property purchases.']",0.0564440552613411,"At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers agreed to end the awarding of the visa, which can be obtained in exchange for buying property worth €500,000 (£428,000) or more.","It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard.",-0.6073799530665079,"It was seen as a way of attracting badly needed foreign investment in the wake of the eurozone crisis, which hit Spain's property sector particularly hard.","Some areas of the country have been particularly affected by rising rents, such as Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands.",2024-04-09
-South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI in effort to retain edge in chips,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/tech/southkorea-ai-investment-chips-competitiveness-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:41 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday his country will invest 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) in artificial intelligence by 2027 as part of efforts to retain a leading global position in cutting-edge semiconductor chips.
-    
-            The announcement, which also includes a separate 1.4 trillion won fund to foster AI semiconductor firms, comes as South Korea tries to keep abreast with countries like the United States, China and Japan that are also giving massive policy support to strengthen semiconductor supply chains on their own turf.
-    
-            Semiconductors are a key foundation of South Korea’s export-driven economy. In March, chip exports reached their highest in 21 months at $11.7 billion, or nearly a fifth of total exports shipped by Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
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-            “Current competition in semiconductors is an industrial war and an all-out war between nations,” Yoon told a meeting of policymakers and chip industry executives on Tuesday.
-    
-            By earmarking investments and a fund, South Korea plans to significantly expand research and development in AI chips such as artificial neural processing units (NPUs) and next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, the government said in a statement.
-    
-            South Korean authorities will also promote the development of next-generation artificial general intelligence (AGI) and safety technologies that go beyond existing models.
-    
-            Yoon has set a target for South Korea to become one of the top three countries in AI technology including chips, and take a 10% or more share of the global system semiconductor market by 2030.
-    
-            “Just as we have dominated the world with memory chips for the past 30 years, we will write a new semiconductor myth with AI chips in the next 30 years,” Yoon said.
-    
-            Yoon also noted that the impact of the recent earthquake in Taiwan, a global leader in semiconductors, on South Korean companies was limited as of now, but ordered thorough preparation in the event of uncertainties.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['SouthKorean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday his country will invest 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) in artificial intelligence by 2027 as part of efforts to retain a leading global position in cutting-edge semiconductor chips.', 'The announcement, which also includes aseparate1.4 trillion won fund to fosterAIsemiconductor firms, comes as SouthKoreatries to keep abreast with countries like the United States, China and Japan that are also giving massive policy support to strengthen semiconductor supply chains on their own turf.', 'Semiconductors are a key foundation of SouthKorea’s export-driven economy.', 'In March, chip exports reached their highest in 21 months at $11.7 billion, or nearly a fifth of total exports shipped by Asia’s fourth-largest economy.', '“Current competition in semiconductors is an industrial war and an all-out war between nations,” Yoon told a meeting of policymakers and chip industry executives on Tuesday.', 'By earmarking investments and a fund, SouthKoreaplans to significantly expand research and development inAIchips such as artificial neural processing units (NPUs) and next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, the government said in a statement.', 'SouthKorean authorities will also promote the development of next-generation artificial general intelligence (AGI) and safety technologies that go beyond existing models.', 'Yoon has set a target for SouthKoreato become one of the top three countries inAItechnology including chips, and take a 10% or more share of the global system semiconductor market by 2030.', '“Just as we have dominated the world with memory chips for the past 30 years, we willwritea new semiconductor myth withAIchips in the next 30 years,” Yoon said.', 'Yoon also noted that the impact of the recentearthquake in Taiwan, a global leader in semiconductors, on SouthKorean companies was limited as of now, but ordered thorough preparation in the event of uncertainties.']",0.2046642140436747,"The announcement, which also includes aseparate1.4 trillion won fund to fosterAIsemiconductor firms, comes as SouthKoreatries to keep abreast with countries like the United States, China and Japan that are also giving massive policy support to strengthen semiconductor supply chains on their own turf.","“Current competition in semiconductors is an industrial war and an all-out war between nations,” Yoon told a meeting of policymakers and chip industry executives on Tuesday.",0.94002927839756,"In March, chip exports reached their highest in 21 months at $11.7 billion, or nearly a fifth of total exports shipped by Asia’s fourth-largest economy.",,2024-04-09
-"Jamie Dimon says AI may be as impactful on humanity as printing press, electricity and computers",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/jamie-dimon-says-ai-may-be-as-impactful-on-humanity-as-printing-press-electricity-and-computers.html,2024-04-08T14:46:42+0000,"In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.""Dimon's letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics. The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out. The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries. Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.  JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said. The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles.""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.""Here are excerpts from Dimon's letter:""Many key economic indicators today continue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation. But when looking ahead to tomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight. These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates. I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others. Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies. Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business…. Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences. Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.""""Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history. America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies. In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today. I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity. People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do. And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good. We recorded an accounting gain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.', 'In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.', '""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.', 'The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.', '""Dimon\'s letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics.', ""The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out."", ""The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries."", 'Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.', 'JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said.', 'The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.', ""The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles."", '""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""', 'It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.', '""Here are excerpts from Dimon\'s letter:""Many key economic indicatorstodaycontinue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation.', 'But when looking ahead totomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.', '""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight.', 'These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates.', 'I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.', '""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others.', 'Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.', 'Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.', '""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business….', 'Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences.', 'Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.', '""""Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history.', ""America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies."", 'In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.', '""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users\' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today.', 'I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.', '""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity.', 'People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do.', 'And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good.', 'We recorded an accountinggain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.', '""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.']",0.1597391741300232,"I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.","The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out.",-0.0500199510937645,Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.,"Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.",2024-04-09
-The rise of magnets – from surgery to outer space,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68629800,2024-04-04T23:09:15.000Z,"The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place. Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder. But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body.  In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant. This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this. But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets. Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology. They've been used for centuries, after all. And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before. This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines. They are, therefore, crucial for electrification. However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations. And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share. Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities. The future, they say, depends on it. ""My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""Nobody else, I don't think, gets involved in so many things."" His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers. Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa. Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved. For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum. But now N52 grade versions are commercially available.  ""You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow. In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin. This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example. Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall. The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency.  One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie. Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""It's a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you're outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton. That hasn't stopped some from trying. US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths. Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets. This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields. Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets. The first of these will be used in speakers.  Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla. Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride. Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch. In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example. A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year. Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling. When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result. The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production. It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton. And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.  But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling.  ""There's a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton. Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime. More technology of business Niron's targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains. Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley. And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth. Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before. Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""It's almost limitless,"" he says. ""This is just the beginning."" ",BBC,04/04/2024,"['The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place.', ""Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder."", ""But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body."", 'In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""', 'We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.', ""It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant."", 'This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""', 'It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this.', 'But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets.', 'Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology.', ""They've been used for centuries, after all."", 'And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.', 'This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines.', 'They are, therefore, crucial for electrification.', 'However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations.', 'And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share.', 'Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities.', 'The future, they say, depends on it. ""', 'My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""', 'Nobody else, I don\'t think, gets involved in so many things.""', 'His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers.', 'Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa.', 'Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.', 'For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum.', 'But now N52 grade versions are commercially available. ""', 'You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow.', 'In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin.', 'This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example.', 'Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall.', ""The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency."", 'One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie.', 'Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""', 'It\'s a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you\'re outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton.', ""That hasn't stopped some from trying."", 'US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths.', 'Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets.', 'This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields.', ""Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets."", 'The first of these will be used in speakers.', ""Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla."", 'Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride.', 'Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch.', 'In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example.', 'A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year.', 'Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling.', 'When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result.', 'The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production.', 'It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton.', 'And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.', 'But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling. ""', 'There\'s a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton.', 'Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime.', 'More technology of business Niron\'s targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""', 'It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains.', 'Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley.', 'And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth.', 'Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before.', 'Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""', 'It\'s almost limitless,"" he says. ""', 'This is just the beginning.""']",0.1639147133339751,"And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.","And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.",0.988849639892578,"Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.",,2024-04-09
-"'Mandalorian & Grogu,' 'Toy Story 5,' and another 'Tron' coming to theaters from Disney",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/disney-slate-mandalorian-grogu-toy-story-5-and-another-tron.html,2024-04-08T22:10:28+0000,"The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company's theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers' box-office habits shifted. All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship. He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content. He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made.Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative team prioritizing messaging over storytelling.Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences.Notably, the company's ""Moana"" live-action remake has been pushed to July 2026. It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date. And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu."" It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that the ""Moana"" film slated to open in July 2026 is a live-action remake.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company\'s theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers\' box-office habits shifted.', 'All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.', 'Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship.', ""He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content."", 'He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made.', ""Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative teamprioritizing messaging over storytelling."", ""Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences."", 'Notably, the company\'s ""Moana"" live-action remake has been pushed to July 2026.', 'It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.', 'And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""', 'It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that the ""Moana"" film slated to open in July 2026 is a live-action remake.']",-0.0528422595632968,"It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.","And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""",-0.997926930586497,,"All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.",2024-04-09
-Iowa-South Carolina NCAA women's final draws record 18.7 million viewers,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/iowa-south-carolina-ncaa-womens-final-draws-18point7-million-viewers.html,2024-04-08T22:11:53+0000,"The NCAA Women's Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.The game peaked at 24 million viewers, ESPN said, and was the most-watched NCAA women's college basketball game since 1992. Viewership jumped 89% from last year's women's championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men's or women's and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday's Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. ""These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it's incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going.""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport's greatest of all time, fueling interest in women's basketball and attracting new viewers. Clark, 22, has dominated the court and set several records, luring in more fans with the ""Caitlin Clark Effect.""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women's sports in recent months.Women's sports broke records in 2023, with estimates from Deloitte predicting that revenue generated by women's elite sports could surpass $1 billion this year — that is a 300% increase from just three years ago.Between groundbreaking media deals for women's sports and private investors and celebrities alike looking to get in, valuations for women's sports have been driven to record levels.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"[""The NCAA Women's Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.The game peaked at 24 million viewers, ESPN said, and was the most-watched NCAA women's college basketball game since 1992."", 'Viewership jumped 89% from last year\'s women\'s championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men\'s or women\'s and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday\'s Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women\'s Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. ""', ""These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it's incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going."", '""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport\'s greatest of all time, fueling interest in women\'s basketball and attracting new viewers.', 'Clark, 22, has dominated the court and set several records, luring in more fans with the ""Caitlin Clark Effect.', '""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women\'s sports in recent months.', ""Women's sports broke records in 2023, with estimates from Deloitte predicting that revenue generated by women's elite sports could surpass $1 billion this year — that is a 300% increase from just three years ago."", ""Between groundbreaking media deals for women's sports and private investors and celebrities alike looking to get in, valuations for women's sports have been driven to record levels.""]",0.18015693465326,"""The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport's greatest of all time, fueling interest in women's basketball and attracting new viewers.","""The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women's sports in recent months.",0.9979097843170166,"Viewership jumped 89% from last year's women's championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men's or women's and college or professional, since 2019.""With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday's Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament,"" said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. """,,2024-04-09
-"Ford to delay all-electric SUV, truck to focus on offering hybrid vehicles across its lineup by 2030",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/ford-to-delay-all-electric-suv-to-focus-on-hybrid-vehicles.html,2024-04-04T23:16:42+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada to 2027 from its initial plan of 2025. The next-generation pickup, codenamed ""T3,"" is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026.The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been slower than many expected and production costs remain high.Ford last year said it would delay or cancel $12 billion in planned spending on new EVs due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles.The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales during the first quarter of this year behind Tesla, but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third overall. Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.""As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,"" Ford CEO Jim Farley said Thursday in a statement.The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales behind Tesla but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third in EV sales during the first quarter or this year. Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis brands, outsold Ford in EVs.The three-row SUV was part of a roughly $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, into a new electric vehicle hub. It was supposed to be Ford's first time completely retooling a North American facility producing gas-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs.""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.Ford said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants such as its ""BlueOval City"" campus in Tennessee rather than transitioning current facilities producing engine-powered vehicles to all-electric models.""Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services,"" Farley said.The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford's next-generation all-electric truck in 2026 rather than 2025.Ford said it is continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier. Hybrid sales for the automaker rose 42% year over year, while sales of Ford's traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines were up 2.6%.Ford's ""Model e"" electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion during the fourth quarter. In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada to 2027 from its initial plan of 2025.', 'The next-generation pickup, codenamed ""T3,"" is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026.The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been slower than many expected and production costs remain high.', 'Ford last year said it would delay or cancel $12 billion in planned spending on new EVs due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles.', 'The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales during the first quarter of this year behind Tesla, but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third overall.', 'Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.', '""As the No.', '2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,"" Ford CEO Jim Farley said Thursday in a statement.', 'The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales behind Tesla but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third in EV sales during the first quarter or this year.', 'Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis brands, outsold Ford in EVs.', ""The three-row SUV was part of a roughly $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, into a new electric vehicle hub."", ""It was supposed to be Ford's first time completely retooling a North American facility producing gas-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs."", '""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.', 'Ford said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants such as its ""BlueOval City"" campus in Tennessee rather than transitioning current facilities producing engine-powered vehicles to all-electric models.', '""Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services,"" Farley said.', ""The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford's next-generation all-electric truck in 2026 rather than 2025.Ford said it is continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky."", ""In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier."", 'Hybrid sales for the automaker rose 42% year over year, while sales of Ford\'s traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines were up 2.6%.Ford\'s ""Model e"" electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion during the fourth quarter.', 'In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.']",-0.0210375845709988,"""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.","Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.",0.1774899423122406,"In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier.","In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.",2024-04-09
-Boeing plane engine cover falls off prompting investigation,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68758088,2024-04-07T20:18:40.000Z,"Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap. The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston. The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing. The incident comes amid manufacturing and safety concerns at Boeing. Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams would review the Boeing 737-800 after its cowling, which covers the plane's engine, fell off. The airline confirmed it was responsible for maintenance of such parts. ""We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees,"" a statement said. The plane was manufactured in 2015 according to regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, and the 737-800 is an earlier generation of the 737 from the latest Max model.  The aircraft in the latest incident was powered by CFM56 engines while the 737 Max models use the CFM-Leap engine. Both are made by a joint venture between General Electric Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines The FAA said the Boeing aircraft was towed to the gate after landing. Boeing declined to comment when approached by BBC News, referring questions to Southwest for information about the airline's plane and fleet operations. Southwest said it would fly passengers on another plane to Houston about three hours behind schedule. Boeing has been under scrutiny following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January, in which passengers on the flight from Portland, Oregon, to California narrowly escaped serious injury. On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency. Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from the Alaska aircraft shortly after take-off. Boeing has been trying to repair its reputation for years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving a different version of the 737 Max plane killed 346 people. Its popular 737 Max planes were subsequently grounded globally for more than 18 months. ",BBC,07/04/2024,"['Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap.', 'The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston.', 'The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing.', 'The incident comes amid manufacturing and safety concerns at Boeing.', ""Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams would review the Boeing 737-800 after its cowling, which covers the plane's engine, fell off."", 'The airline confirmed it was responsible for maintenance of such parts. ""', 'We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees,"" a statement said.', 'The plane was manufactured in 2015 according to regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, and the 737-800 is an earlier generation of the 737 from the latest Max model.', 'The aircraft in the latest incident was powered by CFM56 engines while the 737 Max models use the CFM-Leap engine.', 'Both are made by a joint venture between General Electric Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines The FAA said the Boeing aircraft was towed to the gate after landing.', ""Boeing declined to comment when approached by BBC News, referring questions to Southwest for information about the airline's plane and fleet operations."", 'Southwest said it would fly passengers on another plane to Houston about three hours behind schedule.', 'Boeing has been under scrutiny following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January, in which passengers on the flight from Portland, Oregon, to California narrowly escaped serious injury.', 'On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency.', 'Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from the Alaska aircraft shortly after take-off.', 'Boeing has been trying to repair its reputation for years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving a different version of the 737 Max plane killed 346 people.', 'Its popular 737 Max planes were subsequently grounded globally for more than 18 months.']",-0.0048852442798994,The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston.,"On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency.",-0.4576358869671821,"The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing.",Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap.,2024-04-09
-Tesla: Elon Musk's EV maker to settle over fatal Autopilot crash,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c14kggkr4vro,2024-04-09T05:18:02.807Z,"Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier. The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week. If the trial had gone ahead, it would have brought increased scrutiny of the firm's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and reports have said the deal still needs to be approved by a judge. Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment. Before the settlement, Tesla argued that Mr Huang had misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident. The firm has previously won trials in California by arguing that drivers involved had not followed its instructions to maintain attention while using the system. The electric vehicle (EV) maker faces a series of lawsuits over crashes related to the alleged use of its driver-assistant technology. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also been investigating some accidents involving Autopilot. For many years, Tesla has promised to produce an autonomous car but has yet to launch one. On Friday, Mr Musk said the company plans to unveil a self-driving robotaxi in August. The settlement with Mr Huang's family comes at a time when the company is battling weakening sales.  Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition. Tesla has cut prices repeatedly in response to increased competition from rivals such as BYD but demand in key markets like China has fallen. Tesla's shares have lost almost a third of their value since the start of this year. ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.', ""The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week."", ""If the trial had gone ahead, it would have brought increased scrutiny of the firm's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology."", 'The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and reports have said the deal still needs to be approved by a judge.', 'Tesla did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.', 'Before the settlement, Tesla argued that Mr Huang had misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident.', 'The firm has previously won trials in California by arguing that drivers involved had not followed its instructions to maintain attention while using the system.', 'The electric vehicle (EV) maker faces a series of lawsuits over crashes related to the alleged use of its driver-assistant technology.', 'The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also been investigating some accidents involving Autopilot.', 'For many years, Tesla has promised to produce an autonomous car but has yet to launch one.', 'On Friday, Mr Musk said the company plans to unveil a self-driving robotaxi in August.', ""The settlement with Mr Huang's family comes at a time when the company is battling weakening sales."", 'Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition.', 'Tesla has cut prices repeatedly in response to increased competition from rivals such as BYD but demand in key markets like China has fallen.', ""Tesla's shares have lost almost a third of their value since the start of this year.""]",-0.0477430980774904,"The case, brought by Mr Huang's family, was scheduled to begin in the California Superior Court this week.","Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.",-0.4115793364388602,"Electric car giant Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier.","Deliveries slid sharply in the first three months of this year as Tesla grappled with a fire at its European factory, global shipping disruption and growing competition.",2024-04-09
-Diabetes drug similar to Ozempic helped slow progression of Parkinson's disease in small trial,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/drug-similar-to-ozempic-slowed-parkinsons-disease-in-small-trial.html,2024-04-04T21:23:06+0000,"In this articleA highly popular class of drugs for diabetes and obesity is showing early potential to help patients with Parkinson's disease, too. An older diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients at an early stage of the condition, according to results from a small mid-stage trial published Wednesday. The drug, made by Sanofi, is a GLP-1 like Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes injection Ozempic and weight loss counterpart Wegovy. Motor disability refers to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, which can make it difficult for patients to walk, talk and swallow. Researchers from France said larger and longer studies are needed to fully determine the efficacy and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with the degenerative brain illness, including how long the benefits may last.Still, the results, published late Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine mark an encouraging step forward in the decades-long effort to tackle Parkinson's disease. As many as half a million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, which is characterized by nerve cell damage in the brain. The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar. But more research is needed to determine whether newer iterations of GLP-1s from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly may also help Parkinson's patients. Both drugmakers are studying their respective weight loss and diabetes treatments in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither are examining their drugs in managing Parkinson's disease. Sanofi pulled lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023. The French drugmaker has said the discontinuation of the treatment was a business decision that was unrelated to its safety and efficacy. Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the characteristics of the medication, but otherwise was not involved in the new phase two trial. It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson's and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study."" The company added that it is open to ""a discussion with the investigators of the study on providing support for their next phase of research.""The trial followed 156 people with early Parkinson's disease for a year. All participants took their usual Parkinson's medication in the study. But one group was given an additional daily injection of Sanofi's drug, while the other was given a placebo.Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems. The difference between the two groups was modest but remained two months after the trial stopped and patients went completely off therapy. But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s. Nearly half of patients who took the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"[""In this articleA highly popular class of drugs for diabetes and obesity is showing early potential to help patients with Parkinson's disease, too."", 'An older diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients at an early stage of the condition, according to results from a small mid-stage trial published Wednesday.', ""The drug, made by Sanofi, is a GLP-1 like Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes injection Ozempic and weight loss counterpart Wegovy."", 'Motor disability refers to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, which can make it difficult for patients to walk, talk and swallow.', ""Researchers from France said larger and longer studies are needed to fully determine the efficacy and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with the degenerative brain illness, including how long the benefits may last."", ""Still, the results, published late Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine mark an encouraging step forward in the decades-long effort to tackle Parkinson's disease."", 'As many as half a million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, which is characterized by nerve cell damage in the brain.', 'The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar.', ""But more research is needed to determine whether newer iterations of GLP-1s from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly may also help Parkinson's patients."", ""Both drugmakers are studying their respective weight loss and diabetes treatments in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither are examining their drugs in managing Parkinson's disease."", 'Sanofi pulled lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023.', 'The French drugmaker has said the discontinuation of the treatment was a business decision that was unrelated to its safety and efficacy.', 'Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the characteristics of the medication, but otherwise was not involved in the new phase two trial.', 'It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson\'s and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study.""', 'The company added that it is open to ""a discussion with the investigators of the study on providing support for their next phase of research.', '""The trial followed 156 people with early Parkinson\'s disease for a year.', ""All participants took their usual Parkinson's medication in the study."", ""But one group was given an additional daily injection of Sanofi's drug, while the other was given a placebo."", 'Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems.', 'The difference between the two groups was modest but remained two months after the trial stopped and patients went completely off therapy.', ""But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s."", 'Nearly half of patients who took the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.']",0.1402148024003808,"It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson's and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study.""","Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems.",0.3304091029696994,"The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar.","But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s.",2024-04-09
-Boom times for US green energy as federal cash flows in,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68667140,2024-04-08T23:03:36.000Z,"In February US company LanzaJet, which produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from ethanol, announced that it intended to build a second, larger plant on US soil. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a ""big influence"", says Jimmy Samartzis, its chief executive. The second plant would add to its facility in Soperton, Georgia - the world's first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. ""We have a global landscape that we are pursuing…[but] we have doubled down on building here in the United States because of the tax credits in the IRA, and because of the overall support system that the US government has put in place.""  Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, the IRA, along with the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in November 2021, are intended, amongst other things, to funnel billions of federal dollars into developing clean energy.  The aim is to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and incentivise private investment, to encourage the growth of green industries and jobs: a new foundation for the US economy. With a 10-year lifespan, and a cost originally estimated at $391bn (£310bn) but now predicted to reach over $1tn - the final figure is unknown - the IRA offers new and juicer tax credits, as well as loans and loan guarantees for the deployment of emissions reducing technology. The tax credits are available to companies for either domestically producing clean energy, or domestically manufacturing the equipment needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. Consumers can also receive tax credits, for example for buying an EV or installing a heat pump. The tax credit for SAF producers like LanzaJet is new in the IRA and, offers between $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF (though it only lasts five years). Complementary is the BIL, which runs for five years and provides direct investment largely in the form of government grants for research and development and capital projects. Under the BIL, about $77bn (£61bn) will go to clean energy technology projects, according to the Brookings Institution which monitors the law.  One company to benefit so far is EV battery recycling company Ascend Elements. It has won BIL grants totalling $480m (£380m), which it is matching a similar amount in private investment to build its second commercial facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  ""[The IRA and BIL] are massive investments… larger than the infrastructure related provisions in the New Deal,"" says Adie Tromer from the Brookings. ""There is a clear sense that America has become more serious about transitioning to a cleaner economy."" While rules for some tax credits are still being finalized, tens of billions in actual public spending is flowing into the economy, says Trevor Houser at the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider. Rhodium, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM) to track US clean technology investments. According to recently updated CIM data, in the 2023 fiscal year, the federal government invested approximately $34bn (£27bn) into clean energy, the vast majority through tax credits. The extent to which the policy instruments are so far spurring not just announcements - of which there are plenty - but real extra private investment is harder to know: clean energy investment has been on a general upward trend anyway and the IRA hasn't been around long. But experts believe it is rising. Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.  Clean energy investment in the US, as a share of total private investment, rose from 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The IRA has had two main positive effects thus far, says Mr Houser.  It has ""supercharged"" private investment in more mature technologies which were already growing very rapidly like solar, EVs and batteries.  It has also, combined with the BIL, led to a ""dramatic growth"" in investment in emerging climate technologies like clean hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and removal and SAF. While the total magnitude of those investments are still relatively small compared to the more mature technologies, ""the IRA fundamentally changed the economics"" says Mr Houser. But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA. On the industry's mind is the fate of the laws, particularly the longer-to-run IRA, should there be a change of government in the US November elections.  Repealing or amending the IRA (or BIL) would require Republican control of the Presidency, Senate and House - though wholesale repeal would likely face meaningful opposition from within. The rub is many of the projects that the IRA is incentivising are being or will be built in Republican states or counties.  Yet a Republican president alone could potentially frustrate things for example by slowing or deferring loans or grants, or amending the rules which serve the laws. ""A Trump presidency would definitely chill the atmosphere and possibly more,"" says Ashur Nissan of Kaya Partners, a climate policy advice firm. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and purveyor of hard-right ideas for the next conservative President, advocates repeal for both the IRA and BIL. For the organization's Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former Trump administration official, it is fiscally irresponsible for the US, with its vast deficit and debt, to be spending like this. It is also time, she says, that renewable energy such as solar and wind, into which subsidies have been poured for years, stood on their own feet.  Yet others argue the US can't afford not to do take this path. And the point of the loans program is to take risks to help unlock new solutions that scale. ""It would be failing if there weren't any so called 'failures' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm. More technology of business Meanwhile, the US's approach is putting competitive pressure on Europe to do more. Some European clean energy manufacturing companies are now building facilities in the US to take advantage of the tax credits that otherwise would have been built in Europe including solar panel maker Meyer Burger and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and John Cockerill.  ""The US wasn't a market for some of these companies in the past because Europe was more active,"" says Brandon Hurlbut, of Boundary Stone Partners, a clean energy advisory firm. The EU's Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is expected to enter into force this year. It doesn't involve new money, but seeks to coordinate existing financing and introduces domestic favourability for the first time - putting in place a non-binding target for the bloc to locally manufacture 40% of its clean energy equipment needs by 2030. In the UK, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has made clear he isn't interested, nor can the UK afford to copy the IRA's approach in some ""distortive global subsidy race"" and will stick to other ways of helping. The Labour party recently scrapped its $28bn green investment plan seen as a stab at leaning into an IRA style policy. A global audience will be watching as the US's clean energy juggernaut unfolds. And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['In February US company LanzaJet, which produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from ethanol, announced that it intended to build a second, larger plant on US soil.', 'The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a ""big influence"", says Jimmy Samartzis, its chief executive.', 'The second plant would add to its facility in Soperton, Georgia - the world\'s first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. ""', 'We have a global landscape that we are pursuing…[but] we have doubled down on building here in the United States because of the tax credits in the IRA, and because of the overall support system that the US government has put in place.""', 'Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, the IRA, along with the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in November 2021, are intended, amongst other things, to funnel billions of federal dollars into developing clean energy.', 'The aim is to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and incentivise private investment, to encourage the growth of green industries and jobs: a new foundation for the US economy.', 'With a 10-year lifespan, and a cost originally estimated at $391bn (£310bn) but now predicted to reach over $1tn - the final figure is unknown - the IRA offers new and juicer tax credits, as well as loans and loan guarantees for the deployment of emissions reducing technology.', 'The tax credits are available to companies for either domestically producing clean energy, or domestically manufacturing the equipment needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries.', 'Consumers can also receive tax credits, for example for buying an EV or installing a heat pump.', 'The tax credit for SAF producers like LanzaJet is new in the IRA and, offers between $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF (though it only lasts five years).', 'Complementary is the BIL, which runs for five years and provides direct investment largely in the form of government grants for research and development and capital projects.', 'Under the BIL, about $77bn (£61bn) will go to clean energy technology projects, according to the Brookings Institution which monitors the law.', 'One company to benefit so far is EV battery recycling company Ascend Elements.', 'It has won BIL grants totalling $480m (£380m), which it is matching a similar amount in private investment to build its second commercial facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. ""[', 'The IRA and BIL] are massive investments… larger than the infrastructure related provisions in the New Deal,"" says Adie Tromer from the Brookings. ""', 'There is a clear sense that America has become more serious about transitioning to a cleaner economy.""', 'While rules for some tax credits are still being finalized, tens of billions in actual public spending is flowing into the economy, says Trevor Houser at the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider.', 'Rhodium, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM) to track US clean technology investments.', 'According to recently updated CIM data, in the 2023 fiscal year, the federal government invested approximately $34bn (£27bn) into clean energy, the vast majority through tax credits.', ""The extent to which the policy instruments are so far spurring not just announcements - of which there are plenty - but real extra private investment is harder to know: clean energy investment has been on a general upward trend anyway and the IRA hasn't been around long."", 'But experts believe it is rising.', 'Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.', 'Clean energy investment in the US, as a share of total private investment, rose from 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023.', 'The IRA has had two main positive effects thus far, says Mr Houser.', 'It has ""supercharged"" private investment in more mature technologies which were already growing very rapidly like solar, EVs and batteries.', 'It has also, combined with the BIL, led to a ""dramatic growth"" in investment in emerging climate technologies like clean hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and removal and SAF.', 'While the total magnitude of those investments are still relatively small compared to the more mature technologies, ""the IRA fundamentally changed the economics"" says Mr Houser.', ""But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA."", ""On the industry's mind is the fate of the laws, particularly the longer-to-run IRA, should there be a change of government in the US November elections."", 'Repealing or amending the IRA (or BIL) would require Republican control of the Presidency, Senate and House - though wholesale repeal would likely face meaningful opposition from within.', 'The rub is many of the projects that the IRA is incentivising are being or will be built in Republican states or counties.', 'Yet a Republican president alone could potentially frustrate things for example by slowing or deferring loans or grants, or amending the rules which serve the laws. ""', 'A Trump presidency would definitely chill the atmosphere and possibly more,"" says Ashur Nissan of Kaya Partners, a climate policy advice firm.', 'The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and purveyor of hard-right ideas for the next conservative President, advocates repeal for both the IRA and BIL.', ""For the organization's Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former Trump administration official, it is fiscally irresponsible for the US, with its vast deficit and debt, to be spending like this."", 'It is also time, she says, that renewable energy such as solar and wind, into which subsidies have been poured for years, stood on their own feet.', ""Yet others argue the US can't afford not to do take this path."", 'And the point of the loans program is to take risks to help unlock new solutions that scale. ""', 'It would be failing if there weren\'t any so called \'failures\' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm.', ""More technology of business Meanwhile, the US's approach is putting competitive pressure on Europe to do more."", 'Some European clean energy manufacturing companies are now building facilities in the US to take advantage of the tax credits that otherwise would have been built in Europe including solar panel maker Meyer Burger and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and John Cockerill. ""', 'The US wasn\'t a market for some of these companies in the past because Europe was more active,"" says Brandon Hurlbut, of Boundary Stone Partners, a clean energy advisory firm.', ""The EU's Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is expected to enter into force this year."", ""It doesn't involve new money, but seeks to coordinate existing financing and introduces domestic favourability for the first time - putting in place a non-binding target for the bloc to locally manufacture 40% of its clean energy equipment needs by 2030."", 'In the UK, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has made clear he isn\'t interested, nor can the UK afford to copy the IRA\'s approach in some ""distortive global subsidy race"" and will stick to other ways of helping.', 'The Labour party recently scrapped its $28bn green investment plan seen as a stab at leaning into an IRA style policy.', ""A global audience will be watching as the US's clean energy juggernaut unfolds."", ""And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut.""]",0.3325934479260706,"And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr Hurlbut.","It would be failing if there weren't any so called 'failures' within it,"" says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm.",0.3432436046146211,"Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.","But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA.",2024-04-09
-Alan Bates says Post Office was run by 'thugs in suits',https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68769090,2024-04-09T11:48:54.000Z,"Former sub-postmaster and campaigner Alan Bates has said the Post Office was being run by ""little more than thugs in suits"" in 2010. In a strongly worded witness statement to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, he accused the Post Office of lying about the accounting system. He also said the organisation had spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him. The Post Office apologised for hurt caused by the scandal. It also said it regretted not disclosing documents to the inquiry ""as early as all parties would have liked"". Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to the faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.  Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes. Many were left financially ruined. Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice. Mr Bates has been campaigning on behalf of sub-postmasters for decades and was recently catapulted into the national spotlight by an ITV drama about the scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. On Tuesday, the public inquiry resumed and Mr Bates was the first person to provide evidence ahead of more key witnesses appearing over the next 15 weeks. In response to a letter from former postal affairs minister Sir Ed Davey in 2010, Mr Bates wrote back: ""It's not that you can't get involved or cannot investigate the matter, after all you do own 100% of the shares and normally shareholders are concerned about the morality of the business they own. ""It is because you have adopted an arm's length relationship that you have allowed a once great institution to be asset stripped by little more than thugs in suits, and you have enabled them to carry on with impunity regardless of the human misery and suffering they inflict."" Responding to Mr Bates's statement, the Liberal Democrats said: ""As Alan Bates told the inquiry, the bulk of the blame lies with officials. ""Ed was the first minister to meet with Mr Bates and hear his concerns.  ""He put those concerns to the Post Office, but their officials lied to him as they did to so many people.""  Mr Bates told reporters after the hearing had ended on Tuesday that it had been an ""an interesting day"", adding he wanted the original group of sub-postmasters to ""get their money"". He joked that once the whole process was over, he planned to ""buy a little post office and put his feet up"". In Mr Bates's witness statement, the former sub-postmaster said he had ""spent the last 23 years campaigning to expose the truth, and justice"". He also told the inquiry that before he was sacked he had repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon, including in a letter he had sent in December 2000, two months after the system had been installed in his post office branch in Craig-y-Don in Llandudno. When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986. However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data. He refused to accept that shortfalls in his accounts were his responsibility to make good, maintaining that it was the software that was faulty. When his employment was terminated in November 2003, he was ""annoyed"" with that ""to put it mildly"". But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon. The inquiry was shown slides from an undated presentation prepared by Dave Smith, a former Post Office manager, which said Mr Bates ""had discrepancies"" but was ""dismissed because he became unmanageable"". ""Clearly struggled with accounting, and despite copious support, did not follow instructions,"" the presentation said. When asked by lead counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC if it was ever explained to him that he became ""unmanageable"", he smiled and said: ""No, not at all."" He also denied having ever struggled with accounting, or being given ""copious"" support. Over more than two years he and his staff made 507 calls to the Post Office helpline, 85 of which related to Horizon. He said the helpline was not much help. ""Stating the bleeding obvious is one description I might use. It was all things that I'd tried."" In a surprise appearance on Wednesday, Post Office chief executive Nick Read was present in the inquiry room. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Read admitted financial redress for sub-postmasters had been ""slow"".  While he did not want to go into the specifics of Mr Bates's case and why his claim had not yet been settled, he said he wanted to ""demonstrate [his] support"" for sub-postmasters and for Mr Bates. A Post Office spokesperson said: ""Post Office is deeply sorry for the hurt and suffering that has been caused to victims and their loved ones, and we are committed to ensuring that they receive the justice and redress that they so deserve."" Following criticism of its document disclosure by Mr Beer, the Post Office said it had disclosed the ""vast majority"" of documents needed for the next round of hearings in a timely way. But it said it regretted that ""a very small proportion of documents were not disclosed as early as all parties would have liked"". ",BBC,09/04/2024,"['Former sub-postmaster and campaigner Alan Bates has said the Post Office was being run by ""little more than thugs in suits"" in 2010.', 'In a strongly worded witness statement to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, he accused the Post Office of lying about the accounting system.', 'He also said the organisation had spent 23 years trying to ""discredit and silence"" him.', 'The Post Office apologised for hurt caused by the scandal.', 'It also said it regretted not disclosing documents to the inquiry ""as early as all parties would have liked"".', 'Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office due to the faulty Horizon software, which showed errors that did not exist.', 'Some lost their jobs, businesses and homes.', 'Many were left financially ruined.', 'Others were convicted and sent to prison and some died while waiting for justice.', 'Mr Bates has been campaigning on behalf of sub-postmasters for decades and was recently catapulted into the national spotlight by an ITV drama about the scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.', 'On Tuesday, the public inquiry resumed and Mr Bates was the first person to provide evidence ahead of more key witnesses appearing over the next 15 weeks.', 'In response to a letter from former postal affairs minister Sir Ed Davey in 2010, Mr Bates wrote back: ""It\'s not that you can\'t get involved or cannot investigate the matter, after all you do own 100% of the shares and normally shareholders are concerned about the morality of the business they own. ""', 'It is because you have adopted an arm\'s length relationship that you have allowed a once great institution to be asset stripped by little more than thugs in suits, and you have enabled them to carry on with impunity regardless of the human misery and suffering they inflict.""', 'Responding to Mr Bates\'s statement, the Liberal Democrats said: ""As Alan Bates told the inquiry, the bulk of the blame lies with officials. ""', 'Ed was the first minister to meet with Mr Bates and hear his concerns. ""', 'He put those concerns to the Post Office, but their officials lied to him as they did to so many people.""', 'Mr Bates told reporters after the hearing had ended on Tuesday that it had been an ""an interesting day"", adding he wanted the original group of sub-postmasters to ""get their money"".', 'He joked that once the whole process was over, he planned to ""buy a little post office and put his feet up"".', 'In Mr Bates\'s witness statement, the former sub-postmaster said he had ""spent the last 23 years campaigning to expose the truth, and justice"".', 'He also told the inquiry that before he was sacked he had repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon, including in a letter he had sent in December 2000, two months after the system had been installed in his post office branch in Craig-y-Don in Llandudno.', 'When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986.', 'However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.', 'He refused to accept that shortfalls in his accounts were his responsibility to make good, maintaining that it was the software that was faulty.', 'When his employment was terminated in November 2003, he was ""annoyed"" with that ""to put it mildly"".', 'But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon.', 'The inquiry was shown slides from an undated presentation prepared by Dave Smith, a former Post Office manager, which said Mr Bates ""had discrepancies"" but was ""dismissed because he became unmanageable"". ""', 'Clearly struggled with accounting, and despite copious support, did not follow instructions,"" the presentation said.', 'When asked by lead counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC if it was ever explained to him that he became ""unmanageable"", he smiled and said: ""No, not at all.""', 'He also denied having ever struggled with accounting, or being given ""copious"" support.', 'Over more than two years he and his staff made 507 calls to the Post Office helpline, 85 of which related to Horizon.', 'He said the helpline was not much help. ""', 'Stating the bleeding obvious is one description I might use.', 'It was all things that I\'d tried.""', 'In a surprise appearance on Wednesday, Post Office chief executive Nick Read was present in the inquiry room.', 'Speaking to the BBC, Mr Read admitted financial redress for sub-postmasters had been ""slow"".', 'While he did not want to go into the specifics of Mr Bates\'s case and why his claim had not yet been settled, he said he wanted to ""demonstrate [his] support"" for sub-postmasters and for Mr Bates.', 'A Post Office spokesperson said: ""Post Office is deeply sorry for the hurt and suffering that has been caused to victims and their loved ones, and we are committed to ensuring that they receive the justice and redress that they so deserve.""', 'Following criticism of its document disclosure by Mr Beer, the Post Office said it had disclosed the ""vast majority"" of documents needed for the next round of hearings in a timely way.', 'But it said it regretted that ""a very small proportion of documents were not disclosed as early as all parties would have liked"".']",-0.0494374138414349,"But he added that his sacking was ""partly expected, in a way, because it was pretty obvious [the Post Office] were after me one way or another"" after he repeatedly raised concerns about Horizon.","However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.",-0.3753935032420688,"When Horizon was first installed he had been ""quite positive"" about it, having had experience with retailing and accounting software since 1986.","However, he soon found ""frustrating"" problems with it, including a lack of transparency over transaction data.",2024-04-09
-"Spire Global bets on AI to help improve weather forecasts, with boost from Nvidia",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/spire-global-nvidia-see-potential-in-using-ai-to-help-predict-weather.html,2024-04-05T15:19:51+0000,"In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia.""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC's Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast. ""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service. It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting. In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.Follow and listen to CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia's generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire's satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"['In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.', ""That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia."", '""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC\'s Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC\'s ""Manifest Space"" podcast.', '""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""', 'For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.', '""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service.', 'It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.', 'The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.', 'He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting.', 'In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.', 'Follow and listen to CNBC\'s""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.', 'So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""', 'It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.', 'Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.', ""As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March."", 'Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia\'s generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire\'s satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.', 'Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.', 'Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.', '""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""', ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability."", '""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.']",0.3070225516946503,"For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.","Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.",0.96539615922504,"Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.",,2024-04-09
-GM's Cruise to relaunch vehicles with human drivers in Phoenix,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/gms-cruise-to-relaunch-vehicles-with-human-drivers-in-phoenix.html,2024-04-09T17:38:49+0000,"In this articleGeneral Motors' Cruise self-driving vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roadways Tuesday for the first time since October, beginning with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, the company said.The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.The redeployed vehicles will not operate as they previously did — as robotaxis — but will ""create maps and gather road information in select cities, starting in Phoenix,"" the company said.Cruise said its ""goal is to resume driverless operations,"" however it did not provide a timeline for doing so. It also did not announce a timetable for expanding human-driven vehicles to other cities.""We have not yet made a commitment to where or when we will start supervised or driverless operations,"" a spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.Still, the company called the relaunched fleet with human drivers ""a critical step for validating our self-driving systems as we work towards returning to our driverless mission.""""In October 2023, we paused operations of our fleet to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and to redesign our approach to safety,"" Cruise said in a blog post. ""We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate. We are committed to this improvement as a continuous effort.""A third-party probe into the October incident and subsequent fallout, which was ordered by GM and Cruise, found culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership were at the center of regulatory oversights that led to the accident. The probe also investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise leadership, but did not find any evidence to support those claims.Cruise said in January that it ""accepts"" the conclusions found in the report. The San Francisco-based company, of which GM owns about 80%, said it will ""act on all"" recommendations and is ""fully cooperating"" with investigations by state and federal agencies following the Oct. 2 accident.The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.Prior to the accident, Cruise was planning an aggressive expansion of robotaxis outside its home market where the majority of its vehicles operated.In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted. The venture also laid off 24% of its workforce as well as a round of contractors.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""In this articleGeneral Motors' Cruise self-driving vehicle unit will redeploy cars on U.S. roadways Tuesday for the first time since October, beginning with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, the company said."", 'The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.', 'The redeployed vehicles will not operate as they previously did — as robotaxis — but will ""create maps and gather road information in select cities, starting in Phoenix,"" the company said.', 'Cruise said its ""goal is to resume driverless operations,"" however it did not provide a timeline for doing so.', 'It also did not announce a timetable for expanding human-driven vehicles to other cities.', '""We have not yet made a commitment to where or when we will start supervised or driverless operations,"" a spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.Still, the company called the relaunched fleet with human drivers ""a critical step for validating our self-driving systems as we work towards returning to our driverless mission.', '""""In October 2023, we paused operations of our fleet to focus on rebuilding trust with regulators and the communities we serve, and to redesign our approach to safety,"" Cruise said in a blog post. ""', ""We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate."", 'We are committed to this improvement as a continuous effort.', '""A third-party probe into the October incident and subsequent fallout, which was ordered by GM and Cruise, found culture issues, ineptitude and poor leadership were at the center of regulatory oversightsthat led to the accident.', 'The probe also investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise leadership, but did not find any evidence to support those claims.', 'Cruise said in January that it ""accepts"" the conclusions found in the report.', 'The San Francisco-based company,of which GM owns about 80%, said it will ""act on all"" recommendations and is ""fully cooperating"" with investigations by state and federal agencies following the Oct. 2 accident.', 'The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.', 'Prior to the accident, Cruise was planning an aggressive expansion of robotaxis outside its home market where the majority of its vehicles operated.', 'In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted.', 'The venture alsolaid off 24% of its workforce as well as a round of contractors.']",0.1384270886543398,"The company said in January that investigations or inquiries into the incident included those by the California DMV, the California Public Utilities Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.",The relaunch comes after the company ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi after being struck by a separate vehicle.,0.1824014902114868,"We've made significant progress, guided by new company leadership, recommendations from third-party experts, and a focus on a close partnership with the communities in which our vehicles operate.","In addition to the ceasing of operations, Cruise leadership has been gutted: Its co-founders, including CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, resigned and nine other leaders were ousted.",2024-04-09
-Top soccer clubs are using an AI-powered app to scout future stars,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/tech/aiscout-app-soccer-scouting-spc-intl/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:14 AM EST, Fri March 1, 2024
-    ","A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.
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-            Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills. It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.
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-            Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.
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-            The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.
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-            “We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.
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-            “To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”
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-            It already appears to be working for some. Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019. After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club. He signed a contract with EPL team Bournemouth in 2021.
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-            Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.
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-            Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.
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-            Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform. Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.
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-            The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, including AI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes. The global market for sports analytics, valued at $2.7 billion in 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.
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-            Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry? For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.
-    
-            “It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.
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-            “We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity? What happens when he’s 2-0 down? What happens when someone’s shouting at him? What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”
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-            “We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”
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-            While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years. Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.
-    
-            “You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.",CNN,01/03/2024,"['A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.', 'Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills.', 'It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.', 'Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.', 'The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.', 'The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.', '“We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.', '“To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”', 'It already appears to be working for some.', 'Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019.', 'After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club.', 'He signed a contractwith EPL team Bournemouthin 2021.', 'Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.', 'Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.', 'Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform.', 'Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.', 'The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, includingAI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes.', 'The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.', 'Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?', 'For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.', '“It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.', '“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?', 'What happens when he’s 2-0 down?', 'What happens when someone’s shouting at him?', 'What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”', '“We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”', 'While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years.', 'Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.', '“You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.']",0.2022322827681825,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.","“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?",0.6922526359558105,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.",Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?,2024-04-09
-Could AI take the grind out of accountancy?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68553123,2024-03-26T00:24:13.000Z,"Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre. He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year.  What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers. Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt. That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can't yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says. So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that's where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK. Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs. According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams. Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks. This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""Generally, the nature of a junior accountant's role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says. As a result, training programmes are changing. ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices. I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""We're already starting to see that, so we've invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master's degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together."" The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years. In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi. And it's not alone in making errors. Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly. Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings. As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis."" AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client. KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""We get to a point where it's a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell. More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too. Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult. Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper. However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they'd be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""The bits of their role that it's taking away is stuff that they weren't enjoying."" ",BBC,26/03/2024,"['Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre.', ""He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year."", ""What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers."", 'Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""', 'These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt.', 'That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""', 'Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can\'t yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says.', 'So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""', 'When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that\'s where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK.', ""Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs."", 'According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams.', 'Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks.', 'This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""', 'Generally, the nature of a junior accountant\'s role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says.', 'As a result, training programmes are changing. ""', ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices."", 'I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'We\'re already starting to see that, so we\'ve invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master\'s degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together.""', 'The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years.', 'In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi.', ""And it's not alone in making errors."", 'Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly.', ""Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings."", 'As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""', 'As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""', 'The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis.""', 'AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.', 'KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""', 'We get to a point where it\'s a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell.', 'More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too.', 'Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult.', 'Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.', 'However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they\'d be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""', 'They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'The bits of their role that it\'s taking away is stuff that they weren\'t enjoying.""']",0.1626808889918358,"AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",0.3071964780489604,"Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",2024-04-09
-Biden to give Taiwan’s TSMC $6.6 billion to ramp up US chip production,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/tsmc-arizona-chip-factory-investment/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:39 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.
-    
-            The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.
-    
-            “America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”
-    
-            In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chip-maker, which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.
-    
-            TSMC (TSM) Chairman Mark Liu called the investment “unprecedented” in a statement, noting that its US customers include several of the world’s leading technology companies. The three fabs — the first of which is due to start production in the first half of 2025 — will give these customers access to a domestic supply of chips that power scores of products, from smartphones to satellites, as well as artificial intelligence systems.
-    
-            The company’s total $65 billion investment represents the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, the White House said. The three fabs are expected to create around 6,000 high-wage tech jobs, and more than 20,000 indirect jobs — for instance, in construction, it added.
-    
-            The US government has emphasized the need to bring more chip production onshore to limit potential supply disruptions. In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.
-    
-            Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry. A powerful earthquake in Taiwan last week also highlighted the industry’s exposure to such natural disasters.
-    
-            In a call with reporters ahead of Monday’s announcement, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Biden was “tired of being at the end of the supply chain” and that the new government funds went “a long way to further strengthening our domestic supply chain resilience.”
-    
-            “For the first time ever, we will be making, at scale, the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here in the United States of America,” she added.
-    
-            Juliana Liu in Hong Kong contributed reporting.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.', 'The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.', '“America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(', 'That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”', 'In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chip-maker,which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.', 'TSMC (TSM) Chairman Mark Liu called the investment “unprecedented” in a statement, noting that its US customers include several of the world’s leading technology companies.', 'The three fabs —the first of which is due to start production in the first half of 2025 — will give these customers access to a domestic supply of chips that power scores of products, from smartphones to satellites, as well as artificial intelligence systems.', 'The company’s total $65 billion investment represents the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, the White House said.', 'The three fabs are expected to create around 6,000 high-wage tech jobs, and more than 20,000 indirect jobs — for instance, in construction, it added.', 'The US government has emphasized the need to bring more chip production onshore to limit potential supply disruptions.', 'In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.', 'Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry.', 'A powerful earthquake in Taiwan last week also highlighted the industry’s exposure to such natural disasters.', 'In a call with reporters ahead of Monday’s announcement, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Biden was “tired of being at the end of the supply chain” and that the new government funds went “a long way to further strengthening our domestic supply chain resilience.”', '“For the first time ever, we will be making, at scale, the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here in the United States of America,” she added.', 'Juliana Liu in Hong Kong contributed reporting.']",0.193937460212567,The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.,Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry.,0.0920843150880601,"The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.","In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.",2024-04-09
-"Disney's Iger says Peltz proxy battle was a 'distraction,' board is focused on picking his successor",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/bob-iger-discusses-proxy-fight-with-nelson-peltz-after-board-vote.html,2024-04-04T15:46:01+0000,"In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans.Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board's No. 1 priority."" He said Disney's succession committee, which was established when he returned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024. Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process. Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events. Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself.""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""It was not reacting really to the activist.""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date. They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games and would launch a flagship ESPN streaming service.For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats. Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance.""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. "" I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do. I'll watch and wait. If they do it, they won't hear from me again.""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday's investor meeting. Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said. In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022. He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing. Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years.Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we're trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn't expect significant cannibalization between the two products.Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have. He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleNelson Peltz\'s proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC\'s ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.', '""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.', ""While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans."", 'Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board\'s No.', '1 priority.""', ""He said Disney'ssuccession committee, which was established whenhereturned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024."", ""Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process."", ""Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events."", 'Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.', '""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we\'re prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.', 'In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.', '""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.', ""Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself."", '""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""', 'It was not reacting really to the activist.', '""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.', ""They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it hadobtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Gamesand would launcha flagship ESPN streaming service."", ""For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats."", 'Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.', ""Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance."", '""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. ""', 'I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do.', ""I'll watch and wait."", ""If they do it, they won't hear from me again."", '""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday\'s investor meeting.', 'Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said.', 'Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.', 'A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.', 'Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said.', 'In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.', 'Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022.', 'He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing.', ""Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years."", 'Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we\'re trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn\'t expect significant cannibalization between the two products.', 'Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have.', 'He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.']",0.1477550938283659,"""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.","In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.",0.2601167985371181,"""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.","Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.",2024-04-09
-Ibiza locals living in cars as party island sees rents soar,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68730891,2024-04-06T00:39:13.000Z,"César Nebrera pours out a cup of coffee he has brewed on a stove in the boot of his car. The old green Kia saloon sits in the shade of a carob tree just off the main road near Ibiza Town. ""I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""Those are the kinds of things that you miss out on when you live in a car."" César's Kia has been his home for the past three years. He works as a chef, but with rental costs on the Spanish island of Ibiza having spiralled, he cannot afford to live in a flat. ""In Ibiza, accommodation is very expensive, and it's getting more and more expensive,"" he says. ""And the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn. So living like this is an alternative. It's less comfortable, but it allows me to keep living on the island."" Ibiza is one of the four main Mediterranean islands that make up Spain's Balearic Islands. The others are Majorca, Menorca, and Formentera. Many local professionals in Ibiza are living in similarly precarious conditions because of high rental costs. Last year, the IGC, a representative body of the civil guard police force, said that ""three or four"" of its officers were living in vehicles on the island. Other locals have resorted to living in tents, or in extremely basic shared accommodation. Daniel Granda, spokesman for the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Ibiza y Formentera, an organisation that represents local tenants, says such situations are becoming commonplace. ""A lot of people end up in quite miserable conditions, and we're starting to see slums across the island,"" he says. ""Without the possibility of finding accommodation that allows us to live normally, those of us who live on the island have the feeling that we are being pushed off it."" High interest rates and a recent cost-of-living crisis have deterred many Spaniards from buying property, creating an increase in demand for rented accommodation, which has pushed rental costs up. Rental prices across the Balearic Islands have increased by an average of 18% over the past year alone, compared with a 12% average increase nationwide. However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone. Isabel María Pérez, who has searched for affordable accommodation on the island, says that a single room costs between €700 and €1,000 ($760 and $1,086; £600 and £857) per month, while a modest flat can cost around €1,500. Isabel, who works as a cashier in a supermarket, and her partner, who has a job in a five-star hotel, had to move out of their rented apartment when it was sold. Since then, they have been living with Isabel's mother-in-law. Originally from the central Spanish region of Castilla La Mancha, Isabel says that she and her family are now considering moving back to the mainland, purely because of the housing situation. ""The problem in other parts of Spain is that there isn't much work,"" she says. ""Here there's all the work you could want, but there isn't anywhere to live."" Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville. With a population of just 160,000, Ibiza received close to four million tourists last year, a new record, and 84% of its economic activity is linked to tourism, according to the local government. While its hotels, restaurants and clubs provide plenty of employment, a large portion of its housing is only available at short-term tourist rates, and local workers are priced out of the market. The conservative regional government of the Balearic Islands, which came into power last year, has chosen not to implement a housing law approved by the Spanish government in Madrid which seeks to cap rentals in areas of the country where they have soared. Instead, the local authorities mainly attribute the housing problem to homeowners in residential areas of Ibiza who are flouting the law by offering their properties for short-term rental, when local laws state they must rent for at least six months at a time. The local government says that since 2019 it has imposed around €4m euros in fines related to illegal activity in the tourism sector. ""The problem is that you earn much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law,"" says Juan Miguel Costa, head of tourism in Ibiza.  He says that regional and municipal authorities need to work together ""to attack that idea of impunity that there has been on the island, that it's very easy to offer an apartment [for tourism] illegally in a residential building, or offer a property as a holiday home without a holiday licence."" Mr Costa also attributes the rental increase to many homes remaining unused throughout the year, because of owners' concerns about possible squatting, further reducing the supply of housing for local workers. An irony of Ibiza's housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. ""Anyone who lives here keeps saying the same thing: something has to give because the prices keep going up,"" says George McBlain, operations director at O Beach, a discotheque and restaurant that employs workers from the island, mainland Spain and abroad. ""Obviously, salaries go up a little bit, but not enough,"" he adds. ""I've got friends here and their rents have jumped up by double in the space of a year. And if that continues, what you're going to see - and it's already happening - is that workers coming to the island are going to pick elsewhere."" ",BBC,06/04/2024,"['César Nebrera pours out a cup of coffee he has brewed on a stove in the boot of his car.', 'The old green Kia saloon sits in the shade of a carob tree just off the main road near Ibiza Town. ""', 'I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""', 'Those are the kinds of things that you miss out on when you live in a car.""', ""César's Kia has been his home for the past three years."", 'He works as a chef, but with rental costs on the Spanish island of Ibiza having spiralled, he cannot afford to live in a flat. ""', 'In Ibiza, accommodation is very expensive, and it\'s getting more and more expensive,"" he says. ""', 'And the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn.', 'So living like this is an alternative.', 'It\'s less comfortable, but it allows me to keep living on the island.""', ""Ibiza is one of the four main Mediterranean islands that make up Spain's Balearic Islands."", 'The others are Majorca, Menorca, and Formentera.', 'Many local professionals in Ibiza are living in similarly precarious conditions because of high rental costs.', 'Last year, the IGC, a representative body of the civil guard police force, said that ""three or four"" of its officers were living in vehicles on the island.', 'Other locals have resorted to living in tents, or in extremely basic shared accommodation.', 'Daniel Granda, spokesman for the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Ibiza y Formentera, an organisation that represents local tenants, says such situations are becoming commonplace. ""', 'A lot of people end up in quite miserable conditions, and we\'re starting to see slums across the island,"" he says. ""', 'Without the possibility of finding accommodation that allows us to live normally, those of us who live on the island have the feeling that we are being pushed off it.""', 'High interest rates and a recent cost-of-living crisis have deterred many Spaniards from buying property, creating an increase in demand for rented accommodation, which has pushed rental costs up.', 'Rental prices across the Balearic Islands have increased by an average of 18% over the past year alone, compared with a 12% average increase nationwide.', ""However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone."", 'Isabel María Pérez, who has searched for affordable accommodation on the island, says that a single room costs between €700 and €1,000 ($760 and $1,086; £600 and £857) per month, while a modest flat can cost around €1,500.', 'Isabel, who works as a cashier in a supermarket, and her partner, who has a job in a five-star hotel, had to move out of their rented apartment when it was sold.', ""Since then, they have been living with Isabel's mother-in-law."", 'Originally from the central Spanish region of Castilla La Mancha, Isabel says that she and her family are now considering moving back to the mainland, purely because of the housing situation. ""', 'The problem in other parts of Spain is that there isn\'t much work,"" she says. ""', 'Here there\'s all the work you could want, but there isn\'t anywhere to live.""', ""Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville."", 'With a population of just 160,000, Ibiza received close to four million tourists last year, a new record, and 84% of its economic activity is linked to tourism, according to the local government.', 'While its hotels, restaurants and clubs provide plenty of employment, a large portion of its housing is only available at short-term tourist rates, and local workers are priced out of the market.', 'The conservative regional government of the Balearic Islands, which came into power last year, has chosen not to implement a housing law approved by the Spanish government in Madrid which seeks to cap rentals in areas of the country where they have soared.', 'Instead, the local authorities mainly attribute the housing problem to homeowners in residential areas of Ibiza who are flouting the law by offering their properties for short-term rental, when local laws state they must rent for at least six months at a time.', 'The local government says that since 2019 it has imposed around €4m euros in fines related to illegal activity in the tourism sector. ""', 'The problem is that you earn much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law,"" says Juan Miguel Costa, head of tourism in Ibiza.', 'He says that regional and municipal authorities need to work together ""to attack that idea of impunity that there has been on the island, that it\'s very easy to offer an apartment [for tourism] illegally in a residential building, or offer a property as a holiday home without a holiday licence.""', ""Mr Costa also attributes the rental increase to many homes remaining unused throughout the year, because of owners' concerns about possible squatting, further reducing the supply of housing for local workers."", 'An irony of Ibiza\'s housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. ""', 'Anyone who lives here keeps saying the same thing: something has to give because the prices keep going up,"" says George McBlain, operations director at O Beach, a discotheque and restaurant that employs workers from the island, mainland Spain and abroad. ""', 'Obviously, salaries go up a little bit, but not enough,"" he adds. ""', ""I've got friends here and their rents have jumped up by double in the space of a year."", 'And if that continues, what you\'re going to see - and it\'s already happening - is that workers coming to the island are going to pick elsewhere.""']",-0.040339077563443,"I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""","An irony of Ibiza's housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. """,-0.0547195606761508,"However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone.","Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville.",2024-04-09
-Why there's a revolution on the way in glass making,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68429393,2024-04-01T23:03:38.000Z,"I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.  Despite being empty, it's heavy.  I ask how much the bottle costs. ""About £270,"" I'm told. I hand the bottle back - very carefully.  The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. Glassware has been made on this site since 1871. In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry.  It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.  Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia. When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace. To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage. While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers. The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste. It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.  It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval. Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets. There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium.  ""Light doesn't mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically."" While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive.  Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2. The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years.  It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size. What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature. Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years. So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity. If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050. Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive. But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch. Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense. But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss. However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles. Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE's director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet. An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in. Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply. But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles. In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP). Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day. When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting. And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP. AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen. Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.   The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated. They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process. The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge. One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass. In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment.  ""Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out.  ""The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle. We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says. More technology of business ",BBC,01/04/2024,"[""I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck."", ""Despite being empty, it's heavy."", 'I ask how much the bottle costs. ""', 'About £270,"" I\'m told.', 'I hand the bottle back - very carefully.', 'The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire.', 'Glassware has been made on this site since 1871.', ""In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry."", 'It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.', 'Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.', 'When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace.', 'To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""', 'What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage.', 'While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers.', 'The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste.', 'It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.', 'It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval.', 'Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets.', 'There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium. ""', 'Light doesn\'t mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""', 'Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically.""', ""While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive."", 'Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2.', ""The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years."", 'It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size.', ""What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature."", 'Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years.', 'So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.', 'If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050.', 'Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive.', 'But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch.', 'Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""', ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense."", 'But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss.', 'However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles.', 'Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""', 'For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE\'s director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet.', 'An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in.', 'Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply.', 'But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles.', ""In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP)."", 'Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day.', 'When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.', 'Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""', 'There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting.', 'And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP.', 'AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen.', 'Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.', 'The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated.', 'They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process.', 'The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge.', 'One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass.', 'In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment. ""', 'Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out. ""', 'The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle.', 'We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says.', 'More technology of business']",0.1202638344950185,I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.,So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.,0.451889619231224,"Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.","Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. """,2024-04-09
-Behind the scenes of CNN’s coverage of the total solar eclipse across America,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/media/cnn-coverage-total-solar-eclipse-across-america/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:07 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Millions of viewers on Monday tuned into special news broadcasts to watch the once-in-a-generation total solar eclipse as it cast a shadow across North America. National news networks deployed anchors and crews along the path of totality from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Indianapolis to Vermont, capturing the awe-inspiring and quasi-religious experience millions felt with live cameras.
-    
-            But while the pros behind the scenes might have made the coverage look easy, putting on a seamless broadcast was not without challenges.
-    
-            We spoke with the leaders of CNN’s celestial coverage, who offered insights into how the network deployed teams and resources to track the eclipse as it swept across the US. Below is a Q&A, lightly edited for length and clarity.
-    
-            How many people were involved in covering this celestial event? 
-    
-            Lyndsey Read, senior producer for content strategy: Experts from across the company representing all of our platforms jumped in to create and optimize our content for audiences everywhere including producers, shooters, writers, reporters, editors, anchors, programmers, art designers, podcast producers, photographers, researchers and many more. It was a true collaboration.
-    
-            What was the biggest challenge in organizing coverage around the eclipse?             
-    
-            Vivian Kuo, senior director of coverage for national newsgathering: We wanted to make sure we were touching on narratives within the path of totality that would offer unique perspectives. From the majesty of Niagara Falls, to a mass wedding in Arkansas with more than 300 couples, to hanging with giraffes – we wanted each location to give viewers special perspectives in case they couldn’t be there in person.
-    
-            Did you have to make any last minute adjustments due to the changing forecasts? How down to the wire were those changes made?
-    
-            Kuo: We did have a robust plan to be in Texas up until near the end of last week, but with the cloud cover forecast being a little too ominous for comfort, we audibled to the biggest watch party in the Midwest, in Indianapolis. The field teams did a heroic job of being nimble and scrambling despite the last-minute changes.              
-    
-            How does this compare to planning coverage around a severe weather event or a political event like a debate?
-    
-            Kuo: Very similar – except since this is really such a feel-good story we had a lot of staff reaching out from all over the network asking to play! It was nice to do something that was fun and such a collective cultural moment.  
-    
-            Read: Compared to other big news events on our calendar, it’s so refreshing to build a plan around a positive news story — especially one that impacts so many people across North America. From kids and adults of all ages, to scientists, zookeepers, eclipse-chasers — it’s been fascinating and delighting to get swept up in the excitement around this.   
-    
-            What lessons did you learn from the 2017 eclipse that helped this time around?
-    
-            Read: 2017 seems like such a long time ago. When we reviewed the 2017 coverage and insights, we were reminded that the audience has an incredible appetite for such a visceral and visual story.  And CNN is one of the few outlets that really has the resources to own this.  Next up – 2044 eclipse!
-    
-            In what ways did CNN aim to educate its audience about the science and significance of a total eclipse?
-    
-            Read: CNN published one of the first eclipse stories nearly a year ago so this is about so much more than one day of coverage. There has been a steady drumbeat – led by our Science and Video teams – of informative, entertaining and educational features, interactive products, newsletters and much more. Our daily news show for students, CNN10, dedicated an entire episode to the eclipse.
-    
-            During live coverage, what was one element that took you off guard or surprised you?
-    
-            Kuo: It’s fair to say Brianna Keilar and Boris Sanchez in their sun and moon getup was simultaneously surprising and amazing. I also loved Ed Lavandera feeding the giraffe and the ostrich egg laying moment. And of course, you can’t forget Kristin Fisher’s incredible interaction with her astronaut parents and unbelievably precocious daughter.
-    
-            Read: I was bouncing between several different video offerings and the live story, and I was surprised to get caught up in the suspense of it all! Thankfully I also had a pair of eclipse glasses so I could join in the fun.
-    
-            In your opinion, which CNN personality looked best rocking the solar shades?
-    
-            Kuo: That’s so hard. Rosa Flores owned the whimsical ones, Brianna’s pink ones were probably the most stylish – but I might give it to Derek Van Dam, whose aviator-goggle style looked all too comfortable on him.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Millions of viewers on Monday tuned into special news broadcasts to watch the once-in-a-generation total solar eclipse as it cast a shadow across North America.', 'National news networks deployed anchors and crews along the path of totality from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Indianapolis to Vermont, capturing the awe-inspiring and quasi-religious experience millions felt with live cameras.', 'But while the pros behind the scenes might have made the coverage look easy, putting on a seamless broadcast was not without challenges.', 'We spoke with the leaders ofCNN’scelestial coverage, who offered insights into how the network deployed teams and resources to track the eclipse as it swept across the US.', 'Below is a Q&A, lightly edited for length and clarity.', 'How many people were involved in covering this celestial event?', 'Lyndsey Read, senior producer for content strategy: Experts from across the company representing all of our platforms jumped in to create and optimize our content for audiences everywhere including producers, shooters, writers, reporters, editors, anchors, programmers, art designers, podcast producers, photographers, researchers and many more.', 'It was a true collaboration.', 'What was the biggest challenge in organizing coverage around the eclipse?', 'Vivian Kuo, senior director of coverage for national newsgathering: We wanted to make sure we were touching on narratives within the path of totality that would offer unique perspectives.', 'From the majesty of Niagara Falls, to a mass wedding in Arkansas with more than 300 couples, to hanging with giraffes – we wanted each location to give viewers special perspectives in case they couldn’t be there in person.', 'Did you have to make any last minute adjustments due to the changing forecasts?', 'How down to the wire were those changes made?', 'Kuo:We did have a robust plan to be in Texas up until near the end of last week, but with the cloud cover forecast being a little too ominous for comfort, we audibled to the biggest watch party in the Midwest, in Indianapolis.', 'The field teams did a heroic job of being nimble and scrambling despite the last-minute changes.', 'How does this compare to planning coverage around a severe weather event or a political event like a debate?', 'Kuo:Very similar – except since this is really such a feel-good story we had a lot of staff reaching out from all over the network asking to play!', 'It was nice to do something that was fun and such a collective cultural moment.', 'Read:Compared to other big news events on our calendar, it’s so refreshing to build a plan around a positive news story — especially one that impacts so many people across North America.', 'From kids and adults of all ages, to scientists, zookeepers, eclipse-chasers — it’s been fascinating and delighting to get swept up in the excitement around this.', 'What lessons did you learn from the 2017 eclipse that helped this time around?', 'Read:2017 seems like such a long time ago.', 'When we reviewed the 2017 coverage and insights, we were reminded that the audience has an incredible appetite for such a visceral and visual story.', 'And CNN is one of the few outlets that really has the resources to own this.', 'Next up – 2044 eclipse!', 'In what ways did CNN aim to educate its audience about the science and significance of a total eclipse?', 'Read:CNN published one of the first eclipse stories nearly a year ago so this is about so much more than one day of coverage.', 'There has been a steady drumbeat – led by our Science and Video teams – of informative, entertaining and educational features, interactive products, newsletters and much more.', 'Our daily news show for students,CNN10, dedicated an entire episode to the eclipse.', 'During live coverage, what was one element that took you off guard or surprised you?', 'Kuo:It’s fair to sayBrianna KeilarandBoris Sanchezin their sun and moon getup was simultaneously surprising and amazing.', 'I also lovedEd Lavanderafeeding the giraffe and the ostrich egg laying moment.', 'And of course, you can’t forgetKristin Fisher’sincredible interaction with her astronaut parents and unbelievably precocious daughter.', 'Read:I was bouncing between several different video offerings and the live story, and I was surprised to get caught up in the suspense of it all!', 'Thankfully I also had a pair of eclipse glasses so I could join in the fun.', 'In your opinion, which CNN personality looked best rocking the solar shades?', 'Kuo:That’s so hard.', 'Rosa Floresowned the whimsical ones, Brianna’s pink ones were probably the most stylish – but I might give it toDerek Van Dam, whose aviator-goggle style looked all too comfortable on him.']",0.330945011986316,"From kids and adults of all ages, to scientists, zookeepers, eclipse-chasers — it’s been fascinating and delighting to get swept up in the excitement around this.",Kuo:That’s so hard.,0.8830802142620087,"Read:Compared to other big news events on our calendar, it’s so refreshing to build a plan around a positive news story — especially one that impacts so many people across North America.",,2024-04-09
-Trump’s net worth has tumbled by $2 billion since Truth Social stock peaked last month,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/investing/trump-stock-net-worth-truth-social/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        9:49 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth.
-    
-            The Truth Social owner dropped by another 8% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out a third of the stock’s value.
-    
-            The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion. That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.
-    
-            Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021. Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.
-    
-            When Trump Media finally went public late last month, experts immediately warned that Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.
-    
-            Last week, Trump Media disclosed losing $58 million last year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million. By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than 100 times as much revenue – $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.
-    
-            After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion. That’s almost twice the valuation that Reddit achieved after its IPO in March – even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.
-    
-            Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth.', 'The Truth Social owner dropped by another 8% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out a third of the stock’s value.', 'The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion.', 'That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.', 'Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021.', 'Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.', 'When Trump Media finally went public late last month,experts immediately warnedthat Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.', 'Last week,Trump Media disclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.', 'By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than100 times as much revenue– $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.', 'After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion.', 'That’s almost twice the valuation thatReddit achieved after its IPOin March – even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.', 'Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.']",0.1038121725520578,"Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.","Last week,Trump Media disclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.",-0.3934831023216247,"Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.","That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.",2024-04-09
-Boeing's quarterly airplane deliveries drop to 83 amid safety crisis,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/boeing-airplane-deliveries-drop-during-q1-amid-safety-crisis.html,2024-04-09T17:21:00+0000,"In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarter to the lowest number since mid-2021 as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period. Solely in March, Boeing delivered 29 planes. Airbus said Tuesday that it delivered 142 planes in the first three months of the year, 63 of them in March.Boeing customers are still ordering new jets from the manufacturer, which along with Airbus dominates the large jetliner market. The company logged orders for 111 for new planes last month when stripping out two cancellations, 85 of them 737 Max aircraft for American Airlines, which the carrier announced in early March.The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe. Federal accident investigators said the door plug was missing bolts that hold it in place. Since the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration has inspected Boeing's 737 Max production and barred the plane maker from increasing output of the jets until it signs off on its quality control procedures.Boeing executives have said the company is slowing down its production to improve quality control and avoid so-called traveled work, when repairs or other tasks occur out of sequence.""We won't rush or go too fast,"" Boeing CFO Brian West said at a Bank of America conference last month. ""In fact, we're deliberately going to slow to get this right. And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready. And we'll feel the impact of that over the next several months.""Aircraft delivery delays sparked criticism from the CEOs of some of Boeing's biggest airline customers, and in its wake, CEO Dave Calhoun last month announced he will step down by year's end. Boeing also replaced its board chair and the head of its commercial airplane unit.Alaska Airlines said last week it received $160 million in compensation from Boeing in the first quarter stemming from a brief grounding of the plane after the accident.Boeing is scheduled to report first-quarter results and update investors on April 24.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"['In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarterto the lowest number since mid-2021as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.', 'The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.', 'Solely in March, Boeing delivered 29 planes.', 'Airbus said Tuesday that it delivered 142 planes in the first three months of the year, 63 of them in March.', 'Boeing customers are still ordering new jets from the manufacturer, which along with Airbus dominates the large jetliner market.', 'The company logged orders for 111 for new planes last month when stripping out two cancellations, 85 of them 737 Max aircraft for American Airlines, which the carrier announced in early March.', 'The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe.', 'Federal accident investigators said the door plug was missing bolts that hold it in place.', ""Since the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration has inspected Boeing's 737 Max production and barred the plane maker from increasing output of the jets until it signs off on its quality control procedures."", 'Boeing executives have said the company is slowing down its production to improve quality control and avoid so-called traveled work, when repairs or other tasks occur out of sequence.', '""We won\'t rush or go too fast,"" Boeing CFO Brian West said at a Bank of America conference last month. ""', ""In fact, we're deliberately going to slow to get this right."", ""And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready."", ""And we'll feel the impact of that over the next several months."", '""Aircraft delivery delays sparked criticism from the CEOs of some of Boeing\'s biggest airline customers, and in its wake, CEO Dave Calhoun last month announced he will step down by year\'s end.', 'Boeing also replaced its board chair and the head of its commercial airplane unit.', 'Alaska Airlines said last week it received $160 million in compensation from Boeing in the first quarter stemming from a brief grounding of the plane after the accident.', 'Boeing is scheduled to report first-quarter results and update investors on April 24.']",-0.1149832774170058,And we are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we're ready.,The latest tally comes after the Jan. 5 accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing inches from a catastrophe.,-0.1954715847969055,"The company handed over 83 planes in the three months ended March 31, most of them 737s, compared with 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.",In this articleBoeing airplane deliveries dropped in the first quarterto the lowest number since mid-2021as the company faces increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.,2024-04-09
-It’s back: Targeted Amex card holders can get up to 30% off at Amazon,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/deals/amazon-amex-discount-promotion,"
-  
-        11:21 AM EST, Wed February 14, 2024
-    ","Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities. While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon. Right now, you may be eligible for an Amazon promotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.
-    
-            Targeted American Express card members can save as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout. However, your offer may be higher or lower.
-    
-            This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings. That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.
-    
-            With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated. But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping at Amazon.
-    
-            To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points. Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work. But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.
-    
-            Next, you’ll need to link your Amazon and American Express accounts. Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already. Then look for the option to enroll in “Shop with Points” under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.
-    
-            Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer by clicking on this link. Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them. When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.
-    
-            But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope. If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.
-    
-            If you’re eligible, activate the offer by clicking on the “Activate now” button — the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount. You can then shop at Amazon as you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts. Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though other third-party retailer gift cards sold by Amazon might be eligible.
-    
-            But wait! There’s one more step. When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method. Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.
-    
-            When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents. That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.
-    
-            However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entire Amazon purchase with points to get these discounts. In fact, you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order. However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points — 714 to be exact — to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.
-    
-            To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change, Amazon may automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.
-    
-            Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order. The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings — which will depend on your particular offer.
-    
-            Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcoming Amazon purchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.
-    
-            With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings. An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.
-    
-            Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99. But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.
-    
-            Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.
-    
-            Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available. You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.
-    
-            Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, so keep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.
-    
-            Also, make sure you read our guide to the best credit cards for Amazon to be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,14/02/2024,"['Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.', 'While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon.', 'Right now, you may be eligible for anAmazonpromotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.', 'Targeted American Express card members cansave as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout.', 'However, your offer may be higher or lower.', 'This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings.', 'That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.', 'With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated.', 'But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping atAmazon.', 'To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points.', 'Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work.', 'But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.', 'Next, you’ll need tolink your Amazon and American Express accounts.', 'Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already.', 'Then look for the option toenroll in “Shop with Points”under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.', 'Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer byclicking on this link.', 'Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them.', 'When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.', 'But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope.', 'If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.', 'If you’re eligible, activate the offer byclicking on the “Activate now” button— the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount.', 'You can thenshop at Amazonas you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts.', 'Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though otherthird-party retailer gift cardssold by Amazon might be eligible.', 'But wait!', 'There’s one more step.', 'When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method.', 'Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.', 'When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents.', 'That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.', 'Frequent flyer websiteThe Points Guyvalues Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.', 'However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entireAmazonpurchase with points to get these discounts.', 'In fact,you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order.', 'However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points —714 to be exact —to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.', 'To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change,Amazonmay automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.', 'Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order.', 'The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings —which will depend on your particular offer.', 'Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcomingAmazonpurchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.', 'With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings.', 'An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.', 'Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99.', 'But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.', 'Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.', 'Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available.', 'You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.', 'Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.', 'Also, make sure you read our guide to thebest credit cards for Amazonto be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.2766683229921542,Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.,That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.,-0.0578339397907257,"Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.",But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.,2024-04-09
-Many CVS drug plans will cover over-the-counter birth control pill at no cost,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/cvs-drug-plans-will-cover-otc-birth-control-pill-opill.html,2024-04-04T21:15:55+0000,"CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription. The company's pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, said the pill will be added to its preventive services oral contraceptives list and will be covered at zero cost for many sponsors. The drug, known as Opill from Perrigo, was available at pharmacies starting April 1, according to a pharmacy update from CVS Caremark dated last week and viewed by CNBC.Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, maintain lists of drugs covered by health insurance plans and negotiate drug discounts with manufacturers. At most stores, Opill has a retail price of $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply. The Food and Drug Administration approved Perrigo's medication in July. It marks the first time that many U.S. residents are able to buy birth control pills over the counter, the same way they would purchase common pills like Tylenol or Advil. The drug could significantly expand availability of contraception, especially for younger women and those in rural and underserved communities who often have trouble getting access to birth control methods. Medical organizations have estimated that 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended.The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription.', ""The company's pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, said the pill will be added to its preventive services oral contraceptives list and will be covered at zero cost for many sponsors."", 'The drug, known as Opill from Perrigo, was available at pharmacies starting April 1, according to a pharmacy update from CVS Caremark dated last week and viewed by CNBC.Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, maintainlistsofdrugs coveredby health insurance plans and negotiatedrugdiscounts with manufacturers.', 'At most stores, Opill has a retail price of $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply.', ""The Food and Drug Administration approved Perrigo's medication in July."", 'It marks the first time that many U.S. residents are able to buy birth control pills over the counter, the same way they would purchase common pills like Tylenol or Advil.', 'The drug could significantly expand availability of contraception, especially for younger women and those in rural and underserved communities who often have trouble getting access to birth control methods.', 'Medical organizations have estimated that 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended.', ""The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states."", ""The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.""]",0.2571738807394814,"The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.","CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription.",0.4999598562717438,"The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states.","The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.",2024-04-09
-Eclipse flights swarm airports: 'We had to close the runway to park planes',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/solar-eclipse-flights-swarm-small-airports.html,2024-04-08T22:58:57+0000,"Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun.The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday. The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC. The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets and larger turboprops. ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen.""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations. It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic.""It's the most we've seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""It's going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman. Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.The FAA had previously warned pilots about possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path.Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality."" United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"[""Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun."", 'The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.', 'Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.', 'The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.', '""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airportin Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC.', 'The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets andlarger turboprops. ""', ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen."", '""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations.', ""It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic."", '""It\'s the most we\'ve seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""', 'It\'s going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.', ""The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman."", 'Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.', ""The FAA had previouslywarned pilotsabout possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path."", 'Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.', 'Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality.""', 'United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.', 'The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.']",0.0381660378961861,"Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",0.1714410015514918,"United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",2024-04-09
-Quantum rush: Denver-Boulder area aims to be the Silicon Valley of the future,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/09/quantum-rush-denver-boulder-aims-to-be-silicon-valley-of-the-future.html,2024-04-09T19:22:19+0000,"This story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today's machines can, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery.That's the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a global leader in this revolution.Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem.""The future looks really bright for us here. … We've built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,"" Hays said in CNBC's primetime special ""Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,"" which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. ""The fact that we've been able to do that in 18 months is pretty remarkable.""In Denver, Maybell Quantum, another key player in the industry, is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.""It's 10 millikelvin,"" said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick. That equates to negative 441.67 degrees Fahrenheit.Why so cold? The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate. The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that can disrupt a quantum chip's delicate subatomic calculations.Just like semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today's complex internet possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology. ""This technology is going to be as important to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the internet or cellular technology. It'll transform everything from medicine to defense to agriculture,"" he said.The CEO said he envisions data centers filled with rows of quantum computers tackling the world's most pressing problems.""There will come a time not too far in the future … you will walk into a data center and there will be thousands of [quantum computers] lined up just like you have servers today, working on workloads from all over the world to solve these critical problems,"" he said.Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the 1980s. It's come a long way since then. According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States. This designation is part of a program to invest in regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.Leading the charge to solidify Colorado's position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of more than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and local governments, federal labs and private companies.""The idea is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren't Silicon Valleys today against the most important technologies of our time,"" said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado's CEO. Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to become one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.""We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we're fortunate to be selected as one of three,"" Yerushalmi explained. ""This is where things really get hot … we're competing for $70 million from the federal government.""Only a handful of hubs will be selected to receive the funding — and Yerushalmi says he's optimistic of their chances, expecting a decision later this year.Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum's potential, is upping the stakes. In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest an additional $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions selected to receive federal funding.""I'm bullish on quantum tech,"" Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. ""I think its time has come.""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica. An earlier version of this story misstated the metric.",CNBC,09/04/2024,"[""This story is part of CNBC's quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees."", ""Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today's machines can, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery."", ""That's the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential."", 'In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a global leader in this revolution.', ""Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem."", '""The future looks really bright for us here. …', 'We\'ve built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,"" Hays said in CNBC\'s primetime special ""Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,"" which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. ""', ""The fact that we've been able to do that in 18 months is pretty remarkable."", '""In Denver, Maybell Quantum, another key player in the industry, is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.', '""It\'s 10 millikelvin,"" said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick.', 'That equates to negative 441.67 degrees Fahrenheit.', 'Why so cold?', 'The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate.', ""The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that can disrupt a quantum chip's delicate subatomic calculations."", ""Just like semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today's complex internet possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology."", '""This technology is going to be as important to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the internet or cellular technology.', 'It\'ll transform everything from medicine to defense to agriculture,"" he said.', ""The CEO said he envisions data centers filled with rows of quantum computers tackling the world's most pressing problems."", '""There will come a time not too far in the future … you will walk into a data center and there will be thousands of [quantum computers] lined up just like you have servers today, working on workloads from all over the world to solve these critical problems,"" he said.', 'Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the 1980s.', ""It's come a long way since then."", 'According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States.', 'This designation is part of a program to invest in regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.', ""Leading the charge to solidify Colorado's position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of more than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and local governments, federal labs and private companies."", '""The idea is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren\'t Silicon Valleys today against the most important technologies of our time,"" said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado\'s CEO.Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to become one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.', '""We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we\'re fortunate to be selected as one of three,"" Yerushalmi explained. ""', ""This is where things really get hot … we're competing for $70 million from the federal government."", '""Only a handful of hubs will be selected to receive the funding — and Yerushalmi says he\'s optimistic of their chances, expecting a decision later this year.', ""Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum's potential, is upping the stakes."", 'In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest an additional $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions selected to receive federal funding.', '""I\'m bullish on quantum tech,"" Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. ""', 'I think its time has come.', '""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.', 'An earlier version of this story misstated the metric.']",0.1755340387361876,"""TUNE IN: The ""Cities of Success"" special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.Correction: Maybell Quantum is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to more than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.","Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region's thriving ecosystem.",0.7762148678302765,"According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 ""Tech Hubs"" in the United States.",That equates to negative 441.67 degrees Fahrenheit.,2024-04-09
-Big Tech’s grip on social media is a growing problem,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/tech/meta-social-media-nightcap/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:00 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","A single trillion-dollar company controls Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp. That concentration of digital ownership can create real-world harm, as a recent censorship dispute with Meta lays bare.
-    
-            Last week, Meta apologized after blocking links by a nonprofit newspaper and an independent journalist who published a report that criticized Facebook and accused it of suppressing posts related to climate change. Meta denied that it was censoring content and blamed an unspecified “security issue.”
-    
-            Every single link — about 6,000 stories — that the Kansas Reflector had ever posted to Facebook disappeared from the platform on Thursday. For seven hours, anyone trying to post a Reflector link was met with a warning that the the site posed a security risk.
-    
-            That’s seven hours during which the Reflector staff had no idea why Meta — a tech behemoth no major publisher can ignore, given its grip on the most world’s most popular social sites — had blown up not only years worth of digital labor but also dinged the credibility of the local paper, whose audience was told, erroneously, that its links contained potential malware.
-    
-            By the end of the day, almost all of the Reflector’s links had come back online, save for one: an opinion piece that criticized Facebook’s policies around paid promotions.
-    
-            To test theory that that the Reflector’s domain had some kind of security issue, a Brooklyn-based journalist, Marisa Kabas, asked for permission to republish the text of that column on her own website.
-    
-            But sure enough, when Kabas posted her own link to the column on Threads, Meta flagged it as malicious content and took it down. Then Meta nuked everything her website had ever published on its platforms, a block that lasted at least two hours, Kabas told CNN.
-    
-            Meta didn’t respond CNN’s request for more information about the security issue. The editor-in-chief of the Kansas Reflector, Sherman Smith, wrote on Friday that Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone “wouldn’t elaborate on how the mistake happened and said there would be no further explanation.”
-    
-            “What was the security error? We don’t know,” Kabas wrote in her recounting of the situation. “What caused the links to be blocked? We don’t know.” And while all of the links have been restored “our trust has been undermined at a time when people need little reason to distrust the news.”
-    
-            The debacle helps illustrate one of the more pernicious issues of our Extremely Online Era that’s often glossed over in a morass of boring regulatory jargon: the concentration of power in social media.
-    
-            One of the ironies of the situation is that the first public statement from Meta came Thursday evening on X, site formerly known as Twitter. Naturally, Kabas and the Reflector staff had to move their complaints to one of the few public platforms not operated by Meta, which left mostly X and its smaller rival Bluesky.
-    
-            “Anyone involved this past week now understands that putting our civic conversation into the hands of a single for-profit business generates profound risks for society as a whole,” wrote Clay Wirestone, the Reflector’s opinion editor.
-    
-            Of course, Meta is regularly accused of censoring content by people across the political spectrum — people who often misunderstand that Meta is a business and not the Free Speech Police. The difference here is that Meta acknowledged it made a mistake and ultimately fixed it, albeit in a frustratingly opaque way that left content creators with a lot of questions.
-    
-            Meta controls a whole bunch of the social media ecosystem, and that means there aren’t a lot of competitors to keep it honest. Meanwhile, all of media relies on it because content creators have to get in front of readers if they want to survive.
-    
-            With nearly 4 billion monthly active users on its platforms — Facebook alone accounts for 3 billion — it’s not hard to see why some folks want to break Meta up, or at the very least create stronger regulations keep it from elbowing everyone else out the market.
-    
-            Of course, others argue that breaking up Meta wouldn’t necessarily solve the biggest problems with social media — namely that it perpetuates misinformation at an unprecedented speed and scope, wrecks teens’ mental health and creates toxic echo chambers that undermine the promise of democracy. And if you bust up Meta, there may be no stopping another tech giant from filling the void.
-    
-            We don’t know what happened within Meta to trigger an erroneous block of legitimate news sources last week. But what we do know is that the company’s control over what we see online can have profound effects on the real world. When Meta decides to dramatically reduce referral traffic to media outlets, as it did last year, there’s little anyone outside of Meta can do to push back.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['A single trillion-dollar company controls Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.', 'That concentration of digital ownership can create real-world harm, as a recent censorship dispute with Meta lays bare.', 'Last week, Meta apologized after blocking links by a nonprofit newspaper and an independent journalist who published a report that criticized Facebook and accused it of suppressing posts related to climate change.', 'Meta denied that it was censoring content and blamed an unspecified “security issue.”', 'Every single link — about 6,000 stories — that the Kansas Reflector had ever posted to Facebook disappeared from the platform on Thursday.', 'For seven hours, anyone trying to post a Reflector link was met with a warning that the the site posed a security risk.', 'That’s seven hours during which the Reflector staff had no idea why Meta — a tech behemoth no major publisher can ignore, given its grip on the most world’s most popular social sites — had blown up not only years worth of digital labor but also dinged the credibility of the local paper, whose audience was told, erroneously, that its links contained potential malware.', 'By the end of the day, almost all of the Reflector’s links had come back online, save for one: an opinion piece that criticized Facebook’s policies around paid promotions.', 'To test theory that that the Reflector’s domain had some kind of security issue, a Brooklyn-based journalist, Marisa Kabas, asked for permission to republish the text of that column on her own website.', 'But sure enough, when Kabas posted her own link to the column on Threads, Meta flagged it as malicious content and took it down.', 'Then Meta nuked everything her website had ever published on its platforms, a block that lasted at least two hours, Kabas told CNN.', 'Meta didn’t respond CNN’s request for more information about the security issue.', 'The editor-in-chief of the Kansas Reflector, Sherman Smith,wrote on Fridaythat Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone “wouldn’t elaborate on how the mistake happened and said there would be no further explanation.”', '“What was the security error?', 'We don’t know,” Kabas wrote in her recounting of the situation. “', 'What caused the links to be blocked?', 'We don’t know.”', 'And while all of the links have been restored “our trust has been undermined at a time when people need little reason to distrust the news.”', 'The debacle helps illustrate one of the more pernicious issues of our Extremely Online Era that’s often glossed over in a morass of boring regulatory jargon: the concentration of power in social media.', 'One of the ironies of the situation is that the first public statement from Meta came Thursday evening on X, site formerly known as Twitter.', 'Naturally, Kabas and the Reflector staff had to move their complaints to one of the few public platforms not operated by Meta, which left mostly X and its smaller rival Bluesky.', '“Anyone involved this past week now understands that putting our civic conversation into the hands of a singlefor-profit businessgenerates profound risks for society as a whole,” wrote Clay Wirestone, the Reflector’s opinion editor.', 'Of course, Meta is regularly accused of censoring content by people across the political spectrum — people who often misunderstand that Meta is a business and not the Free Speech Police.', 'The difference here is that Meta acknowledged it made a mistake and ultimately fixed it, albeit in a frustratingly opaque way that left content creators with a lot of questions.', 'Meta controls a whole bunch of the social media ecosystem, and that means there aren’t a lot of competitors to keep it honest.', 'Meanwhile, all of media relies on it because content creators have to get in front of readers if they want to survive.', 'With nearly 4 billion monthly active users on its platforms — Facebook alone accounts for 3 billion — it’s not hard to see why some folks want to break Meta up, or at the very least create stronger regulations keep it from elbowing everyone else out the market.', 'Of course, others argue that breaking up Meta wouldn’t necessarily solve the biggest problems with social media — namely that it perpetuates misinformation at an unprecedented speed and scope, wrecks teens’ mental health and creates toxic echo chambers that undermine the promise of democracy.', 'And if you bust up Meta, there may be no stopping another tech giant from filling the void.', 'We don’t know what happened within Meta to trigger an erroneous block of legitimate news sources last week.', 'But what we do know is that the company’s control over what we see online can have profound effects on the real world.', 'When Meta decides to dramatically reduce referral traffic to media outlets, as it did last year, there’s little anyone outside of Meta can do to push back.']",-0.1238192958235111,"With nearly 4 billion monthly active users on its platforms — Facebook alone accounts for 3 billion — it’s not hard to see why some folks want to break Meta up, or at the very least create stronger regulations keep it from elbowing everyone else out the market.","Of course, Meta is regularly accused of censoring content by people across the political spectrum — people who often misunderstand that Meta is a business and not the Free Speech Police.",-0.7324832826852798,And while all of the links have been restored “our trust has been undermined at a time when people need little reason to distrust the news.”,"That’s seven hours during which the Reflector staff had no idea why Meta — a tech behemoth no major publisher can ignore, given its grip on the most world’s most popular social sites — had blown up not only years worth of digital labor but also dinged the credibility of the local paper, whose audience was told, erroneously, that its links contained potential malware.",2024-04-09
-"Spirit Airlines will defer Airbus orders, furlough 260 pilots in race to shore up liquidity",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/spirit-airlines-will-defer-airbus-orders-furlough-260-pilots.html,2024-04-08T21:15:00+0000,"In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031. The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall. Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday. The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday. Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand. Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing. The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes. United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots.An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group.""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week. It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.', '""Of course, these steps aren\'t ones we want to take but they\'re necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.', 'Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026.', 'It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031.', 'The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.', 'The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.', '""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.', 'Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall.', 'Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.', 'The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.', 'The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday.', 'The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday.', 'Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.', ""Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand."", 'Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.', ""United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing."", ""The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes."", ""United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots."", 'An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.', '""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots\' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.', '""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""', ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group."", '""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week.', 'It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.']",0.089810687267966,"""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.","Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.",0.0585053920745849,The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.,Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.,2024-04-09
-Your complete guide to earning and redeeming points in the Citi ThankYou Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/citi-thankyou-points-rewards,"
-  Updated
-        12:10 PM EST, Wed January 10, 2024
-    ","The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot. In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.
-    
-            When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings. And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.
-    
-            If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.
-    
-            You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways. The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card. But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program. Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.
-    
-            Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards. The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards and cash back cards. However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.
-    
-            Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly. These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.
-    
-            As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditional cash back credit cards in the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings. They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything — 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay. By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.
-    
-            Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense. You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.
-    
-            By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.
-    
-            Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases. First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account. Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders. These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.
-    
-            Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card. Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.
-    
-            If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account. That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account. With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities. The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities. Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.
-    
-            Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member. Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge. The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt. So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them. Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.
-    
-            Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them. And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points. You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.
-    
-            Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.
-    
-            Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points. Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary. You can redeem them for stays at all-inclusive resorts, international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more. But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles and American Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.
-    
-            Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel. That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards. These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile. Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal. That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions. While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible. If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.
-    
-            Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point. This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings. While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.
-    
-            For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense. Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:
-    
-            Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value. However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option. Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy. The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to. Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights. While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.
-    
-            Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals. Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value. Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.
-    
-            Looking for a new travel credit card? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards currently available.
-    
-            Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
-    
-            Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.",CNN,10/01/2024,"['The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®.', 'Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot.', 'In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.', 'When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings.', 'And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.', 'If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.', 'You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways.', 'The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card.', 'But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program.', 'Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.', 'Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.', 'The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards andcash back cards.', 'However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.', 'Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly.', 'These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.', 'As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.', 'They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything —1% when you buy, 1% when you pay.', 'By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.', 'Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense.', 'You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.', 'By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.', 'Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases.', 'First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account.', 'Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders.', 'These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.', 'Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as anauthorized useron your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account.', 'That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account.', 'With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities.', 'The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities.', 'Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.', 'Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member.', 'Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge.', 'The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.', 'It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt.', 'So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them.', 'Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.', 'Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them.', 'And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points.', 'You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.', 'Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.', 'Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points.', 'Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary.', 'You can redeem them for stays atall-inclusive resorts,international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles andAmerican Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.', 'By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.', 'Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel.', 'That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards.', 'These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile.', 'Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal.', 'That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.', 'While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible.', 'If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.', 'Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point.', 'This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings.', 'While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.', 'For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense.', 'Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:  Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value.', 'However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option.', 'Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy.', 'The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to.', 'Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights.', 'While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.', 'Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.', 'Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals.', 'Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value.', 'Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.', 'Looking for a new travel credit card?', 'Check out CNN Underscored’s list of thebest credit cardscurrently available.', 'Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.', 'Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.']",0.4187524857201869,"Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.","Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.",0.8707016060749689,"As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.",That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.,2024-04-09
-Skydance's unique offer for Paramount Global would give it a large stake while keeping the company public,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/skydance-paramount-global-deal-details-of-david-ellison-bid.html,2024-04-05T16:55:23+0000,"Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover. The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer. Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly. Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders. But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and 5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company.While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people. He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years. Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was $29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022. Paramount+ continues to lose money. Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billion in long-term debt at the end of 2023. When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business. That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.David Ellison would likely lead the new company.Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role. Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem. No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global. That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said.Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come. The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.There still could be other avenues to pursue. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity. Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter. The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"[""Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover."", ""The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer."", 'Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly.', ""Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private."", 'No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.', 'Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.', 'The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders.', ""But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company."", 'While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people.', 'He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.', 'Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.', 'It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.', ""Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years."", ""Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022."", 'Paramount+ continues to lose money.', ""Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel."", 'Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billionin long-term debt at the end of 2023.', 'When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.', 'Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.', 'In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.', 'That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.', 'David Ellison would likely lead the new company.', 'Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role.', 'Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.', ""New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem."", 'No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.', ""The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global."", ""That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said."", ""Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish."", ""The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come."", 'The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.', 'There still could be other avenues to pursue.', 'Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.', 'But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity.', 'Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.', 'Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.', 'WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.']",0.0942132138570413,"Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.",Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.,-0.1901104867458343,"In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.","Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022.",2024-04-09
-"Boeing CEO Calhoun took home $5 million last year, compensation package hit by Max crisis",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/boeing-ceo-calhoun-took-home-5-million-last-year-ahead-of-737-max-crisis.html,2024-04-06T00:35:25+0000,"In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year. But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock. Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year. His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit. The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday. The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft. Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow.The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes. The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control.Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million. An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.",CNBC,06/04/2024,"[""In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max."", ""Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year."", 'But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock.', 'Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.', 'Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.', 'Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year.', 'His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit.', 'The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.', 'Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday.', 'The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.', '""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.', 'The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected.', 'The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max.', ""In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft."", ""Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow."", 'The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes.', ""The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control."", 'Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.', ""Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million."", 'An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.']",0.0372878203927185,"Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.","In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft.",-0.5336477292908562,"Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.","In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.",2024-04-09
-OpenAI’s wild week. How the Sam Altman story unfolded,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/22/tech/openai-sam-altman-chaos-explained-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:32 PM EST, Wed November 22, 2023
-    ","In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.
-    
-            Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps the most visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move. Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.
-    
-            The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held its first-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.
-    
-            If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
-    
-            Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.
-    
-            Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.
-    
-            Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board. The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.
-    
-            OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.
-    
-            Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”
-    
-            Brockman promptly quit. “Please don’t spend any time being concerned. We will be fine,” Brockman said in a Friday post on X. “Greater things coming soon.”
-    
-            A key factor in the CEO’s firing was tension between Altman, who favored developing AI more aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously, according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher, who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.
-    
-            Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.
-    
-            OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.
-    
-            By Sunday afternoon, Altman was back at OpenAI’s headquarters — this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion. A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.
-    
-            But those talks broke down.
-    
-            As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group. At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch. Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.
-    
-            In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.
-    
-            But OpenAI employees were not convinced. More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman. They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.
-    
-            Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited. one team, one mission.”
-    
-            The drama was far from over. The Verge reported Monday afternoon that Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.
-    
-            And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.
-    
-            “Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”
-    
-            Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.
-    
-            “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.
-    
-            “We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.
-    
-            In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altman wrote that he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.
-    
-            It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return. Posting on X, Shear wrote: “I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”
-    
-            Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to his post on X.
-    
-            Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found. And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.
-    
-            “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadella said on X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”",CNN,22/11/2023,"['In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.', 'Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.', 'Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.', 'The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held itsfirst-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.', 'If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.', 'Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientistIlya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.', 'Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.', 'Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.', 'The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.', 'OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.', 'Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”', 'Brockman promptly quit. “', 'Please don’t spend any time being concerned.', 'We will be fine,” Brockmansaid in a Friday poston X. “Greater things coming soon.”', 'A key factor in the CEO’s firing wastension between Altman, who favored developing AImore aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously,according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher,who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.', 'Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.', 'OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.', 'By Sunday afternoon, Altman wasback at OpenAI’s headquarters— this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return.', 'Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion.', 'A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.', 'But those talks broke down.', 'As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group.', 'At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch.', 'Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.', 'In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.', 'He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.', 'But OpenAI employees were not convinced.', 'More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman.', 'They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.', 'Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before.', 'we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited.', 'one team, one mission.”', 'The drama was far from over.', 'The Verge reported Monday afternoonthat Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.', 'And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.', '“Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “', 'We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”', 'Altmanwas reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.  “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce.', 'Former Treasury SecretaryLarry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEOAdam D’Angelo.', '“We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.', 'In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altmanwrotethat he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.', 'It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return.', 'Posting on X, Shear wrote:“I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”', 'Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to hispost on X.  Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found.', 'And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.', '“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”']",0.062777217389235,"“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”","Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.",0.549453833273479,And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.,"Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.",2024-04-09
-"Turkey restricts exports to Israel, saying its request to airdrop aid to Gaza was denied",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/turkey-restricts-exports-israel-gaza/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:30 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Turkey has announced restrictions on exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza.
-    
-            In a statement Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Trade condemned Israel’s actions preventing access to “the most basic food, medical care and supplies” for the people of Gaza and said it had placed a ban on the export of 54 products, including many that could be used for military purposes or construction.
-    
-            “This decision will remain in effect until Israel, within the framework of its obligations arising from international law, declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and allows a sufficient and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said.
-    
-            Among the items listed in the statement are steel, aluminum, cement and electrical cables.
-    
-            Speaking at a press conference in Ankara late Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was taking “a series of new measures against Israel” after Israel had denied its request to join a Jordanian aid operation. “Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel,” Hakan Fidan said.
-    
-            “There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to airlift aid to starving Gazans,” he continued.
-    
-            Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the agency that controls access to Gaza, has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on Turkey’s allegations.
-    
-            Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Tuesday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey for his support of Hamas.”
-    
-            Katz said he had ordered Israel’s foreign ministry to prepare an “extensive list” of Turkish products that Israel would ban in response. Israel will also ask the United States and other allies to “stop investments in Turkey and prevent the import of products from Turkey.” Furthermore, it will appeal to the US Congress to “impose sanctions accordingly.”
-    
-            “Israel will not submit to violence and blackmail and will not keep quiet about the unilateral violation of the trade agreements,” Katz said.  
-    
-            Along with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey is the biggest donor of aid to Gaza, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
-    
-            In the view of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the newly announced export curbs do not go far enough. In a statement Tuesday, the CHP criticized the Turkish government for continuing to trade with Israel despite publicly condemning its attacks on Gaza.
-    
-            “We call on the government to immediately stop doing business with a country that supports … attacks on Gaza and turns a blind eye to injustice and oppression,” Volkan Demir, CHP’s deputy chairman of trade policies, said in the statement.
-    
-            Lauren Izso in Tel Aviv and Anna Cooban in London contributed to this article.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Turkey has announced restrictions on exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza.', 'In a statement Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Trade condemned Israel’s actions preventing access to “the most basic food, medical care and supplies” for the people of Gaza and said it had placed a ban on the export of 54 products, including many that could be used for military purposes or construction.', '“This decision will remain in effect until Israel, within the framework of its obligations arising from international law, declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and allows a sufficient and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said.', 'Among the items listed in the statement are steel, aluminum, cement and electrical cables.', 'Speaking at a press conference in Ankara late Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was taking “a series of new measures against Israel” after Israel had denied its request to join a Jordanian aid operation. “', 'Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel,” Hakan Fidan said.', '“There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to airlift aid to starving Gazans,” he continued.', 'Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the agency that controls access to Gaza, has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on Turkey’s allegations.', 'Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Tuesday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganwas “once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey for his support of Hamas.”', 'Katz said he had ordered Israel’s foreign ministry to prepare an “extensive list” of Turkish products that Israel would ban in response.', 'Israel will also ask the United States and other allies to “stop investments in Turkey and prevent the import of products from Turkey.', '”Furthermore, it will appeal to the US Congress to “impose sanctions accordingly.”', '“Israel will not submit to violence and blackmail and will not keep quiet about the unilateral violation of the trade agreements,” Katz said.', 'Along with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey is the biggest donor of aid to Gaza, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.', 'In the view of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the newly announced export curbs do not go far enough.', 'In a statement Tuesday, the CHP criticized the Turkish government for continuing to trade with Israel despite publicly condemning its attacks on Gaza.', '“We call on the government to immediately stop doing business with a country that supports … attacks on Gaza and turns a blind eye to injustice and oppression,” Volkan Demir, CHP’s deputy chairman of trade policies, said in the statement.', 'Lauren Izso in Tel Aviv and Anna Cooban in London contributed to this article.']",-0.1378316322288826,"In the view of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the newly announced export curbs do not go far enough.","“We call on the government to immediately stop doing business with a country that supports … attacks on Gaza and turns a blind eye to injustice and oppression,” Volkan Demir, CHP’s deputy chairman of trade policies, said in the statement.",-0.436771422624588,"Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel,” Hakan Fidan said.",Turkey has announced restrictions on exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza.,2024-04-09
-Judge’s stern rebuke of Elon Musk’s X gives researchers fresh hope,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/judges-stern-rebuke-of-elon-musks-x-gives-researchers-fresh-hope/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:17 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.
-    
-            On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.
-    
-            Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers. Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.
-    
-            Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.
-    
-            The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California — has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.
-    
-            And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.
-    
-            “This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.
-    
-            “Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.
-    
-            X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.
-    
-            In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively. None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.
-    
-            He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over its analysis highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers. Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.
-    
-            This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone. Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.
-    
-            The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”
-    
-            As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation. The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.
-    
-            “They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “They get the political benefits, they get the attention. There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet. And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”
-    
-            A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.
-    
-            Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022. Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics. But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.
-    
-            Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year — were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.
-    
-            The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.
-    
-            Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.
-    
-            “We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter. Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”
-    
-            “This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”
-    
-            Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.
-    
-            “The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.
-    
-            Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.', 'On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.', 'Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers.', 'Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.', 'Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.', 'The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California —has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.', 'And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.', '“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.', '“Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.', 'X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.', 'In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively.', 'None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.', 'He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over itsanalysishighlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers.', 'Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.  This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone.', 'Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.', 'The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”', 'As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation.', 'The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.', '“They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “', 'They get the political benefits, they get the attention.', 'There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet.', 'And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”', 'A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.', 'Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022.', 'Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics.', 'But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.', 'Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.', 'The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.', 'Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.', '“We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter.', 'Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “', 'These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”', '“This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”', 'Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.', '“The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.', 'Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”']",0.0427064270235155,"Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.","“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.",-0.3806276832308088,"Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.","Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.",2024-04-09
-Boeing timeline: Inside the air giant’s turbulent journey in recent years,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/17/business/boeing-timeline-troubles-crashes-stock-dg/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:30 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Boeing once had a reputation for unmatched safety and quality, an economic giant and a shining example of American industrial prowess. No longer.
-    
-            Since late 2018, a series of setbacks has besieged the company, including two fatal crashes that grounded its best-selling jet and an incident where a door plug detached in mid-air, leaving a gaping hole in a jet’s side.
-    
-            In addition to the loss of 346 lives in the two crashes, the problems have cost the company tens of billions of dollars and damaged its reputation. Here’s how Boeing got to this point.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Boeing once had a reputation for unmatched safety and quality, an economic giant and a shining example of American industrial prowess.', 'No longer.', 'Since late 2018, a series of setbacks has besieged the company, including two fatal crashes that grounded its best-selling jet and an incident where a door plug detached in mid-air, leaving a gaping hole in a jet’s side.', 'In addition to the loss of 346 lives in the two crashes, the problems have cost the company tens of billions of dollars and damaged its reputation.', 'Here’s how Boeing got to this point.']",-0.1335513864576442,"Boeing once had a reputation for unmatched safety and quality, an economic giant and a shining example of American industrial prowess.","In addition to the loss of 346 lives in the two crashes, the problems have cost the company tens of billions of dollars and damaged its reputation.",-0.3317096432050069,"Boeing once had a reputation for unmatched safety and quality, an economic giant and a shining example of American industrial prowess.","Since late 2018, a series of setbacks has besieged the company, including two fatal crashes that grounded its best-selling jet and an incident where a door plug detached in mid-air, leaving a gaping hole in a jet’s side.",2024-04-09
-"Every month, economists expect the labor market to slow. Will it ever?",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/economy/labor-market-slowdown-economy/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:00 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Almost every month, economists expect the hot US labor market to start showing signs of exhaustion. Instead, it plows forward full steam ahead.
-    
-            Last month was certainly no exception. Economists projected 205,000 jobs were added in March, a slowdown compared to February’s revised gains of 270,000. But last Friday’s data showed a shocking 303,000 new jobs were created that month.
-    
-            That left Jefferies economist Thomas Simons “borderline speechless.”
-    
-            “We did not expect to see such strong data,” he added in a note Friday. 
-    
-            Simons is hardly the only economist baffled by how well the labor market has held up as inflation has cooled significantly, given the two typically don’t go hand in hand.
-    
-            So it can’t continue like this forever. The booming labor market has to run out of gas eventually, right?
-    
-            Historically speaking, there’s only so long a really good labor market can last until, for instance, a recession or tighter financial conditions disrupt it. The current streak of a sub-4 % unemployment rate is highly unusual — the late 1960s was the last time the unemployment rate was below 4% for 26 weeks.
-    
-            On top of that, March’s 303,000 gains are nearly double the average monthly job gains the economy experienced over the past two decades.
-    
-            Some economists view it as a potentially worrisome sign that the majority of job gains over the past few months have been concentrated in sectures such as health care, government, leisure and hispitality and private education. Without gains across those sectors, the economy would appear a lot less strong.
-    
-            Taken together, that could mean the life expectancy of the current labor market isn’t very long.
-    
-            There are also reasons to believe a slowdown is far off.
-    
-            “For the moment, employment will likely continue to grow or, at worst, flatten,” Will Baltrus, an economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement Monday, after the group released new data suggesting hiring in the US is poised to remain strong the rest of the quarter.
-    
-            Even with all the impressive gains over the past few years, there were still 1.7 million more job openings in Feburary of this year compared to Feburary 2019, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
-    
-            And the ratio of job openings per unemployed person was 1.4 in February. That’s a lot lower than it was earlier in the pandemic but it’s a higher ratio compared to February 2019 when it was 1.1. That signals the labor market remains tighter than it was compared to before the pandemic.
-    
-            Additionally, the hard-hit leisure and hospitality only just recouped all of the job losses from the pandemic.
-    
-            One big reason why the labor market continues to defy expectations is the result of a surge in immigration over the past year. That population boom is supporting thousands more jobs that otherwise would not be sustainable, according to a recent Brookings Institution report. At the same time, it hasn’t caused there to be fewer jobs available.
-    
-            “While we still expect job growth to moderate this year, the ongoing strength of labor force growth — fueled mostly by robust immigration — is providing a serious tailwind,” Dante DeAntonio, a labor economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a statement released after the March jobs report on Friday.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Almost every month, economists expect the hot US labor market to start showing signs of exhaustion.', 'Instead, it plows forward full steam ahead.', 'Last month was certainly no exception.', 'Economists projected 205,000 jobs were added in March, a slowdown compared to February’s revised gains of 270,000.', 'But last Friday’s data showed a shocking 303,000 new jobs were created that month.', 'That left Jefferies economist Thomas Simons “borderline speechless.”', '“We did not expect to see such strong data,” he added in a note Friday.', 'Simons is hardly the only economist baffled by how well the labor market has held up as inflation has cooled significantly, given the two typically don’t go hand in hand.', 'So it can’t continue like this forever.', 'The booming labor market has to run out of gas eventually, right?', 'Historically speaking, there’s only so long a really good labor market can last until, for instance, a recession or tighter financial conditions disrupt it.', 'The current streak of a sub-4 % unemployment rate is highly unusual — the late 1960s was the last time the unemployment rate was below 4% for 26 weeks.', 'On top of that, March’s 303,000 gains are nearly double the average monthly job gains the economy experienced over the past two decades.', 'Some economists view it as a potentially worrisome sign that the majority of job gains over the past few months have been concentrated in sectures such as health care, government, leisure and hispitality and private education.', 'Without gains across those sectors, the economy would appear a lot less strong.', 'Taken together, that could mean the life expectancy of the current labor market isn’t very long.', 'There are also reasons to believe a slowdown is far off.', '“For the moment, employment will likely continue to grow or, at worst, flatten,” Will Baltrus, an economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement Monday, after the group released new data suggestinghiring in the US is poised to remain strong the rest of the quarter.', 'Even with all the impressive gains over the past few years, there were still 1.7 million more job openings in Feburary of this year compared to Feburary 2019, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'And the ratio of job openings per unemployed person was 1.4 in February.', 'That’s a lot lower than it was earlier in the pandemic but it’s a higher ratio compared to February 2019 when it was 1.1.', 'That signals the labor market remains tighter than it was compared to before the pandemic.', 'Additionally, the hard-hit leisure and hospitality only just recouped all of the job losses from the pandemic.', 'One big reason why the labor market continues to defy expectations is the result of a surge in immigration over the past year.', 'That population boom is supporting thousands more jobs that otherwise would not be sustainable, according to a recent Brookings Institution report.', 'At the same time, it hasn’t caused there to be fewer jobs available.', '“While we still expect job growth to moderate this year, the ongoing strength of labor force growth — fueled mostly by robust immigration — is providing a serious tailwind,” Dante DeAntonio, a labor economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a statement released after the March jobs report on Friday.']",0.1321011829825466,"Simons is hardly the only economist baffled by how well the labor market has held up as inflation has cooled significantly, given the two typically don’t go hand in hand.",The current streak of a sub-4 % unemployment rate is highly unusual — the late 1960s was the last time the unemployment rate was below 4% for 26 weeks.,0.358667276407543,"Even with all the impressive gains over the past few years, there were still 1.7 million more job openings in Feburary of this year compared to Feburary 2019, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.","Without gains across those sectors, the economy would appear a lot less strong.",2024-04-09
-Nigeria wants a road to rival the Pacific Coast highway. A prime Lagos beach resort stands in the way,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/05/business/landmark-beach-nigeria-demolition-superhighway/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:55 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2024
-    ","When Lagos state authorities notified Nigerian business mogul Paul Onwuanibe in late March that he had seven days to leave his multimillion-dollar beach resort so it could be torn down, he thought it was an April Fools’ Day hoax come early.
-    
-            Onwuanibe, 58, was told in a government letter that his Landmark Beach resort – a top-tier destination visited, he says, by about a million local and foreign visitors last year – had to be removed as it “falls within the right of way” of a planned 700-kilometer (435-mile) coastal highway designed to link the former capital city to Calabar, a port city near the border with Cameroon.
-    
-            Onwuanibe told CNN he had obtained the land in 2007 before the plans for the coastal highway were drawn up, and felt a mix of emotions after receiving the demolition order, which also urged him to file compensation claims.
-    
-            “One was amazement, second was concern and the third one was, ‘is this real or is this an April Fools’ (Day prank in) advance?’”
-    
-            Onwuanibe leads Landmark Group, a real estate developer and a key player in Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industries.
-    
-            The group’s leisure beach, listed among Nigeria’s best seven beaches in 2023 by the Lonely Planet travel guide, is a lucrative part of the 13-hectare mixed-use Landmark site along the Atlantic Ocean beachfront in Lagos’s affluent Victoria Island area.
-    
-            The beach resort and other sections of the Landmark site on the coastal right of way are billed to be pulled down, a government notice seen by CNN states.
-    
-            Valued at over $200 million, according to Onwuanibe, the Landmark site is home to over 80 businesses and provides more than 4,000 direct jobs. It also generates over 2 billion naira ($1.5 million) in annual tax revenue, the company said.
-    
-            Approval for the new coastal road was given on February 27 by the federal authorities, according to presidential aide Temitope Ajayi. He said on X that the superhighway, “when completed, will enter the world record books among iconic coastal routes like the Wild Atlantic Highway in Ireland and the Pacific Coastal Highway in the United States.”
-    
-            The first part of the 1.06 trillion naira ($841 million-plus) highway will be built in Victoria Island. The superhighway will run through a total of nine coastal states in Nigeria, Ajayi added, and will have “five lanes on each side of the dual carriageway and a train track in the middle,” as well as spurs linking up with northern Nigeria.
-    
-            Environmentalists say that, while the coastal road project would bolster the economy, it also poses environmental problems.
-    
-            “It’s undeniable that the road construction will bring about significant impacts such as the destruction of wetlands, forests, and various habitats,” said Lagos-based water and environment consultant Similade Adeodun. “Activities like sand filling and dredging along the coastal areas also raise concerns,” he told CNN.
-    
-            CNN has contacted the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development for comment on the coastal right of way and the consultation process involved.
-    
-            Born in the United Kingdom, Onwuanibe says he “shut down” his investments abroad in 2007 to focus on ventures in Africa due to the continent’s economic prospects.
-    
-            He commended the planned coastal project for “connecting vital regions of the country” but feared it came at a steep cost for tourism in Lagos and posed a threat to foreign direct investment into the country if Landmark Beach is eventually torn down.
-    
-            “People who bring in money to make cities like this effective will be very concerned (with the proposed demolition of the beach resort). It will pose a huge threat to inward investment into the state and, most importantly, pose a threat to people who are already in the state trying to do things,” Onwuanibe said.
-    
-            He told CNN the demolition of the beach would be an enormous loss, with millions of dollars of borrowed money already spent on developing the resort.
-    
-            “We’ve spent between $80 and $90 million developing this ecosystem and one-third of that was spent on the beach. So, all that, which we are still paying loans on, will disappear,” he said.
-    
-            Onwuanibe said foreign and local investors in Landmark Group were now threatening to pull out if the beach resort, which includes a mini golf course, a beach soccer field as well as a volleyball and basketball court, is removed.
-    
-            “Without the beach, the entire ecosystem is at risk and is severely damaged,” he said, adding: “I have had widespread panic calls from my international and local investors as well as local debt providers threatening to pull the plug as they think this is material to our survival as a business.”
-    
-            Lagos state, Nigeria’s economic nerve center, has been on the hunt for foreign investment as federal authorities battle to revamp the country’s economy in the face of challenges such as growing public and private debt, high inflation, and a sharp decline in the local currency.
-    
-            However, “policy and regulatory inconsistency” and “poor stakeholders’ consultation” have limited foreign investment into Nigeria, according to a local think-tank, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
-    
-            Environment consultant Adeodun is urging authorities to conduct thorough environmental and social impact assessments before tearing down coastal businesses for the superhighway.
-    
-            “For Landmark Beach, which already generates significant revenue from eco-tourism, the government should explore robust measures to preserve the beach or consider alternative routes with fewer economic and ecological consequences,” Adeodun told CNN.
-    
-            “I understand that the original right of way for the road did not pass through Landmark Beach… Perhaps, revisiting the routes to ensure minimal environmental damage and preserve local businesses should be strongly considered,” he added.
-    
-            For Onwuanibe, the coastal highway, once rethought, should serve as a blessing for thriving businesses situated along the coast rather than a curse.
-    
-            “The first thing would be to do a proper study and proper consultation with the businesses that are most affected along it. It’s a long-term project, so it requires more in-depth analysis,” he said, adding that he was hopeful that discussions with the government can produce a “win-win solution.”
-    
-            “The second thing is to make sure that this (highway) is an advantage to those businesses and homes and all that socioeconomic activity, rather than a disadvantage,” he added.",CNN,05/04/2024,"['When Lagos state authorities notified Nigerian business mogul Paul Onwuanibe in late March thathe had seven days to leave his multimillion-dollar beach resort so it could be torn down, he thought it was an April Fools’ Day hoax come early.', 'Onwuanibe,58,was told in a government letterthathis Landmark Beachresort–atop-tier destinationvisited, he says, byabouta million local and foreign visitorslastyear–hadto be removedas it “falls within theright ofway” of a planned 700-kilometer(435-mile)coastal highwaydesignedto link the former capital city to Calabar, a port city nearthe border withCameroon.', 'Onwuanibe told CNN he had obtained the land in 2007 before the plans for the coastal highway were drawn up, and felt a mix of emotions afterreceivingthe demolition order, whichalsourged him to file compensation claims.', '“One was amazement, second was concern and the third one was, ‘is this real or is this an April Fools’ (Day prank in) advance?’”', 'Onwuanibe leadsLandmark Group, a real estatedeveloperandakey player in Nigeria’s tourism and hospitalityindustries.', 'The group’sleisure beach, listed amongNigeria’s best seven beachesin 2023 by the Lonely Planet travel guide,is a lucrative part of the 13-hectare mixed-use Landmark site along the Atlantic Ocean beachfrontin Lagos’s affluent Victoria Island area.', 'The beach resort andothersections of the Landmark site on the coastal right of way are billed to be pulled down, a government notice seen by CNNstates.', 'Valued at over $200 million, according to Onwuanibe, the Landmarksite is home toover 80 businesses and provides more than 4,000 directjobs.', 'It also generates over 2 billion naira ($1.5 million) in annual tax revenue,the company said.', 'Approval for thenewcoastal road was givenon February 27by the federal authorities, according to presidential aide Temitope Ajayi.', 'Hesaidon Xthat the superhighway, “when completed, will enter the world record books among iconic coastal routes like the Wild Atlantic Highway in Ireland and the Pacific Coastal Highway in the United States.”', 'The firstpartof the1.06 trillion naira ($841 million-plus)highwaywill be built in Victoria Island.', 'The superhighway will runthrough a total of nine coastal states in Nigeria, Ajayi added, andwillhave “five lanes on each side of the dual carriageway and a train track in the middle,”as well as spurs linking up with northern Nigeria.', 'Environmentalists say that,while the coastal road project would bolster the economy, italso posesenvironmental problems.', '“It’s undeniable that the road construction will bring about significant impacts such as the destruction of wetlands, forests, and various habitats,” said Lagos-based water and environment consultant Similade Adeodun. “', 'Activities like sand filling and dredging along the coastal areas also raise concerns,” he told CNN.', 'CNN has contacted the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development for comment on the coastal right of way and the consultation process involved.', 'Born in the United Kingdom, Onwuanibesays he“shut down”his investments abroadin 2007 to focus on ventures in Africa due to the continent’s economic prospects.', 'He commended the planned coastal project for “connecting vital regions of the country” but feared it came at a steep cost for tourism inLagosand posed a threat toforeign direct investmentinto the country if Landmark Beachiseventually torn down.', '“People who bring in money to make cities like this effective will be very concerned (with the proposed demolition of the beach resort).', 'It will pose a huge threat to inward investment into the state and,most importantly,pose a threat to people who are already in the state trying to do things,”Onwuanibesaid.', 'He told CNN thedemolitionof the beachwould beanenormousloss,with millions of dollars of borrowed money already spent on developing the resort.', '“We’ve spent between $80 and $90 million developing this ecosystem and one-third of that was spent on the beach.', 'So, all that, which we are still paying loans on,will disappear,” he said.', 'Onwuanibe said foreign and local investors in Landmark Group were now threatening to pull out if thebeach resort,which includes a mini golf course, a beach soccer field as well as a volleyball and basketball court,is removed.', '“Without the beach, the entire ecosystem is at risk and is severely damaged,” he said, adding: “I have had widespread panic calls from my international and local investors as well as local debt providers threatening to pull the plug as they think this is material to our survival as a business.”', 'Lagosstate,Nigeria’s economic nerve center,has been on the hunt for foreign investment as federal authorities battle to revamp the country’s economyin the face ofchallenges such asgrowing public and private debt, high inflation, and a sharp decline in the local currency.', 'However,“policy and regulatory inconsistency” and “poor stakeholders’ consultation”have limited foreigninvestmentintoNigeria,according toa local think-tank, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.', 'Environment consultant Adeodunis urgingauthoritiesto conduct thorough environmental and social impact assessments before tearing down coastalbusinessesfor the superhighway.', '“For Landmark Beach, which already generates significant revenue from eco-tourism, the government should explore robust measures to preserve the beach or consider alternative routes with fewer economic and ecological consequences,” Adeodun told CNN.', '“I understand that the original right of way for the road did not pass through Landmark Beach… Perhaps, revisiting the routes to ensure minimal environmental damage and preserve local businesses should be strongly considered,” he added.', 'For Onwuanibe, the coastal highway,once rethought,should serve as a blessing for thriving businessessituatedalong the coast rather than a curse.', '“The first thing would be to do a proper study and proper consultation with the businesses that are mostaffectedalong it.', 'It’s a long-term project,so it requires more in-depth analysis,” he said,adding that he washopeful that discussions with the government can produce a “win-win solution.”', '“The second thing is to make sure that this(highway)is an advantage to those businesses and homes and all that socioeconomic activity,rather than a disadvantage,” he added.']",0.0137517751954975,"It’s a long-term project,so it requires more in-depth analysis,” he said,adding that he washopeful that discussions with the government can produce a “win-win solution.”","“Without the beach, the entire ecosystem is at risk and is severely damaged,” he said, adding: “I have had widespread panic calls from my international and local investors as well as local debt providers threatening to pull the plug as they think this is material to our survival as a business.”",-0.2823478895075181,"It’s a long-term project,so it requires more in-depth analysis,” he said,adding that he washopeful that discussions with the government can produce a “win-win solution.”",He commended the planned coastal project for “connecting vital regions of the country” but feared it came at a steep cost for tourism inLagosand posed a threat toforeign direct investmentinto the country if Landmark Beachiseventually torn down.,2024-04-09
-Europe launches subsidies probe into Chinese wind turbine suppliers,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/europe-wind-turbine-probe-china/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:23 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","The European Union has launched an investigation into China’s state support for its wind turbine companies, intensifying a push to protect Europe’s industry from a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
-    
-            Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, said Tuesday that the probe would look into the development of wind farms in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.
-    
-            The move provides further evidence of tensions between China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, and its major trading partners resulting from the oversupply of Chinese goods in key industries around the world. The country’s global trade surplus in goods has soared in recent years and is now approaching $1 trillion.
-    
-            Vestager’s announcement as part of a speech in Princeton, New Jersey, comes just days after the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, opened a separate subsidies probe into Chinese companies bidding for a solar farm contract in Romania.
-    
-            The commission is making use of new powers under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, aimed at addressing market distortions caused by subsidies from foreign governments and ensuring that EU companies are competing on a level playing field.
-    
-            “We saw the playbook for how China came to dominate the solar panel industry,” Vestager said, citing “massive subsidies for domestic suppliers.”
-    
-            “The result is that nowadays, less than 3% of the solar panels installed in the EU are produced in Europe,” she added, noting that China was deploying the same strategy across other areas of clean technology, including “exporting excess capacity to the rest of the world at low prices.”
-    
-            “We can’t afford to see what happened on solar panels happening again on electric vehicles, wind or essential chips,” Vestager said.
-    
-            In October, the European Commission launched an investigation into China’s subsidies for electric vehicle makers, which it suspects may be enabling these firms to keep prices super-low, creating unfair competition with European rivals.
-    
-            Beijing sees exports as a key measure to revive China’s slowing economy and is increasingly focusing on higher-value exports in industries that Europe and the United States see as strategically important as they seek to green their economies and reduce planet-heating pollution.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['The European Union has launched an investigation into China’s state support for its wind turbine companies, intensifying a push to protect Europe’s industry from a flood of cheap Chinese imports.', 'Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, said Tuesday that the probe would look into the development of wind farms in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.', 'The move provides further evidence of tensions between China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, and its major trading partners resulting from the oversupply of Chinese goods in key industries around the world.', 'The country’s global trade surplus in goods has soared in recent years and is now approaching $1 trillion.', 'Vestager’s announcement as part of a speech in Princeton, New Jersey, comes just days after the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, opened a separate subsidies probe into Chinese companies bidding for a solar farm contract in Romania.', 'The commission is making use of new powers under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, aimed at addressing market distortions caused by subsidies from foreign governments and ensuring that EU companies are competing on a level playing field.', '“We saw the playbook for how China came to dominate the solar panel industry,” Vestager said, citing “massive subsidies for domestic suppliers.”', '“The result is that nowadays, less than 3% of the solar panels installed in the EU are produced in Europe,” she added, noting that China was deploying the same strategy across other areas of clean technology, including “exporting excess capacity to the rest of the world at low prices.”', '“We can’t afford to see what happened on solar panels happening again on electric vehicles, wind or essential chips,” Vestager said.', 'In October, the European Commission launched an investigation into China’s subsidies for electric vehicle makers, which it suspects may be enabling these firms to keep prices super-low, creating unfair competition with European rivals.', 'Beijing sees exports as a key measure to revive China’s slowing economy and is increasingly focusing on higher-value exports in industries that Europe and the United States see as strategically important as they seek to green their economies and reduce planet-heating pollution.']",0.1433199795042311,Beijing sees exports as a key measure to revive China’s slowing economy and is increasingly focusing on higher-value exports in industries that Europe and the United States see as strategically important as they seek to green their economies and reduce planet-heating pollution.,"The move provides further evidence of tensions between China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, and its major trading partners resulting from the oversupply of Chinese goods in key industries around the world.",-0.1911220073699951,The country’s global trade surplus in goods has soared in recent years and is now approaching $1 trillion.,"The move provides further evidence of tensions between China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, and its major trading partners resulting from the oversupply of Chinese goods in key industries around the world.",2024-04-09
-The stock market is shrinking and Jamie Dimon is worried,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:23 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.
-    
-            The number of publicly traded companies in the United States is shrinking. Jamie Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, is worried.
-    
-            At their peak in 1996, there were 7,300 publicly traded companies in the US. Today there are about 4,300.
-    
-            It’s not that America has 40% fewer companies than it did 30 years ago, it’s that companies are increasingly staying private, largely outside the scrutiny of the public eye.
-    
-            “The total should have grown dramatically, not shrunk,” wrote Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, in his annual shareholder letter on Monday.
-    
-            The PE boom: The shrinking public market has private equity to blame — funds that pool money from investors to acquire or invest in companies.
-    
-            When a PE fund buys a public company, it takes that company private. When it buys a company that isn’t yet public, it is kept that way. That means these funds have complete control over their companies and can encourage them to boost their profits as quickly as possible for a quick sale later down the line.
-    
-            The number of private companies in the US backed by PE firms has grown from 1,900 to 11,200 over the last two decades, according to JPMorgan data.
-    
-            Publicly listed companies are subject to regulatory oversight and disclosure requirements, which help ensure transparency and maintain investor confidence. With fewer companies listed, there may be a decrease in overall transparency and investor trust in the market, said Matthew Kennedy, head of data and content at Renaissance Capital.
-    
-            Additionally, a company owned by PE can obfuscate ownership, what the company actually does and its profit the public and from regulators.
-    
-            Dimon’s company, of course, makes a huge amount of money from taking companies public, so he’s not exactly an impartial observer. But Dimon said his concerns are broader than JPMorgan’s bottom line: If this trend continues, our understanding of the US economy could become hazier, he argued.
-    
-            “This trend is serious,” warned Dimon on Monday. “We really need to consider: Is this the outcome we want?”
-    
-            Intensified reporting requirements, higher litigation expenses, costly regulations, overbearing board governance, shareholder activism, heightened public scrutiny and “the relentless pressure of quarterly earnings,” could be driving companies away from public markets, Dimon said Monday.
-    
-            About those quarterly reports: Earnings season begins in earnest this Friday when JPMorgan Chase reports its results from the first quarter of the year. Dimon doesn’t care for the fanfare.
-    
-            Rarely, however, do we get a behind the scenes of these operations.
-    
-            “There is something very positive about detailed and disciplined quarterly financial and operating reporting,” he said in his note on Monday. “But company CEOs and boards of directors should resist the undue pressure of quarterly earnings, and it is clearly somewhat their fault when they don’t.”
-    
-            Companies that “disappoint” during quarterly earnings face criticism, and new or young CEOs can especially come under pressure after a bad report, said Dimon. This can lead to companies resorting to accounting tricks or disregarding what’s best for a company in the long run to boost their quarterly numbers, he said.
-    
-            Companies might “take short-term actions to increase earnings, such as selling more product cheaply at the end of a quarter, cutting certain investments that may be terrific but can show accounting losses in the first year or two, or just deploying more aggressive accounting methods at times,” he wrote.
-    
-            “Once shortcuts like this begin, people all over the company understand that it is okay to ‘stretch’ to meet your numbers. This could put you on a treadmill to ruin,” he said.
-    
-            Shareholder meetings: Dimon had strong words for activist investors who use shareholder meetings to engage in a campaign to influence corporate actions.
-    
-            He cited “spiraling frivolousness” of the annual shareholder meeting as one of the reasons it’s become less desirable to be a publicly traded company. The event, he said, has “devolved into mostly a showcase of grandstanding and competing special interest groups.”
-    
-            Shareholder activism has been a controversial topic in corporate governance for some time, but has increased in recent years. In 2023, 982 companies were subject to activist campaigns globally. That’s a 4% rise compared to a year prior and the highest level since 2019, according to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.
-    
-            An increasing number of US companies are identifying activism as a risk in corporate disclosures, the Forum found. In 2023, more than 23% of Russell 3000 companies (an index that is often used as a stand-in for the entire US market) disclosed shareholder activism as a risk in their annual reporting, up from about 21% a year prior.
-    
-            The rise of proxy advisers: Institutional investors, who have stakes in many companies, rely on proxy advisers — firms that review company data — to guide their voting on corporate decisions due to the challenge of assessing each company themselves.
-    
-            But there are essentially “two main proxy advisers in the United States. One is called Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), and the second is called Glass Lewis,” wrote Dimon. ISS is owned by Deutsche Börse, a German company, and Glass Lewis is owned by Peloton Capital, a Canadian private equity firm.
-    
-            “I question whether American corporate governance should be determined by for-profit international institutions that may have their own strong feelings about what constitutes good corporate governance,” wrote Dimon. “While asset managers and institutional investors have a fiduciary responsibility to make their own decisions, it is increasingly clear that proxy advisers have undue influence.”
-    
-            In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for ISS said that its benchmark policy recommended against roughly 13% of all say-on-pay proposals at the top 3,000 US companies but just 2% failed to receive majority support. “Clearly, investors decide themselves how to vote,” he said.
-    
-            “With regard to our independence, ISS and Deutsche Börse in 2021 adopted a Policy on Non-Interference,” he added.
-    
-            Glass Lewis did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
-    
-            TL;DR: It’s easier to remain private than to go public, and can also be more lucrative.
-    
-            Over the past 25 years, private equity investments have consistently outperformed global equities, fixed income and small-cap equities by a wide margin, according to a recent Wells Fargo analysis.
-    
-            Now, Dimon is ringing the alarm. If changes aren’t made soon, he warned on Monday, the problem will only get worse.
-    
-            Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth, reports my colleague Matt Egan.
-    
-            The Truth Social owner dropped by another 8% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out one-third of the stock’s value.
-    
-            The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion. That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion, based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.
-    
-            Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021. Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.
-    
-            When Trump Media finally went public late last month, experts immediately warned that Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company, based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.
-    
-            Last week, Trump Media disclosed losing $58 million last year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million. By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than 100 times as much revenue — $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.
-    
-            After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion. That’s almost twice the valuation that Reddit achieved after its IPO in March — even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.
-    
-            Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.
-    
-            Read more here.
-    
-            The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips, report my colleagues Sam Fossum and Anna Cooban.
-    
-            The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.
-    
-            “America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”
-    
-            In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chipmaker, which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third plant, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.
-    
-            Shares of TSMC closed more than 1% higher on Monday.
-    
-            Read more here.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter.', 'Not a subscriber?', 'You can sign upright here.', 'You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.', 'The number of publicly traded companies in the United States is shrinking.', 'Jamie Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, is worried.', 'At their peak in 1996, there were 7,300 publicly traded companies in the US.', 'Today there are about 4,300.', 'It’s not that America has 40% fewer companies than it did 30 years ago, it’s that companies are increasingly staying private, largely outside the scrutiny of the public eye.', '“The total should have grown dramatically, not shrunk,” wrote Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, in his annual shareholder letter on Monday.', 'The PE boom: The shrinking public market has private equity to blame — funds that pool money from investors to acquire or invest in companies.', 'When a PE fund buys a public company, it takes that company private.', 'When it buys a company that isn’t yet public, it is kept that way.', 'That means these funds have complete control over their companies and can encourage them to boost their profits as quickly as possible for a quick sale later down the line.', 'The number of private companies in the US backed by PE firms has grown from 1,900 to 11,200 over the last two decades, according to JPMorgan data.', 'Publicly listed companies are subject to regulatory oversight and disclosure requirements, which help ensure transparency and maintain investor confidence.', 'With fewer companies listed, there may be a decrease in overall transparency and investor trust in the market, said Matthew Kennedy, head of data and content at Renaissance Capital.', 'Additionally, a company owned by PE can obfuscate ownership, what the company actually does and its profit the public and from regulators.', 'Dimon’s company, of course, makes a huge amount of money from taking companies public, so he’s not exactly an impartial observer.', 'But Dimon said his concerns are broader than JPMorgan’s bottom line: If this trend continues, our understanding of the US economy could become hazier, he argued.', '“This trend is serious,” warned Dimon on Monday. “', 'We really need to consider: Is this the outcome we want?”', 'Intensified reporting requirements, higher litigation expenses, costly regulations, overbearing board governance, shareholder activism, heightened public scrutiny and “the relentless pressure of quarterly earnings,” could be driving companies away from public markets, Dimon said Monday.', 'About those quarterly reports: Earnings season begins in earnest this Friday when JPMorgan Chase reports its results from the first quarter of the year.', 'Dimon doesn’t care for the fanfare.', 'Rarely, however, do we get a behind the scenes of these operations.', '“There is something very positive about detailed and disciplined quarterly financial and operating reporting,” he said in his note on Monday. “', 'But company CEOs and boards of directors should resist the undue pressure of quarterly earnings, and it is clearly somewhat their fault when they don’t.”', 'Companies that “disappoint” during quarterly earnings face criticism, and new or young CEOs can especially come under pressure after a bad report, said Dimon.', 'This can lead to companies resorting to accounting tricks or disregarding what’s best for a company in the long run to boost their quarterly numbers, he said.', 'Companies might “take short-term actions to increase earnings, such as selling more product cheaply at the end of a quarter, cutting certain investments that may be terrific but can show accounting losses in the first year or two, or just deploying more aggressive accounting methods at times,” he wrote.', '“Once shortcuts like this begin, people all over the company understand that it is okay to ‘stretch’ to meet your numbers.', 'This could put you on a treadmill to ruin,” he said.', 'Shareholder meetings: Dimon had strong words for activist investors who use shareholder meetings to engage in a campaign to influence corporate actions.', 'He cited “spiraling frivolousness” of the annual shareholder meeting as one of the reasons it’s become less desirable to be a publicly traded company.', 'The event, he said, has “devolved into mostly a showcase of grandstanding and competing special interest groups.”', 'Shareholder activism has been a controversial topic in corporate governance for some time, but has increased in recent years.', 'In 2023, 982 companies were subject to activist campaigns globally.', 'That’s a 4% rise compared to a year prior and the highest level since 2019, according to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.', 'An increasing number of US companies are identifying activism as a risk in corporate disclosures, the Forum found.', 'In 2023, more than 23% of Russell 3000 companies (an index that is often used as a stand-in for the entire US market) disclosed shareholder activism as a risk in their annual reporting, up from about 21% a year prior.', 'The rise of proxy advisers: Institutional investors, who have stakes in many companies, rely on proxy advisers — firms that review company data — to guide their voting on corporate decisions due to the challenge of assessing each company themselves.', 'But there are essentially “two main proxy advisers in the United States.', 'One is called Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), and the second is called Glass Lewis,” wrote Dimon.', 'ISS is owned by Deutsche Börse, a German company, and Glass Lewis is owned by Peloton Capital, a Canadian private equity firm.', '“I question whether American corporate governance should be determined by for-profit international institutions that may have their own strong feelings about what constitutes good corporate governance,” wrote Dimon. “', 'While asset managers and institutional investors have a fiduciary responsibility to make their own decisions, it is increasingly clear that proxy advisers have undue influence.”', 'In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for ISS said that its benchmark policy recommended against roughly 13% of all say-on-pay proposals at the top 3,000 US companies but just 2% failed to receive majority support. “', 'Clearly, investors decide themselves how to vote,” he said.', '“With regard to our independence, ISS and Deutsche Börse in 2021 adopted aPolicy on Non-Interference,” he added.', 'Glass Lewis did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment.', 'TL;DR: It’s easier to remain private than to go public, and can also be more lucrative.', 'Over the past 25 years, private equity investments have consistently outperformed global equities, fixed income and small-cap equities by a wide margin, according to a recent Wells Fargo analysis.', 'Now, Dimon is ringing the alarm.', 'If changes aren’t made soon, he warned on Monday, the problem will only get worse.', 'Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth, reports my colleague Matt Egan.', 'The Truth Social owner dropped by another 8% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out one-third of the stock’s value.', 'The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion.', 'That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion, based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.', 'Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021.', 'Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.', 'When Trump Media finally went public late last month,experts immediately warnedthat Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company, based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.', 'Last week,Trump Media disclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.', 'By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than100 times as much revenue— $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.', 'After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion.', 'That’s almost twice the valuation thatReddit achieved after its IPOin March — even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.', 'Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.', 'Read more here.', 'The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer ofsemiconductor chipsto help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips, report my colleagues Sam Fossum and Anna Cooban.', 'The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.', '“America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(', 'That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”', 'In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chipmaker,which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third plant, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.', 'Shares of TSMC closed more than 1% higher on Monday.', 'Read more here.']",0.135207389787864,"“I question whether American corporate governance should be determined by for-profit international institutions that may have their own strong feelings about what constitutes good corporate governance,” wrote Dimon. “","Companies that “disappoint” during quarterly earnings face criticism, and new or young CEOs can especially come under pressure after a bad report, said Dimon.",-0.0639030023625022,"In 2023, more than 23% of Russell 3000 companies (an index that is often used as a stand-in for the entire US market) disclosed shareholder activism as a risk in their annual reporting, up from about 21% a year prior.","That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion, based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.",2024-04-09
-Boeing orders bounce back on demand for a plane it can’t deliver yet,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/boeing-orders-deliveries/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:01 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.
-    
-            American placed orders for 85 of the Boeing 737 Max 10, the largest version of that troubled aircraft. It also converted previous orders for 30 of the shorter Max 8 version of the plane, which is currently flying, into additional Max 10 orders. American also has options to buy another 75 Max 10s in the future.
-    
-            The order had been announced a month ago, and it was included in the March and first quarter sales and delivery report by Boeing on Tuesday. That report showed no other orders for any version of the 737 Max. Besides American’s large Max order, Boeing also received orders for 28 of its widebody 777 jets during the month.
-    
-            But certification of the Max 10, which had been due to start flying passengers by this year, has been pushed back in the wake of the January 5 Alaska Airlines flight of a 737 Max 9, which had a door plug blow out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.
-    
-            Questions about anti-icing equipment on the Max engines would have required Boeing to get a waiver from the FAA to get the Max 10 and a smaller Max 7 model certified. But criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdrawal its request for a waiver, thus bringing the certification process to a temporary halt.
-    
-            The door plug incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane. While it has yet to drop its orders for the Max 10, Kirby has said the airline is interested in possibly buying competing planes from Boeing rival Airbus. But it would likely be a much longer wait for United to get planes from Airbus due the backlog of orders the European aircraft maker has.
-    
-            Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall. But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic. While it bounced back to report 15 orders in February, that was far below Boeing’s normal monthly volume.
-    
-            Thus, the order from American, which has its mainline fleet roughly split between Airbus and Boeing, was an important vote of confidence for the trouble aircraft maker. Orders for planes before certification are not unusual in the aerospace industry but not typically when there are questions about when the plane might be cleared to carry passengers.
-    
-            Boeing also reported it delivered only 24 of the 737 Max jets in the month, and five 787 Dreamliners. Its production of planes has been slowed by the questions about its quality controls since the Alaska Air incident as well, and the lack of deliveries has caused problems for some of its airline customers, including United Airlines, which has put a freeze on pilot hiring and asked some pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.
-    
-            Southwest Airlines also reduced hiring plans, saying it will bring on 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flight attendants than planned this year due to Boeing cutting 737 Max deliveries to the airline by about 40%.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.', 'American placed orders for 85 of the Boeing 737 Max 10, the largest version of that troubled aircraft.', 'It also converted previous orders for 30 of the shorter Max 8 version of the plane, which is currently flying, into additional Max 10 orders.', 'American also has options to buy another 75 Max 10s in the future.', 'The order had been announced a month ago, and it was included in the March and first quarter sales and delivery report by Boeing on Tuesday.', 'That report showed no other orders for any version of the 737 Max.', 'Besides American’s large Max order, Boeing also received orders for 28 of its widebody 777 jets during the month.', 'But certification of the Max 10, which had been due to start flying passengers by this year, has been pushed back in the wake of the January 5 Alaska Airlines flight of a 737 Max 9, which had a door plug blow out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.', 'Questions about anti-icing equipment on the Max engines would have required Boeing to get a waiver from the FAA to get the Max 10 and a smaller Max 7 model certified.', 'But criticism of Boeing’s safety and the quality controls in the wake of the Alaska Air incident prompted Boeing to withdrawal its request for a waiver, thus bringing the certification process to a temporary halt.', 'The door plug incident prompted United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to announce it was no longer counting on the 737 Max 10 planes it had already ordered from Boeing, saying the problem was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the airline’s expectations for the plane.', 'While it has yet to drop its orders for the Max 10, Kirby has said the airline is interested in possibly buying competing planes from Boeing rival Airbus.', 'But it would likely be a much longer wait for United to get planes from Airbus due the backlog of orders the European aircraft maker has.', 'Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall.', 'But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.', 'While it bounced back to report 15 orders in February, that was far below Boeing’s normal monthly volume.', 'Thus, the order from American, which has its mainline fleet roughly split between Airbus and Boeing, was an important vote of confidence for the trouble aircraft maker.', 'Orders for planes before certification are not unusual in the aerospace industry but not typically when there are questions about when the plane might be cleared to carry passengers.', 'Boeing also reported it delivered only 24 of the 737 Max jets in the month, and five 787 Dreamliners.', 'Its production of planes has been slowed by the questions about its quality controls since the Alaska Air incident as well, and the lack of deliveries has caused problems for some of its airline customers, including United Airlines, which has put a freeze on pilot hiring and asked some pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.', 'Southwest Airlines also reduced hiring plans, saying it will bring on 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flight attendants than planned this year due to Boeing cutting 737 Max deliveries to the airline by about 40%.']",-0.020658569030878,"Boeing’s commercial jet orders bounced back in March, but it was due to a large order from American Airlines for a plane the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t even approved to carry passengers yet.","But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.",-0.1791717658440272,"Boeing had had a record month for commercial jet orders in December ahead of the Alaska Air incident, capping a strong year for sales overall.","But its orders ground to a near halt in January after the January 5 flight, causing it to suffer its worst month for orders since the pandemic.",2024-04-09
-Your ultimate guide to the American Express Membership Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/american-express-membership-rewards-guide,"
-  Updated
-        1:03 PM EDT, Mon April 1, 2024
-    ","American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there. That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.
-    
-            In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.
-    
-            Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing. If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.
-    
-            You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways. Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift. It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings. Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.
-    
-            The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards. Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.
-    
-            These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card. With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance. Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.
-    
-            Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:
-    
-            All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.
-    
-            All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:
-    
-            Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses. If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).
-    
-            If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel. Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.
-    
-            When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules. For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days. Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.
-    
-            As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer. One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.
-    
-             Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings. That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.
-    
-            Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder. Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.
-    
-            If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.
-    
-            American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card. You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.
-    
-            To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site. You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card. Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card. You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.
-    
-            Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family. Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.
-    
-            Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards. For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.
-    
-            As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection. In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.
-    
-            Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers. With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.
-    
-            To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account. From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page. Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer. From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase. Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.
-    
-            Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards. It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.
-    
-            If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards. Simply log into your account and follow these steps:
-    
-            After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.
-    
-            Now, for the fun part! Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use. Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel. You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.
-    
-            Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.
-    
-            American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners. The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers. But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels. So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above. Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.
-    
-            By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.
-    
-            Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you. But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.
-    
-            Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions. This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.
-    
-            Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value. If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.
-    
-            You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings. By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings. Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.
-    
-            If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value. However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.
-    
-            Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points. However, that’s not always the case for everyone. You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online. Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.
-    
-            When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them. The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.
-    
-            Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits. Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point. The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above. Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.
-    
-            American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there. By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more. Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.
-    
-            Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,01/04/2024,"['American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there.', 'That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.', 'In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.', 'Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing.', 'If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.', 'You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways.', 'Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift.', 'It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings.', 'Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.', 'The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.', 'These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card.', 'With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.', 'Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:  All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.', 'All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:  Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses.', 'If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).', 'If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel.', 'Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.', 'When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules.', 'For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days.', 'Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.', 'As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer.', 'One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.', 'Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings.', 'That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.', 'If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.', 'American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card.', 'You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.', 'To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site.', 'You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card.', 'Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card.', 'You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.', 'Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family.', 'Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.', 'Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards.', 'For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.', 'As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection.', 'In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.', 'Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers.', 'With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers.', 'In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.', 'To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account.', 'From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page.', 'Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer.', 'From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase.', 'Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.', 'Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards.', 'It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.', 'If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards.', 'Simply log into your account and follow these steps:  After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.', 'Now, for the fun part!', 'Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use.', 'Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel.', 'You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.', 'American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners.', 'The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.', 'It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels.', 'So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above.', 'Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.', 'By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.', 'Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you.', 'But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.', 'Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions.', 'This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.', 'Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value.', 'If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.', 'You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings.', 'By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings.', 'Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.', 'If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value.', 'However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.', 'Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points.', 'However, that’s not always the case for everyone.', 'You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online.', 'Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.', 'When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them.', 'The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each.', 'Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.', 'Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits.', 'Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point.', 'The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above.', 'Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.', 'American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there.', 'By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more.', 'Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5246481979610982,"If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.",But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.,0.9622429311275482,"With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.",,2024-04-09
-NBC News boss Cesar Conde faces backlash from his network’s anchors over ‘inexplicable’ decision to hire ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-cesar-conde-ronna-mcdaniel-backlash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:05 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.
-    
-            The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.
-    
-            Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.” And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press. They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air. Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.
-    
-            Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory. Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion. Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year. It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.
-    
-            While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network. McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.
-    
-            It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it. Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.
-    
-            As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican. It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican. It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election. That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.
-    
-            The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd. If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens. They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party. In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel. So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors. Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)
-    
-            But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move. How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.
-    
-            Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted. It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring. If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.” The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.
-    
-            At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours. It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed. After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?
-    
-            The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible. To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.
-    
-            But no such announcement came.
-    
-            Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control. MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire. NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.” The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.
-    
-            All the while, Conde has remained silent. I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation. Does he have any regret? I didn’t get an on-the-record response. Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values. It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.
-    
-            In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.
-    
-            “Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions. Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course. Not digging in. Not blaming others. Take a minute. Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”
-    
-            “It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “It is a sign of strength. And our country needs us to be strong now.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.', 'The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.', 'Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”', 'And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press.', 'They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air.', 'Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.', 'Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory.', 'Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion.', 'Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year.', 'It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.', 'While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.', 'It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it.', 'Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican.', 'It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican.', 'It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election.', 'That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.', 'The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd.', 'If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens.', 'They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party.', 'In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel.', 'So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (', 'Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors.', 'Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)', 'But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move.', 'How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.', 'Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted.', 'It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring.', 'If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.”', 'The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.', 'At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours.', 'It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed.', 'After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?', 'The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible.', 'To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.', 'But no such announcement came.', 'Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control.', 'MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire.', 'NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.”', 'The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.', 'All the while, Conde has remained silent.', 'I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation.', 'Does he have any regret?', 'I didn’t get an on-the-record response.', 'Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values.', 'It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.', 'In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.', '“Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.', '”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions.', 'Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course.', 'Not digging in.', 'Not blaming others.', 'Take a minute.', 'Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”', '“It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “', 'It is a sign of strength.', 'And our country needs us to be strong now.”']",-0.032955005531589,"Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”",The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.,-0.5018035081716684,"To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.","The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.",2024-04-09
-Two million Black+Decker steamers have been recalled after more than 80 reports of burn injuries,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/business/black-and-decker-steamers-recall/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:25 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","Two million Black+Decker steamers have been recalled after more than 80 reports of burn injuries, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.
-    
-            The steamers can “expel, spray, or leak hot water during use,” the recall warned, which can injure the user.
-    
-            More than 500,000 of these steamers were already recalled in November 2022, but the recall expanded Thursday to include 1.6 million more. Since the original recall, there have been 317 reports of hot water expelling from the steamer. There have been 82 reports of burn injuries, seven of which were second-degree burns.
-    
-            The recall noted that 94 of the 317 reports happened with repaired steamers from the 2022 recall or from models with an updated design.
-    
-            The recall now includes all BLACK+DECKER Model HGS011 Easy Garment Steamers, which were sold in a variety of colors.
-    
-            The following model numbers are included in the recall and are printed at the bottom of the steamer or on the sides of the package:
-    
-            • HGS011F          • HGS011S          • HGS011              • HGS011T
-    
-            Customers can also check the UPC codes on the steamers, which are printed on the sides, back and bottom of the color package:
-    
-            • 0 50875 82840 7• 0 50875 82839 1• 0 50875 82838 4• 0 50875 00272 2
-    
-            The recall said to stop using the steamer immediately and contact Empower Brands for a refund. Some customers received a replacement upper assembly as part of the 2022 recall — those customers should receive a refund as well.
-    
-            The steamers were sold in store and online at Walmart, Target, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as other retailers. They sold for between $14 and $23 from June 2021 through February 2024.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['Two million Black+Decker steamers have been recalled after more than 80 reports of burn injuries, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.', 'The steamers can “expel, spray, or leak hot water during use,” the recall warned, which can injure the user.', 'More than 500,000 of these steamers were already recalled in November 2022, but the recall expanded Thursday to include 1.6 million more.', 'Since the original recall, there have been 317 reports of hot water expelling from the steamer.', 'There have been 82 reports of burn injuries, seven of which were second-degree burns.', 'The recall noted that 94 of the 317 reports happened with repaired steamers from the 2022 recall or from models with an updated design.', 'The recall now includes all BLACK+DECKER Model HGS011 Easy Garment Steamers, which were sold in a variety of colors.', 'The following model numbers are included in the recall and are printed at the bottom of the steamer or on the sides of the package:  • HGS011F • HGS011S • HGS011 • HGS011T  Customers can also check the UPC codes on the steamers, which areprinted on the sides, back and bottom of the color package:  • 0 50875 82840 7• 0 50875 82839 1• 0 50875 82838 4• 0 50875 00272 2  The recall said to stop using the steamer immediately and contact Empower Brands for a refund.', 'Some customers received a replacement upper assembly as part of the 2022 recall — those customers should receive a refund as well.', 'The steamers were sold in store and online at Walmart, Target, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as other retailers.', 'They sold for between $14 and $23 from June 2021 through February 2024.']",0.0393415336838077,"The recall now includes all BLACK+DECKER Model HGS011 Easy Garment Steamers, which were sold in a variety of colors.","The steamers can “expel, spray, or leak hot water during use,” the recall warned, which can injure the user.",-0.9485698640346528,,"Two million Black+Decker steamers have been recalled after more than 80 reports of burn injuries, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.",2024-04-09
-3 ways Apple’s monopoly lawsuit could change the iPhone experience for fans,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apples-iphone-changes-lawsuit/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:30 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market. The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.
-    
-            That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.
-    
-            But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far. On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market. In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.
-    
-            The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them. Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”
-    
-            But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services. Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:
-    
-            If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.
-    
-            One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before. The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.
-    
-             According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.
-    
-            “An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said. “What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”
-    
-            At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage. And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.
-    
-            The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.
-    
-            Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.
-    
-            The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy. It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.
-    
-            In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap. Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year. RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.
-    
-            The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms. The US government could require the same.
-    
-            Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+. The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.
-    
-            Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.
-    
-            “The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.
-    
-            The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services. Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.
-    
-            The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating. Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.
-    
-            David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation. But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.
-    
-            “If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.
-    
-            Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use. Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.
-    
-            “The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.
-    
-            But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market.', 'The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.', 'That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.', 'But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far.', 'On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.', 'In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.', 'The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.', 'Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”', 'But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services.', 'Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:  If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.', 'One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before.', 'The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.', 'According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.', '“An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said.', '“What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”', 'At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage.', 'And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.', 'The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.', 'Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.', 'The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy.', 'It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.', 'In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.', 'Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year.', 'RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.', 'The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems.', 'The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms.', 'The US government could require the same.', 'Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+.', 'The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.', 'Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.', '“The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.', 'The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services.', 'Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.', 'The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.', 'Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.', 'David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation.', 'But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.', '“If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.', 'Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use.', 'Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.', '“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.', 'But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”']",0.2470050112228104,"In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.",The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.,-0.151834687590599,"“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.","The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.",2024-04-09
-"Brazilian President Lula indirectly calls out Elon Musk on climate crisis, further fueling tensions",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/lula-elon-musk-moraes-leash/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:57 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva indirectly called out Elon Musk on the climate crisis on Tuesday, further increasing tensions between the country’s leaders and the billionaire businessman.
-    
-            Speaking at a launch event for the Union with Municipalities to Reduce Deforestation and Forest Fires in the Amazon, Lula spoke of “billionaires trying to build a rocket to find something in space,” alluding to several comments Musk has made in the past on colonizing Mars, Brazilian media reported.
-    
-            Lula published the same comments in a post on X, the social media platform that Musk owns, further adding, “He will have to learn to live here. He will have to use his money to help preserve the environment,” without explicitly mentioning Musk’s name.
-    
-            Lula’s comments come as tensions between Musk and Brazil steadily escalate.
-    
-            Brazil’s attorney general called for social media platforms in the country to be regulated after Musk threatened to disobey a court order banning certain accounts on X and lashed out against “aggressive censorship.”
-    
-            In a recent post on X, Attorney General Jorge Messias wrote: “It is urgent to regulate social networks. We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”
-    
-            In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said he should be investigated by the police. Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes also announced he would open an inquiry into Musk.
-    
-            Musk, expressing his discontent, made numerous posts on X in recent days, taunting de Moraes and going as far as to demand his resignation or impeachment, citing a violation of the Brazilian constitution.
-    
-            “How did @Alexandre de Moraes become the dictator of Brazil? He has Lula on a leash,” one post read, with a laughing-crying emoji tacked at the end.
-    
-            Musk suggested that Moraes was behind the ban on certain accounts, writing Sunday on X that the judge had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.”
-    
-            On Saturday, X’s global government affairs team posted that it had been “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” and threatened with “daily fines” for non-compliance.
-    
-            “We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law. We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds,” the team wrote. The team indicated it does not believe the orders are constitutional and will challenge them legally where possible.
-    
-            Musk is expected to meet with far-right Argentine leader Javier Milei, an ally of Lula’s rival and predecessor, former President Jair Bolsonaro, at a Tesla factory in Texas on Saturday, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said Tuesday, Reuters reports.
-    
-            Social media platforms have been widely viewed as a catalyst for riots in Brazil that took place on January 8 last year, when hundreds of protesters broke into federal government buildings in the capital Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in the United States.
-    
-            - CNN’s Hanna Ziady, Duarte Mendonca and Ramishah Maruf contributed to this report.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva indirectly called out Elon Musk on the climate crisis on Tuesday, further increasing tensions between the country’s leaders and the billionaire businessman.', 'Speaking at a launch event for the Union with Municipalities to Reduce Deforestation and Forest Fires in the Amazon, Lula spoke of “billionaires trying to build a rocket to find something in space,” alluding to several comments Musk has made in the past on colonizing Mars, Brazilian media reported.', 'Lula published the same comments in a post on X, the social media platform that Musk owns, further adding, “He will have to learn to live here.', 'He will have to use his money to help preserve the environment,” without explicitly mentioning Musk’s name.', 'Lula’s comments come as tensions between Musk and Brazil steadily escalate.', 'Brazil’s attorney general called for social media platforms in the country to be regulated after Musk threatened to disobey a court order banning certain accounts on X and lashed out against “aggressive censorship.”', 'In a recentposton X, Attorney General Jorge Messias wrote: “It is urgent to regulate social networks.', 'We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”', 'In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said heshould be investigated by the police.', 'Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes also announced he would open an inquiry into Musk.', 'Musk, expressing his discontent, made numerous posts on X in recent days, taunting de Moraes and going as far as to demand his resignation or impeachment, citing a violation of the Brazilian constitution.', '“How did@Alexandrede Moraes become the dictator of Brazil?', 'He has Lula on a leash,” onepostread, with a laughing-crying emoji tacked at the end.', 'Musk suggested that Moraes was behind the ban on certain accounts, writing Sunday on X that the judge had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil.', 'He should resign or be impeached.”', 'On Saturday, X’s global government affairs teampostedthat it had been “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” and threatened with “daily fines” for non-compliance.', '“We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law.', 'We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds,” the team wrote.', 'The team indicated it does not believe the orders are constitutional and will challenge them legally where possible.', 'Musk is expected to meet with far-right Argentine leader Javier Milei, an ally of Lula’s rival and predecessor, former President Jair Bolsonaro, at a Tesla factory in Texas on Saturday, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said Tuesday, Reuters reports.', 'Social media platforms have been widely viewed as a catalyst for riots in Brazil that took place on January 8 last year, when hundreds of protesters broke into federal government buildings in the capital Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in the United States.', '- CNN’s Hanna Ziady, Duarte Mendonca and Ramishah Maruf contributed to this report.']",-0.1650164313468639,"In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said heshould be investigated by the police.","We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”",-0.8752611517906189,,"On Saturday, X’s global government affairs teampostedthat it had been “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” and threatened with “daily fines” for non-compliance.",2024-04-09
-Meta’s AI image generator really struggles with the concept of interracial couples,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/tech/meta-ai-image-generator-interracial-couples/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        4:42 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","Meta’s AI image generator is coming under fire for its apparent struggles to create images of couples or friends from different racial backgrounds.
-    
-            When prompted by CNN on Thursday morning to create a picture of an Asian man with a White wife, the tool spit out a slew of images of an East Asian man with an East Asian woman. The same thing happened when prompted by CNN to create an image of an Asian woman with a White husband.
-    
-            When asked to create an image of a Black woman with a White husband, Meta’s AI feature generated a handful of images featuring Black couples.
-    
-            The tool also generated images of two Asian women when asked to create an image of an Asian woman and her Caucasian friend. Moreover, a request for an image of a Black woman and her Asian friend resulted in snaps of two Black women.
-    
-            However, when asked to create an image of a Black Jewish man and his Asian wife, it generated a photo of a Black man wearing a yarmulke and an Asian woman. And after many repeated attempts by CNN to try and get a picture of an interracial couple, the tool did eventually create an image of a White man with a Black woman and of a White man with an Asian woman.
-    
-            Meta released its AI image generator in December. But tech news outlet The Verge first reported the issue with race on Wednesday, highlighting how the tool “can’t imagine” an Asian man with a White woman.
-    
-            When asked by CNN to simply generate an image of an interracial couple, meanwhile, the Meta tool responded with: “This image can’t be generated. Please try something else.”
-    
-            Interracial couples in America, however, are a huge portion of the population. Approximately 19% of married opposite-sex couples were interracial in 2022, according to US Census data, with nearly 29% of opposite-sex unmarried couple households being interracial. And some 31% of married same-sex couples in 2022 were interracial.
-    
-            Meta referred CNN’s request for comment to a September company blog post on building generative AI features responsibly. “We’re taking steps to reduce bias. Addressing potential bias in generative AI systems is a new area of research,” the blog post states. “As with other AI models, having more people use the features and share feedback can help us refine our approach.”
-    
-            Meta’s AI image generator also has a disclaimer stating that images generated by AI “may be inaccurate or inappropriate.”
-    
-            Despite the many promises of generative AI’s future potential emanating from the tech industry, the gaffes from Meta’s AI image generator are the latest in a spate of incidents that show how generative AI tools still struggle immensely with the concept of race.
-    
-            Earlier this year, Google said it was pausing its AI tool Gemini’s ability to generate images of people after it was blasted on social media for producing historically inaccurate images that largely showed people of color in place of White people. OpenAI’s Dall-E image generator, meanwhile, has taken heat for perpetuating harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes.
-    
-            Generative AI tools like the ones created by Meta, Google and OpenAI are trained on vast troves of online data, and researchers have long warned that they have the potential to replicate the racial biases baked into that information but at a much larger scale.
-    
-            While seemingly well-intended, some of the recent attempts by tech giants to overcome this issue have embarrassingly backfired, revealing how AI tools might not be ready for prime time.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['Meta’s AI image generator is coming under fire for its apparent struggles to create images of couples or friends from different racial backgrounds.', 'When prompted by CNN on Thursday morning to create a picture of an Asian man with a White wife, the tool spit out a slew of images of an East Asian man with an East Asian woman.', 'The same thing happened when prompted by CNN to create an image of an Asian woman with a White husband.', 'When asked to create an image of a Black woman with a White husband, Meta’s AI feature generated a handful of images featuring Black couples.', 'The tool also generated images of two Asian women when asked to create an image of an Asian woman and her Caucasian friend.', 'Moreover, a request for an image of a Black woman and her Asian friend resulted in snaps of two Black women.', 'However, when asked to create an image of a Black Jewish man and his Asian wife, it generated a photo of a Black man wearing a yarmulke and an Asian woman.', 'And after many repeated attempts by CNN to try and get a picture of an interracial couple, the tool did eventually create an image of a White man with a Black woman and of a White man with an Asian woman.', 'Meta released its AI image generator in December.', 'But tech news outlet The Verge first reported the issue with race on Wednesday, highlighting how the tool “can’t imagine” an Asian man with a White woman.', 'When asked by CNN to simply generate an image of an interracial couple, meanwhile, the Meta tool responded with: “This image can’t be generated.', 'Please try something else.”', 'Interracial couples in America, however, are a huge portion of the population.', 'Approximately 19% of married opposite-sex couples were interracial in 2022, according to US Census data, with nearly 29% of opposite-sex unmarried couple households being interracial.', 'And some 31% of married same-sex couples in 2022 were interracial.', 'Meta referred CNN’s request for comment to a September company blog post on building generative AI features responsibly. “', 'We’re taking steps to reduce bias.', 'Addressing potential bias in generative AI systems is a new area of research,” the blog post states. “', 'As with other AI models, having more people use the features and share feedback can help us refine our approach.”', 'Meta’s AI image generator also has a disclaimer stating that images generated by AI “may be inaccurate or inappropriate.”', 'Despite the many promises of generative AI’s future potential emanating from the tech industry, the gaffes from Meta’s AI image generator are the latest in a spate of incidents that show how generative AI tools still struggle immensely with the concept of race.', 'Earlier this year, Google said it was pausing its AI tool Gemini’s ability to generate images of people after it was blasted on social media for producing historically inaccurate images that largely showed people of color in place of White people.', 'OpenAI’s Dall-E image generator, meanwhile, has taken heat for perpetuating harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes.', 'Generative AI tools like the ones created by Meta, Google and OpenAI are trained on vast troves of online data, and researchers have long warned that they have the potential to replicate the racial biases baked into that information but at a much larger scale.', 'While seemingly well-intended, some of the recent attempts by tech giants to overcome this issue have embarrassingly backfired, revealing how AI tools might not be ready for prime time.']",0.1267355593821175,The tool also generated images of two Asian women when asked to create an image of an Asian woman and her Caucasian friend.,"Despite the many promises of generative AI’s future potential emanating from the tech industry, the gaffes from Meta’s AI image generator are the latest in a spate of incidents that show how generative AI tools still struggle immensely with the concept of race.",-0.6598336199919382,"As with other AI models, having more people use the features and share feedback can help us refine our approach.”","While seemingly well-intended, some of the recent attempts by tech giants to overcome this issue have embarrassingly backfired, revealing how AI tools might not be ready for prime time.",2024-04-09
-FTC investigating TikTok over privacy and security,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/ftc-tiktok-probe-privacy-and-security/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:11 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.
-    
-            The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.
-    
-            The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.
-    
-            The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.
-    
-            The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources. Politico reported news of the probe earlier.
-    
-            When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”
-    
-            TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-    
-            The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores. The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk. Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach — which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.
-    
-            The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens. TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.
-    
-            Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands — a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk. To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.
-    
-            TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions. TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.', 'The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.', 'The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.', 'The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.', 'The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources.', 'Politico reported news of the probe earlier.', 'When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”', 'TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.', 'The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US.', 'Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores.', 'The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk.', 'Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.', 'The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens.', 'TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.', 'Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands—a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk.', 'To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.', 'TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions.', 'TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.']",-0.232320081688102,"The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.","The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.",-0.8880722284317016,,"Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.",2024-04-09
-HSBC to sell Argentina business in $550 million deal,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/hsbc-argentina-sale-deal-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        6:55 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","HSBC has agreed to sell its business in Argentina to Grupo Financiero Galicia — the largest private financial group in the country — for $550 million, the UK-based bank said Tuesday.
-    
-            The move comes at a time when the bank, Europe’s biggest by market value, is pushing harder into Asia as part of a strategic overhaul unveiled in 2021, and as it has wound down businesses in other regions, including the United States and France.
-    
-            “HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network,” CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement, adding that the unit “generates substantial earnings volatility” for the bank.
-    
-            Analysts said HSBC’s decision to exit the hyperinflationary economy was a continuation of the bank’s efforts to streamline operations.
-    
-            “This divestiture is consistent with HSBC’s pattern of withdrawing from markets where it has struggled, such as France and Canada,” said Will Howlett, financial analyst at Quilter Cheviot.
-    
-            HSBC’s Quinn called the deal “another important step” in moving the bank’s focus to “higher-value opportunities across our international network.”
-    
-            The sale is expected to lead to a $1 billion pre-tax loss for HSBC in the first quarter of this year, the bank added.
-    
-            Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the financial hit would be “short-term” and “offset by relief that the group is coming good on its plans to streamline.”
-    
-            Meanwhile, HSBC’s China business is also hurting its earnings. The bank reported a big drop in quarterly profit in February, partly because of its exposure to China’s troubled real estate industry.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['HSBC has agreed to sell its business in Argentina to Grupo Financiero Galicia —the largest private financial group in the country — for $550 million, the UK-based bank said Tuesday.', 'The move comes at a time when the bank, Europe’s biggest by market value, is pushing harder into Asia as part of astrategic overhaulunveiled in 2021, and as it has wound down businesses in other regions, including the United States and France.', '“HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network,” CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement, adding that the unit “generates substantial earnings volatility” for the bank.', 'Analysts said HSBC’s decision to exit the hyperinflationary economy was a continuation of the bank’s efforts to streamline operations.', '“This divestiture is consistent with HSBC’s pattern of withdrawing from markets where it has struggled, such as France and Canada,” said Will Howlett, financial analyst at Quilter Cheviot.', 'HSBC’s Quinn called the deal “another important step” in moving the bank’s focus to “higher-value opportunities across our international network.”', 'The sale is expected to lead to a $1 billion pre-tax loss for HSBC in the first quarter of this year, the bank added.', 'Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the financial hit would be “short-term” and “offset by relief that the group is coming good on its plans to streamline.”', 'Meanwhile, HSBC’s China business is also hurting its earnings.', 'The bank reported a big drop in quarterly profit in February, partly because of its exposure to China’s troubled real estate industry.']",0.1334047839255208,"Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the financial hit would be “short-term” and “offset by relief that the group is coming good on its plans to streamline.”","Meanwhile, HSBC’s China business is also hurting its earnings.",-0.3217351900206672,HSBC’s Quinn called the deal “another important step” in moving the bank’s focus to “higher-value opportunities across our international network.”,"The bank reported a big drop in quarterly profit in February, partly because of its exposure to China’s troubled real estate industry.",2024-04-09
-Norfolk Southern reaches $600 million settlement to settle East Palestine derailment suit,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/investing/norfolk-southern-settlement/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        10:18 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Norfolk Southern has reached a $600 million settlement that, if approved by a court, will resolve all lawsuits covering thousands of residents within 20 miles of the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment that spilled more than a million pounds of hazardous chemicals into the soil, water and air.
-    
-            The rail company said the settlement is intended to offset costs related to the spill that sent a plume of toxic smoke into the air and displaced many residents and businesses. But Norfolk Southern didn’t admit to any liability or wrongdoing as a result of the settlement.
-    
-            “Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment,” the company said in a statement. “This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss.”
-    
-            The settlement of the class-action lawsuit, which subsumed 31 separate cases, also allows residents within 10 miles of the derailment to receive additional compensation.
-    
-            In a court filing Tuesday, the plaintiffs said they expected to file a motion for the judge to approve the settlement within 10 days. Attorneys representing the claimants said they hope to make the claims process easy and efficient and to begin sending out payments by the end of 2024.
-    
-            “We believe this is a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels, not the least of which is the speed of the resolution, and the overall amount of the awards residents can expect, which will be significant for those most impacted by the derailment,” said Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, M. Elizabeth Graham of Grant & Eisenhofer, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy and T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, in a combined statement.
-    
-            Following the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, residents were ordered to evacuate temporarily. State and federal environmental officials say testing shows the air and water in the town is now safe, but some residents still complain of health problems, including burning sensations in their eyes, tingling in their lips, heaviness in their chest and swelling of lymph nodes in their necks and groins.
-    
-            Since then, the company says it has spent $104 million in community assistance to East Palestine and the surrounding areas, $4.3 million to upgrade the area’s drinking water infrastructure and $500,000 for economic development, among other contributions. East Palestine has a population of 5,000.
-    
-            But several class-action lawsuits say the company hasn’t done enough to remediate the toxic chemicals released into the area. They also blamed Norfolk Southern for negligence.
-    
-            The EPA’s latest update on the aftermath of the derailment notes that among several changes in the region’s environment, “deceased fish were observed by response staff in a sulfur run during routine stream monitoring” on April 5. The investigation determined that the fish were killed when swimming through pumps that are diverting water out of the sulfur run, and the EPA required Norfolk Southern to remediate the stream and determine a better plan.
-    
-            Among the questionable decisions the company made was a massive, controlled burn that released toxic chemicals into the air three days after the derailment. The rail company said there was an imminent risk of an uncontrolled explosion if the chemicals were not released and burned off. The officials on the ground who authorized the controlled burn were told they had only minutes to make the decision before an explosion.
-    
-            But the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board testified last month at a Senate hearing that the controlled burn was unnecessary.
-    
-            Shares of Norfolk Southern (NSC) fell 1.5%.
-    
-            This story has been updated with additional context and developments.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Norfolk Southern has reached a $600 million settlement that, if approved by a court, will resolve all lawsuits covering thousands of residents within 20 miles of the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment that spilled more than a million pounds of hazardous chemicals into the soil, water and air.', 'The rail company said the settlement is intended to offset costs related to the spill that sent a plume of toxic smoke into the air and displaced many residents and businesses.', 'But Norfolk Southern didn’t admit to any liability or wrongdoing as a result of the settlement.', '“Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment,” the company said in a statement. “', 'This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss.”', 'The settlement of the class-action lawsuit, which subsumed 31 separate cases, also allows residents within 10 miles of the derailment to receive additional compensation.', 'In a court filing Tuesday, the plaintiffs said they expected to file a motion for the judge to approve the settlement within 10 days.', 'Attorneys representing the claimants said they hope to make the claims process easy and efficient and to begin sending out payments by the end of 2024.', '“We believe this is a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels, not the least of which is the speed of the resolution, and the overall amount of the awards residents can expect, which will be significant for those most impacted by the derailment,” said Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, M. Elizabeth Graham of Grant & Eisenhofer, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy and T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, in a combined statement.', 'Following the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, residents were ordered to evacuate temporarily.', 'State and federal environmental officials say testing shows the air and water in the town is now safe, but some residentsstill complain of health problems, including burning sensations in their eyes, tingling in their lips, heaviness in their chest and swelling of lymph nodes in their necks and groins.', 'Since then, the company says it has spent $104 million in community assistance to East Palestine and the surrounding areas, $4.3 million to upgrade the area’s drinking water infrastructure and $500,000 for economic development, among other contributions.', 'East Palestine has a population of 5,000.', 'But several class-action lawsuits say the company hasn’t done enough to remediate the toxic chemicals released into the area.', 'They also blamed Norfolk Southern for negligence.', 'The EPA’s latest updateon the aftermath of the derailment notes that among several changes in the region’s environment, “deceased fish were observed by response staff in a sulfur run during routine stream monitoring” on April 5.', 'The investigation determined that the fish were killed when swimming through pumps that are diverting water out of the sulfur run, and the EPA required Norfolk Southern to remediate the stream and determine a better plan.', 'Among the questionable decisions the company made was a massive, controlled burn that released toxic chemicals into the air three days after the derailment.', 'The rail company said there was an imminent risk of an uncontrolled explosion if the chemicals were not released and burned off.', 'The officials on the ground who authorized the controlled burn were told they had only minutes to make the decision before an explosion.', 'But the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board testified last month at a Senate hearing that the controlled burn was unnecessary.', 'Shares of Norfolk Southern (NSC) fell 1.5%.', 'This story has been updated with additional context and developments.']",0.0182368879056844,"“We believe this is a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels, not the least of which is the speed of the resolution, and the overall amount of the awards residents can expect, which will be significant for those most impacted by the derailment,” said Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, M. Elizabeth Graham of Grant & Eisenhofer, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy and T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, in a combined statement.","State and federal environmental officials say testing shows the air and water in the town is now safe, but some residentsstill complain of health problems, including burning sensations in their eyes, tingling in their lips, heaviness in their chest and swelling of lymph nodes in their necks and groins.",0.142910361289978,Attorneys representing the claimants said they hope to make the claims process easy and efficient and to begin sending out payments by the end of 2024.,Shares of Norfolk Southern (NSC) fell 1.5%.,2024-04-09
-"NBC cut ties with Ronna McDaniel after extraordinary pressure, but its problems aren’t over",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/27/media/nbc-ronna-mcdaniel-problems-are-not-over/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:16 AM EDT, Wed March 27, 2024
-    ","Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role. But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80 painful hours.
-    
-            On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”
-    
-            “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”
-    
-            Conde had no real choice. The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel. The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.
-    
-            “What a sh*t show!” a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.
-    
-            In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire. But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.” Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.
-    
-            Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent. As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”
-    
-            “Has Cesar lost the room?” wondered a third media executive.
-    
-            While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess. Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.
-    
-            “These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.
-    
-            Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong. Good. Let NBC be for Democrats only.”
-    
-            Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest. The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican. It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican. No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote. And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.
-    
-            Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come. As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.
-    
-            NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter. The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told. Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.
-    
-            While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars. Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,27/03/2024,"['Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role.', 'But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80painful hours.', 'On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”', '“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”', 'Conde had no real choice.', 'The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel.', 'The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.', '“What a sh*t show!”', 'a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.', 'In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire.', 'But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.”', 'Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.', 'Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent.', 'As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”', '“Has Cesar lost the room?”', 'wondered a third media executive.', 'While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess.', 'Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.', '“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.', 'Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong.', 'Good.', 'Let NBC be for Democrats only.”', 'Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest.', 'The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican.', 'It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican.', 'No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.', 'Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come.', 'As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.', 'NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter.', 'The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told.', 'Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.', 'While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.', 'Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0743400881523301,"“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “","“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.",-0.3914040706374428,"While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.","As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.",2024-04-09
-Why gold prices are at record highs,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/economy/gold-prices-record-highs/index.html,"
-  Published
-        2:01 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","From central banks to Costco customers, it seems everyone is buying gold these days.
-    
-            The price of spot gold reached $2,364 per ounce Tuesday after hitting record highs for seven straight sessions and trading at $2,336 per ounce Monday. Year on year, gold is up 16.5%.
-    
-            Investors who expect the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate are the main force driving up prices, but the surge is boosted by other factors, including central banks — led by China — buying up gold to ease reliance on US dollars.
-    
-            Central banks see gold as a long-term store of value and a safe haven during times of economic and international turmoil.
-    
-            Gold is considered a resilient investment. When interest rates fall, gold prices tend to rise, as bullion becomes more appealing than income-paying assets like bonds. Investors also regard gold as a hedge against inflation, betting bullion will retain its value when prices rise.
-    
-            The People’s Bank of China bought gold for the 17th straight month in March, adding 160,000 ounces to bring reserves to 72.74 million troy ounces of gold, according to Reuters.
-    
-            Central banks may want to “diversify away” from US dollars and buy gold amid geopolitical uncertainty, according to an April 9 UBS research note. As China builds its reserves, demand is pushing up prices already boosted by usual investors.
-    
-            Chinese investors are looking to gold as an alternative asset amid downturns in property valuations and equity prices in past years, according to an April 9 Capital Economics research note.
-    
-            Other central banks, including India and Turkey, are also increasing their gold reserves. India’s GDP growth is driving those purchases, according to UBS.
-    
-            Central banks demanding gold is a sign of waning reliance on the dollar, according to Ulf Lindahl, CEO at Currency Research Associates.
-    
-            Dollars are increasingly unappealing for central banks who want to decrease economic reliance on the US, Lindahl said in an email.
-    
-            Nations not allied with the US may accumulate gold to “mix away from dollars” to reduce vulnerability to sanctions, according to a March JP Morgan research note.
-    
-            Central bank buying has driven the rise in gold prices since 2022, according to the note. Gold could be entering a strong era, as central bank purchases of gold in 2022 were more than double the average annual purchase across the decade prior, according to JP Morgan.
-    
-            The rise in prices comes amid US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to China to discuss financial stability in US-China relations, including what Yellen called the overproduction of Chinese electric vehicles.
-    
-            Oil prices are also on the rise, posing a threat to the US economy, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.
-    
-            Higher oil prices are likely to stoke concerns over inflation, boosting gold prices, according to the UBS research note.
-    
-            The rise in gold prices signals investors are anticipating rate cuts from the Fed later this year but might be uncertain about the prospects of squashing inflation without throwing the US economy into recession, also known as a soft landing.
-    
-            UBS sees the expectation of Fed rate cuts as “still the main driver for bullish sentiment toward gold,” according to an April 9 research note.
-    
-            Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks April 3 that inflation is still on a “sometimes bumpy path” toward the Fed’s goal of 2%, and that rate cuts to rebalance the economy are likely to begin at some point later this year.
-    
-            Fifty-one percent of investors currently expect a quarter-point cut in June, according to data from CME group. Yet job growth data for March exceeded expectations, calling into question the need for multiple rate cuts amid a still-strong economy.
-    
-            The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% for the 12 months ending in February. That’s a tick up from January’s 2.4% increase, according to Department of Commerce data released last month.
-    
-            On a monthly basis, the core PCE price index that strips out the more volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3%. The index, which Fed officials view as a crucial gauge of underlying inflation, was down from 0.4% in January, when it had grown at the fastest pace in one year.
-    
-            Some investors are buying into the hype around gold bullion as prices rise, pushing them further up. On Reddit, proud gold buyers often post threads about their stashes.
-    
-            Costco began selling gold bars online in August and silver coins in January. The company may now be selling as much as $200 million in gold and silver each month, according to an estimate by Wells Fargo. Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti told analysts in December that the company had sold more than $100 million of gold bars in the prior quarter.
-    
-            “The accelerating frequency of Reddit posts, quick on-line sell-outs of product, and [the company’s] robust monthly eComm sales suggests a sharp uptick in momentum since the launch,” the April 9 investment note said.
-    
-            Lindahl said that “trend followers” and others jump on the rise in prices as the background begins to point to substantially higher prices over the long term.
-    
-            It’s also worth noting that gold is a traditional asset to hold during political uncertainty. Voters in more than 60 countries are set to head to the polls this year, including for the US presidential election. That uptick in geopolitical and economic unpredictability underscores the precious metal’s stable value.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['From central banks to Costco customers, it seems everyone is buying gold these days.', 'The price of spot gold reached $2,364 per ounce Tuesday after hitting record highs for seven straight sessions and trading at $2,336 per ounce Monday.', 'Year on year, gold is up 16.5%.', 'Investors who expect the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate are the main force driving up prices, but the surge is boosted by other factors, including central banks — led by China — buying up gold to ease reliance on US dollars.', 'Central banks see gold as a long-term store of value and a safe haven during times of economic and international turmoil.', 'Gold is considered a resilient investment.', 'When interest rates fall, gold prices tend to rise, as bullion becomes more appealing than income-paying assets like bonds.', 'Investors also regard gold as a hedge against inflation, betting bullion will retain its value when prices rise.', 'The People’s Bank of China bought gold for the 17th straight month in March, adding 160,000 ounces to bring reserves to 72.74 million troy ounces of gold, according to Reuters.', 'Central banks may want to “diversify away” from US dollars and buy gold amid geopolitical uncertainty, according to an April 9 UBS research note.', 'As China builds its reserves, demand is pushing up prices already boosted by usual investors.', 'Chinese investors are looking to gold as an alternative asset amid downturns in property valuations and equity prices in past years, according to an April 9 Capital Economics research note.', 'Other central banks, including India and Turkey, are also increasing their gold reserves.', 'India’s GDP growth is driving those purchases, according to UBS.', 'Central banks demanding gold is a sign of waning reliance on the dollar, according to Ulf Lindahl, CEO at Currency Research Associates.', 'Dollars are increasingly unappealing for central banks who want to decrease economic reliance on the US, Lindahl said in an email.', 'Nations not allied with the US may accumulate gold to “mix away from dollars” to reduce vulnerability to sanctions, according to a March JP Morgan research note.', 'Central bank buying has driven the rise in gold prices since 2022, according to the note.', 'Gold could be entering a strong era, as central bank purchases of gold in 2022 were more than double the average annual purchase across the decade prior, according to JP Morgan.', 'The rise in prices comes amid US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to China to discuss financial stability in US-China relations, including what Yellen called the overproduction of Chinese electric vehicles.', 'Oil prices are also on the rise, posing a threat to the US economy, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.', 'Higher oil prices are likely to stoke concerns over inflation, boosting gold prices, according to the UBS research note.', 'The rise in gold prices signals investors are anticipating rate cuts from the Fed later this year but might be uncertain about the prospects of squashing inflation without throwing the US economy into recession, also known as a soft landing.', 'UBS sees the expectation of Fed rate cuts as “still the main driver for bullish sentiment toward gold,” according to an April 9 research note.', 'Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks April 3 that inflation is still on a “sometimes bumpy path” toward the Fed’s goal of 2%, and that rate cuts to rebalance the economy are likely to begin at some point later this year.', 'Fifty-one percent of investors currently expect a quarter-point cut in June, according to data from CME group.', 'Yet job growth data for March exceeded expectations, calling into question the need for multiple rate cuts amid a still-strong economy.', 'The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% for the 12 months ending in February.', 'That’s a tick up from January’s 2.4% increase, according to Department of Commerce data released last month.', 'On a monthly basis, the core PCE price index that strips out the more volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3%.', 'The index, which Fed officials view as a crucial gauge of underlying inflation, was down from 0.4% in January, when it had grown at the fastest pace in one year.', 'Some investors are buying into the hype around gold bullion as prices rise, pushing them further up.', 'On Reddit, proud gold buyers often post threads about their stashes.', 'Costco began selling gold bars online in August and silver coins in January.', 'The company may now be selling as much as $200 million in gold and silver each month, according to an estimate by Wells Fargo.', 'Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti told analysts in December that the company had sold more than $100 million of gold bars in the prior quarter.', '“The accelerating frequency of Reddit posts, quick on-line sell-outs of product, and [the company’s] robust monthly eComm sales suggests a sharp uptick in momentum since the launch,” the April 9 investment note said.', 'Lindahl said that “trend followers” and others jump on the rise in prices as the background begins to point to substantially higher prices over the long term.', 'It’s also worth noting that gold is a traditional asset to hold during political uncertainty.', 'Voters in more than 60 countries are set to head to the polls this year, including for the US presidential election.', 'That uptick in geopolitical and economic unpredictability underscores the precious metal’s stable value.']",0.1431799014927879,That uptick in geopolitical and economic unpredictability underscores the precious metal’s stable value.,"Oil prices are also on the rise, posing a threat to the US economy, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.",0.4892004728317261,"The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% for the 12 months ending in February.","The index, which Fed officials view as a crucial gauge of underlying inflation, was down from 0.4% in January, when it had grown at the fastest pace in one year.",2024-04-09
-How to make high interest rates work for your hard-earned savings,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/20/success/interest-rates-savings-cash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:00 PM EDT, Wed March 20, 2024
-    ","The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high. That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.
-    
-            That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).
-    
-            But with the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.
-    
-            That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.
-    
-            However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing. There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”
-    
-            So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.
-    
-            The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate. That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.
-    
-            By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts. Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.
-    
-            Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.
-    
-            While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.
-    
-            As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings account rates can change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it. So make sure to check your monthly statement.
-    
-            Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.
-    
-            You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity. That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.
-    
-            As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.
-    
-            If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.
-    
-            To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period. You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.
-    
-            As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%. CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.
-    
-            Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36% APY. At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator. If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest. The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.
-    
-            “It makes sense to go long with CDs. To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years. Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.
-    
-            If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.
-    
-            For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs. Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.
-    
-            But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.
-    
-            If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.
-    
-            Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.
-    
-            But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments. As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.
-    
-            Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC. But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.
-    
-            Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
-    
-            Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33% respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08% respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment. Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.
-    
-            If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov. But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.
-    
-            And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said. An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%. Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.
-    
-            When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.
-    
-            What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?” Smith said.
-    
-            That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty. Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.
-    
-            Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “Most of the time convenience is really important. Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.",CNN,20/03/2024,"['The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high.', 'That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.', 'That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).', 'Butwith the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.', 'That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.', 'However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing.', 'There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “', 'But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “', 'If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”', 'So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.', 'The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate.', 'That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.', 'By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts.', 'Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.', 'Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “', 'If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.', 'While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.', 'As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings accountratescan change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it.', 'So make sure to check your monthly statement.', 'Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.', 'You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity.', 'That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.', 'As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.', 'If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.', 'To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period.', 'You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.', 'As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%.', 'CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.', 'Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36%APY.', 'At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator.', 'If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest.', 'The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.', '“It makes sense to go long with CDs.', 'To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years.', 'Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.', 'If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.', 'For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.', 'Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.', 'But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.', 'If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.', 'Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.', 'But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.', 'As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.', 'Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC.', 'But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.', 'Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.', 'Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33%respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08%respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment.', 'Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.', 'If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov.', 'But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.', 'And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said.', 'An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%.', 'Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.', 'When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.', 'What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “', 'What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?”', 'Smith said.', 'That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.', 'Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.', 'Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “', 'Most of the time convenience is really important.', 'Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.']",0.1607169988950149,That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.,"But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.",0.3840319812297821,"For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.","That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).",2024-04-09
-NBC News ousts Ronna McDaniel after network’s anchors launch unprecedented on-air rebellion,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-ousts-ronna-mcdaniel/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:44 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.
-    
-            “There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”
-    
-            “I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
-    
-            Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.
-    
-            The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.
-    
-            McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
-    
-            As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
-    
-            In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.
-    
-            NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists. The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network. Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.
-    
-            Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”
-    
-            “There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.
-    
-            The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”
-    
-            “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said. “We hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”
-    
-            Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.
-    
-            “NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.
-    
-            Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.” Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.
-    
-            “We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.
-    
-            “And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work. That this last election wasn’t a real result. That American elections are fraudulent.“
-    
-            The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring. MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.
-    
-            In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.', '“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “', 'After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”', '“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “', 'While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”', 'Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.', 'Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.', 'The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.', 'As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.', 'NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists.', 'The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network.', 'Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.', 'Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”', '“There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.', 'The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”', '“To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,”Brzezinski said. “', 'We hope NBC will reconsider its decision.', 'It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”', 'Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.', '“NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.', 'Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.”', 'Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.', '“We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.', '“And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “', 'Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work.', 'That this last election wasn’t a real result.', 'That American elections are fraudulent.“', 'The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring.', 'MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.', 'In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0710578434549836,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”","Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.",-0.4204912036657333,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”",The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.,2024-04-09
-Microsoft stock hits all-time high after hiring former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/20/investing/microsoft-stock-record-high-altman-openai/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        4:19 PM EST, Mon November 20, 2023
-    ","Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.
-    
-            Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.
-    
-            That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup. Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm��s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.
-    
-            Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.
-    
-            Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.
-    
-            Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year. The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.
-    
-            Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.
-    
-            “We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.
-    
-            Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday. Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.",CNN,20/11/2023,"['Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.', 'Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.', 'That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.', 'Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.', 'Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.', 'Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing.', 'Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.', 'Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.', 'The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.', 'Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.', '“We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.', 'Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday.', 'Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.']",0.3148943375907157,"The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.","Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.",0.7688216765721639,Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.,"That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.",2024-04-09
-"Consumer Reports say Lunchables ‘should not be allowed on menu’ for schools, petitions USDA for removal",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/lunchables-for-school-high-sodium-consumer-reports-wellness/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:56 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","The school cafeteria versions of popular kids’ grocery store snack kit Lunchables is packed with too much sodium, a consumer watchdog group warned on Tuesday.
-    
-            Lunchables developed two new versions of the snack kit specifically to be available nationally as part of school lunch programs for the first time last year. But a new report from Consumer Reports said it recently compared the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits served in schools and found they have even higher levels of sodium than the Lunchables kits consumers can buy in stores.
-    
-            Consumer Reports said sodium levels in the store-bought lunch and snack kits it tested ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, or “nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium.” The group found that sodium levels in the turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained 930 mg of sodium compared to 740 mg in the store-bought version.
-    
-            Consumer Reports said it tested 12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit. The testing also surfaced high levels of sodium in the other lunch kits.
-    
-            Cadmium has been linked to kidney and bone disease and cancer, according to the World Health Organization.  As natural elements, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are in the soil in which crops are grown and thus can’t be avoided. Some crop fields and regions, however, contain more toxic levels than others, partly due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.
-    
-            There is no safe level of lead for children, however, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-    
-            Lead bio-accumulates in the body, which means it stays and builds up over time, so ongoing exposure, even at extremely low levels, can become toxic. Children, especially infants, are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead can have a larger health effect on them compared with adults.
-    
-            Consumer Reports’ tests also detected at least one type of phthalate or phthalate replacement chemical in every kit it tested, except for Lunchables Extra Cheesy Pizza, it said. Lead and cadmium can cause developmental problems in children over time, even in small amounts.
-    
-            Called “everywhere chemicals” because they are so common, studies have linked phthalates to childhood obesity, asthma, cardiovascular issues, cancer and reproductive problems such as genital malformations and undescended testes in baby boys and low sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult males.
-    
-            The non-profit consumer group said it has petitioned the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federally assisted school meal program, to remove Lunchables food kits from school cafeterias, as a result.
-    
-            “Lunchables are not a healthy option for kids and shouldn’t be allowed on the menu as part of the National School Lunch Program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “The Lunchables and similar lunch kits we tested contain concerning levels of sodium and harmful chemicals that can lead to serious health problems over time. The USDA should remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program and ensure that kids in schools have healthier options.”
-    
-            Lunchables, made by Kraft Heinz, took its packaged ready-to-eat kids meals directly into K-12 school lunchrooms nationwide through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the first time last year. The NSLP, established in 1946, provides lunch daily to nearly 30 million students in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions.
-    
-            But the company first had to re-formulate the ingredients to ensure the products met federal guidelines.
-    
-            The rollout included two specially-created Lunchables options for schools (separate from Lunchables sold in grocery stores) – labeled “turkey and cheddar” and “extra cheesy pizza.” Kraft Heinz told CNN that the turkey and cheese option contains 6 grams of saturated fat and 930 milligrams of sodium while the extra cheesy variety contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 700 milligrams of sodium.
-    
-            Kraft Heinz said both options were made using “a specialized recipe that incorporates more protein and whole grains to keep kids powered throughout the day, reduced saturated fat and sodium, and an increased serving size.”
-    
-            The Lunchables pizza variety for schools (with 700 mg of sodium) compared to 510 mg in the store version. Eating foods with too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension, Consumer Reports said.
-    
-            The introduction of Lunchables in schools came amid proposed changes to school food guidelines by the USDA, which oversees the federally assisted school meal program. The proposed changes aimed to reduce added sugars and sodium levels in school-provided lunches. The standards would reduce sodium limits gradually over several school years.
-    
-            Kraft Heinz and the USDA could not immediately be reached for comment.
-    
-            Consumer Reports also pointed to concerning additives included in many of the Lunchable products. Additives are ingredients added by manufacturers to stimulate appetite and extend shelf life.
-    
-            The presence of additives is a key indicator of whether a food is ultraprocessed, said Carlos Monteiro, emeritus professor at the school of public health at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2009 Monteiro created NOVA, a system of classifying food into categories from minimally processed to ultraprocessed.
-    
-            “In terms of food processing, additives are essential to creating ultraprocessed foods,” Monteiro said. “Additives in ultraprocessed foods are those that use color, texture, flavor, and everything people like. So these products are made appealing not with real food, but with additives,” he said.
-    
-            Such additives include preservatives to resist mold and bacteria; emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating; artificial colorings and dyes; de-foaming, bulking and bleaching agents; and added or altered sugar, salt and fats intended to boost flavor to a “bliss point” that is hard to resist.
-    
-            Food additives are considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, but not everyone agrees. Watchdog groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provide lists of concerning chemicals found in food, as well as added sugars, salt and fats. A growing number of grocery stores and a few restaurants have also taken steps to ban worrisome chemicals from foods they sell.
-    
-            According to ingredients listed on the Kraft-Heinz “Away from Home” website, CNN found the turkey and cheese Lunchables contains tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based chemical found in pesticides. Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA. 
-    
-            The Lunchables also contains the pesticide sodium diacetate, which adds sourness and fights fungus and bacteria, carrageenan, which has been shown to create inflammation and digestive issues in animals, and sodium nitrate, a preservative used in cured deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and sausage that has been linked to cancer and other diseases.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['The school cafeteria versions of popular kids’ grocery store snack kit Lunchables is packed with too much sodium, a consumer watchdog group warned on Tuesday.', 'Lunchables developed two new versions of the snack kit specifically to be available nationally as part of school lunch programs for the first time last year.', 'But a new report from Consumer Reports said it recently compared the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits served in schools and found they have even higher levels of sodium than the Lunchables kits consumers can buy in stores.', 'Consumer Reports said sodium levels in the store-bought lunch and snack kits it tested ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, or “nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium.”', 'The group found that sodium levels in the turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained 930 mg of sodium compared to 740 mg in the store-bought version.', 'Consumer Reports said it tested12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit.', 'The testing also surfaced high levels of sodium in the other lunch kits.', 'Cadmium has been linked to kidney and bone disease and cancer,according to the World Health Organization.', 'As natural elements, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are in the soil in which crops are grown and thus can’t be avoided.', 'Some crop fields and regions, however, contain moretoxic levels than others, partly due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.', 'There isno safe level of leadfor children, however, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.', 'Lead bio-accumulates in the body, which means it stays and builds up over time, so ongoing exposure, even at extremely low levels, can become toxic.', 'Children, especially infants, are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead can have a larger health effect on them compared with adults.', 'Consumer Reports’ tests also detected at least one type of phthalate or phthalate replacement chemical in every kit it tested, except for Lunchables Extra Cheesy Pizza, it said.', 'Lead and cadmium can cause developmental problems in children over time, even in small amounts.', 'Called“everywhere chemicals” because they are so common, studies have linked phthalates tochildhood obesity,asthma,cardiovascular issues,cancerandreproductive problemssuch asgenital malformationsandundescended testesin baby boys andlow sperm countsandtestosterone levelsin adult males.', 'The non-profit consumer group said it has petitioned the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees thefederally assisted school meal program, to remove Lunchables food kits from school cafeterias, as a result.', '“Lunchables are not a healthy option for kids and shouldn’t be allowed on the menu as part of the National School Lunch Program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “', 'The Lunchables and similar lunch kits we tested contain concerning levels of sodium and harmful chemicals that can lead to serious health problems over time.', 'The USDA should remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program and ensure that kids in schools have healthier options.”', 'Lunchables, made by Kraft Heinz, took its packaged ready-to-eat kids meals directly into K-12 school lunchrooms nationwide through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the first time last year.', 'The NSLP, established in 1946, provides lunch daily to nearly 30 million students in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions.', 'But the company first had to re-formulate the ingredients to ensure the products met federal guidelines.', 'The rollout included two specially-created Lunchables options for schools (separate from Lunchables sold in grocery stores) – labeled “turkey and cheddar” and “extra cheesy pizza.”', 'Kraft Heinz told CNN that the turkey and cheese option contains 6 grams of saturated fat and 930 milligrams of sodium while the extra cheesy variety contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 700 milligrams of sodium.', 'Kraft Heinz said both options were made using “a specialized recipe that incorporates more protein and whole grains to keep kids powered throughout the day, reduced saturated fat and sodium, and an increased serving size.”', 'The Lunchables pizza variety for schools (with 700 mg of sodium) compared to 510 mg in the store version.', 'Eating foods with too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension, Consumer Reports said.', 'The introduction of Lunchables in schools came amid proposed changes to school food guidelines by the USDA, which oversees thefederally assisted school meal program.', 'Theproposed changesaimed to reduce added sugars and sodium levels in school-provided lunches.', 'The standards would reduce sodium limits gradually over several school years.', 'Kraft Heinz and the USDA could not immediately be reached for comment.', 'Consumer Reports also pointed to concerning additives included in many of the Lunchable products.', 'Additives are ingredients added by manufacturers to stimulate appetite and extend shelf life.', 'The presence of additives is a key indicator of whether a food is ultraprocessed, said Carlos Monteiro, emeritus professor at the school of public health at theUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil.', 'In 2009 Monteiro created NOVA, a system of classifying food into categories from minimally processed to ultraprocessed.', '“In terms of food processing, additives are essential to creating ultraprocessed foods,” Monteiro said. “', 'Additives in ultraprocessed foods are those that use color, texture, flavor, and everything people like.', 'So these products are made appealing not with real food, but with additives,” he said.', 'Such additives include preservatives to resist mold and bacteria; emulsifiers to keep incompatible ingredients from separating; artificial colorings and dyes; de-foaming, bulking and bleaching agents; and added or altered sugar, salt and fats intended to boost flavor to a “bliss point” that is hard to resist.', 'Food additives are considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, but not everyone agrees.', 'Watchdog groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provide lists of concerning chemicals found in food, as well as added sugars, salt and fats.', 'A growing numberof grocery stores and a few restaurants have also taken steps to ban worrisome chemicals from foods they sell.', 'According to ingredients listed on the Kraft-Heinz “Away from Home” website, CNN found the turkey and cheese Lunchables contains tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based chemical found in pesticides.', 'Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.', 'The Lunchables also contains the pesticide sodium diacetate, which adds sourness and fights fungus and bacteria, carrageenan, which has been shown to create inflammation and digestive issues in animals, and sodium nitrate, a preservative used in cured deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and sausage that has been linked to cancer and other diseases.']",0.051203203645617,"Consumer Reports said it tested12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar ready-to-eat meal kits, including from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer, and also found lead, cadmium, or both in all, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit.","Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.",-0.3444672014032091,"Kraft Heinz said both options were made using “a specialized recipe that incorporates more protein and whole grains to keep kids powered throughout the day, reduced saturated fat and sodium, and an increased serving size.”","Studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, may various roles in the development of cancer, and may even alter DNA.",2024-04-09
-Opinion: The drama around Sam Altman is an urgent warning,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/21/opinions/sam-altman-openai-ouster-danger-filipovic/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:50 AM EST, Tue November 21, 2023
-    ","The biggest tech news this week is the ouster of Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry. Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened to resign. Altman has already moved on to a role at Microsoft. And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on its third CEO in as many days.
-    
-            It’s all very juicy. But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisions that will determine so much of our technological future? What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions? And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?
-    
-            OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.” But that sensibility hasn’t lasted. The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm. They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the public before some employees believed they were ready. The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they also won’t tell reporters or the public exactly what it is.
-    
-            This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing. The OpenAI board, according to CNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.” At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot. This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.
-    
-            But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder. Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants. And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.
-    
-            AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence. At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work). And the ramifications could be much more extreme. AI technologies have already demonstrated the ability to lie and to cover their tracks. They have already been able to suggest the design to make a virus spread more quickly. Many researchers acutely understand just how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans, according to reporting in the New Yorker.
-    
-            But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils – the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technology is worth a read).
-    
-            AI is very exciting technology. But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”
-    
-            Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed. And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to be largely men) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe. And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.
-    
-            Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden? Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?
-    
-            One thing is clear: AI is coming. And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century. It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.
-    
-            “Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first. But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.
-    
-            So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition. But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.
-    
-            The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world. But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?",CNN,21/11/2023,"['The biggest tech news this week is theousterof Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry.', 'Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened toresign.', 'Altman has alreadymoved onto a role at Microsoft.', 'And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on itsthird CEOin as many days.', 'It’s all very juicy.', 'But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisionsthat will determine so much of our technological future?', 'What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions?', 'And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?', 'OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.”', 'But that sensibility hasn’t lasted.', 'The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm.', 'They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the publicbefore some employees believed they were ready.', 'The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they alsowon’t tellreporters or the public exactly what it is.', 'This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing.', 'The OpenAI board, according toCNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.”', 'At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot.', 'This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.', 'But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder.', 'Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants.', 'And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.', 'AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence.', 'At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work).', 'And the ramifications could be much more extreme.', 'AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.', 'They have already been able tosuggest the designto make a virus spread more quickly.', 'Many researchersacutely understandjust how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans,according to reporting in the New Yorker.', 'But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (', 'If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils –the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technologyis worth a read).', 'AI is very exciting technology.', 'But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”', 'Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed.', 'And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to belargelymen) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe.', 'And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.', 'Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden?', 'Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?', 'One thing is clear: AI is coming.', 'And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century.', 'It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.', '“Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first.', 'But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.', 'So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition.', 'But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.', 'The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world.', 'But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?']",0.0034737194649936,"But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.","But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",-0.2999433577060699,AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.,"But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",2024-04-09
-Elon Musk’s X is back to giving out free blue checks. It’s no surprise they were a tough sell,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/tech/elon-musk-x-blue-check-subscription-business/index.html,"
-  Published
-        4:35 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","It appears that Elon Musk has finally (mostly) given up on trying to make paid blue checks on X a thing.
-    
-            This week, X users with large followings were surprised to see that their blue checks — which they had earned under then-Twitter’s previous verification system and lost when Musk purged them for all but paying users — had suddenly reappeared.
-    
-            The reappearing blue checks came after Musk posted last week that “X accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.”
-    
-            In other words: prominent users would receive their blue checks back, without having to pay around $11 a month for the platform’s subscription service.
-    
-            The move is a reversal of one of the biggest changes Musk made when he took over Twitter.
-    
-            Within weeks of acquiring the platform, the billionaire announced plans to end the existing verification scheme, which was designed to help users trust information being shared by prominent figures but which Musk likened to a “bull***t” system of “lords & peasants.” It was also a business decision. Musk hoped that enough users would buy blue checks for it to become a viable new revenue stream, something that he increasingly needed as he scared off major advertisers.
-    
-            Now, evidently one of the world’s richest men is back to being okay with a tiered system — he’ll be giving away blue checks to prominent users, but still offering the rest of us plebeians the option to buy one.
-    
-            The return of the free blue check may be a sign that the blue check subscription business hasn’t panned out the way that Musk hoped.
-    
-            It may not be entirely Musk’s fault — it is historically difficult to get internet users on any platform to pay for a service or feature they previously got for free.
-    
-            But more than that, trying to get users to shell out for verification was likely a bust because the change itself undermined whatever value the blue check once had that would make people want to pay for it.
-    
-            “I think it’s an admission that (Musk) still doesn’t really understand what the value of the blue check has always been … the value in it was that when you saw a blue check on a person’s account, you knew that the person was who they were claiming to be,” said Jason Goldman, Twitter’s former head of product, who left the company in 2010. “The value that accrued from that was for Twitter as a whole, not for the person who had a blue check mark.”
-    
-            X declined to share the current number of X Premium or Premium+ paid subscribers.
-    
-            Musk’s purge of legacy blue checks was a messy, months-long process. Within hours of the the platform’s first attempt at launching paid verification, accounts for major brands including Nintendo and Eli Lilly were impersonated (Eli Lilly’s share price took a beating that day after the fake account posted, falsely, that the pharmaceutical giant would be lowering insulin prices). The platform then rolled out other forms of verification with checks in other colors for companies and government entities, but Musk continued to insist that individual users should pay for blue checks.
-    
-            When, months later, the blue checks granted under Twitter’s previous verification scheme finally disappeared, the platform faced frustration and ridicule from some of its most prominent users, including Stephen King and LeBron James.
-    
-            Since then, the blue check has become little more than a signal that a user is paying a monthly fee to a platform owned by a billionaire. And when anyone could buy a blue check, it was no longer an exclusive symbol that conferred some kind of status.
-    
-            “When everybody’s a VIP … no one’s a VIP,” said social media consultant Matt Navarra. Now, “the only people that have it are hardcore Elon fans or people who paid because they finally wanted to have a blue check, but now they’re looking around thinking, ‘this doesn’t make me feel special at all.’”
-    
-            And while Musk has a larger following than most who might be willing to pay for a status symbol that would identify them as part of his in-group, “it will not be the global business that these platforms need to sustain their operational costs,” Goldman said.
-    
-            Subscribing to X Premium does come with more than a blue check; the company has also touted benefits including the ability for subscribers to have their posts elevated in the X feed, the option to post longer videos and the ability to test the Grok chatbot from Musk’s new AI startup.
-    
-            But not all of those features have been popular with users. Some have expressed frustration with scam and troll accounts that buy a blue check, manipulating the system in order to end up at the top of other users’ replies. And the issue has only become more prominent since X began offering subscribers a share of ad revenue if their posts rack up enough views.
-    
-            At this point, many users are not only averse to paying for a blue check, they don’t want one even if it’s free. Within hours of the unpaid blue checks reappearing, users were sharing advice about how to ensure they didn’t show up on their profiles.
-    
-            “Dear Elon, I don’t want your blue check and don’t know why you gave it to me,” one user posted on the platform Thursday.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['It appears that Elon Musk has finally (mostly) given up on trying to make paid blue checks on X a thing.', 'This week, X users with large followings were surprised to see that their blue checks — which they had earned under then-Twitter’s previous verification system and lost when Musk purged them for all but paying users — had suddenly reappeared.', 'The reappearing blue checks came after Musk posted last week that “X accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.”', 'In other words: prominent users would receive their blue checks back, without having to pay around $11 a month for the platform’s subscription service.', 'The move is a reversal of one of the biggest changes Musk made when he took over Twitter.', 'Within weeks of acquiring the platform, the billionaire announced plans to end the existing verification scheme, which was designed to help users trust information being shared by prominent figures but which Musk likened to a “bull***t”system of “lords & peasants.”', 'It was also a business decision.', 'Musk hoped that enough users would buy blue checks for it to become a viable new revenue stream, something that he increasingly needed as he scared off major advertisers.', 'Now, evidently one of the world’s richest men is back to being okay with a tiered system — he’ll be giving away blue checks to prominent users, but still offering the rest of us plebeians the option to buy one.', 'The return of the free blue check may be a sign that the blue check subscription business hasn’t panned out the way that Musk hoped.', 'It may not be entirely Musk’s fault — it is historically difficult to get internet users on any platform to pay for a service or feature they previously got for free.', 'But more than that, trying to get users to shell out for verification was likely a bust because the change itself undermined whatever value the blue check once had that would make people want to pay for it.', '“I think it’s an admission that (Musk) still doesn’t really understand what the value of the blue check has always been … the value in it was that when you saw a blue check on a person’s account, you knew that the person was who they were claiming to be,” said Jason Goldman, Twitter’s former head of product, who left the company in 2010.“The value that accrued from that was for Twitter as a whole, not for the person who had a blue check mark.”', 'X declined to share the current number of X Premium or Premium+ paid subscribers.', 'Musk’s purge of legacy blue checks was a messy, months-long process.', 'Within hours of the the platform’s first attempt at launching paid verification, accounts for major brands including Nintendo and Eli Lilly were impersonated (Eli Lilly’s share price took a beating that day after the fake account posted, falsely, that the pharmaceutical giant would be lowering insulin prices).', 'The platform then rolled out other forms of verification with checks in other colors for companies and government entities, but Musk continued to insist that individual users should pay for blue checks.', 'When, months later, the blue checks granted under Twitter’s previous verification scheme finally disappeared, the platform faced frustration and ridicule from some of its most prominent users, including Stephen King and LeBron James.', 'Since then, the blue check has become little more than a signal that a user is paying a monthly fee to a platform owned by a billionaire.', 'And when anyone could buy a blue check, it was no longer an exclusive symbol that conferred some kind of status.', '“When everybody’s a VIP … no one’s a VIP,” said social media consultant Matt Navarra.', 'Now, “the only people that have it are hardcore Elon fans or people who paid because they finally wanted to have a blue check, but now they’re looking around thinking, ‘this doesn’t make me feel special at all.’”', 'And while Musk has a larger following than most who might be willing to pay for a status symbol that would identify them as part of his in-group, “it will not be the global business that these platforms need to sustain their operational costs,” Goldman said.', 'Subscribing to X Premium does come with more than a blue check; the company has also touted benefits including the ability for subscribers to have their posts elevated in the X feed, the option to post longer videos and the ability to test the Grok chatbot from Musk’s new AI startup.', 'But not all of those features have been popular with users.', 'Some have expressed frustration with scam and troll accounts that buy a blue check, manipulating the system in order to end up at the top of other users’ replies.', 'And the issue has only become more prominent since X began offering subscribers a share of ad revenue if their posts rack up enough views.', 'At this point, many users are not only averse to paying for a blue check, they don’t want one even if it’s free.', 'Within hours of the unpaid blue checks reappearing, users were sharing advice about how to ensure they didn’t show up on their profiles.', '“Dear Elon, I don’t want your blue check and don’t know why you gave it to me,” one user posted on the platform Thursday.']",0.2077664365531226,"“When everybody’s a VIP … no one’s a VIP,” said social media consultant Matt Navarra.","Some have expressed frustration with scam and troll accounts that buy a blue check, manipulating the system in order to end up at the top of other users’ replies.",0.1567463013860914,"Subscribing to X Premium does come with more than a blue check; the company has also touted benefits including the ability for subscribers to have their posts elevated in the X feed, the option to post longer videos and the ability to test the Grok chatbot from Musk’s new AI startup.","But more than that, trying to get users to shell out for verification was likely a bust because the change itself undermined whatever value the blue check once had that would make people want to pay for it.",2024-04-09
-TV networks prepare letter to Biden and Trump campaigns urging them to commit to 2024 election debates,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/media/tv-networks-letter-to-biden-and-trump-campaigns-2024-election-debates/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:54 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","Five of the major US television networks have banded together to draft a letter urging President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to participating in televised debates ahead of the 2024 election.
-    
-            According to a draft of the letter shared with CNN, which is also a signatory on the letter, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News and CNN urged the presumptive nominees “to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”
-    
-            The television networks are seeking additional news organizations to sign the letter, which has not yet been sent to the campaigns, a person familiar with the matter said. The New York Times was first to report on the existence of the letter.
-    
-            The letter, which has not been finalized, notes that general election debates have “played a vital role in every presidential election of the past 50 years, dating to 1976” with “tens of millions” tuning in to watch a competition of ideas for the votes of American citizens.
-    
-            “Though it is too early for invitations to be extended to any candidates, it is not too early for candidates who expect to meet the eligibility criteria to publicly state their support for - and their intention to participate in - the Commission’s debates planned for this fall,” the letter states.
-    
-            Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair for the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, told CNN he has not yet seen the letter.
-    
-            Biden has not publicly committed to debating Trump, although he has not ruled it out.
-    
-            “It depends on his behavior,” Biden said in early March.
-    
-            Trump has posted on social media that he will debate “anytime, anywhere anyplace” despite the Republican National Committee voting unanimously in 2022 to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates.
-    
-            While historically debates were confined to good-spirited discussions on public policy issues, Trump over the last two presidential cycles has deformed the tradition with uncontrolled outbursts and an avalanche of lies.
-    
-            The Republican party nominee has a proven track record of flagrantly violating debate rules and using the sizable national platform to lob nasty personal insults at his political opponents. His behavior became so unruly that in 2020 the commission took the extraordinary step of muting the microphones of Biden and Trump during portions of debates after Trump’s repeated outbursts caused the first debate to devolve into chaos.
-    
-            Trump’s behavior and loose relationship with the facts has given Biden aides pause on whether it would be strategically wise to engage with him in such a platform.
-    
-            “If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the TV networks stated in the letter. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”",CNN,09/04/2024,"['Five of the major US television networks have banded together to draft a letter urging President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to participating in televised debates ahead of the 2024 election.', 'According to a draft of the letter shared with CNN, which is also a signatory on the letter, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News and CNNurgedthe presumptive nominees “to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”', 'The television networks are seeking additionalnewsorganizations to sign the letter, which has not yet been sent to the campaigns,a person familiar with the matter said.', 'The New York Times wasfirst to reporton the existence of the letter.', 'The letter, which has not been finalized, notes that general election debates have “played a vital role in every presidential election of the past 50 years, dating to 1976” with “tens of millions” tuning in to watch a competition of ideas for the votes of American citizens.', '“Though it is too early for invitations to be extended to any candidates, it is not too early for candidates who expect to meet the eligibility criteria to publicly state their support for - and their intention to participate in - the Commission’s debates planned for this fall,” the letter states.', 'Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair for the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, told CNN he has not yet seen the letter.', 'Biden has not publicly committed to debating Trump, although he has not ruled it out.', '“It depends on his behavior,” Biden said in early March.', 'Trump has posted on social media that he will debate “anytime, anywhere anyplace” despite the Republican National Committee votingunanimouslyin 2022 to withdraw from the Commission on PresidentialDebates.', 'While historically debates were confined to good-spirited discussions on public policy issues, Trump over the last two presidential cycles has deformed the tradition with uncontrolled outbursts and anavalanche of lies.', 'The Republican party nominee has a proven track record of flagrantly violating debate rules and using the sizable national platform to lob nasty personal insults at his political opponents.', 'His behavior became so unruly that in 2020 the commission took the extraordinary step ofmuting the microphonesof Biden and Trump during portions of debates after Trump’s repeated outbursts caused the first debate to devolve into chaos.', 'Trump’s behavior and loose relationship with the facts has given Biden aides pause on whether it would be strategically wise to engage with him in such a platform.', '“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the TV networks stated in the letter. “', 'Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”']",0.0712156336537331,"According to a draft of the letter shared with CNN, which is also a signatory on the letter, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News and CNNurgedthe presumptive nominees “to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”",The Republican party nominee has a proven track record of flagrantly violating debate rules and using the sizable national platform to lob nasty personal insults at his political opponents.,-0.9823143780231476,,Trump’s behavior and loose relationship with the facts has given Biden aides pause on whether it would be strategically wise to engage with him in such a platform.,2024-04-09
-Won (or lost) your March Madness bets? Don’t forget to report them on your taxes,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/success/march-madness-gambling-winnings-losses-taxes/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:58 PM EDT, Tue April 9, 2024
-    ","If you won big on bets you made for the March Madness men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, enjoy the money. Just know that some chunk of it may need to go to the IRS, and possibly your state, too.
-    
-            And if you lost big, there’s a possible silver lining. Those losses may help lower your tax bill, but only if you normally itemize your deductions and also have a lot of other gambling winnings. More on that in a minute.
-    
-            Tens of millions of Americans bet billions of dollars every year on the NCAA tournament, according to the American Gaming Association. An estimated 68 million people bet $15.5 billion on the men’s division alone last year. That includes bets placed with legal sportsbooks, friendly wagers, office pools and illegal offshore betting. (A comparable number for this year isn’t yet available but will include for the first time the wagers placed on the women’s tournament.)
-    
-            So if you made bets last year, here’s what you need to do on your 2023 tax return, which is due for most people on April 15. And if you placed bets this year, file this information in your 2024 tax folder for quick reference when the next filing season starts in January 2025.
-    
-            All gambling winnings have to be reported to the IRS and are subject to federal income tax. Your winnings also may be subject to state tax, unless you live in the dozen or so states that exempt gambling winnings.
-    
-            If your March Madness winnings — minus how much you bet — are at least $600, and if you placed your wager at a retail sportsbook or legal sports betting site online, you and the IRS should receive a tax form W-2G from the entity that paid you. 
-    
-            “If taxpayers are dealing with legal gambling through casinos, lotteries or approved state sports books, winnings are more likely to be reported to the IRS on Form W-2G,��� said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.
-    
-            But, Luscombe added, “gambling winnings are required to be reported on the tax return whether there is an associated Form W-2G or not.”
-    
-            Also note: If your winnings top $5,000, the entity where you placed your bet may be obligated to withhold 28% for federal taxes. It will then be up to you on your tax return to square whether you owe more or less on your winnings.
-    
-            For starters, don’t feel bad. Most people lose when they place a bet. March Madness is no exception.
-    
-            If it’s a big sum that slipped through your fingers, you may be able to use the loss to offset any gambling winnings you had in the same tax year. The IRS notes that “gambling losses include the actual cost of wagers plus expenses incurred in connection with the conduct of the gambling activity, such as travel to and from a casino.”
-    
-            But you can only use your losses if you itemize your deductions on your federal return. And that only makes financial sense if all your itemized deductions combined exceed the standard deduction. “Losses may only be used to offset gambling winnings if the taxpayer itemizes deductions and keeps accurate records. Only about 10 percent of taxpayers normally itemize deductions,” Luscombe said.
-    
-            But you can never deduct more than the amount of your gambling winnings, and if your losses exceed your winnings, you can’t carry forward the surplus losses for use in future tax years, said Daniel Rahill, managing director of Wintrust Wealth Management and the former chair of the Illinois CPA Society.
-    
-            So say you won $1,000 in 2023 at the tables in Vegas, but you lost $1,500 betting on last year’s March Madness tournament. You can fully offset your $1,000 in winnings if you itemize your deductions and you won’t owe anything to the IRS for those. But you will have to eat the extra $500 in losses.",CNN,09/04/2024,"['If you won big on bets you made for the March Madness men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, enjoy the money.', 'Just know that some chunk of it may need to go to the IRS, and possibly your state, too.', 'And if you lost big, there’s a possible silver lining.', 'Those losses may help lower your tax bill, but only if you normally itemize your deductions and also have a lot of other gambling winnings.', 'More on that in a minute.', 'Tens of millions of Americans bet billions of dollars every year on the NCAA tournament, according to the American Gaming Association.', 'An estimated 68 million people bet $15.5 billion on the men’s division alone last year.', 'That includes bets placed with legal sportsbooks, friendly wagers, office pools and illegal offshore betting. (', 'A comparable number for this year isn’t yet available but will include for the first time the wagers placed on the women’s tournament.)', 'So if you made bets last year, here’s what you need to do on your 2023 tax return, which is due for most people on April 15.', 'And if you placed bets this year, file this information in your 2024 tax folder for quick reference when the next filing season starts in January 2025.', 'All gambling winnings have to be reported to the IRS and are subject to federal income tax.', 'Your winnings also may be subject to state tax, unless you live in the dozen or so states that exempt gambling winnings.', 'If your March Madness winnings — minus how much you bet — are at least $600, and if you placed your wager at a retail sportsbook or legal sports betting site online, you and the IRS should receive a tax form W-2G from the entity that paid you.', '“If taxpayers are dealing with legal gambling through casinos, lotteries or approved state sports books, winnings are more likely to be reported to the IRS on Form W-2G,” said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.', 'But, Luscombe added, “gambling winnings are required to be reported on the tax return whether there is an associated Form W-2G or not.”', 'Also note: If your winnings top $5,000, the entity where you placed your bet may be obligated to withhold 28% for federal taxes.', 'It will then be up to you on your tax return to square whether you owe more or less on your winnings.', 'For starters, don’t feel bad.', 'Most people lose when they place a bet.', 'March Madness is no exception.', 'If it’s a big sum that slipped through your fingers, you may be able to use the loss to offset any gambling winnings you had in the same tax year.', 'The IRS notes that “gambling losses include the actual cost of wagers plus expenses incurred in connection with the conduct of the gambling activity, such as travel to and from a casino.”', 'But you can only use your losses if you itemize your deductions on your federal return.', 'And that only makes financial sense if all your itemized deductions combined exceed the standard deduction. “', 'Losses may only be used to offset gambling winnings if the taxpayer itemizes deductions and keeps accurate records.', 'Only about 10 percent of taxpayers normally itemize deductions,” Luscombe said.', 'But you can never deduct more than the amount of your gambling winnings, and if your losses exceed your winnings, you can’t carry forward the surplus losses for use in future tax years, said Daniel Rahill, managing director of Wintrust Wealth Management and the former chair of the Illinois CPA Society.', 'So say you won $1,000 in 2023 at the tables in Vegas, but you lost $1,500 betting on last year’s March Madness tournament.', 'You can fully offset your $1,000 in winnings if you itemize your deductions and you won’t owe anything to the IRS for those.', 'But you will have to eat the extra $500 in losses.']",0.1011211141058604,"But you can never deduct more than the amount of your gambling winnings, and if your losses exceed your winnings, you can’t carry forward the surplus losses for use in future tax years, said Daniel Rahill, managing director of Wintrust Wealth Management and the former chair of the Illinois CPA Society.","So say you won $1,000 in 2023 at the tables in Vegas, but you lost $1,500 betting on last year’s March Madness tournament.",0.5809428334236145,"Those losses may help lower your tax bill, but only if you normally itemize your deductions and also have a lot of other gambling winnings.","So say you won $1,000 in 2023 at the tables in Vegas, but you lost $1,500 betting on last year’s March Madness tournament.",2024-04-09
-99 Cents Only Stores is winding down its business operations,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/business/99-cents-only-ending-business-operations/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:20 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","99 Cents Only Stores — a discount chain in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada — is winding down its business operations, according to a press release from the company on Thursday.
-    
-            Like many retailers emerging out of the pandemic, the West Coast chain has struggled with rising costs and shrink — which is higher merchandise losses from customer errors, damage, internal losses and shoplifting.
-    
-            “This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” said Mike Simoncic, interim chief executive officer of 99 Cents, in the release. “Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds, all of which have greatly hindered the company’s ability to operate.”
-    
-            The company said it has entered into an agreement with financial services company Hilco Global to liquidate its merchandise. It will also work with the firm to get rid of fixtures, furnishings and equipment at its 371 stores.
-    
-            Hilco Real Estate will manage the sales of its store locations in the four states.
-    
-            Simoncic will step down from his role, the company said, and Chris Wells will serve as chief restructuring officer.
-    
-            Bloomberg reported last week that 99 Cents was considering a bankruptcy filing.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['99 Cents Only Stores — a discount chain in California, Texas,ArizonaandNevada — is winding down its business operations, according to a press release from the company on Thursday.', 'Like many retailers emerging out of the pandemic, the West Coast chain has struggled with rising costs and shrink — which is higher merchandise losses from customer errors, damage, internal losses and shoplifting.', '“This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” said Mike Simoncic, interim chief executive officer of99 Cents, in the release. “', 'Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds, all of which have greatly hindered the company’s ability to operate.”', 'The company said it has entered into an agreement with financial services company Hilco Global to liquidate its merchandise.', 'It will also work with the firm to get rid of fixtures, furnishings and equipment at its 371 stores.', 'Hilco Real Estate will manage the sales of its store locations in the four states.', 'Simoncic will step down from his role, the company said, and Chris Wells will serve as chief restructuring officer.', 'Bloomberg reported last week that 99 Cents was considering a bankruptcy filing.']",-0.0422407037910528,The company said it has entered into an agreement with financial services company Hilco Global to liquidate its merchandise.,"Like many retailers emerging out of the pandemic, the West Coast chain has struggled with rising costs and shrink — which is higher merchandise losses from customer errors, damage, internal losses and shoplifting.",-0.5237979143857956,The company said it has entered into an agreement with financial services company Hilco Global to liquidate its merchandise.,"Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds, all of which have greatly hindered the company’s ability to operate.”",2024-04-09
-The Chevrolet Corvette is officially going electric,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/25/business/electric-hybrid-corvette/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:22 PM EDT, Mon April 25, 2022
-    ","General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning. 
-    
-            Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote. An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered. All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.
-    
-            While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.
-    
-            “Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.” It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system. Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.
-    
-            Various companies are working on electric sports cars. Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles. Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.
-    
-            Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle. Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.
-    
-            To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower. A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall. The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version. Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.
-    
-            Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines. Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.  
-    
-            GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.",CNN,25/04/2022,"['General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning.', 'Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “', 'We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote.', 'An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered.', 'All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.', 'While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.', '“Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.”', 'It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system.', 'Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.', 'Various companies are working on electric sports cars.', 'Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles.', 'Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.', 'Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.', 'Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.', 'To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower.', 'A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall.', 'The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version.', 'Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.', 'Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.', 'Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.', 'GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.']",0.0521320736918344,Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.,"While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.",0.3646016319592793,"Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.","Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.",2024-04-09
-Why lab-grown diamond sales are surging,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/27/business/diamonds-manmade-demand/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:49 AM EDT, Wed April 27, 2022
-    ","It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise. So are factory-made diamond sales.
-    
-            Not that you’d know the difference. Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones. The only noticeable difference is the price tag.
-    
-            “The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.
-    
-            He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.
-    
-            Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings. 
-    
-            “The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said. Too late. “It’s actually happening.” 
-    
-            Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds? Cost is the most obvious reason. The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.
-    
-            “This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said. Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.
-    
-            “A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.” 
-    
-            This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.
-    
-            The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.
-    
-            Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds. Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.
-    
-            Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.
-    
-            Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.
-    
-            Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.
-    
-            Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan. 
-    
-            Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream. In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora
-            
-                (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry. 
-    
-            Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.
-    
-            Signet,
-            
-                (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.
-    
-            Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year. 
-    
-            The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand. 
-    
-            Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.
-    
-            “As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free. They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”
-    
-            Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues. It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.
-    
-            There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value. 
-    
-            So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan. Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it. 
-    
-            But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.
-    
-            “As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “I always say, if you love it, be happy with it. An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”",CNN,27/04/2022,"['It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise.', 'So are factory-made diamond sales.', 'Not that you’d know the difference.', 'Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones.', 'The only noticeable difference is the price tag.', '“The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.', 'He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.', 'Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings.', '“The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said.', 'Too late. “', 'It’s actually happening.”', 'Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds?', 'Cost is the most obvious reason.', 'The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.', '“This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said.', 'Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.', '“A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “', 'Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.”', 'This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.', 'The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.', 'Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds.', 'Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.', 'Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.', 'Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.', 'Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.', 'Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.', 'Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream.', 'In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora  (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry.', 'Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.', 'Signet,  (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.', 'Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year.', 'The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand.', 'Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.', '“As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[', 'Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free.', 'They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”', 'Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues.', 'It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.', 'There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value.', 'So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan.', 'Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it.', 'But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.', '“As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “', 'I always say, if you love it, be happy with it.', 'An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”']",0.3714494325159568,"He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.",Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.,0.8542834222316742,"Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.","This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.",2024-04-09
-Digital humans: the relatable face of artificial intelligence?,https://edition.cnn.com/business/digital-humans-ai-dj-dex-spc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        5:33 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
-    ","Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.
-    
-            However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.
-    
-            For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans. She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture. Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.
-    
-            “She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “You can ask her anything. She is a genius about music.”
-    
-            Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.
-    
-            For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications. The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.
-    
-            According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “It becomes natural.”
-    
-            Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.
-    
-            Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook. In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude. As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.
-    
-            US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.
-    
-            Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech. However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market. 
-    
-            “When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?” asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”
-    
-            Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.
-    
-            “Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”",CNN,19/03/2024,"['Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.', 'However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.', 'For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans.', 'She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture.', 'Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.', '“She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “', 'You can ask her anything.', 'She is a genius about music.”', 'Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.', 'For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications.', 'The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “', 'Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.', 'According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “', 'What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “', 'It becomes natural.”', 'Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.', 'Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook.', 'In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude.', 'As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.', 'US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.', 'Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech.', 'However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.', '“When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?”', 'asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “', 'In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “', 'However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”', 'Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “', 'Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.', '“Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “', 'We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”']",0.1214444180579973,"Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.","However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”",0.2107271328568458,"Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “","However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.",2024-04-09
-Apple announces its annual developers conference is set for June 10,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apple-annual-developers-conference-june-10/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        2:20 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.
-    
-            The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.
-    
-            Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts. The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.
-    
-            As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space. A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.
-    
-            Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1. A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.
-    
-            In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.', 'The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.', 'Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts.', 'The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.', 'As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space.', 'A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.', 'Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1.', 'A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.', 'In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.']",0.3259092919755588,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,0.9975101351737976,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,2024-04-09
-Ulta shares fall as CEO warns beauty demand is slowing,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/ulta-shares-fall-as-ceo-warns-beauty-demand-is-slowing.html,2024-04-04T14:35:00+0000,"In this articleUlta Beauty shares tumbled about 15% on Wednesday as CEO Dave Kimbell warned of cooling demand for beauty products.Other stocks in the segment, including E.L.F. Beauty, Estee Lauder and Coty, also fell on Wednesday morning.""We have seen a slowdown in the total category,"" Kimbell said at an investor conference hosted by JPMorgan Chase. ""We came into the year — and we talked about this on our [earnings] call a few weeks ago — expecting the category to moderate. It has [had], as I said, several years of strong growth. We did not anticipate it would continue at the rate that it's been growing.""He said Ulta expected sales to grow in the mid single-digits for the year.But Kimbell added that slowdown has been ""a bit earlier and bit bigger than we thought."" He said that trend has cut across price points and different beauty categories but has been more significant in prestige makeup and haircare.Beauty has stood out as one of the hottest categories in retail. Even as U.S. consumers watch their spending on discretionary items like clothing, they have continued to spring for makeup, skincare items and other beauty products. The strength of the category has inspired many retailers to place bigger bets on beauty.Target has opened a growing number of Ulta Beauty shops in its stores. Kohl's plans to open Sephora shops in all of its locations. Macy's is expanding its beauty chain Bluemercury.In his remarks on Wednesday, however, Kimbell said beauty shoppers aren't immune to feeling economic pressures, even in a category that's been red-hot. He referred to dynamics that may cause them to pull back on spending, including rising credit card debt, geopolitical conflicts and the upcoming presidential election.""It just creates this soup of activity for our consumers that they're trying to navigate through,"" he said.Ulta said last month in an earnings call that it expected net sales to range from $11.7 billion to $11.8 billion for its 2024 fiscal year. That would be higher than the $11.2 billion of sales that it reported for the most recent fiscal year.The retailer said it anticipates comparable sales, a metric that takes out the impact of opening and closing stores, to increase by 4% to 5% this fiscal year. That would be a slowdown from a growth of 5.7% in the previous fiscal year and 15.6% in fiscal 2022.Ulta's stock closed on Wednesday at $439.98. Its shares hit a 52-week high of $574.76 in mid-March, just ahead of its release of holiday-quarter results. As of Wednesday's close, Ulta shares are down about 10% so far this year, trailing the gains of the S&P 500.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleUlta Beauty shares tumbled about 15% on Wednesday as CEO Dave Kimbell warned of cooling demand for beauty products.', 'Other stocks in the segment, including E.L.F. Beauty, Estee Lauder and Coty, also fell on Wednesday morning.', '""We have seen a slowdown in the total category,"" Kimbell said at an investor conference hosted by JPMorgan Chase. ""', 'We came into the year — and we talked about this on our [earnings] call a few weeks ago — expecting the category to moderate.', 'It has [had], as I said, several years of strong growth.', ""We did not anticipate it would continue at the rate that it's been growing."", '""He said Ulta expected sales to grow in the mid single-digits for the year.', 'But Kimbell added that slowdown has been ""a bit earlier and bit bigger than we thought.""', 'He said that trend has cut across price points and different beauty categories but has been more significant in prestige makeup and haircare.', 'Beauty has stood out as one of the hottest categories in retail.', 'Even as U.S. consumers watch their spending on discretionary items like clothing, they have continued to spring for makeup, skincare items and other beauty products.', 'The strength of the category has inspired many retailers to place bigger bets on beauty.', 'Target has opened a growing number of Ulta Beauty shops in its stores.', ""Kohl's plans to open Sephora shops in all of its locations."", ""Macy's is expanding its beauty chain Bluemercury."", ""In his remarks on Wednesday, however, Kimbell said beauty shoppers aren't immune to feeling economic pressures, even in a category that's been red-hot."", 'He referred to dynamics that may cause them to pull back on spending, including rising credit card debt, geopolitical conflicts and the upcoming presidential election.', '""It just creates this soup of activity for our consumers that they\'re trying to navigate through,"" he said.', 'Ulta said last month in an earnings call that it expected net sales to range from $11.7 billion to $11.8 billion for its 2024 fiscal year.', 'That would be higher than the $11.2 billion of sales that it reported for the most recent fiscal year.', 'The retailer said it anticipates comparable sales, a metric that takes out the impact of opening and closing stores, to increase by 4% to 5% this fiscal year.', ""That would be a slowdown from a growth of 5.7% in the previous fiscal year and 15.6% in fiscal 2022.Ulta's stock closed on Wednesday at $439.98."", 'Its shares hit a 52-week high of $574.76 in mid-March, just ahead of its release of holiday-quarter results.', ""As of Wednesday's close, Ulta shares are down about 10% so far this year, trailing the gains of the S&P 500.""]",0.3740015276881334,The strength of the category has inspired many retailers to place bigger bets on beauty.,,0.157890774701771,"The retailer said it anticipates comparable sales, a metric that takes out the impact of opening and closing stores, to increase by 4% to 5% this fiscal year.",In this articleUlta Beauty shares tumbled about 15% on Wednesday as CEO Dave Kimbell warned of cooling demand for beauty products.,2024-04-08
-"Jamie Dimon says AI may be as impactful on humanity as printing press, electricity and computers",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/jamie-dimon-says-ai-may-be-as-impactful-on-humanity-as-printing-press-electricity-and-computers.html,2024-04-08T14:46:42+0000,"In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.""Dimon's letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics. The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out. The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries. Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.  JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said. The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles.""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.""Here are excerpts from Dimon's letter:""Many key economic indicators today continue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation. But when looking ahead to tomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight. These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates. I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others. Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies. Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business…. Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences. Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.""""Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history. America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies. In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today. I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity. People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do. And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good. We recorded an accounting gain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleJamie Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.', 'In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest U.S. bank by assets — ahead of geopolitical risks, recent acquisitions and regulatory matters.', '""While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary,"" Dimon said.', 'The impact will be ""possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet.', '""Dimon\'s letter, read widely in the business world because of his status as one of the most successful leaders in finance, hit a wide variety of topics.', ""The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out."", ""The technology, which has gained in prominence since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a viral sensation in late 2022, can generate human-sounding responses to queries."", 'Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.', 'JPMorgan now has more than 2,000 AI and machine learning employees and data scientists working on 400 applications including fraud detection, marketing and risk controls, Dimon said.', 'The bank is also exploring the use of generative AI in software engineering, customer service and ways to boost employee productivity, he said.', ""The technology could ultimately touch all of the bank's roughly 310,000 employees, assisting some workers while replacing others, and forcing the company to retrain workers for new roles."", '""Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition,"" Dimon said. ""', 'It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.', '""Here are excerpts from Dimon\'s letter:""Many key economic indicatorstodaycontinue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation.', 'But when looking ahead totomorrow, conditions that will affect the future should be considered... All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure.', '""""Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight.', 'These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates.', 'I believe the odds are a lot lower than that.', '""""If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others.', 'Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.', 'Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.', '""""There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business….', 'Unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences.', 'Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse.', '""""Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history.', ""America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won't use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies."", 'In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.', '""""One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users\' control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today.', 'I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.', '""""The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity.', 'People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do.', 'And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good.', 'We recorded an accountinggain of $3 billion on the purchase, and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion.', '""JPMorgan acquired most of the assets of First Republic last year for more than $10 billion after regulators seized the firm amid the regional banking crisis.']",0.1597391741300232,"I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.","The CEO said that he had ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures and reiterated his warning that the world may be entering the riskiest era in geopolitics since World War II.But his focus on AI, first mentioned in Dimon's annual letter in 2017, stood out.",-0.0500199510937645,Enthusiasm for AI has fueled the meteoric rise of chipmaker Nvidia and helped propel tech names to new heights.,"Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies.",2024-04-08
-Skydance's unique offer for Paramount Global would give it a large stake while keeping the company public,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/skydance-paramount-global-deal-details-of-david-ellison-bid.html,2024-04-05T16:55:23+0000,"Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover. The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer. Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly. Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders. But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and 5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company.While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people. He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years. Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was $29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022. Paramount+ continues to lose money. Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billion in long-term debt at the end of 2023. When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business. That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.David Ellison would likely lead the new company.Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role. Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem. No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global. That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said.Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come. The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.There still could be other avenues to pursue. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity. Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter. The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"[""Skydance Media's offer to acquire National Amusements and merge its studio with Paramount Pictures isn't a conventional takeover."", ""The question for Paramount Global shareholders might be: Is it better than no deal at all?Skydance has made a unique pitch to Paramount Global's special committee, in charge of accepting or rejecting transactions, and its investors, according to four people familiar with the parameters of the offer."", 'Paramount Global would continue to trade publicly.', ""Skydance would own either a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount Global by merging its assets and raising new equity, which it would acquire along with its private equity partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.The consortium's ownership percentage in the new company could be around 45% or just over 50%, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private."", 'No details have been nailed down and are all still subject to change, the people said.', 'Spokespeople for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.', 'The new equity will be dilutive for existing shareholders.', ""But it will align voting and economic control in a way that hasn't been the case with the Redstone family, which currently directly or indirectly owns 77% of the Class A voting stock of Paramount Global and5.2% of the Class B common stock, about 10% of the overall equity of the company."", 'While Skydance CEO David Ellison is primarily in charge of orchestrating the deal, his father, Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, would be putting up some of the new funding, said the people.', 'He would also potentially provide Paramount Global with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle.', 'Paramount Global has many valuable legacy media assets, including CBS, the Paramount Pictures studio and its physical lot, a studio library with films such as ""The Godfather,"" ""Titanic,"" and ""Forrest Gump"" and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.', 'It also owns its subscription streaming service Paramount+, with more than 67.5 million subscribers, and its free advertising supported service Pluto TV, with more than 80 million monthly active users.', ""Still, it's struggled to grow in recent years."", ""Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022."", 'Paramount+ continues to lose money.', ""Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel."", 'Paramount Global has a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion and had $14.6 billionin long-term debt at the end of 2023.', 'When CBS and Viacom merged in 2019, the combined market value of the company was about $30 billion.', 'Shares were trading about 5% lower Friday.', 'In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.', 'That provides a similar thematic blueprint for what the Ellisons would like to do with Paramount Global – a legacy media company that needs to lean into the future to justify its existence.', 'David Ellison would likely lead the new company.', 'Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in his capacity as chairman for sports and media at RedBird, is also expected to have a major leadership role.', 'Management would be open to divestitures that current CEO Bob Bakish has examined but ultimately rejected, such as selling BET Media Group and Showtime, the people said.', ""New leadership would also assess more existential questions to Paramount Global, such as the future of Paramount+ and what the company's role should be in a broader media ecosystem."", 'No decisions have been made yet about these larger strategies, the people said.', ""The transaction as proposed isn't a full takeover of Paramount Global."", ""That's what Paramount Global's board would prefer, but Ellison has balked, the people said."", ""Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish."", ""The Paramount Global special committee will need to decide if Skydance's complicated transaction is better than the status quo — and also better than any other offer that may still come."", 'The two sides have entered exclusive talks to do deeper due diligence and potentially reach a deal in the coming month or two, the people said.', 'There still could be other avenues to pursue.', 'Private equity firm Apollo Global Management lobbed in a recent bid of $26 billion for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.', 'But the Paramount Global special committee has chosen to move forward with the Skydance talks in exclusivity.', 'Redstone has unofficially sought a buyer for Paramount Global for years, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'The late offer by Apollo may be an attempt to keep the private equity firm around the hoop in case the Skydance transaction falls through.', 'Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary discussions with Paramount Global but stopped working on a deal earlier this year, CNBC reported in February.', 'WATCH: Faber report: Paramount Global deal moves to fast laneDisclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.']",0.0942132138570413,"Still, the message to investors will be that the combination of David Ellison, his dad's involvement, Shell, Skydance's assets and its commitment to new media (including Skydance's video game development studio) is simply better for future growth than Redstone and Bakish.",Paramount Global's debt rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings last month because the company's broadcast and cable TV business is declining as traditional pay TV subscribers cancel.,-0.1901104867458343,"In the past decade, Oracle successfully transformed from a legacy enterprise technology company to a cloud services and AI-focused business.","Paramount Global's annual revenue for 2023 was$29.7 billion, a 1.7% decline from 2022.",2024-04-08
-Looking for a late-night meal? America’s closed,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/06/business/covid-crushed-24-hour-diners-theyre-slowly-coming-back/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:30 AM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","Hungry at 3 a.m.? Head home and go to sleep. You’re out of luck.
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-            Shift workers, bar-hoppers and night owls don’t have nearly as many late-night dining options as they did during the pre-pandemic heyday of 24-hour diners and restaurants.
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-            And it’s not just restaurants. Walmart, four years after Covid-19 prompted curtailed hours, still hasn’t gone back to “open all night.”  Some supermarkets, electronics retailers, coffee shops and pharmacies that shuttered early during Covid-19 have never come back to late-night hours. Not even all of 24 Hour Fitness’ gyms — the promise is right in its name — are 24 hours.
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-            But the worst hit are sunset-to-sunrise diners and restaurants.
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-            The number of restaurants offering 24-hour service fell 18% from 2020 to 2024, according to data from Yelp. The city that never sleeps, New York, has lost 13% of its 24-hour restaurants. Los Angeles, which was also impacted by the Hollywood strikes, has lost a stunning 35% of 24-hour eateries, and Chicago 10%.
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-            The slow recovery of “open all night” America highlights changes to consumer habits and the restaurant industry. Big shifts in customer behavior, including earlier dinner times and less booze late into the evenings, have held back a return to pre-pandemic patterns. Higher labor and food costs have led restaurants to close earlier as well.
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-            Breakfast-based chains are rebounding, somewhat. Around half of IHOP’s 1,800 locations are back to being open 24 hours on Friday and Saturday, at the very least. About 75% of Denny’s 1,600 restaurants are open 24 hours again. And, in a comfort to bleary-eyed students everywhere, all of Waffle House’s nearly 2,000 restaurants run 24 hours again.
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-            But 24/7 is risky, restaurateurs warn. “It’s very stressful to have a business open 24 hours,” explained Alex Barakos, the general manager of Pete’s Kitchen, a Greek diner in Denver with a countertop and retro vibe.
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-            Pete’s was open 24 hours, seven days a week from the 1990s until the pandemic hit in 2020. When the pandemic forced Pete’s to close temporarily, Barakos didn’t even have a key, he said, because the restaurant had never locked its front door.
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-            Pete’s is back to 24 hours, but only on Friday and Saturday. Nightlife is still not as busy as it was pre-pandemic during the week, said Barakos.
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-            “24/7 [service] relies on events like concerts and games. It’s all tied together,” he said. “You have to really give someone a reason to go out right now. You have to give them an event.”
-    
-            Staffing graveyard shifts has long been a challenge, and it’s even harder do so cost-effectively in the tight labor market of the last few years.
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-            Food costs have increased 25% since March of 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while wages in the leisure and hospitality industry have increased 29%. The industry has more than 1 million unfilled positions, according to the latest reading from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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-            “Operationally, the industry is in a different place than it was pre-pandemic,” said Hudson Riehle, the senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant Association. “It doesn’t make sense for some of these operators to incur higher costs in traditionally lower sales periods.”
-    
-            In 2022, restaurants cut back weekly operating hours by 7.5%, or roughly 6.5 hours, compared to 2019, according to market research firm Datassential.
-    
-            Public safety concerns, in some cases, have also led restaurants and other businesses to close earlier. In Philadelphia, for example, the city council passed a bill last month that will force businesses in one neighborhood to close overnight in an effort to reduce crime and noise issues.
-    
-            But late-night eating has been a symbol of American culture, from Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks painting to films like “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.”
-    
-            In New York City, 24-hour diners rose alongside the growing nightlife scene during the mid-twentieth century, said Stephen Zagor, a restaurant consultant who teaches at Columbia Business School.
-    
-            “That culture eroded over later part of 20th century,” he said. “The examination point was the pandemic.”
-    
-            Consumer behaviors have changed since the pandemic. Many people are eating meals earlier, restaurant reservation data shows. In 2023, 10% of all diners were “early birds,” seated between 2-5 p.m. — up from 5% in 2019, according to Yelp.
-    
-            Many younger Americans are also skipping booze, weakening demand for customers looking to sober up with a meal after a night of bar-hopping.
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-            Sixty-two percent of adults under age 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago, Gallup polling shows.
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-            In San Antonio, owner Pete Cortez still has not brought back 24-hour service at Mi Tierra, an 80-year-old Tex-Mex restaurant known for its breakfast tacos and Mariachi band.
-    
-            Cortez’s grandparents started Mi Tierra. For years, Mi Tierra had a neon sign outside its restaurant saying “We never close.”
-    
-            Before the pandemic, people would come in to eat after weddings and other events. Now, people are eating dinner earlier and not staying out as late.
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-            “There’s been some shift in the mentality,” Cortez said. “People are saying ‘We already partied tonight. Do we really need to go to one more place?’”
-    
-            Cortez wants to bring back 24-hour operations at Mi Tierra, but he doesn’t believe the nightlife and events can lift demand. Instead of opening the restaurant, he is testing a food truck in the parking lot to see if that will attract interest.
-    
-            Before the pandemic, “a lot of our after midnight guests were mostly local — people going to dinners, weddings and Chamber of Commerce events. It was not uncommon to see people coming in tuxedos after midnight,” he said.
-    
-            “It will take that kind of energy and activity to get back to 24/7.”",CNN,06/04/2024,"['Hungry at 3 a.m.?', 'Head home and go to sleep.', 'You’re out of luck.', 'Shift workers, bar-hoppers and night owls don’t have nearly as many late-night dining options as they did during the pre-pandemic heyday of 24-hour diners and restaurants.', 'And it’s not just restaurants.', 'Walmart, four years after Covid-19 prompted curtailed hours, still hasn’t gone back to “open all night.”', 'Some supermarkets, electronics retailers, coffee shops and pharmacies that shuttered early during Covid-19 have never come back to late-night hours.', 'Not even all of 24 Hour Fitness’ gyms — the promise is right in its name — are 24 hours.', 'But the worst hit are sunset-to-sunrise diners and restaurants.', 'The number of restaurants offering 24-hour service fell 18% from 2020 to 2024, according to data from Yelp.', 'The city that never sleeps, New York, has lost 13% of its 24-hour restaurants.', 'Los Angeles, which was also impacted by the Hollywood strikes, has lost a stunning 35% of 24-hour eateries, and Chicago 10%.', 'The slow recovery of “open all night” America highlights changes to consumer habits and the restaurant industry.', 'Big shifts in customer behavior, including earlier dinner times and less booze late into the evenings, have held back a return to pre-pandemic patterns.', 'Higher labor and food costs have led restaurants to close earlier as well.', 'Breakfast-based chains are rebounding, somewhat.', 'Around half of IHOP’s 1,800 locations are back to being open 24 hours on Friday and Saturday, at the very least.', 'About 75% of Denny’s 1,600 restaurants are open 24 hours again.', 'And, in a comfort to bleary-eyed students everywhere, all of Waffle House’s nearly 2,000 restaurants run 24 hours again.', 'But 24/7 is risky, restaurateurs warn. “', 'It’s very stressful to have a business open 24 hours,” explained Alex Barakos, the general manager of Pete’s Kitchen, a Greek diner in Denver with a countertop and retro vibe.', 'Pete’s was open 24 hours, seven days a week from the 1990s until the pandemic hit in 2020.', 'When the pandemic forced Pete’s to close temporarily, Barakos didn’t even have a key, he said, because the restaurant had never locked its front door.', 'Pete’s is back to 24 hours, but only on Friday and Saturday.', 'Nightlife is still not as busy as it was pre-pandemic during the week, said Barakos.', '“24/7 [service] relies on events like concerts and games.', 'It’s all tied together,” he said. “', 'You have to really give someone a reason to go out right now.', 'You have to give them an event.”', 'Staffing graveyard shifts has long been a challenge, and it’s even harder do so cost-effectively in the tight labor market of the last few years.', 'Food costs have increased 25% since March of 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while wages in the leisure and hospitality industry have increased 29%.', 'The industry has more than 1 million unfilled positions, according to the latest reading from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', '“Operationally, the industry is in a different place than it was pre-pandemic,” said HudsonRiehle, the senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant Association. “', 'It doesn’t make sense for some of these operators to incur higher costs in traditionally lower sales periods.”', 'In 2022, restaurants cut back weekly operating hours by 7.5%, or roughly 6.5 hours, compared to 2019, according to market research firm Datassential.', 'Public safety concerns, in some cases, have also led restaurants and other businesses to close earlier.', 'In Philadelphia, for example, the city council passed a bill last month that will force businesses in one neighborhood to close overnight in an effort to reduce crime and noise issues.', 'But late-night eating has been a symbol of American culture, from Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks painting to films like “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.”', 'In New York City, 24-hour diners rose alongside the growing nightlife scene during the mid-twentieth century, said Stephen Zagor, a restaurant consultant who teaches at Columbia Business School.', '“That culture eroded over later part of 20th century,” he said. “', 'The examination point was the pandemic.”', 'Consumer behaviors have changed since the pandemic.', 'Many people are eating meals earlier, restaurant reservation data shows.', 'In 2023, 10% of all diners were “early birds,” seated between 2-5 p.m. — up from 5% in 2019, according to Yelp.', 'Many younger Americans are also skipping booze, weakening demand for customers looking to sober up with a meal after a night of bar-hopping.', 'Sixty-two percent of adults under age 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago, Gallup polling shows.', 'In San Antonio, owner Pete Cortez still has not brought back 24-hour service at Mi Tierra, an 80-year-old Tex-Mex restaurant known for its breakfast tacos and Mariachi band.', 'Cortez’s grandparents started Mi Tierra.', 'For years, Mi Tierra had a neon sign outside its restaurant saying “We never close.”', 'Before the pandemic, people would come in to eat after weddings and other events.', 'Now, people are eating dinner earlier and not staying out as late.', '“There’s been some shift in the mentality,” Cortez said. “', 'People are saying ‘We already partied tonight.', 'Do we really need to go to one more place?’”', 'Cortez wants to bring back 24-hour operations at Mi Tierra, but he doesn’t believe the nightlife and events can lift demand.', 'Instead of opening the restaurant, he is testing a food truck in the parking lot to see if that will attract interest.', 'Before the pandemic, “a lot of our after midnight guests were mostly local — people going to dinners, weddings and Chamber of Commerce events.', 'It was not uncommon to see people coming in tuxedos after midnight,” he said.', '“It will take that kind of energy and activity to get back to 24/7.”']",0.0186903792211933,"Instead of opening the restaurant, he is testing a food truck in the parking lot to see if that will attract interest.",But the worst hit are sunset-to-sunrise diners and restaurants.,-0.4752541070892697,"In 2023, 10% of all diners were “early birds,” seated between 2-5 p.m. — up from 5% in 2019, according to Yelp.","Sixty-two percent of adults under age 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago, Gallup polling shows.",2024-04-08
-Tesla heads to court after Apple engineer’s family says Autopilot caused his fatal crash,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/tesla-trial-wrongful-death-walter-huang/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:56 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Tesla and its controversial automated-driving system are on trial starting this week.
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-            Jury selection is set to begin Monday in a high-profile wrongful death suit filed by the family of a former Apple engineer who died after his Tesla Model X crashed while the Autopilot feature was engaged. The trial could last several weeks.
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-            Walter Huang was killed when his Tesla struck a concrete highway median in Silicon Valley on March 23, 2018. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investigation, found that Autopilot was engaged for nearly 19 minutes before the fatal crash, when the car, traveling at 71 mph, veered off the highway.
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-            The trial marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year. CEO Elon Musk and the company say that its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies are ahead of the competition and a big reason why Tesla has become the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — just ahead of Chinese rival BYD. But Huang’s family said Tesla oversold its Autopilot technology’s capabilities, and that it is not as safe to use as advertised.
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-            Tesla has come under intense scrutiny for its Autopilot technology over the six years since Huang’s fatal crash. After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security. It can be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when Autopilot may be unable to safely navigate the road, NHTSA found in December 2023.
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-            NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board have also been investigating crashes involving Tesla vehicles using the various driver assist features, including a series of crashes into emergency vehicles on the scene of other accidents.
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-            Immediately following the December NHTSA report, Tesla recalled all 2 million of its cars in the United States, giving drivers more warnings when Autopilot is engaged and they are not paying attention to the road or placing their hands on the wheel.
-    
-            Yet the company maintains that the technology is safe to use when used correctly and reduces fatalities. Autopilot requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and Tesla says people who use the automated-driving technology should keep their eyes on the road.
-    
-            That didn’t happen in the case of Huang’s crash, Tesla has said. In a March 30, 2018, blog post, Tesla said Huang’s hands were not detected on his car’s steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash. The company said it believes Huang was responsible for the crash because investigators found he was playing a video game on his phone while Autopilot was engaged. Huang did not brake or attempt to steer his car away from the concrete barrier before it crashed.
-    
-            Although Huang’s family acknowledges he was distracted while the car was driving, they argue Tesla is at fault because it falsely marketed Autopilot as self-driving software. They allege Tesla knew that Autopilot was not ready for prime time and had flaws that could make its use unsafe.
-    
-            Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
-    
-            “Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said B. Mark Fong, the lawyer who brought the suit filed in California state court in a May 2019 complaint.
-    
-            If the jury finds in favor of Huang’s family, Tesla could have to pay damages, and they could add up quickly. Wrongful death suits involving big companies have at times resulted in awards north of $1 billion.
-    
-            Autopilot’s promise has also helped to boost Tesla’s stock in recent years to make it the most valuable automaker in the world — even as its stock is among the worst-performers in 2024. Musk in October 2023 on a call with analysts aid autonomous driving “has the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far.”",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Tesla and its controversial automated-driving system are on trial starting this week.', 'Jury selection is set to begin Monday in a high-profile wrongful death suit filed by the family of a former Apple engineer who died after his Tesla Model X crashed while the Autopilot feature was engaged.', 'The trial could last several weeks.', 'Walter Huang was killed when his Tesla struck a concrete highway median in Silicon Valley on March 23, 2018.', 'The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investigation, found that Autopilot was engaged for nearly 19 minutes before the fatal crash, when the car, traveling at 71 mph, veered off the highway.', 'The trial marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year.', 'CEO Elon Musk and the company say that its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies are ahead of the competition and a big reason why Tesla has become the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — just ahead of Chinese rival BYD.', 'But Huang’s family said Tesla oversold its Autopilot technology’s capabilities, and that it is not as safe to use as advertised.', 'Tesla has come under intense scrutiny for its Autopilot technology over the six years since Huang’s fatal crash.', 'After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security.', 'It can be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when Autopilot may be unable to safely navigate the road, NHTSA found in December 2023.', 'NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board have also been investigating crashes involving Tesla vehicles using the various driver assist features, including a series ofcrashes into emergency vehicleson the scene of other accidents.', 'Immediately following the December NHTSA report, Tesla recalled all 2 million of its cars in the United States, giving drivers more warnings when Autopilot is engaged and they are not paying attention to the road or placing their hands on the wheel.', 'Yet the company maintains that the technology is safe to use when used correctly and reduces fatalities.', 'Autopilot requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and Tesla says people who use the automated-driving technology should keep their eyes on the road.', 'That didn’t happen in the case of Huang’s crash, Tesla has said.', 'In a March 30, 2018, blog post, Tesla said Huang’s hands were not detected on his car’s steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash.', 'The company said it believes Huang was responsible for the crash because investigators found he was playing a video game on his phone while Autopilot was engaged.', 'Huang did not brake or attempt to steer his car away from the concrete barrier before it crashed.', 'Although Huang’s family acknowledges he was distracted while the car was driving, they argue Tesla is at fault because it falsely marketed Autopilot as self-driving software.', 'They allege Tesla knew that Autopilot was not ready for prime time and had flaws that could make its use unsafe.', 'Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.', '“Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said B. Mark Fong, the lawyer who brought the suit filed in California state court in a May 2019 complaint.', 'If the jury finds in favor of Huang’s family, Tesla could have to pay damages, and they could add up quickly.', 'Wrongful death suits involving big companies have at times resulted in awards north of $1 billion.', 'Autopilot’s promise has also helped to boost Tesla’s stock in recent years to make it the most valuable automaker in the world — even as its stock is among the worst-performers in 2024.', 'Musk in October 2023 on a call with analysts aid autonomous driving “has the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far.”']",-0.0957966266303998,"After a two-year investigation that analyzed 1,000 Tesla crashes while vehicles had Autopilot engaged, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security.","Walter Huang was killed when his Tesla struck a concrete highway median in Silicon Valley on March 23, 2018.",-0.2564137528340022,Autopilot’s promise has also helped to boost Tesla’s stock in recent years to make it the most valuable automaker in the world — even as its stock is among the worst-performers in 2024.,The trial marks another crucial moment for an embattled company that has lost popularity and a third of its market value this year.,2024-04-08
-"GM U.S. vehicle sales fall 1.5% during the first quarter, underperforming other major automakers",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/gm-first-quarter-us-vehicle-sales.html,2024-04-02T18:51:37+0000,"In this articleDETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday reported a 1.5% decline in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales compared to a year ago, as the overall auto industry normalizes after years of disruptions and volatile results.The Detroit automaker said the decline to 594,233 vehicles sold during the first three months of the year was largely due to a 22.9% year-over-year decline in sales to fleet customers. Retail sales to customers were up 6%, GM said.GM's sales were in-line with Cox Automotive estimates but below expectations for the overall industry. The auto data firm forecast U.S. auto industry sales to be up 5.5% from a year earlier.Buick was the only GM brand to report a sales increase during the quarter, up 16.4% from a year earlier. The GMC truck brand was off about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet were both off about 2%.GM reported sales of its full-size pickups totaled roughly 197,000 units during the first quarter, up 3.6% from a year earlier, marking its best performance during that time since the first quarter of 2020.""GM gained retail market share year-over-year with strong mix and pricing, our inventories are in good shape heading into the spring, and production and deliveries of Ultium Platform EVs are rising, led by the Cadillac Lyriq. We're on plan,"" GM North America President Marissa West said in a statement.Sales of GM's all-electric vehicles, closely watched by Wall Street, remained miniscule during the first quarter. EV sales totaled 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker's overall sales during the period.GM is in the process of ramping up production of its newest EVs, including the Cadillac Lyriq and the Blazer EV, while winding down sales of Chevrolet Bolt models, which were discontinued in December.First-quarter sales of the Blazer EV were limited, totaling 600 units, due to a stop-sale that was in effect from late December until early March to resolve software issues.Other automakers reported varying results for the first quarter, as inventories and sales normalize to levels not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic began.Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker noted the industry is getting more competitive as automakers attempt to maintain profits of recent years without oversubsidizing sales.""The market is changing swiftly, and it's gotten a lot more competitive,"" Parker said Tuesday during a media call.Hyundai reported its best March sales ever last month, at 76,920 vehicles sold, but its first-quarter sales were only up 0.2% compared to a year earlier.Separately, Hyundai's Genesis luxury brand reported sales of 14,777 vehicles during the first quarter, up 7.3% year over year.Here is how other major automakers performed in U.S. sales compared to the first quarter of 2023:",CNBC,02/04/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday reported a 1.5% decline in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales compared to a year ago, as the overall auto industry normalizes after years of disruptions and volatile results.', 'The Detroit automaker said the decline to 594,233 vehicles sold during the first three months of the year was largely due to a 22.9% year-over-year decline in sales to fleet customers.', 'Retail sales to customers were up 6%, GM said.', ""GM's saleswere in-line with Cox Automotive estimatesbut belowexpectations for the overall industry."", 'The auto data firm forecast U.S. auto industry salesto be up 5.5% from a year earlier.', 'Buick was the only GM brand to report a sales increase during the quarter, up 16.4% from a year earlier.', 'The GMC truck brand was off about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet were both off about 2%.GM reported sales of its full-size pickups totaled roughly 197,000 units during the first quarter, up 3.6% from a year earlier, marking its best performance during that time since the first quarter of 2020.""GM gained retail market share year-over-year with strong mix and pricing, our inventories are in good shape heading into the spring, and production and deliveries of Ultium Platform EVs are rising, led by the Cadillac Lyriq.', 'We\'re on plan,"" GM North America President Marissa West said in a statement.', ""Sales of GM's all-electric vehicles, closely watched by Wall Street, remained miniscule during the first quarter."", ""EV sales totaled 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker's overall sales during the period."", 'GM is in the process of ramping up production of its newest EVs, including the Cadillac Lyriq and the Blazer EV, while winding down sales of Chevrolet Bolt models, which were discontinued in December.', 'First-quarter sales of the Blazer EV were limited, totaling 600 units, due to a stop-sale that was in effect from late December until early March to resolve software issues.', 'Other automakers reported varying results for the first quarter, as inventories and sales normalize to levels not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic began.', 'Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker noted the industry is getting more competitive as automakers attempt to maintain profits of recent years without oversubsidizing sales.', '""The market is changing swiftly, and it\'s gotten a lot more competitive,"" Parker said Tuesday during a media call.', 'Hyundai reported its best March sales ever last month, at 76,920 vehicles sold, but its first-quarter sales were only up 0.2% compared to a year earlier.', ""Separately, Hyundai's Genesis luxury brand reported sales of 14,777 vehicles during the first quarter, up 7.3% year over year."", 'Here is how other major automakers performed in U.S. sales compared to the first quarter of 2023:']",0.1254493644529955,"The GMC truck brand was off about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet were both off about 2%.GM reported sales of its full-size pickups totaled roughly 197,000 units during the first quarter, up 3.6% from a year earlier, marking its best performance during that time since the first quarter of 2020.""GM gained retail market share year-over-year with strong mix and pricing, our inventories are in good shape heading into the spring, and production and deliveries of Ultium Platform EVs are rising, led by the Cadillac Lyriq.","In this articleDETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday reported a 1.5% decline in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales compared to a year ago, as the overall auto industry normalizes after years of disruptions and volatile results.",0.429541391985757,"Retail sales to customers were up 6%, GM said.","The Detroit automaker said the decline to 594,233 vehicles sold during the first three months of the year was largely due to a 22.9% year-over-year decline in sales to fleet customers.",2024-04-08
-"Levi Strauss shares surge 18% on raised profit guidance, holiday earnings beat",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/shares-of-levi-strauss-surge-18percent-on-q1-2024-earnings.html,2024-04-04T21:15:02+0000,"In this articleShares of Levi Strauss surged 12% on Thursday after the retailer raised its full-year profit guidance and posted holiday earnings that beat expectations. Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25. Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. As the retailer contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending, it's focused on what it can control: cutting costs and becoming more efficient so it can boost its bottom line.In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs. As part of the project, Levi's cut about 12% of its global workforce. It also exited its Denizen business, which comes at a lower margin, and has relied less on aggressive discounting to drive sales. It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin.""The benefits from our Project Fuel initiative are just starting to unfold, which will continue to improve the agility and the efficiency of our business,"" finance chief Harmit Singh said on a call with analysts. ""We will also continue to deliver positive free cash flow through inventory and working capital management."" During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi's gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleShares of Levi Strauss surged 12% on Thursday after the retailer raised its full-year profit guidance and posted holiday earnings that beat expectations.', ""Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25.Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv."", ""As the retailer contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending, it's focused on what it can control: cutting costs and becoming more efficient so it can boost its bottom line."", ""In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs."", ""As part of the project, Levi's cut about 12% of its global workforce."", 'It also exited its Denizen business, which comes at a lower margin, and has relied less on aggressive discounting to drive sales.', ""It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin."", '""The benefits from our Project Fuel initiative are just starting to unfold, which will continue to improve the agility and the efficiency of our business,"" finance chief Harmit Singh said on a call with analysts. ""', 'We will also continue to deliver positive free cash flow through inventory and working capital management.', '""During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi\'s gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.']",0.348689543365999,"In January, Levi's launched an initiative that's designed to accelerate profitable growth and save on costs.","""During the quarter, fewer promotions along with lower product costs helped to boost Levi's gross margin by 2.4 percentage points to 58.2%, up from 55.8% a year earlier.",0.583313935995102,"Late Wednesday, Levi's announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings and said it expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25.Analysts had expected a forecast of $1.21 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.","It's also seeing record amounts of sales happening online and through its own shops instead of through department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, which come at a lower margin.",2024-04-08
-How Dana Walden could defy critics and become Disney's first female CEO,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/01/disney-ceo-race-dana-walden-could-defy-critics-and-make-history.html,2024-04-01T19:56:39+0000,"In this articleIn 1994, a captain of the media and entertainment industry saw something in Dana Walden that made him think she was capable of a bigger role.Thirty years later, that may happen again.That first time, the executive was Peter Chernin, then president of 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment and later president and chief operating officer of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Chernin plucked Walden from Fox's corporate communications division and gave her a job in TV.In 2024, the executive is Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, and the position he's considering Walden for is that of his successor, according to people familiar with the process. The appointment would make Walden the first female CEO of the Walt Disney Co. in its 100-year history.Just a year into her early career at 20th Century Fox, working in publicity, Walden delivered a presentation at a company retreat in Santa Barbara, California. She was determined to leave a lasting impression on Chernin, now chairman and CEO of investment firm The Chernin Group, after several encounters in which he'd never remembered her.To get his attention, Walden decided to be bold. She told Fox executives, including Chernin, that they weren't being aggressive enough to secure top talent. Fox needed to take bigger swings to generate relationships and land shows that could make it to syndication, Walden argued. A spokesperson for Walden confirmed the details of the presentation.When the retreat ended, Chernin called Peter Roth, then president of 20th Century Fox Television, who later ran Warner Bros.' TV division.""The next day she was in my office, and we gave her a job in programming,"" Roth said in an interview.That set Walden on a career course correction that's led her to the doorstep of becoming Iger's successor.Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, is competing internally with Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and Alan Bergman, who is Entertainment co-chair with Walden, to be named the next CEO of Disney, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.Iger plans to name a successor and then stick around at Disney to teach that person the job before departing at the end of 2026, CNBC reported in September. He's fighting to maintain control of Disney's future against a threat from Trian Partners' Nelson Peltz.Peltz has argued he should help spearhead a successor search, considering Iger has pushed back his retirement five times and returned to the job after Bob Chapek, named CEO in 2020, was fired in 2022. Peltz has claimed the Disney board can't be trusted to handle succession. Disney shareholders will vote on Peltz's candidacy to the board at its annual meeting Wednesday.Several executives at Disney privately told CNBC they believe Walden, 59, is the favorite to land the top job, though they have no inside knowledge of the process, and their proximity to Walden may skew their perception. Her relationship with Iger (she lives just blocks from his house in Brentwood, California), her track record of success as a TV executive, her trust among Disney board members, and the symbolism about what it would mean to have a female executive all work in her favor.""She's the single best talent exec to come out of TV in the last 20 years,"" Chernin said in an interview.""She would be an outstanding CEO,"" Roth added. ""Absolutely outstanding.""Walden declined to comment for this story. More than 20 colleagues and friends spoke with CNBC about her strengths, faults and the perceived likelihood she will take over for Iger.Allies of Walden's told CNBC she won't even discuss succession with them (though many said they tease her about it), choosing to focus on the job of running Disney Entertainment with Bergman that she's tasked with today.She faces stiff competition in the other Disney division heads. Walden has spent the last three decades focused on producing TV hits. She hasn't had the same range of responsibilities as Pitaro, who has run the company's sports media empire since 2018. And she has no experience running parks and resorts, which Iger and the board may decide is more essential to Disney's future than a TV business with hazy financial prospects in the streaming era.Six former colleagues — all of whom worked closely with Walden — privately questioned her business acumen in interviews with CNBC.""There are people that are in creative positions that rise to a level of management who figure out what a P&L [profit and loss] statement is, what a balance sheet is, what quarterly earnings are,"" said one of the people, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly. ""Dana doesn't really bother with any of that.""A second former coworker said Walden's profile simply doesn't translate to becoming the Disney CEO — a job that involves close investor interaction, geopolitical deals for parks and resorts, and strategic thinking around acquisition and investment.""She'll be eaten up by real investors,"" said the person, who likewise requested anonymity. ""Does she have the necessary depth of business knowledge? She can learn, but you can't have someone teach you decades of finance, business and tactics in a year or two.""Walden supporters dismissed those concerns as either simply incorrect or an example of persistent stereotypes against female executives. Walden has met with many institutional investors through her years at Disney, according to people familiar with the matter.""There's something about looking at female execs where questions are asked that would never be asked of men,"" said Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios and a former colleague of Walden's. ""Can they scale? Can a creative person be a business leader? I find that to be a huge bugaboo. She's in charge of billions of dollars of assets, but she's not capable of being a business leader?""Walden defenders brush off criticism from ex-Disney colleagues as the remnants of a grudge against Fox employees who came over as part of Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019, or perhaps as part of an ulterior motive to diminish her CEO prospects in favor of their own preferred candidates.""At some point, everyone running anything was something before that,"" Chernin said. ""Anybody they choose will have never been the Disney CEO prior to that.""Chernin and Walden both began their careers in public relations, making them two of a small club of TV executives who started that way — former HBO head Richard Plepler is another exception. Chernin saw Walden's background as a strength, rather than a weakness.""She knows nothing is more important to a studio than talent relationships,"" said Craig Hunegs, who worked closely with Walden when he was president of Disney TV Studios from 2019 to 2021.Walden's entire life has ties to Hollywood. She grew up modestly in Studio City, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, and attended the private Westlake School for Girls (a predecessor of the coed Harvard-Westlake School), where she became friendly with Carol Burnett's daughter Carrie Hamilton.Walden's parents made connections in the entertainment industry from their time living in Las Vegas, where her mother was a background dancer who performed with George Burns, among other artists. Her father became a member of The Friars Club, famous for its Dean Martin celebrity roasts, and established friendships with entertainers including Martin and Buddy Hackett. Walden spent her childhood years with celebrities as family friends, attending dinner parties and occasionally celebrating holidays at their homes. She went on to marry a member of the entertainment industry, producer Matt Walden, in 1995; they have two daughters, now in their 20s.After graduating from the University of Southern California, Walden took a job working for public relations firm Bender, Goldman & Helper, starting out as a receptionist and an assistant. Within four years, she'd become a vice president.At Bender, she represented ""The Arsenio Hall Show"" on behalf of her client Paramount. The show poached Walden to come work as head of marketing for Hall's production company. Less than a year later, Lucie Sulhany, president of Paramount Domestic Television, took a job as a high-ranking Fox TV executive. She asked Walden to come along and work in publicity, and Walden joined her with an eye toward eventually making TV shows.At Fox, Walden and fellow TV executive Gary Newman jointly began running the studio business — the engine of the company that makes series both for itself and other networks. Starting in 1999, they kept that position for the next 15 years until they were promoted to run all of Fox Broadcasting in 2014.A former attorney, Newman began his partnership with Walden handling many of the business issues, while Walden developed a reputation for winning over creative talent and having impeccable taste for both dramas and comedies.""People used to joke we were work spouses,"" Newman said in an interview. ""She was very good at the job very quickly. It's just a combination of being smart, being really fast, being curious, being fearless.""Over time, Walden mastered the business side of TV, according to Newman and others who have worked with her.""The difference between Dana in the beginning of our partnership, when she leaned on her creative background, and where she was a few years later was night and day,"" Newman said. ""She picked up what she needed to pick up about business. I had a surgery at one point — the responsibility fell on Dana to be in there for me. That included being in charge of the business side of things.""Newman recounted one difficult negotiation over a Fox-produced show with CBS. It was the day before CBS would announce its fall schedule, and it wasn't clear if the broadcast network would pick up the series. CBS gave Newman and Walden a midnight deadline to revise a deal on its terms or it would cancel the show. Walden told Newman that CBS was bluffing, realizing the show was the linchpin for other programming that day. She persuaded Fox to simply ignore the deadline. The next day, CBS included the series, proving Walden right.""I don't know if she plays poker, but she'd be a great poker player,"" Newman said.Fox's studio began churning out hits, including ""24,"" ""Homeland,"" ""How I Met Your Mother,"" ""Sons of Anarchy,"" ""Modern Family,"" ""This is Us,"" ""New Girl,"" ""Bob's Burgers,"" and mini-empires created by Seth MacFarlane (""Family Guy,"" ""American Dad,"" ""The Cleveland Show"") and Ryan Murphy (""Nip/Tuck,"" ""Glee,"" ""American Horror Story,"" ""9-1-1"").Walden began making lasting relationships with TV showrunners and producers who have repeatedly worked with her, including MacFarlane, Murphy, ""Modern Family"" co-creator Steve Levitan and ""This is Us"" creator Dan Fogelman. She earned a reputation for her creative notes on scripts, particularly on shaping ""24,"" an unusually constructed drama that ran from 2001 to 2014 and earned critical praise for its storytelling techniques, according to Rick Rosen, a partner and head of TV of the talent agency WME .""People felt her notes and constructive criticisms helped move that show forward,"" recounted Rosen, who represented Howard Gordon, at one time the ""24"" showrunner. ""She helped get it unstuck.""Walden's taste, her discipline around getting talent to deliver on budget, and her honesty about what's working and what isn't have set her apart from other executives, according to Levitan.""Hollywood is a business of relationships,"" Levitan said. ""What you can't teach somebody is how to inspire people. She is whip smart. If there is a subject that she needs to take a deep dive on, she's going to be an expert in that subject before you know it.""Disney's acquisition of Fox moved Walden to a new company with a new culture. Iger called Walden on the day of the deal's announcement in December 2017 to let her know he wanted her to come to Disney, according to people familiar with the matter. Newman planned to stay at Fox; he ultimately exited the company in 2018.Walden hoped she'd run Disney's TV unit as a direct report to Iger, according to people familiar with her thinking at the time. But Iger wanted Peter Rice, Walden's boss at Fox, for the top job. Passed over, Walden considered walking away from both Disney and the studio she helped build for other opportunities, the people said.Still, she had a strong relationship with Rice, who ultimately persuaded her to stay despite her disappointment. Walden eventually took Rice's job when Disney fired him in 2022 after Chapek and some members of the Disney board concluded he wasn't a team player, specifically noting that he'd privately criticized the company's messaging around Florida's controversial ""Don't Say Gay"" legislation, according to people familiar with the matter. Chapek told Rice he wasn't a culture fit despite years of Rice receiving positive feedback, the people said. A Disney spokesman and Rice declined to comment.""The conversations around selling a series — licensing fees, profit participation, residuals — or discussions about budgets, and how many guest stars we can sign, or which platform a series should air on ... all of that I've done directly with Dana,"" said Rich Appel, the executive producer and co-showrunner of ""Family Guy."" ""No disrespect to Gary [Newman], but for the past few years, it's only been Dana.""At Disney, Walden has hit several home runs, including FX's ""The Bear,"" Hulu's ""The Dropout"" and ""Only Murders in the Building,"" and ABC's ""Abbott Elementary."" She has heavily invested in marketing children's show ""Bluey,"" which in 2024 has spent time as the most-watched show on all streaming services. She has also focused on building up Disney+'s family programming with originals including ""Percy Jackson and the Olympians,"" ""Spidey and His Amazing Friends"" and ""Goosebumps.""Still, critics say it's easy to cherry-pick the successes and ignore the failures. One Disney insider said that grading Walden's performance honestly would require a robust analysis of all the shows she's greenlit.The last time Iger chose a successor, it didn't go well. As outlined by CNBC in 2023, the relationship between Chapek and Iger, who remained Disney's executive chairman until the end of 2021, fell apart, and the Disney board ultimately fired Chapek and brought Iger back less than three years later.Iger returned as CEO in part to right the wrong he believed he made by selecting Chapek as his successor, according to people familiar with his thinking. If he's looking for the anti-Chapek candidate, Walden fits the description.Chapek climbed the corporate ladder at Disney for 30 years by showcasing his business and finance chops. He studied microbiology at Indiana University and got his MBA from Michigan State University. He developed expertise in the minute details of Disney's parks and resorts, such as how specific hotel discounts could affect park attendance and the price elasticity of seasonal ticket rate adjustments.But he had almost no Hollywood relationships. Without a foundation of trust, ""The Town,"" as Hollywood is known, turned on Chapek. Agents, producers and showrunners blamed him for Disney's forceful public rebuke of A-list star Scarlett Johansson in a Covid pandemic-related contract dispute and for bungling the company's response to ""Don't Say Gay,"" as CNBC reported in 2023.Walden's resume sets her up as Chapek's inverse: a Disney outsider whose Hollywood ties are among the best in the industry. In the latter months of Chapek's tenure as CEO, as CNBC reported, Disney communications head Kristina Schake began setting up meetings for Chapek with Hollywood's power players — at Walden's house.A potential handover from Iger to Walden would also look very different from the Iger-Chapek transition, predicted United Talent Agency Vice Chairman Jay Sures, a close friend of Walden's. Chapek saw Iger as a threat to his power, according to people familiar with his thinking at the time. Walden would stay close to Iger for as long as possible, Sures said.""When Bob Chapek got the job, he couldn't wait for Bob Iger to leave. If Dana ever got the job, she's gonna dread the day Bob Iger leaves,"" Sures said. ""She values the skill and leadership he brings. She knows a good thing when she sees it.""If Walden were appointed CEO, she would be the first woman to run the century-old company. Some close to Iger say he would look fondly on being the person to help break the glass ceiling.Amazon's Salke said she's had several discussions over the years with Walden about how to survive in the male-dominated entertainment world. It requires a deftness of character and ability to avoid enemies, said Salke.""I watched 'Barbie,'"" said Salke, referencing the Greta Gerwig-created hit 2023 movie that skewers elements of modern patriarchy. ""That speech from America Ferrera's character [Gloria], it's true. You have to be likable but not too likable. If you're too likable, that's seen as threatening to men.""While Walden has crossed a bridge to become close friends with a number of her professional colleagues (she's the godmother of Murphy's children), she is attuned to her image in ways male executives don't have to worry about, according to people familiar with her personality.Even when the attention is nonthreatening, Walden is aware that her appearance may be judged as readily as her business performance, the people said.""When I first met her, the writers would see Dana walk by from time to time, and we used to call her 'Why Miss Jones,'"" Levitan said. ""Because she'd wear these glasses. So it was like in old Hollywood movies, when an actress would take off her glasses and one of the characters would say, 'Why, Miss Jones! You're beautiful!'""Levitan later became close friends with Walden and praised her professionalism. Of note, he cited last year's cancellation of ""Reboot,"" a show he created for Hulu.""I don't agree with the decision that was made there, and I don't agree that it got a fair shake,"" Levitan said. ""But Dana and I talked about it. She took me through her reasons. And it's a genuine conversation. There's a reason people are pretty effusive about the way Dana handles herself. It's because she genuinely goes out of her way to treat people with decency.""Walden and her team have a reputation for sending birthday gifts to Hollywood's movers and shakers and bottles of champagne to them when their shows premiere. Supporters view it as relationship-building. Critics said her actions sometimes border on corporate largesse.Walden herself has joked that she was ""raised by wolves"" at Fox, and that she's had to consciously adjust to the more toned-down Disney culture over the last five years, according to people familiar with her thinking.She's also had to toe a line between stereotype and successful executive. Of the 20 people interviewed for this story, nearly every one of them called Walden ""direct"" and ""demanding.""""Sharp elbows, right?"" Salke said, anticipating the hackneyed criticism of female leaders. ""So many times Dana and I have been the only women in the room. Can she be demanding and hold people to a high bar? Yes. But men come on in, and the first thing they do is fire people, and no one bats an eye.""Walden's champions noted that every successful executive is demanding of excellence, and said her directness is a major strength that separates her from many other TV executives.""She can be 'business' tough,"" said WME's Rosen. ""Nobody likes to deliver bad news. A show is canceled, or it's over budget, or this project didn't work. But she's not harsh. You feel like she's coming from a place of optimism — let's figure out where we go from here.""While the Disney board will have the ultimate say on the company's next CEO, Iger will likely be the real decision-maker, given his history at the company, status among board members, and knowledge of the job.""The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated, and as the Board continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates, I remain intensely focused on a successful transition,"" Iger said in a statement in 2023 when he renewed his contract as CEO to the end of 2026.Even if Iger agrees with some of Walden's critics about whether her strengths will specifically fit the top job at Disney, it's possible his recollection of his own experience being selected as CEO in 2005 could influence his decision. ""Go back and look at the articles that were written about Bob Iger,"" Sures said. ""I was friends with Bob then. It was a lot of 'empty suit' — a good-looking, tall guy who never had any experience in the movie business and never did anything in M&A [mergers and acquisitions] before in his life. Nineteen years later, he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest CEO the entertainment business has ever seen.""""The same things are being said about Dana now,"" Sures said.Iger and the board's selection for a successor may ultimately come down to the direction they envision for Disney.D'Amaro could be the choice if they decide the parks are the most important part of the company's future. Pitaro seems logical if ESPN and its upcoming digital transformation are seen as an essential part of Disney's future, as opposed to its past. Either Walden or Bergman could be the choice if creative taste and relationships trump all, though Bergman's recent troubles with Disney's film division may be a knock against them.Still, Chernin said it's a mistake to view Disney so simply. The magic of the company is how all the parts interact with each other, rather than emphasizing one unit over all others, he said.""The business is changing so rapidly. That company is going to change so much,"" Chernin said. ""Someone is going to have to imagine what a media company of the future looks like. Bob [Iger] is going through that right now. He's actively spending every day thinking that through. The most important part of that company is ongoing relationships with customers.""WATCH: Carolyn Everson, Disney board member, discusses the question of succession.",CNBC,01/04/2024,"['In this articleIn 1994, a captain of the media and entertainment industry saw something in Dana Walden that made him think she was capable of a bigger role.', 'Thirty years later, that may happen again.', ""That first time, the executive was Peter Chernin, then president of 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment and later president and chief operating officer of Rupert Murdoch'sNews Corp. Chernin plucked Walden from Fox's corporate communications division and gave her a job in TV.In 2024, the executive is Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, and the position he's considering Walden for is that of his successor, according to people familiar with the process."", 'The appointment would make Walden the first female CEO of the Walt Disney Co. in its 100-year history.', 'Just a year into her early career at 20th Century Fox, working in publicity, Walden delivered a presentation at a company retreat in Santa Barbara, California.', ""She was determined to leave a lasting impression on Chernin, now chairman and CEO of investment firmThe Chernin Group, after several encounters in which he'd never remembered her."", 'To get his attention, Walden decided to be bold.', ""She told Fox executives, including Chernin, that they weren't being aggressive enough to secure top talent."", 'Fox needed to take bigger swings to generate relationships and land shows that could make it to syndication, Walden argued.', 'A spokesperson for Walden confirmed the details of the presentation.', ""When the retreat ended, Chernin called Peter Roth, then president of 20th Century Fox Television, who later ran Warner Bros.' TV division."", '""The next day she was in my office, and we gave her a job in programming,"" Roth said in an interview.', ""That set Walden on a career course correction that's led her to the doorstep of becoming Iger's successor."", ""Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, is competing internally with Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and Alan Bergman, who is Entertainment co-chair with Walden, to be named the next CEO of Disney, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private."", 'Iger plans to name a successor and then stick around at Disney to teach that person the job before departing at the end of 2026, CNBC reported in September.', ""He's fighting to maintain control of Disney's future against a threat from Trian Partners' Nelson Peltz."", 'Peltz has argued he should help spearhead a successor search, considering Iger has pushed back his retirement five times and returned to the job after Bob Chapek, named CEO in 2020, was fired in 2022.', ""Peltz has claimed the Disney board can't be trusted to handle succession."", ""Disney shareholders will vote on Peltz's candidacy to the board at its annual meeting Wednesday."", 'Several executives at Disney privately told CNBC they believe Walden, 59, is the favorite to land the top job, though they have no inside knowledge of the process, and their proximity to Walden may skew their perception.', 'Her relationship with Iger (she lives just blocks from his house in Brentwood, California), her track record of success as a TV executive, her trust among Disney board members, and the symbolism about what it would mean to have a female executive all work in her favor.', '""She\'s the single best talent exec to come out of TV in the last 20 years,"" Chernin said in an interview.', '""She would be an outstanding CEO,"" Roth added. ""', 'Absolutely outstanding.', '""Walden declined to comment for this story.', 'More than 20 colleagues and friends spoke with CNBC about her strengths, faults and the perceived likelihood she will take over for Iger.', ""Allies of Walden's told CNBC she won't even discuss succession with them (though many said they tease her about it), choosing to focus on the job of running Disney Entertainment with Bergman that she's tasked with today."", 'She faces stiff competition in the other Disney division heads.', 'Walden has spent the last three decades focused on producing TV hits.', ""She hasn't had the same range of responsibilities as Pitaro, who has run the company's sports media empire since 2018."", ""And she has no experience running parks and resorts, which Iger and the board may decide is more essential to Disney's future than a TV business with hazy financial prospects in the streaming era."", 'Six former colleagues — all of whom worked closely with Walden — privately questioned her business acumen in interviews with CNBC.""There are people that are in creative positions that rise to a level of management who figure out what a P&L [profit and loss] statement is, what a balance sheet is, what quarterly earnings are,"" said one of the people, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly. ""', ""Dana doesn't really bother with any of that."", '""A second former coworker said Walden\'s profile simply doesn\'t translate to becoming the Disney CEO — a job that involves close investor interaction, geopolitical deals for parks and resorts, and strategic thinking around acquisition and investment.', '""She\'ll be eaten up by real investors,"" said the person, who likewise requested anonymity. ""', 'Does she have the necessary depth of business knowledge?', ""She can learn, but you can't have someone teach you decades of finance, business and tactics in a year or two."", '""Walden supporters dismissed those concerns as either simply incorrect or an example of persistent stereotypes against female executives.', 'Walden has met with many institutional investors through her years at Disney, according to people familiar with the matter.', '""There\'s something about looking at female execs where questions are asked that would never be asked of men,"" said Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios and a former colleague of Walden\'s. ""', 'Can they scale?', 'Can a creative person be a business leader?', 'I find that to be a huge bugaboo.', 'She\'s in charge of billions of dollars of assets, but she\'s not capable of being a business leader?""Walden defenders brush off criticism from ex-Disney colleagues as the remnants of a grudge against Fox employees who came over as part of Disney\'s $71 billion acquisition of Fox\'s entertainment assets in 2019, or perhaps as part of an ulterior motive to diminish her CEO prospects in favor of their own preferred candidates.', '""At some point, everyone running anything was something before that,"" Chernin said. ""', 'Anybody they choose will have never been the Disney CEO prior to that.', '""Chernin and Walden both began their careers in public relations, making them two of a small club of TV executives who started that way — former HBO head Richard Plepler is another exception.', ""Chernin saw Walden's background as a strength, rather than a weakness."", '""She knows nothing is more important to a studio than talent relationships,"" said Craig Hunegs, who worked closely with Walden when he was president of Disney TV Studios from 2019 to 2021.Walden\'s entire life has ties to Hollywood.', ""She grew up modestly in Studio City, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, and attended the private Westlake School for Girls (a predecessor of the coed Harvard-Westlake School), where she became friendly with Carol Burnett's daughter Carrie Hamilton."", ""Walden's parents made connections in the entertainment industry from their time living in Las Vegas, where her mother was a background dancer who performed with George Burns, among other artists."", 'Her father became a member of The Friars Club, famous for its Dean Martin celebrity roasts, and established friendships with entertainers including Martin and Buddy Hackett.', 'Walden spent her childhood years with celebrities as family friends, attending dinner parties and occasionally celebrating holidays at their homes.', 'She went on to marry a member of the entertainment industry, producer Matt Walden, in 1995; they have two daughters, now in their 20s.', 'After graduating from the University of Southern California, Walden took a job working for public relations firm Bender,Goldman& Helper, starting out as a receptionist and an assistant.', ""Within four years, she'd become a vice president."", 'At Bender, she represented ""The Arsenio Hall Show"" on behalf of her client Paramount.', ""The show poached Walden to come work as head of marketing for Hall's production company."", 'Less than a year later, Lucie Sulhany, president of Paramount Domestic Television, took a job as a high-ranking Fox TV executive.', 'She asked Walden to come along and work in publicity, and Walden joined her with an eye toward eventually making TV shows.', 'At Fox, Walden and fellow TV executive Gary Newman jointly began running the studio business — the engine of the company that makes series both for itself and other networks.', 'Starting in 1999, they kept that position for the next 15 years until they were promoted to run all of Fox Broadcasting in 2014.A former attorney, Newman began his partnership with Walden handling many of the business issues, while Walden developed a reputation for winning over creative talent and having impeccable taste for both dramas and comedies.', '""People used to joke we were work spouses,"" Newman said in an interview. ""', 'She was very good at the job very quickly.', ""It's just a combination of being smart, being really fast, being curious, being fearless."", '""Over time, Walden mastered the business side of TV, according to Newman and others who have worked with her.', '""The difference between Dana in the beginning of our partnership, when she leaned on her creative background, and where she was a few years later was night and day,"" Newman said. ""', 'She picked up what she needed to pick up about business.', 'I had a surgery at one point — the responsibility fell on Dana to be in there for me.', 'That included being in charge of the business side of things.', '""Newman recounted one difficult negotiation over a Fox-produced show with CBS.', ""It was the day before CBS would announce its fall schedule, and it wasn't clear if the broadcast network would pick up the series."", 'CBS gave Newman and Walden a midnight deadline to revise a deal on its terms or it would cancel the show.', 'Walden told Newman that CBS was bluffing, realizing the show was the linchpin for other programming that day.', 'She persuaded Fox to simply ignore the deadline.', 'The next day, CBS included the series, proving Walden right.', '""I don\'t know if she plays poker, but she\'d be a great poker player,"" Newman said.', 'Fox\'s studio began churning out hits, including ""24,"" ""Homeland,"" ""How I Met Your Mother,"" ""Sons of Anarchy,"" ""Modern Family,"" ""This is Us,"" ""New Girl,"" ""Bob\'s Burgers,"" and mini-empires created by Seth MacFarlane (""Family Guy,"" ""American Dad,"" ""The Cleveland Show"") and Ryan Murphy (""Nip/Tuck,"" ""Glee,"" ""American Horror Story,"" ""9-1-1"").Walden began making lasting relationships with TV showrunners and producers who have repeatedly worked with her, including MacFarlane, Murphy, ""Modern Family"" co-creator Steve Levitan and ""This is Us"" creator Dan Fogelman.', 'She earned a reputation for her creative notes on scripts, particularly on shaping ""24,"" an unusually constructed drama that ran from 2001 to 2014 and earned critical praise for its storytelling techniques, according to Rick Rosen, a partner and head of TV of the talent agency WME .""People felt her notes and constructive criticisms helped move that show forward,"" recounted Rosen, who represented Howard Gordon, at one time the ""24"" showrunner. ""', 'She helped get it unstuck.', '""Walden\'s taste, her discipline around getting talent to deliver on budget, and her honesty about what\'s working and what isn\'t have set her apart from other executives, according to Levitan.', '""Hollywood is a business of relationships,"" Levitan said. ""', ""What you can't teach somebody is how to inspire people."", 'She is whip smart.', ""If there is a subject that she needs to take a deep dive on, she's going to be an expert in that subject before you know it."", '""Disney\'s acquisition of Fox moved Walden to a new company with a new culture.', ""Iger called Walden on the day of the deal's announcement in December 2017 to let her know he wanted her to come to Disney, according to people familiar with the matter."", ""Newman planned to stay at Fox; he ultimately exited the company in 2018.Walden hoped she'd run Disney's TV unit as a direct report to Iger, according to people familiar with her thinking at the time."", ""But Iger wanted Peter Rice, Walden's boss at Fox, for the top job."", 'Passed over, Walden considered walking away from both Disney and the studio she helped build for other opportunities, the people said.', 'Still, she had a strong relationship with Rice, who ultimately persuaded her to stay despite her disappointment.', 'Walden eventually took Rice\'s job when Disney fired him in 2022 after Chapek and some members of the Disney board concluded he wasn\'t a team player, specifically noting that he\'d privately criticized the company\'s messaging around Florida\'s controversial ""Don\'t Say Gay"" legislation, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""Chapek told Rice he wasn't a culture fit despite years of Rice receiving positive feedback, the people said."", 'A Disney spokesman and Rice declined to comment.', '""The conversations around selling a series — licensing fees, profit participation, residuals — or discussions about budgets, and how many guest stars we can sign, or which platform a series should air on ... all of that I\'ve done directly with Dana,"" said Rich Appel, the executive producer and co-showrunner of ""Family Guy."" ""', ""No disrespect to Gary [Newman], but for the past few years, it's only been Dana."", '""At Disney, Walden has hit several home runs, including FX\'s ""The Bear,"" Hulu\'s ""The Dropout"" and ""Only Murders in the Building,"" and ABC\'s ""Abbott Elementary.""', 'She has heavily invested in marketing children\'s show ""Bluey,"" which in 2024 has spent time as the most-watched show on all streaming services.', 'She has also focused on building up Disney+\'s family programming with originals including ""Percy Jackson and the Olympians,"" ""Spidey and His Amazing Friends"" and ""Goosebumps.', '""Still, critics say it\'s easy to cherry-pick the successes and ignore the failures.', ""One Disney insider said that grading Walden's performance honestly would require a robust analysis of all the shows she's greenlit."", ""The last time Iger chose a successor, it didn't go well."", ""As outlined by CNBC in 2023, the relationship between Chapek and Iger, who remained Disney's executive chairman until the end of 2021, fell apart, and the Disney board ultimately fired Chapek and brought Iger back less than three years later."", 'Iger returned as CEO in part to right the wrong he believed he made by selecting Chapek as his successor, according to people familiar with his thinking.', ""If he's looking for the anti-Chapek candidate, Walden fits the description."", 'Chapek climbed the corporate ladder at Disney for 30 years by showcasing his business and finance chops.', 'He studied microbiology at Indiana University and got his MBA from Michigan State University.', ""He developed expertise in the minute details of Disney's parks and resorts, such as how specific hotel discounts could affect park attendance and the price elasticity of seasonal ticket rate adjustments."", 'But he had almost no Hollywood relationships.', 'Without a foundation of trust, ""The Town,"" as Hollywood is known, turned on Chapek.', 'Agents, producers and showrunners blamed him for Disney\'s forceful public rebuke of A-list star Scarlett Johansson in a Covid pandemic-related contract dispute and for bungling the company\'s response to ""Don\'t Say Gay,"" as CNBC reported in 2023.Walden\'s resume sets her up as Chapek\'s inverse: a Disney outsider whose Hollywood ties are among the best in the industry.', ""In the latter months of Chapek's tenure as CEO, as CNBC reported, Disney communications head Kristina Schake began setting up meetings for Chapek with Hollywood's power players — at Walden's house."", ""A potential handover from Iger to Walden would also look very different from the Iger-Chapek transition, predicted United Talent Agency Vice Chairman Jay Sures, a close friend of Walden's."", 'Chapek saw Iger as a threat to his power, according to people familiar with his thinking at the time.', 'Walden would stay close to Iger for as long as possible, Sures said.', '""When Bob Chapek got the job, he couldn\'t wait for Bob Iger to leave.', 'If Dana ever got the job, she\'s gonna dread the day Bob Iger leaves,"" Sures said. ""', 'She values the skill and leadership he brings.', 'She knows a good thing when she sees it.', '""If Walden were appointed CEO, she would be the first woman to run the century-old company.', 'Some close to Iger say he would look fondly on being the person to help break the glass ceiling.', ""Amazon's Salke said she's had several discussions over the years with Walden about how to survive in the male-dominated entertainment world."", 'It requires a deftness of character and ability to avoid enemies, said Salke.', '""I watched \'Barbie,\'"" said Salke, referencing the Greta Gerwig-created hit 2023 movie that skewers elements of modern patriarchy. ""', ""That speech from America Ferrera's character [Gloria], it's true."", 'You have to be likable but not too likable.', ""If you're too likable, that's seen as threatening to men."", '""While Walden has crossed a bridge to become close friends with a number of her professional colleagues (she\'s the godmother of Murphy\'s children), she is attuned to her image in ways male executives don\'t have to worry about, according to people familiar with her personality.', 'Even when the attention is nonthreatening, Walden is aware that her appearance may be judged as readily as her business performance, the people said.', '""When I first met her, the writers would see Dana walk by from time to time, and we used to call her \'Why Miss Jones,\'"" Levitan said. ""', ""Because she'd wear these glasses."", ""So it was like in old Hollywood movies, when an actress would take off her glasses and one of the characters would say, 'Why, Miss Jones!"", 'You\'re beautiful!\'""Levitan later became close friends with Walden and praised her professionalism.', 'Of note, he cited last year\'s cancellation of ""Reboot,"" a show he created for Hulu.', '""I don\'t agree with the decision that was made there, and I don\'t agree that it got a fair shake,"" Levitan said. ""', 'But Dana and I talked about it.', 'She took me through her reasons.', ""And it's a genuine conversation."", ""There's a reason people are pretty effusive about the way Dana handles herself."", ""It's because she genuinely goes out of her way to treat people with decency."", '""Walden and her team have a reputation for sending birthday gifts to Hollywood\'s movers and shakers and bottles of champagne to them when their shows premiere.', 'Supporters view it as relationship-building.', 'Critics said her actions sometimes border on corporate largesse.', 'Walden herself has joked that she was ""raised by wolves"" at Fox, and that she\'s had to consciously adjust to the more toned-down Disney culture over the last five years, according to people familiar with her thinking.', ""She's also had to toe a line between stereotype and successful executive."", 'Of the 20 people interviewed for this story, nearly every one of them called Walden ""direct"" and ""demanding.', '""""Sharp elbows, right?""', 'Salke said, anticipating the hackneyed criticism of female leaders. ""', 'So many times Dana and I have been the only women in the room.', 'Can she be demanding and hold people to a high bar?', 'Yes.', 'But men come on in, and the first thing they do is fire people, and no one bats an eye.', '""Walden\'s champions noted that every successful executive is demanding of excellence, and said her directness is a major strength that separates her from many other TV executives.', '""She can be \'business\' tough,"" said WME\'s Rosen. ""', 'Nobody likes to deliver bad news.', ""A show is canceled, or it's over budget, or this project didn't work."", ""But she's not harsh."", ""You feel like she's coming from a place of optimism — let's figure out where we go from here."", '""While the Disney board will have the ultimate say on the company\'s next CEO, Iger will likely be the real decision-maker, given his history at the company, status among board members, and knowledge of the job.', '""The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated, and as the Board continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates, I remain intensely focused on a successful transition,"" Iger said in a statement in 2023 when he renewed his contract as CEO to the end of 2026.Even if Iger agrees with some of Walden\'s critics about whether her strengths will specifically fit the top job at Disney, it\'s possible his recollection of his own experience being selected as CEO in 2005 could influence his decision.', '""Go back and look at the articles that were written about Bob Iger,"" Sures said. ""', 'I was friends with Bob then.', ""It was a lot of 'empty suit' — a good-looking, tall guy who never had any experience in the movie business and never did anything in M&A [mergers and acquisitions] before in his life."", ""Nineteen years later, he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest CEO the entertainment business has ever seen."", '""""The same things are being said about Dana now,"" Sures said.', ""Iger and the board's selection for a successor may ultimately come down to the direction they envision for Disney."", ""D'Amaro could be the choice if they decide the parks are the most important part of the company's future."", ""Pitaro seems logical if ESPN and its upcoming digital transformation are seen as an essential part of Disney's future, as opposed to its past."", ""Either Walden or Bergman could be the choice if creative taste and relationships trump all, though Bergman's recent troubles with Disney's film division may be a knock against them."", ""Still, Chernin said it's a mistake to view Disney so simply."", 'The magic of the company is how all the parts interact with each other, rather than emphasizing one unit over all others, he said.', '""The business is changing so rapidly.', 'That company is going to change so much,"" Chernin said. ""', 'Someone is going to have to imagine what a media company of the future looks like.', 'Bob [Iger] is going through that right now.', ""He's actively spending every day thinking that through."", 'The most important part of that company is ongoing relationships with customers.', '""WATCH: Carolyn Everson, Disney board member, discusses the question of succession.']",0.1767351564273119,"""The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated, and as the Board continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates, I remain intensely focused on a successful transition,"" Iger said in a statement in 2023 when he renewed his contract as CEO to the end of 2026.Even if Iger agrees with some of Walden's critics about whether her strengths will specifically fit the top job at Disney, it's possible his recollection of his own experience being selected as CEO in 2005 could influence his decision.","Walden eventually took Rice's job when Disney fired him in 2022 after Chapek and some members of the Disney board concluded he wasn't a team player, specifically noting that he'd privately criticized the company's messaging around Florida's controversial ""Don't Say Gay"" legislation, according to people familiar with the matter.",0.073489436507225,"Still, she had a strong relationship with Rice, who ultimately persuaded her to stay despite her disappointment.","The last time Iger chose a successor, it didn't go well.",2024-04-08
-Diabetes drug similar to Ozempic helped slow progression of Parkinson's disease in small trial,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/drug-similar-to-ozempic-slowed-parkinsons-disease-in-small-trial.html,2024-04-04T21:23:06+0000,"In this articleA highly popular class of drugs for diabetes and obesity is showing early potential to help patients with Parkinson's disease, too. An older diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients at an early stage of the condition, according to results from a small mid-stage trial published Wednesday. The drug, made by Sanofi, is a GLP-1 like Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes injection Ozempic and weight loss counterpart Wegovy. Motor disability refers to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, which can make it difficult for patients to walk, talk and swallow. Researchers from France said larger and longer studies are needed to fully determine the efficacy and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with the degenerative brain illness, including how long the benefits may last.Still, the results, published late Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine mark an encouraging step forward in the decades-long effort to tackle Parkinson's disease. As many as half a million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, which is characterized by nerve cell damage in the brain. The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar. But more research is needed to determine whether newer iterations of GLP-1s from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly may also help Parkinson's patients. Both drugmakers are studying their respective weight loss and diabetes treatments in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither are examining their drugs in managing Parkinson's disease. Sanofi pulled lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023. The French drugmaker has said the discontinuation of the treatment was a business decision that was unrelated to its safety and efficacy. Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the characteristics of the medication, but otherwise was not involved in the new phase two trial. It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson's and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study."" The company added that it is open to ""a discussion with the investigators of the study on providing support for their next phase of research.""The trial followed 156 people with early Parkinson's disease for a year. All participants took their usual Parkinson's medication in the study. But one group was given an additional daily injection of Sanofi's drug, while the other was given a placebo.Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems. The difference between the two groups was modest but remained two months after the trial stopped and patients went completely off therapy. But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s. Nearly half of patients who took the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"[""In this articleA highly popular class of drugs for diabetes and obesity is showing early potential to help patients with Parkinson's disease, too."", 'An older diabetes treatment called lixisenatide helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in patients at an early stage of the condition, according to results from a small mid-stage trial published Wednesday.', ""The drug, made by Sanofi, is a GLP-1 like Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes injection Ozempic and weight loss counterpart Wegovy."", 'Motor disability refers to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, which can make it difficult for patients to walk, talk and swallow.', ""Researchers from France said larger and longer studies are needed to fully determine the efficacy and safety of Sanofi's treatment in patients with the degenerative brain illness, including how long the benefits may last."", ""Still, the results, published late Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine mark an encouraging step forward in the decades-long effort to tackle Parkinson's disease."", 'As many as half a million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, which is characterized by nerve cell damage in the brain.', 'The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar.', ""But more research is needed to determine whether newer iterations of GLP-1s from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly may also help Parkinson's patients."", ""Both drugmakers are studying their respective weight loss and diabetes treatments in patients with conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, but neither are examining their drugs in managing Parkinson's disease."", 'Sanofi pulled lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023.', 'The French drugmaker has said the discontinuation of the treatment was a business decision that was unrelated to its safety and efficacy.', 'Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the characteristics of the medication, but otherwise was not involved in the new phase two trial.', 'It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson\'s and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study.""', 'The company added that it is open to ""a discussion with the investigators of the study on providing support for their next phase of research.', '""The trial followed 156 people with early Parkinson\'s disease for a year.', ""All participants took their usual Parkinson's medication in the study."", ""But one group was given an additional daily injection of Sanofi's drug, while the other was given a placebo."", 'Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems.', 'The difference between the two groups was modest but remained two months after the trial stopped and patients went completely off therapy.', ""But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s."", 'Nearly half of patients who took the drug in the trial experienced nausea, while 13% reported vomiting.']",0.1402148024003808,"It was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention, a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson's and an independent biomedical research organization called Van Andel InstituteIn a statement to CNBC, Sanofi said it was ""pleased to see the positive outcomes of this study.""","Patients who received lixisenatide showed essentially no progression of motor symptoms, while those given the placebo showed worsening motor problems.",0.3304091029696994,"The results also add to the long list of potential health benefits of GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year for helping patients shed pounds and regulate their blood sugar.","But use of Sanofi's drug was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects, which are common across all GLP-1s.",2024-04-08
-Private equity firm Silver Lake to take entertainment company Endeavor private at $27.50 a share,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/private-equity-firm-silver-lake-to-take-entertainment-company-endeavor-private-at-27point50-a-share.html,2024-04-02T17:39:24+0000,"In this articlePrivate equity firm Silver Lake announced Tuesday that it's acquiring entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings for $27.50 a share.Endeavor's stock rose more than 2% Tuesday afternoon after a brief halt ahead of the announcement. It was trading just under $26 per share.Silver Lake will acquire 100% of the shares it does not already own. Endeavor is being acquired at an equity value of $13 billion, according to a release from the entertainment company.The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025. ""We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor's public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company,"" Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a statement.Endeavor works on talent representation, through agency WME, along with brand licensing and live events. It has undergone a shift in recent years.In 2022, the company acquired OpenBet, a sports betting platform. In 2023, it sold IMG Academy, a sports education institution, in a $1.25 billion deal.Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE. TKO will remain a publicly traded company as part of the deal.Endeavor previously said it would explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.Silver Lake initially invested in Endeavor in 2012 and supported the company's acquisition of UFC in 2016. Silverlake's co-CEO Egon Durban and managing director Stephen Evans were members of Endeavor's board ahead of the acquisition.",CNBC,02/04/2024,"[""In this articlePrivate equity firm Silver Lake announced Tuesday that it's acquiring entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings for $27.50 a share."", ""Endeavor's stock rose more than 2% Tuesday afternoon after a brief halt ahead of the announcement."", 'It was trading just under $26 per share.', 'Silver Lake will acquire 100% of the shares it does not already own.', 'Endeavor is being acquired at an equity value of $13 billion, according to a release from the entertainment company.', 'The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025.""We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor\'s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company,"" Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a statement.', 'Endeavor works on talent representation, through agency WME, along with brand licensing and live events.', 'It has undergone a shift in recent years.', 'In 2022, the companyacquiredOpenBet, a sports betting platform.', 'In 2023, itsold IMG Academy, a sports education institution, in a $1.25 billion deal.', 'Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE.', 'TKO will remain a publicly traded company as part of the deal.', 'Endeavor previously said it would explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.', ""Silver Lake initially invested in Endeavor in 2012 and supported the company's acquisition of UFC in 2016."", ""Silverlake's co-CEO Egon Durban and managing director Stephen Evans were members of Endeavor's board ahead of the acquisition.""]",0.2280720926281613,"The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025.""We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor's public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company,"" Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a statement.",,0.9958632389704386,Endeavor's stock rose more than 2% Tuesday afternoon after a brief halt ahead of the announcement.,,2024-04-08
-"NBC hires former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who has demonized the press and refused to acknowledge Biden was fairly elected",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/22/media/ronna-mcdaniel-nbc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:53 PM EDT, Fri March 22, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedly attacked the network and its journalists, assailed the news media as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020 vote, as an on-air commentator ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
-    
-            “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memo to staff.
-    
-            McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.
-    
-            During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.
-    
-            McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.” At times, she even targeted NBC News and MSNBC with dishonest attacks.
-    
-            In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”
-    
-            “How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?” McDaniel asked.
-    
-            McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role. In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”
-    
-            An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.
-    
-            In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.
-    
-            McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
-    
-            The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.” The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in a detailed fact check posted online.
-    
-            In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.
-    
-            “I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real. I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “I’m from Wayne County. We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots. We had to look into that. That’s deeply concerning. When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning. We have every right to look at that.”
-    
-            In the interview, Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.
-    
-            “I think there were lots of problems with 2020. Ultimately, he won the election but there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “But I don’t think he won it fair. I don’t. I’m not going to say that.”
-    
-            NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at the network’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.
-    
-            Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on air without scrutiny.
-    
-            MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do. Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lies on the air is dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”",CNN,22/03/2024,"['NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedlyattacked the network and its journalists,assailed thenewsmedia as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020vote,as an on-air commentatorahead of the 2024 presidential election.', '“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memoto staff.', 'McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.', 'During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.', 'McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.”', 'At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.', 'In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”', '“How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?”', 'McDaniel asked.', 'McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role.', 'In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”', 'An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.', 'In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.', 'McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.', '”The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in adetailed fact checkposted online.', 'In an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace last year, McDaniel defended her claims of voting “irregularity” in the election.', '“I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real.', 'I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “', 'I’m from Wayne County.', 'We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots.', 'We had to look into that.', 'That’s deeply concerning.', 'When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning.', 'We have every right to look at that.”', 'In the interview,Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.', '“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.', 'Ultimately, he won the electionbut there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “', 'But I don’t think he won it fair.', 'I don’t.', 'I’m not going to say that.”', 'NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.', 'Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on airwithout scrutiny.', 'MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do.', 'Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lieson the airis dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”']",-0.069193576701305,But I don’t think he won it fair.,"At times, she even targeted NBC Newsand MSNBCwith dishonest attacks.",-0.2803101042906443,"NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at thenetwork’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.",“I think there were lots of problems with 2020.,2024-04-08
-How to make high interest rates work for your hard-earned savings,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/20/success/interest-rates-savings-cash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:00 PM EDT, Wed March 20, 2024
-    ","The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high. That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.
-    
-            That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).
-    
-            But with the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.
-    
-            That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.
-    
-            However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing. There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”
-    
-            So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.
-    
-            The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate. That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.
-    
-            By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts. Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.
-    
-            Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.
-    
-            While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.
-    
-            As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings account rates can change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it. So make sure to check your monthly statement.
-    
-            Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.
-    
-            You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity. That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.
-    
-            As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.
-    
-            If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.
-    
-            To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period. You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.
-    
-            As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%. CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.
-    
-            Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36% APY. At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator. If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest. The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.
-    
-            “It makes sense to go long with CDs. To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years. Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.
-    
-            If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.
-    
-            For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs. Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.
-    
-            But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.
-    
-            If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.
-    
-            Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.
-    
-            But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments. As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.
-    
-            Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC. But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.
-    
-            Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
-    
-            Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33% respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08% respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment. Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.
-    
-            If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov. But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.
-    
-            And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said. An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%. Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.
-    
-            When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.
-    
-            What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?” Smith said.
-    
-            That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty. Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.
-    
-            Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “Most of the time convenience is really important. Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.",CNN,20/03/2024,"['The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate remains at a 23-year high.', 'That’s thanks to the central bank’s decision Wednesday to once again hold it steady, as it has done at the policy-making committee’s past five meetings.', 'That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).', 'Butwith the Fed signaling that no rate cuts are likely until summer, it also means anyone with savings still has at least a few more months to make hay of their stash.', 'That’s because you can still get inflation-beating interest rates that will grow any money you have set aside for emergencies, vacations, down payments or any other goal in your sights over the next several years.', 'However, that won’t happen if you just let it sit in a traditional checking or savings account that yields next to nothing.', 'There are more lucrative, low-risk options out there, with rates that are still at or near their peaks. “', 'But perhaps not for much longer,” said Ted Rossman, senior analyst at Bankrate. “', 'If one of those fits into your financial plans, it’s best to act soon.”', 'So, consider the following options when deciding where to park your hard-earned savings.', 'The average annual percentage yield on bank savings accounts was just 0.52% as of March 13, according to Bankrate.', 'That average is kept low by the biggest brick-and-mortar banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which still are offering a paltry 0.01%.', 'By contrast, there are still FDIC-insured online banks offering inflation-beating rates of between 4.35% and 5.35% on their high-yield savings accounts.', 'Generally speaking, these are the best vehicles in which to keep your emergency funds for quick, easy access.', 'Choosing between an account that pays 0.52% and one that pays 5.35% can mean forfeiting hundreds of dollars in interest. “', 'If you put $10,000 in a savings account, that’s a difference of $496 in interest earnings over the course of the year, assuming monthly compounding,” Rossman said.', 'While the rates on high-yield savings accounts have gone down a bit in recent months, “widespread cuts in online savings account rates are unlikely until the first Fed rate cut is near,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com.', 'As with any bank savings rate, high-yield savings accountratescan change overnight, and the bank may not alert you when it lowers it.', 'So make sure to check your monthly statement.', 'Another high-return, low-risk investment that is great for money you likely won’t need to tap for a few months or even a couple of years is a certificate of deposit.', 'You can get the best returns on CDs through a brokerage such as Schwab, E*Trade or Fidelity.', 'That’s because you can comparison shop for CDs from any number of FDIC-insured banks and will not have to set up individual accounts with each institution.', 'As of March 13, the average rate on a one-year CD was 1.95%, but some banks are offering as much are 5.4%.', 'If you can get a one-year CD at, say, 5.4%, you will make $540 on a $10,000 investment.', 'To get the greatest benefit from a CD, you have to leave the money invested for a fixed period.', 'You can always access your principal sooner if you need to, but there may be early withdrawal penalties.', 'As of March 20, CDs listed on Schwab.com with durations from three months up to three years were all yielding between 5.2% and 5.51%.', 'CD rates on durations between four and 10 years ranged from 4.40% to 5.15%.', 'Say you invest $10,000 in a one-year CD with a 5.36%APY.', 'At the end of that period, you’d get your principal back plus $536 in interest when the CD matures, according to Bankrate’s CD calculator.', 'If you chose a two-year CD at 5.25%, you’d bank an extra $1,078, assuming compounding interest.', 'The same investment in a five-year CD at 5.15% would earn $2,854.', '“It makes sense to go long with CDs.', 'To hedge your bets, include terms from one to five years.', 'Starting a CD ladder will provide this mix,” Tumin said.', 'If you don’t go through a brokerage you may get a reasonable deal from your primary bank, Tumin said.', 'For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.', 'Or, at Bank of America, you can get up to 4.75% on a 7-month CD.', 'But Tumin cautions that with any big bank CD you should take your money out at the end of the term, otherwise your bank may automatically renew it and lock you in to a much lower-yielding CD.', 'If you don’t want to set up an online savings account at another bank, your own bank may offer you a money market deposit account that pays a higher yield than your regular checking or savings accounts.', 'Money market accounts may have higher minimum deposit requirements than a regular savings account, but they are more liquid than a fixed-term certificate of deposit or Treasury bill, meaning they give you access to your money more quickly while still potentially giving you some of the highest yields available, said Doug Ornstein, senior manager for integrated solutions at TIAA Wealth Management.', 'But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.', 'As of March 19, they had an average 7-day yield of 5.14%, according to the Crane Money Fund Index, which tracks the top 100 taxable money market funds.', 'Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC.', 'But if you invest in a money market fund through a brokerage, your overall account is likely to be insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corp, which offers protection in the event your brokerage ever goes under.', 'Another option for money you can leave untouched anywhere from several months to a few years is to buy short-term Treasury bills and medium-term notes, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.', 'Three- and six-month bills had yields of 5.39% and 5.33%respectively on March 20 before the Fed’s meeting ended, while nine-month and one-year bills were offering 5.19% and 5.08%respectively, according to rates posted on Schwab.com for a $25,000 investment.', 'Rates on Treasury notes with durations from two years to 10 years ranged between 4.29% and 4.72%.', 'If you’re someone who manages your portfolio like a hawk, you may feel comfortable buying T-bills on your own from TreasuryDirect.gov.', 'But if you don’t, it might be easier just to buy new issues through your brokerage account or invest in a short-term bond index fund or ETF, said Andy Smith, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.', 'And if you’re looking at money that will be needed in three to five years, you might consider a diversified fund of highly rated government and corporate bonds, Ornstein said.', 'An 18-month AAA-rated corporate bond, for instance, was yielding 4.82% this week, while the three-year was at 4.49%.', 'Meanwhile, three-year AAA-rated municipal bonds (which are issued by local governments) had a rate of 3.98%, according to Schwab.com.', 'When deciding on the best accounts and investments for your specific goals and peace of mind, it may pay to consult a fee-only fiduciary adviser — meaning, someone who doesn’t get paid a commission to sell you a particular investment.', 'What you’ll always want to do is build in flexibility for yourself so you can easily access cash, regardless of your timeline for key goals. “', 'What happens if something changes and you need that down payment a lot sooner — or your parents need medical care fast?”', 'Smith said.', 'That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.', 'Translation: Don’t chase yield for yield’s sake.', 'Think of it this way, Ornstein said: Unless you have huge sums to invest or are an institutional investor, the difference between getting a 5.1% yield versus 5% is negligible, and in fact it could even cost you more if there are penalties for taking your money out early. “', 'Most of the time convenience is really important.', 'Give up the 0.1%,” he advised.']",0.1607169988950149,That means balancing your desire for great yield with a need and desire for ease of access without penalty.,"But don’t confuse money market accounts with money market mutual funds, which invest in short-term, low-risk debt instruments.",0.3840319812297821,"For example, he noted, Wells Fargo is still offering up to 5.01% on both 4-month and 7-month CDs.","That decision may be disappointing to some investors, homebuyers and those with a lot of credit card debt, since movement in the Fed’s overnight lending rate influences rates — directly or indirectly — on consumer financial products (e.g., credit cards, bank loans and mortgages).",2024-04-08
-‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ searches surge on Spotify,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/media/total-eclipse-of-the-heart-spotify-search/index.html,"
-  Published
-        10:06 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Excitement over Monday’s eclipse is shining new light on a decades old song.
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-            Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is surging on the Spotify charts as people compile the perfect playlist for the celestial spectacle, with 32 million people across the United States living within the path of totality — meaning the moon will completely block the face of the sun from view for a few moments.
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-            A Spotify representative told CNN that searches for Tyler’s song have soared by nearly 50% in the US over the past week, and the streaming service is expecting that grow on Monday leading into the eclipse.
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-            Tyler’s song is the most popular song being added to user-generated “eclipse” playlists on Spotify in the US.
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-            It’s even popular on iTunes, where it’s the number 10 most purchased song Monday, jumping 30 spots over the past day. Searches for the song also soared on Google Trends.
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-            The song is a favorite of music lovers during eclipses, and Tyler, 72, has commented on the song’s popularity on social media, writing in 2011 on X: “Notifications are blowing up. *checks news* Ah. There’s an eclipse.”
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-            No one loves the eclipse more than her, most likely. The last time an eclipse happened in the US in 2017, sales for downloads of the song increased more than 500%, according to Billboard. Not bad for a song that was a number 1 hit for four weeks in 1983.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Excitement over Monday’s eclipse is shining new light on a decades old song.', 'Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is surging on the Spotify charts as people compile the perfect playlist for the celestial spectacle, with 32 million people across the United States living within the path of totality — meaning the moon will completely block the face of the sun from view for a few moments.', 'A Spotify representative told CNN that searches for Tyler’s song have soared by nearly 50% in the US over the past week, and the streaming service is expecting that grow on Monday leading into the eclipse.', 'Tyler’s song is the most popular song being added to user-generated “eclipse” playlists on Spotify in the US.', 'It’s even popular on iTunes, where it’s the number 10 most purchased song Monday, jumping 30 spots over the past day.', 'Searches for the song also soared on Google Trends.', 'The song is a favorite of music lovers during eclipses, and Tyler, 72, has commented on the song’s popularity on social media, writing in 2011 on X: “Notifications are blowing up. *', 'checks news* Ah.', 'There’s an eclipse.”', 'No one loves the eclipse more than her, most likely.', 'The last time an eclipse happened in the US in 2017, sales for downloads of the song increased more than 500%, according to Billboard.', 'Not bad for a song that was a number 1 hit for four weeks in 1983.']",0.3280455579788437,"The song is a favorite of music lovers during eclipses, and Tyler, 72, has commented on the song’s popularity on social media, writing in 2011 on X: “Notifications are blowing up. *",,0.9822402255875724,"A Spotify representative told CNN that searches for Tyler’s song have soared by nearly 50% in the US over the past week, and the streaming service is expecting that grow on Monday leading into the eclipse.",,2024-04-08
-Disney's largest shareholder Vanguard reportedly backing management over Peltz in board fight,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/disney-proxy-fight-vanguard-voting-for-management-over-peltz.html,2024-04-02T23:40:01+0000,"In this articleDisney's largest shareholder, index fund manager Vanguard, plans to support management over Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners in Wednesday's board vote, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.Institutional shareholders have until Wednesday to change their vote. Vanguard owns 7.8% of Disney shares. BlackRock, Disney's second-largest shareholder with 4.2% of shares, is also supporting the incumbent board and CEO Bob Iger, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The reporting on how Disney's largest shareholders are supposedly voting prompted harsh criticism from onetime activist investor Bill Ackman on Tuesday evening.""Only the company and its advisors have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting,"" Ackman wrote on social media platform X. ""The reason why the progress of an election for directors must be kept confidential until the results are final is that leaking the results can affect the ultimate outcome.""Disney shareholders should support Peltz's efforts, Ackman wrote, both because he would be ""greatly additive"" to Disney and because the media leaks, which Ackman alleged came from Disney or its advisors, raised the question of why management was ""fighting so hard to keep him off.""It would be a significant blow to Peltz's ambitions to join Disney's board if both BlackRock and Vanguard move to back the media company's candidates. That would leave only State Street and Geode Capital Management, the company's third- and fourth-largest shareholders respectively, as unknowns.Through an arrangement with former Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter, Trian controls 1.8% of Disney shares, making it the fifth largest shareholder. Retail investors have until 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday to submit their vote by phone or online.Trian has won support from other, smaller shareholders, including Neuberger Berman and CalPERS. For its part, Disney has called in some of the most prominent names in the corporate and media world, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George Lucas.Disney's shareholder meeting begins Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.Vanguard declined to comment to CNBC.Read the full Bloomberg report here.",CNBC,02/04/2024,"[""In this articleDisney's largest shareholder, index fund manager Vanguard, plans to support management over Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners in Wednesday's board vote, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter."", 'Institutional shareholders have until Wednesday to change their vote.', 'Vanguard owns 7.8% of Disney shares.', ""BlackRock, Disney's second-largest shareholder with 4.2% of shares, is also supporting the incumbent board and CEO Bob Iger, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday."", ""The reporting on how Disney's largest shareholders are supposedly voting prompted harsh criticism from onetime activist investor Bill Ackman on Tuesday evening."", '""Only the company and its advisors have access to how shareholders have voted before the day of the annual meeting,"" Ackman wrote on social media platform X. ""The reason why the progress of an election for directors must be kept confidential until the results are final is that leaking the results can affect the ultimate outcome.', '""Disney shareholders should support Peltz\'s efforts, Ackman wrote, both because he would be ""greatly additive"" to Disney and because the media leaks, which Ackman alleged came from Disney or its advisors, raised the question of why management was ""fighting so hard to keep him off.', '""It would be a significant blow to Peltz\'s ambitions to join Disney\'s board if both BlackRock and Vanguard move to back the media company\'s candidates.', ""That would leave only State Street and Geode Capital Management, the company's third- and fourth-largest shareholders respectively, as unknowns."", 'Through an arrangement with former Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter, Trian controls 1.8% of Disney shares, making it the fifth largest shareholder.', 'Retail investors have until 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday to submit their vote by phone or online.', 'Trian has won support from other, smaller shareholders, including Neuberger Berman and CalPERS.', 'For its part, Disney has called in some of the most prominent names in the corporate and media world, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Star Wars creator George Lucas.', ""Disney's shareholder meeting begins Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.Vanguard declined to comment to CNBC.Read the full Bloomberg report here.""]",0.2002363671018349,"Trian has won support from other, smaller shareholders, including Neuberger Berman and CalPERS.",The reporting on how Disney's largest shareholders are supposedly voting prompted harsh criticism from onetime activist investor Bill Ackman on Tuesday evening.,0.0081288516521453,"Trian has won support from other, smaller shareholders, including Neuberger Berman and CalPERS.","""It would be a significant blow to Peltz's ambitions to join Disney's board if both BlackRock and Vanguard move to back the media company's candidates.",2024-04-08
-"Boeing CEO Calhoun took home $5 million last year, compensation package hit by Max crisis",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/boeing-ceo-calhoun-took-home-5-million-last-year-ahead-of-737-max-crisis.html,2024-04-06T00:35:25+0000,"In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year. But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock. Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year. His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit. The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday. The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft. Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow.The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes. The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control.Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million. An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.",CNBC,06/04/2024,"[""In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max."", ""Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in the prior year."", 'But Boeing said the 2023 sum is closer to $23.5 million, as it includes long-term incentives such as stock.', 'Shares of the plane-maker are down almost 30% this year.', 'Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.', 'Calhoun last month said he would step down by the end of the year.', 'His departure is part of a broad shake-up in which the company also replaced its chairman and head of its commercial airplane unit.', 'The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout of a door plug panel that blew out midair from a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January.', 'Boeing disclosed the take-home pay, which did not include a 2023 bonus Calhoun declined that was valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation in a filing Friday.', 'The company said it will now more closely tie executive compensation to safety goals.', '""I promise that I personally, and we as a Board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,"" newly named Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders in a filing Friday.', 'The Jan. 5 accident has slowed deliveries of new jets and Boeing has said it will burn more cash than it previously expected.', 'The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results April 24.Calhoun took the helm at Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max.', ""In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft."", ""Those have slowed deliveries of new planes to customers clamoring for fresh jets as travel snapped back, hurting Boeing's cash flow."", 'The Alaska Airlines door plug near-catastrophe was the most serious issue since the crashes.', ""The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing's 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control."", 'Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.', ""Boeing last posted an annual profit in 2018.Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total 2023 compensation is closer to $23.5 million."", 'An earlier version contained a figure that was later updated by Boeing.']",0.0372878203927185,"Boeing said on Friday that ""operational performance metrics for all business units will be focused exclusively on quality and safety goals"" this year and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.","In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating effect on the aviation industry, Boeing has also had a host of quality defects on its aircraft.",-0.5336477292908562,"Total compensation for Stan Deal, whom Boeing last month replaced at the top of the commercial airplanes division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.","In this articleOutgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's take-home pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared with $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package is taking a hit from the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company's bestselling jetliner, the 737 Max.",2024-04-08
-Musk challenges Brazil court order to block certain X accounts,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2ygp5pdqlo,2024-04-08T04:19:09.965Z,"A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked. Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional. He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"". If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day. In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court. The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected. But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"". The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.  He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état. On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022. Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April. Meanwhile, Brazil's communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added. If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked."" Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk after the multi-billionaire said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the judge had ordered to be blocked.', 'Mr Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted because the court order was unconstitutional.', 'He also called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to ""resign or be impeached"".', 'If X fails to comply with the order, it will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) a day.', 'In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.', ""The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected."", 'But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".', ""The profiles are believed to have been linked to far-right movements which posted content related to riots on 8 January last year when thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace."", 'Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.', ""He is also investigating Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their roles in an alleged attempted coup d'état."", 'On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Mr Musk in May 2022.', 'Hours earlier, Mr Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on 21 April.', 'Meanwhile, Brazil\'s communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticised Mr Musk, posting in capital letters that ""social networks are not a lawless land"". ""', 'We will not allow anyone, regardless of the money and power they have, to affront our homeland,"" he added.', 'If X decides to disobey the order, the platform could be blocked temporarily according to Bruna Santos who is the global campaigns manager at non profit organisation Digital Action. ""', 'Musk acted to provoke the Brazilian judiciary,"" she said. ""', 'I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""', 'Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva']",0.0650544143199842,"In his decision, Justice Moraes wrote that Mr Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.","But Mr Musk has since posted that ""X will publish everything demanded by [Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law"".",-0.3260461688041687,Justice Moraes gained prominence after his decisions to restrict social media platforms in the country.,"I think there is a real chance that X might get blocked.""",2024-04-08
-"Nearly half of Levi's sales are happening online and in its shops, a shift as department stores fade",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/levi-strauss-levi-earnings-q1-2024.html,2024-04-04T13:59:16+0000,"In this articleLevi Strauss, which has long relied on wholesalers like Macy's and Kohl's to drive its business, is now doing nearly half of its sales through its own website and stores, the company said Wednesday when reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings. In the three months ended Feb. 25, direct-to-consumer sales made up a record 48% of overall sales at Levi's, up from 42% in the year-ago period and 25% higher on a two-year basis, the retailer said. The shift is a boon for Levi's profits. But it raises questions about the company's relationships with its wholesale partners and whether it will hurt those retailers as they grapple with their own existential challenges.Levi's also beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates and raised its full-year guidance. Shares rose as much as 10% in extended trading.Here's how the blue jeans maker did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:The company swung to a net loss of $10.6 million, or 3 cents per share, during the quarter, compared with a net income of $114.7 million, or 29 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time costs related to Levi's restructuring, the company reported earnings per share of 26 cents, ahead of Wall Street's estimates. Sales fell to $1.56 billion, down about 8% from $1.69 billion a year earlier. The sales slump was primarily attributed to a shift in Levi's wholesale orders, which boosted profits by about $100 million in the year-ago period. Levi's still expects full-year sales to rise between 1% and 3% as it contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending and an uncertain economy. But it anticipates profits will be higher than it previously thought. The retailer now expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25. Analysts had expected sales to grow 2.4% on a full-year basis and earnings per share of $1.21, according to LSEG. For the last couple of years, Levi's has been moving away from wholesalers and doing more of its sales through its own stores and website. Selling directly to consumers boosts Levi's profit and gives it better data on its customers and their shopping patterns. Perhaps more important, shifting away from wholesalers also gives Levi's greater control over its own destiny and reduces its exposure to department stores, which are continuing to shrink and face an uncertain future in the U.S. In late February, Macy's – a key wholesale partner for Levi's — announced it would close 150 stores as activist investors from Arkhouse Management looked to buy the department store and take it private. The firm primarily invests in real estate and is seen to be more interested in monetizing Macy's sprawling store footprint than running a retail business. In an interview with CNBC, CEO Michelle Gass, who took the helm of Levi's about two months ago, said wholesale continues to be an important part of the company's strategy. If Macy's store closures or other challenges to department stores affects Levi's business, she expects direct-to-consumer sales will offset those losses. ""We work very closely with our key customers because we're important to them, they're important to us, and strategically, wholesale is critical for us to amplify reach to the consumer,"" said Gass. ""While there are pressures, these wholesale customers serve millions of consumers and so there's still a lot of opportunity to drive market share within that channel."" Levi's previously said it's working to get direct-to-consumer sales to account for 55% of all sales, but if that number can get higher, the company is ""all for it,"" said finance chief Harmit Singh. In the meantime, Gass said Levi's is working ""closely"" with its key wholesale customers to ensure the brand is showing up in the ""absolute best way."" During the quarter, global wholesale revenues were down 9% compared to the prior year when adjusted for the shift in wholesale orders that happened in the year-ago period. That weakness was driven by Europe, which Gass said saw a ""tough"" quarter. ""As we look forward, we are feeling optimistic. Our pre-books for the second half in Europe wholesale are positive based on the innovation and fashion that we're bringing,"" said Gass. Levi's has also been in the process of transforming itself into a retailer that does a lot more than just sell jeans. It's working to offer more skirts, dresses and tops, and wants to be viewed as a denim lifestyle business, not just a blue jeans company. As part of those efforts, the company said it's imperative to remain at the ""center of culture."" On Friday, it got a helpful boost when  Beyoncé named a song after the brand on her new album ""Cowboy Carter"" titled ""Levii's Jeans.""The song, a collaboration with Post Malone, celebrates Levi's with lyrics like ""Love it when you tease me in them jeans"" and ""you don't need designer.""On a call with analysts, Gass was asked about the song and if it has contributed to a spike in sales. While she stopped short of saying its had any impact on revenue, she did call the homage an ""honor.""""Denim is having a moment and the Levi's brand is having a powerful moment around the world,"" said Gass. ""We place a lot of emphasis and investment is making sure that Levi's brand remains in the center of culture and I don't think there's any better evidence or proof point than having someone like  Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us so we're super proud of that.""During the quarter, sales of items like denim skirts, dresses and tops were up 19% in Levi's direct-to-consumer channel, said Gass. The products also performed well in wholesale, she said. Levi's efforts come at a time when consumer spending for discretionary products like clothes and accessories has been under pressure as shoppers look to use their extra dollars on things like eating out and traveling or paying down debt. In late January, Levi's said it would cut 10% to 15% of its global corporate workforce, which is expected to save the company about $100 million during the fiscal year.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"[""In this articleLevi Strauss, which has long relied on wholesalers like Macy's and Kohl's to drive its business, is now doing nearly half of its sales through its own website and stores, the company said Wednesday when reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings."", ""In the three months ended Feb. 25, direct-to-consumer sales made up a record 48% of overall sales at Levi's, up from 42% in the year-ago period and 25% higher on a two-year basis, the retailer said."", ""The shift is a boon for Levi's profits."", ""But it raises questions about the company's relationships with its wholesale partners and whether it will hurt those retailers as they grapple with their own existential challenges."", ""Levi's also beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates and raised its full-year guidance."", 'Shares rose as much as 10% in extended trading.', ""Here's how the blue jeans maker did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:The company swung to a net loss of $10.6 million, or 3 cents per share, during the quarter, compared with a net income of $114.7 million, or 29 cents per share, in the year-ago period."", ""Excluding one-time costs related to Levi's restructuring, the company reported earnings per share of 26 cents, ahead of Wall Street's estimates."", 'Sales fell to $1.56 billion, down about 8% from $1.69 billion a year earlier.', ""The sales slump was primarily attributed to a shift in Levi's wholesale orders, which boosted profits by about $100 million in the year-ago period."", ""Levi's still expects full-year sales to rise between 1% and 3% as it contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending and an uncertain economy."", 'But it anticipates profits will be higher than it previously thought.', ""The retailer now expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $1.17 and $1.27, up from a previous range of $1.15 to $1.25.Analysts had expected sales to grow 2.4% on a full-year basis and earnings per share of $1.21, according to LSEG.For the last couple of years, Levi's has been moving away from wholesalers and doing more of its sales through its own stores and website."", ""Selling directly to consumers boosts Levi's profit and gives it better data on its customers and their shopping patterns."", ""Perhaps more important, shifting away from wholesalers also gives Levi's greater control over its own destiny and reduces its exposure to department stores, which are continuing to shrink and face an uncertain future in the U.S.In late February, Macy's – a key wholesale partner for Levi's — announced it would close 150 stores as activist investors from Arkhouse Management looked to buy the department store and take it private."", ""The firm primarily invests in real estate and is seen to be more interested in monetizing Macy's sprawling store footprint than running a retail business."", ""In an interview with CNBC, CEO Michelle Gass, who took the helm of Levi's about two months ago, said wholesale continues to be an important part of the company's strategy."", ""If Macy's store closures or other challenges to department stores affects Levi's business, she expects direct-to-consumer sales will offset those losses."", '""We work very closely with our key customers because we\'re important to them, they\'re important to us, and strategically, wholesale is critical for us to amplify reach to the consumer,"" said Gass. ""', ""While there are pressures, these wholesale customers serve millions of consumers and so there's still a lot of opportunity to drive market share within that channel."", '""Levi\'s previously said it\'s working to get direct-to-consumer sales to account for 55% of all sales, but if that number can get higher, the company is ""all for it,"" said finance chief Harmit Singh.', 'In the meantime, Gass said Levi\'s is working ""closely"" with its key wholesale customers to ensure the brand is showing up in the ""absolute best way.', '""During the quarter, global wholesale revenues were down 9% compared to the prior year when adjusted for the shift in wholesale orders that happened in the year-ago period.', 'That weakness was driven by Europe, which Gass said saw a ""tough"" quarter.', '""As we look forward, we are feeling optimistic.', 'Our pre-books for the second half in Europe wholesale are positive based on the innovation and fashion that we\'re bringing,"" said Gass.', ""Levi's has also been in the process of transforming itself into a retailer that does a lot more than just sell jeans."", ""It's working to offer more skirts, dresses and tops, and wants to be viewed as a denim lifestyle business, not just a blue jeans company."", 'As part of those efforts, the company said it\'s imperative to remain at the ""center of culture.""', 'On Friday, it got a helpful boost when Beyoncé named a song after the brand on her new album ""Cowboy Carter"" titled ""Levii\'s Jeans.', '""The song, a collaboration with Post Malone, celebrates Levi\'s with lyrics like ""Love it when you tease me in them jeans"" and ""you don\'t need designer.', '""On a call with analysts, Gass was asked about the song and if it has contributed to a spike in sales.', 'While she stopped short of saying its had any impact on revenue, she did call the homage an ""honor.', '""""Denim is having a moment and the Levi\'s brand is having a powerful moment around the world,"" said Gass. ""', ""We place a lot of emphasis and investment is making sure that Levi's brand remains in the center of culture and I don't think there's any better evidence or proof point than having someone like Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us so we're super proud of that."", '""During the quarter, sales of items like denim skirts, dresses and tops were up 19% in Levi\'s direct-to-consumer channel, said Gass.', 'The products also performed well in wholesale, she said.', ""Levi's efforts come at a time when consumer spending for discretionary products like clothes and accessories has been under pressure as shoppers look to use their extra dollars on things like eating out and traveling or paying down debt."", ""In late January, Levi's said it would cut 10% to 15% of its global corporate workforce, which is expected to save the company about $100 million during the fiscal year.""]",0.2830524237852377,"We place a lot of emphasis and investment is making sure that Levi's brand remains in the center of culture and I don't think there's any better evidence or proof point than having someone like Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us so we're super proud of that.",But it raises questions about the company's relationships with its wholesale partners and whether it will hurt those retailers as they grapple with their own existential challenges.,0.5591112290109906,"""During the quarter, sales of items like denim skirts, dresses and tops were up 19% in Levi's direct-to-consumer channel, said Gass.","""During the quarter, global wholesale revenues were down 9% compared to the prior year when adjusted for the shift in wholesale orders that happened in the year-ago period.",2024-04-08
-Paramount stock slumps on reports that Skydance merger would require company to raise new equity,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/paramount-stock-slumps-on-reports-of-equity-raise-for-merger.html,2024-04-04T17:21:41+0000,"In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal.This deal comes as media mogul Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is said to be in exclusive talks with Ellison on selling her stake to him, according to Bloomberg. The companies have also reportedly entered exclusive merger discussions.Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports.Redstone is looking to sell Paramount, as the company has been in talks with Warner Bros Discovery on its acquisition. The MTV and CBS parent company has a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion and about $13 billion of net debt.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"[""In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal."", 'This deal comes as media mogul Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is said to be in exclusive talks with Ellison on selling her stake to him, according to Bloomberg.', 'The companies have also reportedly entered exclusive merger discussions.', 'Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.', 'The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.', ""Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports."", 'Redstone is looking to sell Paramount, as the company has been in talks with Warner Bros Discovery on its acquisition.', 'The MTV and CBS parent company has a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion and about $13 billion of net debt.']",-0.0706650951508236,"Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that equity, but it would be dilutive.","The news comes as The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management made a $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount that was rejected, though Redstone has not found any interest in this deal.",-0.2512241204579671,Paramount's stock jumped sharply in trading Wednesday after those reports.,"In this articleParamount Global's stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC's David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal.",2024-04-08
-"Disney wins proxy fight against activist investor Nelson Peltz, as shareholders reelect full board",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/disney-annual-meeting-shareholders-vote-on-nelson-peltz-and-bob-iger.html,2024-04-03T19:19:43+0000,"In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies.The widely expected victory caps a combative monthslong process and affirms the board's decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to reinvigorate the $223 billion media company. Peltz-led Trian Partners wanted to oust two directors, Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman, citing sustained share underperformance, a failed succession process, and billions in misdirected investments.Peltz lost to Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote. Former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by an even larger 5-1 margin. The person characterized it as Peltz's largest loss ever.Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said. In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long shot bid.""I want to thank our shareholders for their trust and confidence in our Board and management. With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we're eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,"" Iger said in a release.Disney deployed significant resources in the proxy fight. The company called in support from its founding family, Star Wars creator George Lucas, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Pixar and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.While Peltz will not end up on the Disney board, he and his firm have claimed some credit for the rebound in the company's shares.""While we are disappointed with the outcome of this proxy contest, Trian greatly appreciates all of the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders. We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance,"" Trian said in a statement.The company also spent an estimated $40 million fighting off Peltz. The full-court press worked. Disney's two largest shareholders, Vanguard and BlackRock, decided to back management in the final days before Wednesday's meeting.Ultimately, the activists failed to convince enough retail or institutional shareholders that he had a meaningful plan to fix the House of Mouse. While Peltz's candidacy picked up meaningful support from proxy advisors and smaller institutional investors, shareholders were less compelled by Rasulo.Though its choices did not win board seats, Blackwells cheered the fact that Peltz was not elected.""Blackwells' primary objective was achieved — keeping Nelson Peltz out of the Disney Boardroom,"" Blackwells said in a statement. ""The company would have benefited from any one of our candidates for the hard work needed over the next few years to advance this iconic company, but we respect the will of the shareholders and the outcome.""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy's, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding. Most of those shares are owned by Perlmutter.With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat. Peltz is partially on the hook for an estimated $25 million spent on the fight, a small amount compared to the paper gains in the stake he controls.As it moves past the battle with Peltz, Disney still faces unprecedented challenges. ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts. Disney's streaming business has spent billions to win subscribers and is losing money as it tries to catch market leader Netflix.Perhaps most significantly, the company is searching for a successor to Iger for the second time in five years. Disney's botched succession, where Iger's hand-picked replacement Bob Chapek was ousted just two years into his tenure, was a key point Trian used against the company.""Thank you for your trust and confidence in the Disney project management, and the ambitious strategy we're implementing across our businesses to build for the future,"" Iger said after the preliminary vote was reported. ""Now that this distracting proxy contest is behind us, we're here to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities, growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers. Thank you again for your support and for your continued investment in this.""There is evidence that major proxy advisors agreed with Peltz's argument that the board was ill-equipped to take on a second search process.Shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS both noted the succession issues in their recommendations to investors. Glass Lewis sided with Disney and asserted Iger's return, paired with this year's nominations of Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to the board, have given the company ""adequate opportunity to launch a more credible succession program and develop, communicate and execute on several key initiatives which appear to reasonably target acknowledged operational and financial weaknesses at Disney.""Investors rallied around Disney in February after the company made a series of major announcements durings its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games as well as a flagship ESPN streaming service.Peltz called the slew of announcements a ""spaghetti-against-the-wall"" plan that was meant to ""distract shareholders.""Shares of Disney have jumped 23% since Disney's fiscal first-quarter earnings report in early February.Disclosure: Sky News is owned by Comcast, CNBC's parent company.",CNBC,03/04/2024,"[""In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies."", ""The widely expected victory caps a combative monthslong process and affirms the board's decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to reinvigorate the $223 billion media company."", 'Peltz-led Trian Partners wanted to oust two directors, Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman, citing sustained share underperformance, a failed succession process, and billions in misdirected investments.', 'Peltz lost to Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said.', 'Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.', 'Former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by an even larger 5-1 margin.', ""The person characterized it as Peltz's largest loss ever."", 'Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said.', 'In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.', 'A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long shot bid.', '""Iwant to thank our shareholders for their trust and confidence in our Board and management.', 'With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we\'re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,"" Iger said in a release.', 'Disney deployed significant resources in the proxy fight.', 'The company called in support from its founding family, Star Wars creator George Lucas, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Pixar and Apple CEO Steve Jobs.', ""While Peltz will not end up on the Disney board, he and his firm have claimed some credit for the rebound in the company's shares."", '""While we are disappointed with the outcome of this proxy contest, Trian greatly appreciates all of the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders.', 'We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance,"" Trian said in a statement.', 'The company also spent an estimated $40 million fighting off Peltz.', 'The full-court press worked.', ""Disney's two largest shareholders, Vanguard and BlackRock, decided to back management in the final days before Wednesday's meeting."", 'Ultimately, the activists failed to convince enough retail or institutional shareholders that he had a meaningful plan to fix the House of Mouse.', ""While Peltz's candidacy picked up meaningful support from proxy advisors and smaller institutional investors, shareholders were less compelled by Rasulo."", 'Though its choices did not win board seats, Blackwells cheered the fact that Peltz was not elected.', '""Blackwells\' primary objective was achieved — keeping Nelson Peltz out of the Disney Boardroom,"" Blackwells said in a statement. ""', 'The company would have benefited from any one of our candidates for the hard work needed over the next few years to advance this iconic company, but we respect the will of the shareholders and the outcome.', '""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy\'s, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding.', 'Most of those shares are owned by Perlmutter.', ""With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat."", 'Peltz is partially on the hook for an estimated $25 million spent on the fight, a small amount compared to the paper gains in the stake he controls.', 'As it moves past the battle with Peltz, Disney still faces unprecedented challenges.', 'ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts.', ""Disney's streaming business has spent billions to win subscribers and is losing money as it tries to catch market leader Netflix."", 'Perhaps most significantly, the company is searching for a successor to Iger for the second time in five years.', ""Disney's botched succession, where Iger's hand-picked replacement Bob Chapek was ousted just two years into his tenure, was a key point Trian used against the company."", '""Thank you for your trust and confidence in the Disney project management, and the ambitious strategy we\'re implementing across our businesses to build for the future,"" Iger said after the preliminary vote was reported. ""', ""Now that this distracting proxy contest is behind us, we're here to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities, growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers."", 'Thank you again for your support and for your continued investment in this.', '""There is evidence that major proxy advisors agreed with Peltz\'s argument that the board was ill-equipped to take on a second search process.', 'Shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS both noted the succession issues in their recommendations to investors.', 'Glass Lewis sided with Disney and asserted Iger\'s return, paired with this year\'s nominations of Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to the board, have given the company ""adequate opportunity to launch a more credible succession program and develop, communicate and execute on several key initiatives which appear to reasonably target acknowledged operational and financial weaknesses at Disney.', '""Investors rallied around Disney in February after the company made a series of major announcements durings its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift\'s Eras Tour concert film, a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games as well as a flagship ESPN streaming service.', 'Peltz called the slew of announcements a ""spaghetti-against-the-wall"" plan that was meant to ""distract shareholders.', '""Shares of Disney have jumped 23% since Disney\'s fiscal first-quarter earnings report in early February.', ""Disclosure: Sky News is owned by Comcast, CNBC's parent company.""]",0.249180651507962,"""Peltz, who dislikes being called an activist but has orchestrated successful campaigns at iconic companies like PepsiCo, P&G and Wendy's, controls a $3.98 billion stake in Disney, or about 2% of total shares outstanding.","In this articleDisney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate's full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America's most storied companies.",0.2201350617408752,"With Disney shares up nearly 50% since Peltz's campaign first began, Trian and Perlmutter gained a lot despite their board defeat.","ESPN has shed subscribers for years, raising questions about whether it is prepared to go toe-to-toe with streaming upstarts.",2024-04-08
-"Oil price surge is the No. 1 threat to the US economy, Moody’s economist warns",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/business/oil-price-surge-threat-us-economy/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:00 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","The US jobs market is on fire. Consumer spending is strong. And the economy is growing at a brisk pace.
-    
-            But there is a growing threat to that sunny economic backdrop: surging oil prices.
-    
-            US oil prices are rapidly approaching $90 a barrel. Global oil prices are flirting with $92 a barrel amid worries about a wider war in the Middle East. And this has lifted gasoline prices to their highest levels in five months.
-    
-            The risk is oil prices keep climbing, hurting consumer spending and undoing the meaningful progress on inflation. That could cause the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts and spook investors on Wall Street.
-    
-            “It’s the most serious threat to the economy,” Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN in a phone interview. “Nothing does more damage to the economy more quickly than higher oil prices.”
-    
-            Not only that, but enormous political consequences could follow if gasoline prices spike above $4 a gallon and stay there.
-    
-            Moody’s published a model earlier this year that showed gas prices are a key variable in the November election, one that could tip the scales in the favor of former President Donald Trump.
-    
-            “If they go above $4 a gallon for more than two or three months, Trump will win,” Zandi said.
-    
-            US oil prices surged above $87 a barrel late last week for the first time since late October, leaving them up about 21% this year.
-    
-            “We can digest $85 or $90 oil. If we go over $90 and closer to $100, that’s a problem,” Zandi said. “Consumers are going to get nailed – especially lower-income households. And it undermines confidence. People look at the price of gas as a litmus test for their own financial situation.”
-    
-            This oil price rally has been driven in large part by war.
-    
-            First, drone attacks on oil refineries deep inside Russia helped lift oil prices last month.
-    
-            Now, the focus is on the Middle East and how Iran will respond to last week’s deadly airstrike on its embassy complex in Syria.
-    
-            Iranian officials have vowed to retaliate against Israel, which hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attack but has argued that the target was a “military building of Quds forces” — a unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations.
-    
-            “The probability of a supply disruption is rising. There is a fear of a retaliatory strike that could lead to a disruption,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “It’s very easy to see $95 Brent. If another geopolitical event occurs in the Middle East, $100 Brent is not out of the question.”
-    
-            Helima Croft, a former CIA analyst who is now global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told clients in a note that there is a risk that this “tit-for-tat cycle expands into a wider conflict than what some of the key stakeholders are seeking.”
-    
-            Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, said the “greatest external risk to the US economy is geopolitical tensions in the Middle East” because they would boost oil and gasoline prices.
-    
-            “Combined they are the only thing in the near term that could cause an end to the current business cycle,” Brusuelas said.
-    
-            However, Brusuelas said oil prices would have to spike much higher – to around $115 to $130 per barrel – before it raises the specter of a recession.
-    
-            Gas prices climbed to $3.58 a gallon on average nationally on Friday, according to AAA. That’s up four cents in a week and 21 cents in a month.
-    
-            Beyond the Middle East tensions, oil and gas prices have been boosted by OPEC and its allies, which continue to restrain supply.
-    
-            Strong seasonal factors also are at at play. Gasoline prices typically rise in the spring as refineries switch over to more expensive summer fuel and as more people hit the roads, boosting demand.
-    
-            The higher gas prices go, the worse upcoming inflation readings will look. Fed officials will be combing through the next few inflation reports very closely as they debate whether to cut interest rates in June.
-    
-            Vincent Reinhart, a former Fed economist who is now chief economist at Dreyfus and Mellon, told CNN the risk to inflation is on the upside because of goods prices, including commodities.
-    
-            “Commodity prices matter a lot. That could dislodge the favorable goods price developments,” Reinhart said. “Oil prices in particular really resonate with households. They oversample with that.”
-    
-            Reinhart thinks the Fed will cut interest rates in June, in part because officials will want to get ahead of the election season when their strategy will be subject to more intense political scrutiny.
-    
-            “The election season is going to just get more toxic,” he said. “For the Fed to change the course of policy right in the runup to the election after the national conventions is just going to call a lot of attention to it and call into question its policy intent.”
-    
-            The good news is that despite the growing risks, some energy market veterans are standing by their cautiously optimistic forecasts.
-    
-            Lipow expects the national average to climb toward $3.70 a gallon in the coming weeks, but he’s still not calling for $4 a gallon.
-    
-            Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN that he is still expecting gas prices to average in the upper-$3 range unless a major hurricane damages US refineries.
-    
-            “I still don’t think a $4 a gallon national average is imminent,” De Haan said.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['The US jobs market is on fire.', 'Consumer spending is strong.', 'And the economy is growing at a brisk pace.', 'But there is a growing threat to that sunny economic backdrop: surging oil prices.', 'US oil prices are rapidly approaching $90 a barrel.', 'Global oil prices are flirting with $92 a barrel amid worries about a wider war in the Middle East.', 'And this has lifted gasoline prices to their highest levels in five months.', 'The risk is oil prices keep climbing, hurting consumer spending and undoing the meaningful progress on inflation.', 'That could cause the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts and spook investors on Wall Street.', '“It’s the most serious threat to the economy,” Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN in a phone interview. “', 'Nothing does more damage to the economy more quickly than higher oil prices.”', 'Not only that, but enormous political consequences could follow if gasoline prices spike above $4 a gallon and stay there.', 'Moody’s published a model earlier this year that showed gas prices are a key variable in the November election, one that could tip the scales in the favor of former President Donald Trump.', '“If they go above $4 a gallon for more than two or three months, Trump will win,” Zandi said.', 'US oil prices surged above $87 a barrel late last week for the first time since late October, leaving them up about 21% this year.', '“We can digest $85 or $90 oil.', 'If we go over $90 and closer to $100, that’s a problem,” Zandi said. “', 'Consumers are going to get nailed – especially lower-income households.', 'And it undermines confidence.', 'People look at the price of gas as a litmus test for their own financial situation.”', 'This oil price rally has been driven in large part by war.', 'First, drone attacks on oil refineries deep inside Russia helped lift oil prices last month.', 'Now, the focus is on the Middle East and how Iran will respond to last week’s deadly airstrike on its embassy complex in Syria.', 'Iranian officials have vowed to retaliate against Israel, which hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attack but has argued that the target was a “military building of Quds forces” — a unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations.', '“The probability of a supply disruption is rising.', 'There is a fear of a retaliatory strike that could lead to a disruption,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “', 'It’s very easy to see $95 Brent.', 'If another geopolitical event occurs in the Middle East, $100 Brent is not out of the question.”', 'Helima Croft, a former CIA analyst who is now global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told clients in a note that there is a risk that this “tit-for-tat cycle expands into a wider conflict than what some of the key stakeholders are seeking.”', 'Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, said the “greatest external risk to the US economy is geopolitical tensions in the Middle East” because they would boost oil and gasoline prices.', '“Combined they are the only thing in the near term that could cause an end to the current business cycle,” Brusuelas said.', 'However, Brusuelas said oil prices would have to spike much higher – to around $115 to $130 per barrel – before it raises the specter of a recession.', 'Gas prices climbed to $3.58 a gallon on average nationally on Friday, according to AAA.', 'That’s up four cents in a week and 21 cents in a month.', 'Beyond the Middle East tensions, oil and gas prices have been boosted by OPEC and its allies, which continue to restrain supply.', 'Strong seasonal factors also are at at play.', 'Gasoline prices typically rise in the spring as refineries switch over to more expensive summer fuel and as more people hit the roads, boosting demand.', 'The higher gas prices go, the worse upcoming inflation readings will look.', 'Fed officials will be combing through the next few inflation reports very closely as they debate whether to cut interest rates in June.', 'Vincent Reinhart, a former Fed economist who is now chief economist at Dreyfus and Mellon, told CNN the risk to inflation is on the upside because of goods prices, including commodities.', '“Commodity prices matter a lot.', 'That could dislodge the favorable goods price developments,” Reinhart said. “', 'Oil prices in particular really resonate with households.', 'They oversample with that.”', 'Reinhart thinks the Fed will cut interest rates in June, in part because officials will want to get ahead of the election season when their strategy will be subject to more intense political scrutiny.', '“The election season is going to just get more toxic,” he said. “', 'For the Fed to change the course of policy right in the runup to the election after the national conventions is just going to call a lot of attention to it and call into question its policy intent.”', 'The good news is that despite the growing risks, some energy market veterans are standing by their cautiously optimistic forecasts.', 'Lipow expects the national average to climb toward $3.70 a gallon in the coming weeks, but he’s still not calling for $4 a gallon.', 'Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN that he is still expecting gas prices to average in the upper-$3 range unless a major hurricane damages US refineries.', '“I still don’t think a $4 a gallon national average is imminent,” De Haan said.']",-0.0257662762891247,"The good news is that despite the growing risks, some energy market veterans are standing by their cautiously optimistic forecasts.","“It’s the most serious threat to the economy,” Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN in a phone interview. “",-0.1741333978516714,That’s up four cents in a week and 21 cents in a month.,Global oil prices are flirting with $92 a barrel amid worries about a wider war in the Middle East.,2024-04-08
-Many CVS drug plans will cover over-the-counter birth control pill at no cost,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/cvs-drug-plans-will-cover-otc-birth-control-pill-opill.html,2024-04-04T21:15:55+0000,"CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription. The company's pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, said the pill will be added to its preventive services oral contraceptives list and will be covered at zero cost for many sponsors. The drug, known as Opill from Perrigo, was available at pharmacies starting April 1, according to a pharmacy update from CVS Caremark dated last week and viewed by CNBC.Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, maintain lists of drugs covered by health insurance plans and negotiate drug discounts with manufacturers. At most stores, Opill has a retail price of $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply. The Food and Drug Administration approved Perrigo's medication in July. It marks the first time that many U.S. residents are able to buy birth control pills over the counter, the same way they would purchase common pills like Tylenol or Advil. The drug could significantly expand availability of contraception, especially for younger women and those in rural and underserved communities who often have trouble getting access to birth control methods. Medical organizations have estimated that 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended.The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription.', ""The company's pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, said the pill will be added to its preventive services oral contraceptives list and will be covered at zero cost for many sponsors."", 'The drug, known as Opill from Perrigo, was available at pharmacies starting April 1, according to a pharmacy update from CVS Caremark dated last week and viewed by CNBC.Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, maintainlistsofdrugs coveredby health insurance plans and negotiatedrugdiscounts with manufacturers.', 'At most stores, Opill has a retail price of $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply.', ""The Food and Drug Administration approved Perrigo's medication in July."", 'It marks the first time that many U.S. residents are able to buy birth control pills over the counter, the same way they would purchase common pills like Tylenol or Advil.', 'The drug could significantly expand availability of contraception, especially for younger women and those in rural and underserved communities who often have trouble getting access to birth control methods.', 'Medical organizations have estimated that 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended.', ""The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states."", ""The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.""]",0.2571738807394814,"The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.","CVS Health on Thursday said its drug plans will cover the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. at no cost for many health plan sponsors, a decision that could open the door for more people to prevent unintended pregnancies without a prescription.",0.4999598562717438,"The pill's entrance into the market is a win for the Biden administration, which has tried to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states.","The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling more than a year ago, which ended 50 years of federal abortion rights, has led to shrinking availability of the procedure nationwide and renewed calls for expanded access to birth control.",2024-04-08
-"Doughnuts, smoothies, pizza, MoonPie, eyewear — brands are going all out-of-this-world with solar eclipse-themed goodies",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/business/brands-themed-solar-eclipse-products/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        9:13 AM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","Sellers of doughnuts, pizza, smoothies, chips, and one perfectly named, celestially inspired, snack — MoonPie — are looking at the full solar eclipse as a marketing bonanza, albeit a short-term one. They are trotting out eclipse-themed offerings to mark the day next week when the moon will shroud the mighty sun in darkness.
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-            On Monday, April 8, millions of people will witness a rare total solar eclipse as it passes over Mexico, the United States and Canada. As the hype builds around this remarkable event, brands are rushing to capitalize on its significance with some timely fun and puns.
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-            For starters, Pizza Hut will give customers a “Total Eclipse of the Hut” deal on eclipse day, offering any large-sized pizza for $12.
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-            And Krispy Kreme will mark the one-day event with “Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut,” a glazed treat dipped in black chocolate icing, with silver sprinkles, piped with a buttercream made with Oreo pieces and featuring an Oreo cookie in the center. Its latest eclipse-themed doughnut will be available April 5 through April 8.
-    
-            This is the second time Krispy Kreme has created a new one pegged to a total solar eclipse. Back in 2017, during the last total solar eclipse in the US, the brand used chocolate to cover its original glazed doughnut.
-    
-            Rare phenomena, like a total solar eclipse, can be a good marketing opportunity for brands, said Koen Pauwels, associate dean, research and distinguished professor of marketing at Northeastern University.
-    
-            “Lots of people are interested in it, they may be searching for it online. For existing customers it can give another cool reminder about a brand,” he said. “If I already like Krispy Kreme or SunChips, it’s a fun reminder that, oh I like the product but haven’t eaten it in a while. Let me buy it.”
-    
-            Frito-Lay’s SunChips is unveiling a limited-time new flavor — pineapple habanero and black bean spicy gouda — on April 8. The flavor will only be available for free on SunChipsSolarEclipse.com during the 4 minutes and 27 seconds of the solar eclipse’s duration of totality, the company said.
-    
-            On the other hand, for a relatively new brand that has a smart tie-in to the eclipse, it’s a way to capture the attention of potential customers.
-    
-            “This may be your short-term chance to get people to try your brand,” Pauwels said. “In the short-term, it is a cool opportunity. In the long-term, if your business has nothing to do with the sun or moon, it’s not really going to help you.”
-    
-            Elsewhere, Smoothie King has created an “Eclipse Berry Blitz Smoothie” that’s available until April 8 nationwide and Burger King will give free whoppers that day in a buy-one-get-one offer.
-    
-            Eyewear brand Warby Parker wants people to safely view the eclipse. So it’s giving away way free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all locations, while supplies last. NASA recommends wearing a set of eclipse glasses that complies with the ISO 12312-2 international standard when viewing any solar eclipse. These are not regular sunglasses but thousands of times darker than standard sunglasses.
-    
-            The maker of MoonPie — the popular marshmallow, graham cookie, chocolate-coated snack — was determined not be caught unprepared during this total solar eclipse. It began preparing an eclipse strategy several month ago.
-    
-            Chattanooga Bakery, Inc. came up with a limited-edition drop of “Solar Eclipse Survival Kits” available at Dollar Tree stores nationwide and at participating Wal-Mart and Kroger stores along the path of the total eclipse in the United States. The Solar Eclipse mini-sized MoonPies come in first-ever all black-colored 6-count boxes, in chocolate, vanilla or banana flavors and a 12-count chocolate-only box.
-    
-            “It’s the day the moon wins, and the sun goes down! So we wanted to make something that got people as excited about the eclipse as we are,” said Tory Johnston, vice president of sales and marketing at Chattanooga Bakery, Inc.
-    
-            The family-owned business dates back to 1902. The MoonPie brand was started in 1917, Johnston said. “We are a one brand, one family business. It’s quite a unicorn. We are fifth generation and this is all that we do,” he said, adding that a million MoonPies are made daily.
-    
-            Johnston admits that the brand didn’t think much about the eclipse that occurred seven years ago and how to capitalize on it. “We didn’t get out ahead of it and take advantage of it,” he said.
-    
-            “The eclipse is tailormade for MoonPie and this time we are prepared,” he said.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['Sellers of doughnuts, pizza, smoothies, chips, and one perfectly named, celestially inspired, snack — MoonPie — are looking at the full solar eclipse as a marketing bonanza, albeit a short-term one.', 'They are trotting out eclipse-themed offerings to mark the day next week when the moon will shroud the mighty sun in darkness.', 'On Monday, April 8, millions of people will witness a rare total solar eclipse as it passes overMexico, the United States and Canada.', 'As the hype builds around this remarkable event, brands are rushing to capitalize on its significance with some timely fun and puns.', 'For starters, Pizza Hut will give customers a “Total Eclipse of the Hut” deal on eclipse day, offering any large-sized pizza for $12.', 'And Krispy Kreme will mark the one-day event with “Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut,” a glazed treat dipped in black chocolate icing, with silver sprinkles, piped with a buttercream made with Oreo pieces and featuring an Oreo cookie in the center.', 'Its latest eclipse-themed doughnut will be available April 5 through April 8.', 'This is the second time Krispy Kreme has created a new one pegged to a total solar eclipse.', 'Back in 2017, during the last total solar eclipse in the US, the brand used chocolate to cover its original glazed doughnut.', 'Rare phenomena, like a total solar eclipse, can be a good marketing opportunity for brands, said Koen Pauwels, associate dean, research and distinguished professor of marketing at Northeastern University.', '“Lots of people are interested in it, they may be searching for it online.', 'For existing customers it can give another cool reminder about a brand,” he said. “', 'If I already like Krispy Kreme or SunChips, it’s a fun reminder that, oh I like the product but haven’t eaten it in a while.', 'Let me buy it.”', 'Frito-Lay’s SunChips is unveiling a limited-time new flavor — pineapple habanero and black bean spicy gouda — on April 8.', 'The flavor will only be available for free on SunChipsSolarEclipse.com during the 4 minutes and 27 seconds of the solar eclipse’s duration of totality, the company said.', 'On the other hand, for a relatively new brand that has a smart tie-in to the eclipse, it’s a way to capture the attention of potential customers.', '“This may be your short-term chance to get people to try your brand,” Pauwels said. “', 'In the short-term, it is a cool opportunity.', 'In the long-term, if your business has nothing to do with the sun or moon, it’s not really going to help you.”', 'Elsewhere, Smoothie King has created an “Eclipse Berry Blitz Smoothie” that’s available until April 8 nationwide and Burger King will give free whoppers that day in a buy-one-get-one offer.', 'Eyewear brand Warby Parker wants people to safely view the eclipse.', 'So it’s giving away wayfree, ISO-certified solar eclipse glassesat all locations, while supplies last.', 'NASA recommends wearing a set of eclipse glasses that complies with theISO 12312-2international standard when viewing any solar eclipse.', 'These are not regular sunglasses but thousands of times darker than standard sunglasses.', 'The maker of MoonPie — the popular marshmallow, graham cookie, chocolate-coated snack — was determined not be caught unprepared during this total solar eclipse.', 'It began preparing an eclipse strategy several month ago.', 'Chattanooga Bakery, Inc. came up with a limited-edition drop of “Solar Eclipse Survival Kits” available at Dollar Tree stores nationwide and at participating Wal-Mart and Kroger stores along the path of the total eclipse in the United States.', 'The Solar Eclipse mini-sized MoonPies come in first-ever all black-colored 6-count boxes, in chocolate, vanilla or banana flavors and a 12-count chocolate-only box.', '“It’s the day the moon wins, and the sun goes down!', 'So we wanted to make something that got people as excited about the eclipse as we are,” saidTory Johnston, vice president of sales and marketing at Chattanooga Bakery, Inc.  The family-owned business dates back to 1902.', 'The MoonPie brand was started in 1917, Johnston said. “', 'We are a one brand, one family business.', 'It’s quite a unicorn.', 'We are fifth generation and this is all that we do,” he said, adding that a million MoonPies are made daily.', 'Johnston admits that the brand didn’t think much about the eclipse that occurred seven years ago and how to capitalize on it. “', 'We didn’t get out ahead of it and take advantage of it,” he said.', '“The eclipse is tailormade for MoonPie and this time we are prepared,” he said.']",0.2952600273529473,"As the hype builds around this remarkable event, brands are rushing to capitalize on its significance with some timely fun and puns.",They are trotting out eclipse-themed offerings to mark the day next week when the moon will shroud the mighty sun in darkness.,0.8801970601081848,"Rare phenomena, like a total solar eclipse, can be a good marketing opportunity for brands, said Koen Pauwels, associate dean, research and distinguished professor of marketing at Northeastern University.",,2024-04-08
-Health insurer stocks slide as final Medicare Advantage rates disappoint,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/health-insurer-stocks-slide-as-medicare-advantage-rates-disappoint.html,2024-04-02T15:19:11+0000,"In this articleShares of U.S. health insurers fell Tuesday after the Biden administration didn't boost payments for private Medicare plans as much as the insurance industry and investors had hoped. Shares of CVS Health fell more than 8% on Tuesday, while UnitedHealth Group's stock slid nearly 7%. Shares of Elevance Health dropped more than 3% and Centene's stock fell 6%. Meanwhile, Humana's stock fell more than 10%. The health-care giant is far more dependent on those private Medicare plans, known as Medicare Advantage, than its rivals. The announcement puts more pressure on insurers already grappling with high medical costs and uncertainty around claims processing after the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's tech unit. It also deals a blow to Medicare Advantage businesses, which have long driven growth and profits for the insurance industry.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Monday that government payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to rise 3.7% year over year. That is effectively a 0.16% decline after stripping out certain assumptions baked into that rate, according to insurers and analysts. That final rate is unchanged from an earlier proposal in January. Typically, the federal agency raises that rate from its initial proposal. The closely watched rate determines how much insurers can charge for monthly premiums and plan benefits they offer, and ultimately, their profits.Medicare Advantage is a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in such plans, enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, according to health policy research firm KFF.",CNBC,02/04/2024,"[""In this articleShares of U.S. health insurers fell Tuesday after the Biden administration didn't boost payments for private Medicare plans as much as the insurance industry and investors had hoped."", ""Shares of CVS Health fell more than 8% on Tuesday, while UnitedHealth Group's stock slid nearly 7%."", ""Shares of Elevance Health dropped more than 3% and Centene's stock fell 6%.Meanwhile, Humana's stock fell more than 10%."", 'The health-care giant is far more dependent on those private Medicare plans, known as Medicare Advantage, than its rivals.', ""The announcement puts more pressure on insurers already grappling with high medical costs and uncertainty around claims processing after the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's tech unit."", 'It also deals a blow to Medicare Advantage businesses, which have long driven growth and profits for the insurance industry.', 'The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Monday that government payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to rise 3.7% year over year.', 'That is effectively a 0.16% decline after stripping out certain assumptions baked into that rate, according to insurers and analysts.', 'That final rate is unchanged from an earlier proposal in January.', 'Typically, the federal agency raises that rate from its initial proposal.', 'The closely watched rate determines how much insurers can charge for monthly premiums and plan benefits they offer, and ultimately, their profits.', 'Medicare Advantage is a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare.', 'More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in such plans, enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, according to health policy research firm KFF.']",0.3318215496829308,"It also deals a blow to Medicare Advantage businesses, which have long driven growth and profits for the insurance industry.",The announcement puts more pressure on insurers already grappling with high medical costs and uncertainty around claims processing after the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's tech unit.,-0.2921592965722084,The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Monday that government payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to rise 3.7% year over year.,"Shares of CVS Health fell more than 8% on Tuesday, while UnitedHealth Group's stock slid nearly 7%.",2024-04-08
-India's army of gold refiners face new competition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68596195,2024-03-28T23:19:19.000Z,"Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars. He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says. Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke. It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold. It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash. Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars. Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash.  ""Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units. A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold."" According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources. But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners.  They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré. Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year. But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running. In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints. So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera. More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub. We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera. CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year. Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels.  ""The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR. It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads. So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold. This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose. In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry. In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions. BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India. Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground. According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%. The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says. And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology. They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting.  ""The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form."" ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Refining gold has a long history in the family of Satish Pratap Salunke.', 'Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he and his business collect scrap gold from jewellers, melt it down and sell it back to the jewellers in the form of gold bars.', 'He has two refineries, one in Kochi in the southern state of Kerala and the other in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.', 'Relatives have refineries elsewhere in the south of India. ""', 'Every day my refiners on an average melt two to three kilograms of gold,"" he says.', 'Almost every town in India will have at least one small refinery similar to those run by Mr Salunke.', 'It is known as the ""unorganised"" refining sector, which distinguishes it from big refiners who make gold bars and coins from imported, unrefined gold.', 'It is estimated that, in total, Indian households hold a massive 25,000 tonnes of gold, and some of that is always available for sale, particularly when the price of gold is high or the economy is bad and people want to raise some cash.', 'Jewellers may process returned gold themselves but will often use small refiners who will make the gold back into bars.', 'Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. ""', 'Most jewellers prefer buying gold from us, as we are based in every city with small units.', 'A jeweller can take back his refined gold in a few hours, not like big refiners who will take days to refine the recycled gold.""', 'According to the World Gold Council, of the 900 tonnes of gold refined in India in 2023, 117 came from recycled sources.', ""But that recycling market is being eyed up by India's big industrial gold refiners."", 'They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.', ""Between 2013 and 2021, India's large-scale refiners increased their capacity from 300 to 1,800 tonnes of gold a year."", 'But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.', 'In fact, less than 50% of their refining capacity is used, according to Harshad Ajmera, secretary of the Association of Gold Refiners and Mints.', 'So big refiners have been opening scrap collection centres in big cities, hoping to scoop up unwanted gold and turn it into high-quality bars. ""', 'At present most of the recycling of gold is done by the unorganised sector [small refiners] - that has to change,"" says Mr Ajmera.', 'More technology of business He wants India to become a global hub for gold refining, which would mean importing more unrefined gold and for the big firms to take over more of the gold recycling. ""', ""Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub."", 'We want India also to be in the same position,"" says Mr Ajmera.', ""CGR Metalloys is one of India's leading gold refiners, refining about 150 tonnes of gold a year."", 'Like the other big players, it has the latest equipment for gold smelting and refining, which it says is better for the environment and can guarantee the purity of its gold to extremely high levels. ""', 'The refined bullion is analysed to the highest levels of accuracy, on various methods of gold assaying,"" says James Jose, managing director at CGR.', 'It has opened three gold recycling centres in the state of Kerala. ""', 'Indian refineries have a huge capacity... we have huge overheads.', 'So setting up collection centres will increase the flow of scrap gold.', 'This will help increase my output by 30% to 40%,"" says Mr Jose.', 'In recent years, the government has become more involved in the refining industry.', 'In 2020 the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced a range of standards for gold bars including purity, weight, markings and dimensions.', 'BIS-approved refiners can sell their bars to the commodity markets. ""', 'The industry is gradually shifting towards greater organisation and efficiency, led by established refineries licensed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which is setting trusted benchmarks for refined gold products, which will make India a global hub,"" says Somasundaram PR, the chief executive of the World Gold Council India.', 'Some figures suggest that smaller refiners are losing ground.', 'According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.', 'The moves made by big recycling firms do not concern Mr Salunke much - he says he knows his customers. ""', 'Local jewellers are not willing to pay a recycling cost which is too much beyond what we charge,"" he says.', 'And, like other smaller refiners, Mr Salunke has also been investing in modern refining technology.', 'They are moving away from using nitric acid to purify gold, instead switching to Aqua Regia, which is less polluting. ""', 'The gold recycled by us is as pure as gold recycled by an organised refinery,"" says Mr Salunke. ""', 'Now we have a testing facility to check the purity, so it would be wrong to say we cannot refine gold into its purest form.""']",0.0799652359830087,"Mr Salunke says local jewellers like to deal with small refiners like his, because they work quickly and are happy to accept cash. """,But it is difficult for them to import enough unrefined gold to keep their refineries running.,0.5293744140201144,"They have expanded in recent years, spurred on by favourable import duties on their main source of gold - imported, unrefined gold known as gold doré.","According to consultancy Metals Focus, in 2015 between 70 and 75% of the recycling industry was unorganised; by 2021 this had declined to between 60 and 65%.",2024-04-08
-Can troubled Thames Water avoid collapse?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68738410,2024-04-05T21:32:45.000Z,"The boat race is not normally that relevant to 16 million people. Watching the socially privileged engage in a time-honoured and exclusive duel on the Thames is not everyone's cup of tea. But this year's contest between Oxford and Cambridge came with a quite literal health warning that will resonate with customers of Thames Water and millions more around the UK used to hearing about the sewage in our rivers and beaches. The boat race crews were given safety advice to avoid swallowing water splashed up from the Thames. After the race, the Oxford rowers criticised sewage levels in the river.  The new boss of Thames Water must also feel like he's up to his neck in excrement, though in his case it is the financial kind. Because Britain's biggest water company is, quite simply, drowning in debt. The immediate red alert is at Thames Water's parent company, Kemble. It is owned by some of the biggest pension and sovereign wealth funds in the world but this week it told its lenders it couldn't pay its debts. Kemble defaulted on interest payments on a £400m loan, and said it doesn't have enough cash to pay back a loan of £190m due at the end of this month. This renders Thames' parent company effectively insolvent. That matters because it was supposed to pump more than £3bn in new money into the company that supplies clean water and removes waste for a quarter of the UK. Last week, Kemble shareholders halted a £500m down-payment on that promised cash injection when regulator Ofwat rejected plans to raise customer bills by 40% above inflation over the next five years. The purpose of Kemble is to inject money into Thames and then eventually receive dividends which can be paid out to owners, which include foreign and domestic pension funds as well as Chinese and Gulf state wealth funds. Given Thames' precarious financial position, current shareholders have not taken any payouts since 2017. Previous owners Australian firm Macquarie took out nearly £3bn in dividends and allowed its debt pile to triple between 2006 and 2017. Kemble's new shareholders have told the BBC they are not prepared to throw more capital at a company that is losing money and they appear to have reconciled themselves to the fact their shares are worth nothing, The amber alert is at Thames Water itself, which is ring-fenced, regulated, £14.7bn in debt and 100%-owned by parent company Kemble. The new boss, Chris Weston, tried to allay fears by saying it had enough in cash and overdraft facilities to keep ticking over till next May, but at some point Thames will need a fresh cash injection. So what next? ""Eventually, possibly,"" the chief executive told the BBC last week. ""But that is a way off yet."" The Treasury, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Ofwat have been wargaming a situation in which Thames is put into a Special Administration Regime, which would see financial consultants run the company on the government's behalf.  When energy company Bulb went bust in 2021 and was placed under special administration, consultants at Teneo were hired. The same firm has reportedly been approached by Thames. But what would that mean for Thames customers and/or taxpayers? Thames is not making enough money to cover its costs. That means that either bills to customers will have to rise or taxpayers across the UK would have to foot a shortfall that could run into billions if it remains in public ownership beyond next May.  That could be a tough sell to voters outside the southeast of England in an election year. A possibility. Throughout this crisis, Ofwat has insisted that Thames Water - despite its eye watering £14.7bn of debt - is a company that generates £2bn a year in inflation-linked income, which might be attractive to someone. However, any potential new owner would have to be prepared to make lower - if any - returns on their investment than the current shareholders, who have been pretty patient having not taken any dividends from the parent company since 2017.   Risky. In financial lingo, this is called ""taking a haircut"". Agreeing to reduced debt repayments from one of the UK's most active borrowers from the financial markets may make other water companies see a rise in their borrowing costs, which would make life harder for other utilities who rely on lenders. Just like landlords who pass on higher borrowing costs to their tenants, customers of all water companies could suffer if markets deemed the loans to be more risky and therefore make them more expensive. A likely outcome. The tap will still run, the loo will still flush whatever happens in the short term. All sides have been clear on that. As one person close to the situation said: ""We will be having this same conversation in a year's time"". That might suit the current government, who do not want to oversee the potential failure of a privatised utility in an election year. The challenges facing Thames Water are formidable. In Finsbury Park, north London, the company is replacing pipes laid when Queen Victoria was on the throne and the land above was fields. Today it is operating in - and under - built-up urban areas. One certainty Thames customers can surely bet on is that bills are going to rise. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"['The boat race is not normally that relevant to 16 million people.', ""Watching the socially privileged engage in a time-honoured and exclusive duel on the Thames is not everyone's cup of tea."", ""But this year's contest between Oxford and Cambridge came with a quite literal health warning that will resonate with customers of Thames Water and millions more around the UK used to hearing about the sewage in our rivers and beaches."", 'The boat race crews were given safety advice to avoid swallowing water splashed up from the Thames.', 'After the race, the Oxford rowers criticised sewage levels in the river.', ""The new boss of Thames Water must also feel like he's up to his neck in excrement, though in his case it is the financial kind."", ""Because Britain's biggest water company is, quite simply, drowning in debt."", ""The immediate red alert is at Thames Water's parent company, Kemble."", ""It is owned by some of the biggest pension and sovereign wealth funds in the world but this week it told its lenders it couldn't pay its debts."", ""Kemble defaulted on interest payments on a £400m loan, and said it doesn't have enough cash to pay back a loan of £190m due at the end of this month."", ""This renders Thames' parent company effectively insolvent."", 'That matters because it was supposed to pump more than £3bn in new money into the company that supplies clean water and removes waste for a quarter of the UK.', 'Last week, Kemble shareholders halted a £500m down-payment on that promised cash injection when regulator Ofwat rejected plans to raise customer bills by 40% above inflation over the next five years.', 'The purpose of Kemble is to inject money into Thames and then eventually receive dividends which can be paid out to owners, which include foreign and domestic pension funds as well as Chinese and Gulf state wealth funds.', ""Given Thames' precarious financial position, current shareholders have not taken any payouts since 2017."", 'Previous owners Australian firm Macquarie took out nearly £3bn in dividends and allowed its debt pile to triple between 2006 and 2017.', ""Kemble's new shareholders have told the BBC they are not prepared to throw more capital at a company that is losing money and they appear to have reconciled themselves to the fact their shares are worth nothing, The amber alert is at Thames Water itself, which is ring-fenced, regulated, £14.7bn in debt and 100%-owned by parent company Kemble."", 'The new boss, Chris Weston, tried to allay fears by saying it had enough in cash and overdraft facilities to keep ticking over till next May, but at some point Thames will need a fresh cash injection.', 'So what next? ""', 'Eventually, possibly,"" the chief executive told the BBC last week. ""', 'But that is a way off yet.""', ""The Treasury, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Ofwat have been wargaming a situation in which Thames is put into a Special Administration Regime, which would see financial consultants run the company on the government's behalf."", 'When energy company Bulb went bust in 2021 and was placed under special administration, consultants at Teneo were hired.', 'The same firm has reportedly been approached by Thames.', 'But what would that mean for Thames customers and/or taxpayers?', 'Thames is not making enough money to cover its costs.', 'That means that either bills to customers will have to rise or taxpayers across the UK would have to foot a shortfall that could run into billions if it remains in public ownership beyond next May.', 'That could be a tough sell to voters outside the southeast of England in an election year.', 'A possibility.', 'Throughout this crisis, Ofwat has insisted that Thames Water - despite its eye watering £14.7bn of debt - is a company that generates £2bn a year in inflation-linked income, which might be attractive to someone.', 'However, any potential new owner would have to be prepared to make lower - if any - returns on their investment than the current shareholders, who have been pretty patient having not taken any dividends from the parent company since 2017.', 'Risky.', 'In financial lingo, this is called ""taking a haircut"".', ""Agreeing to reduced debt repayments from one of the UK's most active borrowers from the financial markets may make other water companies see a rise in their borrowing costs, which would make life harder for other utilities who rely on lenders."", 'Just like landlords who pass on higher borrowing costs to their tenants, customers of all water companies could suffer if markets deemed the loans to be more risky and therefore make them more expensive.', 'A likely outcome.', 'The tap will still run, the loo will still flush whatever happens in the short term.', 'All sides have been clear on that.', 'As one person close to the situation said: ""We will be having this same conversation in a year\'s time"".', 'That might suit the current government, who do not want to oversee the potential failure of a privatised utility in an election year.', 'The challenges facing Thames Water are formidable.', 'In Finsbury Park, north London, the company is replacing pipes laid when Queen Victoria was on the throne and the land above was fields.', 'Today it is operating in - and under - built-up urban areas.', 'One certainty Thames customers can surely bet on is that bills are going to rise.']",0.0680678152754069,Watching the socially privileged engage in a time-honoured and exclusive duel on the Thames is not everyone's cup of tea.,"Throughout this crisis, Ofwat has insisted that Thames Water - despite its eye watering £14.7bn of debt - is a company that generates £2bn a year in inflation-linked income, which might be attractive to someone.",-0.3937638588249683,Previous owners Australian firm Macquarie took out nearly £3bn in dividends and allowed its debt pile to triple between 2006 and 2017.,"However, any potential new owner would have to be prepared to make lower - if any - returns on their investment than the current shareholders, who have been pretty patient having not taken any dividends from the parent company since 2017.",2024-04-08
-"Spirit Airlines will defer Airbus orders, furlough 260 pilots in race to shore up liquidity",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/spirit-airlines-will-defer-airbus-orders-furlough-260-pilots.html,2024-04-08T19:52:49+0000,"In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031. The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall. Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday. The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday. Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand. Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing. The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes. United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots. An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group.""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week. It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"['In this articleSpirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.', '""Of course, these steps aren\'t ones we want to take but they\'re necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.', 'Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026.', 'It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031.', 'The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.', 'The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.', '""Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,"" Christie said in a news release.', 'Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall.', 'Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.', 'The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.', 'The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday.', 'The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is ""no plan"" for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday.', 'Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.', ""Spirit's Airbus delivery slots are likely to be in high demand."", 'Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.', ""United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing."", ""The carrier said it was also removing Boeing's Max 10 jets from its fleet plan because it was unclear when regulators would certify the planes."", ""United declined to comment on whether it will take Spirit's Airbus delivery slots."", 'An Airbus spokeswoman said the slots could be remarketed, but she declined to comment on ""any conversations we may or may not be having with various customers.', '""The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots\' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.', '""Coupled with the retirement of our A319 fleet and the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issue, the airline finds itself with more pilots than its operations require,"" Ryan Muller, chairman of the Spirit ALPA chapter, said in an emailed statement. ""', ""The ramifications of the Company's announced decision are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group."", '""Spirit said in the filing that it plans to publish its next financial outlook for the quarter and full year within the next week.', 'It is scheduled to report first-quarter results before the market opens on May 6.']",0.089810687267966,"""Of course, these steps aren't ones we want to take but they're necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,"" CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.","Airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic.",0.0585053920745849,The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.,Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.,2024-04-08
-"Ford to delay all-electric SUV, truck to focus on offering hybrid vehicles across its lineup by 2030",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/ford-to-delay-all-electric-suv-to-focus-on-hybrid-vehicles.html,2024-04-04T23:16:42+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada to 2027 from its initial plan of 2025. The next-generation pickup, codenamed ""T3,"" is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026.The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been slower than many expected and production costs remain high.Ford last year said it would delay or cancel $12 billion in planned spending on new EVs due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles.The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales during the first quarter of this year behind Tesla, but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third overall. Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.""As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,"" Ford CEO Jim Farley said Thursday in a statement.The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales behind Tesla but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third in EV sales during the first quarter or this year. Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis brands, outsold Ford in EVs.The three-row SUV was part of a roughly $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, into a new electric vehicle hub. It was supposed to be Ford's first time completely retooling a North American facility producing gas-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs.""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.Ford said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants such as its ""BlueOval City"" campus in Tennessee rather than transitioning current facilities producing engine-powered vehicles to all-electric models.""Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services,"" Farley said.The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford's next-generation all-electric truck in 2026 rather than 2025.Ford said it is continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier. Hybrid sales for the automaker rose 42% year over year, while sales of Ford's traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines were up 2.6%.Ford's ""Model e"" electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion during the fourth quarter. In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada to 2027 from its initial plan of 2025.', 'The next-generation pickup, codenamed ""T3,"" is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026.The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been slower than many expected and production costs remain high.', 'Ford last year said it would delay or cancel $12 billion in planned spending on new EVs due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles.', 'The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales during the first quarter of this year behind Tesla, but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third overall.', 'Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.', '""As the No.', '2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,"" Ford CEO Jim Farley said Thursday in a statement.', 'The Ford brand ranked second in EV sales behind Tesla but the Detroit automaker as a company ranked third in EV sales during the first quarter or this year.', 'Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis brands, outsold Ford in EVs.', ""The three-row SUV was part of a roughly $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, into a new electric vehicle hub."", ""It was supposed to be Ford's first time completely retooling a North American facility producing gas-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs."", '""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.', 'Ford said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants such as its ""BlueOval City"" campus in Tennessee rather than transitioning current facilities producing engine-powered vehicles to all-electric models.', '""Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services,"" Farley said.', ""The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford's next-generation all-electric truck in 2026 rather than 2025.Ford said it is continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky."", ""In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier."", 'Hybrid sales for the automaker rose 42% year over year, while sales of Ford\'s traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines were up 2.6%.Ford\'s ""Model e"" electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion during the fourth quarter.', 'In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.']",-0.0210375845709988,"""The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,"" the company said in a release.","Both Tesla and Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, outsold Ford in EVs.",0.1774899423122406,"In the first quarter of 2024, Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier.","In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.",2024-04-08
-"'Mandalorian & Grogu,' 'Toy Story 5,' and another 'Tron' coming to theaters from Disney",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/disney-slate-mandalorian-grogu-toy-story-5-and-another-tron.html,2024-04-05T21:02:32+0000,"The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company's theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers' box-office habits shifted. All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship. He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content. He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made. Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative team prioritizing messaging over storytelling.Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences.Notably, the company's ""Moana"" sequel has been pushed to July 2026. It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date. And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu."" It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"['The Walt Disney Company on Friday revealed its new theatrical schedule, which will feature a film about the Mandalorian and Grogu, a fifth ""Toy Story"" film, and another ""Tron"" flick before the end of 2026.The company\'s theatrical business has struggled in the wake of pandemic shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes, as productions stalled and moviegoers\' box-office habits shifted.', 'All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.', 'Since returning to the helm at Disney in late 2022, CEO Bob Iger has been working to right the ship.', ""He's admitted that the quality of its films suffered in its bid to pump out a high quantity of entertainment content."", 'He said brands such as Marvel, in particular, needed to be more selective about which sequels get made.', ""Iger also said he would no longer tolerate his company's partners and creative teamprioritizing messaging over storytelling."", ""Disney's updated slate features several iconic franchises, as well as some releases for adult audiences."", 'Notably, the company\'s ""Moana"" sequel has been pushed to July 2026.', 'It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.', 'And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""', 'It is slated for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.A fifth ""Toy Story"" film is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, and ""Tron: Ares"" is slated for Oct. 10, 2025.']",-0.0528422595632968,"It was originally slated to open in 2025.""The Amateur,"" a 20th Century Production starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, moved to April 2025 from its previous November 2024 date.","And ""Nightbitch,"" a Searchlight feature with Amy Adams attached, will release in December 2024.Disney teased that one of its 2026 Star Wars films would feature the iconic duo from its Disney+ series ""The Mandalorian"" and revealed its title will be ""The Mandalorian & Grogu.""",-0.997926930586497,,"All the while, Disney struggled to connect with audiences, which further exacerbated revenue woes.",2024-04-08
-Eclipse flights swarm airports: 'We had to close the runway to park planes',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/solar-eclipse-flights-swarm-small-airports.html,2024-04-08T19:59:22+0000,"Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun.The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday. The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC. The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets and larger turboprops. ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen.""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations. It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic.""It's the most we've seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""It's going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman. Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.The FAA had previously warned pilots about possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path.Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit. Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality."" United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.",CNBC,08/04/2024,"[""Monday's solar eclipse is giving some of the country's smaller airports their moment in the sun."", 'The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.', 'Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.', 'The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.', '""We had to close the runway to park planes,"" Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airportin Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC.', 'The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets andlarger turboprops. ""', ""This is by far the most aircraft we've ever seen."", '""Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations.', ""It's also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic."", '""It\'s the most we\'ve seen in a day,"" Carman said. ""', 'It\'s going to be hectic getting out,"" he said.', ""The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA's morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman."", 'Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.', ""The FAA had previouslywarned pilotsabout possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse's path."", 'Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.', 'Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the ""path of totality.""', 'United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.', 'The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.']",0.0381660378961861,"Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",0.1714410015514918,"United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.","Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.",2024-04-08
-Why there's a revolution on the way in glass making,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68429393,2024-04-01T23:03:38.000Z,"I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.  Despite being empty, it's heavy.  I ask how much the bottle costs. ""About £270,"" I'm told. I hand the bottle back - very carefully.  The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. Glassware has been made on this site since 1871. In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry.  It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.  Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia. When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace. To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage. While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers. The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste. It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.  It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval. Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets. There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium.  ""Light doesn't mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically."" While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive.  Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2. The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years.  It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size. What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature. Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years. So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity. If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050. Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive. But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch. Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense. But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss. However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles. Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE's director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet. An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in. Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply. But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles. In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP). Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day. When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting. And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP. AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen. Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.   The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated. They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process. The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge. One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass. In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment.  ""Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out.  ""The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle. We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says. More technology of business ",BBC,01/04/2024,"[""I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck."", ""Despite being empty, it's heavy."", 'I ask how much the bottle costs. ""', 'About £270,"" I\'m told.', 'I hand the bottle back - very carefully.', 'The bottle, designed for a rare whisky, is one of the creations of Stoelzle Flaconnage, based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire.', 'Glassware has been made on this site since 1871.', ""In 1994 the factory was taken over by Austria's Stoelzle Glass Group, which has focused the plant on making bottles for the spirits industry."", 'It can handle the design, bottle making and decoration all on one site.', 'Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.', 'When I visit, the plant is busy, lumps of molten glass are dropping into dozens of moulds, the glass still glowing orange from the heat of the furnace.', 'To stand out in a crowded market, customers want distinctive bottles, with patterned and sometimes coloured glass, elaborate labels and artwork. ""', 'What our clients are looking for is to have their product presented in an outstanding - sometimes iconic - way,"" says Thomas Riss, chief executive of Stoelzle Flaconnage.', 'While business is brisk, Stoelzle Flaconnage - and other glassmakers - are having to make some big decisions about the way they make glass containers.', 'The European Union is cracking down on packaging waste.', 'It wants packaging to be lighter so less material is needed and less fuel is needed for transportation.', 'It has been working on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is in the final stages of approval.', 'Under the rules, member states would have to cut back on packaging weight and would have to introduce measures to meet targets.', 'There is concern in the glass container industry that it will be unfairly targeted as glass is relatively heavy, compared with plastic or aluminium. ""', 'Light doesn\'t mean sustainable,"" points out Vanessa Chesnot, from FEVE, the industry body which represents European glass container makers. ""', 'Glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable... so, you can recycle a whisky bottle into another bottle, forever basically.""', ""While it's true that glass recycling is an established process, making glass, even using recycled materials, is energy intensive."", 'Most glass making involves burning natural gas to heat the raw materials in a furnace to 1,500C. Burning gas and heating the raw materials both produce CO2.', ""The furnace I saw in action at Stoelzle Flaconnage uses about 191,000 kWh of energy per day - that's enough to supply the average UK household with energy for 12 years."", 'It is considered a relatively small furnace; bigger plants would have furnaces twice the size.', ""What's more, glass furnaces are never turned off, as it takes 12 days for a furnace to reach its operating temperature."", 'Essentially a furnace will run all day, every day for its operational life - typically between ten and 12 years.', 'So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.', 'If the electricity comes from a sustainable source then the carbon footprint is slashed, which could go a long way to helping glass firms meet their goal to become net zero by 2050.', 'Until recent years, running a furnace on electricity was considered too expensive.', 'But electricity prices have become more competitive, so glass makers are looking at making the switch.', 'Stoelzle Flaconnage, plans to have an electric furnace running in Knottingley by 2026. ""', ""When I talked with my engineers, five years back, none of them would have ever come up with the idea of electric furnaces, because the mathematics didn't make sense."", 'But this has changed now,"" says Mr Riss.', 'However, electric furnaces might not be an option for companies that mass produce containers, like beer bottles.', 'Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. ""', 'For the time being it [electric furnace tech] is mainly being developed for niche markets or small furnaces producing high added value products,"" says FEVE\'s director of environment, health and safety, Fabrice Rivet.', 'An extra challenge for electric glass furnaces is plugging them in.', 'Connections to the electricity grid often have to be upgraded, to cope with the extra electricity supply.', 'But the glass industry is attempting to clear some of those hurdles.', ""In Obernkirchen, in northern Germany the world's most advanced hybrid glass furnace is undergoing trials, at Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP)."", 'Partly funded by the German government and the EU, and made by Germany company Sorg, it is a large furnace with a capacity of 350 tonnes - enough to make about a million beer bottles a day.', 'When fully operational it will run on 80% sustainable electricity and 20% gas, which AGP says will save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.', 'Engineers at AGP are giving the furnace the ultimate test - making amber-coloured glass, which involves tricky chemistry and is more difficult to control than making clear glass. ""', 'There has been no successful demonstration of full-scale amber glass production in full electric melting.', 'And if you wanted to combine the maximum of carbon footprint reduction with high cullet (recycled glass) and amber glass, then the hybrid is the logical choice,"" says Joris Goossens, research and development project manager at AGP.', 'AGP says that once the hybrid furnace has proved itself, then the next step could be replacing the natural gas with hydrogen.', 'Even if the industry does make the switch to electric or hybrid furnaces, it still has other problems to solve.', 'The raw materials needed to make glass, including sand, soda ash and limestone, emit CO2 while they are being heated.', 'They account for about 20% of the carbon emissions of the glass making process.', 'The industry hopes that using more recycled glass in the production process will cut those emissions, but getting enough unwanted glass is a challenge.', 'One academic who has studied the packaging industry says the answer might be just to use less glass.', 'In a paper published in 2020, Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at Southampton University, compared the environmental impact of glass, plastic and aluminium containers and found that glass had the most detrimental impact on the environment. ""', 'Even recycled glass has an incredibly high energy demand,"" she points out. ""', 'The waste hierarchy is reduce, reuse, recycle.', 'We should have less packaging, or we should be reusing packaging, or we should recycle if we have to,"" she says.', 'More technology of business']",0.1202638344950185,I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.,So the glass industry is looking at switching from gas-fired furnaces to electricity.,0.451889619231224,"Demand is strong, helped by the boom in gin making and demand for whisky in Asia.","Even if electric furnaces can be made big enough, the extra expense of electricity will be off-putting for them. """,2024-04-08
-Microsoft stock hits all-time high after hiring former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/20/investing/microsoft-stock-record-high-altman-openai/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        4:19 PM EST, Mon November 20, 2023
-    ","Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.
-    
-            Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.
-    
-            That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup. Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.
-    
-            Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.
-    
-            Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.
-    
-            Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year. The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.
-    
-            Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.
-    
-            “We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.
-    
-            Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday. Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.",CNN,20/11/2023,"['Microsoft stock reached a record high on Monday after the company said that Sam Altman, former chief executive of OpenAI, will join the company to head its artificial intelligence innovation leg.', 'Shares of the tech behemoth rose 2.1% to an all-time high close of $377.44 on Monday, beating the previous record of $376.17.', 'That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.', 'Microsoft is the artificial intelligence firm’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.', 'Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.', 'Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former chief executive could return to the firm after his dramatic firing.', 'Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim chief executive.', 'Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.', 'The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.', 'Dan Ives, tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft’s stock following Altman’s and Brockman’s hires.', '“We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note on Monday.', 'Other members of the “Magnificent Seven” saw a boost on Monday.', 'Nvidia shares gained 2.3% to end the trading session at $504.20 ahead of its earnings due on Tuesday, notching a record-high close for the chipmaker.']",0.3148943375907157,"The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” that have powered the lion’s share of the market’s returns this year, boosted by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in tech.","Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and quit after Altman’s firing, is also joining Microsoft.",0.7688216765721639,Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year.,"That comes after shares of Microsoft fell 1.7% on Friday, when Sam Altman was ousted from his position at OpenAI in a boardroom coup.",2024-04-08
-US jobs boom raises doubts about rate cuts,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68742839,2024-04-05T13:15:44.000Z,"Employers in the US added more than 300,000 jobs last month - the biggest gain in almost a year - as the boom in the world's largest economy continued.  The jobless rate fell to 3.8%, as most sectors, including health care, construction and the government added roles, the Labor Department said.  It marked another month of stronger-than-expected growth. Economists had forecast job gains of about 200,000. Analysts said the strong figures could delay cuts to US interest rates.  The US central bank's key interest rate is currently at the highest level in more than two decades, in a range of 5.25%-5.5%.  Analysts have expected the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates this year to avoid a harsh slowdown triggered by high borrowing costs.  But a stronger-than-expected economy has raised doubts about how soon those cuts might come.  ""The blockbuster 303,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March supports the Fed's position that the resilience of the economy means it can take its time with rate cuts, which might now not begin until the second half of this year,"" said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics.  The Fed raised interest rates sharply in 2022 to try to slow the economy and ease the pressures that were pushing up prices at the fastest rate in decades.  Price inflation in the US has since cooled, dropping to 3.2% in February, without the big jump in unemployment some had feared would follow the rise in borrowing costs.  Economists said the labour market has been helped by government spending in areas such as high tech manufacturing and infrastructure. An influx of more than three million immigrants last year has also added to the workforce, which analysts say may be helping to keep a lid on wages, allowing the jobs boom to proceed without reigniting inflation.  In March, the average hourly pay was up 4.1% from a year earlier, roughly in line with expectations and near a three-year low.  President Joe Biden hailed the latest figures as a ""milestone in America's comeback"". But Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, warned that the strong jobs growth could make returning the inflation rate to the Fed's 2% target difficult.  The report signals that ""the economy has plenty of excess energy that may need to be tamed by continued higher rates,"" she said, noting that some analysts are now betting rate cuts will not come until 2025.   Higher interest rates in the US have put pressure on economies around the world, as they entice investors to America and away from other countries.  ""The Federal Reserve's dashboard still has some warning lights to deal with before signalling the all-clear for cutting,"" she said.   ",BBC,05/04/2024,"[""Employers in the US added more than 300,000 jobs last month - the biggest gain in almost a year - as the boom in the world's largest economy continued."", 'The jobless rate fell to 3.8%, as most sectors, including health care, construction and the government added roles, the Labor Department said.', 'It marked another month of stronger-than-expected growth.', 'Economists had forecast job gains of about 200,000.', 'Analysts said the strong figures could delay cuts to US interest rates.', ""The US central bank's key interest rate is currently at the highest level in more than two decades, in a range of 5.25%-5.5%."", 'Analysts have expected the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates this year to avoid a harsh slowdown triggered by high borrowing costs.', 'But a stronger-than-expected economy has raised doubts about how soon those cuts might come. ""', 'The blockbuster 303,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March supports the Fed\'s position that the resilience of the economy means it can take its time with rate cuts, which might now not begin until the second half of this year,"" said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics.', 'The Fed raised interest rates sharply in 2022 to try to slow the economy and ease the pressures that were pushing up prices at the fastest rate in decades.', 'Price inflation in the US has since cooled, dropping to 3.2% in February, without the big jump in unemployment some had feared would follow the rise in borrowing costs.', 'Economists said the labour market has been helped by government spending in areas such as high tech manufacturing and infrastructure.', 'An influx of more than three million immigrants last year has also added to the workforce, which analysts say may be helping to keep a lid on wages, allowing the jobs boom to proceed without reigniting inflation.', 'In March, the average hourly pay was up 4.1% from a year earlier, roughly in line with expectations and near a three-year low.', 'President Joe Biden hailed the latest figures as a ""milestone in America\'s comeback"".', ""But Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, warned that the strong jobs growth could make returning the inflation rate to the Fed's 2% target difficult."", 'The report signals that ""the economy has plenty of excess energy that may need to be tamed by continued higher rates,"" she said, noting that some analysts are now betting rate cuts will not come until 2025.', 'Higher interest rates in the US have put pressure on economies around the world, as they entice investors to America and away from other countries. ""', 'The Federal Reserve\'s dashboard still has some warning lights to deal with before signalling the all-clear for cutting,"" she said.']",0.1650567228431012,"The blockbuster 303,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March supports the Fed's position that the resilience of the economy means it can take its time with rate cuts, which might now not begin until the second half of this year,"" said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics.","Price inflation in the US has since cooled, dropping to 3.2% in February, without the big jump in unemployment some had feared would follow the rise in borrowing costs.",0.3816921189427376,"Economists had forecast job gains of about 200,000.","The jobless rate fell to 3.8%, as most sectors, including health care, construction and the government added roles, the Labor Department said.",2024-04-08
-"Disney's Iger says Peltz proxy battle was a 'distraction,' board is focused on picking his successor",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/bob-iger-discusses-proxy-fight-with-nelson-peltz-after-board-vote.html,2024-04-04T15:46:01+0000,"In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans.Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board's No. 1 priority."" He said Disney's succession committee, which was established when he returned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024. Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process. Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events. Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself.""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""It was not reacting really to the activist.""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date. They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it had obtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Games and would launch a flagship ESPN streaming service.For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats. Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance.""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. "" I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do. I'll watch and wait. If they do it, they won't hear from me again.""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday's investor meeting. Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said. Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said. In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022. He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing. Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years.Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we're trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn't expect significant cannibalization between the two products.Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have. He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleNelson Peltz\'s proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC\'s ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.', '""One of the things that I feel great about right now is, put the victory aside, that I can spend all of my time with the management team and the board on executing against those priorities,"" he said.', ""While Disney rolled out a string of initiatives to boost shares in recent months as the board battle went on, Iger noted that Peltz's second proxy attempt did little to affect the company's strategy for succession, business investments or its shift in content plans."", 'Iger told CNBC that choosing his replacement ""is the board\'s No.', '1 priority.""', ""He said Disney'ssuccession committee, which was established whenhereturned to his post in late 2022, held a number of meetings in 2023, with plans for more in 2024."", ""Iger noted that the activism has not changed Disney's succession process."", ""Iger's contract runs to 2026.Iger spoke about the challenges Bob Chapek faced when he took over the company in 2020, including shutdowns of film and TV production, the closure of theme parks and the discontinuation of live sporting events."", 'Chapek held the post for more than two years before Iger returned to it.', '""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we\'re prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.', 'In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Peltz said he did not have any personal vendetta against Iger but wanted to ensure the company had a leadership plan in place.', '""The only issue I had with Bob was the succession plan, which again is at the feet of the board,"" he said.', ""Iger also disputed the notion that Peltz's activism was responsible for recent company stock gains — a claim the investor has made himself."", '""The market is reacting to how this company is performing,"" Iger said. ""', 'It was not reacting really to the activist.', '""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.', ""They rallied in February after the company made a series of major announcements during its earnings call, including that it hadobtained the exclusive streaming rights to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film, made a $1.5 billion strategic investment in Epic Gamesand would launcha flagship ESPN streaming service."", ""For months, Disney had battled against Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which sought two of the company's board seats."", 'Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.', ""Peltz told CNBC he would not try to wage another battle against Disney if Iger follows through on plans to improve the company's performance."", '""I hope Bob can keep his promises,"" Peltz said Thursday. ""', 'I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do.', ""I'll watch and wait."", ""If they do it, they won't hear from me again."", '""Shareholders sided with Disney during Wednesday\'s investor meeting.', 'Peltz lost his board seat race to Maria Elena Lagomasino by a 2-to-1 margin, and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian also nominated, lost to Lagomasino by a 5-to-1 margin, a person familiar with the matter said.', 'Retail voters overwhelmingly supported Disney, that person added, helping to deliver Iger 94% of the overall vote.', 'A second activist, Blackwells, also failed to win board seats in its own long-shot bid.', 'Percentage-wise, turnout for the director vote was in the mid-60s, another person familiar with the matter said.', 'In 2023, around 63% of Disney shareholders voted.', 'Iger has done much to try to right the ship at Disney since returning to the helm of the company in late 2022.', 'He undid a new corporate structure instituted by the short-reigning Chapek and pulled back on the number of film and television projects the company was producing.', ""Iger also announced a plan last year to invest $60 billion in Disney's theme park, cruise and experience business over the next 10 years."", 'Up next is a new bundled sports service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, as well as a flagship standalone ESPN service, which will eventually be available directly through Disney+.""What we\'re trying to do is basically serve sports fans in multiple ways,"" Iger said, adding that he doesn\'t expect significant cannibalization between the two products.', 'Iger said the flagship ESPN service will have significantly more content than the ESPN component of the joint venture will have.', 'He declined to disclose more about the joint venture, including a potential name or price point for the service.']",0.1477550938283659,"""Obviously, we all learn from the past, and we're prepared for this process to be successful,"" Iger said.","In this articleNelson Peltz's proxy battle was a ""distraction"" and Disney can now focus on trying to turn a streaming profit and planning its succession, its CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC's ""Squawk on the Street"" on Thursday, just one day after handing a stinging defeat to the activist investor.",0.2601167985371181,"""Shares of Disney are up 32% year to date.","Peltz had publicly lambasted Disney for its sustained share underperformance, failed succession process and what he claimed was billions in misdirected investments.",2024-04-08
-McDonald's to buy back Israeli restaurants after boycotts,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68735706,2024-04-04T22:44:09.000Z,"McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after sales suffered from a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel. The fast food giant was criticised after its Israeli franchise gave away thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers. McDonald's said it had reached a deal with franchisee Alonyal to return 225 outlets. It said in January the Israel-Hamas war had ""meaningfully impacted"" business. Widespread protests affected sales in the Middle East, Indonesia and France. Alonyal, which is led and owned by chief executive Omri Padan, has operated McDonald's restaurants in Israel for more than 30 years.  McDonald's uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff. The boycott of McDonald's was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm.  Days after the Hamas attacks on Israel last October, and the retaliation by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), McDonald's franchisee said on social media that it had ""donated and continues to donate tens of thousands of meals to IDF units, the police, hospitals, residents around the strip and all rescue forces"".  Vocal protests were staged worldwide as the grassroots boycott spread beyond the Middle East. As well as restaurants in the region, McDonald's businesses in France, Indonesia and Malaysia have also been affected. On Thursday, the company said: ""McDonald's remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward."" It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel.  Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds."" The US company said the restaurants, operations and employees in Israel  would be retained ""on equivalent terms"" though the terms of the sale were not revealed. Under Alonyal, McDonald's employs 5,000 people.  At the start of the year, McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"" but it hit the firm's financials nonetheless and it missed its first quarterly sales target in nearly four years.   The boycott was described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by McDonald's. The company relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world. About 5% are located in the Middle East.   ""In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald's is proudly represented by local owner operators,"" Mr Kempczinski said at the time.  ""So long as this war is going on... we're not expecting to see any significant improvement [in these markets],"" the McDonald's boss added. The company will be hoping that by taking the Israeli business back ""in house"" it can restore its reputation in the Middle East and meet its key sales targets once more.  Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the Israeli military operations that began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages. About 130 of the hostages remain in captivity, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead. More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry said. What is your reaction to this decision? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,04/04/2024,"[""McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after sales suffered from a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel."", 'The fast food giant was criticised after its Israeli franchise gave away thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers.', ""McDonald's said it had reached a deal with franchisee Alonyal to return 225 outlets."", 'It said in January the Israel-Hamas war had ""meaningfully impacted"" business.', 'Widespread protests affected sales in the Middle East, Indonesia and France.', ""Alonyal, which is led and owned by chief executive Omri Padan, has operated McDonald's restaurants in Israel for more than 30 years."", ""McDonald's uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff."", ""The boycott of McDonald's was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm."", 'Days after the Hamas attacks on Israel last October, and the retaliation by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), McDonald\'s franchisee said on social media that it had ""donated and continues to donate tens of thousands of meals to IDF units, the police, hospitals, residents around the strip and all rescue forces"".', 'Vocal protests were staged worldwide as the grassroots boycott spread beyond the Middle East.', ""As well as restaurants in the region, McDonald's businesses in France, Indonesia and Malaysia have also been affected."", 'On Thursday, the company said: ""McDonald\'s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""', 'It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel.', 'Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds.""', 'The US company said the restaurants, operations and employees in Israel would be retained ""on equivalent terms"" though the terms of the sale were not revealed.', ""Under Alonyal, McDonald's employs 5,000 people."", 'At the start of the year, McDonald\'s chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"" but it hit the firm\'s financials nonetheless and it missed its first quarterly sales target in nearly four years.', 'The boycott was described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by McDonald\'s.', 'The company relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world.', 'About 5% are located in the Middle East. ""', 'In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald\'s is proudly represented by local owner operators,"" Mr Kempczinski said at the time. ""', 'So long as this war is going on... we\'re not expecting to see any significant improvement [in these markets],"" the McDonald\'s boss added.', 'The company will be hoping that by taking the Israeli business back ""in house"" it can restore its reputation in the Middle East and meet its key sales targets once more.', 'Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the Israeli military operations that began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.', 'About 130 of the hostages remain in captivity, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead.', ""More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry said."", 'What is your reaction to this decision?', 'Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",-0.0594035433637976,"On Thursday, the company said: ""McDonald's remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""","Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the Israeli military operations that began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.",-0.0794005164733299,"The company will be hoping that by taking the Israeli business back ""in house"" it can restore its reputation in the Middle East and meet its key sales targets once more.","At the start of the year, McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"" but it hit the firm's financials nonetheless and it missed its first quarterly sales target in nearly four years.",2024-04-08
-"Here's what upgrading to a nicer home could cost you, and why it's locking up the market",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/cost-of-upgrading-to-a-nicer-home-locking-up-the-housing-market.html,2024-04-02T18:43:28+0000,"The spring housing market is defying expectations that prices would cool and competition would ease.Higher mortgage rates usually cool both prices and demand, as they did last year, but that's not the case now. There are still too few homes for sale because current homeowners can't afford to move, and it's keeping prices high.Home prices in February were 5.5% higher than they were in February of last year, according to CoreLogic. That annual comparison is shrinking slightly, but the price gain from January to February was nearly twice what it normally is for that time of year, suggesting this spring's market started out strong despite higher interest rates.The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hit its latest high in October, briefly crossing over 8%. It then dropped back into the 6% range for much of December and all of January. It rose back over 7% in February, which should have cooled the market.But sales of newly built homes, which are counted by contracts signed during the month, were nearly 6% higher in February year over year. Pending sales of existing homes, also based on signed contracts, were down 7% that month from the year before, but not for lack of demand.The real trouble in today's existing home market is lack of supply. There are more new listings this spring than last, but supply is still 40% below where it was pre-pandemic.That's partly because current homeowners are plagued by a lock-in effect: They won't list their homes for sale because the cost of moving up is so high.In the 22 years before the Federal Reserve started raising rates in 2022, upgrading to a 25% more expensive home would have increased the average homeowner's monthly payment of principal and interest by 40%, or about $400 on average, according to data from ICE Mortgage Technology. Moving to a similar house across the street wouldn't change their payment at all.In stark contrast today, the average homeowner with a near record-low mortgage rate would see their monthly payment shoot up 132%, or roughly $1,800, in order to move up to a 25% more expensive home. Buying the same home they're in now would increase their monthly payment by 60%, according to ICE.Those increases represent national averages and can vary market to market. For example, moving up would add $604 to a homeowner's monthly payment in Buffalo, New York, an increase of 108%; and $4,517 in San Jose, California, an increase of 161%, according to the ICE data.""Lower rates would ease the calculation for many and make moves more reasonable. But the net result continues to be too few homes for too many buyers,"" said Andy Walden, ICE's vice president of enterprise research. ""Until that fundamental mismatch is addressed, simple supply and demand will continue to press on both inventory and affordability.""If rates fell to 6%, the monthly payment increase to trade up to a 25% more expensive home would ease from a 103% average jump to 88% – a modest but welcome improvement, according to Walden.If rates fell to 5%, moving up would require a 68% larger payment, still much higher than the long-run average of 39%, but perhaps enough to motivate someone with a compelling need or desire to upgrade.While not all borrowers have record-low rates, more do in pricey markets because the breakeven point on the cost of a refinance is typically lower for higher-balance borrowers, so they have more incentive to do it. They also likely have higher-balance loans, so moving up to a higher rate would be even costlier. That's why the lock-in effect is stronger in much of California, where homes are most expensive.The vast majority of borrowers today, 88.5%, have mortgages with rates below 6%, according to Redfin. Roughly 59% have rates below 4%, and close to 23% of homeowners have rates below 3%.Those shares are slightly lower than they were last year, because some people did choose to move in the last year, but it shows what the market is up against, especially given high and still-rising home prices.A new report from Zillow shows the U.S. now has a record-high 550 ""million-dollar"" cities, or cities where the typical home is worth $1 million or more. That is 59 more million-dollar cities than there were in 2023, when home values were weakening due to rising mortgage rates.",CNBC,02/04/2024,"['The spring housing market is defying expectations that prices would cool and competition would ease.', ""Higher mortgage rates usually cool both prices and demand, as they did last year, but that's not the case now."", ""There are still too few homes for sale because current homeowners can't afford to move, and it's keeping prices high."", 'Home prices in February were 5.5% higher than they were in February of last year, according to CoreLogic.', ""That annual comparison is shrinking slightly, but the price gain from January to February was nearly twice what it normally is for that time of year, suggesting this spring's market started out strong despite higher interest rates."", 'The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hit its latest high in October, briefly crossing over 8%.', 'It then dropped back into the 6% range for much of December and all of January.', 'It rose back over 7% in February, which should have cooled the market.', 'But sales of newly built homes, which are counted by contracts signed during the month, were nearly 6% higher in February year over year.', 'Pending sales of existing homes, also based on signed contracts, were down 7% that month from the year before, but not for lack of demand.', ""The real trouble in today's existing home market is lack of supply."", 'There are more new listings this spring than last, but supply is still 40% below where it was pre-pandemic.', ""That's partly because current homeowners are plagued by a lock-in effect: They won't list their homes for sale because the cost of moving up is so high."", ""In the 22 years before the Federal Reserve started raising rates in 2022, upgrading to a 25% more expensive home would have increased the average homeowner's monthly payment of principal and interest by 40%, or about $400 on average, according to data from ICE Mortgage Technology."", ""Moving to a similar house across the street wouldn't change their payment at all."", 'In stark contrast today, the average homeowner with a near record-low mortgage rate would see their monthly payment shoot up 132%, or roughly $1,800, in order to move up to a 25% more expensive home.', ""Buying the same home they're in now would increase their monthly payment by 60%, according to ICE.Those increases represent national averages and can vary market to market."", ""For example, moving up would add $604 to a homeowner's monthly payment in Buffalo, New York, an increase of 108%; and $4,517 in San Jose, California, an increase of 161%, according to the ICE data."", '""Lower rates would ease the calculation for many and make moves more reasonable.', 'But the net result continues to be too few homes for too many buyers,"" said Andy Walden, ICE\'s vice president of enterprise research. ""', 'Until that fundamental mismatch is addressed, simple supply and demand will continue to press on both inventory and affordability.', '""If rates fell to 6%, the monthly payment increase to trade up to a 25% more expensive home would ease from a 103% average jump to 88% – a modest but welcome improvement, according to Walden.', 'If rates fell to 5%, moving up would require a 68% larger payment, still much higher than the long-run average of 39%, but perhaps enough to motivate someone with a compelling need or desire to upgrade.', 'While not all borrowers have record-low rates, more do in pricey markets because thebreakeven point on the cost of a refinance is typically lower for higher-balance borrowers, so they have more incentive to do it.', 'They also likely have higher-balance loans, so moving up to a higher rate would be even costlier.', ""That's why the lock-in effect is stronger in much of California, where homes are most expensive."", 'The vast majority of borrowers today, 88.5%, have mortgages with rates below 6%, according to Redfin.', 'Roughly 59% have rates below 4%, and close to 23% of homeowners have rates below 3%.Those shares are slightly lower than they were last year, because some people did choose to move in the last year, but it shows what the market is up against, especially given high and still-rising home prices.', 'A new report from Zillow shows the U.S. now has a record-high 550 ""million-dollar"" cities, or cities where the typical home is worth $1 million or more.', 'That is 59 more million-dollar cities than there were in 2023, when home values were weakening due to rising mortgage rates.']",0.1432220879543183,"""If rates fell to 6%, the monthly payment increase to trade up to a 25% more expensive home would ease from a 103% average jump to 88% – a modest but welcome improvement, according to Walden.",The real trouble in today's existing home market is lack of supply.,0.3411039348159517,"But sales of newly built homes, which are counted by contracts signed during the month, were nearly 6% higher in February year over year.","Pending sales of existing homes, also based on signed contracts, were down 7% that month from the year before, but not for lack of demand.",2024-04-08
-"Retailers like Peloton and Saks keep paying vendors late, signaling possible 'financial distress'",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/retailers-like-peloton-saks-express-are-late-on-vendor-bills.html,2024-04-04T19:22:30+0000,"In this articleIn the months before Bed Bath & Beyond declared bankruptcy last April, the former home goods titan was trapped in a crushing cycle. The retailer had been failing to pay its vendors on time, if at all. During the pivotal holiday season, some began requiring payment when goods were delivered or refusing orders altogether, which left Bed Bath unable to stock shelves. Running low on cash and needing a strong holiday quarter, the retailer's position — and in turn its relationship with vendors — only got worse. The cycle continued until the big boxer succumbed to bankruptcy, and was liquidated a few months later. Similar dynamics accelerated the demise of other once-ubiquitous retailers, such as RadioShack and Toys R Us. While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks.Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months. But when companies have sudden fluctuations in unpaid bills, at the same time their sales fall or debts rise, late-payment rates help to build a picture of which businesses could face financial risks in the coming months and years if their operations don't improve.In some cases, Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works were later on their bills than usual, indicating they could be struggling to manage cash flows or planning for revenue fluctuations.""It is generally a telltale sign of financial distress,"" Perry Mandarino, the head of restructuring at B. Riley Securities, told CNBC in an interview. ""It's either they have liquidity issues, or they don't care."" To be sure, late payments don't always signal financial troubles. Some large retailers with many vendors could have a healthy balance sheet, but because they have leverage they could decide to pay their suppliers when it's convenient to them, said Mandarino. Those instances are bigger issues for vendors than for retailers.In other cases, inconsistent payments could indicate cash flow issues, especially when companies aren't profitable and have high debt. It's not unusual for a business to pay a vendor 10 days late, if that's what it typically does. But if that cadence suddenly changes, it's cause for concern, said Mandarino. Creditsafe's insights are based in part on companies' payment history with suppliers, collected through its ""global network of partners and trade payment contributors."" The firm uses the data and other insights to determine a company's credit risk. Investment banks also use the information when deciding lending terms with a company, or to gauge whether a business is in financial distress. The information is regularly updated, and the data used in this report was current as of last Wednesday.Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla said payment data is only one factor the firm considers when assessing a company's financial health.Though the data ""doesn't represent a company's total trading behavior, analysis has proven that it is hugely predictive of a company's financial health and creditworthiness,"" Bhalla said.The connected fitness company paid most of its bills on time in November, but the percentage of late payments spiked in December. It dipped in January, before jumping again in February, according to Creditsafe's report.""When the number of late payments increases like this, it's often indicative of financial challenges and poor cash flow forecasting,"" Creditsafe said.Peloton has consistently failed to reach positive free cash flow, it said in February when announcing fiscal second quarter earnings. CEO Barry McCarthy, who previously told employees that ""Cash is oxygen"" and ""Oxygen is life,"" aimed to achieve positive free cash flow by February. But the company has said it now expects to meet that goal during its fiscal fourth quarter, which concludes at the end of June. The company is struggling with cash flow partially because it's not selling enough of its exercise equipment, which is costly to make, according to an analysis of Peloton's securities filings. Demand has fallen since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns ended.In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier. The company is trying to return to growth by June, later than previously expected.Peloton makes plenty of money from subscriptions and could increase cash flow ""somewhat immediately"" if it focuses on sustaining its customer base rather than growing significantly, Simeon Siegel, senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told CNBC.""My view is, you can have a brand that's simply a good brand that generates a lot of cash and none of us will ever complain about liquidity, but that's not what's happening, they have to want to do that,"" said Siegel. Siegel said he's not concerned about Peloton's burn rate. But if the company cannot boost sales or cut costs, his view could change next year when it will need to make payments toward its term loan, Siegel said. Peloton's term loan requires it to pay down at least $800 million of its convertible notes by next November to avoid triggering an early maturity, he said.A Peloton spokesperson called Creditsafe's data ""inaccurate"" and said it doesn't align with the company's own payment information.""We have excellent relationships with our vendor partners and do not see the same fluctuations or monthly drivers in payment times that are being reported,"" the spokesperson said.Peloton uses a metric known as days payable outstanding (DPO) which it deems as being more accurate, the spokesperson said, and shows that payments are ""timely and consistent."" The metric, which can be approximated with a simple formula using information from a company's public filings, shows on average how long it takes businesses to pay bills and invoices. Peloton's DPO was largely consistent over the last six quarters, but the number has ticked up until it jumped to 104 days in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to CNBC estimates. The DPO was 95.5 days in the year-earlier period.The spokesperson added that Peloton is not facing a liquidity crunch.""Peloton is also adequately capitalized to execute our strategic objectives, and our access to capital remains strong. Our publicly reported cash and cash equivalents reinforce this,"" the spokesperson said.Creditsafe has classified Peloton as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.The private department store chain came under fire late last year after numerous vendors said Saks hadn't paid them, leading some brands to tighten orders or stop shipping products altogether. The rumors first arose on social media and were later confirmed by Business of Fashion. In a quarterly letter to vendors made public in December, CEO Marc Metrick insisted to his suppliers that the company has ""sufficient liquidity and a sound balance sheet,"" Women's Wear Daily reported. ""As we carefully manage our business against the industry wide softness in the U.S. luxury market, we are confident in our ability to continue meeting our financial obligations,"" Metrick wrote, according to the outlet. Creditsafe's data show a company increasingly behind on its bills. While Saks often made late payments last year, its on-time payments have dropped significantly since October 2023, the firm said.The average number of days that Saks is paying its bills late has also fluctuated.In response, a company spokesperson told CNBC, ""We believe the numbers you shared are incorrect.""To keep operations afloat, Saks' parent company HBC secured $200 million in capital and amended the terms of its revolving credit facility in February. The liquidity infusion will be used for ""growth initiatives"" and ""general working capital purposes,"" the retailer said in a news release. Creditsafe has classified Saks as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.The apparel retailer's business has faced pressure as discretionary spending slows and it manages a mounting pile of debt.The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release. Express had about $280 million in debt as of Oct. 28, with just $34.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its cash on hand improved from the prior-year period, but its ratio of assets to liabilities was under 1 at the time, indicating it didn't have sufficient assets to cover its liabilities, according to securities filings.In February, The Wall Street Journal reported Express is looking to restructure its debt and could be headed for bankruptcy if its lenders don't amend their repayment options or agree to give it more cash.Preventing bankruptcy also depends on whether Express's vendors will keep fulfilling orders without tightening payment schedules, which would only put more pressure on the retailer, the outlet said. Given the recent payment trends provided by Creditsafe, Express is already struggling to keep up.The average number of days that Express was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts grew from nine in January to 15 in February. The percentage of payments that were late also increased in that time frame.""This constant up-and-down pattern with the company's [payments] indicates that its cash flow isn't stable and is likely being affected by revenue changes, debt and other factors,"" said Creditsafe.Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat. Express expects to get at least $48 million back from the federal government, interim finance chief Mark Still said.He said the company is working with the IRS to move the claim forward ""given the importance of this receivable to our liquidity.""In the meantime, Express's newly appointment CEO Stewart Glendinning, who took the helm of the company in September after CEO Tim Baxter resigned, said he's working on recovering the company's ""full profit potential,"" including by cutting more costs, he told analysts during Express's third quarter earnings call in November.As of Monday's close, Express's stock was down about 83% year to date. On March 6, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because it couldn't sustain a market capitalization of at least $15 million for 30 consecutive trading days.Express has not announced a reporting date for its fourth quarter and full-year results, which it reported last year on March 24. Creditsafe has classified Express as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.Express didn't return a request for comment on the report.The home and body care retailer has seen sales slump as demand for its candles and soaps normalized after a pandemic boom. But it's regularly profitable, and had enough assets to cover its liabilities in the three months ended Feb. 3, securities filings show. Still, its payment patterns have been ""erratic"" over the last year, according to Creditsafe. While it may not face imminent risk of default, an unpredictable payment history could weigh against Bath & Body Works if it's looking to shore up fresh financing or secure new suppliers, said Bhalla, Creditsafe's spokesperson.The average number of days that Bath & Body Works was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts stood at 10 in September and October, and then grew to 22 and 28 in November and January, respectively. The percentage of payments that were late have also risen since December.Bloomberg data shows the average number of days that bills remained unpaid fell slightly from 37.63 in fiscal 2022 to 36.93 in fiscal 2023.""Bath & Body Works values being a good partner for our vendors,"" the company told CNBC. ""This is evident in our data — as reflected on reputable financial reporting platforms — which shows us providing consistent timely payment.""Creditsafe has classified Bath & Body Works as being at a ""moderate risk"" of failure.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleIn the months before Bed Bath & Beyond declared bankruptcy last April, the former home goods titan was trapped in a crushing cycle.', 'The retailer had been failing to pay its vendors on time, if at all.', 'During the pivotal holiday season, some began requiring payment when goods were delivered or refusing orders altogether, which left Bed Bath unable to stock shelves.', ""Running low on cash and needing a strong holiday quarter, the retailer's position — and in turn its relationship with vendors — only got worse."", 'The cycle continued until the big boxer succumbed to bankruptcy, and was liquidated a few months later.', 'Similar dynamics accelerated the demise of other once-ubiquitous retailers, such as RadioShack and Toys R Us.', ""While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks."", 'Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months.', ""But when companies have sudden fluctuations in unpaid bills, at the same time their sales fall or debts rise, late-payment rates help to build a picture of which businesses could face financial risks in the coming months and years if their operations don't improve."", 'In some cases, Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works were later on their bills than usual, indicating they could be struggling to manage cash flows or planning for revenue fluctuations.', '""It is generally a telltale sign of financial distress,"" Perry Mandarino, the head of restructuring at B. Riley Securities, told CNBC in an interview. ""', ""It's either they have liquidity issues, or they don't care."", '""To be sure, late payments don\'t always signal financial troubles.', ""Some large retailers with many vendors could have a healthy balance sheet, but because they have leverage they could decide to pay their suppliers when it's convenient to them, said Mandarino."", 'Those instances are bigger issues for vendors than for retailers.', ""In other cases, inconsistent payments could indicate cash flow issues, especially when companies aren't profitable and have high debt."", ""It's not unusual for a business to pay a vendor 10 days late, if that's what it typically does."", ""But if that cadence suddenly changes, it's cause for concern, said Mandarino."", 'Creditsafe\'s insights are based in part on companies\' payment history with suppliers, collected through its ""global network of partners and trade payment contributors.', '""The firm uses the data and other insights to determine a company\'s credit risk.', 'Investment banks also use the information when deciding lending terms with a company, or to gauge whether a business is in financial distress.', 'The information is regularly updated, and the data used in this report was current as of last Wednesday.', ""Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla said payment data is only one factor the firm considers when assessing a company's financial health."", 'Though the data ""doesn\'t represent a company\'s total trading behavior, analysis has proven that it is hugely predictive of a company\'s financial health and creditworthiness,"" Bhalla said.', 'The connected fitness company paid most of its bills on time in November, but the percentage of late payments spiked in December.', ""It dipped in January, before jumping again in February, according to Creditsafe's report."", '""When the number of late payments increases like this, it\'s often indicative of financial challenges and poor cash flow forecasting,"" Creditsafe said.', 'Peloton has consistently failed to reach positive free cash flow, it said in February when announcing fiscal second quarter earnings.', 'CEO Barry McCarthy, who previously told employees that ""Cash is oxygen"" and ""Oxygen is life,"" aimed to achieve positive free cash flow by February.', 'But the company has said it now expects to meet that goal during its fiscal fourth quarter, which concludes at the end of June.', ""The company is struggling with cash flow partially because it's not selling enough of its exercise equipment, which is costly to make,according to an analysis of Peloton's securities filings."", 'Demand has fallen since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns ended.', 'In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier.', 'The company is trying to return to growth by June, later than previously expected.', 'Peloton makes plenty of money from subscriptions and could increase cash flow ""somewhat immediately"" if it focuses on sustaining its customer base rather than growing significantly, Simeon Siegel, senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told CNBC.""My view is, you can have a brand that\'s simply a good brand that generates a lot of cash and none of us will ever complain about liquidity, but that\'s not what\'s happening, they have to want to do that,"" said Siegel.', ""Siegel said he's not concerned about Peloton's burn rate."", 'But if the company cannot boost sales or cut costs, his view could change next year when it will need to make payments toward its term loan, Siegel said.', ""Peloton's term loan requires it to pay down at least $800 million of its convertible notes by next November to avoid triggering an early maturity, he said."", 'A Peloton spokesperson called Creditsafe\'s data ""inaccurate"" and said it doesn\'t align with the company\'s own payment information.', '""We have excellent relationships with our vendor partners and do not see the same fluctuations or monthly drivers in payment times that are being reported,"" the spokesperson said.', 'Peloton uses a metric known as days payable outstanding (DPO) which it deems as being more accurate, the spokesperson said, and shows that payments are ""timely and consistent.""', ""The metric, which can be approximated with a simple formula using information from a company's public filings, shows on average how long it takes businesses to pay bills and invoices."", ""Peloton's DPO was largely consistent over the last six quarters, but the number has ticked up until itjumpedto 104 days in the three months ended Dec. 31,according to CNBC estimates."", 'The DPO was 95.5 days in the year-earlier period.', 'The spokesperson added that Peloton is not facing a liquidity crunch.', '""Peloton is also adequately capitalized to execute our strategic objectives, and our access to capital remains strong.', 'Our publicly reported cash and cash equivalents reinforce this,"" the spokesperson said.', 'Creditsafe has classified Peloton as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""The private department store chain came under fire late last year after numerous vendors said Saks hadn't paid them, leading some brands to tighten orders or stop shipping products altogether."", 'The rumors first arose on social media and were later confirmed by Business of Fashion.', 'In a quarterly letter to vendors made public in December, CEO Marc Metrick insisted to his suppliers that the company has ""sufficient liquidity and a sound balance sheet,"" Women\'s Wear Daily reported.', '""As we carefully manage our business against the industry wide softness in the U.S. luxury market, we are confident in our ability to continue meeting our financial obligations,"" Metrick wrote, according to the outlet.', ""Creditsafe's data show a company increasingly behind on its bills."", 'While Saks often made late payments last year, its on-time payments have dropped significantly since October 2023, the firm said.', 'The average number of days that Saks is paying its bills late has also fluctuated.', 'In response, a company spokesperson told CNBC, ""We believe the numbers you shared are incorrect.', '""To keep operations afloat, Saks\' parent company HBC secured $200 million in capital and amended the terms of its revolving credit facility in February.', 'The liquidity infusion will be used for ""growth initiatives"" and ""general working capital purposes,"" the retailer said in a news release.', 'Creditsafe has classified Saks as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""The apparel retailer's business has faced pressure as discretionary spending slows and it manages a mounting pile of debt."", ""The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release."", 'Express had about $280 million in debt as of Oct. 28, with just $34.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.', ""Its cash on hand improved from the prior-year period, but its ratio of assets to liabilities was under 1 at the time, indicating it didn't have sufficient assets to cover its liabilities, according to securities filings."", ""In February, The Wall Street Journal reported Express is looking to restructure its debt and could be headed for bankruptcy if its lenders don't amend their repayment options or agree to give it more cash."", ""Preventing bankruptcy also depends on whether Express's vendors will keep fulfilling orders without tightening payment schedules, which would only put more pressure on the retailer, the outlet said."", 'Given the recent payment trends provided by Creditsafe, Express is already struggling to keep up.', 'The average number of days that Express was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts grew from nine in January to 15 in February.', 'The percentage of payments that were late also increased in that time frame.', '""This constant up-and-down pattern with the company\'s [payments] indicates that its cash flow isn\'t stable and is likely being affected by revenue changes, debt and other factors,"" said Creditsafe.', ""Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat."", 'Express expects to get at least $48 million back from the federal government, interim finance chief Mark Still said.', 'He said the company is working with the IRS to move the claim forward ""given the importance of this receivable to our liquidity.', '""In the meantime, Express\'s newly appointment CEO Stewart Glendinning, who took the helm of the company in September after CEO Tim Baxter resigned, said he\'s working on recovering the company\'s ""full profit potential,"" including by cutting more costs, he told analysts during Express\'s third quarter earnings call in November.', ""As of Monday's close, Express's stock was down about 83% year to date."", ""On March 6, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because it couldn't sustain a market capitalization of at least $15 million for 30 consecutive trading days."", 'Express has not announced a reporting date for its fourth quarter and full-year results, which it reported last year on March 24.Creditsafe has classified Express as being at a ""high risk"" of failure.', ""Express didn't return a request for comment on the report."", 'The home and body care retailer has seen sales slump as demand for its candles and soaps normalized after a pandemic boom.', ""But it's regularly profitable, and had enough assets to cover its liabilities in the three months ended Feb. 3, securities filings show."", 'Still, its payment patterns have been ""erratic"" over the last year, according to Creditsafe.', ""While it may not face imminent risk of default, an unpredictable payment history could weigh against Bath & Body Works if it's looking to shore up fresh financing or secure new suppliers, said Bhalla, Creditsafe's spokesperson."", 'The average number of days that Bath & Body Works was paying its bills past the terms of its vendor contracts stood at 10 in September and October, and then grew to 22 and 28 in November and January, respectively.', 'The percentage of payments that were late have also risen since December.', 'Bloomberg data shows the average number of days that bills remained unpaid fell slightly from 37.63 in fiscal 2022 to 36.93 in fiscal 2023.""Bath&BodyWorksvalues being a good partner for our vendors,"" the company told CNBC. ""', 'This is evident in our data — as reflected on reputable financial reporting platforms — which shows us providing consistent timely payment.', '""Creditsafe has classified Bath & Body Works as being at a ""moderate risk"" of failure.']",0.0288589770897477,"Executives told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that it's banking on an infusion of cash from the IRS under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help keep operations afloat.","While the factors that led to their downfalls varied, failing to pay vendors on time is often a sign of financial distress or an early indicator of bankruptcy risk, experts have told CNBC.Retailers including Peloton, Saks, Express and Bath & Body Works have often failed to pay their vendors on time in the last few months, according to new data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks.",-0.1500539213924084,"The company's operational spending rose in the first three quarters of its fiscal year from the prior year, according to its third-quarter earnings release.","In the three months ended Dec. 31, Peloton reported a net loss of $194.9 million, while sales fell to $743.6 million, down 6% from a year earlier.",2024-04-08
-"Spire Global bets on AI to help improve weather forecasts, with boost from Nvidia",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/spire-global-nvidia-see-potential-in-using-ai-to-help-predict-weather.html,2024-04-05T15:19:51+0000,"In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia.""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC's Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast. ""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service. It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting. In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.Follow and listen to CNBC's ""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia's generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire's satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.",CNBC,05/04/2024,"['In this articleArtificial intelligence has been instrumental to weather forecast modeling for years, and recent breakthroughs in generative AI dangle the possibility of it becoming more accurate.', ""That's what Spire Global is betting on in its recently announced partnership with AI darling Nvidia."", '""What deep learning and neural networks and generative AI have done is they have shifted the power from those who have access to supercomputers a bit more to those who have access to super data,"" Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire Global, told CNBC\'s Morgan Brennan in an interview on CNBC\'s ""Manifest Space"" podcast.', '""Because the supercomputer side with a model has been replaced with hyper efficient GPUs [graphics processing units], you can run something that used to take eight hours, and you can now run it in eight seconds,"" he explained. ""', 'For us, that has been always a vision that we knew eventually was going to come, so when this [Nvidia] partnership became possible, we jumped on that.', '""Twelve-year old Spire Global is in the radio frequency sensing business, operating a satellite constellation that collects space-based radio frequency data that can be analyzed and sold as a service.', 'It offers information on weather, climate, and ship and aircraft movements, as well as has a space services business.', 'The opportunity in weather forecasting, though, is huge: A third of the global economy — roughly $30 trillion worth of global GDP — ranging from trade to agriculture to power generation is subject to weather, according to Platzer.', 'He estimates there are some 175 major use cases across up to 200,000 customers or customer types globally when it comes to weather forecasting.', 'In other words, the need for more accurate forecasts, particularly with more lead time, is in high demand.', 'Follow and listen to CNBC\'s""Manifest Space"" podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.', 'So what does this collaboration with Nvidia entail? ""', 'It allows us access to their infrastructure to serve our customers better, with more valuable products and new use cases … and them access to our data to improve their modeling, their machinery,"" Platzer said.', 'Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.', ""As has been the case with a growing list of companies working with the semiconductor stalwart, investors reacted favorably to the news, which was disclosed at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in March."", 'Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a ""digital twin"" of Earth called Earth-2 onstage that essentially pairs the open cloud platform with Nvidia\'s generative AI model CorrDiff and Spire\'s satellite data to improve existing weather and climate prediction models.', 'Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.', 'Spire then raised $30 million through a direct offering of common stock to two institutional investors — an offering that closed last week.', '""We had a number of investors competing to get in on the Spire story,"" Platzer said. ""', ""For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability."", '""Spire Global forecasts achieving positive free cash flow this summer, or by the third quarter of 2024.']",0.3070225516946503,"For us, it means that we can deliver the balance sheet, we can lower our cost of capital, we can create more flexibility … we're going to have fewer debt payments, which increases our free cash flow and that helps us on that path to free cash flow profitability.","Nonetheless, ""at this point in time there is no immediate economic flow from Nvidia to Spire or vice versa,"" he noted.",0.96539615922504,"Spire Global, a small capitalization stock that went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, shot up roughly 40% in response.",,2024-04-08
-OpenAI’s wild week. How the Sam Altman story unfolded,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/22/tech/openai-sam-altman-chaos-explained-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        3:32 PM EST, Wed November 22, 2023
-    ","In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.
-    
-            Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps the most visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move. Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.
-    
-            The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held its first-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.
-    
-            If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
-    
-            Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.
-    
-            Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.
-    
-            Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board. The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.
-    
-            OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.
-    
-            Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”
-    
-            Brockman promptly quit. “Please don’t spend any time being concerned. We will be fine,” Brockman said in a Friday post on X. “Greater things coming soon.”
-    
-            A key factor in the CEO’s firing was tension between Altman, who favored developing AI more aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously, according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher, who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.
-    
-            Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.
-    
-            OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.
-    
-            By Sunday afternoon, Altman was back at OpenAI’s headquarters — this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion. A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.
-    
-            But those talks broke down.
-    
-            As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group. At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch. Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.
-    
-            In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.
-    
-            But OpenAI employees were not convinced. More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman. They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.
-    
-            Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited. one team, one mission.”
-    
-            The drama was far from over. The Verge reported Monday afternoon that Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.
-    
-            And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.
-    
-            “Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”
-    
-            Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.
-    
-            “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.
-    
-            “We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.
-    
-            In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altman wrote that he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.
-    
-            It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return. Posting on X, Shear wrote: “I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”
-    
-            Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to his post on X.
-    
-            Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found. And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.
-    
-            “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadella said on X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”",CNN,22/11/2023,"['In a year of wild tech stories that has seen Elon Musk transform Twitter, cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapse and Silicon Valley Bank implode, this week’s whiplash-inducing turmoil at OpenAI is among the most captivating.', 'Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.', 'Less than five days later, he’s back as the company’s CEO, now with a board that is, in theory, more supportive of his vision.', 'The series of extraordinary events unfolded just days after OpenAI held itsfirst-ever developer conference, where it laid out new, commercialized versions of its technology, including the option to customize its ChatGPT AI chatbot.', 'If you’re just catching up, here’s what you missed from a week so incredible you’d be forgiven for thinking the script could have been written by an early version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.', 'Around 3 p.m. ET, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI’s board that had been convened by fellow co-founder and OpenAI chief scientistIlya Sutskever, during which Altman was fired and told that the news would soon be made public.', 'Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and OpenAI president, that he would be removed from the board.', 'Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.', 'The board said Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, would become interim CEO.', 'OpenAI’s strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, were also reportedly informed of Altman’s ouster just minutes before the board’s announcement.', 'Hours after being fired, Altman posted on X that he “loved working with such talented people” and that he would have “more to say about what’s next later.”', 'Brockman promptly quit. “', 'Please don’t spend any time being concerned.', 'We will be fine,” Brockmansaid in a Friday poston X. “Greater things coming soon.”', 'A key factor in the CEO’s firing wastension between Altman, who favored developing AImore aggressively, and members of the OpenAI board, who wanted to move more cautiously,according to CNN contributor Kara Swisher,who spoke to sources knowledgeable about the unfolding events.', 'Within 24 hours of Altman being fired, reports emerged that he and other ex-OpenAI loyalists were mulling plans for their own venture.', 'OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return.', 'By Sunday afternoon, Altman wasback at OpenAI’s headquarters— this time with a guest badge — to negotiate his potential return.', 'Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussion.', 'A 5 p.m. PT deadline was reportedly set for the board to agree to Altman’s demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft, and reinstating him as CEO.', 'But those talks broke down.', 'As Sunday turned into Monday, Nadella tweeted that Altman, along with Brockman, would join Microsoft to run a new AI research group.', 'At OpenAI, the group found a new interim CEO: Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service, Twitch.', 'Murati would return to her role as OpenAI’s chief technology officer.', 'In a post on X early Monday, Shear, who left his role at Twitch in March, described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.', 'He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened in the lead-up to Altman’s firing.', 'But OpenAI employees were not convinced.', 'More than 500 staffers signed an open letter calling on the company’s board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman.', 'They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.', 'Altman posted on X, saying, “we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before.', 'we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited.', 'one team, one mission.”', 'The drama was far from over.', 'The Verge reported Monday afternoonthat Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members who fired him resign.', 'And Nadella, speaking to CNBC, said he was “open to both options” when asked whether Altman would actually join Microsoft.', '“Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” Nadella said. “', 'We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft.”', 'Altmanwas reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s CEO, the company said on X.  “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board,” the company said, adding that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce.', 'Former Treasury SecretaryLarry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEOAdam D’Angelo.', '“We are collaborating to figure out the details,” it said.', 'In his own post on X, formerly Twitter, Altmanwrotethat he is “looking forward” to returning to OpenAI and building on the firm’s “strong partnership” with Microsoft.', 'It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return.', 'Posting on X, Shear wrote:“I am deeply pleased by this result, after (some) 72 very intense hours of work … I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.”', 'Brockman is also returning to OpenAI, according to hispost on X.  Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found.', 'And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.', '“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”']",0.062777217389235,"“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadellasaidon X. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”","Around 3:30 p.m. ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board.",0.549453833273479,And Microsoft has wrested more control over the company it has backed with billions to bolster its ambitions in developing AI.,"Sam Altman — the leader of one of the world’s most influential AI companies, OpenAI, and perhaps themost visible figure in the fledgling industry — was fired Friday night by the startup’s directors in a surprise move.",2024-04-08
-Top soccer clubs are using an AI-powered app to scout future stars,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/tech/aiscout-app-soccer-scouting-spc-intl/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:14 AM EST, Fri March 1, 2024
-    ","A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.
-    
-            Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills. It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.
-    
-            Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.
-    
-            The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.
-    
-            “We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.
-    
-            “To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”
-    
-            It already appears to be working for some. Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019. After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club. He signed a contract with EPL team Bournemouth in 2021.
-    
-            Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.
-    
-            Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.
-    
-            Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform. Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.
-    
-            The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, including AI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes. The global market for sports analytics, valued at $2.7 billion in 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.
-    
-            Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry? For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.
-    
-            “It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.
-    
-            “We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity? What happens when he’s 2-0 down? What happens when someone’s shouting at him? What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”
-    
-            “We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”
-    
-            While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years. Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.
-    
-            “You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.",CNN,01/03/2024,"['A London-based technology company is looking to “democratize” talent-identification and scouting in soccer using a mobile app.', 'Free to download and available globally, the aiScout app allows aspiring soccer stars to enter virtual trials for professional clubs by uploading self-recorded footage of themselves completing a series of drills.', 'It offers 75 exercises, designed to test a range of skills, with videos showing users how to complete them.', 'Performances are automatically scored by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.', 'The data can then be accessed by clubs, allowing their scouts to peruse scores for viable talent, honing their search with a variety of filters; from age and gender to position on the pitch.', 'The app currently has two English Premier League (EPL) partners, Chelsea and Burnley, and clubs can tailor their in-app trials to meet specific needs and set their own benchmarks by having their academy players complete the same drills.', '“We’re putting that data up front to make better use of [the scouts’] time,” said Richard Felton-Thomas, chief operating officer of ai.io, the company behind the app.', '“To say [to scouts], ‘Go over to this place today because there’s three players in that game that are all actually beating your Chelsea standard’ — that’s going to be the best use of your time.’”', 'It already appears to be working for some.', 'Ben Greenwood had never had a trial with a professional club until he downloaded the app in 2019.', 'After uploading footage of himself, the 17-year-old landed a trial with Chelsea, becoming the first user of the app to get a trial with a pro club.', 'He signed a contractwith EPL team Bournemouthin 2021.', 'Having beta-tested in with players spanning 125 countries, Greenwood among them, 135 players have been trialed or signed by pro clubs or national teams through the app — which fully launched in September 2023 — according to Felton-Thomas.', 'Just over 100,000 players make up the current database, but with over 100 clubs lined up to join Chelsea and Burnley, as well as a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer in the US announced last May, Felton-Thomas projects user numbers to surge into the millions as the operation ramps up this year.', 'Felton-Thomas said the “lion’s share” of its income comes from charging clubs a license fee to run the platform.', 'Annual fees vary depending on the size of the club and the tools they require, ranging from six figures for “tier one” sides like Chelsea, to thousands of pounds for clubs lower down the footballing pyramid.', 'The use of smart technology in sport continues to expand, includingAI commentary tools and wearable tech for elite athletes.', 'The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.', 'Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?', 'For Felton-Thomas, new technologies can co-exist with traditional methods.', '“It’s more about evolution than revolution,” Felton-Thomas explained.', '“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?', 'What happens when he’s 2-0 down?', 'What happens when someone’s shouting at him?', 'What happens when he’s just made a massive mistake?”', '“We’ve got the ability to just augment real people to do their jobs better and faster, which then gives an opportunity to the player through the AI, but you’re still actually just connecting them to the human on the other side, which is the club and the scout.”', 'While football remains ai.io’s primary focus, the company is looking into opportunities in other sports to launch in the coming years.', 'Further ahead, it may branch out beyond sports.', '“You think about the notion that you can be at home and analyze your movements, and how this could spin into health care, physical assessments for military disciplines and emergency services,” Felton-Thomas told CNN.']",0.2022322827681825,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.","“We can’t tell you when that player’s actually in that match, how does he deal with adversity?",0.6922526359558105,"The global market for sports analytics, valued at$2.7 billionin 2023, is projected to grow 22% by the end of the decade, according to market research firm Grand View Research.",Should soccer talent scouts be concerned about being edged out by the arrival of AI in their industry?,2024-04-08
-Alaska Airlines says Boeing paid it $160 million for 737 Max 9 grounding,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/boeing-pays-alaska-airlines-160-million-for-737-max-9-grounding.html,2024-04-04T15:00:57+0000,"In this articleBoeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation in the first quarter for the grounding of the 737 Max 9, according to the airline.The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the jets after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska when the flight was at 16,000 feet, coming inches from another tragedy involving Boeing's best-selling jet.Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.""Alaska said it expects additional compensation beyond the first quarter.Alaska also said demand was strong despite an immediate impact after the accident. ""Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations due to these core improvements,"" it said.The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.United Airlines' pilots union told members last week that the airline is offering pilots unpaid time off in May because of delayed Boeing deliveries, CNBC reported earlier this week.Boeing didn't immediately comment. The manufacturer and U.S. airlines report first-quarter results later in April.Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.",CNBC,04/04/2024,"['In this articleBoeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation in the first quarter for the grounding of the 737 Max 9, according to the airline.', ""The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the jets after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska when the flight was at 16,000 feet, coming inches from another tragedy involving Boeing's best-selling jet."", 'Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.', '""Alaska said it expects additional compensation beyond the first quarter.', 'Alaska also said demand was strong despite an immediate impact after the accident. ""', 'Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations due to these core improvements,"" it said.', 'The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.', ""United Airlines' pilots union told members last week that the airline is offering pilots unpaid time off in May because of delayed Boeing deliveries, CNBC reported earlier this week."", ""Boeing didn't immediately comment."", 'The manufacturer and U.S. airlines report first-quarter results later in April.', 'Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.']",0.0390682150286612,"Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.","The filing is an early look at what Boeing is providing its major customers due to the Jan. 5 accident, which has led to additional government scrutiny and a slowdown in aircraft deliveries and production.",0.0089905560016632,"Alaska shares were up more than 5% in morning trading, while Boeing was up 1%, compared with a 0.6% gain in the broader market.","Alaska said in a filing Thursday that its first-quarter ""results were significantly impacted by Flight 1282 in January and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding which extended into February.",2024-04-08
-Another big Chinese property developer faces a liquidation suit,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/business/china-shimao-group-liquidation-suit-intl-hnk/index.html,"
-  Published
-        2:32 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Shanghai-based property giant Shimao Group said on Monday that it had received a liquidation petition from a Chinese state-owned bank in yet another instance of creditors taking legal action to reclaim money from troubled developers in the world’s second-largest economy.
-    
-            A “winding-up petition” was filed against the company by China Construction Bank (Asia) on April 5 in Hong Kong, according to a stock exchange filing by Shimao. The petition is in “connection with a financial obligation of the company in the amount of approximately HK$1,579.5 million ($204 million),” the filing said.
-    
-            Shimao said it will “oppose the petition vigorously” and will continue to work toward an offshore restructuring that maximizes value for its stakeholders.
-    
-            “The company is of the view that the petition does not represent collective interests of the company’s offshore creditors and other stakeholders,” it said.
-    
-            Shimao’s debt troubles date back to July 2022, when it failed to pay the interest and principal on a $1 billion bond. The company’s shares were down over 14% in Hong Kong on Monday, having fallen nearly 40% this year.
-    
-            China’s massive real estate sector fell into trouble after the government clamped down on excessive borrowing by developers in 2020 in an attempt to cool the property bubble. Since then, dozens of Chinese developers have defaulted on their debts.
-    
-            The industry has since become a drag on the broader economy, which is grappling with a slow recovery from three years of pandemic lockdowns and a series of headwinds, from record-high youth unemployment to mounting financial stress at local governments.
-    
-            In January, Evergrande, the world’s most-indebted property developer and the poster child of China’s property crisis, was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court.
-    
-            The liquidation order, made by the city’s High Court, came after the embattled Chinese real estate giant and its overseas creditors failed to agree on how to restructure the company’s massive debt during talks that went on for 19 months.
-    
-            There are still questions about how the collapse of Evergrande will affect investors, thousands of workers and homebuyers waiting for their apartments.
-    
-            Country Garden, another major developer that defaulted on its debt last year,  received a liquidation petition in February from a creditor after not repaying a loan.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Shanghai-based property giantShimao Group said on Monday that it had received a liquidation petition from a Chinese state-owned bank in yet another instance of creditors taking legal action to reclaim money from troubled developers in the world’s second-largest economy.', 'A “winding-up petition” was filed against the company by China Construction Bank (Asia) on April 5 in Hong Kong, according to a stock exchange filing by Shimao.', 'The petition is in “connection with a financial obligation of the company in the amount of approximately HK$1,579.5 million ($204 million),” the filing said.', 'Shimao said it will “oppose the petition vigorously” and will continue to work toward an offshore restructuring that maximizes value for its stakeholders.', '“The company is of the view that the petition does not represent collective interests of the company’s offshore creditors and other stakeholders,” it said.', 'Shimao’s debt troubles date back to July 2022, when it failed to pay the interest and principal on a $1 billion bond.', 'The company’s shares were down over 14% in Hong Kong on Monday, having fallen nearly 40% this year.', 'China’s massive real estate sector fell into trouble after the government clamped down on excessive borrowing by developers in 2020 in an attempt to cool the property bubble.', 'Since then, dozens of Chinese developers have defaulted on their debts.', 'The industry has since become a drag on the broader economy, which is grappling with a slow recovery from three years of pandemic lockdowns and a series of headwinds, from record-high youth unemployment to mounting financial stress at local governments.', 'In January, Evergrande, the world’s most-indebted property developer and the poster child of China’s property crisis, was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court.', 'The liquidation order, made by the city’s High Court, came after the embattledChinese real estate giant and its overseas creditors failed to agree on how to restructure the company’s massive debt during talks that went on for 19 months.', 'There are still questions about how the collapse of Evergrande will affect investors, thousands of workers and homebuyers waiting for their apartments.', 'Country Garden, another major developer that defaulted on its debt last year, received a liquidation petition in February from a creditor after not repaying a loan.']",-0.2714076753345902,Shimao said it will “oppose the petition vigorously” and will continue to work toward an offshore restructuring that maximizes value for its stakeholders.,"The industry has since become a drag on the broader economy, which is grappling with a slow recovery from three years of pandemic lockdowns and a series of headwinds, from record-high youth unemployment to mounting financial stress at local governments.",-0.4964234456419945,Shanghai-based property giantShimao Group said on Monday that it had received a liquidation petition from a Chinese state-owned bank in yet another instance of creditors taking legal action to reclaim money from troubled developers in the world’s second-largest economy.,"The industry has since become a drag on the broader economy, which is grappling with a slow recovery from three years of pandemic lockdowns and a series of headwinds, from record-high youth unemployment to mounting financial stress at local governments.",2024-04-08
-Post Office scandal: Bosses earned millions despite Horizon scandal,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68452842,2024-04-07T01:16:11.000Z,"How much did the people running the Post Office get paid while the flawed Horizon system was in place? By looking through the company accounts for the Post Office and Royal Mail, the BBC has come up with a figure - £19.4m over 24 years. Before 2012, Royal Mail and the Post Office were part of the same organisation - and its three successive chief executives, John Roberts, Adam Crozier and Dame Moya Greene, made a total of £12.8m. All three of them are due to appear at Horizon Inquiry which resumes on 9 April.  From 2012 onwards, the chief executives of the separated Post Office, Paula Vennells then Nick Read, have made a total of £6.5m. That's an average of less than £1m a year - compared to the £3.91m the average boss of Britain's 100 biggest listed companies earned in 2022. It's a huge sum compared to the salary of average workers, or for sub-postmasters still waiting for compensation. The Post Office argues that it is a very large, complex business which has to compete with other organisations for talent, and uses external consultants to advise on executive pay. So who are the Post Office bosses and what did each of them earn? Mr Read, a former captain of Dragoons who had been chief executive of Nisa Retail, joined in September 2019, a few months after 550 sub-postmasters won a dramatic High Court victory.  He agreed a much higher base salary than his predecessor, Ms Vennells, earning £415,000 a year compared to her £255,000. However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.  As a result has ended up earning slightly less on average than Ms Vennells.   He returned £54,000 which was incorrectly paid for helping the Inquiry to finish - it's still ongoing. For 2022/23 he made a bonus of £137,000 out of the maximum £383,210 he might have hoped to earn. In February, it emerged the Post Office had asked government for permission to double his pay. Ms Vennells took over as Post Office managing director in 2010, and stayed in the top job until April 2019. This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.  A part-time Church of England vicar, she became one of the most recognisable faces of the scandal, featuring prominently in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office.  Ms Vennells earned £5.1m during her time at the helm of the Post Office, peaking at £718,300 in 2018. That year her base salary was £253,800 and she earned £390,800 in bonuses (plus pensions and other benefits).  Through her lawyers, Ms Vennells issued the following statement: ""I remain truly sorry for the suffering caused to sub-postmasters, their families and all those whose lives were torn apart by being... wrongly prosecuted. I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry."" Mr Crozier became the Royal Mail's chief executive in 2003, following roles as boss of the Football Association and the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi.  He regularly drew headlines for his high salary - he earned as much as £3m in pay and bonuses in 2007-08, raising the ire of unions protesting about the closure of thousands of Post Offices.  He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008. From 2003 to 2009 the Post Office secured more than 400 convictions in England and Wales using Horizon data, according to evidence released to the Inquiry.  At the time the Post Office was part of Royal Mail, but had a separate board which Mr Crozier didn't sit on. He said in a statement: ""While I did not have any involvement in the Horizon issue during my time at Royal Mail, I feel deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened.""  He left unexpectedly in 2010 to become chief executive of ITV. Canadian Dame Moya took over in July 2010, and earned a total of £1.88m before the Royal Mail formally split with the Post Office.  Mr Smith briefly filled in as managing director of the Post Office before Ms Vennells, from April to October 2010, before moving to chief customer officer of Royal Mail. He was the one who greeted the conviction of Seema Misra, the Postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed while pregnant, with the words ""brilliant news,"" according to evidence submitted at the Horizon Inquiry. He was paid £636,000 in 2010-11. Mr Cook was Post Office managing director from 2006 to 2010. He earned a total of £3m in that time, including £1.2m in his final year. He was quoted by his local newspaper, the Milton Keynes Citizen saying he would ""never forgive himself"" for not knowing that hundreds of people were being prosecuted while he was in charge. He said he didn't know there were problems with Horizon until shortly before he left.  In 2010, a long-term bonus scheme paid out to a number of Royal Mail bosses, including Mr Cook. That year the Post Office convicted 58 people in England and Wales.  Mr Mills, a former HSBC banker who founded the pioneering telephone bank First Direct, joined as Post Office chief executive in 2002.   He earned a total of £1.3m in pay and bonuses over four years, peaking at £816,000 in the year he left, 2006, which included £486,000 compensation for loss of office.  Mr Roberts, who spent his whole career at the Post Office, was chief executive for six years, a period he described as a ""rollercoaster ride"".  His time in office saw the disastrous launch of Horizon and the short-lived rebrand to ""Consignia"". From 1999 to his retirement in 2002 he earned £1.2m. In his last year he earned £225,852 including benefits (with a final-salary pension on top). He and the finance director Jerry Cope both agreed to waive their salary increases for 2001-2, citing the ""perilous state"" of the business. The next year he earned £503,000 which included £119,000 pay in lieu of notice.  John Roberts declined to comment. Alan Cook, Dame Moya Greene, and David Smith did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.   Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,07/04/2024,"['How much did the people running the Post Office get paid while the flawed Horizon system was in place?', 'By looking through the company accounts for the Post Office and Royal Mail, the BBC has come up with a figure - £19.4m over 24 years.', 'Before 2012, Royal Mail and the Post Office were part of the same organisation - and its three successive chief executives, John Roberts, Adam Crozier and Dame Moya Greene, made a total of £12.8m. All three of them are due to appear at Horizon Inquiry which resumes on 9 April.', ""From 2012 onwards, the chief executives of the separated Post Office, Paula Vennells then Nick Read, have made a total of £6.5m. That's an average of less than £1m a year - compared to the £3.91m the average boss of Britain's 100 biggest listed companies earned in 2022."", ""It's a huge sum compared to the salary of average workers, or for sub-postmasters still waiting for compensation."", 'The Post Office argues that it is a very large, complex business which has to compete with other organisations for talent, and uses external consultants to advise on executive pay.', 'So who are the Post Office bosses and what did each of them earn?', 'Mr Read, a former captain of Dragoons who had been chief executive of Nisa Retail, joined in September 2019, a few months after 550 sub-postmasters won a dramatic High Court victory.', 'He agreed a much higher base salary than his predecessor, Ms Vennells, earning £415,000 a year compared to her £255,000.', 'However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.', 'As a result has ended up earning slightly less on average than Ms Vennells.', ""He returned £54,000 which was incorrectly paid for helping the Inquiry to finish - it's still ongoing."", 'For 2022/23 he made a bonus of £137,000 out of the maximum £383,210 he might have hoped to earn.', 'In February, it emerged the Post Office had asked government for permission to double his pay.', 'Ms Vennells took over as Post Office managing director in 2010, and stayed in the top job until April 2019.', ""This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court."", 'A part-time Church of England vicar, she became one of the most recognisable faces of the scandal, featuring prominently in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office.', 'Ms Vennells earned £5.1m during her time at the helm of the Post Office, peaking at £718,300 in 2018.', 'That year her base salary was £253,800 and she earned £390,800 in bonuses (plus pensions and other benefits).', 'Through her lawyers, Ms Vennells issued the following statement: ""I remain truly sorry for the suffering caused to sub-postmasters, their families and all those whose lives were torn apart by being... wrongly prosecuted.', 'I continue to fully support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry.""', ""Mr Crozier became the Royal Mail's chief executive in 2003, following roles as boss of the Football Association and the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi."", 'He regularly drew headlines for his high salary - he earned as much as £3m in pay and bonuses in 2007-08, raising the ire of unions protesting about the closure of thousands of Post Offices.', 'He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008.', 'From 2003 to 2009 the Post Office secured more than 400 convictions in England and Wales using Horizon data, according to evidence released to the Inquiry.', ""At the time the Post Office was part of Royal Mail, but had a separate board which Mr Crozier didn't sit on."", 'He said in a statement: ""While I did not have any involvement in the Horizon issue during my time at Royal Mail, I feel deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened.""', 'He left unexpectedly in 2010 to become chief executive of ITV.', 'Canadian Dame Moya took over in July 2010, and earned a total of £1.88m before the Royal Mail formally split with the Post Office.', 'Mr Smith briefly filled in as managing director of the Post Office before Ms Vennells, from April to October 2010, before moving to chief customer officer of Royal Mail.', 'He was the one who greeted the conviction of Seema Misra, the Postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed while pregnant, with the words ""brilliant news,"" according to evidence submitted at the Horizon Inquiry.', 'He was paid £636,000 in 2010-11.', 'Mr Cook was Post Office managing director from 2006 to 2010.', 'He earned a total of £3m in that time, including £1.2m in his final year.', 'He was quoted by his local newspaper, the Milton Keynes Citizen saying he would ""never forgive himself"" for not knowing that hundreds of people were being prosecuted while he was in charge.', ""He said he didn't know there were problems with Horizon until shortly before he left."", 'In 2010, a long-term bonus scheme paid out to a number of Royal Mail bosses, including Mr Cook.', 'That year the Post Office convicted 58 people in England and Wales.', 'Mr Mills, a former HSBC banker who founded the pioneering telephone bank First Direct, joined as Post Office chief executive in 2002.', 'He earned a total of £1.3m in pay and bonuses over four years, peaking at £816,000 in the year he left, 2006, which included £486,000 compensation for loss of office.', 'Mr Roberts, who spent his whole career at the Post Office, was chief executive for six years, a period he described as a ""rollercoaster ride"".', 'His time in office saw the disastrous launch of Horizon and the short-lived rebrand to ""Consignia"".', 'From 1999 to his retirement in 2002 he earned £1.2m. In his last year he earned £225,852 including benefits (with a final-salary pension on top).', 'He and the finance director Jerry Cope both agreed to waive their salary increases for 2001-2, citing the ""perilous state"" of the business.', 'The next year he earned £503,000 which included £119,000 pay in lieu of notice.', 'John Roberts declined to comment.', ""Alan Cook, Dame Moya Greene, and David Smith did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment."", 'Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.0778991624458385,"He made a total of £9.7m in pay and bonuses in his time at Royal Mail, as well as a pension valued at £1.1m in 2008.","This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.",0.2271839848586491,"This period saw the prosecution of more than 100 sub-postmasters, a failed mediation scheme, and the sub-postmasters' court case culminating in a victory in the High Court.","However, he has less scope to earn bonuses - and those bonuses have fallen around £500,000 below the maximum he could have made because of the pandemic, the Horizon Inquiry, and the financial performance of the business.",2024-04-08
-"AI could be as consequential to the economy as electricity, says Jamie Dimon",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/investing/jamie-dimon-shareholder-letter-ai-future/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:15 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Jamie Dimon believes artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on global business this year.
-    
-            Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, said in his annual shareholder letter Monday that while he doesn’t yet know the full effect AI will have on business, the economy or society, he knows its influence will be significant.
-    
-            “We are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others,” the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO wrote in the letter.
-    
-            The AI explosion has already transformed workplaces across the world and nearly 40% of global employment could be disrupted by AI, according to the International Monetary Fund. Industries from medicine to finance to music have already felt its effects.
-    
-            Shares of companies associated with the AI boom have soared. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.
-    
-            JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is exploring the potential of generative AI within its own ecosystem, said Dimon. Software engineering, customer service and operations and general employee productivity are all getting AI makeovers.
-    
-            “Over time,” wrote Dimon, “we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition. It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.”
-    
-            JPMorgan’s organization now includes more than 2,000 AI and machine learning experts, and the bank recently announced a new position for a chief data & analytics officer that sits on their operating committee.
-    
-            Dimon also recognized the risks that come with the AI boom. “You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.
-    
-            In January, JPMorgan said it had seen a sizable increase in daily attempts by hackers to infiltrate its systems over the last year, highlighting the escalating cybersecurity challenges the bank and other Wall Street firms are facing.
-    
-            JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, now invests $15 billion a year and employs 62,000 technologists to, in part, help fortify its defense against cyber crimes.
-    
-            JPMorgan acquired most of First Republic’s assets last May after the San Francisco-based regional bank was seized by the government. It marked the second-biggest bank failure in US history.
-    
-            The fall was part of the collapse of three US regional lenders last spring that left financial institutions and regulators scrambling to prevent the spread of a banking crisis.
-    
-            “When we purchased First Republic in May 2023 following the failure of two other regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, we thought that the current banking crisis was over,” Dimon wrote on Monday.
-    
-            Only those three banks, he said, had the “toxic combination” of extreme interest rate exposure, large unrealized losses and highly concentrated deposits. But he warned, if interest rates increase or there is a recession, “there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others.”
-    
-            Dimon warned investors once again that the US “may be entering one of the most treacherous geopolitical eras since World War II.”
-    
-            While key economic indicators appear to be strong and inflation rates are easing, he sees many potential risks.
-    
-            “All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure,” he wrote.
-    
-            Markets are currently pricing in a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing, where inflation is tamped down without triggering an economic downturn. Dimon wrote those odds are far too optimistic.
-    
-            Traders, he said, are paying too much attention to the monthly machinations of the Federal Reserve and not enough attention to longterm geopolitical and policy risks.
-    
-            “There seems to be an enormous focus, too much so, on monthly inflation data and modest changes to interest rates,” he wrote.
-    
-            Instead, investors should be thinking about what might happen a year or two from now. “Small changes in interest rates today may have less impact on inflation in the future than many people believe,” he said.
-    
-            Dimon has previously spoken out about his fears regarding high levels of US debt, fiscal stimulus and deficit spending, as well as the effects of quantitative tightening.
-    
-            “The impacts of these geopolitical and economic forces are large and somewhat unprecedented,” he wrote. “They may not be fully understood until they have completely played out over multiple years.”",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Jamie Dimon believes artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on global business this year.', 'Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, said in his annual shareholder letter Monday that while he doesn’t yet know the full effect AI will have on business, the economy or society, he knows its influence will be significant.', '“We are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others,” the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO wrote in the letter.', 'The AI explosion has already transformed workplaces across the world and nearly 40% of global employment could be disrupted by AI, according to the International Monetary Fund.', 'Industries from medicine to finance to music have already felt its effects.', 'Shares of companies associated withthe AI boom have soared.', 'Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.', 'JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is exploring the potential of generative AI within its own ecosystem, said Dimon.', 'Software engineering, customer service and operations and general employee productivity are all getting AI makeovers.', '“Over time,” wrote Dimon, “we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition.', 'It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.”', 'JPMorgan’s organization now includes more than 2,000 AI and machine learning experts, and the bank recently announced a new position for a chief data & analytics officer that sits on their operating committee.', 'Dimon also recognized the risks that come with the AI boom. “', 'You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.', 'In January, JPMorgan said it had seen a sizable increase in daily attempts by hackers to infiltrate its systems over the last year, highlighting the escalating cybersecurity challenges the bank and other Wall Street firms are facing.', 'JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, now invests $15 billion a year and employs 62,000 technologists to, in part, help fortify its defense against cyber crimes.', 'JPMorgan acquired most of First Republic’s assets last May after the San Francisco-based regional bank was seized by the government.', 'It marked the second-biggest bank failure in US history.', 'The fall was part of the collapse of three US regional lenders last spring that left financial institutions and regulators scrambling to prevent the spread of a banking crisis.', '“When we purchased First Republic in May 2023 following the failure of two other regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, we thought that the current banking crisis was over,” Dimon wrote on Monday.', 'Only those three banks, he said, had the “toxic combination” of extreme interest rate exposure, large unrealized losses and highly concentrated deposits.', 'But he warned, if interest rates increase or there is a recession, “there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others.”', 'Dimon warned investors once again that the US “may be entering one of the most treacherous geopolitical eras since World War II.”', 'While key economic indicators appear to be strong and inflation rates are easing, he sees many potential risks.', '“All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure,” he wrote.', 'Markets are currently pricing in a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing, where inflation is tamped down without triggering an economic downturn.', 'Dimon wrote those odds are far too optimistic.', 'Traders, he said, are paying too much attention to the monthly machinations of the Federal Reserve and not enough attention to longterm geopolitical and policy risks.', '“There seems to be an enormous focus, too much so, on monthly inflation data and modest changes to interest rates,” he wrote.', 'Instead, investors should be thinking about what might happen a year or two from now. “', 'Small changes in interest rates today may have less impact on inflation in the future than many people believe,” he said.', 'Dimon has previously spoken out about his fears regarding high levels of US debt, fiscal stimulus and deficit spending, as well as the effects of quantitative tightening.', '“The impacts of these geopolitical and economic forces are large and somewhat unprecedented,” he wrote. “', 'They may not be fully understood until they have completely played out over multiple years.”']",0.0441035686520721,"It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.”","You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.",0.2675571473021256,"Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.","“All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure,” he wrote.",2024-04-08
-Samsung: Tech giant sees profits jump by more than 900%,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68738046,2024-04-05T03:51:35.000Z,"Samsung Electronics says it expects its profits for the first three months of 2024 to jump more than 10-fold compared to a year earlier. It comes as prices of chips have recovered from a post-pandemic slump and demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related products booms. South Korea-based Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions. The company is scheduled to release a detailed financial report on 30 April. The technology giant estimated that its operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won ($4.9bn; £3.9bn) in the January-March quarter, 931% higher than the same period in 2023. That beat analysts' expectations of around 5.7 trillion won. Its earnings are expected to be boosted by a rebound in semiconductor prices on the global market after a severe downturn a year earlier. Global memory chip prices are estimated to have risen by around a fifth in the last year. Samsung's semiconductor division is usually the biggest revenue earner for the firm. Demand for semiconductors is also expected to remain strong this year, helped by the boom in AI technologies. The earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April may also tighten the global supply of chips, which could allow Samsung to raise prices further. Taiwan is home to several major chipmakers, including TSMC - which is a supplier to Apple and Nvidia. While TSMC has said the earthquake did not have a major impact on its production it saw some disruption to its operations. Samsung is also expected to get a boost from sales of its new flagship Galaxy S24 smartphones, which were launched in January. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"['Samsung Electronics says it expects its profits for the first three months of 2024 to jump more than 10-fold compared to a year earlier.', 'It comes as prices of chips have recovered from a post-pandemic slump and demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related products booms.', ""South Korea-based Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions."", 'The company is scheduled to release a detailed financial report on 30 April.', 'The technology giant estimated that its operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won ($4.9bn; £3.9bn) in the January-March quarter, 931% higher than the same period in 2023.', ""That beat analysts' expectations of around 5.7 trillion won."", 'Its earnings are expected to be boosted by a rebound in semiconductor prices on the global market after a severe downturn a year earlier.', 'Global memory chip prices are estimated to have risen by around a fifth in the last year.', ""Samsung's semiconductor division is usually the biggest revenue earner for the firm."", 'Demand for semiconductors is also expected to remain strong this year, helped by the boom in AI technologies.', 'The earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April may also tighten the global supply of chips, which could allow Samsung to raise prices further.', 'Taiwan is home to several major chipmakers, including TSMC - which is a supplier to Apple and Nvidia.', 'While TSMC has said the earthquake did not have a major impact on its production it saw some disruption to its operations.', 'Samsung is also expected to get a boost from sales of its new flagship Galaxy S24 smartphones, which were launched in January.']",0.2126656798193199,"The technology giant estimated that its operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won ($4.9bn; £3.9bn) in the January-March quarter, 931% higher than the same period in 2023.",While TSMC has said the earthquake did not have a major impact on its production it saw some disruption to its operations.,0.7839738527933756,"The technology giant estimated that its operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won ($4.9bn; £3.9bn) in the January-March quarter, 931% higher than the same period in 2023.","The earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April may also tighten the global supply of chips, which could allow Samsung to raise prices further.",2024-04-08
-"Last-minute Brexit bill risks higher food prices, UK business groups warn",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/business/post-brexit-food-import-charge/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:22 AM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","British business groups are warning that newly announced post-Brexit charges on plant and animal imports could push up food prices not long after food inflation came down from double-digit rates.
-    
-            From April 30, UK businesses will have to pay up to £145 ($184) per delivery of most animal products, plants or plant products imported from the European Union through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Wednesday. The port and the undersea tunnel beneath the English Channel handle the majority of UK food imports.
-    
-            Importers will have to pay £29 ($37) per type of product, up to a maximum of £145 for a single delivery containing several different products.
-    
-            In practice, this means that a truck loaded with, say, a single type of meat will incur at least a £29 charge, while a same-sized truck carrying different meats, yoghurts and cheeses could incur the highest charge. And that maximum may have to be paid multiple times, depending on the truck’s origin and destination.
-    
-            The charges “will be one of the factors that perhaps stops food inflation continuing to fall,” according to Tom Southall, deputy chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents UK businesses delivering perishable produce, which needs chilled storage.
-    
-            That’s because UK importers are likely to pass the new levies onto consumers, as trade groups have warned.
-    
-            Annual UK food price inflation topped 19% in March 2023, the highest rate in 45 years, and stood at more than 10% as recently as in October. By February, it had eased to 5%.
-    
-            William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the new charges dealt a “hammer blow for small and medium-sized (UK) importers” and were “deeply concerning for retailers, cafes and restaurants.”
-    
-            “We urge the government to reconsider their import charge plans in the coming days. Failing to do so risks higher prices for us all, at a time when we should be bearing down on business costs and food price inflation.”
-    
-            Smaller European exporters may also be badly hit, according to Southall, because British businesses may ask these exporters to foot some of the extra costs.
-    
-            Some are already “deciding that it is too expensive or too much hassle to serve the UK,” he told CNN. While the supply of most products in supermarkets will not be affected, the availability of “smaller, specialist products” will be. “(Britons) might not have such a well-stocked cheese or meat deli counter,” he added.
-    
-            The new charges are intended to help the government cover the cost of operating its post-Brexit border facilities and will come into force on the same day that physical checks are introduced on many animal and plant products from the EU.
-    
-            Trade groups have also criticized the lack of time given to businesses to prepare for the latest changes.
-    
-            James Barnes, chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association, said Wednesday’s announcement came at the “eleventh hour” and confirmed worries that “in just one month, UK horticulture’s competitiveness will again be hit by a cost hike for no material gain.”
-    
-            “The charges will undoubtedly increase costs, potentially reduce consumer choice and increase the likelihood of empty shelves,” he said in a statement.
-    
-            The association represents around 1,400 retailers, growers, manufacturers and landscapers that rely on imported plants.
-    
-            A government spokesperson said the new charges “were at the bottom end of the range” discussed with UK businesses during a consultation period last summer.
-    
-            The £145 cap “has been set specifically to help smaller businesses,” the spokesperson told CNN. “We are committed to supporting businesses of all sizes and across all sectors as they adapt to new border checks, and maintaining the smooth flow of imported goods.”",CNN,04/04/2024,"['British business groups are warning that newly announced post-Brexit charges on plant and animal imports could push up food prices not long after food inflation came down from double-digit rates.', 'From April 30, UK businesses will have to pay up to £145 ($184) per delivery of most animal products, plants or plant products imported from the European Union through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Wednesday.', 'The port and the undersea tunnel beneath the English Channel handle the majority of UK food imports.', 'Importers will have to pay £29 ($37) per type of product, up to a maximum of £145 for a single delivery containing several different products.', 'In practice, this means that a truck loaded with, say, a single type of meat will incur at least a £29 charge, while a same-sized truck carrying different meats, yoghurts and cheeses could incur the highest charge.', 'And that maximum may have to be paid multiple times, depending on the truck’s origin and destination.', 'The charges “will be one of the factors that perhaps stops food inflation continuing to fall,” according to Tom Southall, deputy chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents UK businesses delivering perishable produce, which needs chilled storage.', 'That’s because UK importers are likely to pass the new levies onto consumers, as trade groups have warned.', 'Annual UK food priceinflationtopped 19% in March 2023, the highest rate in 45 years, and stood at more than 10% as recently as in October.', 'By February, it had eased to 5%.', 'William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the new charges dealt a “hammer blow for small and medium-sized (UK) importers” and were “deeply concerning for retailers, cafes and restaurants.”', '“We urge the government to reconsider their import charge plans in the coming days.', 'Failing to do so risks higher prices for us all, at a time when we should be bearing down on business costs and food price inflation.”', 'Smaller European exporters may also be badly hit, according to Southall, because British businesses may ask these exporters to foot some of the extra costs.', 'Some are already “deciding that it is too expensive or too much hassle to serve the UK,” he told CNN.', 'While the supply of most products in supermarkets will not be affected, the availability of “smaller, specialist products” will be. “(', 'Britons) might not have such a well-stocked cheese or meat deli counter,” he added.', 'The new charges are intended to help the government cover the cost of operating its post-Brexit border facilities and will come into force on the same day that physical checks are introduced on many animal and plant products from the EU.', 'Trade groups have also criticized the lack of time given to businesses to prepare for the latest changes.', 'James Barnes, chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association, said Wednesday’s announcement came at the “eleventh hour” and confirmed worries that “in just one month, UK horticulture’s competitiveness will again be hit by a cost hike for no material gain.”', '“The charges will undoubtedly increase costs, potentially reduce consumer choice and increase the likelihood of empty shelves,” he said in a statement.', 'The association represents around 1,400 retailers, growers, manufacturers and landscapers that rely on imported plants.', 'A government spokesperson said the new charges “were at the bottom end of the range” discussed with UK businesses during a consultation period last summer.', 'The £145 cap “has been set specifically to help smaller businesses,” the spokesperson told CNN. “', 'We are committed to supporting businesses of all sizes and across all sectors as they adapt to new border checks, and maintaining the smooth flow of imported goods.”']",-0.0738706212846517,"We are committed to supporting businesses of all sizes and across all sectors as they adapt to new border checks, and maintaining the smooth flow of imported goods.”","Failing to do so risks higher prices for us all, at a time when we should be bearing down on business costs and food price inflation.”",-0.1842864018220167,"By February, it had eased to 5%.","James Barnes, chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association, said Wednesday’s announcement came at the “eleventh hour” and confirmed worries that “in just one month, UK horticulture’s competitiveness will again be hit by a cost hike for no material gain.”",2024-04-08
-NBC News ousts Ronna McDaniel after network’s anchors launch unprecedented on-air rebellion,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-ousts-ronna-mcdaniel/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        7:44 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.
-    
-            “There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”
-    
-            “I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”
-    
-            Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.
-    
-            The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.
-    
-            McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
-    
-            As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”
-    
-            In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.
-    
-            NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists. The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network. Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.
-    
-            Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”
-    
-            “There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.
-    
-            The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”
-    
-            “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said. “We hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”
-    
-            Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.
-    
-            “NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.
-    
-            Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.” Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.
-    
-            “We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.
-    
-            “And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work. That this last election wasn’t a real result. That American elections are fraudulent.“
-    
-            The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring. MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.
-    
-            In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['NBC News on Tuesday ousted former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, just days after her hiring as a paid political analyst sparked intense backlash from the network’s top television anchors over McDaniel’s role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.', '“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” NBCUniversal News Group President Cesar Conde said in a memo to staff. “', 'After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”', '“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” Conde continued. “', 'While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”', 'Ahead of the network’s decision, McDaniel spent the day Tuesday interviewing attorneys in preparation for a potential legal battle with NBC, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.', 'Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said.', 'The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.', 'As head of the RNC, she was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead.', 'McDanieltold the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. …', 'We will get you attorneys.”', 'In the years since, McDaniel continued to claim that the election had “problems” and that Biden did not legitimately win the election, fanning the flames of election denialism.', 'NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists.', 'The revolt spilled into public view on Sunday when McDaniel appeared on “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker in her first interview since she was hired by the network.', 'Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring.', 'Following the interview, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ chief political analyst, delivered a stinging on-air criticism of NBC executives for their decision to hire McDaniel, telling Welker, “I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.”', '“There’s a reason a lot of journalists at NBC News are uncomfortable with this,” Todd said, explaining that under McDaniel, the RNC engaged in “gaslighting” and “character assassination” when dealing with the news media.', 'The following day, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joined Todd in protesting the decision on their program “Morning Joe.”', '“To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,”Brzezinski said. “', 'We hope NBC will reconsider its decision.', 'It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”', 'Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” later joined in the rebuke, saying on her program that the network’s decision to hire McDaniel was nothing short of a potential threat to democracy.', '“NBC News is, either wittingly or unwittingly, teaching election deniers that what they can do stretches well beyond appearing on our air and interviews to peddle lies about the sanctity and integrity of our elections,” Wallace told viewers.', 'Rachel Maddow — the network’s biggest star — later devoted the first half-hour of her prime-time program to the controversy, saying the decision to hire McDaniel was “inexplicable.”', 'Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.', '“We do not take it personally when we get attacked, when they say they want to put us on trial and execute us for treason,” she said.', '“And so I want to associate myself with all my colleagues at MSNBC and NBC News who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company for putting on the payroll someone who hasn’t just attacked us as journalists, but someone who is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” she said of McDaniel. “', 'Someone who is still trying to convince Americans that this election stuff doesn’t really work.', 'That this last election wasn’t a real result.', 'That American elections are fraudulent.“', 'The on-air revolt ensnared NBC’s top leaders, including NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde, NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown, who were responsible for McDaniel’s hiring.', 'MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.', 'In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0710578434549836,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”","Maddow took issue with McDaniel’s long track record of demonizing the news media, labeling the press as “fake news,” and launching ugly attacks on NBC News journalists and MSNBC hosts.",-0.4204912036657333,"In the wake of Conde’s announcement to sever ties with McDaniel, MSNBC host Joy Reid and Maddow addressed the reversal on the network’s air, praising the move as “bold” and “strong.”",The reversal comes after journalists and anchors at both NBC and its cable news sibling MSNBC publicly denounced the decision to hire McDaniel as a paid analyst in a stunning and unprecedented on-air rebuke of network brass that has embarrassed the Peacock Network.,2024-04-08
-Nigeria Binance dispute: Cryptocurrency official denies money laundering,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68762553,2024-04-08T17:07:59.000Z,"An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court. US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national. Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil. Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown. On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja. The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians. Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location. In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""  A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"". They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""  The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m). In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country. Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn). The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.   The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria. Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism. As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"". Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"". As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol's red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"". ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.', 'US citizen Tigran Gambaryan was arrested in February, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national.', ""Their detention came as Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country's economic turmoil."", 'Two weeks ago Mr Anjarwalla escaped from custody and his whereabouts are unknown.', ""On Monday, Mr Gambaryan rejected five counts of money laundering filed against him by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)."", 'After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, a prison in the capital, Abuja.', 'The facility has in the past held inmates ranging from jihadists to politicians.', 'Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla had previously been detained in an unknown location.', 'In a statement released after Monday\'s hearing, Mr Gambaryan\'s wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""', 'A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Mr Gambaryan were ""meritless"".', 'They told the BBC: ""We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.""', 'The EFCC had accused Binance - understood to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria - along with Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m).', ""In February, Mr Gambarayan, who is in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr Anjarwalla, who is Binance's Africa Regional Manager, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for meetings to discuss the platform's operations in the country."", 'Binance was later that week ordered to pay a fine of $10bn (£8bn).', 'The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.', 'The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.', ""Binance is not alone - Nigeria's authorities have been clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms in general over allegations they are being used for money laundering and financing terrorism."", 'As well as money laundering charges, Binance and the two executives also face four counts of tax evasion, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).', 'After Mr Anjarwalla fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he had escaped with a ""smuggled passport"", but a family source said he had left by ""by lawful means"".', 'Nigeria said it was ""working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect"".', 'As of Monday, Mr Anjarwalla was not on Interpol\'s red notice list for ""internationally wanted fugitives"".']",-0.3249722933220262,"The government accused it of currency speculation and fixing exchange rates, leading to the free-fall of the local currency, the naira.","In a statement released after Monday's hearing, Mr Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, said: ""I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers... it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.""",-0.7206885317961375,An executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.,"The weakening of the naira, alongside food inflation and the soaring cost of living, has sparked an economic crisis in Nigeria.",2024-04-08
-"Southwest Boeing 737-800 flight from Denver loses engine cover, FAA investigating",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/07/business/southwest-boeing-737-800-engine/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        5:32 PM EDT, Sun April 7, 2024
-    ","A Houston-bound Boeing 737-800 plane operated by Southwest Airlines returned safely to Denver International Airport on Sunday after an engine cover fell off and struck the wing flap, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
-    
-            The agency said it will investigate.
-    
-            In recorded air traffic control audio, one of the pilots said that “several passengers and flight attendants heard something loud hit the wing.”
-    
-            In a statement to CNN, Southwest said passengers would take another plane to Houston and would be approximately three hours behind schedule.
-    
-            “We apologize for the inconvenience of their delay but place our highest priority on ultimate Safety for our Customers and Employees,” the statement said. Southwest said no injuries were reported.
-    
-            Southwest said its maintenance teams would review the aircraft, which departed at 7:49 a.m. local time and returned at 8:15 a.m. The flight reached an altitude of about 10,000 feet.
-    
-            The plane was deemed airworthy in May 2015, per FAA records.
-    
-            Boeing declined to comment and referred CNN to Southwest for information about plane and fleet operations.
-    
-            This is the latest in a string of mechanical issues to plague Boeing aircraft across a range of airlines over the past several months even as the company has faced years of scrutiny regarding the safety of its planes.",CNN,07/04/2024,"['A Houston-bound Boeing 737-800 plane operated by Southwest Airlines returned safely to Denver International Airport on Sunday after an engine cover fell off and struck the wing flap, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.', 'The agency said it will investigate.', 'In recorded air traffic control audio, one of the pilots said that “several passengers and flight attendants heard something loud hit the wing.”', 'In a statement to CNN, Southwest said passengers would take another plane to Houston and would be approximately three hours behind schedule.', '“We apologize for the inconvenience of their delay but place our highest priority on ultimate Safety for our Customers and Employees,” the statement said.', 'Southwest said no injuries were reported.', 'Southwest said its maintenance teams would review the aircraft, which departed at 7:49 a.m. local time and returned at 8:15 a.m. The flight reached an altitude of about 10,000 feet.', 'The plane was deemed airworthy in May 2015, per FAA records.', 'Boeing declined to comment and referred CNN to Southwest for information about plane and fleet operations.', 'This is the latest in a string of mechanical issues to plague Boeing aircraft across a range of airlines over the past several months even as the company has faced years of scrutiny regarding the safety of its planes.']",0.0885354273856572,This is the latest in a string of mechanical issues to plague Boeing aircraft across a range of airlines over the past several months even as the company has faced years of scrutiny regarding the safety of its planes.,Southwest said no injuries were reported.,-0.9642921984195708,,This is the latest in a string of mechanical issues to plague Boeing aircraft across a range of airlines over the past several months even as the company has faced years of scrutiny regarding the safety of its planes.,2024-04-08
-Egg prices are rising again. An outbreak of bird flu could make things worse,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/03/business/egg-prices-cal-maine-bird-flu/index.html,"
-  Published
-        12:17 PM EDT, Wed April 3, 2024
-    ","Egg prices have now been steadily rising for months, and your omelette could become even more expensive as poultry farms around the country deal with an outbreak of bird flu.
-    
-            The average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3 in February, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, up from around $2 in the fall. While egg prices are down from a record $4.82 in January 2023 — after a widespread bird flu outbreak ravaged farms in the prior year — they’re now at the highest level since April 2023.
-    
-            And it may not get better anytime soon.
-    
-            Cal-Maine Foods, America’s largest egg producer, said earlier this week that it culled about 1.6 million hens and 337,000 young chickens after some tested positive for a “highly pathogenic avian influenza” at one of the company’s facilities in Texas, Cal-Maine said in a release. The company produces brands such as Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, Egg-Land’s Best and Land O’ Lakes eggs.
-    
-            “Production at the facility has temporarily ceased,” the company said. “[The virus] is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted.”
-    
-            As egg prices reached a record early last year, Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the market, reported a few months later that its revenue doubled and profit surged 718%.
-    
-            The culling represented about 3.6% of the company’s total flock as of early March. Cal-Maine did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on what the bird flu outbreak means for its egg prices.
-    
-            Bird flu has been detected at other farms across the country. Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced Tuesday that it found evidence of bird flu at a commercial poultry facility in Ionia County. Last month, the virus was detected in animals at farms in Texas, Kansas and Minnesota.
-    
-            “The current risk to the public remains minimal,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “It is important for us as an industry to maintain a high level of vigilance. State and national agencies will continue to provide updated guidance as developments warrant.”
-    
-            If egg producers aren’t able to keep up with demand because they’ve had to cull animals due to bird flu, then that can raise prices. Companies, however, do try to mitigate those effects, but it’s unclear if that would be enough to prevent price hikes altogether.
-    
-            “Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers,” the company said.",CNN,03/04/2024,"['Egg prices have now been steadily rising for months, and your omelette could become even more expensive as poultry farms around the country deal with an outbreak of bird flu.', 'The average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3 in February, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, up from around $2 in the fall.', 'While egg prices are down from a record $4.82 in January 2023 — after a widespread bird flu outbreak ravaged farms in the prior year — they’re now at the highest level since April 2023.', 'And it may not get better anytime soon.', 'Cal-Maine Foods,America’s largest egg producer, said earlier this week that it culled about 1.6 million hens and 337,000 young chickens after some tested positive for a “highly pathogenic avian influenza” at one of the company’s facilities in Texas, Cal-Maine said in a release.', 'The company produces brands such as Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, Egg-Land’s Best and Land O’ Lakes eggs.', '“Production at the facility has temporarily ceased,” the company said. “[', 'The virus] is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted.”', 'As egg prices reached a record early last year, Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the market, reported a few months later that its revenue doubled and profit surged 718%.', 'The culling represented about 3.6% of the company’s total flock as of early March.', 'Cal-Maine did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on what the bird flu outbreak means for its egg prices.', 'Bird flu has been detected at other farms across the country.', 'Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced Tuesday that it found evidence of bird flu at a commercial poultry facility in Ionia County.', 'Last month, the virus was detected in animals at farms in Texas, Kansas and Minnesota.', '“The current risk to the public remains minimal,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “', 'It is important for us as an industry to maintain a high level of vigilance.', 'State and national agencies will continue to provide updated guidance as developments warrant.”', 'If egg producers aren’t able to keep up with demand because they’ve had to cull animals due to bird flu, then that can raise prices.', 'Companies, however, do try to mitigate those effects, but it’s unclear if that would be enough to prevent price hikes altogether.', '“Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers,” the company said.']",-0.0783769261728202,"The company produces brands such as Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, Egg-Land’s Best and Land O’ Lakes eggs.","If egg producers aren’t able to keep up with demand because they’ve had to cull animals due to bird flu, then that can raise prices.",0.1793674975633621,"As egg prices reached a record early last year, Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the market, reported a few months later that its revenue doubled and profit surged 718%.",While egg prices are down from a record $4.82 in January 2023 — after a widespread bird flu outbreak ravaged farms in the prior year — they’re now at the highest level since April 2023.,2024-04-08
-John Lewis names former Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry as new chairman,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68760475,2024-04-08T09:10:36.000Z,"John Lewis has said the former boss of Tesco's UK business, Jason Tarry, will become its next chairman. Mr Tarry will start in September, taking over from Dame Sharon White who said last year that she would be standing down at the end of her term. The partnership, which includes the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, has come under increasing pressure in recent years. It has closed stores and cut jobs, but recently announced a return to profit. Mr Tarry, who will become only the seventh chairman of John Lewis, said it was a ""great privilege"" to lead the company. Dame Sharon was the first woman to lead John Lewis, but when she announced in October that she would step down after five years in the role, it made her the shortest-serving boss in the partnership's near 100-year history. Her predecessors had each served between 13 and 26 years. Dame Sharon's appointment made her one of the few black women leading a major UK business. However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.   But in an interview with the BBC in June last year, Dame Sharon defended her background, noting that some of her predecessors at John Lewis had also come from outside the retail sector. Rita Clifton, deputy chairman and chair of John Lewis's nomination committee, said: ""The board extends its huge thanks to Sharon for successfully leading the partnership through one of the most testing periods in its history - first Covid and then the cost-of-living crisis. ""She has faced the toughest decisions and overseen the partnership's financial recovery; we are in good financial health with a return to profit, and have a strong balance sheet with record investment planned this year."" Last month, John Lewis reported full-year profits of £56m compared with a £234m loss the year before.  Despite this, the partnership said it would not be paying a staff bonus for the second year in a row, which is only the third time it has not paid out such an award since 1953. Dame Sharon said: ""I'm delighted to be handing over to Jason, who has a combination of fantastic retail experience with leadership through transformation.""  Mr Tarry had worked at Tesco for more than 33 years, with his most recent role being chief executive of the supermarket's UK and Ireland business. ""The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it's a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said. Zoe Mills, retail analyst at GlobalData, said Mr Tarry ""certainly has the experience and knowhow to rejuvenate the John Lewis Partnership"". However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis's long-term success"". M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""Within Waitrose & Partners, Tarry must not lose sight of its more premium proposition,"" Ms Mills said. ""While remaining price-competitive will be crucial, as within general merchandise, the focus must be on quality and justifying higher price points to entice shoppers to trade up."" ",BBC,08/04/2024,"[""John Lewis has said the former boss of Tesco's UK business, Jason Tarry, will become its next chairman."", 'Mr Tarry will start in September, taking over from Dame Sharon White who said last year that she would be standing down at the end of her term.', 'The partnership, which includes the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, has come under increasing pressure in recent years.', 'It has closed stores and cut jobs, but recently announced a return to profit.', 'Mr Tarry, who will become only the seventh chairman of John Lewis, said it was a ""great privilege"" to lead the company.', ""Dame Sharon was the first woman to lead John Lewis, but when she announced in October that she would step down after five years in the role, it made her the shortest-serving boss in the partnership's near 100-year history."", 'Her predecessors had each served between 13 and 26 years.', ""Dame Sharon's appointment made her one of the few black women leading a major UK business."", 'However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.', 'But in an interview with the BBC in June last year, Dame Sharon defended her background, noting that some of her predecessors at John Lewis had also come from outside the retail sector.', 'Rita Clifton, deputy chairman and chair of John Lewis\'s nomination committee, said: ""The board extends its huge thanks to Sharon for successfully leading the partnership through one of the most testing periods in its history - first Covid and then the cost-of-living crisis. ""', 'She has faced the toughest decisions and overseen the partnership\'s financial recovery; we are in good financial health with a return to profit, and have a strong balance sheet with record investment planned this year.""', 'Last month, John Lewis reported full-year profits of £56m compared with a £234m loss the year before.', 'Despite this, the partnership said it would not be paying a staff bonus for the second year in a row, which is only the third time it has not paid out such an award since 1953.', 'Dame Sharon said: ""I\'m delighted to be handing over to Jason, who has a combination of fantastic retail experience with leadership through transformation.""', 'Mr Tarry had worked at Tesco for more than 33 years, with his most recent role being chief executive of the supermarket\'s UK and Ireland business. ""', 'The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it\'s a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said.', 'Zoe Mills, retail analyst at GlobalData, said Mr Tarry ""certainly has the experience and knowhow to rejuvenate the John Lewis Partnership"".', 'However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis\'s long-term success"".', 'M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""', 'Within Waitrose & Partners, Tarry must not lose sight of its more premium proposition,"" Ms Mills said. ""', 'While remaining price-competitive will be crucial, as within general merchandise, the focus must be on quality and justifying higher price points to entice shoppers to trade up.""']",0.2548270006474369,"The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it's a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman,"" Mr Tarry said.","However, she faced controversy after considering breaking the historic employee-owned structure of the partnership, and she was also criticised by some for her lack of retail experience.",0.4975835956059969,"M&S is forecast to continue growing its share of clothing and footwear over the next few years, Ms Mills said, while it has also been growing its grocery sales, with Waitrose perceived to be losing out in the battle for premium food. ""","However, she added that he would face a different challenge to that faced at Tesco, ""with Marks & Spencer, rather than the discounters, a clear threat to John Lewis's long-term success"".",2024-04-08
-Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036,2021-04-21T23:08:36.000Z,"New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.  The next phase of a public inquiry into what went wrong begins on Tuesday. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.  The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Many went to prison for false accounting and theft. Many were financially ruined. In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office. In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees. A draft report uncovered by the BBC shows the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue. The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment. And although campaigners won the right for cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024. The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen. A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees. It resumes on Tuesday 9 April and is due to last several weeks, with campaigner Alan Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells among those due to give evidence during this phase. Politicians who had responsibility for overseeing the Post Office will also appear. Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.  It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.  Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds. The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"". Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.  Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses. Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.  Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death. In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected. New legislation was introduced on 13 March, to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation. The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July. Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed. Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.  Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.  Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation. More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"". Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal. In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE. In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money for his work on the Horizon inquiry.  Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson told the Post Office Inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments.  Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Alan Bates, the sub-postmaster who led the campaign, when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010. He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"". The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence.  Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the election"".  ",BBC,21/04/2021,"[""New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice."", 'Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.', 'The next phase of a public inquiry into what went wrong begins on Tuesday.', 'More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called Horizon.', 'The Post Office itself took many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015.', 'Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).', 'Many went to prison for false accounting and theft.', 'Many were financially ruined.', 'In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters took legal action against the Post Office.', 'In 2019, it agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees.', 'A draft report uncovered by the BBC shows the Post Office spent £100m fighting the group in court despite knowing its defence was untrue.', 'The Post Office said it would be ""inappropriate"" to comment.', 'And although campaigners won the right for cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024.', 'The Criminal Cases Review Commission said the scandal was ""the most widespread miscarriage of justice"" it had seen.', 'A public inquiry began in February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees.', 'It resumes on Tuesday 9 April and is due to last several weeks, with campaigner Alan Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells among those due to give evidence during this phase.', 'Politicians who had responsibility for overseeing the Post Office will also appear.', 'Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking.', 'It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.', 'Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds.', 'The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as ""robust"".', 'Many former sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses say the scandal ruined their lives.', 'Some used their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls because their contracts said they were responsible for unexplained losses.', 'Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods.', 'Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.', 'In January, the government said it would ""swiftly exonerate and compensate"" those affected.', ""New legislation was introduced on 13 March, to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation."", 'The law, which applies to convictions in England and Wales, is expected to clear most victims by the end of July.', 'Convictions will be automatically quashed if they were: The government said a new scheme will process compensation applications ""as soon as possible"" for those whose convictions are quashed.', 'Affected sub-postmasters will receive an interim payment, or can instead accept a fixed and final offer of £600,000.', 'Downing Street previously said it would work with Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure people wrongly accused in those nations would also be cleared.', 'Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake previously said the government has budgeted £1bn for compensation.', 'More than 4,000 people were told they are eligible, under three schemes: Prof Chris Hodges, chair of the the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told the BBC that some individual compensation claims were ""well over £1m"".', 'Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells resigned in 2019 over the scandal.', 'In January 2024, she said she would hand back her CBE.', 'In August 2023, current chief executive Nick Read said he would return bonus money for his work on the Horizon inquiry.', 'Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson told the Post Office Inquiry that the firm had a ""moral obligation"" to help fund compensation payments.', 'Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been criticised for refusing to meet Alan Bates, the sub-postmaster who led the campaign, when he was postal affairs minister in May 2010.', 'He says he was ""deeply misled by Post Office executives"".', ""The BBC discovered that former Prime Minister David Cameron's government knew the Post Office had dropped a secret investigation that might have helped postmasters prove their innocence."", 'Separately, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch denied claims from former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton that he was told to delay compensation payments to allow the government to ""limp into the election"".']",-0.0883747976311727,New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice.,"Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.",-0.6111883141777732,"And although campaigners won the right for cases to be reconsidered, only 95 convictions had been overturned by mid-January 2024.",Sub-postmasters quickly complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds.,2024-04-08
-Boeing pays Alaska Air $160m after mid-air blowout,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68737292,2024-04-04T20:44:36.000Z,"Boeing has paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline has suffered following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January.  Alaska said the money would address profits lost in the first three months of the year and it expected further payouts in the months ahead. Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from an Alaska Air plane shortly after take-off. Thousands of flights were cancelled. However, a law firm which is representing some of the passengers on the Alaska flight has criticised the move. ""Apparently, Boeing thinks it more urgent and important to pay those whose corporate profits were at stake, but not those whose lives were at stake and nearly lost,"" said Daniel Laurence, a partner at the Stritmatter Firm. Airlines are now contending with delivery delays as Boeing slows production of new planes to try to resolve manufacturing and safety concerns.  In February, Ryanair warned that holidaymakers faced paying higher fares because of the delays. United Airlines, which had also warned investors of a financial hit from the grounding, recently asked pilots to volunteer for unpaid leave, due to the delivery changes. In January, Alaska warned of a roughly $150m hit. ""Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations,"" the airline said. Boeing did not comment but warned earlier this year that it expected to spend at least $4bn more than expected in the first three months of the year. The company has been in crisis since the 5 January emergency, in which passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon and bound for California narrowly escaped serious injury. An initial report from the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that four bolts meant to attach the door securely to the aircraft had not been fitted. Boeing is now facing a criminal investigation into the incident itself, as well as legal action from passengers aboard the plane.  Last month, chief executive Dave Calhoun said he would step down by the end of the year, the most high profile leader to leave the company in the wake of the crisis.  ",BBC,04/04/2024,"['Boeing has paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline has suffered following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January.', 'Alaska said the money would address profits lost in the first three months of the year and it expected further payouts in the months ahead.', 'Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from an Alaska Air plane shortly after take-off.', 'Thousands of flights were cancelled.', 'However, a law firm which is representing some of the passengers on the Alaska flight has criticised the move. ""', 'Apparently, Boeing thinks it more urgent and important to pay those whose corporate profits were at stake, but not those whose lives were at stake and nearly lost,"" said Daniel Laurence, a partner at the Stritmatter Firm.', 'Airlines are now contending with delivery delays as Boeing slows production of new planes to try to resolve manufacturing and safety concerns.', 'In February, Ryanair warned that holidaymakers faced paying higher fares because of the delays.', 'United Airlines, which had also warned investors of a financial hit from the grounding, recently asked pilots to volunteer for unpaid leave, due to the delivery changes.', 'In January, Alaska warned of a roughly $150m hit. ""', 'Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations,"" the airline said.', 'Boeing did not comment but warned earlier this year that it expected to spend at least $4bn more than expected in the first three months of the year.', 'The company has been in crisis since the 5 January emergency, in which passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon and bound for California narrowly escaped serious injury.', 'An initial report from the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that four bolts meant to attach the door securely to the aircraft had not been fitted.', 'Boeing is now facing a criminal investigation into the incident itself, as well as legal action from passengers aboard the plane.', 'Last month, chief executive Dave Calhoun said he would step down by the end of the year, the most high profile leader to leave the company in the wake of the crisis.']",-0.1236255749455285,Airlines are now contending with delivery delays as Boeing slows production of new planes to try to resolve manufacturing and safety concerns.,"The company has been in crisis since the 5 January emergency, in which passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon and bound for California narrowly escaped serious injury.",-0.2410207553343339,Boeing did not comment but warned earlier this year that it expected to spend at least $4bn more than expected in the first three months of the year.,"In January, Alaska warned of a roughly $150m hit. """,2024-04-08
-Opinion: The drama around Sam Altman is an urgent warning,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/21/opinions/sam-altman-openai-ouster-danger-filipovic/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:50 AM EST, Tue November 21, 2023
-    ","The biggest tech news this week is the ouster of Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry. Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened to resign. Altman has already moved on to a role at Microsoft. And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on its third CEO in as many days.
-    
-            It’s all very juicy. But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisions that will determine so much of our technological future? What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions? And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?
-    
-            OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.” But that sensibility hasn’t lasted. The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm. They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the public before some employees believed they were ready. The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they also won’t tell reporters or the public exactly what it is.
-    
-            This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing. The OpenAI board, according to CNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.” At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot. This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.
-    
-            But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder. Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants. And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.
-    
-            AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence. At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work). And the ramifications could be much more extreme. AI technologies have already demonstrated the ability to lie and to cover their tracks. They have already been able to suggest the design to make a virus spread more quickly. Many researchers acutely understand just how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans, according to reporting in the New Yorker.
-    
-            But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils – the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technology is worth a read).
-    
-            AI is very exciting technology. But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”
-    
-            Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed. And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to be largely men) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe. And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.
-    
-            Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden? Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?
-    
-            One thing is clear: AI is coming. And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century. It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.
-    
-            “Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first. But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.
-    
-            So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition. But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.
-    
-            The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world. But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?",CNN,21/11/2023,"['The biggest tech news this week is theousterof Sam Altman from his role as CEO of OpenAI, a move that has shaken the company and the industry.', 'Hundreds of OpenAI employees have threatened toresign.', 'Altman has alreadymoved onto a role at Microsoft.', 'And OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on itsthird CEOin as many days.', 'It’s all very juicy.', 'But this drama should also be raising larger questions, far beyond one company’s internal hirings and firings, including: Who are the people making the decisionsthat will determine so much of our technological future?', 'What guiding principles are they using to make those decisions?', 'And how should other institutions – governments, non-tech industries, global alliances, regulatory bodies – reign in the worst excesses of potentially dangerous AI innovators?', 'OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, with an explicit mission to harness what may soon be superhuman intelligence “to benefit humanity as a whole.”', 'But that sensibility hasn’t lasted.', 'The company now has a multi-billion-dollar for-profit arm.', 'They have been developing new technologies at lightning speed, and sometimes sending them out to the publicbefore some employees believed they were ready.', 'The company has already reportedly invented an AI technology so dangerous they will never release it – but they alsowon’t tellreporters or the public exactly what it is.', 'This dynamic – a potentially dangerous technology developed at extreme speed, largely behind closed doors – is partly to blame for Altman’s firing.', 'The OpenAI board, according toCNN’s David Goldman, worried that “the company was making the technological equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and its caretaker, Sam Altman, was moving so fast that he risked a global catastrophe.”', 'At particular issue seemed to be Altman’s efforts to make the tools behind ChatGPT available to anyone who wanted to make their own version of the chatbot.', 'This could be widely disastrous, some board members worried.', 'But then they fired him without warning, and apparently without involving Microsoft, the company’s largest shareholder.', 'Now, Altman is at the new AI group at Microsoft, and one has to wonder if the oversight and caution there will be on par with that at OpenAI, or if he’ll be handed carte blanche to push as fast and hard as he wants.', 'And for all the justified reticence of the OpenAI board, the company has carried out much of its work in secrecy – without the public really understanding what a handful of unaccountable technologists are building, and how it is nearly guaranteed to indelibly change their lives.', 'AI is broadly understood to have the potential to reshape vast swaths of human existence.', 'At the very least, it seems nearly guaranteed to change how we process information, how we communicate, how we learn and how we work (and if we work).', 'And the ramifications could be much more extreme.', 'AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.', 'They have already been able tosuggest the designto make a virus spread more quickly.', 'Many researchersacutely understandjust how quickly these machines could develop the capacity to annihilate us, including Altman: He has a prepper’s paradise prepared in Big Sur, complete with guns and “gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force” in case AI goes off the rails and the robots go to war against humans,according to reporting in the New Yorker.', 'But don’t worry, he told an Atlantic reporter: If AI is determined to wipe us out, “no gas mask is helping anyone.” (', 'If you want an excellent and terrifying rundown of AI’s risks – at least those we understand right now, which are almost certainly a mere sliver of the looming perils –the Atlantic profile of Altman and his technologyis worth a read).', 'AI is very exciting technology.', 'But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”', 'Given the life-altering potential of AI – that even if it doesn’t kill us all, it will almost certainly change human existence in unprecedented ways at unprecedented speed – we all have a stake in how it’s being developed.', 'And yet the development is being left to a handful of people (who seem to belargelymen) in Silicon Valley, and other tech pockets around the globe.', 'And we all have a stake in whose interests AI will serve – and right now, its development is being funded with billions of dollars by people expecting to make a huge profit.', 'Do the interests of the public align with the interests of the shareholders to whom profit-driven, potentially tremendously lucrative-for-a-few companies are beholden?', 'Or with the interests of tech entrepreneurs who are primarily excited about being at the forefront of the AI revolution, regardless of the potential human costs?', 'One thing is clear: AI is coming.', 'And how it is built and unleashed on the public matters more than perhaps any technology of the past century.', 'It is, indeed, up there with the atom bomb in its destructive potential – except likely more difficult to regulate and control.', '“Regulation” does not begin to scratch the surface of what’s needed to make sure that the AI future is not a catastrophic one, especially since the development of AI is now a massive international arms race, with particularly horrific implications if bad actors develop this technology first.', 'But regulation is, at minimum, a necessary step.', 'So is transparency: In the US, companies have wide leverage to work behind a veil of secrecy, and much of what AI companies do is kept secret to stymy competition.', 'But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.', 'The Altman story is fascinating because Altman is the most powerful figure in AI technology, which in effect makes him one of the most powerful men in the world.', 'But that should give us pause: Who is he, what power does he hold, what is he doing with it, who does he answer to, and are we comfortable with this much life-altering potential being held by a few unaccountable people?']",0.0034737194649936,"But the public certainly has a right to understand what life-altering technologies are set to be inflicted upon us, and what the creators are doing to protect humanity – our jobs, our communities, our families, our connections, our educations and our abilities to build a life of purpose, but also our lives and our safety.","But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",-0.2999433577060699,AI technologies have already demonstrated the abilityto lie and to cover their tracks.,"But it is also a potentially very dangerous one, and not in the social media sense of “it may give us bad self-esteem and make us lonelier” but in the sense of “it could break down human societies and kill us all.”",2024-04-08
-Why lab-grown diamond sales are surging,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/27/business/diamonds-manmade-demand/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:49 AM EDT, Wed April 27, 2022
-    ","It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise. So are factory-made diamond sales.
-    
-            Not that you’d know the difference. Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones. The only noticeable difference is the price tag.
-    
-            “The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.
-    
-            He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.
-    
-            Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings. 
-    
-            “The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said. Too late. “It’s actually happening.” 
-    
-            Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds? Cost is the most obvious reason. The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.
-    
-            “This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said. Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.
-    
-            “A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.” 
-    
-            This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.
-    
-            The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.
-    
-            Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds. Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.
-    
-            Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.
-    
-            Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.
-    
-            Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.
-    
-            Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan. 
-    
-            Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream. In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora
-            
-                (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry. 
-    
-            Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.
-    
-            Signet,
-            
-                (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.
-    
-            Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year. 
-    
-            The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand. 
-    
-            Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.
-    
-            “As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free. They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”
-    
-            Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues. It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.
-    
-            There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value. 
-    
-            So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan. Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it. 
-    
-            But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.
-    
-            “As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “I always say, if you love it, be happy with it. An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”",CNN,27/04/2022,"['It’s proposal season, and engagements are on the rise.', 'So are factory-made diamond sales.', 'Not that you’d know the difference.', 'Man-made diamonds look the same as naturally occurring ones.', 'The only noticeable difference is the price tag.', '“The result is really stunning,” said Edahn Golan, an independent diamond industry analyst.', 'He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.', 'Going back by another month, to February, the data showed the number of rings sold with lab diamonds that month surged even more, to 80% compared to a year earlier while the number fell by 13% for natural diamond engagement rings.', '“The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings,” he said.', 'Too late. “', 'It’s actually happening.”', 'Why are consumers flocking to man-made diamonds?', 'Cost is the most obvious reason.', 'The average retail price of the most popular one carat round man-made diamond for an engagement ring in March was $2,318, Golan said.', '“This is substantially less – as much as 73% cheaper – than a natural diamond of the same size, cut and clarity as the man-made diamond, which would cost $8,740,” he said.', 'Plus, the lower cost allows couples to buy a bigger stone.', '“A lab diamond is a real diamond, but maybe it took a few weeks to make it,” said Golan. “', 'Natural diamonds were formed over 800 million to three billion years and there isn’t an infinite supply of them.”', 'This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.', 'The sanctions directly target Alrosa, partly owned by the Russian government, which the US government identified as the world’s largest diamond mining company, accounting for 28% of global diamond output.', 'Man-made diamonds are also becoming popular as consumers are more aware and educated about them, said Dan Moran, a third-generation diamond expert and owner of LA-based fine jeweler Concierge Diamonds.', 'Moran said the typical buyer of man-made diamonds is typically younger than 40 and very budget conscious.', 'Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.', 'Among Millennials and Gen Z, their eco-conscious mindset and ethical concerns about natural diamond sourcing is another factor influencing their preference for non-traditional engagement rings, according to a report from wedding planning website The Knot.', 'Although its slice is growing, the market share for man-made diamonds remains relatively small.', 'Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.', 'Some major jewelry retailers are driving the effort to take man-made diamonds mainstream.', 'In 2021, the world’s largest jewelry company, Pandora  (PANDY), made a major shift by announcing it would stop using mined diamonds and would swap to lab-created diamonds in its jewelry.', 'Pandora said it’s instituting the change as part of an effort to sell sustainable jewelry, and also because consumers increasingly are asking for it.', 'Signet,  (SIG) the largest jewelry company in the United States (which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared chains) called out the popularity of lab diamond jewelry in its March earnings call with analysts.', 'Calling it a “fast-growing category” in its jewelry portfolio, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos told analysts that lab-created diamonds are among the big jewelry trends she expects this year.', 'The company said it has expanded its man-made bridal jewelry selection in both its Zales and Kay Jewelers stores in response to the increased demand.', 'Fine jewelry brand Charles and Colvard, which makes lab-created diamonds, said consumers don’t just want to look good with the jewelry they are wearing, they also want to feel good about it.', '“As the momentum for conscious consumerism grows, the surge towards lab grown diamonds isn’t surprising,” said Don O’Connell, president and CEO of Charles & Colvard. “[', 'Consumers] want to know the origins of their stones and be reassured they’re conflict-free.', 'They’re embracing the choice to purchase a piece of fine jewelry that aligns with their values.”', 'Lab-grown diamond brand VRAI said the pandemic, too, has sparked attention and action toward social and environmental issues.', 'It said consumers are being more thoughtful and reassessing their purchasing habits, as well as the companies and industries they are supporting.', 'There is, however, one important consideration for anyone buying lab-created diamonds: Man-made diamonds have little resale value.', 'So while you may not be able to tell a natural diamond from a factory made variety, someone with a trained eye can, said Golan.', 'Once a stone is identified as a factory diamond, even though you paid a lot less for it, you also won’t get much for it.', 'But the value of a ring isn’t just monetary.', '“As a professional in the industry, I am asked all the time by people about what I think about a ring they have,” said Moran, of Concierge Jewelers. “', 'I always say, if you love it, be happy with it.', 'An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and enduring love.”']",0.3714494325159568,"He said March data showed the number of engagement rings sold that featured a manufactured diamond jumped 63% compared to last year, while the number of engagement rings sold with a natural diamond declined 25% in the same period.",Mined diamonds have a controversial history that’s tied to the use of child labor in some African diamond mines as well as sales of illegally-traded “conflict diamonds” that fund conflict in war-torn areas.,0.8542834222316742,"Currently, about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market is represented by man-made diamonds, up from 3% in 2020, said Golan.","This makes natural diamonds quite a bit more expensive, and prices are likely to rise as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tightened the supply chain for natural raw diamonds.",2024-04-08
-Your ultimate guide to the American Express Membership Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/american-express-membership-rewards-guide,"
-  Updated
-        1:03 PM EDT, Mon April 1, 2024
-    ","American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there. That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.
-    
-            In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.
-    
-            Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing. If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.
-    
-            You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways. Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift. It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings. Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.
-    
-            The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards. Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.
-    
-            These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card. With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance. Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.
-    
-            Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:
-    
-            All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.
-    
-            All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
-    
-            Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:
-    
-            Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses. If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).
-    
-            If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel. Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.
-    
-            When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules. For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days. Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.
-    
-            As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer. One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.
-    
-             Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings. That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.
-    
-            Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder. Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.
-    
-            If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.
-    
-            American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card. You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.
-    
-            To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site. You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card. Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card. You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.
-    
-            Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family. Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.
-    
-            Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards. For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.
-    
-            As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection. In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.
-    
-            Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers. With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.
-    
-            To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account. From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page. Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer. From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase. Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.
-    
-            Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards. It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.
-    
-            If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards. Simply log into your account and follow these steps:
-    
-            After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.
-    
-            Now, for the fun part! Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use. Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel. You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.
-    
-            Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.
-    
-            American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners. The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers. But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels. So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above. Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.
-    
-            By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.
-    
-            Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you. But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.
-    
-            Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions. This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.
-    
-            Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value. If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.
-    
-            You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings. By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings. Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.
-    
-            If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value. However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.
-    
-            Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points. However, that’s not always the case for everyone. You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online. Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.
-    
-            When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them. The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.
-    
-            Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits. Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point. The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above. Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.
-    
-            American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there. By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more. Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.
-    
-            Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,01/04/2024,"['American Express Membership Rewards® are among the most valuable travel rewards points out there.', 'That’s primarily because they fall into the category of “transferable rewards,” meaning you’re not tied down to a single airline or hotel program with which you can redeem them.', 'In other words, you’re not just earning points that can transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but they can also transfer to any of the other 16 airlines in the Membership Rewards portfolio.', 'Having Membership Rewards points gives you options, and that’s always a good thing.', 'If you’re ready to give your rewards portfolio a boost, here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards.', 'You can earn Membership Rewards points in various ways.', 'Some require little effort, while others involve a heavier lift.', 'It’s a good idea to take advantage of all the options out there in order to maximize your earnings.', 'Here’s a look at how to earn Membership Rewards most efficiently.', 'The primary way to earn Amex points is through credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Amex has an extensive lineup of personal and business cards offering generous welcome bonuses and recurring benefits to help you earn maximum points.', 'These include well-known cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card.', 'With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.', 'Here’s a look at the current welcome bonus offers on personal credit cards that earn Membership Rewards.', 'Keep in mind, too, that many of these cards carry an annual fee:  All information about the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Similarly, American Express offers a suite of business credit cards.', 'All information about the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.', 'Keep in mind that several of these cards also carry an annual fee:  Beyond the welcome bonus offers available, American Express makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards through category bonuses.', 'If you spend a lot on groceries, it may be worth considering the Amex Gold card to earn 4 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).', 'If you travel often, the Amex Platinum card is a great option for earning 5 points per dollar spent on eligible bookings made directly with an airline or with Amex Travel.', 'Plus, you’ll have access to airport lounges, like American Express Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, among others.', 'When applying for American Express cards, be sure to take note of the application rules.', 'For example, you can’t earn an Amex welcome bonus more than once (with a few exceptions), and you generally won’t be approved for more than two cards every 90 days.', 'Before applying for a credit card, it’s important to do your research.', 'As mentioned before, American Express makes it manageable to earn bonus points long after the welcome bonus offer.', 'One of those ways is by adding an authorized user to your Amex card, which will occasionally earn you bonus points.', 'Aside from the special promotions where Amex will offer you bonus points for adding an authorized user, doing so can also help you double up your point earnings.', 'That’s because you’ll not only earn points per dollar spent on your purchases, but you’ll also earn rewards on the authorized user’s purchases.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'Choose carefully who you add to your account, and you can earn extra Amex points without lifting a finger.', 'If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.', 'American Express offers bonuses to current card holders when you refer someone and they are approved for an eligible card.', 'You can earn up to 20,000 points per successful approval, though the exact bonus varies by card.', 'To find out your card’s current referral bonus, head over to the Amex referral site.', 'You’ll see referral bonuses based on your card.', 'Simply enter your friend’s name and email address for each card you want to refer and they’ll get an email, inviting them to apply for the card.', 'You can also copy the referral link on the page and share that with your friends and family directly.', 'Referrals are a lucrative way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points for recommending credit cards to your friends and family.', 'Keep in mind there is a limit to how many friends you can refer in a year.', 'Booking travel with American Express is rewarding, too — you can earn bonus points on your credit card, plus you can often get additional perks and rewards.', 'For example, with the Amex Platinum, you’ll get 5 points per dollar spent on hotels booked through Amex Travel.', 'As an added incentive, you’ll receive perks like free breakfast for two, room upgrades when available and hotel credits to use at the spa or onsite restaurant just by booking with Fine Hotels & Resorts or the Hotel Collection.', 'In general, booking travel through American Express pays off in more ways than one.', 'Card holders can also utilize one of the most underrated benefits of having an Amex card: Amex Offers.', 'With Amex Offers, card holders can earn statement credits or bonus points at select retailers.', 'In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash or earn bonus points for purchases you were already planning on making.', 'To find and take advantage of Amex Offers, you’ll need to log in to your account.', 'From there, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Amex Offers & Benefits section of the page.', 'Be sure to click “View All” to load all of your eligible offers, and also be sure to select “Add to Card” in order to activate your Amex Offer.', 'From there, you’ll be eligible to earn the bonus points or cash savings that come as part of each Amex Offer — so long as you use the registered card to make your purchase.', 'Amex Offers are a massive perk of Amex cards that can save you money or earn you bonus points on purchases you were already planning to make.', 'Thanks to a partnership with American Express, you can turn your Rakuten cash back rewards into Membership Rewards.', 'It’s a great way to earn Membership Rewards points on regular purchases, without much added effort.', 'If you already have a Rakuten account, you can easily switch your earning preference to Membership Rewards.', 'Simply log into your account and follow these steps:  After this, rewards get transferred to your Membership Rewards account quarterly.', 'Now, for the fun part!', 'Once you’ve earned Membership Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use.', 'Amex gives you several options to redeem points, but the best option is travel.', 'You can choose between statement credits for travel bookings or transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'Here’s a closer look at your options and how they work.', 'American Express has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — in other words, the Amex points you’ve earned can be transferred to any of the 20 hotel and airline partners.', 'The best way to redeem Membership Rewards for maximum value is through airline transfers.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'With each of the partners, you’ll need to link your accounts, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re looking to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points, these are the 20 airline and hotel partner options, as well as the transfer rate.', 'It’s worth noting that Amex occasionally runs transfer promotions for certain airlines or hotels.', 'So, at times, you can get more points in return than the standard transfer rate listed above.', 'Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.', 'By transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming points and miles, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, British Airways and American Airlines are both members of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and redeem for flights operated by American Airlines.', 'Because of the vast number of airline transfer partners, your options are virtually endless for where your Membership Rewards points can take you.', 'But, some redemptions are better than others — particularly when it comes to award sweet spots.', 'Some examples of these sweet spot awards using your Amex Membership Rewards points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'If figuring out transfer partner options and award charts sounds daunting, you can also use your Membership Rewards for fixed redemptions.', 'This includes using points for statement credits, travel bookings via Amex Travel, charitable donations, online shopping and gift cards.', 'Using points for statement credits toward qualifying purchases isn’t a great use of your points because you’ll only get 0.6 cents per point in value.', 'If you’re looking to maximize the value of your Amex points, this isn’t the best route to take.', 'You’ll get slightly more value by redeeming your Membership Rewards for travel bookings.', 'By doing so, you’ll get 1 cent per point toward airfare and 0.7 cents per point toward car rentals, hotels, cruises and vacation bookings.', 'Business Platinum card holders also get a 35% rebate when redeeming points for flight bookings through Amex Travel.', 'If you choose to redeem your points for gift cards, you’ll get 1 cent per point in value.', 'However, if you use Pay With Points (valid with Amazon, Best Buy, Boxed, Dell and GrubHub and others), you’ll get a value of just 0.5 cents to 1 cent each (depending on the Amex card) — one of the lowest-value options out there.', 'Generally speaking, you should try to extract as much value as possible out of your Amex Membership Rewards points.', 'However, that’s not always the case for everyone.', 'You may want to save a few dollars here or there on a purchase you’re making online.', 'Ultimately, we love Membership Rewards points so much because you have the option to use them however you like — whether for travel, Amazon purchases, gift cards and more.', 'When it comes to the worth of your Membership Rewards points, it ultimately comes down to how you use them.', 'The value you can get ranges from about 0.6 cents each to about 2 cents each.', 'Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece.', 'Amex offers 0.6 cents per point in value when you use points for statement credits.', 'Meanwhile, travel bookings will get you a somewhat higher 1 cent per point.', 'The highest value comes from transferring points to airline and hotel partners, as detailed above.', 'Convert your points to airline miles and you can get 2 cents or more in value on premium award redemptions.', 'American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most versatile and valuable out there.', 'By earning them, you give yourself the option to save money on travel, buying gift cards, Amazon purchases and so much more.', 'Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that makes having an Amex credit card so rewarding.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card.', 'Click here for rates and fees of the Amex Blue Business Plus card.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5246481979610982,"If you’ve picked up an American Express credit card, earned the welcome bonus offer and think others would enjoy doing the same, you can get rewarded for spreading the word to family and friends.",But keep in mind that not all airline loyalty programs are equal.,0.9622429311275482,"With a single welcome bonus offer, you can give a pretty substantial boost to your Membership Rewards points balance.",,2024-04-08
-Ted Baker to close 15 stores and cut 245 jobs,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68762097,2024-04-08T13:39:15.000Z,"High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said. Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses. In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts. The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month. When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions. US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK. When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"". It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year. The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"". Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"". She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added. Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health."" The 11 stores closing by 19 April are:  The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States. It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.  Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.  ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores and cut 245 jobs, administrators have said.', ""Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses."", 'In addition, 25 head office roles will go, and four stores that had been set to close prior to the administration will shut shortly, affecting 100 posts.', ""The firm behind Ted Baker's UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), hired administrators last month."", 'When it fell into administration, Ted Baker had about 975 employees in the UK and ran 46 shops, plus an e-commerce platform and department store concessions.', 'US firm Authentic Brands Group owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, with NODL the holding company for the brand in the UK.', 'When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".', 'It said NODL had ""built up a significant level of arrears"" through a partnership with Dutch firm AARC, which ended in January this year.', 'The administrators said the stores scheduled to close ""have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions"".', 'Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell said although the Ted Baker brand did ""still chime"" with consumers, ""the sound is dull and for many younger shoppers their engagement is limited to fragrance and underwear"".', 'She suggested Next could be in the running to acquire the fashion chain. ""', 'Next already has a relationship with the brand and no one would be surprised to see it subsume the company into its family, especially now the business has been slimmed down,"" Ms Hewson added.', 'Meanwhile, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ""Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. ""', 'These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""', 'The 11 stores closing by 19 April are: The four stores that are set to close ""in the coming weeks"" are: Ted Baker began as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1988, and grew to have shops across the UK and in the United States.', 'It also has licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in Asia and the Middle East.', 'Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?', 'Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.', 'Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.', ""You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk."", 'Please include your name, age and location with any submission.']",0.094643484200579,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","When NODL fell into administration itself last month, Authentic Brands said the ""damage done"" during a tie-up with another firm was ""too much to overcome"".",-0.1099107265472412,"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.""","Eleven stores will close by 19 April, administrators for the brand's owner said, leading to 120 job losses.",2024-04-08
-Fallen 'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68677487,2024-03-28T16:12:40.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.  The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022. He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure. Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction. A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son."" Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.  FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency.  Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.  He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments. Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried's behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes.  ""He knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he's not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said. Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.  While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines. Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary. But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law. Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years.  They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court.  ""The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""Sentence him to work hard and give it all away."" Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years. But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it's not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.  He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.  The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.  Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.  Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith. In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""They've been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange's customers. ""It's been excruciating to watch."" Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks.  ""They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""It haunts me every day."" Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome. Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"".  ""I don't wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.  Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said. Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.  He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison. Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges. But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.  Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin. His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.  Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.  ",BBC,28/03/2024,"['Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.', ""The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022."", 'He was found to have stolen billions from customers ahead of the failure.', ""Bankman-Fried's legal team will appeal against his conviction."", 'A message from his parents shared with the BBC by a representative for Bankman-Fried said: ""We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.""', 'Earlier, the 32-year-old said in court he knew ""a lot of people"" felt ""really let down"". ""', ""I'm sorry about that."", 'I\'m sorry about what happened at every stage,"" he said, speaking quietly and clearly ahead of his sentencing.', ""FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before its demise, turning Bankman-Fried into a business celebrity and attracting millions of customers who used the platform to buy and trade cryptocurrency."", ""Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes."", 'He was convicted by a New York jury last year on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after a trial that detailed how he had taken more than $8bn (£6.3bn) from customers, and used the money to buy property, make political donations and put toward other investments.', 'Before reading the sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment of Bankman-Fried\'s behaviour, saying he had lied during his testimony at trial when he claimed he was unaware until the last minute that his companies were taking money entrusted to them for safe-keeping by customers and using it for other purposes. ""', 'He knew it was wrong.', 'He knew it was criminal.', 'He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he\'s not going to admit a thing,"" the judge said.', 'Though Bankman-Fried had made ""protestations of sorrow"" about customer losses, he had uttered ""never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes"", he added.', 'While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than the more than 100 years Bankman-Fried could have received under official government guidelines.', 'Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary.', 'But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, while showing ""brazen disrespect"" for the law.', ""Bankman-Fried's team had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years."", 'They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""', 'The victims want their money back and they should get it,"" his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued in court on Thursday morning. ""', 'Sentence him to work hard and give it all away.""', 'Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a lawyer at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, said he was ""very surprised"" by the ruling, noting that Bankman-Fried could potentially be released from prison in about 13 years.', 'But Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Western New England University and expert on white-collar crime, said she thought the length of the sentence was appropriate. ""', 'It is the right balance between how old he is and what is the purpose of deterrence,"" she said.', 'In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kaplan said what could amount to a life sentence was unnecessary but that Bankman-Fried must receive a punishment sufficient to prevent him from committing future crimes. ""', 'There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future and it\'s not a trivial risk, not a trivial risk at all,"" he said.', 'He also ordered Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11bn that can be used to compensate victims.', 'The government has already seized some of those assets, such as shares Bankman-Fried owned in Robinhood, the trading app which raised more than $600m when they were sold last year.', 'Bankman-Fried showed little visible reaction to the ruling.', 'Bankman-Fried has admitted to mistakes of mismanagement, but maintained that he was acting in good faith.', 'In his comments ahead of the sentencing, he stuck to his story that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse and said he did not think that reasons behind customer suffering had been ""properly told"". ""', 'They\'ve been failed by more people than I can count"" including himself, he said, speaking of the exchange\'s customers. ""', 'It\'s been excruciating to watch.""', 'Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. ""', 'They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away,"" he added. ""', 'It haunts me every day.""', 'Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, had submitted letters to the court, trying to sway the outcome.', 'Louis Dorigny of California, who had been an FTX customer said it was a ""bittersweet moment for creditors"". ""', 'I don\'t wish jail time on anybody, and 25 years is a very, very long time to be in prison, but it does nothing to compensate the victims for the loss of their cryptocurrency,"" he said.', 'Samuel Hapak, chief executive of crypto trading fund Wincent, whose firm represented 200 investors with millions of dollars at FTX when it entered bankruptcy, told the BBC that he thought the ruling was ""fair"". ""', 'Twenty-five years is a lot and I believe that this sounds like a reasonable signal to the industry that it needs to step up the game,"" he said.', 'Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.', ""He said he was also taking into account concerns raised by his lawyers and parents that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness stemming from autism spectrum disorder would make him vulnerable in prison."", ""Bankman-Fried's case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges."", 'But he is not the first player in the industry to be sentenced.', 'Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with ""Cryptoqueen"" Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4bn in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin.', 'His case also drew comparisons to Bernie Madoff, who was setenced to 150 years in prison after being found guilty of a $64bn Ponzi scheme.', 'Former federal prosecutor Marc Litt, who worked on the the case against Madoff and is now a lawyer at Wachtel Missry, said he saw big differences between the two fraudsters, noting Madoff was older when sentenced, had committed his crimes over several decades, stolen from people he knew well and had no one step forward to testify to his character. ""', 'The court implicitly took those sorts of differences into consideration and I believe that the resulting lower sentence was both warranted and is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal,"" he said.']",-0.2778604803875567,"Bankman-Fried said he was sorry for disappointing not only customers but also former employees, including top lieutenants Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, formerly close friends who testified against him at trial and whom he praised in his remarks. """,Judge Kaplan said he would not recommend Bankman-Fried serve his sentence in a maximum security prison because the court had no reason to believe he posed a threat of violence.,-0.2853165732489692,"They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court. ""","Rumours of financial trouble sparked a run on deposits in 2022, precipitating the firm's implosion and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.",2024-04-08
-New housing development near Wymondham proposed,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2y725p1lvo,2024-04-06T06:25:39.224Z,"Plans for a new housing estate could significantly increase the population of a small Norfolk village.  The development would create 45 new homes off Bunwell Road in Spooner Row, near Wymondham.  The village has a population of about 800 people, but the proposals made to South Norfolk Council say the development would be a ""desirable place for family living"".  The plans will be considered by the council after being submitted in March. Developers KCS want to build a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses on nine acres of land, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Spooner Row parish councillor Robert Foster said he supported the plans, especially the inclusion of 15 affordable homes.  ""This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive. I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""Young people have told me that they want to stay in the village but there just isn't the housing stock available for them.""  However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.  Chairwoman of the council Sue Hewitson said: ""There has been a huge amount of furore and we are listening to what residents have to say."" Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830 ",BBC,06/04/2024,"['Plans for a new housing estate could significantly increase the population of a small Norfolk village.', 'The development would create 45 new homes off Bunwell Road in Spooner Row, near Wymondham.', 'The village has a population of about 800 people, but the proposals made to South Norfolk Council say the development would be a ""desirable place for family living"".', 'The plans will be considered by the council after being submitted in March.', 'Developers KCS want to build a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses on nine acres of land, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.', 'Spooner Row parish councillor Robert Foster said he supported the plans, especially the inclusion of 15 affordable homes. ""', 'This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive.', 'I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""', 'Young people have told me that they want to stay in the village but there just isn\'t the housing stock available for them.""', 'However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.', 'Chairwoman of the council Sue Hewitson said: ""There has been a huge amount of furore and we are listening to what residents have to say.""', 'Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story?', 'Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830']",0.1878489026166552,This is a small development and will help to keep the village alive.,"However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.",0.5062926560640335,"I expect the families will contribute to the good health of the area,"" he said. ""","However, the plans have been met by criticism regarding the size and location of the application.",2024-04-08
-National Insurance calculator: How much will the 2p cut save me and what is income tax?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-63635185,2022-11-15T17:40:23.000Z,"A 2p cut in National Insurance (NI) has come into effect. However, previous changes to the way tax is calculated mean the amount people pay overall is rising.  The starting rate for NI changed from 10% to 8% for 27 million workers on 6 April 2024. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who announced the measure in the Budget, said this was worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000. Two million self-employed workers also got a cut in the main rate of NI. Contributions on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 have been cut from a rate of 9% to 6%. The government has said that is worth £350 to a self-employed person earning £28,200.  NI was also cut at the start of the year. Since 6 January, millions of employees have been paying 10% on their earnings between £12,571 and £50,270. They previously paid 12%.  The government has said that when combined with the latest cut, a worker on £35,000 will save about £900 a year. For the self-employed, Class 4 NI contributions on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 were already due to be cut from a rate of 9% to 8% in April. They will no longer pay a separate category of NI called Class 2 contributions.  The NI rate on income and profits above £50,270 remains at 2%.  The government uses National Insurance contributions (NICs) to pay for benefits and help fund the NHS.  NI rates apply across the UK. You start paying NI when you turn 16 and earn over £242 a week, or have profits of more than £12,570 a year.  It is not paid by people over the state pension age, even if they are working.  Eligibility for some benefits, including the state pension, depends on the NI contributions you make across your working life. The government records how many years of contributions you have made. Paying a lower rate of NI does not mean you contribute fewer years.  If you do not work, for example because you are a carer or claim benefits, you might be able to receive NI credits instead, which mean you will still qualify for the relevant benefits.  You can also make voluntary contributions to plug gaps in your record. Despite the NI cuts in January and April, millions will still pay more tax overall because of changes to the tax thresholds.  These are the income levels at which people start paying NI or income tax, or have to pay higher rates.  These used to rise every year in line with inflation.  However, the NI threshold and tax-free personal allowance - the amount you can earn every year before you have to pay income tax - have been frozen at £12,570 until 2028. Higher-rate tax will continue to kick in for earnings above £50,270.  Freezing the thresholds means that more people start paying tax and NI as their wages increase, and more people pay higher rates.  It will create 3.2 million extra taxpayers by 2028, and 2.6 million more people will pay higher rates, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which conducts independent assessments of the government's economic plans.  According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think thank, the freeze cancels out the benefits of the NI cuts for some workers.  In the upcoming financial year, an average earner will have a tax cut of about £340 - from the combined tax changes - and people earning between £26,000 and £60,000 will be better off.  But by 2027, the average earner would be only £140 better off - and only people earning between £32,000 and £55,000 a year would be better off. Income tax is paid on earnings from employment and profits from self-employment during the tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. Income tax is also paid on some benefits and pensions, income from renting out property, and returns from savings and investments above certain limits.  The Basic rate is 20% and is paid on annual earnings between £12,571 and £50,270.  The Higher rate is 40%, and is paid on earnings between £50,271 and £125,140. Once you earn more than £100,000, you also start losing your tax-free personal allowance.  You lose £1 of your personal allowance for every £2 that your income goes above £100,000.  Anyone earning more than £125,140 a year no longer has any tax-free personal allowance.  The additional rate of income tax is 45%, and is paid on all earnings above £125,140 a year.  These apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some income tax rates are different in Scotland.  In Scotland a new 45% band has taken effect. The top rate has also risen from 47% to 48%. For most families, income tax is the single biggest tax they pay.  But for less well-off households, a greater share of family income goes on taxes on spending, known as indirect taxes.  For the poorest fifth of households, VAT is the biggest single tax paid. You can look at the amount of tax raised as a proportion of the size of the economy, or GDP.  In 2022 - the most recent year for which international comparisons can be made - that figure was 35.3%. That puts the UK right in the middle of the G7 group of big economies.  France, Italy and Germany tax more; Canada, Japan and the US tax less. However, overall taxation in the UK is high compared with historical rates.  In its assessment of the 2024 Budget, the OBR said the government would collect 37.1p of every pound generated in the economy in 2028-29.  That would be the highest level in 80 years.  ",BBC,15/11/2022,"['A 2p cut in National Insurance (NI) has come into effect.', 'However, previous changes to the way tax is calculated mean the amount people pay overall is rising.', 'The starting rate for NI changed from 10% to 8% for 27 million workers on 6 April 2024.', 'Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who announced the measure in the Budget, said this was worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.', 'Two million self-employed workers also got a cut in the main rate of NI.', 'Contributions on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 have been cut from a rate of 9% to 6%.', 'The government has said that is worth £350 to a self-employed person earning £28,200.', 'NI was also cut at the start of the year.', 'Since 6 January, millions of employees have been paying 10% on their earnings between £12,571 and £50,270.', 'They previously paid 12%.', 'The government has said that when combined with the latest cut, a worker on £35,000 will save about £900 a year.', 'For the self-employed, Class 4 NI contributions on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 were already due to be cut from a rate of 9% to 8% in April.', 'They will no longer pay a separate category of NI called Class 2 contributions.', 'The NI rate on income and profits above £50,270 remains at 2%.', 'The government uses National Insurance contributions (NICs) to pay for benefits and help fund the NHS.', 'NI rates apply across the UK.', 'You start paying NI when you turn 16 and earn over £242 a week, or have profits of more than £12,570 a year.', 'It is not paid by people over the state pension age, even if they are working.', 'Eligibility for some benefits, including the state pension, depends on the NI contributions you make across your working life.', 'The government records how many years of contributions you have made.', 'Paying a lower rate of NI does not mean you contribute fewer years.', 'If you do not work, for example because you are a carer or claim benefits, you might be able to receive NI credits instead, which mean you will still qualify for the relevant benefits.', 'You can also make voluntary contributions to plug gaps in your record.', 'Despite the NI cuts in January and April, millions will still pay more tax overall because of changes to the tax thresholds.', 'These are the income levels at which people start paying NI or income tax, or have to pay higher rates.', 'These used to rise every year in line with inflation.', 'However, the NI threshold and tax-free personal allowance - the amount you can earn every year before you have to pay income tax - have been frozen at £12,570 until 2028.', 'Higher-rate tax will continue to kick in for earnings above £50,270.', 'Freezing the thresholds means that more people start paying tax and NI as their wages increase, and more people pay higher rates.', ""It will create 3.2 million extra taxpayers by 2028, and 2.6 million more people will pay higher rates, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which conducts independent assessments of the government's economic plans."", 'According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think thank, the freeze cancels out the benefits of the NI cuts for some workers.', 'In the upcoming financial year, an average earner will have a tax cut of about £340 - from the combined tax changes - and people earning between £26,000 and £60,000 will be better off.', 'But by 2027, the average earner would be only £140 better off - and only people earning between £32,000 and £55,000 a year would be better off.', 'Income tax is paid on earnings from employment and profits from self-employment during the tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.', 'Income tax is also paid on some benefits and pensions, income from renting out property, and returns from savings and investments above certain limits.', 'The Basic rate is 20% and is paid on annual earnings between £12,571 and £50,270.', 'The Higher rate is 40%, and is paid on earnings between £50,271 and £125,140.', 'Once you earn more than £100,000, you also start losing your tax-free personal allowance.', 'You lose £1 of your personal allowance for every £2 that your income goes above £100,000.', 'Anyone earning more than £125,140 a year no longer has any tax-free personal allowance.', 'The additional rate of income tax is 45%, and is paid on all earnings above £125,140 a year.', 'These apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.', 'Some income tax rates are different in Scotland.', 'In Scotland a new 45% band has taken effect.', 'The top rate has also risen from 47% to 48%.', 'For most families, income tax is the single biggest tax they pay.', 'But for less well-off households, a greater share of family income goes on taxes on spending, known as indirect taxes.', 'For the poorest fifth of households, VAT is the biggest single tax paid.', 'You can look at the amount of tax raised as a proportion of the size of the economy, or GDP.', 'In 2022 - the most recent year for which international comparisons can be made - that figure was 35.3%.', 'That puts the UK right in the middle of the G7 group of big economies.', 'France, Italy and Germany tax more; Canada, Japan and the US tax less.', 'However, overall taxation in the UK is high compared with historical rates.', 'In its assessment of the 2024 Budget, the OBR said the government would collect 37.1p of every pound generated in the economy in 2028-29.', 'That would be the highest level in 80 years.']",0.0835324266124062,"But by 2027, the average earner would be only £140 better off - and only people earning between £32,000 and £55,000 a year would be better off.","For the poorest fifth of households, VAT is the biggest single tax paid.",-0.0628779530525207,The top rate has also risen from 47% to 48%.,"However, overall taxation in the UK is high compared with historical rates.",2024-04-08
-Ibiza locals living in cars as party island sees rents soar,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68730891,2024-04-06T00:39:13.000Z,"César Nebrera pours out a cup of coffee he has brewed on a stove in the boot of his car. The old green Kia saloon sits in the shade of a carob tree just off the main road near Ibiza Town. ""I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""Those are the kinds of things that you miss out on when you live in a car."" César's Kia has been his home for the past three years. He works as a chef, but with rental costs on the Spanish island of Ibiza having spiralled, he cannot afford to live in a flat. ""In Ibiza, accommodation is very expensive, and it's getting more and more expensive,"" he says. ""And the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn. So living like this is an alternative. It's less comfortable, but it allows me to keep living on the island."" Ibiza is one of the four main Mediterranean islands that make up Spain's Balearic Islands. The others are Majorca, Menorca, and Formentera. Many local professionals in Ibiza are living in similarly precarious conditions because of high rental costs. Last year, the IGC, a representative body of the civil guard police force, said that ""three or four"" of its officers were living in vehicles on the island. Other locals have resorted to living in tents, or in extremely basic shared accommodation. Daniel Granda, spokesman for the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Ibiza y Formentera, an organisation that represents local tenants, says such situations are becoming commonplace. ""A lot of people end up in quite miserable conditions, and we're starting to see slums across the island,"" he says. ""Without the possibility of finding accommodation that allows us to live normally, those of us who live on the island have the feeling that we are being pushed off it."" High interest rates and a recent cost-of-living crisis have deterred many Spaniards from buying property, creating an increase in demand for rented accommodation, which has pushed rental costs up. Rental prices across the Balearic Islands have increased by an average of 18% over the past year alone, compared with a 12% average increase nationwide. However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone. Isabel María Pérez, who has searched for affordable accommodation on the island, says that a single room costs between €700 and €1,000 ($760 and $1,086; £600 and £857) per month, while a modest flat can cost around €1,500. Isabel, who works as a cashier in a supermarket, and her partner, who has a job in a five-star hotel, had to move out of their rented apartment when it was sold. Since then, they have been living with Isabel's mother-in-law. Originally from the central Spanish region of Castilla La Mancha, Isabel says that she and her family are now considering moving back to the mainland, purely because of the housing situation. ""The problem in other parts of Spain is that there isn't much work,"" she says. ""Here there's all the work you could want, but there isn't anywhere to live."" Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville. With a population of just 160,000, Ibiza received close to four million tourists last year, a new record, and 84% of its economic activity is linked to tourism, according to the local government. While its hotels, restaurants and clubs provide plenty of employment, a large portion of its housing is only available at short-term tourist rates, and local workers are priced out of the market. The conservative regional government of the Balearic Islands, which came into power last year, has chosen not to implement a housing law approved by the Spanish government in Madrid which seeks to cap rentals in areas of the country where they have soared. Instead, the local authorities mainly attribute the housing problem to homeowners in residential areas of Ibiza who are flouting the law by offering their properties for short-term rental, when local laws state they must rent for at least six months at a time. The local government says that since 2019 it has imposed around €4m euros in fines related to illegal activity in the tourism sector. ""The problem is that you earn much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law,"" says Juan Miguel Costa, head of tourism in Ibiza.  He says that regional and municipal authorities need to work together ""to attack that idea of impunity that there has been on the island, that it's very easy to offer an apartment [for tourism] illegally in a residential building, or offer a property as a holiday home without a holiday licence."" Mr Costa also attributes the rental increase to many homes remaining unused throughout the year, because of owners' concerns about possible squatting, further reducing the supply of housing for local workers. An irony of Ibiza's housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. ""Anyone who lives here keeps saying the same thing: something has to give because the prices keep going up,"" says George McBlain, operations director at O Beach, a discotheque and restaurant that employs workers from the island, mainland Spain and abroad. ""Obviously, salaries go up a little bit, but not enough,"" he adds. ""I've got friends here and their rents have jumped up by double in the space of a year. And if that continues, what you're going to see - and it's already happening - is that workers coming to the island are going to pick elsewhere."" ",BBC,06/04/2024,"['César Nebrera pours out a cup of coffee he has brewed on a stove in the boot of his car.', 'The old green Kia saloon sits in the shade of a carob tree just off the main road near Ibiza Town. ""', 'I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""', 'Those are the kinds of things that you miss out on when you live in a car.""', ""César's Kia has been his home for the past three years."", 'He works as a chef, but with rental costs on the Spanish island of Ibiza having spiralled, he cannot afford to live in a flat. ""', 'In Ibiza, accommodation is very expensive, and it\'s getting more and more expensive,"" he says. ""', 'And the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn.', 'So living like this is an alternative.', 'It\'s less comfortable, but it allows me to keep living on the island.""', ""Ibiza is one of the four main Mediterranean islands that make up Spain's Balearic Islands."", 'The others are Majorca, Menorca, and Formentera.', 'Many local professionals in Ibiza are living in similarly precarious conditions because of high rental costs.', 'Last year, the IGC, a representative body of the civil guard police force, said that ""three or four"" of its officers were living in vehicles on the island.', 'Other locals have resorted to living in tents, or in extremely basic shared accommodation.', 'Daniel Granda, spokesman for the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Ibiza y Formentera, an organisation that represents local tenants, says such situations are becoming commonplace. ""', 'A lot of people end up in quite miserable conditions, and we\'re starting to see slums across the island,"" he says. ""', 'Without the possibility of finding accommodation that allows us to live normally, those of us who live on the island have the feeling that we are being pushed off it.""', 'High interest rates and a recent cost-of-living crisis have deterred many Spaniards from buying property, creating an increase in demand for rented accommodation, which has pushed rental costs up.', 'Rental prices across the Balearic Islands have increased by an average of 18% over the past year alone, compared with a 12% average increase nationwide.', ""However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone."", 'Isabel María Pérez, who has searched for affordable accommodation on the island, says that a single room costs between €700 and €1,000 ($760 and $1,086; £600 and £857) per month, while a modest flat can cost around €1,500.', 'Isabel, who works as a cashier in a supermarket, and her partner, who has a job in a five-star hotel, had to move out of their rented apartment when it was sold.', ""Since then, they have been living with Isabel's mother-in-law."", 'Originally from the central Spanish region of Castilla La Mancha, Isabel says that she and her family are now considering moving back to the mainland, purely because of the housing situation. ""', 'The problem in other parts of Spain is that there isn\'t much work,"" she says. ""', 'Here there\'s all the work you could want, but there isn\'t anywhere to live.""', ""Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville."", 'With a population of just 160,000, Ibiza received close to four million tourists last year, a new record, and 84% of its economic activity is linked to tourism, according to the local government.', 'While its hotels, restaurants and clubs provide plenty of employment, a large portion of its housing is only available at short-term tourist rates, and local workers are priced out of the market.', 'The conservative regional government of the Balearic Islands, which came into power last year, has chosen not to implement a housing law approved by the Spanish government in Madrid which seeks to cap rentals in areas of the country where they have soared.', 'Instead, the local authorities mainly attribute the housing problem to homeowners in residential areas of Ibiza who are flouting the law by offering their properties for short-term rental, when local laws state they must rent for at least six months at a time.', 'The local government says that since 2019 it has imposed around €4m euros in fines related to illegal activity in the tourism sector. ""', 'The problem is that you earn much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law,"" says Juan Miguel Costa, head of tourism in Ibiza.', 'He says that regional and municipal authorities need to work together ""to attack that idea of impunity that there has been on the island, that it\'s very easy to offer an apartment [for tourism] illegally in a residential building, or offer a property as a holiday home without a holiday licence.""', ""Mr Costa also attributes the rental increase to many homes remaining unused throughout the year, because of owners' concerns about possible squatting, further reducing the supply of housing for local workers."", 'An irony of Ibiza\'s housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. ""', 'Anyone who lives here keeps saying the same thing: something has to give because the prices keep going up,"" says George McBlain, operations director at O Beach, a discotheque and restaurant that employs workers from the island, mainland Spain and abroad. ""', 'Obviously, salaries go up a little bit, but not enough,"" he adds. ""', ""I've got friends here and their rents have jumped up by double in the space of a year."", 'And if that continues, what you\'re going to see - and it\'s already happening - is that workers coming to the island are going to pick elsewhere.""']",-0.040339077563443,"I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,"" he says. ""","An irony of Ibiza's housing crisis is that it is now threatening to undermine the same tourism industry that is so widely blamed for causing the rental rises in the first place. """,-0.0547195606761508,"However, Ibiza's status as a tourism hub situated in a relatively small area has supercharged this phenomenon on the island, leading to much steeper increases, in some cases up to 40 or 50% over the last year alone.","Unemployment in Ibiza Town, the island's capital, is at just under 5%, compared to 8% in Madrid or 19% in the Andalusia region's capital Seville.",2024-04-08
-The rise of magnets – from surgery to outer space,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68629800,2024-04-04T23:09:15.000Z,"The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place. Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder. But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body.  In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant. This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this. But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets. Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology. They've been used for centuries, after all. And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before. This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines. They are, therefore, crucial for electrification. However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations. And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share. Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities. The future, they say, depends on it. ""My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""Nobody else, I don't think, gets involved in so many things."" His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers. Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa. Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved. For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum. But now N52 grade versions are commercially available.  ""You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow. In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin. This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example. Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall. The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency.  One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie. Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""It's a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you're outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton. That hasn't stopped some from trying. US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths. Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets. This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields. Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets. The first of these will be used in speakers.  Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla. Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride. Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch. In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example. A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year. Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling. When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result. The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production. It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton. And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.  But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling.  ""There's a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton. Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime. More technology of business Niron's targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains. Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley. And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth. Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before. Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""It's almost limitless,"" he says. ""This is just the beginning."" ",BBC,04/04/2024,"['The tiny, tweezer-like set of metal jaws was in place.', ""Gently gripping the patient's gall bladder."", ""But the grasping device was not physically connected to anything - it appeared to be levitating inside the person's body."", 'In reality, the jaws were being controlled remotely by a robot arm wielding a special magnet. ""', 'We could see the critical structures, the blood vessels,"" says Dr Matthew Kroh of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.', ""It wasn't long before he had removed the troublesome gall bladder with the help of his robotic assistant."", 'This was one of two dozen or so similar surgeries he and his team have performed in recent months using their high-tech system. ""', 'It allows us to do a very common operation in a less invasive way,"" he says, explaining that fewer incisions are now required for procedures such as this.', 'But there are many other emerging applications that also use carefully manufactured magnets.', 'Permanent magnets, the kind that keep colourful souvenirs stuck to the door of your fridge, might seem a fairly mature, well-established technology.', ""They've been used for centuries, after all."", 'And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.', 'This is because, increasingly, magnets are used in all kinds of ascendant technologies - including EV motors and wind turbines.', 'They are, therefore, crucial for electrification.', 'However, magnets are generally made using rare earth elements, the products of dirty mining operations.', 'And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share.', 'Many argue that we need cleaner and more widely distributed magnet manufacturing facilities.', 'The future, they say, depends on it. ""', 'My job is brilliant,"" says Matthew Swallow, technical product manager for Bunting Magnetics in the UK. ""', 'Nobody else, I don\'t think, gets involved in so many things.""', 'His firm makes magnets that are used in all kinds of systems - from cochlear implants, to emergency brakes on rollercoasters, including at Alton Towers.', 'Bunting Magnetics has even supplied magnets to Nasa.', 'Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.', 'For such magnets designed to cope with temperatures up to 200C, a grade of N35 used to be the maximum.', 'But now N52 grade versions are commercially available. ""', 'You can literally make the magnet 60% less massive and get the same level of performance,"" explains Mr Swallow.', 'In an electric motor, a magnetic field helps an internal coil to spin.', 'This might be used to drive an axle and turn the wheels of an electric car, for example.', 'Higher grade magnets mean motors that run more efficiently and cars that weigh slightly less overall.', ""The careful addition of a small amount of dysprosium, another rare earth element, is one way to improve a magnet's efficiency."", 'One reason why China dominates global production of these magnets is financial incentives, says Ross Embleton, senior analyst for metals & mining - rare earths at Wood Mackenzie.', 'Rare earth permanent magnet material is subject to a 13% VAT discount on export from the country, and provincial governments give support on energy costs, for example, which also helps buoy up magnet-making facilities. ""', 'It\'s a really, really challenging industry to compete in if you\'re outside of China,"" says Mr Embleton.', ""That hasn't stopped some from trying."", 'US firm Niron Magnetics says it has managed to make good quality magnets without rare earths.', 'Instead, they use iron and nitrogen to make iron nitride magnets.', 'This relies on getting the iron nitride to take on a specific crystalline structure, which generates magnetic fields.', ""Chief executive Jonathan Rowntree declines to explain his company's production techniques in detail, but he says Niron has already produced working magnets."", 'The first of these will be used in speakers.', ""Magnetic field strength is measured in terms of teslas, and Niron's magnets are currently at one tesla."", 'Mr Rowntree says it should be possible to make significantly more powerful magnets, up to 2.4 teslas, with iron nitride.', 'Alternatively, recycling magnets would also be much better for the environment compared with making new rare earth magnets from scratch.', 'In the UK, the University of Birmingham has developed a method for extracting rare earth alloys from old electric motors and computer hard drives, for example.', 'A spin out company, HyProMag, has now successfully extracted rare earths using the technology, and aims to begin commercial production of magnets using such material later this year.', 'Meanwhile, US firm Noveon Magnetics says it has developed its own method for magnet recycling.', 'When asked about the process, and the grades of magnets produced, chief commercial officer Peter Afiuny declined to go into details, except to say that a small amount of alloy is mixed with recovered material to achieve the desired result.', 'The whole process is about 40% more efficient than traditional virgin magnet production.', 'It can be difficult to know the quality of an old magnet from a disused consumer electronics device, however, says Mr Embleton.', 'And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.', 'But gradually, as early generations of EV motors and wind turbines reach the end of their lifespans in the coming years, more magnetic material is expected to become available for recycling. ""', 'There\'s a bit of a delay there waiting for that material to come back again,"" says Mr Embleton.', 'Companies have an opportunity to perfect their recycling processes in the meantime.', 'More technology of business Niron\'s targeting of the audio speakers market is interesting, says Nicola Morley at the University of Sheffield. ""', 'It means they think they can produce them cheaply - that market has other cheap permanent magnets in it,"" she explains.', 'Within the last decade, the development of magnet technology has really begun to accelerate, adds Prof Morley.', 'And Mr Swallow cites other emerging applications that sound quite sci-fi - including magnets mounted on satellites to scoop up space debris orbiting Earth.', 'Dr Kroh says he is looking forward to even more sophisticated magnets that will make other surgeries less invasive than before.', 'Chest surgery involving the lungs, or endoscopies, for instance, could one day be performed with the help of such technology. ""', 'It\'s almost limitless,"" he says. ""', 'This is just the beginning.""']",0.1639147133339751,"And yet, today, researchers and companies are expending huge efforts on making magnets more powerful and efficient than ever before.","And sometimes magnets are stuck into products with hard epoxy resins, making them tricky to remove.",0.988849639892578,"Mr Swallow says that, even during the past 10 years or so, the availability of higher grade magnets made with the rare earth element neodymium has improved.",,2024-04-08
-Iowa women’s basketball sets another ratings record in Final Four win over UConn,https://edition.cnn.com/business/iowa-womens-basketball-ratings-record/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:36 PM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","Days after the Iowa Hawkeyes set the all-time ratings record for a women’s college basketball game in their Elite Eight win over the Louisiana State University Tigers, the team set yet another record.
-    
-            The Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory on Friday over the UConn Huskies in the Final Four averaged 14.2 million viewers, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game and the largest viewership for an ESPN basketball broadcast, according to the sports network.
-    
-            Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.
-    
-            Monday’s Elite Eight matchup saw more than 12 million viewers tune in to watch the much-hyped rematch of 2023’s women’s national championship game, which saw Iowa avenge last year’s loss and advance to its second straight Final Four.
-    
-            The audience for that game peaked at 16.1 million viewers, according to ESPN.
-    
-            The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.
-    
-            The Hawkeyes will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday for the women’s NCAA tournament national championship in Cleveland, Ohio.",CNN,06/04/2024,"['Days after the Iowa Hawkeyes set the all-time ratings record for a women’s college basketball game in their Elite Eight win over the Louisiana State University Tigers, the team set yet another record.', 'The Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory on Friday over the UConn Huskies in the Final Four averaged 14.2 million viewers, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game and the largest viewership for an ESPN basketball broadcast, according to the sports network.', 'Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.', 'Monday’s Elite Eight matchup saw more than 12 million viewers tune in to watch the much-hyped rematch of 2023’s women’s national championship game, which saw Iowa avenge last year’s loss and advance to its second straight Final Four.', 'The audience for that game peaked at 16.1 million viewers, according to ESPN.', 'The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.', 'The Hawkeyes will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday for the women’s NCAA tournament national championship in Cleveland, Ohio.']",0.289203262627152,"Friday’s game peaked at 17 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-best non-football telecast ever.",,0.97069351375103,"The average women’s NCAA tournament game’s viewership rating is up by 127% year over year for ESPN, according to Disney, the sports network’s parent company, CNN previously reported.",,2024-04-08
-Spirit Airlines furloughs 260 pilots to save money,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/business/spirit-airlines-furloughs/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:21 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Spirit Airlines said on Monday it has reached a deal with Airbus to delay all aircraft deliveries scheduled from the second quarter of 2025 through 2026 and intends to furlough about 260 pilots, as the company looks to save cash.
-    
-            The low-cost airline said it would defer the scheduled deliveries to 2030-2031. As a result of the deferrals, along with quality issues with engines made by supplier Pratt & Whitney, Spirit is furloughing pilots effective Sept. 1.
-    
-            Shares of Spirit (SAVE) rose about 5% in early trade.
-    
-            A snag with Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines has forced Spirit to ground some of its A320neo aircraft, pinching the company at a time when it is already grappling with a cash crunch.
-    
-            The agreement with Airbus would improve Spirit’s liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years, the carrier said, adding that there were no changes to its orders scheduled to be delivered during 2027-2029.
-    
-            “[The] aircraft deferrals and pilot furloughs look positive, in terms of helping the carrier to reduce [or] defer some costs. However, among other factors, the carrier now potentially also reduces its revenue generation opportunities,” Citi Research analyst Stephen Trent wrote in a note.
-    
-            Spirit, which has been losing money for several quarters despite strong travel demand, operates an all-Airbus fleet. As of December 2023, the company had a total of 205 Airbus jets.
-    
-            Spirit now expects to end 2025 with a total of 219 jets in its fleet, with no additions of the A320neo aircraft. It had previously expected to add six A320neo jets in 2025 and increase its fleet to 234 jets.
-    
-            The furloughs “are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group,” said Ryan Muller, chair of Spirit’s Master Executive Council at the Air Line Pilots Association.
-    
-            The council and a negotiating committee were exploring voluntary measures that could mitigate the necessity for, or the number of, required furloughs and downgrades, Muller added.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['SpiritAirlinessaid on Monday it has reached a deal with Airbusto delay all aircraft deliveries scheduled from the second quarter of 2025 through 2026 and intends to furlough about 260 pilots, as the company looks to save cash.', 'The low-cost airline said it would defer the scheduled deliveries to 2030-2031.', 'As a result of the deferrals, along with quality issues with engines made by supplier Pratt & Whitney,Spiritis furloughing pilots effective Sept. 1.', 'Shares ofSpirit (SAVE)rose about 5% in early trade.', 'A snag with Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines has forcedSpiritto ground some of its A320neo aircraft, pinching the company at a time when it is already grappling with a cash crunch.', 'The agreement with Airbus would improveSpirit’s liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years, the carrier said, adding that there were no changes to its orders scheduled to be delivered during 2027-2029.', '“[The] aircraft deferrals and pilot furloughs look positive, in terms of helping the carrier to reduce [or] defer some costs.', 'However, among other factors, the carrier now potentially also reduces its revenue generation opportunities,” Citi Research analyst Stephen Trent wrote in a note.', 'Spirit, which has been losing money for several quarters despite strong travel demand, operates an all-Airbus fleet.', 'As of December 2023, the company had a total of 205 Airbus jets.', 'Spiritnow expects to end 2025 with a total of 219 jets in its fleet, with no additions of the A320neo aircraft.', 'It had previously expected to add six A320neo jets in 2025 and increase its fleet to 234 jets.', 'The furloughs “are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group,” said Ryan Muller, chair ofSpirit’s Master Executive Council at the Air Line Pilots Association.', 'The council and a negotiating committee were exploring voluntary measures that could mitigate the necessity for, or the number of, required furloughs and downgrades, Muller added.']",0.0560467524167119,"“[The] aircraft deferrals and pilot furloughs look positive, in terms of helping the carrier to reduce [or] defer some costs.","The furloughs “are deeply troubling for our entire pilot group,” said Ryan Muller, chair ofSpirit’s Master Executive Council at the Air Line Pilots Association.",0.0037930488586425,"The agreement with Airbus would improveSpirit’s liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years, the carrier said, adding that there were no changes to its orders scheduled to be delivered during 2027-2029.","Spirit, which has been losing money for several quarters despite strong travel demand, operates an all-Airbus fleet.",2024-04-08
-Apple announces its annual developers conference is set for June 10,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apple-annual-developers-conference-june-10/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        2:20 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.
-    
-            The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.
-    
-            Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts. The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.
-    
-            As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space. A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.
-    
-            Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1. A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.
-    
-            In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Apple announced its annual Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off on June 10, when the company is expected to show off its latest AI advancements.', 'The conference, which is widely anticipated each year as a major showcase for Apple software news, will run Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14.', 'Although last year’s WWDC focused on the unveiling of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which launched in stores in February, this year is expected to turn to Apple’s AI efforts.', 'The company is reportedly interested in licensing and building Google’s Gemini AI engine, which includes chatbots and other AI tools, into upcoming iPhones and its iOS 18 features.', 'As more tech companies pour billions of dollars into the development and rollout of artificial intelligence, Apple has largely been left out of the conversation, with many other tech companies making big strides in the space.', 'A partnership with Google would catapult Apple into the growing AI arms race.', 'Apple researchers also recently said they’ve developed a family of multimodal models — which refers to an AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data, such as text and images at the same time — called MM1.', 'A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.', 'In a press release on Tuesday, the company said WWDC 2024 will also share software updates coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro headset.']",0.3259092919755588,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,0.9975101351737976,A report from those researchers said those new methods boast “superior abilities” and can offer advanced reasoning and in-context learning to respond to text and images.,,2024-04-08
-A ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion Powerball jackpot,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/07/business/powerball-jackpot-saturday/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        6:48 AM EDT, Sun April 7, 2024
-    ","A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.
-    
-            Saturday’s winning numbers are 44, 27, 52, 22, 69 and Powerball 9.
-    
-            A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion. The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes, according to Powerball.
-    
-            Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1.3 billion. It’s now the eighth largest among US lottery jackpot games, Powerball said in a news release.
-    
-            Others also won big this weekend. Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.
-    
-            Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours. Powerball said one lottery needed additional time to complete the required pre-draw procedures before the drawing could take place.
-    
-            This has been one of the game’s longest streaks, according to Powerball. The jackpot was previously won on New Year’s Day when a ticket in Michigan scored an $842.4 million jackpot.
-    
-            The largest Powerball jackpot – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was $2.04 billion by a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery. Ranking second through third are $1.765 billion (one ticket in California, 2023); $1.586 billion (three tickets, 2016).
-    
-            Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball. The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
-    
-            Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Florida.",CNN,07/04/2024,"['A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.', 'Saturday’s winning numbers are 44, 27, 52, 22, 69 and Powerball 9.', 'A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion.', 'The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes, according to Powerball.', 'Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1.3 billion.', 'It’s now the eighth largest among US lottery jackpot games, Powerball said in a news release.', 'Others also won big this weekend.', 'Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.', 'Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours.', 'Powerball said one lottery needed additional time to complete the required pre-draw procedures before the drawing could take place.', 'This has been one of the game’s longest streaks, according to Powerball.', 'The jackpot was previously won on New Year’s Day when a ticket in Michigan scored an $842.4 million jackpot.', 'The largest Powerball jackpot – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was$2.04 billionby a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery.', 'Ranking second through third are $1.765 billion (one ticket in California, 2023); $1.586 billion (three tickets, 2016).', 'Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball.', 'The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.', 'Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.', 'Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Florida.']",0.3807590771825594,A single ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers drawn to win the grand prize worth $1.326 billion.,Saturday’s drawing was scheduled to take place at 10:59 p.m. ET but was delayed for more than three hours.,0.9926169812679292,"A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon has won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot – the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.",,2024-04-08
-Bilt’s March Rent Day promotion: Vote for your favorite benefit with the Bilt Bracket,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/bilt-rent-day-promotion,"
-  Updated
-        10:57 AM EST, Mon February 26, 2024
-    ","The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception. With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.
-    
-            And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards — the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard — also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.
-    
-            With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion — which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month. Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.
-    
-            Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one. Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.
-    
-            A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit. Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round. The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.
-    
-            And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).
-    
-            Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.
-    
-            For four days straight — between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 — Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com. There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.
-    
-            The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.
-    
-            However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer, giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.
-    
-            With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others. Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program. Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.
-    
-            For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases — such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants — will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.
-    
-            Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee. Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.
-    
-            On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games. Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
-    
-            You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority. This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.
-    
-            Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).
-    
-            So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase. And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar. But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).
-    
-            Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions. Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.
-    
-            Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.
-    
-            Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cards currently available.",CNN,26/02/2024,"['The relatively new Bilt Mastercard® (seerates and fees) has been incredibly popular since its inception.', 'With a top-notch loyalty program and the opportunity to earn points on rent with absolutely no transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year), it’s no surprise to see the card flourish over the past few years.', 'And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.', 'With Bilt’s Rent Day promotion —which runs the first of every month — all card members have the opportunity to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent) as well as take advantage of their unique offer for the month.', 'Bilt typically announces their promotions just a few days prior to Rent Day, and it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.', 'Bilt Rewards just released the March 1st edition of its monthly Rent Day promotion, and it is a unique one.', 'Instead of Bilt announcing a single offer, all members will have the opportunity to have a say in the winning pick.', 'A play off the March Madness bracket, the Bilt Bracket will run between now and Feb. 29, during which you can vote daily to help decide the Rent Day benefit.', 'Various offers will go head-to-head, and like all brackets, the winner will proceed to the next round.', 'The last standing offer will then be the Rent Day benefit on March 1.', 'And similar to most other Rent Day promotions, the winning offer is only valid on the first day of the month (March 1, 2024, in this case).', 'Let’s take a closer look at how this bracket will work and the Rent Day offer options.', 'For four days straight —between Feb. 26 and Feb. 29 —Bilt members can vote for their favorite Rent Day benefit within the Bilt app or BiltRewards.com.', 'There are 16 total offers to start with and the winners from each day will then proceed to the next round of the bracket.', 'The last standing offer after the Feb. 29th vote will end up being the Rent Day benefit for all members to take advantage of on March 1.', 'However, those with Gold or Platinum status with Bilt, will also receive the runner-up offer,giving select members two bonus opportunities on Rent Day.', 'With 16 different offers, some are significantly better than others.', 'Although, the best offer for you might truly depend on how you engage in the Bilt program.', 'Check the Bilt app or website to see the full list of promotions you can vote on.', 'For me, the offers that allow me to earn bonus points on specific purchases —such as bonus points at Bilt Dining restaurants —will be my top pick, but others might prefer the opportunity get bonus points by redeeming their Bilt points on rent, for example.', 'Voting is incredible quick and can easily be completed alongside your morning coffee.', 'Once you vote, you’ll also be given some insight on the winners with the percentage of members that picked each option thus far.', 'On March 1st, Bilt members will also have the opportunity to redeem Bilt points for an exclusive game ticket and experience to the NCAA Men’s Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games.', 'Tickets start at 15,000 Bilt points each for games taking place in Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.', 'You’ll be able to snag a ticket starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 1, but those with higher Bilt status will receive priority.', 'This is because those with Platinum status will have first access at 12 p.m. EST, Gold status members at 12:30 p.m. EST, Silver status members at 1 p.m. and everyone else at 1:30 p.m.  Every month on Rent Day, Bilt also gives members with the Bilt Mastercard a chance to earn double points on all purchases (excluding rent).', 'So, if you have a new restaurant you want to check out, flights to book or any other purchases to make, it could be worth waiting until March 1 to earn more points on your purchase.', 'And if you’re dining at a restaurant that participates in Bilt Dining, you can increase your earnings up to a whopping 11 points per dollar.', 'But remember, to earn Bilt points, you must use the card five times each statement period (see Rewards & Benefits).', 'Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions are a great opportunity to maximize your points as well as jump on unique promotions.', 'Let’s see which bonus offer wins this month.', 'Learn more and apply now for the Bilt Mastercard.', 'Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best credit cardscurrently available.']",0.5132379666371525,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,0.9566517621278764,"And in addition to their strong program, Bilt Rewards —the loyalty program behind the Bilt Mastercard —also offers some favorable promotions throughout the year, with the most popular known as Rent Day.",,2024-04-08
-It’s back: Targeted Amex card holders can get up to 30% off at Amazon,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/deals/amazon-amex-discount-promotion,"
-  
-        11:21 AM EST, Wed February 14, 2024
-    ","Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities. While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon. Right now, you may be eligible for an Amazon promotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.
-    
-            Targeted American Express card members can save as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout. However, your offer may be higher or lower.
-    
-            This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings. That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.
-    
-            With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated. But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping at Amazon.
-    
-            To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points. Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work. But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.
-    
-            Next, you’ll need to link your Amazon and American Express accounts. Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already. Then look for the option to enroll in “Shop with Points” under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.
-    
-            Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer by clicking on this link. Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them. When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.
-    
-            But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope. If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.
-    
-            If you’re eligible, activate the offer by clicking on the “Activate now” button — the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount. You can then shop at Amazon as you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts. Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though other third-party retailer gift cards sold by Amazon might be eligible.
-    
-            But wait! There’s one more step. When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method. Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.
-    
-            When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents. That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.
-    
-            However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entire Amazon purchase with points to get these discounts. In fact, you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order. However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points — 714 to be exact — to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.
-    
-            To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change, Amazon may automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.
-    
-            Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order. The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings — which will depend on your particular offer.
-    
-            Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcoming Amazon purchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.
-    
-            With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings. An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.
-    
-            Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99. But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.
-    
-            Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.
-    
-            Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available. You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.
-    
-            Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, so keep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.
-    
-            Also, make sure you read our guide to the best credit cards for Amazon to be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.
-    
-            Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available.",CNN,14/02/2024,"['Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.', 'While that’s true, there’s another lesser-known use for them — redeeming them for purchases at Amazon.', 'Right now, you may be eligible for anAmazonpromotion where you can save big on Amazon purchases by redeeming as little as one Amex point.', 'Targeted American Express card members cansave as much as 30% on their next Amazon purchase, for up to $30 in savings when you use Amex points to pay for at least a portion of your purchase at checkout.', 'However, your offer may be higher or lower.', 'This offer is set to expire on June 30, 2024, so even if you aren’t in the market to shop at Amazon right now, you have some time to take advantage of the savings.', 'That said, Amazon also states it will deactivate the offer after 24,167 customers have redeemed it.', 'With many Amazon discounted offers, scoring the deal can be a little complicated.', 'But we’re going to take you through it step by step to make sure you’re getting as much of a discount as possible when you’re shopping atAmazon.', 'To start, you must have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points.', 'Amex cards that earn other types of rewards, such as cash back or airline miles, won’t work.', 'But there are plenty of Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points — a small sampling of them is at the end of this story.', 'Next, you’ll need tolink your Amazon and American Express accounts.', 'Add your American Express card as a payment method in your Amazon account, if you haven’t already.', 'Then look for the option toenroll in “Shop with Points”under the “Your Account” tab, and click the “Enroll” button for the Amex card you just added.', 'Once your accounts are connected, you’ll need to activate the offer byclicking on this link.', 'Remember, this is a targeted promotion, so not everyone will be eligible for it — you could be targeted for any one of the offers or none of them.', 'When you click on the link, if you see a message that you’re not eligible, then you’re unfortunately not targeted for this particular promotion.', 'But even if you’re not targeted, don’t give up hope.', 'If you just enrolled in “Shop with Points,” you may need to wait 24 hours for Amazon’s records to refresh before knowing if you’re targeted, so check back in a day or so.', 'If you’re eligible, activate the offer byclicking on the “Activate now” button— the enrollment page will indicate your particular discount.', 'You can thenshop at Amazonas you normally would, though only products sold and shipped by Amazon are eligible for these discounts.', 'Additionally, Amazon gift cards are excluded, though otherthird-party retailer gift cardssold by Amazon might be eligible.', 'But wait!', 'There’s one more step.', 'When you’re ready to check out, you’ll want to make sure to select your linked American Express card as your payment method.', 'Then you’ll need to use at least 1 point to pay for your purchase for the discount to apply.', 'When paying with Amex Membership Rewards points at Amazon, 1 point equals 0.7 cents.', 'That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.', 'Frequent flyer websiteThe Points Guyvalues Membership Rewards points as high as 2 cents each when redeemed for travel.', 'However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to pay for your entireAmazonpurchase with points to get these discounts.', 'In fact,you can use just 1 point and pay for the rest with your Amex card, and you’ll still see the discount applied to your order.', 'However, some accounts might see that you need to redeem slightly more points —714 to be exact —to receive the savings, so make sure to check the terms of your exact offer.', 'To pay with the minimum number of points required, enter $0.01 in the points section at checkout, which will apply just 1 point to your payment, You can use any number of points you want, but if you don’t make this change,Amazonmay automatically apply the maximum number of points to cover the entire purchase, so you’ll want to make sure to update the amount before you place the order.', 'Once you’ve applied at least 1 point to your payment, you’ll see the discount added to your order.', 'The discount will apply on every order you place through June 30 until you hit the total maximum in savings —which will depend on your particular offer.', 'Let’s take a look at some examples of how you can apply this discount to your upcomingAmazonpurchases, even if you don’t need anything from Amazon right at the moment.', 'With airlines having regular delays and cancellations over the last year, placing an Apple AirTag on your luggage can be a great way to track the location of your belongings.', 'An Apple AirTag 4 Pack is currently priced at $78.99 before taxes and shipping, but if you’re targeted for the 30% off American Express offer, that’ll bring the pack down to $55.30, or around $13.83 per AirTag before tax.', 'Or, if you’re hoping to pick up a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, right now Amazon is selling them for $189.99.', 'But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.', 'Even if you aren’t eligible for any of these particular Amex promotions, offers like this typically resurface many times throughout the year, so keep on checking back.', 'Amazon often runs similar promotions for other credit cards, so check out our guides to discounts for Chase and Discover card holders to see what’s available.', 'You might also find that even if you aren’t eligible now for one of these offers, you could magically become targeted in a few weeks, so keep on checking the link to see if you’ve been granted access.', 'Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.', 'Also, make sure you read our guide to thebest credit cards for Amazonto be sure you’re using the right card when you buy at Amazon.', 'Looking for a travel credit card?', 'Find out which cardsCNN Underscored Moneychose as thebest travel credit cardscurrently available.']",0.2766683229921542,Most American Express card members typically think of their Amex points as opportunities for amazing travel opportunities.,That’s not the best value you can get for Amex points.,-0.0578339397907257,"Amazon has been eagerly offers some lucrative promotions over the last few years, sokeep your credit card accounts linked to your Amazon account, and if you’re targeted for any of these offers, make sure you use them before they expire at the end of the year.",But you can knock that down even further to as low as $159.99 before taxes if you’re targeted for this offer.,2024-04-08
-Judge’s stern rebuke of Elon Musk’s X gives researchers fresh hope,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/judges-stern-rebuke-of-elon-musks-x-gives-researchers-fresh-hope/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:17 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.
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-            On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.
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-            Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers. Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.
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-            Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.
-    
-            The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California — has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.
-    
-            And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.
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-            “This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.
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-            “Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.
-    
-            X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.
-    
-            In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively. None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.
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-            He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over its analysis highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers. Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.
-    
-            This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone. Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.
-    
-            The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”
-    
-            As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation. The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.
-    
-            “They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “They get the political benefits, they get the attention. There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet. And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”
-    
-            A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.
-    
-            Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022. Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics. But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.
-    
-            Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year — were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.
-    
-            The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.
-    
-            Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.
-    
-            “We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter. Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”
-    
-            “This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”
-    
-            Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.
-    
-            “The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.
-    
-            Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say.', 'On Monday, District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed and excoriated a lawsuit by X against online watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate as an attempt to silence the non-profit group for sounding alarms about hate speech on the platform.', 'Breyer wrote in Monday’s order that the lawsuit was “unabashedly” about “punishing” reports written by CCDH, which X had accused of campaigning to drive away its advertisers.', 'Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights.', 'Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire.', 'The CCDH case — in the US District Court for the Northern District of California —has been widely viewed as a bellwether for research and accountability on X, where Musk has restored the accounts of previously banned White supremacists and spreaders of misinformation and where Musk himself has amplified various conspiracy theories.', 'And CCDH is not the only organization that has faced attacks by self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk after criticizing or raising concerns about his platform.', '“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.', '“Society needs reliable and ethical research into social media platforms, and often that research relies on being able to study publicly available posts,” Abdo said.', 'X said it plans to appeal Breyer’s decision.', 'In his first year as owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk threatened legal action against the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, as well as against Microsoft and Meta for allegedly improper data and trade secret access, respectively.', 'None of those threats ever amounted to real lawsuits.', 'He did, however, sue the progressive media watchdog Media Matters over itsanalysishighlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X, alleging that the group’s testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the report was designed to drive away advertisers.', 'Legal experts have described that case as “weak” on the merits and as a “bogus” attempt to chill criticism of X.  This week’s court decision may be only a temporary setback in Musk’s wider plan to stifle criticism, said Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone.', 'Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.', 'The states of Texas and Missouri each announced probes into Media Matters following X’s lawsuit against the group, to which Musk responded, “Great!”', 'As recently as Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a petition in state court seeking to compel Media Matters’ cooperation with his investigation.', 'The filing came a week after he appeared with Musk in a live event on X — which Carusone said shows how Musk hopes to deputize the power of government to silence his critics.', '“They have every reason to do it,” Carusone said of the AGs’ investigations. “', 'They get the political benefits, they get the attention.', 'There doesn’t seem to be any cost to them yet.', 'And if they are successful at developing this new playbook, this new terrain, legally, then it’s going to pave the way for them to just use this tool and tactic over and over and over again.”', 'A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Carusone’s claims.', 'Researchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022.', 'Academics need large samples of posts, shares, likes and other data to study social media trends in mis- and disinformation, public health, elections and other key topics.', 'But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.', 'Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.', 'The change may have forced some researchers to rely more heavily on first-person observational data to draw conclusions about user behavior on X. Groups like CCDH have also used automated “scraping” of publicly viewable content from X rather than paying the company for data directly, a tactic that helped give rise to X’s initial lawsuit.', 'Efforts by X and other social media companies to limit research transparency makes them less accountable to the public at best and, at worst, could mask malicious behavior, said David Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.', '“We need independent research to have any real measure of what’s going on at X/Twitter.', 'Musk is only ever going to release data that makes his company look good,” Karpf said. “', 'These platforms are too big and too vital to the spread of information to be left unmonitored.”', '“This is an election year,” Karpf added, “and the platforms are taking steps to make it harder to monitor how their services are used for malignant ends.”', 'Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.', '“The guardrails for democracy are hanging by a thread and we have dwindling insights into platform practices as researchers face lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and other scare tactics,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital rights at Free Press.', 'Ultimately, Benavidez called the ruling “a reminder that platform accountability is essential and will inevitably prevail when up against bullies like Musk who try to silence us.”']",0.0427064270235155,"Musk’s new playbook, Carusone said, enlists the help of sympathetic Republican attorneys general to investigate independent reporting organizations and tie them up in legal proceedings.","“This is an important decision that sees Elon Musk’s lawsuit for what it is — an effort to punish his critics for constitutionally protected speech and to deter researchers from studying his platform,” said Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that private companies should not be allowed to use breach of contract claims to punish criticism.",-0.3806276832308088,"Free Press, another media accountability organization that has been critical of Musk’s leadership of X and which called for advertisers to pause their spending on the platform shortly after his takeover, also celebrated Breyer’s ruling as potentially removing at least one hurdle that watchdog organizations face.","Researchers and civil society groups said the new subscription fees — costing up to $2.5 million a year —were “outrageously expensive” and made it impossible to do their work, reducing transparency of a critical platform.",2024-04-08
-TSMC wins subsidies to expand US chip manufacturing in Arizona,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68763232,2024-04-08T15:03:37.000Z,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).  The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans. The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US. The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.  But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks. In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry. The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030.  Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation's leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"". TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple.  It announced its first US factory in 2020. That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028. The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade. The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.  TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives. The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.  Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.  She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs. The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating. Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters. Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".  But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its 'peaceful rise', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started. And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I'm afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched."" ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).', 'The US government has committed $6.6bn in subsidies and $5bn in possible loans to support the plans.', 'The deal is part of an effort to boost semiconductor production in the US.', 'The US is currently highly dependent on Asia, especially Taiwan, for chips.', 'But it has been pushing to expand local supply amid increased tension with China, citing economic and national security risks.', 'In 2022 the country approved more than $50bn in grants to support manufacturing and research for the industry.', ""The Commerce Department has predicted that the investments will expand America's share of production of the most advanced chips from zero to about 20% by 2030."", 'Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, said the latest support for TSMC marked an ""inflection point... that would restore our nation\'s leadership in an industry that is foundational to the US and global digital economy"".', ""TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan with a large presence in China, is the world's largest maker of semiconductors with clients including Apple."", 'It announced its first US factory in 2020.', 'That facility is expected to open next year and TSMC said a second fab at the complex would start making chips by 2028.', 'The third facility, announced on Monday, is expected to open by the end of the decade.', 'The Commerce Department said the deal would create at least 6,000 direct high-tech jobs, 20,000 in the construction of factories, and tens of thousands of indirect jobs.', 'TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.', 'The investment comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up a visit to China, where she has been trying to ease tensions between the two giants, which have flared over issues such as semiconductors and green technologies.', 'Ms Yellen said she thought the relationship had improved, while continuing to voice concerns about Beijing economic policies that were also a focus under former President Donald Trump.', 'She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.', 'The US currently imposes steep import duties on electric cars made in China, a tax other places, including Europe and the UK, are debating.', 'Chinese officials said that their companies\' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.', 'Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told the BBC that both countries had an interest in ""trying to improve the mood music"" and signalling ""to the rest of the world that the relationship was being managed"".', 'But he said nothing material will have changed as a result of the talks. ""', 'China will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that the United States is determined to block its \'peaceful rise\', and the United States will continue to believe correctly or incorrectly, that China engages in a host of predatory economic and trade policies, which threaten the rules-based global system,"" he said. ""', 'Those were the perceptions that were entrenched before the meeting started.', 'And when Janet Yellen gets on the plane and flies back to Washington, I\'m afraid those perceptions will remain entrenched.""']",0.3058278687548064,"Chinese officials said that their companies' success was due to strong supply chains and decried the ""escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies"", according to Reuters.","She spoke out against Chinese government support for companies making electric cars, solar panels and other projects, though she stopped short of threatening new tariffs.",0.6616085271040598,"Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has agreed to build a third factory in Arizona, raising its total investment in the United States from $40bn (£32bn) to $65bn (£51bn).","TSMC has already pushed back production timelines, because of a shortage of skilled labour and some questions around US government incentives.",2024-04-08
-McDonald's: Behind the fast-food firm's boycott controversy,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68740617,2024-04-05T21:32:32.000Z,"The sudden decision by McDonald's to take over ownership of its branches in Israel has thrust the franchise company Alonyal and its chief executive Omri Padan into the spotlight. McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. The fast-food giant uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff. But the broader company came in for criticism after Mr Padan offered free meals to Israeli forces around the start of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October. A boycott was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm for what they saw as support of Israel. Mr Padan, however, is not new to controversy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the 30 years the businessman has been operating restaurants for McDonald's in Israel, he has been at the centre of a number of disputes. In 2013, the Israeli businessman angered Israel's settler movement when he refused calls to open a branch of the fast-food chain in the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. Mr Padan's company Alonyal was asked to set up a restaurant in a shopping centre but declined, saying the firm had a policy of staying out of the occupied territories.  At the time, the firm said the decision had not been co-ordinated with McDonald's headquarters in the US. Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war. The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. Mr Padan is one of the founders of the group Peace Now, which opposes all settlements and views them as obstacles to peace. Peace Now says he is no longer a member of the group, which was founded in 1978.  A leader of the Yesha Council, the settlers' umbrella organisation, said at the time that McDonald's had gone from being a for-profit company to one with an ""anti-Israeli political agenda"". Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport.  In response, several letters of protest were sent by settlement leaders in the West Bank that called on the finance and transportation ministries, as well as the Israel airport authority, to block the move. Protests were also held outside the fast-food chain's restaurants in Tel Aviv. And on Thursday, it was abruptly announced that Alonyal would sell the sprawling franchise back to the US food giant. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by McDonald's, although a reputation management expert, who has worked on behalf a number of large companies but did not want to speak on the record, said that those outraged by the decision to offer free meals to Israeli forces may be ""angry that this deal makes Mr Padan possibly a very rich man"". They might be pleased though, about the effect the boycott has had.  Mr Padan's departure comes after McDonald's said that the Israel-Gaza conflict had ""meaningfully impacted"" performance in some overseas markets in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the unit that includes the Middle East, China and India, sales growth stood at 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 - far below market expectations. At the start of the year, McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"". The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world. About 5% are located in the Middle East. The brand management expert said: ""I get it. They are buying back the franchises to regain control but I'm not sure they have."" They also questioned where the company might draw a line: ""Does this mean [McDonald's] will now need to act and offer deals in other areas where reputational damage has been caused?"" On Thursday, McDonald's said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""  It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel, while Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds."" BBC News did not receive further comment from Mr Padan or Alonyal through McDonald's. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"[""The sudden decision by McDonald's to take over ownership of its branches in Israel has thrust the franchise company Alonyal and its chief executive Omri Padan into the spotlight."", ""McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza."", 'The fast-food giant uses a franchise system which means that individual operators are licensed to run outlets and employ staff.', 'But the broader company came in for criticism after Mr Padan offered free meals to Israeli forces around the start of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October.', 'A boycott was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm for what they saw as support of Israel.', 'Mr Padan, however, is not new to controversy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.', ""In the 30 years the businessman has been operating restaurants for McDonald's in Israel, he has been at the centre of a number of disputes."", ""In 2013, the Israeli businessman angered Israel's settler movement when he refused calls to open a branch of the fast-food chain in the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank."", ""Mr Padan's company Alonyal was asked to set up a restaurant in a shopping centre but declined, saying the firm had a policy of staying out of the occupied territories."", ""At the time, the firm said the decision had not been co-ordinated with McDonald's headquarters in the US."", 'Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.', 'The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.', 'Mr Padan is one of the founders of the group Peace Now, which opposes all settlements and views them as obstacles to peace.', 'Peace Now says he is no longer a member of the group, which was founded in 1978.', 'A leader of the Yesha Council, the settlers\' umbrella organisation, said at the time that McDonald\'s had gone from being a for-profit company to one with an ""anti-Israeli political agenda"".', ""Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport."", 'In response, several letters of protest were sent by settlement leaders in the West Bank that called on the finance and transportation ministries, as well as the Israel airport authority, to block the move.', ""Protests were also held outside the fast-food chain's restaurants in Tel Aviv."", 'And on Thursday, it was abruptly announced that Alonyal would sell the sprawling franchise back to the US food giant.', 'The terms of the deal were not disclosed by McDonald\'s, although a reputation management expert, who has worked on behalf a number of large companies but did not want to speak on the record, said that those outraged by the decision to offer free meals to Israeli forces may be ""angry that this deal makes Mr Padan possibly a very rich man"".', 'They might be pleased though, about the effect the boycott has had.', 'Mr Padan\'s departure comes after McDonald\'s said that the Israel-Gaza conflict had ""meaningfully impacted"" performance in some overseas markets in the fourth quarter of 2023.', 'For the unit that includes the Middle East, China and India, sales growth stood at 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 - far below market expectations.', 'At the start of the year, McDonald\'s chief executive Chris Kempczinski blamed the backlash on ""misinformation"".', 'The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world.', 'About 5% are located in the Middle East.', 'The brand management expert said: ""I get it.', 'They are buying back the franchises to regain control but I\'m not sure they have.""', 'They also questioned where the company might draw a line: ""Does this mean [McDonald\'s] will now need to act and offer deals in other areas where reputational damage has been caused?""', 'On Thursday, McDonald\'s said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""', 'It also thanked Alonyal for building the brand in Israel, while Mr Padan said: ""We are encouraged by what the future holds.""', ""BBC News did not receive further comment from Mr Padan or Alonyal through McDonald's.""]",-0.0953314720062135,"On Thursday, McDonald's said that it ""remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.""","The boycott was also described as ""disheartening and ill-founded"" by the firm, which relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world.",-0.2071464887032142,Alonyal's decision resurfaced in 2019 when McDonald's won a tender to run a restaurant and hot dog stand at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport.,McDonald's will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after global sales slumped due to a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.,2024-04-08
-Boeing plane engine cover falls off prompting investigation,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68758088,2024-04-07T20:18:40.000Z,"Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap. The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston. The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing. The incident comes amid manufacturing and safety concerns at Boeing. Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams would review the Boeing 737-800 after its cowling, which covers the plane's engine, fell off. The airline confirmed it was responsible for maintenance of such parts. ""We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees,"" a statement said. The plane was manufactured in 2015 according to regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, and the 737-800 is an earlier generation of the 737 from the latest Max model.  The aircraft in the latest incident was powered by CFM56 engines while the 737 Max models use the CFM-Leap engine. Both are made by a joint venture between General Electric Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines The FAA said the Boeing aircraft was towed to the gate after landing. Boeing declined to comment when approached by BBC News, referring questions to Southwest for information about the airline's plane and fleet operations. Southwest said it would fly passengers on another plane to Houston about three hours behind schedule. Boeing has been under scrutiny following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January, in which passengers on the flight from Portland, Oregon, to California narrowly escaped serious injury. On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency. Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from the Alaska aircraft shortly after take-off. Boeing has been trying to repair its reputation for years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving a different version of the 737 Max plane killed 346 people. Its popular 737 Max planes were subsequently grounded globally for more than 18 months. ",BBC,07/04/2024,"['Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap.', 'The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston.', 'The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing.', 'The incident comes amid manufacturing and safety concerns at Boeing.', ""Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams would review the Boeing 737-800 after its cowling, which covers the plane's engine, fell off."", 'The airline confirmed it was responsible for maintenance of such parts. ""', 'We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees,"" a statement said.', 'The plane was manufactured in 2015 according to regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, and the 737-800 is an earlier generation of the 737 from the latest Max model.', 'The aircraft in the latest incident was powered by CFM56 engines while the 737 Max models use the CFM-Leap engine.', 'Both are made by a joint venture between General Electric Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines The FAA said the Boeing aircraft was towed to the gate after landing.', ""Boeing declined to comment when approached by BBC News, referring questions to Southwest for information about the airline's plane and fleet operations."", 'Southwest said it would fly passengers on another plane to Houston about three hours behind schedule.', 'Boeing has been under scrutiny following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January, in which passengers on the flight from Portland, Oregon, to California narrowly escaped serious injury.', 'On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency.', 'Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from the Alaska aircraft shortly after take-off.', 'Boeing has been trying to repair its reputation for years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving a different version of the 737 Max plane killed 346 people.', 'Its popular 737 Max planes were subsequently grounded globally for more than 18 months.']",-0.0048852442798994,The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston.,"On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency.",-0.4576358869671821,"The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing.",Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap.,2024-04-08
-Judge schedules Newsmax case over 2020 election lies for September trial,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/03/media/smartmatic-lawsuit-newsmax-trial-date/index.html,"
-  Published
-        1:07 PM EDT, Wed April 3, 2024
-    ","A judge has scheduled a major defamation case against right-wing cable channel Newsmax to go to trial in late September, putting the battle over 2020 election lies front-and-center at the peak of the 2024 campaign.
-    
-            Newsmax and the voting technology company Smartmatic could still reach an out-of-court settlement, and further delays are possible. But if the September 24 trial date holds, the fallout from former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election will be on full display as he tries to return to the White House.
-    
-            The trial would also be the first of more than a dozen high-profile defamation cases to face a jury, all stemming from the false claims that Smartmatic and another voting company, Dominion Voting Systems, rigged the 2020 election by flipping millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden. Those lies — championed by Trump and his allies in Congress and the right-wing press — fueled the deadly insurrection on January 6, 2021.
-    
-            The Newsmax trial is slated to take place in Delaware Superior Court, and Judge Eric Davis, who presided over the historic case brought by Dominion against Fox News last year, is similarly handling the Newsmax-Smartmatic lawsuit. The case is still in the discovery phase, and it’s possible Davis decides later that it shouldn’t proceed to trial. 
-    
-            Smartmatic filed the lawsuit in 2021, claiming that Newsmax intentionally promoted lies that the company was involved in rigging the election because it helped the network close the ratings gap with Fox.
-    
-            “Newsmax published dozens of reports indicating that Smartmatic participated in a criminal conspiracy to rig and steal the 2020 U.S. election… Newsmax knew it had a story that was getting people to tune in to its shows, so Newsmax ran the story night after night. Newsmax knew it was a lie the whole time,’ Smartmatic’s lawyers wrote in the original lawsuit.
-    
-            Davis allowed Smartmatic’s team to expand the lawsuit last year, to cover additional on-air statements from Newsmax hosts and guests that it believes were defamatory.
-    
-            “Newsmax will show at trial overwhelming evidence that we never embraced stolen election claims and that we accepted Biden’s election while significantly reporting on criticism of President Trump’s claims,” Newsmax spokesman Bill Daddi said in a statement.
-    
-            Owned by Trump ally Christopher Ruddy, Newsmax isn’t a media juggernaut like Fox. The network’s lineup features several former Fox personalities like Eric Bolling and Greta Van Susteren, as well as controversial ex-Trump White House official Sebastian Gorka and Clinton ally-turned-foe Dick Morris.
-    
-            A trial could have significant implications for the First Amendment and how journalists cover Trump’s election lies. Further, a courtroom defeat for Newsmax could put the company in real financial peril.
-    
-            The conservative network doesn’t attract a large audience like Fox News, but Newsmax’s ratings surged after the 2020 election. In the wake of the vote, Trump supporters flocked to the network as its hosts and guests questioned the legitimacy of Biden’s victory.
-    
-            But Newsmax is also different from Fox in another key respect. In December 2020, after Smartmatic sent a letter to Newsmax threatening legal action, the network ran an on-air segment and published an article clearly stating there was “no evidence” that Smartmatic or Dominion ever “manipulated votes in the 2020 election,” even though “various guests, attorneys and elected officials” claimed otherwise on its airwaves.
-    
-            In addition to the Newsmax case, Smartmatic is also suing Fox News, the fringe far-right cable channel OAN and Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, who peddled the same election lies.
-    
-            The September trial date was originally set for Newsmax and Dominion, who are engaged in a separate defamation lawsuit. But there were delays in that case, creating an opening for the Smartmatic case.",CNN,03/04/2024,"['A judge has scheduled a major defamation case against right-wing cable channel Newsmax to go to trial in late September, putting the battle over 2020 election lies front-and-center at the peak of the 2024 campaign.', 'Newsmax and the voting technology companySmartmatic couldstillreach an out-of-court settlement, and further delays are possible.', 'But if theSeptember 24trial date holds, the fallout from former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election will be on full display as he tries to return to the White House.', 'The trialwould also be the first of more than a dozen high-profile defamation cases toface a jury, all stemming from the false claims that Smartmatic and another voting company, DominionVoting Systems, rigged the 2020 election by flipping millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden.', 'Those lies — championed by Trump and his allies in Congress and the right-wing press — fueled the deadly insurrection on January 6, 2021.', 'The Newsmax trial is slated to take place in Delaware Superior Court, and Judge Eric Davis, who presided over the historic casebrought by Dominion against Fox Newslast year, is similarly handling the Newsmax-Smartmatic lawsuit.', 'The case is still in the discovery phase, and it’s possible Davis decides later that it shouldn’t proceed to trial.', 'Smartmatic filed the lawsuit in 2021, claiming that Newsmax intentionally promoted lies that the company was involved in rigging the election because it helpedthe networkclose the ratings gap with Fox.', '“Newsmax published dozens of reports indicating that Smartmatic participated in a criminal conspiracy to rig and steal the 2020 U.S. election… Newsmax knew it had a story that was getting people to tune in to its shows, so Newsmax ran the story night after night.', 'Newsmax knew it was a lie the whole time,’ Smartmatic’s lawyers wrote in the original lawsuit.', 'Davis allowed Smartmatic’s team toexpand the lawsuitlast year, to cover additional on-air statements from Newsmax hosts and guests that it believes were defamatory.', '“Newsmax will show at trial overwhelming evidence that we never embraced stolen election claims and that we accepted Biden’s election while significantly reporting on criticism of President Trump’s claims,” Newsmax spokesman Bill Daddi said in a statement.', 'Owned by Trump allyChristopher Ruddy, Newsmax isn’t a media juggernaut like Fox.', 'The network’s lineup features several former Fox personalities likeEric Bollingand Greta Van Susteren, as well as controversial ex-Trump White House officialSebastian Gorkaand Clinton ally-turned-foe Dick Morris.', 'A trial could have significant implications for the First Amendment and how journalists cover Trump’s election lies.', 'Further, a courtroom defeat for Newsmax could put the company in real financial peril.', 'The conservative network doesn’t attract a large audience like Fox News, but Newsmax’s ratings surgedafter the 2020 election.', 'In the wake of the vote,Trump supporters flocked to the network as itshostsand guestsquestioned the legitimacy of Biden’s victory.', 'But Newsmax is also different from Fox in another key respect.', 'In December 2020, after Smartmatic sent a letterto Newsmaxthreatening legal action,the networkran an on-air segment andpublished an articleclearly stating there was “no evidence” that Smartmatic or Dominion ever “manipulated votes in the 2020 election,” even though“various guests, attorneys and elected officials” claimed otherwise on its airwaves.', 'In addition to the Newsmax case, Smartmatic is also suingFox News, the fringefar-right cable channel OANand Trump allies likeRudy Giulianiand Mike Lindell, who peddled the same election lies.', 'The September trial date wasoriginally setfor Newsmax and Dominion, who are engaged in a separate defamation lawsuit.', 'But there were delays in that case, creating an opening for the Smartmatic case.']",-0.076528656494758,But Newsmax is also different from Fox in another key respect.,"“Newsmax published dozens of reports indicating that Smartmatic participated in a criminal conspiracy to rig and steal the 2020 U.S. election… Newsmax knew it had a story that was getting people to tune in to its shows, so Newsmax ran the story night after night.",-0.3299909432729085,"The conservative network doesn’t attract a large audience like Fox News, but Newsmax’s ratings surgedafter the 2020 election.","Further, a courtroom defeat for Newsmax could put the company in real financial peril.",2024-04-08
-Biden to give Taiwan’s TSMC $6.6 billion to ramp up US chip production,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/tsmc-arizona-chip-factory-investment/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:00 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.
-    
-            The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.
-    
-            “America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”
-    
-            In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chip-maker, which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.
-    
-            TSMC (TSM) Chairman Mark Liu called the investment “unprecedented” in a statement, noting that its US customers include several of the world’s leading technology companies. The three fabs — the first of which is due to start production in the first half of 2025 — will give these customers access to a domestic supply of chips that power scores of products, from smartphones to satellites, as well as artificial intelligence systems.
-    
-            The company’s total $65 billion investment represents the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, the White House said. The three fabs are expected to create around 6,000 high-wage tech jobs, and more than 20,000 indirect jobs — for instance, in construction, it added.
-    
-            The US government has emphasized the need to bring more chip production onshore to limit potential supply disruptions. In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.
-    
-            Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry. A powerful earthquake in Taiwan last week also highlighted the industry’s exposure to such natural disasters.
-    
-            In a call with reporters ahead of Monday’s announcement, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Biden was “tired of being at the end of the supply chain” and that the new government funds went “a long way to further strengthening our domestic supply chain resilience.”
-    
-            “For the first time ever, we will be making, at scale, the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here in the United States of America,” she added.
-    
-            Juliana Liu in Hong Kong contributed reporting.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.', 'The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.', '“America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips,” Biden said in a statement. “(', 'That exposes) us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities.”', 'In addition to two previously announced US plants, the Taiwanese chip-maker,which manufactures an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced chip, said Monday that it would build a third, bringing its total investment in Arizona to more than $65 billion.', 'TSMC (TSM) Chairman Mark Liu called the investment “unprecedented” in a statement, noting that its US customers include several of the world’s leading technology companies.', 'The three fabs —the first of which is due to start production in the first half of 2025 — will give these customers access to a domestic supply of chips that power scores of products, from smartphones to satellites, as well as artificial intelligence systems.', 'The company’s total $65 billion investment represents the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, the White House said.', 'The three fabs are expected to create around 6,000 high-wage tech jobs, and more than 20,000 indirect jobs — for instance, in construction, it added.', 'The US government has emphasized the need to bring more chip production onshore to limit potential supply disruptions.', 'In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.', 'Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry.', 'A powerful earthquake in Taiwan last week also highlighted the industry’s exposure to such natural disasters.', 'In a call with reporters ahead of Monday’s announcement, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Biden was “tired of being at the end of the supply chain” and that the new government funds went “a long way to further strengthening our domestic supply chain resilience.”', '“For the first time ever, we will be making, at scale, the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here in the United States of America,” she added.', 'Juliana Liu in Hong Kong contributed reporting.']",0.193937460212567,The US government plans to give $6.6 billion to the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the supply of advanced chips.,Taiwan is also in a vulnerable position: Supply chain experts and US officials worry that US-China trade tensions and potential military aggression against the island by Beijing could disrupt its vital chip-making industry.,0.0920843150880601,"The White House announced Monday that it had signed a non-binding agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide it with the funds for the Phoenix-based fabrication plants, or “fabs,” in addition to roughly $5 billion in government loans.","In a vivid demonstration of that risk, the coronavirus pandemic caused huge bottlenecks in chip deliveries around the world, and contributed to higher consumer goods prices.",2024-04-08
-"NBC cut ties with Ronna McDaniel after extraordinary pressure, but its problems aren’t over",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/27/media/nbc-ronna-mcdaniel-problems-are-not-over/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:16 AM EDT, Wed March 27, 2024
-    ","Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role. But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80 painful hours.
-    
-            On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”
-    
-            “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”
-    
-            Conde had no real choice. The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel. The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.
-    
-            “What a sh*t show!” a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.
-    
-            In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire. But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.” Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.
-    
-            Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent. As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”
-    
-            “Has Cesar lost the room?” wondered a third media executive.
-    
-            While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess. Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.
-    
-            “These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.
-    
-            Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong. Good. Let NBC be for Democrats only.”
-    
-            Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest. The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican. It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican. No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote. And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.
-    
-            Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come. As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.
-    
-            NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter. The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told. Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.
-    
-            While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars. Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.
-    
-            “I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”",CNN,27/03/2024,"['Only 80 hours elapsed between NBC News announcing Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor and the network ousting her from that very role.', 'But for the leadership at NBC Universal News Group, those were 80painful hours.', 'On Tuesday evening, following another full day in which the media rumor mill churned at warp speed, NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde sent staff a memo, notifying his troops that he had reversed his decision to welcome the former Republican National Committee chair to “the team.”', '“After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor,” Conde said, adding that he wanted to “personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down.”', 'Conde had no real choice.', 'The embattled NBCU boss, who I’m told dealt with the crisis from an unknown location outside of 30 Rock, was facing an unprecedented rebellion from his most high-profile stars, who one by one went on the air and excoriated leadership’s decision to hire McDaniel.', 'The only aspect of Conde’s note that was surprising was the fact that it came 48 hours late, allowing what started off as a crisis to fester and balloon into one of the worst corporate public relations calamities in recent memory.', '“What a sh*t show!”', 'a media executive exclaimed to me Tuesday shortly after Conde relieved McDaniel of her NBC News credentials.', 'In his note, Conde said he took “full responsibility” for McDaniel’s hire.', 'But, he also did point the finger, telling staffers that hiring her was “a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team.”', 'Indeed, multiple people familiar with the matter have told me that the infighting among NBC executives over who was at fault for the disaster has reached a fever pitch, with various factions of the NBCU News Group assigning blame to others.', 'Regardless of who is to blame, the entire affair made clear who is actually in control of the company — and it’s not Conde & Co. Despite the NBCU C-suite digging their heels in the sand as they resisted dumping McDaniel for days, they were ultimately forced to succumb to pressure from their talent.', 'As a second media executive commented to me, it is now “very clear who is in charge” after the “weak leadership was put on full display.”', '“Has Cesar lost the room?”', 'wondered a third media executive.', 'While the Peacock family argues over who was really at fault, the company is facing a fresh public relations mess.', 'Led by Donald Trump, right-wing personalities are already assailing the network as being overrun with intolerant woke leftists.', '“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.', 'Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, wrote on X: “What NBC is saying is if you’re for Trump, you don’t belong.', 'Good.', 'Let NBC be for Democrats only.”', 'Of course, that narrative is intellectually dishonest.', 'The objection to McDaniel from both within and outside of NBCU was not that she is a Republican.', 'It wasn’t even that she was a Trump-supporting Republican.', 'No, the objection stemmed from the fact that McDaniel was an active participant in the plot to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'And, in addition to that disgraceful history, she had a lengthy track record smearing NBC News and MSNBC.', 'Nevertheless, NBCU will now have to contend with such dishonest attacks being leveled by the right, which will follow them in the days, months, and even years to come.', 'As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.', 'NBCU will also have to grapple with McDaniel, who spent the last 24 hours or so interviewing lawyers as she gears up for a possible legal fight with the network, according to a person familiar with the matter.', 'The rift between McDaniel and NBCU had grown to such an extent by Tuesday that she was not informed by network brass that she had been dismissed, I’m told.', 'Instead, McDaniel learned of her ouster in press reports.', 'While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.', 'Shortly after Conde sent out his memo, Rachel Maddow appeared on Joy Reid’s show, where the two lauded Conde for reversing course.', '“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “', 'That leadership was willing to change on this, I’m grateful to them.”']",-0.0743400881523301,"“I think it is a show of strength and a show of respect for the people who work at this company and make us who we are,” Maddow said. “","“These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform.",-0.3914040706374428,"While NBCU is being beaten up on the right, the company’s leadership was quickly praised by its journalists and top stars.","As unfair as it may be, they will certainly damage the network’s brand in Republican circles — a place it had gone through great pains to appeal to.",2024-04-08
-NBC News boss Cesar Conde faces backlash from his network’s anchors over ‘inexplicable’ decision to hire ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/media/nbc-news-cesar-conde-ronna-mcdaniel-backlash/index.html,"
-  Published
-        8:05 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.
-    
-            The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.
-    
-            Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.” And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press. They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air. Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.
-    
-            Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory. Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion. Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year. It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.
-    
-            While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network. McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.
-    
-            It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it. Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.
-    
-            As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican. It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican. It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election. That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.
-    
-            The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd. If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens. They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party. In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel. So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors. Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)
-    
-            But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move. How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.
-    
-            Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted. It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring. If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.” The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.
-    
-            At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours. It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed. After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?
-    
-            The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible. To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.
-    
-            But no such announcement came.
-    
-            Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control. MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire. NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.” The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.
-    
-            All the while, Conde has remained silent. I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation. Does he have any regret? I didn’t get an on-the-record response. Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values. It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.
-    
-            In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.
-    
-            “Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions. Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course. Not digging in. Not blaming others. Take a minute. Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”
-    
-            “It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “It is a sign of strength. And our country needs us to be strong now.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one.', 'The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor.', 'Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”', 'And they’re not doing it via anonymous comments to the press.', 'They’re doing it on the record on NBCU’s own air.', 'Chuck Todd broke the dam on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with a set of candid comments about the hiring, and Rachel Maddow capped the flood of backlash Monday night with a blistering 30-minute monologue eviscerating the network’s leadership for the “inexplicable” move.', 'Suffice to say, NBCU News Group is in unprecedented territory.', 'Never has a network’s C-suite ever been so thoroughly flogged by its most high-profile stars in such no holds barred fashion.', 'Saying that Conde simply has a crisis on his hands would be a contender for understatement of the year.', 'It’s a five-alarm fire at NBCU News Group, and one of Conde’s own making.', 'While NBC News president Rebecca Blumenstein and senior vice president of politics Carrie Budoff Brown were most directly responsible for McDaniel’s hiring, a decision that MSNBC boss Rashida Jones did not object to it at the time, the buck ultimately stops with Conde, who hold the real power at the Peacock Network.', 'McDaniel’s hiring could not have happened without Conde’s blessing.', 'It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it.', 'Conde, someone who ostensibly supports American democracy, should have rejected McDaniel’s hiring on the grounds that NBCU News Group could not put someone on its payroll who tried to subvert the 2020 vote.', 'As so many of NBCU’s staffers have underscored, the objection to McDaniel is not that she is a Republican.', 'It’s not even that she is a Donald Trump-supporting Republican.', 'It’s that she was an active participant in the plot to overthrow the last presidential election.', 'That is not to even mention McDaniel’s years of demonizing the press, smearing the journalists who work at NBC News and MSNBC as she sought to destroy the credibility of the organization that she ran to after being chased out of the RNC.', 'The notion put forward by NBC that it needed to hire McDaniel to bring its viewers “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party” is absurd.', 'If that’s the case, the network should move to hire free agents like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens.', 'They too have their hands on the pulse of the Republican Party.', 'In fact, they represent much more of where the GOP stands today than McDaniel.', 'So, using NBC’s logic, why not hire them? (', 'Spoiler: News organizations rightfully have established basic standards for paid contributors.', 'Asking that your employees have a commitment to democracy, to the truth, and to basic decency is not a big ask.)', 'But even if Conde has no allegiance to basic democratic principles, which this hire calls into question, given that he is known to be a political player who cares deeply about his own image in the press, he should have been wise enough to foresee that hiring McDaniel would be an ill-conceived move.', 'How this did not occur to Conde is unfathomable and shows a tremendous lack of judgment.', 'Even more bizarre is Conde’s management, or lack thereof, since the controversy erupted.', 'It was clear early on that his employees at NBC News and MSNBC did not support McDaniel’s hiring.', 'If that was not evident on Friday, it was clear as day on Sunday after “Meet the Press.”', 'The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.', 'At that point, the writing should have been on the wall for Conde — as it was for every other media executive that I have spoken with over the last 24 hours.', 'It is evident that McDaniel has no real future as an NBC analyst and the decision to bring her on as a contributor will have to be reversed.', 'After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this?', 'The only real question for Conde after the Sunday morning scolding should have been how he chose to back out of the deal in the least painful way possible.', 'To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.', 'But no such announcement came.', 'Instead, Conde has allowed the mess to spiral absolutely out of control.', 'MSNBC’s top stars hammered the network’s leadership throughout the day Monday over the hire.', 'NBC News’ Guild blasted Conde, saying in a statement that under him the company had quietly laid off employees over the last month and instead chosen to “prioritize an election denier over its reporters.”', 'The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.', 'All the while, Conde has remained silent.', 'I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation.', 'Does he have any regret?', 'I didn’t get an on-the-record response.', 'Suffice to say, however, that what Conde does moving forward will say a lot about his character and commitment to democratic values.', 'It will also say a lot about the NBCU News Group and what type of organization it is.', 'In her biting monologue on Monday night, however, Maddow did offer Conde a way out of this mess.', '“Mistakes will be made,” Maddow said.', '”But our resilience as a democracy is going to be recognizing when decisions are bad ones and reversing those bad decisions.', 'Hearing legitimate criticism, responding to it, and correcting course.', 'Not digging in.', 'Not blaming others.', 'Take a minute.', 'Acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t the right call.”', '“It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to acknowledge when you are wrong,” Maddow added. “', 'It is a sign of strength.', 'And our country needs us to be strong now.”']",-0.032955005531589,"Over the last 24 hours, the most prominent and recognizable NBC News and MSNBC personalities have voiced strong displeasure with the company’s decision to welcome McDaniel to “the team.”",The already severe crisis was allowed to blossom into one of the worst corporate public relations catastrophes in recent memory.,-0.5018035081716684,"To be fully honest, I very much expected a Sunday evening announcement from NBC, one that would have earned praise from the company’s staff and quickly been swept away by the rush of Trump news Monday morning.","The network’s employees were not only flabbergasted and demoralized by the move, but absolutely enraged by it.",2024-04-08
-‘We have reached the limit.’ Clash with Elon Musk prompts calls for social media controls in Brazil,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/elon-musk-brazil-investigation/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:08 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Brazil’s attorney general has called for social media platforms in the country to be regulated after Elon Musk threatened to disobey a court order banning certain accounts on X and lashed out against “aggressive censorship.”
-    
-            In a post on X Sunday, Attorney General Jorge Messias wrote: “It is urgent to regulate social networks. We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”
-    
-            In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said he should be investigated by the police. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes announced Sunday that he would open an inquiry into the billionaire businessman who owns X.
-    
-            The standoff is the latest clash between authorities around the world and Musk — a self-declared “free speech absolutist” who has relaxed X’s content moderation policies and reinstated a number of previously blocked accounts after buying the company, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022.
-    
-            Orlando Silva, a Brazilian lawmaker aligned with the country’s left-wing government, said he would propose a “responsibilities regime for these digital platforms.” “We have reached the limit!” he posted on X, adding that Musk had disrespected the judiciary.
-    
-            On Saturday, X’s global government affairs team posted that it had been “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” and threatened with “daily fines” for non-compliance.
-    
-            “We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law. We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds,” they wrote. They do not believe the orders are constitutional and will challenge them legally where possible, they added.
-    
-            The Supreme Court had ordered that the accounts be blocked as part of its ongoing investigation into “digital militias,” which, among other things, is looking into the spread of misinformation and incitement of crime under the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
-    
-            Social media platforms have been widely viewed as a catalyst for riots in Brazil that took place on January 8 last year, when hundreds of protesters broke into federal government buildings in the capital Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in the United States.
-    
-            Musk suggested that Moraes was behind the ban, writing Sunday on X that the judge had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.”
-    
-            In a separate post Saturday, he called the court’s decision to block the accounts “aggressive censorship” that “appears to violate the law and will of the people of Brazil.” He said X would defy the court’s order and lift all restrictions.
-    
-            “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit,” he noted.
-    
-            X has faced criticism for accommodating government censorship demands in the past, with Musk saying the company has no choice but to comply. For example, it blocked some X accounts in Turkey at the behest of the government ahead of the country’s elections last year, while at the same time contesting the orders in court.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Brazil’s attorney general has called for social media platforms in the country to be regulated after Elon Musk threatened to disobey a court order banning certain accounts on X and lashed out against “aggressive censorship.”', 'In a post on X Sunday, Attorney General Jorge Messias wrote: “It is urgent to regulate social networks.', 'We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”', 'In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said he should be investigated by the police.', 'Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes announced Sunday that he would open an inquiry into the billionaire businessman who owns X.  The standoff is the latest clash between authorities around the world and Musk — a self-declared “free speech absolutist” who has relaxed X’s content moderation policies and reinstated a number of previously blocked accounts after buying the company, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022.', 'Orlando Silva, a Brazilian lawmaker aligned with the country’s left-wing government, said he would propose a “responsibilities regime for these digital platforms.” “', 'We have reached the limit!”', 'he posted on X, adding that Musk had disrespected the judiciary.', 'On Saturday, X’s global government affairs team posted that it had been “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” and threatened with “daily fines” for non-compliance.', '“We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law.', 'We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds,” they wrote.', 'They do not believe the orders are constitutional and will challenge them legally where possible, they added.', 'The Supreme Court had ordered that the accounts be blocked as part of its ongoing investigation into “digital militias,” which, among other things, is looking into the spread of misinformation and incitement of crime under the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.', 'Social media platforms have been widely viewed as a catalyst for riots in Brazil that took place on January 8 last year, when hundreds of protesters broke into federal government buildings in the capital Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in the United States.', 'Musk suggested that Moraes was behind the ban, writing Sunday on X that the judge had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil.', 'He should resign or be impeached.”', 'In a separate post Saturday, he called the court’s decision to block the accounts “aggressive censorship” that “appears to violate the law and will of the people of Brazil.”', 'He said X would defy the court’s order and lift all restrictions.', '“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.', 'But principles matter more than profit,” he noted.', 'X has faced criticism for accommodating government censorship demands in the past, with Musk saying the company has no choice but to comply.', 'For example, it blocked some X accounts in Turkey at the behest of the government ahead of the country’s elections last year, while at the same time contesting the orders in court.']",-0.1820403585062187,"Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes announced Sunday that he would open an inquiry into the billionaire businessman who owns X.  The standoff is the latest clash between authorities around the world and Musk — a self-declared “free speech absolutist” who has relaxed X’s content moderation policies and reinstated a number of previously blocked accounts after buying the company, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022.","We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities.”",-0.8426020244757334,,"“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.",2024-04-08
-Digital humans: the relatable face of artificial intelligence?,https://edition.cnn.com/business/digital-humans-ai-dj-dex-spc/index.html,"
-  Published
-        5:33 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
-    ","Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.
-    
-            However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.
-    
-            For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans. She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture. Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.
-    
-            “She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “You can ask her anything. She is a genius about music.”
-    
-            Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.
-    
-            For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications. The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.
-    
-            According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “It becomes natural.”
-    
-            Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.
-    
-            Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook. In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude. As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.
-    
-            US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.
-    
-            Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech. However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market. 
-    
-            “When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?” asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”
-    
-            Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.
-    
-            “Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”",CNN,19/03/2024,"['Scrolling through the Instagram account of DJ and aspiring model Dex you’ll see her wearing new outfits, performing at shows around the world and chatting to her thousands of followers about her hobbies.', 'However, it’s clear that there is something different about Dex; she’s an entirely virtual “digital human,” designed by a startup in the UK.', 'For her performances, Dex is displayed on a video screen or as a holographic projection, with her mixes created by humans.', 'She is animated using Unreal Engine — a 3D modeling software widely used in video games — combined with motion-capture.', 'Generative artificial intelligence allows her to remember information and respond to questions, using a voice also generated by AI.', '“She’s probably one of the only digital humans in the performance space that you can have a conversation and interact with,” says Denise Harris, CCO of startup Sum Vivas. “', 'You can ask her anything.', 'She is a genius about music.”', 'Last month, Dex performed at Digital Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and she has modeled outfits by Prada and Louis Vuitton at digital fashion events.', 'For Liverpool-based Sum Vivas she’s a “showpiece” for more practical applications.', 'The company is now developing digital humans that can “listen” to people’s questions and converse in real time. “', 'Shellie” can provide product information as an avatar on company websites, while “Arif” is set to direct passengers and answer questions as a multilingual concierge on screens at airports.', 'According to CEO and founder Rob Sims, digital humans can help bridge the gap between AI technology and people. “', 'What we’ve found is when people start working with and conversing with a digital human, they very quickly suspend disbelief,” Sims tells CNN. “', 'It becomes natural.”', 'Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.', 'Record levels of investment into generative AI have followed, with over $21 billion poured into the industry during the first nine months of last year, according to data insights company Pitchbook.', 'In March 2023, Google launched Bard (recently renamed Gemini) and around the same time Anthropic released its AI assistant Claude.', 'As generative AI chatbots become increasingly ubiquitous, Sum Vivas is one of several companies looking to make them more human.', 'US and New Zealand-based UneeQ has developed animated conversational “digital humans” that can be used as virtual sales reps and customer service agents on company websites, and this month it debuted Sama 2.0, an animated cabin crew member that answers questions on Qatar Airways’ website and app.', 'Microsoft recently announced that users of its Azure software would be able to create lifelike avatars capable of turning text prompts into animated speech.', 'However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.', '“When we rely on automated tools, what skills are we losing in the process?”', 'asks Jennifer Ding, senior researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. “', 'In some ways, we think of AI as something that’s helping us or augmenting our work,” she says. “', 'However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”', 'Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “', 'Every scenario that we found, we’re creating jobs and working in harmony with people rather than taking away jobs,” she says.', '“Digital humans, first and foremost, should work with other human colleagues,” adds Sims. “', 'We’ll move into a stage where digital humans will start to become just another member of the team, with added benefits for that team, and obviously the customers they serve.”']",0.1214444180579973,"Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, considerable hype has surrounded the potential of generative AI — artificial intelligence powered by huge datasets of information, capable of generating text outputs in a conversational way.","However, alongside, this fear of replacement is bubbling up more and more.”",0.2107271328568458,"Harris, however, points to new opportunities within digital human design and development. “","However, there are widespread concerns about the impact AI could have on the job market.",2024-04-08
-Everyone got duped by Sam Bankman-Fried's big gamble,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67302950,2023-11-03T11:14:42.000Z,"Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.  On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.  Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run.  In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?"" he asked them.  They considered their options. Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism? Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote. Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.  For a while, that approach seemed to work. As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence. The flameout was even faster.  The tweet was, as discussed, net bad. Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days. When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt. Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged. In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose. In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught.  Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.  Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich. But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.  An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.   As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.  To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.  Bankman-Fried was sold. In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.  Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.  At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries. The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.  In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors. Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.  Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn.  Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward.  ""He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""  According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried.  ""He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""He would walk around the office in bare feet."" Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""It could be cult-like.""  Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried's schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves."" It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled. Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.  Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded. He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial. He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla. Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away.  ""It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it.""  ""The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.  In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine. At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.  In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world. It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""But the math couldn't be clearer."" ""To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he'd be a coin toss away from going totally bust."" A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX. The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies.  Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.  On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it.  For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected. As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics.  In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.  In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said. It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said. Until they began talking, that is. ""He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?"" the actor said.  Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire. On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.  The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company.  ""The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.  Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother. They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank. The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda. His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader. But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""Of the United States."" While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.  On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified. The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate. But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don't think it's because he was greedy,"" she said. ""Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""It was not an act,"" she said.  Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history. Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said.  ""He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street. The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?"" You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton ",BBC,03/11/2023,"['Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.', ""It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady."", 'On 7 November 2022, as his empire began its dizzying, irrevocable collapse, Bankman-Fried did what he always did: he weighed the odds.', ""Earlier that day, a rival executive had expressed concerns on social media about the finances of Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, spooking customers into a multi-billion dollar bank run."", 'In an online chat, Bankman-Fried consulted two of his top deputies. ""', 'To be clear you think the tweet is net bad?""', 'he asked them.', 'They considered their options.', 'Was it possible that his rival would walk back the criticism?', 'Was it probable that that would stem the bleeding? ""', 'Fairly unlikely,"" Bankman-Fried wrote.', 'Bankman-Fried faces decades in prison after guilty verdict It was the kind of calculus Bankman-Fried had been making for years, the quick equations friends said he used in nearly every situation - mulling a break-up, assessing a risky trade.', 'For a while, that approach seemed to work.', 'As the boy-wonder of crypto, Bankman-Fried got rich faster than almost anyone in history, amassing an estimated $26bn in personal wealth, countless magazine covers and sweeping political influence.', 'The flameout was even faster.', 'The tweet was, as discussed, net bad.', 'Billions gushed out of the platform in less than five days.', 'When it was all over, more than $8bn in customer funds were missing and the company was bankrupt.', 'Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.', 'Over four weeks of trial, two contradictory stories emerged.', 'In one, the former mogul was a brilliant but hapless savant, whose mistakes as CEO allowed for massive fraud to be carried out under his nose.', ""In the other, supported by former members of his inner circle, Bankman-Fried syphoned billions of dollars of customer money, banking on the odds he'd never be caught."", 'Both tellings reveal how tightly the fortunes of FTX were tied to the image of its founder, whose oddball magnetism drew former presidents, celebrities, and corporate titans into his orbit and his multi-billion dollar gamble.', ""Bankman-Fried wasn't shy about it: he wanted to get rich."", 'But, to hear him tell it, he wanted to make all those billions just to give them away.', 'An overachieving child born to two overachieving parents, Bankman-Fried and his younger brother were taught at an early age about utilitarianism, a doctrine holding that the most ethical choice is the one that does the most good for the most people.', 'As a student at MIT, Bankman-Fried went to a talk by Will MacAskill, a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford and founder of effective altruism, a utilitarian-tinged philosophy that uses maths to figure out how individuals can maximise their philanthropic impact.', 'To do the most good, Mr MacAskill told him, Bankman-Fried could take his considerable intellect to lucrative Wall Street, and donate most of his salary to important causes.', 'Bankman-Fried was sold.', 'In 2014, he took his degree straight to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm, and reportedly gave away about half of his income to worthy causes.', 'Three years later, Bankman-Fried found an industry that could make him even richer than typical trading: crypto.', 'At the age of 25, he founded Alameda Research, a crypto investment firm, after noticing that prices of Bitcoin varied considerably in different countries.', 'The arbitrage trading earned Alameda a reported $20m in just three weeks.', 'In 2019, he founded FTX, then a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for international investors.', 'Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.', ""Within months, daily trading volume on FTX had reached $300m. By 2021, he had debuted on the Forbes 400, the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans, with a fortune of $22.5bn."", 'Some have attributed his remarkable success to an unusually high tolerance for risk, a willingness to chance devastating consequences for a big reward. ""', 'He would be happy to flip a coin, if it came up tails and the world was destroyed,"" his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison said at trial. ""', 'As long as if it came up heads the world would be more than twice as good.""', 'According to internal accounts, life at FTX could sometimes resemble a grown-up maths camp, filled with a selection of brilliant misfits and led by the perpetually rumpled Bankman-Fried. ""', 'He was super disorganised, he was always in cargo shorts, he was always sloppy,"" a former FTX employee told the BBC. ""', 'He would walk around the office in bare feet.""', 'Those at the top were a tight-knit group who sometimes blindly listened to Sam, the employee said. ""', 'It could be cult-like.""', 'Natalie Tien, who handled public relations and Bankman-Fried\'s schedule at FTX for more than two years, said he was charismatic to the point that the company sometimes felt ""toxic"". ""', 'We just trusted him 100%,"" she told the BBC. ""', 'To a degree that we kind of worried [about] speaking up for ourselves.""', ""It wasn't only people inside the company that were enthralled."", 'Appearing side-by-side with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gisele Bundchen and Katy Perry in shorts and ill-fitting T-shirts, he became an ambassador of sorts for the crypto industry as whole, just as it began to reach new heights.', 'Part of the mystique was that Bankman-Fried seemed to eschew the level of luxury his earnings could have afforded.', ""He didn't own a yacht, his defence attorneys said at trial."", 'He drove a beat-up Toyota Corolla.', 'Meanwhile, he testified before Congress arguing for more regulation of the crypto market, setting him apart from many of his peers. ""', 'In a weird way, he seemed kind of like the grown-up in the crypto world,"" said Zeke Faux, an investigative journalist and author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto\'s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.', 'And, of course, there was his stated ultimate objective: Bankman-Fried was going to give it all away. ""', 'It was a great story, everybody loved it,"" said Mr Faux. ""', 'People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""', 'The problem with his story is that it was not true,"" he said.', 'In September of 2022, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital ran a breathless profile of Bankman-Fried in its magazine.', 'At the time, FTX was valued at $32bn.', ""In the since-deleted piece entitled FTX's SBF Has a Savior Complex, and Maybe You Should Too, author Adam Fisher described Bankman-Fried's efforts to maximise his wealth in order to maximise his impact on the world."", 'It involved a risk, Fisher wrote. ""', 'But the math couldn\'t be clearer."" ""', 'To do the most good for the world,"" he said, ""SBF needed to find a path on which he\'d be a coin toss away from going totally bust.""', 'A month-and-a-half later, industry news site CoinDesk published a bombshell report alleging that Alameda had over half its $15bn portfolio in FTT - the crypto token printed by FTX.', ""The disclosure raised questions about the actual value of Alameda's holdings, and the apparent conflict of interest between Alameda and FTX - ostensibly independent companies."", 'Then came that announcement on 6 November from industry rival, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, who said he would dump his own sizable stores of FTT.', ""On 11 November, the implosion of FTX was complete, the story of crypto's prodigy gone with it."", ""For some observers of the crypto boom, and Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise to power, the fall was not unexpected."", ""As FTX rose to prominence, the actor Ben McKenzie, best known for his role on the television show the OC, emerged as one of the country's most vocal crypto sceptics."", 'In July 2022, Bankman-Fried agreed to sit down for an interview with Mr McKenzie for a book the actor was writing, titled Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.', 'In a cramped Manhattan hotel room, in an encounter that Mr McKenzie described as ""probably the strangest hour of my life"", Bankman-Fried tried to pitch the actor on crypto - and Sam Bankman-Fried - as a force for good in the world. ""', 'I think he marketed himself to me as a version of his public persona, which at the time was the California wunderkind, billionaire philanthropist,"" Mr McKenzie said.', 'It was an image that even Mr McKenzie had bought into, to an extent, he said.', 'Until they began talking, that is. ""', 'He had trouble just giving me straight answers to basic questions, one of which was, what does crypto currency do?""', 'the actor said.', ""Over four weeks of trial in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's attorneys painted their client as a math nerd who was overwhelmed by his expanding empire."", 'On the stand, now in a suit, with his hair cut short, Bankman-Fried directed some of the blame at Ms Ellison, who had pleaded guilty to fraud, for failing to ""hedge"" bets to better protect Alameda from a downturn in the market, as he had instructed her to do.', 'The prosecution, in turn, painted Bankman-Fried as someone whose boundless aspiration went hand-in-hand with a hubris that led Bankman-Fried to play the odds with his company. ""', 'The defendant was gambling with customer money,"" prosecutor Nicolas Roos argued.', ""Bankman-Fried's courtroom downfall was aided by former members of his inner circle, including Ms Ellison, who acted as chief executive of Alameda, as well as college roommates Adam Yedida and Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, a childhood friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother."", 'They testified that while promising to safeguard customer funds and clean up the industry, Bankman-Fried was directing them to commit fraud, opening up a back door between Alameda and FTX so he could use FTX as a personal piggybank.', 'The money fuelled his rise, as he splashed out on property, billions in investments and some $100m in political donations - not to mention helping to cover billions in debts owed by Alameda.', 'His physical appearance, too, was contrived, Ms Ellison testified - his messy hair and cheap car deemed ""better for his image"", because it made him look more authentic than a typical trader.', 'But that down-to-earth image belied his intense ambition, she said. ""', 'He thought there was a 5% chance he would become president someday,"" Ms Ellison said at trial. ""', 'Of the United States.""', 'While many have watched the trial as a sort of comeuppance, former FTX employee Natalie Tien has looked to it for closure, and is one of the few former employees to attend the trial regularly.', 'On the one hand, it was a relief to realise that her own doubts and questions about some things - like extravagant spending on celebrity sponsorships - had been justified.', 'The last time she communicated with her former boss, in December 2022, he had just been released on bail and sent her a music video of Eminem, rapping ""Without Me"" to celebrate.', 'But the 33-year-old also felt some parts of the story - especially around his schedule and his use of private jets - were being taken ""out of context"". ""', 'He did lie and he took the money, yes, but I don\'t think it\'s because he was greedy,"" she said. ""', 'Because I actually saw him every day wearing crappy old T-shirts with no shoes and driving a shitty car."" ""', 'It was not an act,"" she said.', 'Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years in prison, and an indelible reputation as one of the greatest fraudsters in US history.', 'Lawyers working on the bankruptcy case have said they have recovered more than $7bn in missing money. ""', 'I think it says more about us than it does about him,"" Mr McKenzie said. ""', 'He got so far, I think, in many ways because of his lineage, because he is the son of Stanford professors, because he did go to MIT, because he worked on Wall Street.', 'The myth of Sam Bankman-Fried grew in relation to the myth of crypto itself, right?""', ""You can watch Panorama's The Downfall of the Crypto King on BBC iPlayer (UK only) With additional reporting from James Clayton""]",0.0933476610366481,"People loved it in Congress, the VCs loved it, the bankers loved it."" ""","Five weeks after that, prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried, who had already resigned, with several financial offences including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.",-0.0221979083686039,"Like Elizabeth Holmes - another Silicon Valley billionaire whose star came crashing down - he was able to convince big name investors to lend the company not only cash, but credibility.","It's a spectacular downfall for Silicon Valley's dishevelled wunderkind, who rubbed elbows with celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady.",2024-04-08
-Biden’s manufacturing industry is expanding. That could be bad for inflation,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/07/business/stocks-week-ahead-manufacturing-industry-expanding-rate-cuts/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:00 AM EDT, Sun April 7, 2024
-    ","American manufacturers have been squeezed for the past two years by lingering supply-chain disruptions and high interest rates, but the industry finally expanded in March for the first time in 16 months, according to the Institute for Supply Management.
-    
-            But a resurgence in the industry could complicate the Federal Reserve’s ongoing inflation fight, either delaying the first interest rate cut or resulting in fewer cuts this year, some economists say. Interest rates have been at a two-decade high since July, after the Fed raised rates aggressively over the prior year and a half.
-    
-            ISM’s latest purchasing managers index for the US manufacturing sector, a monthly survey that gauges economic activity, rose more than expected in March to a reading of 50.3, the first time the index has registered above 50 since September 2022. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below reflects contraction.
-    
-            President Joe Biden has signed into law major spending packages passed by Congress, such as a bipartisan infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act, allowing manufacturers to spend on new factories to ramp up production.
-    
-            However, several Fed officials have said in recent speeches that persistent economic strength allows the central bank to remain patient and hold rates steady while they wait for more evidence that inflation is truly headed toward their 2% goal. Consumer prices were up 2.5% in February from a year earlier, according to the Fed’s favorite inflation measure.
-    
-            “In the interim, I think it is smart for the Fed to take our time,” Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Thursday at an event in Richmond, Virginia. “No one wants inflation to reemerge. And, given a strong labor market, we have time for the clouds to clear before beginning the process of toggling rates down.”
-    
-            San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly was asked Tuesday to directly weigh in on ISM’s latest manufacturing data during a moderated discussion in Las Vegas. She said it didn’t change her overall assessment of the US economy.
-    
-            “That is just one data point in the sea of data that we collect,” Daly said. “You want to step back and say ‘what’s been happening?’ and there I see that the economy continues to remain very solid. No matter where you look, you see strength.”
-    
-            But the stock market kicked off the second quarter last week on a sour note. Wall Street was spooked by economic data from the prior week showing that price pressures persisted in February and consumer spending surged that month. Friday’s jobs report showed that the economy added 303,000 jobs in March, far more than the 205,000 expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is in no rush to cut rates, a sentiment underscored by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.
-    
-            “If we continue to see inflation moving sideways, then that would make me question whether we need to do those rate cuts at all,” Kashkari said during a virtual event Thursday afternoon. His comments triggered a selloff on Wall Street, with the Dow falling more than 500 points.
-    
-            ISM’s manufacturing data added to evidence that the economy remains robust, keeping the Fed on hold.
-    
-            “This report will make the Fed’s job a little trickier, and it will undoubtedly be happy the market is still not anticipating rate changes until June or July, giving it that much more time to continue to watch the data roll in,” Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair Equity Research, said in a note released Monday.
-    
-            The economy picking up further strength would spook Wall Street because of what it means for interest rates — and some manufacturers say they’re optimistic about the future.
-    
-            “Business activity is up. Many manufacturers are anticipating better business in the second quarter and much better in the third quarter. They are reporting that second-quarter bookings are just starting to ramp up,” a wood products manufacturer told ISM in the survey.
-    
-            Another manufacturer said that they’re “expecting to see orders and production pick up for the second quarter.”
-    
-            “Suppliers are working with us to help drive costs down, which will help improve the margin for the rest of the year and deliver growth in 2025,” they said.
-    
-            When Amazon debuted cashier-less technology, it was hailed as the future of retail. But now, Amazon is walking back its “Just Walk Out” technology at its grocery stores, reining in grand promises of an automated, friction-less checkout, reports my colleague Ramishah Maruf.
-    
-            Amazon said it is removing the technology at US Amazon Fresh grocery stores that allows customers to pay for their groceries without waiting in line for a cashier or using a self-checkout machine. Instead, Amazon said it’s replacing it with Dash Cart at its more than 40 locations, a “smart shopping cart” that allows shoppers to scan groceries, link to online shopping lists and check out their groceries. The company has been testing Dash Carts at some Fresh and Whole Foods locations in the past.
-    
-            Customers just haven’t bought into cashier-less technology, especially in grocery stores where they purchase larger quantities and face extra tasks such as weighing produce. Amazon said the checkout technology may be more seamless in smaller stores.
-    
-            In a statement, Amazon said it will continue using the Just Walk Out technology in Amazon Go stores, at smaller format Fresh stores in the UK, and third-party locations such as certain sports stadiums and college campuses. Amazon had used roughly 1,000 humans in India, according to some news reports, to help monitor accurate checkouts.
-    
-            Read more here.
-    
-            Wednesday: Earnings from Delta Air Lines and Rent the Runway. The US Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index for March. The Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision. The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its March policymaking meeting. China’s National Bureau of Statistics releases March inflation data.
-    
-            Thursday: Earnings from Constellation Brands and CarMax. The European Central Bank announces its latest interest rate decision. The US Labor Department releases its Producer Price Index for March, in addition to the number of new applications for jobless benefits in the week ended on April 6. China’s customs agency reports the country’s trade surplus in March.
-    
-            Friday: Earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Progressive, BlackRock, Citigroup and State Street. The UK’s Office for National Statistics releases February data on gross domestic product, trade and industrial production. The US Labor Department reports export and import prices in March. The University of Michigan releases its preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for April.",CNN,07/04/2024,"['American manufacturers have been squeezed for the past two years by lingering supply-chain disruptions and high interest rates, but the industry finally expanded in March for the first time in 16 months, according to the Institute for Supply Management.', 'But a resurgence in the industry could complicate the Federal Reserve’s ongoing inflation fight, either delaying the first interest rate cut or resulting in fewer cuts this year, some economists say.', 'Interest rates have been at a two-decade high since July, after the Fed raised rates aggressively over the prior year and a half.', 'ISM’s latest purchasing managers index for the US manufacturing sector, a monthly survey that gauges economic activity, rose more than expected in March to a reading of 50.3, the first time the index has registered above 50 since September 2022.', 'A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below reflects contraction.', 'President Joe Biden has signed into law major spending packages passed by Congress, such as a bipartisan infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act, allowing manufacturers to spend on new factories to ramp up production.', 'However, several Fed officials have said in recent speeches that persistent economic strength allows the central bank to remain patient and hold rates steady while they wait for more evidence that inflation is truly headed toward their 2% goal.', 'Consumer prices were up 2.5% in February from a year earlier, according to the Fed’s favorite inflation measure.', '“In the interim, I think it is smart for the Fed to take our time,” Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Thursday at an event in Richmond, Virginia. “', 'No one wants inflation to reemerge.', 'And, given a strong labor market, we have time for the clouds to clear before beginning the process of toggling rates down.”', 'San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly was asked Tuesday to directly weigh in on ISM’s latest manufacturing data during a moderated discussion in Las Vegas.', 'She said it didn’t change her overall assessment of the US economy.', '“That is just one data point in the sea of data that we collect,” Daly said. “', 'You want to step back and say ‘what’s been happening?’', 'and there I see that the economy continues to remain very solid.', 'No matter where you look, you see strength.”', 'But the stock market kicked off the second quarter last week on a sour note.', 'Wall Street was spooked by economic data from the prior week showing that price pressures persisted in February and consumer spending surged that month.', 'Friday’s jobs report showed that the economy added 303,000 jobs in March, far more than the 205,000 expected.', 'Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is in no rush to cut rates, a sentiment underscored by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.', '“If we continue to see inflation moving sideways, then that would make me question whether we need to do those rate cuts at all,” Kashkari said during a virtual event Thursday afternoon.', 'His comments triggered a selloff on Wall Street, with the Dow falling more than 500 points.', 'ISM’s manufacturing data added to evidence that the economy remains robust, keeping the Fed on hold.', '“This report will make the Fed’s job a little trickier, and it will undoubtedly be happy the market is still not anticipating rate changes until June or July, giving it that much more time to continue to watch the data roll in,” Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair Equity Research, said in a note released Monday.', 'The economy picking up further strength would spook Wall Street because of what it means for interest rates — and some manufacturers say they’re optimistic about the future.', '“Business activity is up.', 'Many manufacturers are anticipating better business in the second quarter and much better in the third quarter.', 'They are reporting that second-quarter bookings are just starting to ramp up,” a wood products manufacturer told ISM in the survey.', 'Another manufacturer said that they’re “expecting to see orders and production pick up for the second quarter.”', '“Suppliers are working with us to help drive costs down, which will help improve the margin for the rest of the year and deliver growth in 2025,” they said.', 'When Amazon debuted cashier-less technology,it was hailed as thefuture of retail.', 'But now, Amazon is walking back its “Just Walk Out” technology at its grocery stores, reining in grand promises of an automated, friction-less checkout, reports my colleague Ramishah Maruf.', 'Amazon said it is removing the technology at US Amazon Fresh grocery stores that allows customers to pay for their groceries without waiting in line for a cashier orusing a self-checkout machine.', 'Instead, Amazon said it’s replacing it with Dash Cart at its more than 40 locations, a “smart shopping cart” that allows shoppers to scan groceries, link to online shopping lists and check out their groceries.', 'The company has been testing Dash Carts at some Fresh and Whole Foods locations in the past.', 'Customers just haven’t bought into cashier-less technology, especially in grocery stores where they purchase larger quantities and face extra tasks such as weighing produce.', 'Amazon said the checkout technology may be more seamless in smaller stores.', 'In a statement, Amazon said it will continue using the Just Walk Out technology in Amazon Go stores, at smaller format Fresh stores in the UK, and third-party locations such as certain sports stadiums and college campuses.', 'Amazon had used roughly 1,000 humans in India, according to some news reports, to help monitor accurate checkouts.', 'Read more here.', 'Wednesday: Earnings from Delta Air Lines and Rent the Runway.', 'The US Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index for March.', 'The Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision.', 'The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its March policymaking meeting.', 'China’s National Bureau of Statistics releases March inflation data.', 'Thursday: Earnings from Constellation Brands and CarMax.', 'The European Central Bank announces its latest interest rate decision.', 'The US Labor Department releases its Producer Price Index for March, in addition to the number of new applications for jobless benefits in the week ended on April 6.', 'China’s customs agency reports the country’s trade surplus in March.', 'Friday: Earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Progressive, BlackRock, Citigroup and State Street.', 'The UK’s Office for National Statistics releases February data on gross domestic product, trade and industrial production.', 'The US Labor Department reports export and import prices in March.', 'The University of Michigan releases its preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for April.']",0.1783211298034123,"“Suppliers are working with us to help drive costs down, which will help improve the margin for the rest of the year and deliver growth in 2025,” they said.","But a resurgence in the industry could complicate the Federal Reserve’s ongoing inflation fight, either delaying the first interest rate cut or resulting in fewer cuts this year, some economists say.",0.7308220888177553,"Consumer prices were up 2.5% in February from a year earlier, according to the Fed’s favorite inflation measure.","His comments triggered a selloff on Wall Street, with the Dow falling more than 500 points.",2024-04-08
-The Chevrolet Corvette is officially going electric,https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/25/business/electric-hybrid-corvette/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:22 PM EDT, Mon April 25, 2022
-    ","General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning. 
-    
-            Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote. An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered. All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.
-    
-            While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.
-    
-            “Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.” It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system. Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.
-    
-            Various companies are working on electric sports cars. Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles. Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.
-    
-            Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle. Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.
-    
-            To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower. A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall. The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version. Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.
-    
-            Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines. Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.  
-    
-            GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.",CNN,25/04/2022,"['General Motors will produce a fully electric Chevrolet Corvette, GM President Mark Reuss announced in a LinkedIn post Monday morning.', 'Reuss didn’t say when the electric Corvette would come, but he hinted that a hybrid model could come relatively soon. “', 'We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year,” he wrote.', 'An accompanying video the company posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be a hybrid Corvette, and in another first, showed the front wheels spinning and throwing snow as if being powered.', 'All Corvettes produced by the company previously have been rear-wheel-drive only.', 'While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.', '“Electrified” is an auto industry term encompassing everything from hybrid to fully electric vehicles, and anything with an electric motor can count as “electrified.”', 'It has long been rumored that the current generation of the Corvette, the first with its gasoline engine mounted behind the seats instead of in the front, could be built with a hybrid system.', 'Reuss has also previously hinted there would be electrified variants of the car.', 'Various companies are working on electric sports cars.', 'Most all-electric vehicles in production so far have been four-door sedans and SUVs, as the need for batteries lends itself to larger and heavier vehicles.', 'Tesla’s first car, the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, was an electric sports car, but the second-generation of Tesla Roadster, originally unveiled as a prototype in 2017, has yet to go into production.', 'Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.', 'Lamborghini has been working on plug-in hybrid sports cars, though.', 'To date, the Corvette is only available in the base Stingray version with 6.2-liter V8 engine producing up to 495 horsepower.', 'A 670 horsepower Corvette Z06 with a 5.5-liter V8 was unveiled last fall.', 'The previous generation of the Corvette included included a 755-horsepower ZR1 version.', 'Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.', 'Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.', 'Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars are hybrids, for instance.', 'GM has said it plans to produce only zero-emission vehicles, meaning fully electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by 2035.']",0.0521320736918344,Nothing like that has yet been announced for the current model but GM engineers have said a major reason for putting the engine in the back was to allow for better performance at extremely high horsepower levels.,"While Reuss’s post implies a hybrid Corvette will be based on the current generation of the car, it’s not clear if the all-electric version will be a variation of this car or a completely different future model.",0.3646016319592793,"Besides saving gas, hybrid systems can also be used in high-performance cars to add additional power and to provide for quicker acceleration since electric motors can provide power to the wheels more quickly than gas engines.","Some manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, have said that current battery technology doesn’t allow for a optimum sports car performance from a purely electric vehicle.",2024-04-08
-Why some people feel good about their bank accounts but bad about the economy,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/07/economy/us-economy-personal-finance/index.html,"
-  Published
-        3:00 PM EDT, Sun April 7, 2024
-    ","Nathan Frederiksen is doing pretty well for himself.
-    
-            He turns 40 this year and is on track to retire by 60. It takes some sacrifice — he drives the “unsexiest car ever,” takes a DIY approach to home repairs and doesn’t eat out much — but he’s able to save 10% of his income for retirement and maintain an emergency savings fund while supporting his wife and four children in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho.
-    
-            “I understand that I’ve been lucky with some of my job prospects, but I don’t make a crazy amount of money,” he told CNN. “I have a solidly middle-class income.”
-    
-            Frederiksen, who manages a small team of financial analysts, thinks his bank account is in good shape. But he doesn’t feel the same way about the larger economy.
-    
-            “It’s definitely gotten tough for the last couple of years,” he said. “We’ve felt inflation in our budget and our expenses, but I’ve got some peace of mind knowing that if something comes up, we’re in a pretty good place, financially.”
-    
-            He’s not alone. A recent Wall Street Journal poll of American voters in swing states found that while people think the national economy is in bad shape, they feel good about their personal finances.
-    
-            The vast majority of those surveyed — 68% — said it was becoming harder for the average person to get ahead, while nearly half of respondents said their own finances were moving in the right direction.
-    
-            Just one-quarter of registered voters in seven key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — said the economy has improved in the past two years, according to the Journal’s poll.
-    
-            This isn’t a new dynamic. In Gallup polling from last April, just 16% rated the economy as “good” or “excellent,” but 45% said their personal finances were “good” or “excellent.”
-    
-            But according to available data the economy has improved.
-    
-            When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.3%. Today, it’s 3.8%.
-    
-            In 2022, US inflation (as measured by the consumer price index) spiked to 9.1%, a level not seen in four decades. Today, it’s at a much more reasonable 3.2%.
-    
-            US gross domestic product — a broad measure of the economy — grew by 2.5% in 2023, outpacing other developed economies. Financial markets closed out an excellent first three months of the year, with the S&P 500 alone hitting 22 record highs.
-    
-            There’s a growing disconnect between economic sentiment and economic data in the United States that has been well-documented.
-    
-            But the dichotomy between how people feel about their own finances and the economy at large presents a different conundrum.
-    
-            “It all comes down to where people are getting their information,” said Ben Harris, director of the Economic Studies program at Brookings. “I can assess, without anyone else’s help, how I’m doing financially. But I need other people’s help when I want to assess a $20 trillion economy. And I have a PhD in economics.”
-    
-            Harris looks toward official data sources, “but, you know, I don’t think the average American is going to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” he said.
-    
-            So where do they get their information?
-    
-            “I think the answer is increasingly, unfortunately, social media and biased cable news sources,” said Harris. “So if you’re going to TikTok or Facebook to get information  about the macroeconomy, the chances are very good that it’s going to be wrong.”
-    
-            Jonathon Barricklow and his family are in a good place, financially.
-    
-            Barricklow, a director at an automotive company in Bowling Green, Ohio, even made a nice chunk of cash by investing in the stock market during the pandemic. But he was well aware that elevated inflation was still taking a big bite out of other people’s paychecks.
-    
-            Or so he thought.
-    
-            Barricklow recently volunteered to run a concession stand during a gymnastics meet. This was his second year doing it and he expected that he’d have to raise prices because of sky-high inflation rates. But only two items had gone up in price since last year.
-    
-            “It was a shocking realization to us,” he said. “That the rate is really only trending at 3.5%, which is not astronomical.”
-    
-            That inspired Barricklow to take a closer look at his own grocery bills.
-    
-            “It’s tough to track your grocery bill when you have kids that are growing up, your costs are always going up on everything. So we’d been seeing our grocery bill creeping up,” he said. But when he did a year-over-year comparison, he found that his costs had remained nearly the same between 2022 and 2023.
-    
-            “It was an eye opener. It’s not that bad. But it’s only the extreme stories that get the publicity,” he said.
-    
-            It’s important to look at consumer behavior and not just sentiment when determining how Americans feel about the economy, said Harris.
-    
-            Here’s how consumers are actually behaving: They’re continuing to spend money at high rates, quitting jobs because they think they can find something better and investing in the stock market. Those behaviors signal that Americans, overall, actually feel pretty good about their economy.
-    
-            Americans are still reeling from the effects of a pandemic that suddenly shut down much of the US economy. Many near-retirees told CNN that the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis — and its impact on their savings — still haunts their perception of the economy.
-    
-            Plus, geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and Europe, confusion over the housing market and election-year jitters worry even the most prepared savers, creating an unnerving sense of uncertainty.
-    
-            The potential for a stock market crash is what keeps Dave Koloskee, a 60-year-old building and home inspector in Erie, Pennsylvania, up at night.
-    
-            “If half of our retirement savings disappeared overnight for a year or two, that would really hurt,” he said. He thinks he’ll be able to retire at 65, but still has financial anxiety. He worries about stagnating income and inflation.
-    
-            So why do those worries about the future feel so real in the present?
-    
-            When people live with chronic pain their pain tolerance actually decreases, said Megan McCoy, a professor of financial therapy at Kansas State University. “All your nerves are highly agitated and ready to react. So you actually get worse at managing pain,” she said.
-    
-            The same can be said for financial pain.
-    
-            “We have been living in ambiguity for the last four or five years,” she said. “We’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop and that kind of anticipatory anxiety makes us less capable of managing day-to-day stressors or small anxieties. We might react strongly to any economic news because we’re already primed to react.”
-    
-            McCoy recently ran a survey of financial planning clients, who tend to skew older with a higher net worth. Even with a financial steward guiding them forward, 72% of those clients said they were experiencing financial anxiety.
-    
-            Julie Levitch, a single mom who turns 55 this week, works at a tech company in Scottsdale, Arizona.
-    
-            The 2008 recession and subsequent medical bills “devastated” her finances, and for some time she was struggling to stay afloat. “I used to have disturbing dreams that I was retired and living in a box on the street,” she said.
-    
-            But about a decade ago, she got serious about her finances. She watched Suze Orman, subscribed to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and began making big concessions so that she could put 20% of her salary into her 401(k) account.
-    
-            She managed to purchase a home at a 2.5% interest rate. It has increased significantly in value. “Now my mortgage is less than what a one-bedroom apartment would rent for in the same area,” she said.
-    
-            But she’s still worried. She sees friends in her industry discussing their layoffs and looking for work on LinkedIn and isn’t sure what the artificial intelligence boom will do to her industry.
-    
-            She sees people around her who are struggling.
-    
-            Levitch is part of a local bowling league in Arizona. Every Tuesday evening she joins with about 100 other people at her alley. “A lot of those people are living financially on the edge. And I think they’re struggling,” she said.
-    
-            “I don’t even discuss my personal finances because I think it would make them feel uncomfortable if I told them, ‘Hey, I’m doing well,’” said Levitch.
-    
-            “I think a lot of people that I know, that I’m friends with, are really struggling,” she said. “I get that there’s this conversation of ‘everything’s great,’ this elitist discussion of finance. It pisses people off when they hear that and they’re not doing well.”
-    
-            But some Americans are finding themselves in the same position as Levitch — with a sudden windfall due to a boom in housing and stock prices, said Harris.
-    
-            “This isn’t like prior wealth booms that happened mostly for the top 20% of households,” he said. “You’re seeing real inflation-adjusted wealth gains, across the whole income distribution, including those at the bottom. You’re seeing the wage growth is strongest for those at the bottom.”
-    
-            Middle class or wealthier people may feel guilty, said Harris, “but I can say that inequality has been declining.”",CNN,07/04/2024,"['Nathan Frederiksen is doing pretty well for himself.', 'He turns 40 this year and is on track to retire by 60.', 'It takes some sacrifice — he drives the “unsexiest car ever,” takes a DIY approach to home repairs and doesn’t eat out much — but he’s able to save 10% of his income for retirement and maintain an emergency savings fund while supporting his wife and four children in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho.', '“I understand that I’ve been lucky with some of my job prospects, but I don’t make a crazy amount of money,” he told CNN. “', 'I have a solidly middle-class income.”', 'Frederiksen, who manages a small team of financial analysts, thinks his bank account is in good shape.', 'But he doesn’t feel the same way about the larger economy.', '“It’s definitely gotten tough for the last couple of years,” he said. “', 'We’ve felt inflation in our budget and our expenses, but I’ve got some peace of mind knowing that if something comes up, we’re in a pretty good place, financially.”', 'He’s not alone.', 'A recent Wall Street Journal poll of American voters in swing states found that while people think the national economy is in bad shape, they feel good about their personal finances.', 'The vast majority of those surveyed —68% — said it was becoming harder for the average person to get ahead, while nearly half of respondents said their own finances were moving in the right direction.', 'Just one-quarter of registered voters in seven key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — said the economy has improved in the past two years, according to the Journal’s poll.', 'This isn’t a new dynamic.', 'In Gallup polling from last April, just 16% rated the economy as “good” or “excellent,” but 45% said their personal finances were “good” or “excellent.”', 'But according to available data the economy has improved.', 'When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.3%.', 'Today, it’s 3.8%.', 'In 2022, US inflation (as measured by the consumer price index) spiked to 9.1%, a level not seen in four decades.', 'Today, it’s at a much more reasonable 3.2%.', 'US gross domestic product — a broad measure of the economy — grew by 2.5% in 2023, outpacing other developed economies.', 'Financial markets closed out an excellent first three months of the year, with the S&P 500 alone hitting 22 record highs.', 'There’s a growing disconnect between economic sentiment and economic data in the United States that has been well-documented.', 'But the dichotomy between how people feel about their own finances and the economy at large presents a different conundrum.', '“It all comes down to where people are getting their information,” said Ben Harris, director of the Economic Studies program at Brookings. “', 'I can assess, without anyone else’s help, how I’m doing financially.', 'But I need other people’s help when I want to assess a $20 trillion economy.', 'And I have a PhD in economics.”', 'Harris looks toward official data sources, “but, you know, I don’t think the average American is going to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” he said.', 'So where do they get their information?', '“I think the answer is increasingly, unfortunately, social media and biased cable news sources,” said Harris. “', 'So if you’re going to TikTok or Facebook to get information about the macroeconomy, the chances are very good that it’s going to be wrong.”', 'Jonathon Barricklow and his family are in a good place, financially.', 'Barricklow, a director at an automotive company in Bowling Green, Ohio, even made a nice chunk of cash by investing in the stock market during the pandemic.', 'But he was well aware that elevated inflation was still taking a big bite out of other people’s paychecks.', 'Or so he thought.', 'Barricklow recently volunteered to run a concession stand during a gymnastics meet.', 'This was his second year doing it and he expected that he’d have to raise prices because of sky-high inflation rates.', 'But only two items had gone up in price since last year.', '“It was a shocking realization to us,” he said. “', 'That the rate is really only trending at 3.5%, which is not astronomical.”', 'That inspired Barricklow to take a closer look at his own grocery bills.', '“It’s tough to track your grocery bill when you have kids that are growing up, your costs are always going up on everything.', 'So we’d been seeing our grocery bill creeping up,” he said.', 'But when he did a year-over-year comparison, he found that his costs had remained nearly the same between 2022 and 2023.', '“It was an eye opener.', 'It’s not that bad.', 'But it’s only the extreme stories that get the publicity,” he said.', 'It’s important to look at consumer behavior and not just sentiment when determining how Americans feel about the economy, said Harris.', 'Here’s how consumers are actually behaving: They’re continuing to spend money at high rates, quitting jobs because they think they can find something better and investing in the stock market.', 'Those behaviors signal that Americans, overall, actually feel pretty good about their economy.', 'Americans are still reeling from the effects of a pandemic that suddenly shut down much of the US economy.', 'Many near-retirees told CNN that the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis — and its impact on their savings — still haunts their perception of the economy.', 'Plus, geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and Europe, confusion over the housing market and election-year jitters worry even the most prepared savers, creating an unnerving sense of uncertainty.', 'The potential for a stock market crash is what keeps Dave Koloskee, a 60-year-old building and home inspector in Erie, Pennsylvania, up at night.', '“If half of our retirement savings disappeared overnight for a year or two, that would really hurt,” he said.', 'He thinks he’ll be able to retire at 65, but still has financial anxiety.', 'He worries about stagnating income and inflation.', 'So why do those worries about the future feel so real in the present?', 'When people live with chronic pain their pain tolerance actually decreases, said Megan McCoy, a professor of financial therapy at Kansas State University. “', 'All your nerves are highly agitated and ready to react.', 'So you actually get worse at managing pain,” she said.', 'The same can be said for financial pain.', '“We have been living in ambiguity for the last four or five years,” she said. “', 'We’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop and that kind of anticipatory anxiety makes us less capable of managing day-to-day stressors or small anxieties.', 'We might react strongly to any economic news because we’re already primed to react.”', 'McCoy recently ran a survey of financial planning clients, who tend to skew older with a higher net worth.', 'Even with a financial steward guiding them forward, 72% of those clients said they were experiencing financial anxiety.', 'Julie Levitch, a single mom who turns 55 this week, works at a tech company in Scottsdale, Arizona.', 'The 2008 recession and subsequent medical bills “devastated” her finances, and for some time she was struggling to stay afloat. “', 'I used to have disturbing dreams that I was retired and living in a box on the street,” she said.', 'But about a decade ago, she got serious about her finances.', 'She watched Suze Orman, subscribed to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and began making big concessions so that she could put 20% of her salary into her 401(k) account.', 'She managed to purchase a home at a 2.5% interest rate.', 'It has increased significantly in value. “', 'Now my mortgage is less than what a one-bedroom apartment would rent for in the same area,” she said.', 'But she’s still worried.', 'She sees friends in her industry discussing their layoffs and looking for work on LinkedIn and isn’t sure what the artificial intelligence boom will do to her industry.', 'She sees people around her who are struggling.', 'Levitch is part of a local bowling league in Arizona.', 'Every Tuesday evening she joins with about 100 other people at her alley. “', 'A lot of those people are living financially on the edge.', 'And I think they’re struggling,” she said.', '“I don’t even discuss my personal finances because I think it would make them feel uncomfortable if I told them, ‘Hey, I’m doing well,’” said Levitch.', '“I think a lot of people that I know, that I’m friends with, are really struggling,” she said. “', 'I get that there’s this conversation of ‘everything’s great,’ this elitist discussion of finance.', 'It pisses people off when they hear that and they’re not doing well.”', 'But some Americans are finding themselves in the same position as Levitch — with a sudden windfall due to a boom in housing and stock prices, said Harris.', '“This isn’t like prior wealth booms that happened mostly for the top 20% of households,” he said. “', 'You’re seeing real inflation-adjusted wealth gains, across the whole income distribution, including those at the bottom.', 'You’re seeing the wage growth is strongest for those at the bottom.”', 'Middle class or wealthier people may feel guilty, said Harris, “but I can say that inequality has been declining.”']",0.0580889691543403,"We’ve felt inflation in our budget and our expenses, but I’ve got some peace of mind knowing that if something comes up, we’re in a pretty good place, financially.”","The 2008 recession and subsequent medical bills “devastated” her finances, and for some time she was struggling to stay afloat. “",0.1344572949409485,"Just one-quarter of registered voters in seven key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — said the economy has improved in the past two years, according to the Journal’s poll.","The 2008 recession and subsequent medical bills “devastated” her finances, and for some time she was struggling to stay afloat. “",2024-04-08
-Apple cuts jobs after dropping self-driving car plans,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98rz9nq9rvo,2024-04-05T09:35:31.451Z,"Apple has cut more than 600 jobs after reportedly dropping its self-driving car plans. The majority of the cuts come from the address of the site which was working on the recently abandoned self-driving car project in California, according to Bloomberg. The state's employment department was notified on 28 March that 614 staff will be laid off in May. Apple has been approached for comment. The tech giant has avoided mass layoffs in recent years, unlike other firms which have cut hundreds of thousands of jobs since the pandemic. In May last year, Apple boss Tim Cook told CNBC that layoffs would be a ""last resort"". There have been more than 50,000 job cuts in the industry so far in 2024, according to tracker layoffs.fyi. High-profile firms such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Snap and PayPal are among the tech companies to have announced cuts in 2024. However, Apple has laid off far fewer people compared to their competitors. It has a global workforce of about 161,000, according to GlobalData. Apple is the world's most valuable company - but ""no one is immune to job cuts,"" says industry analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight. ""While this might seem significant given that it relates to Apple as one of the last big tech giants to make job cuts, it is not driven by the need for efficiencies,"" says Mr Pescatore.  ""It feels more like a shift of strategic focus into other new emerging areas like AI,"" he adds. Reports of Apple ending its multi-billion-dollar investment into its self-driving car project first emerged in February. However, the company has never publicly acknowledged its existence.  Apple reportedly spent billions of dollars on research and development of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals. But it was understood to still be years away from producing a vehicle. Other companies such as Ford and General Motors have also slowed down on autonomous vehicle research as costs rise. It was reported that Apple would move many of its 2,000-strong electric car team to work on AI projects instead. A separate filing in the California jobs report shows that in January, Apple laid off 121 workers in its San Diego office. According to Bloomberg, this team was working on AI and workers were asked to move to Austin, Texas. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"['Apple has cut more than 600 jobs after reportedly dropping its self-driving car plans.', 'The majority of the cuts come from the address of the site which was working on the recently abandoned self-driving car project in California, according to Bloomberg.', ""The state's employment department was notified on 28 March that 614 staff will be laid off in May."", 'Apple has been approached for comment.', 'The tech giant has avoided mass layoffs in recent years, unlike other firms which have cut hundreds of thousands of jobs since the pandemic.', 'In May last year, Apple boss Tim Cook told CNBC that layoffs would be a ""last resort"".', 'There have been more than 50,000 job cuts in the industry so far in 2024, according to tracker layoffs.fyi.', 'High-profile firms such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Snap and PayPal are among the tech companies to have announced cuts in 2024.', 'However, Apple has laid off far fewer people compared to their competitors.', 'It has a global workforce of about 161,000, according to GlobalData.', 'Apple is the world\'s most valuable company - but ""no one is immune to job cuts,"" says industry analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight. ""', 'While this might seem significant given that it relates to Apple as one of the last big tech giants to make job cuts, it is not driven by the need for efficiencies,"" says Mr Pescatore. ""', 'It feels more like a shift of strategic focus into other new emerging areas like AI,"" he adds.', 'Reports of Apple ending its multi-billion-dollar investment into its self-driving car project first emerged in February.', 'However, the company has never publicly acknowledged its existence.', 'Apple reportedly spent billions of dollars on research and development of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals.', 'But it was understood to still be years away from producing a vehicle.', 'Other companies such as Ford and General Motors have also slowed down on autonomous vehicle research as costs rise.', 'It was reported that Apple would move many of its 2,000-strong electric car team to work on AI projects instead.', 'A separate filing in the California jobs report shows that in January, Apple laid off 121 workers in its San Diego office.', 'According to Bloomberg, this team was working on AI and workers were asked to move to Austin, Texas.']",-0.0274345390164208,"It feels more like a shift of strategic focus into other new emerging areas like AI,"" he adds.","The majority of the cuts come from the address of the site which was working on the recently abandoned self-driving car project in California, according to Bloomberg.",-0.6231569647789001,Other companies such as Ford and General Motors have also slowed down on autonomous vehicle research as costs rise.,Apple has cut more than 600 jobs after reportedly dropping its self-driving car plans.,2024-04-08
-Will the total solar eclipse disrupt your cell service?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/06/business/cell-service-disruption-solar-eclipse/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        2:40 PM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","As darkness envelops millions of people during Monday’s total solar eclipse, spectators will hold their cellphones skyward to capture the moment. But could the surge in cell usage cause networks to go dark?
-    
-            Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.
-    
-            The path of totality — where it’s possible to see the moon completely block the sun’s face — will draw thousands of tourists to states from Texas to Maine. Travelers will rely on the network infrastructure in those areas as they use social media, livestreams and video calls to commemorate their experience.
-    
-            The eclipse itself has no effect on wireless networks. But the influx of tourists to cities and towns creates an environment similar to a football game or a concert in a crowded stadium — the larger the crowd, the more difficult it can be to find a cell connection.
-    
-            “Any location that’s in the center of the path of totality is going to see a significant increase in cellphone usage, particularly during the period and shortly after totality,” said Caty Pilachowski, a professor of astronomy at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, in an interview with CNN.
-    
-            Bloomington, which last saw a total eclipse in 1869, will be in the path of totality on Monday and may host hundreds of thousands of visitors.
-    
-            “An eclipse is very often seen as a shared activity,” Pilachowski said, noting that people will be taking pictures and videos and sharing those images with others.
-    
-            AT&T anticipates an increase in network traffic as people “pick up their devices to capture and share content” during totality, according to a spokesperson for the company.
-    
-            When the last total solar eclipse cut a path across America in 2017, AT&T reported network usage spikes up to 15% around certain cell towers in the path of totality. But the company, which experienced an outage affecting millions in February, says it’s ready for Monday. “The eclipse itself will have no direct operational impact on our wireless network,” an AT&T spokesperson wrote in an email.
-    
-            And other major providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile echo AT&T’s confidence ahead of Monday’s celestial spectacle.
-    
-            “We do not expect any impact from the 2024 solar eclipse on the operation of our network,” Chris Serico, a spokesperson for Verizon, told CNN.
-    
-            Verizon says it has developed its US infrastructure across the eclipse path in the past year. Serico said the wireless provider has built and activated 19 new cell sites in Niagara and Erie counties in New York — locations along the path of totality — since the start of 2023.
-    
-            In Northeast Ohio, Verizon has activated 60 new cell sites in six counties positioned in the path of totality. In the Dallas area, Verizon has activated 375 new cell sites.
-    
-            “In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.
-    
-            T-Mobile says it’s also deploying extra temporary cell sites that will be on stand-by in areas expecting high tourist traffic. These portable sites — cellular on wheels — are called COWs for short.
-    
-            Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse. AT&T has expanded its 5G network to reach more than 295 million people in up to 24,500 cities and towns cross the US.
-    
-            “All 5G launches and upgrades have been layered into our network since the last solar eclipse stretched across the United States in 2017,” Verizon’s Serico said.
-    
-            In New York, which will experience its first total eclipse in nearly a century, state and local governments say they have coordinated with wireless providers for more than a year to prepare for the event.
-    
-            “The carriers are aware of the influx of people expected to visit New York for this event and they have conducted site audits and evaluated coverage maps,” said Heather Groll, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, in an email.
-    
-            Nonetheless, officials expect large influxes of visitors: Buffalo, NY, could see up to 1 million tourists, and Rochester, NY, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000, according to Groll. This means people in those areas may experience standard disruptions to service.
-    
-            “Visitors and New Yorkers alike should expect that there will be limited coverage in places where there are large gatherings and plan accordingly,” Groll wrote in an email.
-    
-            While some cities can expect disruption, it all depends on the number of people using a tower and the area’s specific capacity, according to Lisa Winter, a program scientist at NASA.
-    
-            “It may be difficult in a crowded area if many people are using the same towers,” Winter said in an email.
-    
-            Bloomington has coordinated with service providers to deploy COWs in low coverage areas, said Rick Dietz, director of the city’s Information & Technology Services Department, in an email.
-    
-            He said providers are indicating regular calls should go through, but data services may be strained or unavailable.
-    
-            In Little Rock, Arkansas, city officials say they are not concerned about disruptions to cell service.
-    
-            “We know that state and federal government have allocated resources primarily for rural areas of the State that may have limited cell network access,” Little Rock spokesperson Aaron Sadler said in an email. “The City of Little Rock does not have the same coverage concerns and we are hopeful there are no network issues next week.”
-    
-            People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.
-    
-            Whether on your phone or not, most important, Pilachowski said, is to the enjoy the experience.
-    
-            “A total eclipse of the sun is unlike any other experience that a human being can have. It is so profound in giving us this connection to not just nature, but the universe,” she said. “We’re connected to the sun and the moon and a whole broad universe in a way that we don’t normally experience. And so it’s a profound moment that we want everyone to feel and to share.”",CNN,06/04/2024,"['As darkness envelops millions of people during Monday’s total solar eclipse, spectators will hold their cellphones skyward to capture the moment.', 'But could the surge in cell usage cause networks to go dark?', 'Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.', 'The path of totality — where it’s possible to see the moon completely block the sun’s face — will draw thousands of tourists to states from Texas to Maine.', 'Travelers will rely on the network infrastructure in those areas as they use social media, livestreams and video calls to commemorate their experience.', 'The eclipse itself has no effect on wireless networks.', 'But the influx of tourists to cities and towns creates an environment similar to a football game or a concert in a crowded stadium — the larger the crowd, the more difficult it can be to find a cell connection.', '“Any location that’s in the center of the path of totality is going to see a significant increase in cellphone usage, particularly during the period and shortly after totality,” said Caty Pilachowski, a professor of astronomy at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, in an interview with CNN.', 'Bloomington, which last saw a total eclipse in 1869, will be in the path of totality on Monday and may host hundreds of thousands of visitors.', '“An eclipse is very often seen as a shared activity,” Pilachowski said, noting that people will be taking pictures and videos and sharing those images with others.', 'AT&T anticipates an increase in network traffic as people “pick up their devices to capture and share content” during totality, according to a spokesperson for the company.', 'When the last total solar eclipse cut a path across America in 2017, AT&T reported network usage spikes up to 15% around certain cell towers in the path of totality.', 'But the company, which experienced an outage affecting millions in February, says it’s ready for Monday. “', 'The eclipse itself will have no direct operational impact on our wireless network,” an AT&T spokesperson wrote in an email.', 'And other major providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile echo AT&T’s confidence ahead of Monday’s celestial spectacle.', '“We do not expect any impact from the 2024 solar eclipse on the operation of our network,” Chris Serico, a spokesperson for Verizon, told CNN.', 'Verizon says it has developed its US infrastructure across the eclipse path in the past year.', 'Serico said the wireless provider has built and activated 19 new cell sites in Niagara and Erie counties in New York — locations along the path of totality — since the start of 2023.', 'In Northeast Ohio, Verizon has activated 60 new cell sites in six counties positioned in the path of totality.', 'In the Dallas area, Verizon has activated 375 new cell sites.', '“In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.', 'T-Mobile says it’s also deploying extra temporary cell sites that will be on stand-by in areas expecting high tourist traffic.', 'These portable sites — cellular on wheels — are called COWs for short.', 'Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse.', 'AT&T has expanded its 5G network to reach more than 295 million people in up to 24,500 cities and towns cross the US.', '“All 5G launches and upgrades have been layered into our network since the last solar eclipse stretched across the United States in 2017,” Verizon’s Serico said.', 'In New York, which will experience its first total eclipse in nearly a century, state and local governments say they have coordinated with wireless providers for more than a year to prepare for the event.', '“The carriers are aware of the influx of people expected to visit New York for this event and they have conducted site audits and evaluated coverage maps,” said Heather Groll, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, in an email.', 'Nonetheless, officials expect large influxes of visitors: Buffalo, NY, could see up to 1 million tourists, and Rochester, NY, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000, according to Groll.', 'This means people in those areas may experience standard disruptions to service.', '“Visitors and New Yorkers alike should expect that there will be limited coverage in places where there are large gatherings and plan accordingly,” Groll wrote in an email.', 'While some cities can expect disruption, it all depends on the number of people using a tower and the area’s specific capacity, according to Lisa Winter, a program scientist at NASA.', '“It may be difficult in a crowded area if many people are using the same towers,” Winter said in an email.', 'Bloomington has coordinated with service providers to deploy COWs in low coverage areas, said Rick Dietz, director of the city’s Information & Technology Services Department, in an email.', 'He said providers are indicating regular calls should go through, but data services may be strained or unavailable.', 'In Little Rock, Arkansas, city officials say they are not concerned about disruptions to cell service.', '“We know that state and federal government have allocated resources primarily for rural areas of the State that may have limited cell network access,” Little Rock spokesperson Aaron Sadler said in an email. “', 'The City of Little Rock does not have the same coverage concerns and we are hopeful there are no network issues next week.”', 'People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.', 'Whether on your phone or not, most important, Pilachowski said, is to the enjoy the experience.', '“A total eclipse of the sun is unlike any other experience that a human being can have.', 'It is so profound in giving us this connection to not just nature, but the universe,” she said. “', 'We’re connected to the sun and the moon and a whole broad universe in a way that we don’t normally experience.', 'And so it’s a profound moment that we want everyone to feel and to share.”']",0.0246670864473676,Major cell providers also benefit from the innovation of 5G since the last eclipse.,"People traveling to see the eclipse should plan accordingly, including downloading maps and directions beforehand to have with them offline, in case of poor connection.",0.3109785372560674,"“In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we’re confident the additional capacity we’ve layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage,” Serico said.","Across city centers and rural towns, network providers and public officials say they are preparing for significant increases in traffic on cellular and Wi-Fi networks, as floods of eclipse tourists put pressure on the major providers that keep networks online.",2024-04-08
-FTC investigating TikTok over privacy and security,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/ftc-tiktok-probe-privacy-and-security/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        8:11 PM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.
-    
-            The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.
-    
-            The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.
-    
-            The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.
-    
-            The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources. Politico reported news of the probe earlier.
-    
-            When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”
-    
-            TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-    
-            The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores. The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk. Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach — which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.
-    
-            The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens. TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.
-    
-            Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands — a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk. To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.
-    
-            TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions. TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.",CNN,26/03/2024,"['The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.', 'The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.', 'The sources said that the FTC is probing TikTok over an alleged violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection rule, which requires companies to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting data from children under 13.', 'The agency is also investigating whether TikTok violated a portion of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive” business practices, the sources said, in denying that TikTok user data could be accessed by individuals in China.', 'The FTC could bring a suit against TikTok or settle with the company in the coming weeks, according to one of the sources.', 'Politico reported news of the probe earlier.', 'When asked about the investigation, FTC Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar replied: “No comment.”', 'TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.', 'The FTC probe comes as TikTok faces an existential threat in the US.', 'Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives voted to pass a law forcing TikTok to be sold by ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores.', 'The bill is now before the Senate, and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it gets to his desk.', 'Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.', 'The short-form video company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has denied assertions that its app poses a national security threat to US citizens.', 'TikTok, which does not operate in China, has said that the Chinese government has never accessed US user data.', 'Cybersecurity experts say Chinese laws require ByteDance to cooperate with that country’s intelligence demands—a fact that, given ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, could hypothetically put US user data at risk.', 'To address that issue, TikTok has taken steps to store its US user data on cloud servers controlled by US tech giant Oracle and established internal protocols limiting access by non-US employees.', 'TikTok acknowledged to Congress in 2022 that employees based in China could access US user data, following a report that year by BuzzFeed News that ByteDance employees had accessed that information on multiple occasions.', 'TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in his first appearance before Congress last year, also acknowledged that several ByteDance employees were fired for spying on certain US journalists as part of a “misguided attempt” to hunt down leakers within the company.']",-0.232320081688102,"The Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok for its data and security practices, two sources told CNN on the condition of anonymity.","The probe is yet another complication for the social media platform, which is already facing the threat of a potential US ban or a forced divestment from its Chinese parent company.",-0.8880722284317016,,"Senate leaders, however, have indicated they are taking a deliberate approach —which could lead to delays or even potentially doom the House bill.",2024-04-08
-What to expect from the March jobs report,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/04/economy/march-jobs-report-preview/index.html,"
-  Published
-        9:01 AM EDT, Thu April 4, 2024
-    ","For the past 50 years, the US unemployment rate has mostly been far above 4%, even rocketing to almost 15% during the pandemic. Yet in the turbulent period that followed lockdowns and other economic disruptions from the pandemic, it has stayed below the 4% level for more than two years.
-    
-            That remarkable streak could end on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its March jobs report.
-    
-            February brought the unemployment rate within spitting distance of 4%, rising to 3.9% from 3.7% in January. And for March, it’s “very foreseeable” that the jobless rate could reach 4%, said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
-    
-            While that wouldn’t represent an especially significant leap, it is likely to make headlines because many economists feel there is a “broader symbolic meaning” attached to no longer having an unemployment rate below 4%, he said.
-    
-            February’s jobs report came as yet another surprise to economists. Instead of the 200,000 job gains they forecasted, employers hired 275,000 workers.
-    
-            Economists’ February forecast might not be that far off, however. As has been the case with many recent job reports, the number of positions the BLS initially estimated were added in prior months can be revised down substantially.
-    
-            For instance, last month January’s job gains were revised down to 229,000 from the blowout 353,000 that kicked off 2024.
-    
-            Economists are once again predicting 200,000 job gains last month, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
-    
-            Federal Reserve officials will likely be paying close attention to the pace of wage growth. That’s because faster wage growth can usher in higher overall prices since it means consumers have more money to spend.
-    
-            Last month it slowed slightly, and economists are expecting that progress to continue.
-    
-            Fewer people are quitting their jobs: BLS data released Tuesday showed that February’s quits rate (voluntary separations as a percentage of employment) remained low. Higher quit rates typically correlate to higher wage and price inflation pressures.
-    
-            At the same time, layoff activity hasn’t spiked.
-    
-            Last month, the number of job cuts announced by US-based firms held mostly steady with the activity in March 2023, according to new data released Thursday from outplacement and research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
-    
-            Layoff announcements picked up last month by about 7%. However, that’s an increase of just 0.7% year on year, according to Challenger.
-    
-            Through the first quarter of this year, layoff announcements are down 5% from the first three months of 2023.
-    
-            “Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “While technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including energy and industrial manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last.”
-    
-            The latest weekly jobless claims released Thursday by the Department of Labor released showed that initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed to a nine-week high of 221,000, slightly above expectations. However, the number of people who were already collecting unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 1.79 million.
-    
-            While some economists are expecting the unemployment rate to fall to 3.8% in March, that prediction should be taken with a grain of salt — the forecast for the February unemployment rate was 3.7%.
-    
-            By definition, the unemployment rate captures the share of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force. The labor force is the total number of people employed and unemployed. To be considered unemployed, you don’t necessarily need to have been laid off recently.
-    
-            The BLS classifies someone as unemployed if they aren’t working but are available for work and made a specific effort in the past month to find a job. If they don’t satisfy that criteria, they aren’t considered part of the labor force.
-    
-            Mathematically, the unemployment rate can increase in a month for a variety of reasons.
-    
-            One is when both the share of unemployed and employed people disproportionately rises. That could happen in a situation when, for example, a lot of college graduates start working, but at the same time previously employed people are laid off.
-    
-            Another is if the number of unemployed people is relatively unchanged from one month to the next but the number of employed people falls. That could happen if, for instance, a lot of people retire.
-    
-            It can also go up when the number of unemployed people climbs and the number of employed people falls. That’s what happened in February.
-    
-            The direction of the unemployment rate in one month is entirely independent of the headline payroll employment number because the two come from different surveys. That explains why the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February despite the 275,000 job gains that were well above economists’ expectations.
-    
-            So it’s not automatically a bad sign for the economy when the unemployment rate goes up. But if the unemployment rate increased to 4% last month and the pace of job gains slowed significantly from February, that would be “a pretty clear indication the economy is softening,” said Strain.
-    
-            If, however, the unemployment rate hits 4%, “it signals workers losing some of their extremely strong leverage in the labor market,” said Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
-    
-            January 2022 was the last time the unemployment rate was at 4%; and November 2021 was the last time the unemployment rate topped 4%, when the sudden influx of pent-up demand from the pandemic meant companies were desperate to hire. As a result, workers saw unprecedented wage increases.
-    
-            But those increases have been slowing and workers have lost some of the leverage they gained, according to a model Sojourner developed. Nevertheless, workers have a lot more leverage now than they’ve had over much of the past 20 years.
-    
-            The loss of some leverage, combined with a rising unemployment rate, implies that employers can hire and retain talent less expensively, Sojourner told CNN.
-    
-            Once the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates two years ago to rein in 40-year high inflation, economists predicted the unemployment rate would soon hit 4%.
-    
-            Strain, for instance, said he thought the unemployment rate would have been well into the 4% range, if not higher, by the second quarter of this year.
-    
-            That didn’t happen in part because consumer spending remained strong, a byproduct of the unprecedented level of government stimulus during the pandemic.
-    
-            Additionally, a practice known as “labor hoarding,” where employers keep employees on the payroll to ensure they’re properly staffed after the economy recovers from a potential recession, has also helped keep the unemployment rate low.
-    
-            But just because the unemployment rate hasn’t hit 4% doesn’t mean the labor market isn’t cooling. Spoiler alert: It is.
-    
-            The unemployment rate went up by half a percentage point from the post-pandemic low of 3.4% last April. The pace of monthly job gains have slown significantly over the last two years. And layoffs are rising, according to job openings and labor turnover data the BLS released Tuesday.",CNN,04/04/2024,"['For the past 50 years, the US unemployment rate has mostly been far above 4%, even rocketing to almost 15% during the pandemic.', 'Yet in the turbulent period that followed lockdowns and other economic disruptions from the pandemic, it has stayed below the 4% level for more than two years.', 'That remarkable streak could end on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its March jobs report.', 'February brought the unemployment rate within spitting distance of 4%, rising to 3.9% from 3.7% in January.', 'And for March, it’s “very foreseeable” that the jobless rate could reach 4%, said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.', 'While that wouldn’t represent an especially significant leap, it is likely to make headlines because many economists feel there is a “broader symbolic meaning” attached to no longer having an unemployment rate below 4%, he said.', 'February’s jobs report came as yet another surprise to economists.', 'Instead of the 200,000 job gains they forecasted, employers hired 275,000 workers.', 'Economists’ February forecast might not be that far off, however.', 'As has been the case with many recent job reports, the number of positions the BLS initially estimated were added in prior months can be revised down substantially.', 'For instance, last month January’s job gains were revised down to 229,000 from the blowout 353,000 that kicked off 2024.', 'Economists are once again predicting 200,000 job gains last month, according to FactSet consensus estimates.', 'Federal Reserve officials will likely be paying close attention to the pace of wage growth.', 'That’s because faster wage growth can usher in higher overall prices since it means consumers have more money to spend.', 'Last month it slowed slightly, and economists are expecting that progress to continue.', 'Fewer people are quitting their jobs: BLS data released Tuesday showed that February’s quits rate (voluntary separations as a percentage of employment) remained low.', 'Higher quit rates typically correlate to higher wage and price inflation pressures.', 'At the same time, layoff activity hasn’t spiked.', 'Last month, the number of job cuts announced by US-based firms held mostly steady with the activity in March 2023, according to new data released Thursday from outplacement and research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.', 'Layoff announcements picked up last month by about 7%.', 'However, that’s an increase of just 0.7% year on year, according to Challenger.', 'Through the first quarter of this year, layoff announcements are down 5% from the first three months of 2023.', '“Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “', 'While technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including energy and industrial manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last.”', 'The latest weekly jobless claims released Thursday by the Department of Labor released showed that initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed to a nine-week high of 221,000, slightly above expectations.', 'However, the number of people who were already collecting unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 1.79 million.', 'While some economists are expecting the unemployment rate to fall to 3.8% in March, that prediction should be taken with a grain of salt — the forecast for the February unemployment rate was 3.7%.', 'By definition, the unemployment rate captures the share of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force.', 'The labor force is the total number of people employed and unemployed.', 'To be considered unemployed, you don’t necessarily need to have been laid off recently.', 'The BLS classifies someone as unemployed if they aren’t working but are available for work and made a specific effort in the past month to find a job.', 'If they don’t satisfy that criteria, they aren’t considered part of the labor force.', 'Mathematically, the unemployment rate can increase in a month for a variety of reasons.', 'One is when both the share of unemployed and employed people disproportionately rises.', 'That could happen in a situation when, for example, a lot of college graduates start working, but at the same time previously employed people are laid off.', 'Another is if the number of unemployed people is relatively unchanged from one month to the next but the number of employed people falls.', 'That could happen if, for instance, a lot of people retire.', 'It can also go up when the number of unemployed people climbs and the number of employed people falls.', 'That’s what happened in February.', 'The direction of the unemployment rate in one month is entirely independent of the headline payroll employment number because the two come from different surveys.', 'That explains why the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February despite the 275,000 job gains that were well above economists’ expectations.', 'So it’s not automatically a bad sign for the economy when the unemployment rate goes up.', 'But if the unemployment rate increased to 4% last month and the pace of job gains slowed significantly from February, that would be “a pretty clear indication the economy is softening,” said Strain.', 'If, however, the unemployment rate hits 4%, “it signals workers losing some of their extremely strong leverage in the labor market,” said Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.', 'January 2022 was the last time theunemploymentrate was at 4%; and November 2021 was the last time theunemploymentratetopped 4%, when the sudden influx of pent-up demand from the pandemic meant companies were desperate to hire.', 'As a result, workers saw unprecedented wage increases.', 'But those increases have been slowing and workers have lost some of the leverage they gained, according to a model Sojourner developed.', 'Nevertheless, workers have a lot more leverage now than they’ve had over much of the past 20 years.', 'The loss of some leverage, combined with a rising unemployment rate, implies that employers can hire and retain talent less expensively, Sojourner told CNN.', 'Once the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates two years ago to rein in 40-year high inflation, economists predicted the unemployment rate would soon hit 4%.', 'Strain, for instance, said he thought the unemployment rate would have been well into the 4% range, if not higher, by the second quarter of this year.', 'That didn’t happen in part because consumer spending remained strong, a byproduct of the unprecedented level of government stimulus during the pandemic.', 'Additionally, a practice known as “labor hoarding,” where employers keep employees on the payroll to ensure they’re properly staffed after the economy recovers from a potential recession, has also helped keep the unemployment rate low.', 'But just because the unemployment rate hasn’t hit 4% doesn’t mean the labor market isn’t cooling.', 'Spoiler alert: It is.', 'The unemployment rate went up by half a percentage point from the post-pandemic low of 3.4% last April.', 'The pace of monthly job gains have slown significantly over the last two years.', 'And layoffs are rising, according to job openings and labor turnover data the BLS released Tuesday.']",0.0078756976232048,"But if the unemployment rate increased to 4% last month and the pace of job gains slowed significantly from February, that would be “a pretty clear indication the economy is softening,” said Strain.","While some economists are expecting the unemployment rate to fall to 3.8% in March, that prediction should be taken with a grain of salt — the forecast for the February unemployment rate was 3.7%.",0.1536169875235784,Layoff announcements picked up last month by about 7%.,"Through the first quarter of this year, layoff announcements are down 5% from the first three months of 2023.",2024-04-08
-Your complete guide to earning and redeeming points in the Citi ThankYou Rewards program,https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/citi-thankyou-points-rewards,"
-  Updated
-        12:10 PM EST, Wed January 10, 2024
-    ","The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot. In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.
-    
-            When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings. And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.
-    
-            If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.
-    
-            You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways. The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card. But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program. Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.
-    
-            Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards. The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards and cash back cards. However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.
-    
-            Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly. These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.
-    
-            As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditional cash back credit cards in the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings. They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything — 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay. By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.
-    
-            Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense. You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.
-    
-            By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.
-    
-            Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases. First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account. Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders. These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.
-    
-            Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card. Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.
-    
-            If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account. That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account. With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities. The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities. Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.
-    
-            Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member. Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge. The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.
-    
-            It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt. So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them. Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.
-    
-            Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them. And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points. You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.
-    
-            Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.
-    
-            Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points. Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary. You can redeem them for stays at all-inclusive resorts, international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more. But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.
-    
-            Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles and American Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.
-    
-            If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.
-    
-            By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.
-    
-            Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.
-    
-            Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel. That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards. These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile. Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:
-    
-            Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal. That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions. While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible. If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.
-    
-            Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point. This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings. While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.
-    
-            For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense. Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:
-    
-            Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value. However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option. Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy. The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to. Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights. While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.
-    
-            Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.
-    
-            Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals. Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value. Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.
-    
-            Looking for a new travel credit card? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards currently available.
-    
-            Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
-    
-            Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.",CNN,10/01/2024,"['The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®.', 'Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot.', 'In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.', 'When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings.', 'And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.', 'If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.', 'You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways.', 'The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card.', 'But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program.', 'Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.', 'Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.', 'The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards andcash back cards.', 'However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.', 'Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly.', 'These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.', 'As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.', 'They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything —1% when you buy, 1% when you pay.', 'By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.', 'Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense.', 'You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.', 'By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.', 'Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases.', 'First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account.', 'Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders.', 'These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.', 'Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card.', 'Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as anauthorized useron your account.', 'Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.', 'If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account.', 'That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account.', 'With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities.', 'The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities.', 'Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.', 'Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member.', 'Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge.', 'The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.', 'It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt.', 'So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them.', 'Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.', 'Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them.', 'And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points.', 'You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.', 'Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.', 'Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points.', 'Citi has 18 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary.', 'You can redeem them for stays atall-inclusive resorts,international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more.', 'But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.', 'Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are.', 'Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles andAmerican Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.', 'If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 18 options as well as the transfer rate.', 'By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket.', 'As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.', 'Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option.', 'Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs.', 'For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.', 'Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel.', 'That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards.', 'These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile.', 'Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:  Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners.', 'But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal.', 'That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.', 'While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible.', 'If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.', 'Citi offers several fixed redemption options where you’ll redeem your points at 1 cent per point.', 'This is ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings.', 'While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.', 'For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense.', 'Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points:  Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value.', 'However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option.', 'Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.', 'Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy.', 'The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to.', 'Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights.', 'While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.', 'Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans, statement credits or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece.', 'Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals.', 'Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value.', 'Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.', 'Looking for a new travel credit card?', 'Check out CNN Underscored’s list of thebest credit cardscurrently available.', 'Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.', 'Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.']",0.4187524857201869,"Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards.","Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.",0.8707016060749689,"As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditionalcash back credit cardsin the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings.",That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions.,2024-04-08
-Made (or lost) money on bitcoin or other crypto last year? The IRS wants details,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/success/taxes-crypto-digital-assets-bitcoin/index.html,"
-  Updated
-        12:30 PM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","If you’re a crypto investor or have been paid in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency for your services, you’re going to have to report your taxable transactions on your 2023 tax return, which for most people comes due April 15.
-    
-            And — no surprise — you’re also obligated to pay tax on any income or gains you received from your crypto assets last year.
-    
-            The wrinkle is that there are still questions surrounding the rules for tax reporting and the calculations needed in that reporting.
-    
-            While 2023 was supposed to be the year, for instance, that third-party reporting requirements went into effect for crypto brokerage platforms to report on their customers’ transactions to the IRS, the IRS has hit pause on enforcing those rules until the Treasury issues its final regulations, said Miles Fuller, a senior director at crypto tax advisory firm TaxBit. Fuller previously worked at the IRS as senior counsel specializing in virtual currency issues.
-    
-            Despite the temporary enforcement reprieve, you may have received tax forms from some third-parties. But even if you didn’t, you are still on the hook to be honest with the IRS about your crypto transactions. “It still falls to you to make sure you’re reporting the information,” Fuller said.
-    
-            For starters, that means answering the question on the first page of your federal 1040 tax form that asks: “At any time during 2023, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”
-    
-            Answer “yes” if those descriptions reflect the nature of your crypto transactions. But you can answer “no” if all you did was buy or continue to hold a digital asset; or you simply transferred digital assets from one of your accounts to another, because those are not taxable events.
-    
-            If an employer or client paid you in cryptocurrency: You will owe income tax on that payment — the value of which is determined by the price of that cryptocurrency the day you were paid, Fuller noted. While cryptocurrency is not legal tender, for the purposes of compensation it is taxed as if you had received payment in dollars. The entity that paid you may have sent you a W2 form if you’re a regular employer or a 1099 form if you’re a contractor or freelancer.
-    
-            If you sold crypto in 2023: You need to calculate whether you had a capital gain or loss. In other words, what was the difference between the value of your crypto the day you bought it (i.e., your cost basis) and the day you sold it?
-    
-            If you lost money, you can use that capital loss to offset any capital gains you realized last year — even if it comes from the sale of another security or another property, such as a stock or a home. Once you’ve offset any gains you had, if you still have losses left over, you can use them to offset the tax owed on up to $3,000 of your ordinary income in 2023. Any remaining losses left over beyond that can be carried forward and applied in future tax years.
-    
-            Remember, too, if you sold bitcoin in 2022 during the so-called crypto winter you may have booked a big capital loss and can apply whatever you weren’t able to use on your 2022 taxes on your 2023 return.
-    
-            If, instead, you made money on the sale or exchange of your crypto last year, you realized a capital gain. If you held that digital asset less than a year, it’s considered a short-term gain and will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates. If you held it for more than a year, it’s a long-term gain and you will be taxed at the lower capital gains rate — which, for most people ranges from 0% to 15%, depending on your income.
-    
-            If you used crypto currency to buy a good or service: Say you bought a car with bitcoin last year. If it was worth more than $10,000 the car dealership will file with the IRS a Form 8300 reporting your transaction.
-    
-            And you may need to report a capital gain or loss on the transaction. Say you get paid $10,000 in bitcoin by a client or employer. That’s reportable as income. Then say that $10,000 grows to $20,000 and you use it to buy a car. You will have to report a $10,000 capital gain too ($20,000-$10,000).
-    
-            If you donated cryptocurrency to charity: The value is based on the price of the crypto the day the transaction occurred. But if you estimate the value to be more than $5,000, you must pay a qualified appraiser to officially calculate the value of your donation just as you would most other personal property donations over $5,000, Fuller said. “If you fail to obtain the appraisal, you can’t take the deduction,” he said.
-    
-            In January of this year the Securities and Exchange Commission finally gave the green light for the listing and trading of 11 bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.
-    
-            Currently, if you own cryptocurrency directly it’s treated as personal property for tax purposes. But if you decide to get exposure to bitcoin through an ETF, you won’t own it directly and the ETF is taxed as an SEC-regulated financial product.
-    
-            So if you do buy a bitcoin ETF this year, you and the IRS will get a form from the broker-dealer where you house your ETF account reporting on your transactions during 2024.
-    
-            What’s still not clear yet is whether, by owning a bitcoin ETF, you will need to check “yes” on that first question about digital assets on your 1040 form since you won’t own it directly, Fuller said.
-    
-            Maybe by next January, when filing season for tax year 2024 starts, we’ll have an answer.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['If you’re a crypto investor or have been paid in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency for your services, you’re going to have to report your taxable transactions on your 2023 tax return, which for most people comes due April 15.', 'And — no surprise — you’re also obligated to pay tax on any income or gains you received from your crypto assets last year.', 'The wrinkle is that there are still questions surrounding the rules for tax reporting and the calculations needed in that reporting.', 'While 2023 was supposed to be the year, for instance, that third-party reporting requirements went into effect for crypto brokerage platforms to report on their customers’ transactions to the IRS, the IRS has hit pause on enforcing those rules until the Treasury issues its final regulations, said Miles Fuller, a senior director at crypto tax advisory firm TaxBit.', 'Fuller previously worked at the IRS as senior counsel specializing in virtual currency issues.', 'Despite the temporary enforcement reprieve, you may have received tax forms from some third-parties.', 'But even if you didn’t, you are still on the hook to be honest with the IRS about your crypto transactions. “', 'It still falls to you to make sure you’re reporting the information,” Fuller said.', 'For starters, that means answering the question on the first page of your federal 1040 tax form that asks: “At any time during 2023, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”', 'Answer “yes” if those descriptions reflect the nature of your crypto transactions.', 'But you can answer “no” if all you did was buy or continue to hold a digital asset; or you simply transferred digital assets from one of your accounts to another, because those are not taxable events.', 'If an employer or client paid you in cryptocurrency: You will owe income tax on that payment — the value of which is determined by the price of that cryptocurrency the day you were paid, Fuller noted.', 'While cryptocurrency is not legal tender, for the purposes of compensation it is taxed as if you had received payment in dollars.', 'The entity that paid you may have sent you a W2 form if you’re a regular employer or a 1099 form if you’re a contractor or freelancer.', 'If you sold crypto in 2023: You need to calculate whether you had a capital gain or loss.', 'In other words, what was the difference between the value of your crypto the day you bought it (i.e., your cost basis) and the day you sold it?', 'If you lost money, you can use that capital loss to offset any capital gains you realized last year — even if it comes from the sale of another security or anotherproperty, such as a stock or a home.', 'Once you’ve offset any gains you had, if you still have losses left over, you can use them to offset the tax owed on up to $3,000 of your ordinary income in 2023.', 'Any remaining losses left over beyond that can be carried forward and applied in future tax years.', 'Remember, too, if you sold bitcoin in 2022 during the so-called crypto winter you may have booked a big capital loss and can apply whatever you weren’t able to use on your 2022 taxes on your 2023 return.', 'If, instead, you made money on the sale or exchange of your crypto last year, you realized a capital gain.', 'If you held that digital asset less than a year, it’s considered a short-term gain and will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates.', 'If you held it for more than a year, it’s a long-term gain and you will be taxed at the lower capital gains rate — which, for most people ranges from 0% to 15%, depending on your income.', 'If you used crypto currency to buy a good or service: Say you bought a car with bitcoin last year.', 'If it was worth more than $10,000 the car dealership will file with the IRS a Form 8300 reporting your transaction.', 'And you may need to report a capital gain or loss on the transaction.', 'Say you get paid $10,000 in bitcoin by a client or employer.', 'That’s reportable as income.', 'Then say that $10,000 grows to $20,000 and you use it to buy a car.', 'You will have to report a $10,000 capital gain too ($20,000-$10,000).', 'If you donated cryptocurrency to charity: The value is based on the price of the crypto the day the transaction occurred.', 'But if you estimate the value to be more than $5,000, you must pay a qualified appraiser to officially calculate the value of your donation just as you would most other personal property donations over $5,000, Fuller said. “', 'If you fail to obtain the appraisal, you can’t take the deduction,” he said.', 'In January of this year the Securities and Exchange Commission finally gave the green light for the listing and trading of 11 bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.', 'Currently, if you own cryptocurrency directly it’s treated as personal property for tax purposes.', 'But if you decide to get exposure to bitcoin through an ETF, you won’t own it directly and the ETF is taxed as an SEC-regulated financial product.', 'So if you do buy a bitcoin ETF this year, you and the IRS will get a form from the broker-dealer where you house your ETF account reporting on your transactions during 2024.', 'What’s still not clear yet is whether, by owning a bitcoin ETF, you will need to check “yes” on that first question about digital assets on your 1040 form since you won’t own it directly, Fuller said.', 'Maybe by next January, when filing season for tax year 2024 starts, we’ll have an answer.']",0.2376954242405072,"For starters, that means answering the question on the first page of your federal 1040 tax form that asks: “At any time during 2023, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”","If you fail to obtain the appraisal, you can’t take the deduction,” he said.",0.0224663242697715,"If, instead, you made money on the sale or exchange of your crypto last year, you realized a capital gain.","Remember, too, if you sold bitcoin in 2022 during the so-called crypto winter you may have booked a big capital loss and can apply whatever you weren’t able to use on your 2022 taxes on your 2023 return.",2024-04-08
-Trump’s net worth has tumbled by $2 billion since Truth Social stock peaked last month,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/investing/trump-stock-net-worth-truth-social/index.html,"
-  Published
-        11:32 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth.
-    
-            The Truth Social owner dropped by another 10% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out a third of the stock’s value.
-    
-            The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion. That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.
-    
-            Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021. Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.
-    
-            When Trump Media finally went public late last month, experts immediately warned that Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.
-    
-            Last week, Trump Media disclosed losing $58 million last year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million. By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than 100 times as much revenue – $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.
-    
-            After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion. That’s almost twice the valuation that Reddit achieved after its IPO in March – even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.
-    
-            Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group continue to rapidly fall back to Earth.', 'The Truth Social owner dropped by another 10% on Monday, adding to a brutal week that wiped out a third of the stock’s value.', 'The selloff has shrunk former President Donald Trump’s stake in the controversial company to about $2.9 billion.', 'That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.', 'Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, which launched in 2021.', 'Its plan to go public by merging with a shell company was delayed for years by regulatory and legal scrutiny.', 'When Trump Media finally went public late last month,experts immediately warnedthat Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.', 'Last week,Trump Media disclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.', 'By comparison, Twitter (now known as X) generated more than100 times as much revenue– $665 million — in 2013 ahead of its initial public offering in November of that year.', 'After its first day of trading, Trump Media was valued at as much as $11 billion.', 'That’s almost twice the valuation thatReddit achieved after its IPOin March – even though Reddit generated roughly 200 times as much revenue.', 'Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.']",0.1038121725520578,"Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.","Last week,Trump Media disclosed losing $58 millionlast year on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.",-0.3934844672679901,"Despite the recent losses, shares of Trump Media and the blank check company it merged with have more than doubled this year.","That’s down sharply from a peak of $5.2 billion based on the closing high of $66.22 on March 27, the day after it went public.",2024-04-08
-Jail those responsible for Post Office scandal - minister,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68760215,2024-04-08T12:53:24.000Z,"The Post Office minister has told the BBC that those responsible for the Horizon scandal ""should go to jail"". Kevin Hollinrake told a BBC Breakfast audience of sub-postmasters that ""people should be prosecuted"" when evidence is ""established"", and ""people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail"". More than 700 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015. To date, just 37 have received full and final compensation settlements. Mr Hollinrake's comments follow those of Alan Bates, whose campaign and battle against the Post Office was dramatised in an ITV mini-series earlier this year. ""People have got to be held accountable,"" the former sub-postmaster previously told the BBC. ""That's got to happen. And we're going to have to carry on campaigning for that to occur."" Mr Bates said the campaign group would ""start looking at prosecutions"" after the public inquiry into the scandal ends, adding that some of the bonuses paid to Post Office bosses over the years should be ""clawed back"". The public inquiry will resume on Tuesday. The latest hearings will last 15 weeks, and witnesses will include key figures at the heart of the scandal - including Mr Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the Post Office - which is owned by the government - based on a faulty accounting software system called Horizon. Many poured in their own life savings to cover shortfalls in the accounts. The Post Office scandal is widely regarded as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history. The government is introducing legislation to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters linked to Horizon.  Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. ""We do need to compensate people, that's the first thing we need to do and we haven't been compensating people quickly enough. We need to accelerate that,"" Mr Hollinrake said on the BBC Breakfast programme, which was broadcast from Fenny Compton, the Warwickshire village where Mr Bates convened the first gathering of sub-postmasters in 2009. There are also three main compensation schemes aimed at groups of victims who had different experiences of the scandal. The Post Office has further details on the scheme on its website. The government has provided funding to the Post Office for these payments, but MPs have warned that the Post Office is ""not fit"" to run any compensation scheme, that it is removed from involvement, and replaced by a new independent body. Mr Hollinrake told the audience: ""We need to simplify the process is what we need to do. If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time. We are keen to make that as streamlined as possible."" David Morley, a former sub-postmaster, said that in 2001: ""I proved in front of Post Office managers and in front of Fujitsu managers that the system was faulty and they did have remote access to postmasters' accounts. Now my question to you sir is do you think evidence of that meeting was deliberately suppressed?"" Mr Hollinrake said he couldn't say if it was deliberately suppressed ""because I wasn't there and wasn't party to the conversations afterwards but someone knew something at a very early stage"".  Many Post Office victims who appeared on the programme became emotional when telling their stories. Jess Kaur was a postmistress in Walsall in the West Midlands and suffered a mental breakdown after being wrongly accused in 2009 of stealing £11,000.  ""When I was in hospital, the Post Office sent their own doctors to see if I was actually ill. And that's what really hurt the most,"" she recalled. Other former postmasters gasped as she said the Post Office did not believe she was in hospital for having a mental breakdown. Charges against Ms Kaur were dropped in 2011, but she said there had been ""too many broken promises"" for her to know when the final ""win"" would happen for her and others falsely accused. Seema Misra was sent to prison while she was pregnant. She was a sub-postmistress in West Byfleet, Surrey, and was wrongfully accused of stealing £70,000.  Although she was cleared in 2021, she said she was ""still fighting on til the proper accountability is done"".  On the day she was sentenced it was her son's 10th birthday. ""We did not know what to say to him. We told him because mummy's pregnant she's just gone to a special hospital."" On the morning she was due to go to court, she had said to her son that she would see him later that day. ""Why would someone send me to prison for a crime I never committed?"" she said tearfully. Mark Kelly was a sub-postmaster in Swansea from 2003 to 2006, and came to the BBC studio with his support dog Gizmo who helps keep him calm after the anxiety resulting from being wrongfully accused of false accounting.  He said he felt like he wanted to take his own life, and became depressed and isolated.   ""Once I started hearing about all the problems which other postmasters were having, like people committing suicide and people going to prison when pregnant, I started to feel quite guilty from it all. I felt like I could have done something more [to help others],"" he said. Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.  He was played by the actor Will Mellor in ITV's drama about the scandal.  ""The journey for all of us has been so painful. We still have to give each other support because it's not over, it's still ongoing,"" Mr Castleton said. He said he still finds it hard to get up each morning. ""I can't believe what we've been through."" BBC Breakfast came live from Fenny Compton, the village where former sub-postmasters held their first meeting, on Monday. The programme brought together 60 people whose lives have been changed by the scandal.  You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"['The Post Office minister has told the BBC that those responsible for the Horizon scandal ""should go to jail"".', 'Kevin Hollinrake told a BBC Breakfast audience of sub-postmasters that ""people should be prosecuted"" when evidence is ""established"", and ""people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail"".', 'More than 700 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015.', 'To date, just 37 have received full and final compensation settlements.', 'Mr Hollinrake\'s comments follow those of Alan Bates, whose campaign and battle against the Post Office was dramatised in an ITV mini-series earlier this year. ""', 'People have got to be held accountable,"" the former sub-postmaster previously told the BBC. ""', ""That's got to happen."", 'And we\'re going to have to carry on campaigning for that to occur.""', 'Mr Bates said the campaign group would ""start looking at prosecutions"" after the public inquiry into the scandal ends, adding that some of the bonuses paid to Post Office bosses over the years should be ""clawed back"".', 'The public inquiry will resume on Tuesday.', 'The latest hearings will last 15 weeks, and witnesses will include key figures at the heart of the scandal - including Mr Bates and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells.', 'Hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the Post Office - which is owned by the government - based on a faulty accounting software system called Horizon.', 'Many poured in their own life savings to cover shortfalls in the accounts.', 'The Post Office scandal is widely regarded as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history.', 'The government is introducing legislation to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters linked to Horizon.', 'Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. ""', ""We do need to compensate people, that's the first thing we need to do and we haven't been compensating people quickly enough."", 'We need to accelerate that,"" Mr Hollinrake said on the BBC Breakfast programme, which was broadcast from Fenny Compton, the Warwickshire village where Mr Bates convened the first gathering of sub-postmasters in 2009.', 'There are also three main compensation schemes aimed at groups of victims who had different experiences of the scandal.', 'The Post Office has further details on the scheme on its website.', 'The government has provided funding to the Post Office for these payments, but MPs have warned that the Post Office is ""not fit"" to run any compensation scheme, that it is removed from involvement, and replaced by a new independent body.', 'Mr Hollinrake told the audience: ""We need to simplify the process is what we need to do.', ""If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time."", 'We are keen to make that as streamlined as possible.""', 'David Morley, a former sub-postmaster, said that in 2001: ""I proved in front of Post Office managers and in front of Fujitsu managers that the system was faulty and they did have remote access to postmasters\' accounts.', 'Now my question to you sir is do you think evidence of that meeting was deliberately suppressed?""', 'Mr Hollinrake said he couldn\'t say if it was deliberately suppressed ""because I wasn\'t there and wasn\'t party to the conversations afterwards but someone knew something at a very early stage"".', 'Many Post Office victims who appeared on the programme became emotional when telling their stories.', 'Jess Kaur was a postmistress in Walsall in the West Midlands and suffered a mental breakdown after being wrongly accused in 2009 of stealing £11,000. ""', 'When I was in hospital, the Post Office sent their own doctors to see if I was actually ill.', 'And that\'s what really hurt the most,"" she recalled.', 'Other former postmasters gasped as she said the Post Office did not believe she was in hospital for having a mental breakdown.', 'Charges against Ms Kaur were dropped in 2011, but she said there had been ""too many broken promises"" for her to know when the final ""win"" would happen for her and others falsely accused.', 'Seema Misra was sent to prison while she was pregnant.', 'She was a sub-postmistress in West Byfleet, Surrey, and was wrongfully accused of stealing £70,000.', 'Although she was cleared in 2021, she said she was ""still fighting on til the proper accountability is done"".', 'On the day she was sentenced it was her son\'s 10th birthday. ""', 'We did not know what to say to him.', 'We told him because mummy\'s pregnant she\'s just gone to a special hospital.""', 'On the morning she was due to go to court, she had said to her son that she would see him later that day. ""', 'Why would someone send me to prison for a crime I never committed?""', 'she said tearfully.', 'Mark Kelly was a sub-postmaster in Swansea from 2003 to 2006, and came to the BBC studio with his support dog Gizmo who helps keep him calm after the anxiety resulting from being wrongfully accused of false accounting.', 'He said he felt like he wanted to take his own life, and became depressed and isolated. ""', 'Once I started hearing about all the problems which other postmasters were having, like people committing suicide and people going to prison when pregnant, I started to feel quite guilty from it all.', 'I felt like I could have done something more [to help others],"" he said.', 'Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.', 'He was played by the actor Will Mellor in ITV\'s drama about the scandal. ""', 'The journey for all of us has been so painful.', 'We still have to give each other support because it\'s not over, it\'s still ongoing,"" Mr Castleton said.', 'He said he still finds it hard to get up each morning. ""', 'I can\'t believe what we\'ve been through.""', 'BBC Breakfast came live from Fenny Compton, the village where former sub-postmasters held their first meeting, on Monday.', 'The programme brought together 60 people whose lives have been changed by the scandal.', 'You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer.']",-0.1447916293305839,"If you've had a conviction then you can go down two routes - the fixed sum award of £600,000 which you get pretty much immediately or the full assessment route [which is] is more complicated, it does take more time.","Lee Castleton was left bankrupt in 2007 after losing a legal battle with the Post Office who falsely accused him of stealing £25,000 from the branch he managed in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.",-0.8753040581941605,,"Mr Hollinrake admitted on Monday that wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were not being compensated quickly enough, and that the process of financial redress needed to be simplified. """,2024-04-08
-‘Not going out.’ Is it last orders for London’s nightlife?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/06/business/london-nightlife-struggling/index.html,"
-  Published
-        2:00 AM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
-    ","It’s Thursday, 11.00 p.m., and on a street in London’s Soho district, there’s a loud clatter. Staff are closing the windows in The French House, one of the city’s most popular pubs.
-    
-            Lesley Lewis, its owner of 35 years, says she would like to stay open later, but her staff would have trouble getting home as there are few transport options. And her patrons aren’t drinking as much as they used to.
-    
-            “People haven’t got the money,” she told CNN.
-    
-            It’s a problem shared by many other pubs, bars and nightclubs in some of the world’s biggest cities since the coronavirus pandemic plunged them into crisis four years ago.
-    
-            In London, a cost-of-living crisis that forced people to spend less or simply stay at home has collided with rocketing rents, energy bills and wages, vaporizing profit margins for hospitality businesses and pushing many past the point of no return.
-    
-            Since March 2020, more than 3,000 night-time venues have shut down across Britain’s capital and its outskirts, according to the Night Time Industries Association. That’s a decline of 15% compared with the pre-pandemic number, and the steepest fall for any region of the country apart from Wales.
-    
-            Michael Kill, the trade body’s chief executive, says the average operating costs for such businesses have shot up 30% to 40% in that time, while fewer customers are walking through their doors.
-    
-            Unhappily for bars and pubs reliant on catching office workers for end-of-day drinks, huge chunks of their clientele continue to work part of the week from home, he told CNN. Meanwhile, the lack of late-night transport links and concerns about crime are deterring many people from visiting clubs.
-    
-            About 70% of venues are either losing money or “barely breaking even,” Kill said, with some business owners deciding “to close early because they just can’t see the benefits of remaining open.”
-    
-            Kill reminisced about his time in London 20 years ago when he would bounce from club to club in the early hours of the morning. “That just doesn’t happen anymore,” he said.
-    
-            These days, there are fewer people sticking around for last orders — their last chance to buy a drink before the bar shuts — and that’s dulling the city’s spirit. On a Friday in March, Kill’s team went for drinks in Hoxton, a trendy enclave in London’s east, only to find their evening cut short when everything shut around midnight.
-    
-            “It wasn’t as busy and vibrant, it wasn’t as hustle-bustle as you would expect for London.”
-    
-            Just after the pandemic, business was booming for Jeremy Joseph, owner of London’s renowned Heaven nightclub, a 45-year-old LGBT venue once frequented by Freddie Mercury.
-    
-            But by January 2023, after more than a year of soaring inflation, partly driven by rising energy costs, he noticed his clubbers were spending “dramatically” less on drinks. “That’s when their bills started coming through, the first heating bills from the winter,” he told CNN. “People could notice the change in their lives.”
-    
-            Joseph said his customers were increasingly “pre-loading” — drinking alcohol at home before heading out — to save money. “Whereas, before, people would come out and have a night out in a bar, then a club, they’re (now) going to supermarkets, getting cheap alcohol, pre-loading and then coming to clubs.”
-    
-            “Our competition now (are) supermarkets, not necessarily other venues.”
-    
-            At the same time, Joseph’s operating costs have ballooned. He is fighting a decision by Heaven’s landlord to raise his rent by £240,000 a year ($303,000), on top of an £80,000 ($101,000) increase imposed in September. “It’s insane,” he said.
-    
-            Three miles to the east, in a warehouse big enough to fit 1,600 people, the cost of staging one of its popular techno, house, or drum and bass club nights has tripled since the start of the pandemic.
-    
-            Jack Henry, the operations director for the E1 nightclub, says the venue’s monthly rent has jumped by 45% in the past year. And he, too, has noticed a striking drop in the amount customers are spending on drinks.
-    
-            The pressures mean Henry can only budget from one week to the next. “It is very tight,” he told CNN. “You definitely do not go into nightclubs these days to make a quick buck… there are far easier ways to make money.”
-    
-            Further east still, in the German capital Berlin, eye-watering energy bills and rises in other costs coincided last year with a drop-off in pandemic-era government aid for clubs, according to Lutz Leichsenring, an executive board member of Clubcommission, a non-profit advocating for the industry.
-    
-            That made last summer a “devastating” disappointment for the city, a clubbing hotspot, he said, though it is starting to recover.
-    
-            A lot is at stake. Berlin’s techno scene is a big draw for companies trying to attract talent to a city Leichsenring believes is lacking in some conventional crowd-pleasers. “Berlin doesn’t have a harbor. We don’t have a beach. We’re not very pretty,” he said.
-    
-            Underscoring its importance, last month the city’s techno scene was recognized by the German Commission for UNESCO as part of the country’s “intangible cultural heritage,” a move that could eventually lead to its inclusion on the United Nations body’s global list.
-    
-            Many of London’s late-night spots have also struggled against a post-pandemic shift in attitudes among their neighbors. “Residents who live nearby to a venue had almost two years of peace and quiet, of no noise,” said Henry at E1.
-    
-            Now, he said, complaints from residents are more likely to result in local authorities forcing a venue to close earlier, or to shut completely. That leaves many owners feeling like a “criminal,” rather than a vital contributor to the city’s culture and economy, Henry added.
-    
-            London accounted for a third of the revenues of Britain’s hospitality industry last year, bringing in £46 billion ($58 billion), according to trade body UKHospitality.
-    
-            In 2016, as one of his first measures in office, London Mayor Sadiq Khan appointed Amy Lamé as the city’s first-ever “Night Czar” in charge of protecting night-time venues.
-    
-            Even before the ravages of the pandemic, the number of London’s nightlife venues was in steady decline. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 7% fewer bars and pubs in the capital, and 16% fewer clubs, in 2016 than in 2010, when the ONS started collecting the data.
-    
-            According to a spokesperson for City Hall, Lamé is unable to comment before the mayoral elections next month. A Labour Party spokesperson for the mayor told CNN that both Khan and Lamé “continue to work closely with businesses, venues, (and) boroughs” grappling with challenges ranging from high rents and business taxes to staff shortages.
-    
-            A spokesperson for the UK government said it was supporting the night-time economy through a freeze on an alcohol tax, and by extending a 75% discount on property taxes for businesses in the hospitality sector.
-    
-            Beyond simple economics, night-time venues are contending with changes in the way people socialize post-pandemic.
-    
-            Charlie Fenemer, a DJ and organizer of jazz music events in London, has noticed Londoners becoming “a lot more picky” about how they party these days. “People choose to go out to specific events that they’re really excited about. They don’t just go out for the sake of going out now,” she told CNN.
-    
-            It’s not just Europe’s biggest cities that are suffering.
-    
-            In Hong Kong, too, businesses are trying to adapt to a new landscape. Becky Lam, a co-owner of Shady Acres, a bar in that city’s buzzing Soho district, said it was a slow, uphill battle to lure patrons back to bars after work.
-    
-            “We used to see really bustling weeknights — Monday nights, Tuesday nights. Hong Kong was known as the city that never sleeps,” she told CNN. “We are not quite seeing that (return) to pre-pandemic levels yet.”
-    
-            Scores of locals and expatriates who once frequented Hong Kong’s bars and clubs have left in recent years as Beijing has curtailed the city’s freedoms, and as draconian restrictions during the pandemic made life difficult.
-    
-            For Lam, who part-owns another seven venues in the city, including a live music and cocktail bar, high rental costs and problems finding the right staff add to the pandemic’s lingering impact.
-    
-            “There’s a little bit of collective trauma,” she said. “We got used to three and a half years of just not going out.”
-    
-            Chris Lau in Hong Kong contributed reporting.",CNN,06/04/2024,"['It’s Thursday, 11.00 p.m., and on a street in London’s Soho district, there’s a loud clatter.', 'Staff are closing the windows in The French House, one of the city’s most popular pubs.', 'Lesley Lewis, its owner of 35 years, says she would like to stay open later, but her staff would have trouble getting home as there are few transport options.', 'And her patrons aren’t drinking as much as they used to.', '“People haven’t got the money,” she told CNN.', 'It’s a problem shared by many other pubs, bars and nightclubs in some of the world’s biggest cities since the coronavirus pandemic plunged them into crisis four years ago.', 'In London, a cost-of-living crisis that forced people to spend less or simply stay at home has collided with rocketing rents, energy bills and wages, vaporizing profit margins for hospitality businesses and pushing many past the point of no return.', 'Since March 2020, more than 3,000 night-time venues have shut down across Britain’s capital and its outskirts, according to the Night Time Industries Association.', 'That’s a decline of 15% compared with the pre-pandemic number, and the steepest fall for any region of the country apart from Wales.', 'Michael Kill, the trade body’s chief executive, says the average operating costs for such businesses have shot up 30% to 40% in that time, while fewer customers are walking through their doors.', 'Unhappily for bars and pubs reliant on catching office workers for end-of-day drinks, huge chunks of their clientele continue to work part of the week from home, he told CNN.', 'Meanwhile, the lack of late-night transport links and concerns about crime are deterring many people from visiting clubs.', 'About 70% of venues are either losing money or “barely breaking even,” Kill said, with some business owners deciding “to close early because they just can’t see the benefits of remaining open.”', 'Kill reminisced about his time in London 20 years ago when he would bounce from club to club in the early hours of the morning. “', 'That just doesn’t happen anymore,” he said.', 'These days, there are fewer people sticking around for last orders —their last chance to buy a drink before the bar shuts —and that’s dulling the city’s spirit.', 'On a Friday in March, Kill’s team went for drinks in Hoxton, a trendy enclave in London’s east, only to find their evening cut short when everything shut around midnight.', '“It wasn’t as busy and vibrant, it wasn’t as hustle-bustle as you would expect for London.”', 'Just after the pandemic, business was booming for Jeremy Joseph, owner of London’s renowned Heaven nightclub, a 45-year-old LGBT venue once frequented by Freddie Mercury.', 'But by January 2023, after more than a year of soaring inflation, partly driven by rising energy costs, he noticed his clubbers were spending “dramatically” less on drinks. “', 'That’s when their bills started coming through, the first heating bills from the winter,” he told CNN. “', 'People could notice the change in their lives.”', 'Joseph said his customers were increasingly “pre-loading” — drinking alcohol at home before heading out —to save money. “', 'Whereas, before, people would come out and have a night out in a bar, then a club, they’re (now) going to supermarkets, getting cheap alcohol, pre-loading and then coming to clubs.”', '“Our competition now (are) supermarkets, not necessarily other venues.”', 'At the same time, Joseph’s operating costs have ballooned.', 'He is fighting a decision by Heaven’s landlord to raise his rent by £240,000 a year ($303,000), on top of an £80,000 ($101,000) increase imposed in September. “', 'It’s insane,” he said.', 'Three miles to the east, in a warehouse big enough to fit 1,600 people, the cost of staging one of its popular techno, house, or drum and bass club nights has tripled since the start of the pandemic.', 'Jack Henry, the operations director for the E1 nightclub, says the venue’s monthly rent has jumped by 45% in the past year.', 'And he, too, has noticed a striking drop in the amount customers are spending on drinks.', 'The pressures mean Henry can only budget from one week to the next. “', 'It is very tight,” he told CNN. “', 'You definitely do not go into nightclubs these days to make a quick buck… there are far easier ways to make money.”', 'Further east still, in the German capital Berlin, eye-watering energy bills and rises in other costs coincided last year with a drop-off in pandemic-era government aid for clubs, according to Lutz Leichsenring, an executive board member of Clubcommission, a non-profit advocating for the industry.', 'That made last summer a “devastating” disappointment for the city, a clubbing hotspot, he said, though it is starting to recover.', 'A lot is at stake.', 'Berlin’s techno scene is a big draw for companies trying to attract talent to a city Leichsenring believes is lacking in some conventional crowd-pleasers. “', 'Berlin doesn’t have a harbor.', 'We don’t have a beach.', 'We’re not very pretty,” he said.', 'Underscoring its importance, last month the city���s techno scene was recognized by the German Commission for UNESCO as part of the country’s “intangible cultural heritage,” a move that could eventually lead to its inclusion on the United Nations body’s global list.', 'Many of London’s late-night spots have also struggled against a post-pandemic shift in attitudes among their neighbors. “', 'Residents who live nearby to a venue had almost two years of peace and quiet, of no noise,” said Henry at E1.', 'Now, he said, complaints from residents are more likely to result in local authorities forcing a venue to close earlier, or to shut completely.', 'That leaves many owners feeling like a “criminal,” rather than a vital contributor to the city’s culture and economy, Henry added.', 'London accounted for a third of the revenues of Britain’s hospitality industry last year, bringing in £46 billion ($58 billion), according to trade body UKHospitality.', 'In 2016, as one of his first measures in office, London Mayor Sadiq Khan appointed Amy Lamé as the city’s first-ever “Night Czar” in charge of protecting night-time venues.', 'Even before the ravages of the pandemic, the number of London’s nightlife venues was in steady decline.', 'According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 7% fewer bars and pubs in the capital, and 16% fewer clubs, in 2016 than in 2010, when the ONS started collecting the data.', 'According to a spokesperson for City Hall, Lamé is unable to comment before the mayoral elections next month.', 'A Labour Party spokesperson for the mayor told CNN that both Khan and Lamé “continue to work closely with businesses, venues, (and) boroughs” grappling with challenges ranging from high rents and business taxes to staff shortages.', 'A spokesperson for the UK government said it was supporting the night-time economy through a freeze on an alcohol tax, and by extending a 75% discount on property taxes for businesses in the hospitality sector.', 'Beyond simple economics, night-time venues are contending with changes in the way people socialize post-pandemic.', 'Charlie Fenemer, a DJ and organizer of jazz music events in London, has noticed Londoners becoming “a lot more picky” about how they party these days. “', 'People choose to go out to specific events that they’re really excited about.', 'They don’t just go out for the sake of going out now,” she told CNN.', 'It’s not just Europe’s biggest cities that are suffering.', 'In Hong Kong, too, businesses are trying to adapt to a new landscape.', 'Becky Lam, a co-owner of Shady Acres, a bar in that city’s buzzing Soho district, said it was a slow, uphill battle to lure patrons back to bars after work.', '“We used to see really bustling weeknights — Monday nights, Tuesday nights.', 'Hong Kong was known as the city that never sleeps,” she told CNN. “', 'We are not quite seeing that (return) to pre-pandemic levels yet.”', 'Scores of locals and expatriates who once frequented Hong Kong’s bars and clubs have left in recent years as Beijing has curtailed the city’s freedoms, and as draconian restrictions during the pandemic made life difficult.', 'For Lam, who part-owns another seven venues in the city, including a live music and cocktail bar, high rental costs and problems finding the right staff add to the pandemic’s lingering impact.', '“There’s a little bit of collective trauma,” she said. “', 'We got used to three and a half years of just not going out.”', 'Chris Lau in Hong Kong contributed reporting.']",-0.0220458469656892,Berlin’s techno scene is a big draw for companies trying to attract talent to a city Leichsenring believes is lacking in some conventional crowd-pleasers. “,"That made last summer a “devastating” disappointment for the city, a clubbing hotspot, he said, though it is starting to recover.",-0.3882296187537057,"Jack Henry, the operations director for the E1 nightclub, says the venue’s monthly rent has jumped by 45% in the past year.","Even before the ravages of the pandemic, the number of London’s nightlife venues was in steady decline.",2024-04-08
-US lawmakers unveil a plan to give all Americans a right to online privacy,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/tech/online-privacy-bill/index.html,"
-  Published
-        10:01 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","Two leading US lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal that could, for the first time, grant all Americans a basic right to digital privacy and create a national law regulating how companies can collect, share and use Americans’ online data.
-    
-            If it succeeds, the proposal could establish the US equivalent of the European Union’s landmark privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and rein in what privacy advocates say is a lawless and unregulated space where Americans’ personal data can too easily be shared and sold to the highest bidder.
-    
-            The proposed agreement would create an unprecedented, single federal standard governing digital privacy in the United States and reflects a significant breakthrough after years of stalled negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. But it could also override some of the toughest state-based privacy laws in the nation, such as in California.
-    
-            The deal comes as personal data has increasingly become the lifeblood of the modern economy and as artificial intelligence companies have raced to hoover up as much of it as they can to train sophisticated AI models that could transform society.
-    
-            On Sunday, the lawmakers involved — Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Democratic chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican who leads the House Energy and Commerce Committee — announced a proposal they said would return control of personal data to American consumers.
-    
-            The discussion draft, which was released over the weekend but has not yet been formally introduced as legislation, covers data brokers, tech platforms, telecom providers and virtually every other type of organization an internet user might interact with on a daily basis, with the exception of small businesses and government contractors.
-    
-            The lawmakers’ proposed American Privacy Rights Act would ban the transfer of Americans’ sensitive personal data to third parties — including geolocation histories, financial data, biometric information and calendar and phone logs — unless a user provides explicit approval for the data or the sharing is for one of several specific purposes allowed under the bill, such as preventing fraud.
-    
-            It would let users opt out of targeted advertising altogether and require companies to collect only enough data as they need to do their business. And it would guarantee Americans the right to request copies of their data, to correct it or even to have it deleted from a company’s records.
-    
-            And, in a nod to growing concerns about whether Americans’ personal data may be available to foreign adversaries such as China and Russia, the legislation would require companies to disclose to US consumers whether their information may be sent to, stored or processed in one of those countries. US officials have voiced concerns about whether TikTok user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, but it doesn’t stop there: The Biden administration and US lawmakers have also highlighted data brokers as another potential way for foreign governments to obtain Americans’ personal data.
-    
-            The draft legislation breaks a yearslong deadlock between Republicans and Democrats over the scope of any national privacy bill. The two parties had long disagreed over two key issues: Whether a federal privacy law should override existing state privacy laws that may provide tougher protections, and whether private citizens should be able to bring their own lawsuits against companies accused of violating their privacy.
-    
-            This week’s agreement appears to resolve both issues. It would preempt more than a dozen state privacy laws already on the books in states such as California, Texas and Virginia. And it would enable individuals to sue companies for violations of the proposed law.
-    
-            “This bipartisan, bicameral draft legislation is the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to establish a national data privacy and security standard that gives people the right to control their personal information,” said McMorris Rodgers and Cantwell in a statement.
-    
-            The legislation has a long road ahead: It must still clear both of the lawmakers’ committees and pass both chambers of Congress in order to make it to President Joe Biden’s desk. Policy experts have predicted low odds of Congress passing much legislation in the months leading up to the 2024 election.
-    
-            McMorris Rodgers has also announced she will not run for reelection, which could complicate the bill’s future after one of its most powerful co-sponsors leaves the House.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['Two leading US lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal that could, for the first time, grant all Americans a basic right to digital privacy and create a national law regulating how companies can collect, share and use Americans’ online data.', 'If it succeeds, the proposal could establish the US equivalent of the European Union’s landmark privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and rein in what privacy advocates say is a lawless and unregulated space where Americans’ personal data can too easily be shared and sold to the highest bidder.', 'The proposed agreement would create an unprecedented, single federal standard governing digital privacy in the United States and reflects a significant breakthrough after years of stalled negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.', 'But it could also override some of the toughest state-based privacy laws in the nation, such as in California.', 'The deal comes as personal data has increasingly become the lifeblood of the modern economy and as artificial intelligence companies have raced to hoover up as much of it as they can to train sophisticated AI models that could transform society.', 'On Sunday, the lawmakers involved — Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Democratic chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican who leads the House Energy and Commerce Committee — announced a proposal they said would return control of personal data to American consumers.', 'The discussion draft, which was released over the weekend but has not yet been formally introduced as legislation, covers data brokers, tech platforms, telecom providers and virtually every other type of organization an internet user might interact with on a daily basis, with the exception of small businesses and government contractors.', 'The lawmakers’ proposedAmerican Privacy Rights Actwould ban the transfer of Americans’ sensitive personal data to third parties — including geolocation histories, financial data, biometric information and calendar and phone logs — unless a user provides explicit approval for the data or the sharing is for one of several specific purposes allowed under the bill, such as preventing fraud.', 'It wouldlet users opt out of targeted advertising altogether and require companies to collect only enough data as they need to do their business.', 'And it would guarantee Americans the right to request copies of their data, to correct it or even to have it deleted from a company’s records.', 'And, in a nod to growing concerns about whether Americans’ personal data may be available to foreign adversaries such as China and Russia, the legislation would require companies to disclose to US consumers whether their information may be sent to, stored or processed in one of those countries.', 'US officials have voiced concerns about whether TikTok user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, but it doesn’t stop there: TheBiden administrationand US lawmakers have alsohighlighted data brokersas another potential way for foreign governments to obtain Americans’ personal data.', 'The draft legislation breaks a yearslong deadlock between Republicans and Democrats over the scope of any national privacy bill.', 'The two parties had long disagreed over two key issues: Whether a federal privacy law should override existing state privacy laws that may provide tougher protections, and whether private citizens should be able to bring their own lawsuits against companies accused of violating their privacy.', 'This week’s agreement appears to resolve both issues.', 'It would preempt more than a dozen state privacy lawsalready on the booksin states such as California, Texas and Virginia.', 'And it would enable individuals to sue companies for violations of the proposed law.', '“This bipartisan, bicameral draft legislation is the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to establish a national data privacy and security standard that gives people the right to control their personal information,” said McMorris Rodgers and Cantwell in a statement.', 'The legislation has a long road ahead: It must still clear both of the lawmakers’ committees and pass both chambers of Congress in order to make it to President Joe Biden’s desk.', 'Policy experts have predicted low odds of Congress passing much legislation in the months leading up to the 2024 election.', 'McMorris Rodgers has also announced shewill not run for reelection, which could complicate the bill’s future after one of its most powerful co-sponsors leaves the House.']",0.1753273504535007,"“This bipartisan, bicameral draft legislation is the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to establish a national data privacy and security standard that gives people the right to control their personal information,” said McMorris Rodgers and Cantwell in a statement.","The two parties had long disagreed over two key issues: Whether a federal privacy law should override existing state privacy laws that may provide tougher protections, and whether private citizens should be able to bring their own lawsuits against companies accused of violating their privacy.",0.1896940271059672,"Two leading US lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal that could, for the first time, grant all Americans a basic right to digital privacy and create a national law regulating how companies can collect, share and use Americans’ online data.",Policy experts have predicted low odds of Congress passing much legislation in the months leading up to the 2024 election.,2024-04-08
-3 ways Apple’s monopoly lawsuit could change the iPhone experience for fans,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/tech/apples-iphone-changes-lawsuit/index.html,"
-  Published
-        6:30 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2024
-    ","When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market. The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.
-    
-            That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.
-    
-            But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far. On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market. In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.
-    
-            The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them. Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”
-    
-            But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services. Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:
-    
-            If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.
-    
-            One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before. The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.
-    
-             According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.
-    
-            “An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said. “What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”
-    
-            At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage. And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.
-    
-            The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.
-    
-            Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.
-    
-            The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy. It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.
-    
-            In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap. Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year. RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.
-    
-            The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms. The US government could require the same.
-    
-            Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+. The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.
-    
-            Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.
-    
-            “The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.
-    
-            The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services. Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.
-    
-            The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating. Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.
-    
-            David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation. But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.
-    
-            “If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.
-    
-            Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use. Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.
-    
-            “The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.
-    
-            But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”",CNN,26/03/2024,"['When Apple launched its first Mac computer in 1984, with its iconic Mac smiley-face “hello” greeting, it wanted to differentiate itself in the fledgling PC market.', 'The Mac was approachable with its friendly, innovative design – Apple’s way of setting the Mac apart in the confusing PC landscape.', 'That consumer-friendly mantra still exists today, with Apple carefully curating an easy-breezy yet controlled user experience across its products, including the billions of iPhones used around the world.', 'But the Biden administration believes Apple took that too far.', 'On Thursday, the Department of Justice sued Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.', 'In a press conference, the government provided a long list of how Apple has allegedly squashed competition with restrictive app store terms, high fees and its “walled-garden” approach, restricting how third-party companies interact with its brands and services.', 'The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.', 'Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”', 'But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services.', 'Although the suit could take years to play out, here’s a closer look what it may eventually mean for iPhone users:  If found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things.', 'One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before.', 'The term refers to one-stop-shop apps that allow for messaging, ordering food, payment processing and other capabilities all within one platform.', 'According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, super apps most threaten Apple’s preeminence in the lives of its customers.', '“An offering like WeChat, dubbed China’s everything app, can provide an alternative to the Apple ecosystem for people to communicate, bank, share memories, talk to businesses and more,” he said.', '“What Apple fears most is becoming irrelevant to its customers.”', 'At the same time, super apps like WeChat are created by larger companies and could, therefore, put some smaller companies at a disadvantage.', 'And the concept hasn’t been welcomed much in the US anyway.', 'The US government, however, could argue that lack of interest may be due to Apple’s high share of the smartphone market and its resistance to offer super apps in its store, Chatterjee said.', 'Apple may also be required to offer more support for cross-platform messaging, an issue the company previously said it’s already working on.', 'The company lets iPhone users send high-quality photos and videos to one another, but similar texts to Android phones are slower and grainy.', 'It also maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.', 'In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.', 'Apple’s move to add support for the standard called RCS (rich communication services) is intended to roll out later this year.', 'RCS is considered the replacement to alternatives such as SMS, or short messaging service, and can work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.', 'The change followed pressure from both regulators and competitors to more seamlessly work across operating systems.', 'The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, for example, requires companies to make their key services interoperable between platforms.', 'The US government could require the same.', 'Another likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+.', 'The company has also required Apple Watch users to own iOS devices as a way to keep them locked into its existing ecosystem.', 'Chatterjee said making this change would have both positives and negatives.', '“The net result would reside somewhere along the spectrum of access to more and cheaper options but also the devaluation of the customer experience that is so highly prized by Apple’s customers,” he said.', 'The Biden administration has also taken issue with Apple’s lack of support for mobile cloud services.', 'Loosening this could allow users to access games and other cloud-based apps without having to pay for pricey hardware.', 'The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.', 'Although the Biden administration will have to prove these harms, some critics say any potential changes Apple could make will negatively impact the user experience.', 'David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research, said he recognizes that the content and applications market should be open, and Apple needs to avoid monopolistic advantages that can restrict competition, push up prices or block innovation.', 'But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.', '“If Apple is forced to comply, it could potentially spell the end to the provision of this consistent and unified user experience, although by the same token, consumers will be open to a greater choice of apps and services, helping more developers and providers,” McQueen said.', 'Chatterjee noted some people are drawn to the Apple family of products precisely because of the carefully managed ecosystem’s ease of use.', 'Apple may have to work that much harder to preserve the integrity of its experience, but any changes probably won’t be enough to make customers to leave and go elsewhere.', '“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.', 'But he added those currently outside of the Apple ecosystem will likely benefit by “plugging in opportunistically without having to go all in with Apple.”']",0.2470050112228104,"In November, the company said it will add new features, such as read receipts, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms to help close the gap.",The company denied the lawsuit’s allegations and said it plans to fight them.,-0.151834687590599,"“The vast majority of Apple customers would probably be happier with some more choice and lower prices as long as it did not hamper their levels of customer experience, which is threatened by the less control Apple has over the experience,” Chatterjee said.","The DOJ lawsuit claims Apple’s behavior has illegally hindered competition, kept its customers locked into its products and prevented other companies from innovating.",2024-04-08
-Joe Lewis: How one of Britain's richest people broke insider trading laws,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68716896,2024-04-04T20:14:20.000Z,"Billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, was fined $5m (£4m) Thursday, but will avoid prison after pleading guilty to insider trading.  This is the story of how his plan to enrich his lovers, friends, and employees unravelled.  The pilot had just touched down in Orlando when he texted a friend with a hot tip: ""Boss is helping us out.""  The ""boss"" he was referring to was British tycoon Joe Lewis, and the helping hand was a loan of half a million dollars. And it came with juicy stock advice: buy shares in a pharmaceutical company that was about to announce positive results for a new cancer drug. Two weeks later, the pilot texted again, noting ""the Boss has inside info"" and ""knows the outcome"".  He was right - the company's stock price jumped more than 16%. The pilot cashed out and repaid the ""Boss"".  But there was one big hitch. The whole scheme was illegal. One of Britain's richest men, the 87-year-old Lewis pleaded guilty to insider trading as part of an agreement with prosecutors in January. At a hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, he was fined $5m (£4m) and sentenced to three years of probation, avoiding jail time. Lewis arrived in court wearing an eye patch. Federal guidelines in the case called for a sentence of between 18 months and two years in prison, but both defence and prosecutors urged leniency, citing Lewis' guilty plea, co-operation with authorities and poor health.  Judge Jessica Clarke said his crimes were ""serious"" and ""strike at the integrity of our markets"" but said his circumstances did not warrant prison. In court, Lewis referred to his childhood in London during the Blitz and said: ""At an early age, I learned how precious life is. I made a terrible mistake. I broke the law. I am ashamed, sorry, and I hold myself accountable."" As part of the plea deal, one of Lewis' companies, Broad Bay Ltd, also pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was fined $44m (£34.8m). A substantial part of his fraudulent activity, according to an indictment, was not meant to pad his estimated worth of $6.2bn (£4.9bn).  Instead, the incident with his pilot Patrick O'Connor was just one of a number of times that he passed along insider information about his companies to his private pilots, friends, personal assistants and romantic partners, in order to enrich his close associates. In part, the billionaire hatched the scheme because he felt bad for never setting up formal retirement plans for his pilots, according to a statement he made in court at the time of his guilty plea.  Lewis was born in London's East End and took over a restaurant business started by his father before selling it to focus on currency speculation and investments. He was reportedly one of the investors who made money betting heavily against the pound prior to ""Black Wednesday"" - the UK's withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992.  He founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in a large array of property, sports, finance, energy and life sciences companies. Lewis was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List and is best known for his ownership of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which he bought a controlling stake in for £22m in 2001 - a sum then worth around $32m.  In 2022, control was handed over to a family trust, and financial documents the club filed with the UK's Companies House indicate that Lewis no longer has ""significant control"" over the club. His current fortune includes homes in several countries, a huge art collection and $250m (£200m) yacht, which he used to secure a bail bond after his arrest in July 2023. His position in the financial world gave him access to boardroom secrets, and for years, prosecutors said, he tipped off associates so that they could take advantage, in a fraud that netted millions of dollars. In addition to pilots and workers on his yacht, romantic partners were also on the receiving end of his criminal largesse.  In July 2019, a company called Solid Biosciences that Tavistock had invested in was looking for fresh cash. While considering the deal, Lewis was given confidential information about a clinical trial.  He was staying with his girlfriend in South Korea at the time, and told her to pour money into the company. She invested around $700,000.  The following day the couple returned via private plane to the US. Along the way, Lewis shared his insider tip with his pilots.  As results of the clinical trial were released, the company's shares skyrocketed. Lewis' girlfriend more than doubled her money.  The fraud also went beyond insider trading, prosecutors said. Starting in 2013, Lewis concealed the true scale of his holdings in companies in order to obtain favourable terms for stock deals.  His pilot, O'Connor, pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and will be sentenced in May.  Another pilot, Bryan Waugh, pleaded not guilty and will go on trial later this year. His lawyers have argued in court filings that he did not know that the information he received from Lewis was confidential and not in the public domain. ",BBC,04/04/2024,"['Billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, was fined $5m (£4m) Thursday, but will avoid prison after pleading guilty to insider trading.', 'This is the story of how his plan to enrich his lovers, friends, and employees unravelled.', 'The pilot had just touched down in Orlando when he texted a friend with a hot tip: ""Boss is helping us out.""', 'The ""boss"" he was referring to was British tycoon Joe Lewis, and the helping hand was a loan of half a million dollars.', 'And it came with juicy stock advice: buy shares in a pharmaceutical company that was about to announce positive results for a new cancer drug.', 'Two weeks later, the pilot texted again, noting ""the Boss has inside info"" and ""knows the outcome"".', ""He was right - the company's stock price jumped more than 16%."", 'The pilot cashed out and repaid the ""Boss"".', 'But there was one big hitch.', 'The whole scheme was illegal.', ""One of Britain's richest men, the 87-year-old Lewis pleaded guilty to insider trading as part of an agreement with prosecutors in January."", 'At a hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, he was fined $5m (£4m) and sentenced to three years of probation, avoiding jail time.', 'Lewis arrived in court wearing an eye patch.', ""Federal guidelines in the case called for a sentence of between 18 months and two years in prison, but both defence and prosecutors urged leniency, citing Lewis' guilty plea, co-operation with authorities and poor health."", 'Judge Jessica Clarke said his crimes were ""serious"" and ""strike at the integrity of our markets"" but said his circumstances did not warrant prison.', 'In court, Lewis referred to his childhood in London during the Blitz and said: ""At an early age, I learned how precious life is.', 'I made a terrible mistake.', 'I broke the law.', 'I am ashamed, sorry, and I hold myself accountable.""', ""As part of the plea deal, one of Lewis' companies, Broad Bay Ltd, also pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was fined $44m (£34.8m)."", 'A substantial part of his fraudulent activity, according to an indictment, was not meant to pad his estimated worth of $6.2bn (£4.9bn).', ""Instead, the incident with his pilot Patrick O'Connor was just one of a number of times that he passed along insider information about his companies to his private pilots, friends, personal assistants and romantic partners, in order to enrich his close associates."", 'In part, the billionaire hatched the scheme because he felt bad for never setting up formal retirement plans for his pilots, according to a statement he made in court at the time of his guilty plea.', ""Lewis was born in London's East End and took over a restaurant business started by his father before selling it to focus on currency speculation and investments."", 'He was reportedly one of the investors who made money betting heavily against the pound prior to ""Black Wednesday"" - the UK\'s withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992.', 'He founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in a large array of property, sports, finance, energy and life sciences companies.', 'Lewis was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List and is best known for his ownership of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which he bought a controlling stake in for £22m in 2001 - a sum then worth around $32m. In 2022, control was handed over to a family trust, and financial documents the club filed with the UK\'s Companies House indicate that Lewis no longer has ""significant control"" over the club.', 'His current fortune includes homes in several countries, a huge art collection and $250m (£200m) yacht, which he used to secure a bail bond after his arrest in July 2023.', 'His position in the financial world gave him access to boardroom secrets, and for years, prosecutors said, he tipped off associates so that they could take advantage, in a fraud that netted millions of dollars.', 'In addition to pilots and workers on his yacht, romantic partners were also on the receiving end of his criminal largesse.', 'In July 2019, a company called Solid Biosciences that Tavistock had invested in was looking for fresh cash.', 'While considering the deal, Lewis was given confidential information about a clinical trial.', 'He was staying with his girlfriend in South Korea at the time, and told her to pour money into the company.', 'She invested around $700,000.', 'The following day the couple returned via private plane to the US.', 'Along the way, Lewis shared his insider tip with his pilots.', ""As results of the clinical trial were released, the company's shares skyrocketed."", ""Lewis' girlfriend more than doubled her money."", 'The fraud also went beyond insider trading, prosecutors said.', 'Starting in 2013, Lewis concealed the true scale of his holdings in companies in order to obtain favourable terms for stock deals.', ""His pilot, O'Connor, pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and will be sentenced in May."", 'Another pilot, Bryan Waugh, pleaded not guilty and will go on trial later this year.', 'His lawyers have argued in court filings that he did not know that the information he received from Lewis was confidential and not in the public domain.']",0.0018026489818399,"Lewis was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List and is best known for his ownership of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, which he bought a controlling stake in for £22m in 2001 - a sum then worth around $32m. In 2022, control was handed over to a family trust, and financial documents the club filed with the UK's Companies House indicate that Lewis no longer has ""significant control"" over the club.","Billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, was fined $5m (£4m) Thursday, but will avoid prison after pleading guilty to insider trading.",0.6367327094078064,He was right - the company's stock price jumped more than 16%.,"Judge Jessica Clarke said his crimes were ""serious"" and ""strike at the integrity of our markets"" but said his circumstances did not warrant prison.",2024-04-08
-Why 2024 will be a year of fits and starts for dealmaking on Wall Street,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/08/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html,"
-  Published
-        7:00 AM EDT, Mon April 8, 2024
-    ","A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.
-    
-            Dealmaking is big business on Wall Street.
-    
-            When companies combine, or one company buys another, it creates opportunities for investors and banks to make money by providing advice or financing the transaction.
-    
-            Investors and employees often get a nice payout as well.
-    
-            But over the past few years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), have been hard to come by. Goldman Sachs reported substantial drops in revenue last year as 2023 had some of the lowest M&A activity in a decade.
-    
-            Dealmaking activity has dried up as executives have contended with recession fears, decades-high interest rates and geopolitical tensions.
-    
-            Stephan Feldgoise, Goldman Sachs co-head of global M&A, spoke to Before the Bell about what comes next for M&A and what we can expect to hear this earnings season.
-    
-            This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
-    
-            Before the Bell: You’ve rated 2021 a 10 out of 10 for M&A activity but said that 2023 was a two on that scale. Where are we now?
-    
-            Stephan Feldgoise: So 2021 through the first half of 2022 was definitely a nine or a 10. But then the second half of 2022 fell off dramatically. This year started off with a number of large transactions – it feels like a four heading to a five.
-    
-            But there are fits and starts to today’s market. There are weeks where you make a large number of transactions and it feels like one of the “starts.” And then there are “fits” weeks where it’s just very quiet. But I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic.
-    
-            There do continue to be strengthening signals and trends – if you look at the number of $10 billion-plus transactions, we’ve had a very strong start to the year relative to history. If you track the number of transactions over $500 million for Goldman Sachs, the number of transactions overall for the market is in line with the averages from 2015 to 2019. That feels pretty good. Those were decent markets. They weren’t great, they weren’t bad.
-    
-            What do the fits and starts mean? Should we be reading into these sporadic bursts of energy?
-    
-            You have fits and starts because we’ve had some pretty serious risk factors at various periods – whether that be geopolitical, interest rates or certain banks having issues in their securities portfolios – all those things impact the number one driver of M&A which remains CEO confidence and board confidence.
-    
-            Investors are still supportive, employees are still supportive, board and CEO confidence is the number one factor and there’s been plenty of things that have made people confident and there’s been plenty of things that, at various points in time, have tempered that confidence.
-    
-            We often hear this term “green shoots” in reference to M&A. It means that there’s a bit of action beginning to peek up from the soil, but when will we see those shoots bud?
-    
-            A lot of people do use that term. I go back to fits and starts with good underlying trends that momentum builds, but it’s not going to be a straight line. That’s a little different than green shoots, which are plants growing steadily through the spring that you can see, know, feel and predict.
-    
-            I don’t think it’s going to be a straight line of green shoots growing. But the underlying trend, the multi-period average as we look back over time, we’re going to see that it was steadily building. But there will be periods when it feels like it takes two steps forward, one step back.
-    
-            Why should people pay attention to M&A? What does it tell us about the economy and markets? 
-    
-            There’s no question that M&A impacts a lot of businesses, lots of consumers in the end, and certainly people who invest in the stock market. You look at the number of public to private leveraged buyouts, and there’s a very substantial number of those. Those are things that retail investors hold. Retail investors are very important shareholders in a lot of these situations and at a lot of these companies. We have an election coming up, elections impact M&A. This certainly will be an election with passion and emotion. That impacts how people think about taking risks.
-    
-            Jamie Dimon believes artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on global business this year.
-    
-            Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, said in his annual shareholder letter Monday that while he doesn’t yet know the full effect AI will have on business, the economy or society, he knows its influence will be significant.
-    
-            “We are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others,” the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO wrote in the letter.
-    
-            The AI explosion has already transformed workplaces across the world and nearly 40% of global employment could be disrupted by AI, according to the International Monetary Fund. Industries from medicine to finance to music have already felt its effects.
-    
-            Shares of companies associated with the AI boom have soared. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.
-    
-            JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is exploring the potential of generative AI within its own ecosystem, said Dimon. Software engineering, customer service and operations and general employee productivity are all getting AI makeovers.
-    
-            “Over time,” wrote Dimon, “we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition. It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.”
-    
-            JPMorgan’s organization now includes more than 2,000 AI and machine learning experts, and the bank recently announced a new position for a chief data & analytics officer that sits on their operating committee.
-    
-            Dimon also recognized the risks that come with the AI boom. “You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.
-    
-            In January, JPMorgan said it had seen a sizable increase in daily attempts by hackers to infiltrate its systems over the last year, highlighting the escalating cybersecurity challenges the bank and other Wall Street firms are facing.
-    
-            JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, now invests $15 billion a year and employs 62,000 technologists to, in part, help fortify its defense against cyber crimes.
-    
-            It’s been a long time since there was a big Powerball payout – the last jackpot was won on New Year’s Day at a supermarket in Michigan. Since then there have been 40 consecutive drawings without a winner.
-    
-            Until last weekend, that is.
-    
-            A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot in the wee hours of Sunday morning. That’s the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.
-    
-            The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes.
-    
-            Others also won big this weekend. Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.",CNN,08/04/2024,"['A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter.', 'Not a subscriber?', 'You can sign upright here.', 'You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.', 'Dealmaking is big business on Wall Street.', 'When companies combine, or one company buys another, it creates opportunities for investors and banks to make money by providing advice or financing the transaction.', 'Investors and employees often get a nice payout as well.', 'But over the past few years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), have been hard to come by.', 'Goldman Sachs reported substantial drops in revenue last year as 2023 had some of the lowest M&A activity in a decade.', 'Dealmaking activity has dried up as executives have contended with recession fears, decades-high interest rates and geopolitical tensions.', 'Stephan Feldgoise, Goldman Sachs co-head of global M&A, spoke to Before the Bell about what comes next for M&A and what we can expect to hear this earnings season.', 'This interview has been edited for length and clarity.', 'Before the Bell: You’ve rated 2021 a 10 out of 10 for M&A activity but said that 2023 was a two on that scale.', 'Where are we now?', 'Stephan Feldgoise: So 2021 through the first half of 2022 was definitely a nine or a 10.', 'But then the second half of 2022 fell off dramatically.', 'This year started off with a number of large transactions – it feels like a four heading to a five.', 'But there are fits and starts to today’s market.', 'There are weeks where you make a large number of transactions and it feels like one of the “starts.”', 'And then there are “fits” weeks where it’s just very quiet.', 'But I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic.', 'There do continue to be strengthening signals and trends – if you look at the number of $10 billion-plus transactions, we’ve had a very strong start to the year relative to history.', 'If you track the number of transactions over $500 million for Goldman Sachs, the number of transactions overall for the market is in line with the averages from 2015 to 2019.', 'That feels pretty good.', 'Those were decent markets.', 'They weren’t great, they weren’t bad.', 'What do the fits and starts mean?', 'Should we be reading into these sporadic bursts of energy?', 'You have fits and starts because we’ve had some pretty serious risk factors at various periods – whether that be geopolitical, interest rates or certain banks having issues in their securities portfolios – all those things impact the number one driver of M&A which remains CEO confidence and board confidence.', 'Investors are still supportive, employees are still supportive, board and CEO confidence is the number one factor and there’s been plenty of things that have made people confident and there’s been plenty of things that, at various points in time, have tempered that confidence.', 'We often hear this term “green shoots” in reference to M&A. It means that there’s a bit of action beginning to peek up from the soil, but when will we see those shoots bud?', 'A lot of people do use that term.', 'I go back to fits and starts with good underlying trends that momentum builds, but it’s not going to be a straight line.', 'That’s a little different than green shoots, which are plants growing steadily through the spring that you can see, know, feel and predict.', 'I don’t think it’s going to be a straight line of green shoots growing.', 'But the underlying trend, the multi-period average as we look back over time, we’re going to see that it was steadily building.', 'But there will be periods when it feels like it takes two steps forward, one step back.', 'Why should people pay attention to M&A?', 'What does it tell us about the economy and markets?', 'There’s no question that M&A impacts a lot of businesses, lots of consumers in the end, and certainly people who invest in the stock market.', 'You look at the number of public to private leveraged buyouts, and there’s a very substantial number of those.', 'Those are things that retail investors hold.', 'Retail investors are very important shareholders in a lot of these situations and at a lot of these companies.', 'We have an election coming up, elections impact M&A. This certainly will be an election with passion and emotion.', 'That impacts how people think about taking risks.', 'Jamie Dimon believes artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on global business this year.', 'Dimon, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, said inhis annual shareholder letterMonday that while he doesn’t yet know the full effect AI will have on business, the economy or society, he knows its influence will be significant.', '“We are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others,” the JPMorgan Chase(JPM)CEO wrote in the letter.', 'The AI explosion has alreadytransformed workplacesacross the worldand nearly 40% of global employment could be disrupted by AI,according tothe International Monetary Fund.', 'Industries frommedicinetofinancetomusichave already felt its effects.', 'Shares of companies associated withthe AI boom have soared.', 'Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.', 'JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is exploring the potential of generative AI within its own ecosystem, said Dimon.', 'Software engineering, customer service and operations and general employee productivity are all getting AI makeovers.', '“Over time,” wrote Dimon, “we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition.', 'It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well.”', 'JPMorgan’s organization now includes more than 2,000 AI and machine learning experts, and the bank recently announced a new position for a chief data & analytics officer that sits on their operating committee.', 'Dimon also recognized the risks that come with the AI boom. “', 'You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.', 'In January, JPMorgan said it hadseen a sizable increasein daily attempts by hackers to infiltrate its systems over the last year, highlighting the escalating cybersecurity challenges the bank and other Wall Street firms are facing.', 'JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, now invests $15 billion a year and employs 62,000 technologiststo, in part, help fortify its defense against cyber crimes.', 'It’s been a long time since there was a big Powerball payout – the last jackpot was won on New Year’s Day at a supermarket in Michigan.', 'Since then there have been 40 consecutive drawings without a winner.', 'Until last weekend, that is.', 'A Powerball ticket sold in Oregon won the nearly $1.33 billion jackpot in the wee hours of Sunday morning.', 'That’s the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the game, according to Powerball.', 'The lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize or a lump sum payment of $621 million, both before taxes.', 'Others also won big this weekend.', 'Seven tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wyoming, Powerball said.']",0.2053488853307012,"You have fits and starts because we’ve had some pretty serious risk factors at various periods – whether that be geopolitical, interest rates or certain banks having issues in their securities portfolios – all those things impact the number one driver of M&A which remains CEO confidence and board confidence.","You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage,” he wrote.",0.4833189522226651,"Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is up more than 219% over the last 12 months, while Microsoft (MSFT) is up nearly 50%.",Goldman Sachs reported substantial drops in revenue last year as 2023 had some of the lowest M&A activity in a decade.,2024-04-08
-Shimao: China property giant hit with winding-up petition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ej4r95v12o,2024-04-08T04:49:59.351Z,"China's crisis-hit property market has been dealt a fresh blow as major real estate developer Shimao Group has been hit with a winding-up petition. State-owned China Construction Bank (Asia) filed the petition in Hong Kong over Shimao's failure to repay loans worth HK$1.58bn ($201.8m; £159.7m). It is rare for a Chinese bank to take such legal action against one of the country's developers. Similar cases against other property firms were launched by overseas-based creditors. Shimao said in a stock exchange filing it would ""vigorously"" oppose the lawsuit. Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading. Like several other Chinese property developers, Shanghai-based Shimao defaulted on offshore bonds in 2022. Last month, it laid out detailed plans to restructure its debts. In January, rival real estate giant China Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court. With  more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis. Property developer Country Garden also defaulted on its overseas debt last year and faces a winding-up petition. The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May. Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, a laminates maker and property investor. China's real estate industry has been facing a major financial squeeze since 2021 when the government introduced measures to curb the amount big developers could borrow. Since then several large property firms have defaulted on their debts. Problems in China's property market have a major impact on its economy as the sector accounts for around a third of the economy. ",BBC,08/04/2024,"[""China's crisis-hit property market has been dealt a fresh blow as major real estate developer Shimao Group has been hit with a winding-up petition."", ""State-owned China Construction Bank (Asia) filed the petition in Hong Kong over Shimao's failure to repay loans worth HK$1.58bn ($201.8m; £159.7m)."", ""It is rare for a Chinese bank to take such legal action against one of the country's developers."", 'Similar cases against other property firms were launched by overseas-based creditors.', 'Shimao said in a stock exchange filing it would ""vigorously"" oppose the lawsuit.', ""Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading."", 'Like several other Chinese property developers, Shanghai-based Shimao defaulted on offshore bonds in 2022.', 'Last month, it laid out detailed plans to restructure its debts.', 'In January, rival real estate giant China Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court.', ""With more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis."", 'Property developer Country Garden also defaulted on its overseas debt last year and faces a winding-up petition.', 'The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May.', 'Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, a laminates maker and property investor.', ""China's real estate industry has been facing a major financial squeeze since 2021 when the government introduced measures to curb the amount big developers could borrow."", 'Since then several large property firms have defaulted on their debts.', ""Problems in China's property market have a major impact on its economy as the sector accounts for around a third of the economy.""]",-0.0599847534183126,"The first hearing for that petition, which was filed by Ever Credit Ltd, is scheduled for 17 May.","With more than $300bn of debt, Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis.",-0.9222415515354702,,"Its shares, which have lost a third of their value since the start of the year, fell by more than 15% to hit an all-time low during Monday's trading.",2024-04-08
-Child benefit: How much is it worth and how are the rules changing?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68500022,2024-03-07T14:09:20.000Z,"More families can now claim child benefit payments after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt increased the amount you can earn before it starts to be withdrawn. The government says the changes, which came into force on 6 April, will help more than half a million families. You can get child benefit if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is: Only one person can claim child benefit for a child. There is no limit to how many children you can claim for.  On 6 April 2024, it rose to: Child benefit is usually paid into a nominated bank account every four weeks.  But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly. You can find out how much child benefit you may be entitled to at the moment by using the government calculator. The rules apply across the whole of the UK.  In his 2024 Budget, the chancellor increased the amount you can earn before you start to lose child benefit. Previously, it was taken away entirely when one parent earned more than £60,000. This has been increased to £80,000. It won't start to be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000 - up from £50,000.  Payments are reduced as a result of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).  The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.  A household where two parents earn £60,000 - with a total household income of £120,000 - can get the full amount.  But if a household has one parent who earns just above £60,000, their child benefit will be be reduced, and cut altogether once they earn more than £80,000.   In the Budget, Mr Hunt also announced a consultation about letting HMRC collect information about all the adults in the child's house.  This would mean that from April 2026, child benefit claims would be based on total household income instead of the highest earner's wage - a move that has been broadly welcomed. You can claim child benefit 48 hours after you've registered a birth, or as soon as a child comes to live with you. If you claim at a later point, payments can be backdated for up to three months. You can claim online, by post or by phone. You need the following documents: Claiming child benefit for a child under the age of 12 means you automatically get National Insurance (NI) credits, which count towards your state pension. These credits can help fill gaps in your NI record if you're not working or if you don't earn enough to pay NI contributions. The government advises that you should still fill in the child benefit claim form, even if you opt out of getting payments, so that you can get NI credits. Doing so also means your child will automatically get an NI number when they turn 16. Otherwise they will have to apply for one. If a family splits up, the amount of child benefit paid depends on how many children there are, and where they live.  If you have two children and one stays with each parent, you would both get £25.60 a week for each child.  If you share custody of one or more children, only one of you can claim child benefit for them.  The eldest will still be entitled to £25.60 and any younger children will get £16.95 each.  If two families join together, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the higher rate, and any other eligible children get the smaller amount.  ",BBC,07/03/2024,"['More families can now claim child benefit payments after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt increased the amount you can earn before it starts to be withdrawn.', 'The government says the changes, which came into force on 6 April, will help more than half a million families.', ""You can get child benefit if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is: Only one person can claim child benefit for a child."", 'There is no limit to how many children you can claim for.', 'On 6 April 2024, it rose to: Child benefit is usually paid into a nominated bank account every four weeks.', ""But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly."", 'You can find out how much child benefit you may be entitled to at the moment by using the government calculator.', 'The rules apply across the whole of the UK.', 'In his 2024 Budget, the chancellor increased the amount you can earn before you start to lose child benefit.', 'Previously, it was taken away entirely when one parent earned more than £60,000.', 'This has been increased to £80,000.', ""It won't start to be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000 - up from £50,000."", 'Payments are reduced as a result of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).', 'The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.', 'A household where two parents earn £60,000 - with a total household income of £120,000 - can get the full amount.', 'But if a household has one parent who earns just above £60,000, their child benefit will be be reduced, and cut altogether once they earn more than £80,000.', ""In the Budget, Mr Hunt also announced a consultation about letting HMRC collect information about all the adults in the child's house."", ""This would mean that from April 2026, child benefit claims would be based on total household income instead of the highest earner's wage - a move that has been broadly welcomed."", ""You can claim child benefit 48 hours after you've registered a birth, or as soon as a child comes to live with you."", 'If you claim at a later point, payments can be backdated for up to three months.', 'You can claim online, by post or by phone.', 'You need the following documents: Claiming child benefit for a child under the age of 12 means you automatically get National Insurance (NI) credits, which count towards your state pension.', ""These credits can help fill gaps in your NI record if you're not working or if you don't earn enough to pay NI contributions."", 'The government advises that you should still fill in the child benefit claim form, even if you opt out of getting payments, so that you can get NI credits.', 'Doing so also means your child will automatically get an NI number when they turn 16.', 'Otherwise they will have to apply for one.', 'If a family splits up, the amount of child benefit paid depends on how many children there are, and where they live.', 'If you have two children and one stays with each parent, you would both get £25.60 a week for each child.', 'If you share custody of one or more children, only one of you can claim child benefit for them.', 'The eldest will still be entitled to £25.60 and any younger children will get £16.95 each.', 'If two families join together, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the higher rate, and any other eligible children get the smaller amount.']",0.2982759717427997,"But if you're a single parent or receive certain other benefits, such as universal credit, you can receive the money weekly.",The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.,0.3473616242408752,"This has been increased to £80,000.",The HICBC rules have been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner.,2024-04-08
-Will Truth Social solve Donald Trump's money problems?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68716628,2024-04-02T23:56:00.000Z,"The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.   But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.  So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make? And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills? Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.  The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites. In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social. Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages. Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'. Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start. It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.  By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn. X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported. Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then. It doesn't.   Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.  The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn. As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.  By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn. Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others.  In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social. The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up. Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it. It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials. The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.  The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.  The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares. He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.  Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.  When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.  At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.  With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.  Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.  Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes. Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.  But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict. Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.  They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.  They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn.  But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024. Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling. ",BBC,02/04/2024,"[""The share price of Donald Trump's media company has fallen from last week's high when it officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange."", 'But it is still worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn) at current prices - an astonishing sum given the business behind it.', 'So what is the Truth Social platform, who owns it, how many users does it have, and how much money does it make?', ""And is it the answer to Mr Trump's spiralling legal bills?"", 'Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.', 'The idea was pitched to him by two men, former contestants on his reality TV show, The Apprentice, who saw an opportunity to create an alternative to the mainstream social media sites.', 'In 2022 Trump Media launched its first - and to date only - product for the public: the social media platform Truth Social.', ""Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages."", ""Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'."", 'Trump Media claims about 9m Truth Social accounts have been created since its start.', 'It does not disclose how many users it has, but research firm SimilarWeb estimates that Truth Social had 5m monthly website visits in February this year.', 'By comparison, TikTok received more than 2bn visits, while Facebook had more than 3bn.', 'X had 104m visits in February, SimilarWeb reported.', ""Mr Trump has roughly 7m followers on Truth Social, far fewer than the 87m he has on X. The former president's X account was reinstated towards the end of 2022, but he has only posted once since then."", ""It doesn't."", 'Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.', 'The report was another reminder of the considerable disconnect between the finances of the company and its stock price, which puts its value at around $7bn.', 'As a gauge, in 2013, when Twitter listed on the stock market, it reported $660m in revenue and had a market value of roughly $24bn.', 'By 2021, the year before Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, that figure had grown to more than $5bn.', ""Mr Trump's relationship with the firm is a bit like the licensing deals that he used in his property empire, in which he signed over his name for the promotion of a business run primarily by others."", 'In this case, Mr Trump has also agreed to post non-political messages first on Truth Social.', 'The other difference is that this deal did not yield a stream of automatic licensing fees - instead, Mr Trump was paid by being given shares in the new start-up.', 'Trump Media, which is led by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, was originally a private company, and Mr Trump owned 90% of it.', ""It went public in March 2024 via what is known as a SPAC - basically, it was acquired by a company whose shares were already trading publicly on the stock market, in this case, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mr Trump now owns about 57% of shares in the combined firm, which was renamed Trump Media and trades under the DJT ticker - Mr Trump's initials."", 'The next biggest owner of TMTG is the Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments, which has a 6.9% stake, according to Trump Media filings with financial regulators.', 'The former Apprentice contestants also have a sizable stakes, though those holdings are currently subject to legal fights.', 'The two men - Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky - filed a suit against Mr Trump claiming he was trying to cheat them out of their shares.', 'He sued them back, arguing that their mismanagement of the social media site should cost them their stakes in the company.', 'Overall, insiders own about 70% of the stock.', 'When Trump Media announced its plans to go public in 2021, the news prompted small-time investors to snap up shares of Digital World, helping to pump up its price and drawing comparisons to pandemic-era meme stocks.', 'At the end of 2023, big financial firms owned only about 5% of Digital World stock, far less than is typical, implying everyday investors had the bulk of the rest.', 'With the merger complete, those individuals now also own a significant chunk of Trump Media, though just how much is not known exactly.', 'Conversations in online forums suggest at least some of those shareholders see their stock purchase as a bet on Mr Trump and a way to support him as his legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, pile up.', 'Mr Trump has been ordered to pay more than $350m in damages in a civil fraud case, with interest charges potentially adding another $100m. After the merger was completed, Mr Trump saw his net worth more than double to over $5bn overnight, according to Forbes.', 'Mr Trump is barred from selling his roughly 78m shares for about six months, unless the company decides to grant him a waiver.', 'But he stands to earn a windfall should he decide to cash in - even if the price drops sharply, as many analysts predict.', 'Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.', 'They popped to more than $70 apiece when Trump Media formally debuted on 26 March.', ""They have since fallen and are trading around $50 apiece, which makes Mr Trump's stake worth $4.1bn."", 'But that is about where they were the day before the launch and three times what Digital World shares were worth at the start of 2024.', 'Even if they were to fall to $1 apiece in six months, Mr Trump could still raise more than $78m by selling.']",0.1382611243779417,Much of Truth Social's functionality is identical to X. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' as well as send direct messages.,"Trump Media & Technology Group was founded in 2021 after Mr Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily booted from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence.",0.1471985181172689,"Shares in Digital World, now Trump Media, have swung wildly since 2021 and are expected to continue to do so.","Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to its latest financial update, which also warned of ""substantial doubt"" about its ability to continue as a business.",2024-04-08
-Could AI take the grind out of accountancy?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68553123,2024-03-26T00:24:13.000Z,"Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre. He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year.  What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers. Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt. That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can't yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says. So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that's where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK. Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs. According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams. Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks. This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""Generally, the nature of a junior accountant's role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says. As a result, training programmes are changing. ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices. I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""We're already starting to see that, so we've invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master's degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together."" The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years. In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi. And it's not alone in making errors. Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly. Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings. As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis."" AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client. KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""We get to a point where it's a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell. More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too. Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult. Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper. However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they'd be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""The bits of their role that it's taking away is stuff that they weren't enjoying."" ",BBC,26/03/2024,"['Owen Hewitt, is a trainee chartered accountant at accountancy firm haysmacintyre.', ""He's two years into his training with more exams coming up this year."", ""What's unusual about him and his peers, is that they will be the first generation of accountants to use artificial intelligence (AI) right from the beginning of their careers."", 'Mr Hewitt is hoping that AI will take over some of the more tedious parts of the job. ""', 'These (AI) can remove the burden of the more time-consuming tasks, like analysis of financial data,"" says Mr Hewitt.', 'That leaves the humans to focus on more subjective - and more interesting - decisions, like whether a business is viable, or whether debts are likely to be paid. ""', 'Whilst AI can learn from data and make predictions, it can\'t yet replace the human judgement required to weigh up different variables and make an informed decision,"" he says.', 'So, AI is increasingly being used for routine and time-consuming tasks such as summarising documents, creating content, drafting documentation, advanced searching, analytics and insight and knowledge management - often work done by more junior accountancy staff. ""', 'When you look at some of the tasks that auditors were doing - some of the boring, mundane tasks around churning data and manipulating it into a format where you can then actually do something valuable with it - that\'s where artificial intelligence can play a really big part,"" says Matthew Campbell, audit chief technology officer for KPMG UK.', ""Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs."", 'According to a KPMG survey, four in 10 senior audit professionals expect that the increased efficiency that AI can bring will lead to a reduction in the size of auditing teams.', 'Already, many manual audit and reporting tasks have been outsourced to other countries, with most major banks in the UK now having taken on large numbers of qualified accountants in India, who perform a significant proportion of month-end financial reporting tasks.', 'This, says Alex King, founder and chartered accountant at finance platform Generation Money, means that junior accountants working in audit will need to focus more on client-facing skills. ""', 'Generally, the nature of a junior accountant\'s role is likely to change more towards systems management - overseeing AI powered software and databases - and relationship management, and away from the traditional reconciliations and ledgers work,"" he says.', 'As a result, training programmes are changing. ""', ""We're still recruiting a number of people, graduates, and we're also recruiting a number of apprentices."", 'I think what will change over time is the skillsets of some of those individuals,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'We\'re already starting to see that, so we\'ve invested in putting a number of our auditors through a master\'s degree in applied data science, so they can take that auditing and accounting knowledge with their data science skills knowledge, to really bring the best of those skills together.""', 'The accountancy industry has seen some high-profile failures in recent years.', 'In March, KPMG was fined £1.5m for failings in its 2019 audit of advertising agency M&C Saatchi.', ""And it's not alone in making errors."", 'Last summer, a report from the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found that four in 10 audits conducted by global accounting firms had significant flaws, and that the proportion was rising rapidly.', ""Meanwhile, the UK's accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), carried out 19 investigations in the 2022-2023 financial year, slapping fines of £40.5 million on auditing firms and their clients for audit failings."", 'As a result, auditing firms are now under great scrutiny; and to tighten up their procedures, many are turning to AI. ""', 'As generative AI plays a more prominent role in contributing to first drafts of content, the human auditor role can be elevated to focus on areas of judgment and challenge,"" says Marc Bena, digital audit leader at PwC UK. ""', 'The ability to analyse data at a much larger scale also means we can perform better risk assessments and analysis.""', 'AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.', 'KPMG itself uses AI for high-risk transactions to look for such anomalies, such as the posting of unusual amounts, postings made by somebody unusual or postings made at a weekend. ""', 'We get to a point where it\'s a truly data-driven audit, where we identify the risks from within a population of data and use that to help focus our audit efforts on the most complex, the high-risk, the most judgmental areas,"" says Mr Campbell.', 'More technology of business As for more high-level jobs, AI may help here too.', 'Auditing firms have been finding it hard to retain talent, with 90% of auditors telling Caseware last year that it is either somewhat or extremely difficult.', 'Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.', 'However, 86% of auditing staff agreed that AI helps cut down time on repetitive task - and 83% said they\'d be more inclined to stay at a company with AI initiatives in place. ""', 'They can get through some of the laborious, time-intensive tasks to actually get into the value of doing the analysis, the output and the interpretation,"" says Mr Campbell. ""', 'The bits of their role that it\'s taking away is stuff that they weren\'t enjoying.""']",0.1626808889918358,"AI is particularly good at spotting anomalies in vast amounts of data, making it useful when examining what may amount to billions of transactions by a client.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",0.3071964780489604,"Overall, auditing job vacancies rose during the last year by a quarter, according to a survey from automation platform DataSnipper.","Given that auditing is a relatively low-margin business, there's concern that the more widespread use of AI could lead to a loss of jobs.",2024-04-08
-Thames Water troubles swell as parent firm defaults on debt,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68742551,2024-04-05T13:27:52.000Z,"Thames Water has seen its troubles deepen after its parent company defaulted on part of its huge debt pile. Kemble Water has formally told lenders it failed to meet a deadline to pay interest on £400m of debt due on Tuesday. The water giant has also asked lenders not to take any action as it explores its options. Thames Water's 16 million customers will not be affected. This notification confirms an announcement on 28 March that Kemble would be unable to repay its lenders as interest and principal payments - including a loan repayment of £190m due at the end of April - come up. It has issued a formal notice to its bondholders, but asked them to take ""no creditor action"" in order to enable a ""stable platform"" for negotiations. Companies sell bonds to investors to raise the funds they need, paying the money back over time with a premium. Being in default renders Kemble Water effectively insolvent but that will not affect the underlying utility business that supplies water and waste services to 1 in 4 people in the UK. The company has been engulfed by a crisis which has seen shareholders refuse to pay a £500m lifeline injection that would have shored up its finances, as well as fierce criticism over Thames Water's handling of leaks and sewage treatment. The future of Thames Water has been uncertain since fears emerged that it could collapse last June, with the latest developments raising questions around a potential restructure. The company has been struggling with debts of £14.7bn. But the new boss of Thames Water - and the regulator Ofwat - insist that the company has enough cash and overdraft facilities to see it through to May of next year.  While the dominos are falling at the parent company, these will fall short of triggering a collapse. However, at some point Thames Water will need to raise new money. The current shareholders which include UK and Canadian pension funds as well as Chinese and Gulf State investors pulled the planned £500m cash injection when Ofwat rejected proposals to raise customer bills by 40% above inflation by 2030. Kemble, which is funded entirely through dividends paid out by Thames Water, said it expects it will be able to provide a further update in ""the coming weeks"". Regardless of what happens, water supplies to Thames Water's customers will continue as normal. ",BBC,05/04/2024,"['Thames Water has seen its troubles deepen after its parent company defaulted on part of its huge debt pile.', 'Kemble Water has formally told lenders it failed to meet a deadline to pay interest on £400m of debt due on Tuesday.', 'The water giant has also asked lenders not to take any action as it explores its options.', ""Thames Water's 16 million customers will not be affected."", 'This notification confirms an announcement on 28 March that Kemble would be unable to repay its lenders as interest and principal payments - including a loan repayment of £190m due at the end of April - come up.', 'It has issued a formal notice to its bondholders, but asked them to take ""no creditor action"" in order to enable a ""stable platform"" for negotiations.', 'Companies sell bonds to investors to raise the funds they need, paying the money back over time with a premium.', 'Being in default renders Kemble Water effectively insolvent but that will not affect the underlying utility business that supplies water and waste services to 1 in 4 people in the UK.', ""The company has been engulfed by a crisis which has seen shareholders refuse to pay a £500m lifeline injection that would have shored up its finances, as well as fierce criticism over Thames Water's handling of leaks and sewage treatment."", 'The future of Thames Water has been uncertain since fears emerged that it could collapse last June, with the latest developments raising questions around a potential restructure.', 'The company has been struggling with debts of £14.7bn.', 'But the new boss of Thames Water - and the regulator Ofwat - insist that the company has enough cash and overdraft facilities to see it through to May of next year.', 'While the dominos are falling at the parent company, these will fall short of triggering a collapse.', 'However, at some point Thames Water will need to raise new money.', 'The current shareholders which include UK and Canadian pension funds as well as Chinese and Gulf State investors pulled the planned £500m cash injection when Ofwat rejected proposals to raise customer bills by 40% above inflation by 2030.', 'Kemble, which is funded entirely through dividends paid out by Thames Water, said it expects it will be able to provide a further update in ""the coming weeks"".', ""Regardless of what happens, water supplies to Thames Water's customers will continue as normal.""]",-0.2228524478899886,This notification confirms an announcement on 28 March that Kemble would be unable to repay its lenders as interest and principal payments - including a loan repayment of £190m due at the end of April - come up.,"The company has been engulfed by a crisis which has seen shareholders refuse to pay a £500m lifeline injection that would have shored up its finances, as well as fierce criticism over Thames Water's handling of leaks and sewage treatment.",-0.737937867641449,But the new boss of Thames Water - and the regulator Ofwat - insist that the company has enough cash and overdraft facilities to see it through to May of next year.,"The company has been engulfed by a crisis which has seen shareholders refuse to pay a £500m lifeline injection that would have shored up its finances, as well as fierce criticism over Thames Water's handling of leaks and sewage treatment.",2024-04-08
-What is a recession and how could it affect me?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52986863,2020-06-12T00:47:29.000Z,"The UK economy fell into recession during the final three months of 2023, according to official figures. However, the Bank of England has since suggested that the downturn might already be over. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said growing the economy was one of his five key priorities. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes figures for the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the value of all the goods and services the UK produces. In normal times, a country's economy grows, GDP rises, and average incomes rise as a result. But sometimes the economy shrinks, GDP falls, and that's a sign that the economy is doing badly, which could hit people's pockets. The UK is in recession if GDP falls for two successive three-month periods - known as quarters.  The latest ONS figures confirm that the economy shrank 0.3% between October and December 2023.  That followed a 0.1% fall between July and September and means the economy went into recession at the end of 2023.  Across 2023 as a whole, the UK economy grew by 0.1%.  The government has never publicly said what measure should be used to assess the prime minister's pledge to ""grow the economy"", despite repeated requests. In private briefings, journalists were told it would be met if the economy was bigger in the fourth quarter of 2023 than in the previous quarter. The ONS figures show that it was not.  The last UK recession was in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. It only lasted for six months, although the 20.4% fall in GDP recorded between April and June 2020 was the largest on record. The previous recession started in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis, and went on for five quarters, or 15 months.  Economic growth can mean more jobs are available and companies can pay more to employees and shareholders.  Higher wages and larger profits also generate money for the government through taxes.  It can choose to spend more on things like benefits and public services, or cut tax rates. When the economy shrinks and a country goes into recession, these things can go into reverse.  Some people might lose their jobs, and unemployment could rise. Graduates and school leavers could find it difficult to get their first job.  Others may find it harder to be promoted, or to get big enough pay rises to keep pace with price increases.  However, the pain of a recession is typically not felt equally across society, and inequality can increase.  Benefit recipients and those on fixed incomes are particularly likely to struggle, especially if the government decides to spend less on public services.  In a recession, the Bank of England - which is independent of government - typically cuts interest rates.  This makes it cheaper for businesses and households to borrow money which can boost spending and economic growth.   However, prices have been rising very quickly in the UK, and the Bank put interest rates up to tackle that inflation.   After 14 rate increases, the Bank has held interest rates at 5.25% four times in a row. When the economy is struggling to grow at the same time as there is high inflation, there can be a situation called ""stagflation"". This can be very difficult to solve, because the two issues require different solutions.  However in February 2024, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told MPs that there were ""distinct signs of an upturn"" in the economy and the latest recession may already be over. The UK has been one of the weaker members of the G7 group of the world's largest economies. The US economy grew by 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was much better than expected.  That put the US at 2.5% over 2023 as a whole, the best performance of all other advanced economies. It is also expected to outperform the rest of the G7 in 2024.  In October 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK would grow by just 0.6% in 2024.   The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the UK economy to grow by 0.7% in 2024, but that is less than half of its earlier prediction of 1.8% growth. ",BBC,12/06/2020,"['The UK economy fell into recession during the final three months of 2023, according to official figures.', 'However, the Bank of England has since suggested that the downturn might already be over.', 'Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said growing the economy was one of his five key priorities.', ""The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes figures for the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."", 'This is the value of all the goods and services the UK produces.', ""In normal times, a country's economy grows, GDP rises, and average incomes rise as a result."", ""But sometimes the economy shrinks, GDP falls, and that's a sign that the economy is doing badly, which could hit people's pockets."", 'The UK is in recession if GDP falls for two successive three-month periods - known as quarters.', 'The latest ONS figures confirm that the economy shrank 0.3% between October and December 2023.', 'That followed a 0.1% fall between July and September and means the economy went into recession at the end of 2023.', 'Across 2023 as a whole, the UK economy grew by 0.1%.', 'The government has never publicly said what measure should be used to assess the prime minister\'s pledge to ""grow the economy"", despite repeated requests.', 'In private briefings, journalists were told it would be met if the economy was bigger in the fourth quarter of 2023 than in the previous quarter.', 'The ONS figures show that it was not.', 'The last UK recession was in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.', 'It only lasted for six months, although the 20.4% fall in GDP recorded between April and June 2020 was the largest on record.', 'The previous recession started in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis, and went on for five quarters, or 15 months.', 'Economic growth can mean more jobs are available and companies can pay more to employees and shareholders.', 'Higher wages and larger profits also generate money for the government through taxes.', 'It can choose to spend more on things like benefits and public services, or cut tax rates.', 'When the economy shrinks and a country goes into recession, these things can go into reverse.', 'Some people might lose their jobs, and unemployment could rise.', 'Graduates and school leavers could find it difficult to get their first job.', 'Others may find it harder to be promoted, or to get big enough pay rises to keep pace with price increases.', 'However, the pain of a recession is typically not felt equally across society, and inequality can increase.', 'Benefit recipients and those on fixed incomes are particularly likely to struggle, especially if the government decides to spend less on public services.', 'In a recession, the Bank of England - which is independent of government - typically cuts interest rates.', 'This makes it cheaper for businesses and households to borrow money which can boost spending and economic growth.', 'However, prices have been rising very quickly in the UK, and the Bank put interest rates up to tackle that inflation.', 'After 14 rate increases, the Bank has held interest rates at 5.25% four times in a row.', 'When the economy is struggling to grow at the same time as there is high inflation, there can be a situation called ""stagflation"".', 'This can be very difficult to solve, because the two issues require different solutions.', 'However in February 2024, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told MPs that there were ""distinct signs of an upturn"" in the economy and the latest recession may already be over.', ""The UK has been one of the weaker members of the G7 group of the world's largest economies."", 'The US economy grew by 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was much better than expected.', 'That put the US at 2.5% over 2023 as a whole, the best performance of all other advanced economies.', 'It is also expected to outperform the rest of the G7 in 2024.', 'In October 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK would grow by just 0.6% in 2024.', 'The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the UK economy to grow by 0.7% in 2024, but that is less than half of its earlier prediction of 1.8% growth.']",-0.0370619390386098,"That put the US at 2.5% over 2023 as a whole, the best performance of all other advanced economies.","The previous recession started in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis, and went on for five quarters, or 15 months.",-0.0405489404996236,"Across 2023 as a whole, the UK economy grew by 0.1%.","It only lasted for six months, although the 20.4% fall in GDP recorded between April and June 2020 was the largest on record.",2024-04-08