diff --git "a/news_db/merged_news_data_2024-06-21.csv" "b/news_db/merged_news_data_2024-06-21.csv" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/news_db/merged_news_data_2024-06-21.csv" @@ -0,0 +1,5634 @@ +title,url,timestamp,content,source,clean_date,clean_content,arti_score,pos_sent,neg_sent,rnn_arti_score,rnn_pos_sent,rnn_neg_sent,date_extracted +Apple’s new China problem: ChatGPT is banned there,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/tech/apple-ai-chatgpt-ban-china/index.html," + Updated + 1:28 PM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Apple is banking on its upcoming AI features to boost iPhone sales especially in China, where demand has been lagging. But there’s a problem: ChatGPT — soon to be integrated into Siri — is banned in China. + + In a presentation earlier this month, Apple (AAPL) showed off its proprietary technology called Apple Intelligence to power compelling new AI features and announced a partnership with OpenAI to also use its viral ChatGPT tool in a limited capacity. (When Siri is activated and needs more assistance answering an inquiry, ChatGPT can step in.) + + The move signaled how Apple is trying to expedite the latest buzzy technology at a time when tech rivals, such as Microsoft, Google, Meta and Samsung, have already found their AI footing. A deal with OpenAI could help Apple close the gap. + + But China is one of the first countries in the world to regulate the generative AI technology that powers these popular services. In August, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s top internet watchdog, rolled out new guidelines for the industry, requiring companies to seek approval before deployment. The organization has approved more than 100 AI models as of March, all from Chinese companies. + + According to a report from the Wall Street Journal Thursday, Apple is looking for a Chinese AI company to partner with ahead of the iPhone’s expected September launch, but it hasn’t reached a deal yet. + + Apple did not respond to a request for comment. + + The need to find a partner — and quickly — comes at a time when Apple’s smartphone sales tumbled a stunning 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to market research firm IDC, due largely to iPhone sales sharply dropping in China. The company has lost momentum in China as nationalism, a rough economy and increased competition have also hurt sales. China is the company’s second-largest market. + + Limitations on its new AI tools may not be specific to China. In a statement sent to CNN following the publication of this article, Apple said it “highly motivated” to bring the features to customers around the world, but it is facing regulatory challenges in the European Union, as well. + + The company said it doesn’t believe it will be able to roll out its AI features in Europe this year. + + “Due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these features—iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence—to our EU users this year,” a spokesperson said in a statement. + + “Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security,” it added. “We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety.” + + In China, concerns around iPhone sales continue to mount as Chinese smartphone brand Huawei’s smartphone sales growth was 70% in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. + + If a solution is not worked out by fall, Chinese consumers may feel short changed and choose to wait until they can get the full AI experience with Apple, she added. + + “Apple is very likely to seek a local partner in China in place of OpenAI, because simply put, it needs to,” said Nabila Popal, a senior director at IDC Research. “Chinese consumers are expecting their premium phones to have the latest AI functionality and may hesitate to spend over $1000 for devices that don’t have all the AI bells and whistles.” + + “The real growth in China for Apple will come in the long term, as Apple Intelligence evolves offering more use cases, extends language support beyond English and when Siri can leverage other local AI models to provide the ChatGPT-like function,” Popal said. + + In the meantime, some AI companies in China may be better suited to target its consumers anyway, such as by offering more local dialects than what’s currently found in foreign AI models, Reece Hayden, an analyst at ABI Research, noted. + + Apple wouldn’t be the first foreign company to work with the Cyberspace Administration of China for AI and smartphones. In January, Samsung teamed up with Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU) to use its AI model to help power its translation service. It works with another AI firm Meitu for photo editing tools. In other parts of the world, Samsung uses its own propriety AI technology, along with Google’s (GOOGL) AI model Gemini, which is also banned in China. + + Samsung, however, accounts for less than 1% of the total market in China, according to Counterpoint Research. + + Although the clock is ticking for Apple to secure a partnership ahead of its fall software launch, Jeff Fieldhack, a research director at Counterpoint, believes it will be able to ink a deal in time. + + “Apple should be able to have a partnership aligned very quickly because it has such a strong global install base, and it would be a gem for these companies to work with them,” he said, noting that they’d soon be established as an an AI power player in the country.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Apple is banking on its upcoming AI features to boost iPhone sales especially in China, where demand has been lagging.', 'But there’s a problem: ChatGPT — soon to be integrated into Siri — is banned in China.', 'In a presentation earlier this month, Apple (AAPL) showed off its proprietary technology called Apple Intelligence to power compelling new AI features and announced a partnership with OpenAI to also use its viral ChatGPT tool in a limited capacity. (', 'When Siri is activated and needs more assistance answering an inquiry, ChatGPT can step in.)', 'The move signaled how Apple is trying to expedite the latest buzzy technology at a time when tech rivals, such as Microsoft, Google, Meta and Samsung, have already found their AI footing.', 'A deal with OpenAI could help Apple close the gap.', 'But China is one of the first countries in the world to regulate the generative AI technology that powers these popular services.', 'In August, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s top internet watchdog, rolled out new guidelines for the industry, requiring companies to seek approval before deployment.', 'The organization has approved more than 100 AI models as of March, all from Chinese companies.', 'According to a report from the Wall Street Journal Thursday, Apple is looking for a Chinese AI company to partner with ahead of the iPhone’s expected September launch, but it hasn’t reached a deal yet.', 'Apple did not respond to a request for comment.', 'The need to find a partner — and quickly — comes at a time when Apple’s smartphone sales tumbled a stunning 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to market research firm IDC, due largely to iPhone sales sharply dropping in China.', 'The company has lost momentum in China as nationalism, a rough economy and increased competition have also hurt sales.', 'China is the company’s second-largest market.', 'Limitations on its new AI tools may not be specific to China.', 'In a statement sent to CNN following the publication of this article, Apple said it “highly motivated” to bring the features to customers around the world, but it is facing regulatory challenges in the European Union, as well.', 'The company said it doesn’t believe it will be able to roll out its AI features in Europe this year.', '“Due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these features—iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence—to our EU users this year,” a spokesperson said in a statement.', '“Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security,” it added. “', 'We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety.”', 'In China, concerns around iPhone sales continue to mount as Chinese smartphone brand Huawei’s smartphone sales growth was 70% in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.', 'If a solution is not worked out by fall, Chinese consumers may feel short changed and choose to wait until they can get the full AI experience with Apple, she added.', '“Apple is very likely to seek a local partner in China in place of OpenAI, because simply put, it needs to,” said Nabila Popal, a senior director at IDC Research. “', 'Chinese consumers are expectingtheir premium phones to have the latest AI functionality and mayhesitate to spend over $1000 for devices that don’t have all the AI bells and whistles.”', '“The real growth in China for Apple will come in the long term, as Apple Intelligence evolves offering more use cases, extends language support beyond English and when Siri can leverage other local AI models to provide the ChatGPT-like function,” Popal said.', 'In the meantime, some AI companies in China may be better suited to target its consumers anyway, such as by offering more local dialects than what’s currently found in foreign AI models, Reece Hayden, an analyst at ABI Research, noted.', 'Apple wouldn’t be the first foreign company to work with the Cyberspace Administration of China for AI and smartphones.', 'In January, Samsung teamed up with Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU) to use its AI model to help power its translation service.', 'It works with another AI firm Meitu for photo editing tools.', 'In other parts of the world, Samsung uses its own propriety AI technology, along with Google’s (GOOGL) AI model Gemini, which is also banned in China.', 'Samsung, however, accounts for less than 1% of the total market in China, according to Counterpoint Research.', 'Although the clock is ticking for Apple to secure a partnership ahead of its fall software launch, Jeff Fieldhack, a research director at Counterpoint, believes it will be able to ink a deal in time.', '“Apple should be able to have a partnership aligned very quickly because it has such a strong global install base, and it would be a gem for these companies to work with them,” he said, noting that they’d soon be established as an an AI power player in the country.']",0.192899694089728,"“The real growth in China for Apple will come in the long term, as Apple Intelligence evolves offering more use cases, extends language support beyond English and when Siri can leverage other local AI models to provide the ChatGPT-like function,” Popal said.",But there’s a problem: ChatGPT — soon to be integrated into Siri — is banned in China.,0.2897684363757862,"In China, concerns around iPhone sales continue to mount as Chinese smartphone brand Huawei’s smartphone sales growth was 70% in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.","The need to find a partner — and quickly — comes at a time when Apple’s smartphone sales tumbled a stunning 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to market research firm IDC, due largely to iPhone sales sharply dropping in China.",2024-06-21 +‘You feel death at your doorstep but have no choice’: Extreme heat takes toll on outdoor workers,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/economy/outdoor-workers-extreme-heat-temperature/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","The skin gets flush with fever, the breaths grow short, the heart races, dizziness sets in. + + The helmet and goggles only make matters worse, trapping heat on the head and the eyes. + + There’s little to no escape from sweltering temperatures for construction workers like Eva Marroquin, who cleans work sites in Austin, Texas, and has worked in the industry for 17 years. + + “It damages our body when we work in construction; for example, I have suffered two heat attacks, one lately that made me very sick,” Marroquin, 50, told CNN via an interpreter in a video interview. + + The blazing temperatures and searing sunlight have damaged her eyes, causing cataracts. Even worse, she says, she’s lost fellow workers who have died from heat-related injuries. Since 2010, she’s worked closely with the Workers Defense Project, an organization that advocates for protections for low-wage, immigrant workers in the Texas construction industry. + + “You feel death at your doorstep, but we have no choice but to go to work,” she added. + + Another punishing wave of intense heat has put much of the US in a vice grip this week, subjecting some workers to dangerous (if not deadly) conditions; disrupting small and large businesses; sapping away consumer spending and tourism; and taking a big bite out of economic activity. + + It’s estimated that heatwaves result in a 1% loss of global economic activity, a GDP hit that’s forecast to grow to 3.2% by 2050, according to newly revised projections from Chris Lafakis, director at Moody’s Analytics. + + “There’s a chronic physical risk,” he said. “These are things that occur over a longer period of time, they accumulate and become more costly and disruptive as time progresses and the temperature steadily increases.” + + An economic letter published last month by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Williams College in Massachusetts estimated that by 2200, extreme heat will reduce the US capital stock, or the value of accumulated investment, by 5.4% and annual consumption by 1.8%, primarily attributable to labor productivity losses in construction (and, subsequently, fewer buildings being built). + + “Extreme heat doesn’t just affect economic output today, it can have really long-lasting economic consequences,” said Gregory P. Casey, assistant professor of economics at Williams College and a co-author of the study. + + And that doesn’t even account for extreme heat’s interaction with other types of climate change events, he said. + + “For example, you get a natural disaster that destroys a bunch of buildings, and you’re needing to rebuild but this extreme heat is making it harder to supply new buildings,” he said. “There are these interesting interactions that we think will probably even increase the quantitative importance about this.” + + The summers are indeed getting longer and hotter. The heatwave season has steadily grown in recent decades, climbing from an average of 53.5 days in the 2000s to 68.5 days in the 2010s and 72.7 days in the 2020s, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. + + And, according to the EPA, heatwaves are occurring more often than they used to and delivering higher temperatures in the process, exacerbating the human and economic risks. + + “Heat doesn’t get as much attention publicly, because it’s invisible in a lot of ways,” said Jenny Schuetz, an economist and senior fellow at Brookings Metro. “But more people in the US are exposed to high heat risk than to either floods or wildfires.” + + Those risks aren’t shared equally: A 2021 study from researchers at University of California and Stanford University found that low-income workers experience five times as many heat-related injuries than those who are the highest earners. + + “We forget that [air conditioning is] not an option for a lot of people,” she said. “Low-income households are more likely to live in older buildings that weren’t built with central air. Even if they have air conditioning, it’s expensive to run, and people can’t afford the extra utility bills, so they ration how much air conditioning they’re allowed to use.” + + A lot of lower-income households are also more likely to have jobs that are exposed to heat, such as landscape gardeners, construction workers, delivery drivers and warehouse workers. + + “Those are not white-collar jobs, and so many policymakers tend to forget that a lot of Americans just don’t have air conditioning in their workplaces, in their homes, in their schools,” she said. “And they really can’t escape it when we have these high-heat waves.” + + The $15 to $17 an hour Eva Marroquin earns isn’t enough to fully support her family, so the mother of five supplements her income by cleaning houses, many of which are not air conditioned. + + It’s barely just now summer, and heatwaves are already slowing down small businesses, according to Homebase, which provides payroll software to more than 100,000 small businesses, covering 2 million hourly workers. + + The high heat has weighed on hiring, employee hours and businesses’ ability to stay open, as well as the amount of money they’re bringing in, said John Waldmann, Homebase founder and chief executive officer. + + “Usually, there’s a pretty nice growth that comes in employment and hours worked at the start of the summer,” he said. “As businesses ramp up, particularly in the hospitality world, that looked far more muted this year than in previous years across the board. And in regions where heat was extreme, we actually saw those number dip.” + + He added: “So there were fewer people working and fewer hours worked than we would expect to have seen.” + + Especially after last year’s record-breaking summer, businesses aren’t remaining stagnant, he said. They’re trying to adapt by taking a variety of approaches, including installing shades to counteract the heat and save on the A/C bills and changing their operating hours, he added. + + “I think anything that impacts small businesses is affecting the economy as a whole,” he said, noting how small businesses account for half the jobs in the country. “When we see changes in behavior in small businesses, like what we’re talking about here, usually that’s an early indication of how things are changing in the economy as a whole.” + + In May, there was a 1.4% decline in the number of businesses open versus April in the Southeast, an area that faced high temperatures, according to Homebase data. + + This week Boston not only set a record-high temperature, but also had its heat index rocket to 108, breaking a 101-year-old record. + + Katie Parent works as a mobile veterinarian, driving around Greater Boston and making house calls. For herself, the high heat is more of an inconvenience; the car’s hotter and she just needs to pack some extra water. + + For her supplies and her patients, it’s more complex. The owner of the Doorbell Pet Doctor needs to ensure the vaccines and other temperature-sensitive materials she transports stay cool. She doesn’t have an in-house lab, so she needs to pack her shipments carefully and plentifully with ice packs and hopes that UPS ships them in the appropriate time. + + Hot summers can be hard on pets, especially older dogs. + + The heat dome that blanketed Boston and many northeastern states also stretched well into America’s heartland. + + The Greer family farm in Princeton, Indiana, got a late start to putting the soybeans in the ground because of a recent bout of heavy rain. Now, the sixth-generation farm is having to contend with the excessive heat. + + “It’s very hot today, it’s almost like we’re in a heatwave,” said Denise Greer Jamerson, who runs the farm with her 87-year-old father, Norman, and her 31-year-old son. + + The summers have been getting hotter, she said, adding that the winters are milder and shorter. To help prepare her family and the handful of workers on the family’s 100-acre farm, Greer Jamerson bought everyone big, handheld water jugs to ensure they’re staying hydrated on these hot days. + + The family has also implemented automatic timers to ensure the crops are being watered appropriately. + + Despite temperatures rising to the mid-90s, it hasn’t deterred her father from getting out into the fields. + + He just wakes up earlier. + + “In this industry, you’ve got to get it done when you have that window of opportunity, because that’s the one thing that we cannot control is the climate,” she said. + + Caribou, Maine, the most northeastern city in the United States, saw its heat index — a measure that describes how heat feels to the human body — soar on Wednesday to a never-before-seen value of 103 as the temperature hit a record-tying 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. + + That was a good 22 degrees hotter than the high typically seen this time of year. + + “It’s really, really hot outside … it’s sweltering,” said Tamara Lovewell, co-owner of the Ruska Coffee Company in downtown Caribou. + + Inside, the coffee shop and café was still doing brisk business during breakfast and lunch. The family-run outfit decided to turn off the oven, the panini presses, the steam table and warming lamps and instead crafted a new limited-time menu of cold items such as sandwiches, wraps and salads. + + “We don’t have A/C in the kitchen,” she said. “For now, we just changed out our menu, so we don’t have all of the hot equipment on to alleviate the extra stress on the staff.” + + The heat pumps have been running strong for the front of the house but are not able to fully keep the hot air at bay. It was running a little warm inside on Wednesday, she said, but it was manageable for staff and guests. + + Still, Lovewell said she’s keeping close watch on the temperature as well as everybody else to make sure folks are safe. + + “If it gets too hot in here, we will close our doors in a heartbeat,” she said. “We will never subject anyone here to unnecessary risks.”",CNN,21/06/2024,"['The skin gets flush with fever, the breaths grow short, the heart races, dizziness sets in.', 'The helmet and goggles only make matters worse, trapping heat on the head and the eyes.', 'There’s little to no escape from sweltering temperatures for construction workers like Eva Marroquin, who cleans work sites in Austin, Texas, and has worked in the industry for 17 years.', '“It damages our body when we work in construction; for example, I have suffered two heat attacks, one lately that made me very sick,” Marroquin, 50, told CNN via an interpreter in a video interview.', 'The blazing temperatures and searing sunlight have damaged her eyes, causing cataracts.', 'Even worse, she says, she’s lost fellow workers who have died from heat-related injuries.', 'Since 2010, she’s worked closely with the Workers Defense Project, an organization that advocates for protections for low-wage, immigrant workers in the Texas construction industry.', '“You feel death at your doorstep, but we have no choice but to go to work,” she added.', 'Another punishing wave of intense heat has put much of the US in a vice grip this week, subjecting some workers to dangerous (if not deadly) conditions; disrupting small and large businesses; sapping away consumer spending and tourism; and taking a big bite out of economic activity.', 'It’s estimated that heatwaves result in a 1% loss of global economic activity, a GDP hit that’s forecast to grow to 3.2% by 2050, according to newly revised projections from Chris Lafakis, director at Moody’s Analytics.', '“There’s a chronic physical risk,” he said. “', 'These are things that occur over a longer period of time, they accumulate and become more costly and disruptive as time progresses and the temperature steadily increases.”', 'An economic letter published last month by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Williams College in Massachusetts estimated that by 2200, extreme heat will reduce the US capital stock, or the value of accumulated investment, by 5.4% and annual consumption by 1.8%, primarily attributable to labor productivity losses in construction (and, subsequently, fewer buildings being built).', '“Extreme heat doesn’t just affect economic output today, it can have really long-lasting economic consequences,” said Gregory P. Casey, assistant professor of economics at Williams College and a co-author of the study.', 'And that doesn’t even account for extreme heat’s interaction with other types of climate change events, he said.', '“For example, you get a natural disaster that destroys a bunch of buildings, and you’re needing to rebuild but this extreme heat is making it harder to supply new buildings,” he said. “', 'There are these interesting interactions that we think will probably even increase the quantitative importance about this.”', 'The summers are indeed getting longer and hotter.', 'The heatwave season has steadily grown in recent decades, climbing from an average of 53.5 days in the 2000s to 68.5 days in the 2010s and 72.7 days in the 2020s, according to Environmental Protection Agency data.', 'And, according to the EPA, heatwaves are occurring more often than they used to and delivering higher temperatures in the process, exacerbating the human and economic risks.', '“Heat doesn’t get as much attention publicly, because it’s invisible in a lot of ways,” said Jenny Schuetz, an economist and senior fellow at Brookings Metro. “', 'But more people in the US are exposed to high heat risk than to either floods or wildfires.”', 'Those risks aren’t shared equally: A 2021 study from researchers at University of California and Stanford University found that low-income workers experience five times as many heat-related injuries than those who are the highest earners.', '“We forget that [air conditioning is] not an option for a lot of people,” she said. “', 'Low-income households are more likely to live in older buildings that weren’t built with central air.', 'Even if they have air conditioning, it’s expensive to run, and people can’t afford the extra utility bills, so they ration how much air conditioning they’re allowed to use.”', 'A lot of lower-income households are also more likely to have jobs that are exposed to heat, such as landscape gardeners, construction workers, delivery drivers and warehouse workers.', '“Those are not white-collar jobs, and so many policymakers tend to forget that a lot of Americans just don’t have air conditioning in their workplaces, in their homes, in their schools,” she said. “', 'And they really can’t escape it when we have these high-heat waves.”', 'The $15 to $17 an hour Eva Marroquin earns isn’t enough to fully support her family, so the mother of five supplements her income by cleaning houses, many of which are not air conditioned.', 'It’s barely just now summer, and heatwaves are already slowing down small businesses, according to Homebase, which provides payroll software to more than 100,000 small businesses, covering 2 million hourly workers.', 'The high heat has weighed on hiring, employee hours and businesses’ ability to stay open, as well as the amount of money they’re bringing in, said John Waldmann, Homebase founder and chief executive officer.', '“Usually, there’s a pretty nice growth that comes in employment and hours worked at the start of the summer,” he said. “', 'As businesses ramp up, particularly in the hospitality world, that looked far more muted this year than in previous years across the board.', 'And in regions where heat was extreme, we actually saw those number dip.”', 'He added: “So there were fewer people working and fewer hours worked than we would expect to have seen.”', 'Especially after last year’s record-breaking summer, businesses aren’t remaining stagnant, he said.', 'They’re trying to adapt by taking a variety of approaches, including installing shades to counteract the heat and save on the A/C bills and changing their operating hours, he added.', '“I think anything that impacts small businesses is affecting the economy as a whole,” he said, noting how small businesses account for half the jobs in the country. “', 'When we see changes in behavior in small businesses, like what we’re talking about here, usually that’s an early indication of how things are changing in the economy as a whole.”', 'In May, there was a 1.4% decline in the number of businesses open versus April in the Southeast, an area that faced high temperatures, according to Homebase data.', 'This week Boston not only set a record-high temperature, but also had its heat index rocket to 108, breaking a 101-year-old record.', 'Katie Parent works as a mobile veterinarian, driving around Greater Boston and making house calls.', 'For herself, the high heat is more of an inconvenience; the car’s hotter and she just needs to pack some extra water.', 'For her supplies and her patients, it’s more complex.', 'The owner of the Doorbell Pet Doctor needs to ensure the vaccines and other temperature-sensitive materials she transports stay cool.', 'She doesn’t have an in-house lab, so she needs to pack her shipments carefully and plentifully with ice packs and hopes that UPS ships them in the appropriate time.', 'Hot summers can be hard on pets, especially older dogs.', 'The heat dome that blanketed Boston and many northeastern states also stretched well into America’s heartland.', 'The Greer family farm in Princeton, Indiana, got a late start to putting the soybeans in the ground because of a recent bout of heavy rain.', 'Now, the sixth-generation farm is having to contend with the excessive heat.', '“It’s very hot today, it’s almost like we’re in a heatwave,” said Denise Greer Jamerson, who runs the farm with her 87-year-old father, Norman, and her 31-year-old son.', 'The summers have been getting hotter, she said, adding that the winters are milder and shorter.', 'To help prepare her family and the handful of workers on the family’s 100-acre farm, Greer Jamerson bought everyone big, handheld water jugs to ensure they’re staying hydrated on these hot days.', 'The family has also implemented automatic timers to ensure the crops are being watered appropriately.', 'Despite temperatures rising to the mid-90s, it hasn’t deterred her father from getting out into the fields.', 'He just wakes up earlier.', '“In this industry, you’ve got to get it done when you have that window of opportunity, because that’s the one thing that we cannot control is the climate,” she said.', 'Caribou, Maine, the most northeastern city in the United States, saw its heat index — a measure that describes how heat feels to the human body — soar on Wednesday to a never-before-seen value of 103 as the temperature hit a record-tying 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.', 'That was a good 22 degrees hotter than the high typically seen this time of year.', '“It’s really, really hot outside … it’s sweltering,” said Tamara Lovewell, co-owner of the Ruska Coffee Company in downtown Caribou.', 'Inside, the coffee shop and café was still doing brisk business during breakfast and lunch.', 'The family-run outfit decided to turn off the oven, the panini presses, the steam table and warming lamps and instead crafted a new limited-time menu of cold items such as sandwiches, wraps and salads.', '“We don’t have A/C in the kitchen,” she said. “', 'For now, we just changed out our menu, so we don’t have all of the hot equipment on to alleviate the extra stress on the staff.”', 'The heat pumps have been running strong for the front of the house but are not able to fully keep the hot air at bay.', 'It was running a little warm inside on Wednesday, she said, but it was manageable for staff and guests.', 'Still, Lovewell said she’s keeping close watch on the temperature as well as everybody else to make sure folks are safe.', '“If it gets too hot in here, we will close our doors in a heartbeat,” she said. “', 'We will never subject anyone here to unnecessary risks.”']",0.0072618600540457,"“Usually, there’s a pretty nice growth that comes in employment and hours worked at the start of the summer,” he said. “","“It damages our body when we work in construction; for example, I have suffered two heat attacks, one lately that made me very sick,” Marroquin, 50, told CNN via an interpreter in a video interview.",-0.5385234321866716,"The heatwave season has steadily grown in recent decades, climbing from an average of 53.5 days in the 2000s to 68.5 days in the 2010s and 72.7 days in the 2020s, according to Environmental Protection Agency data.","In May, there was a 1.4% decline in the number of businesses open versus April in the Southeast, an area that faced high temperatures, according to Homebase data.",2024-06-21 +TikTok confirms it offered US government a 'kill switch',https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxwwz7l02j0o,2024-06-21T11:43:01.228Z,"TikTok says it offered the US government the power to shut the platform down in an attempt to address lawmakers' data protection and national security concerns. It disclosed the ""kill switch"" offer, which it made in 2022, as it began its legal fight against legislation that will ban the app in America unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. The law has been introduced because of concerns TikTok might share US user data with the Chinese government - claims it and ByteDance have always denied. TikTok and ByteDance are urging the courts to strike the legislation down. ""This law is a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet, and sets a dangerous precedent allowing the political branches to target a disfavored speech platform and force it to sell or be shut down,"" they argued in their legal submission. They also claimed the US government refused to engage in any serious settlement talks after 2022, and pointed to the ""kill switch"" offer as evidence of the lengths they had been prepared to go. TikTok says the mechanism would have allowed the government the ""explicit authority to suspend the platform in the United States at the US government's sole discretion"" if it did not follow certain rules. A draft ""National Security Agreement"", proposed by TikTok in August 2022, would have seen the company having to follow rules such as properly funding its data protection units and making sure that ByteDance did not have access to US users' data. The ""kill switch"" could have been triggered by the government if it broke this agreement, it claimed. In a letter - first reported by the Washington Post - addressed to the US Department of Justice, TikTok's lawyer alleges that the government ""ceased any substantive negotiations"" after the proposal of the new rules. The letter, dated 1 April 2024, says the US government ignored requests to meet for further negotiations. It also alleges the government did not respond to TikTok's invitation to ""visit and inspect its Dedicated Transparency Center in Maryland"". The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments on lawsuits filed by TikTok and ByteDance, along with TikTok users, in September. Legislation signed in April by President Joe Biden gives ByteDance until January next year to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban. It was born of concerns that data belonging to the platform's 170 million US users could be passed on to the Chinese government. TikTok denies that it shares foreign users' data with China and called the legislation an ""unconstitutional ban"" and affront to the US right to free speech. It insists that US data does not leave the country, and is overseen by American company Oracle, in a deal which is called Project Texas. However, a Wall Street Journal investigation in January 2024 found that some data was still being shared between TikTok in the US and ByteDance in China. In May, a US government official told the Washington Post that ""the solution proposed by the parties at the time would be insufficient to address the serious national security risks presented."" They added: ""While we have consistently engaged with the company about our concerns and potential solutions, it became clear that divestment from its foreign ownership was and remains necessary."" ",BBC,21/06/2024,"[""TikTok says it offered the US government the power to shut the platform down in an attempt to address lawmakers' data protection and national security concerns."", 'It disclosed the ""kill switch"" offer, which it made in 2022, as it began its legal fight against legislation that will ban the app in America unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it.', 'The law has been introduced because of concerns TikTok might share US user data with the Chinese government - claims it and ByteDance have always denied.', 'TikTok and ByteDance are urging the courts to strike the legislation down. ""', 'This law is a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet, and sets a dangerous precedent allowing the political branches to target a disfavored speech platform and force it to sell or be shut down,"" they argued in their legal submission.', 'They also claimed the US government refused to engage in any serious settlement talks after 2022, and pointed to the ""kill switch"" offer as evidence of the lengths they had been prepared to go.', 'TikTok says the mechanism would have allowed the government the ""explicit authority to suspend the platform in the United States at the US government\'s sole discretion"" if it did not follow certain rules.', 'A draft ""National Security Agreement"", proposed by TikTok in August 2022, would have seen the company having to follow rules such as properly funding its data protection units and making sure that ByteDance did not have access to US users\' data.', 'The ""kill switch"" could have been triggered by the government if it broke this agreement, it claimed.', 'In a letter - first reported by the Washington Post - addressed to the US Department of Justice, TikTok\'s lawyer alleges that the government ""ceased any substantive negotiations"" after the proposal of the new rules.', 'The letter, dated 1 April 2024, says the US government ignored requests to meet for further negotiations.', 'It also alleges the government did not respond to TikTok\'s invitation to ""visit and inspect its Dedicated Transparency Center in Maryland"".', 'The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments on lawsuits filed by TikTok and ByteDance, along with TikTok users, in September.', ""Legislation signed in April by President Joe Biden gives ByteDance until January next year to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban."", ""It was born of concerns that data belonging to the platform's 170 million US users could be passed on to the Chinese government."", 'TikTok denies that it shares foreign users\' data with China and called the legislation an ""unconstitutional ban"" and affront to the US right to free speech.', 'It insists that US data does not leave the country, and is overseen by American company Oracle, in a deal which is called Project Texas.', 'However, a Wall Street Journal investigation in January 2024 found that some data was still being shared between TikTok in the US and ByteDance in China.', 'In May, a US government official told the Washington Post that ""the solution proposed by the parties at the time would be insufficient to address the serious national security risks presented.""', 'They added: ""While we have consistently engaged with the company about our concerns and potential solutions, it became clear that divestment from its foreign ownership was and remains necessary.""']",-0.0219129599759003,"A draft ""National Security Agreement"", proposed by TikTok in August 2022, would have seen the company having to follow rules such as properly funding its data protection units and making sure that ByteDance did not have access to US users' data.","It disclosed the ""kill switch"" offer, which it made in 2022, as it began its legal fight against legislation that will ban the app in America unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it.",-0.9141406774520874,,"In a letter - first reported by the Washington Post - addressed to the US Department of Justice, TikTok's lawyer alleges that the government ""ceased any substantive negotiations"" after the proposal of the new rules.",2024-06-21 +Amazon will stop using those little plastic pillows in its packaging,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/amazon-stops-using-plastic-pillows/index.html," + Published + 7:46 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Amazon is eliminating the use of the puffy plastic air pillows used in delivery boxes, joining other major companies that are cutting their plastic use. + + The company said it was shipping 15 billion plastic pillows annually, and the changes represent its largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America. Amazon has already stopped using them in 95% of deliveries and they will stop completely by the end of the year. + + A new paper filler made from 100% recycled content will replace the plastic pillows. Amazon says it offers the same, if not better, protection to products. + + The announcement comes ahead of Prime Day, the shopping spectacular held in July, which Amazon said that nearly all of its Prime Day deliveries will be free of plastic air pillows. + + Amazon has stopped using plastic pillows in other countries, including Australia, India and nations across Europe, in recent years, which resulted the company in using nearly 12% less plastic in 2023 compared to the year prior. + + Pollution from single-use plastic remains a major problem, with a recent report finding that companies are producing record amounts despite efforts to be more sustainable. Plastic is problematic because it’s mostly made from polymers created from dangerous fossil fuels. + + Oceana, an advocacy group that has long criticized Amazon’s plastic use, said the change was a “significant step forward,” but the company “needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic.” + + “Then, the company should expand these efforts and also push innovations like reusable packaging to move away from single-use packaging everywhere it sells and ships,” Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s senior vp of Strategic Initiatives, said in a statement.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Amazon is eliminating the use of the puffy plastic air pillows used in delivery boxes, joining other major companies that are cutting their plastic use.', 'The company said it was shipping 15 billion plastic pillows annually, and the changes represent its largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America.', 'Amazon has already stopped using them in 95% of deliveries and they will stop completely by the end of the year.', 'A new paper filler made from 100% recycled content will replace the plastic pillows.', 'Amazon says it offers the same, if not better, protection to products.', 'The announcement comes ahead of Prime Day, the shopping spectacular held in July, which Amazon said that nearly all of its Prime Day deliveries will be free of plastic air pillows.', 'Amazon has stopped using plastic pillows in other countries, including Australia, India and nations across Europe, in recent years, which resulted the company in using nearly 12% less plastic in 2023 compared to the year prior.', 'Pollution from single-use plastic remains a major problem, with arecent reportfinding that companies are producing record amounts despite efforts to be more sustainable.', 'Plastic is problematic because it’s mostly made from polymers created from dangerous fossil fuels.', 'Oceana, an advocacy group that has long criticized Amazon’s plastic use, said the change was a “significant step forward,” but the company “needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic.”', '“Then, the company should expand these efforts and also push innovations like reusable packaging to move away from single-use packaging everywhere it sells and ships,” Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s senior vp of Strategic Initiatives, said in a statement.']",0.0376143629393954,"Oceana, an advocacy group that has long criticized Amazon’s plastic use, said the change was a “significant step forward,” but the company “needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic.”",Plastic is problematic because it’s mostly made from polymers created from dangerous fossil fuels.,0.2042908191680908,"Oceana, an advocacy group that has long criticized Amazon’s plastic use, said the change was a “significant step forward,” but the company “needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic.”","Amazon has stopped using plastic pillows in other countries, including Australia, India and nations across Europe, in recent years, which resulted the company in using nearly 12% less plastic in 2023 compared to the year prior.",2024-06-21 +"New York governor signs bill regulating social media algorithms, in a US first",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/tech/new-york-hochul-social-media-algorithms-children/index.html," + Updated + 4:05 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Big changes are coming for New York’s youngest social media users after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two bills into law Thursday clamping down on digital platforms’ algorithms and use of children’s data. + + The unprecedented move makes New York the first state to pass a law regulating social media algorithms amid nationwide allegations that apps such as Instagram or TikTok have hooked users with addictive features. + + Hochul’s signature comes days after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be applied to social media platforms, fueling a debate about social media’s potential impact on the mental health of users, particularly teens. + + Under New York’s SAFE For Kids Act, social media platforms will be required to display content chronologically by default for kids under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act will restrict websites from collecting or sharing the personal data of users under 18 without consent — expanding on existing federal privacy protections for children under 13. + + The SAFE For Kids Act also requires platforms to limit late-night app notifications that state lawmakers say are engineered to drive user engagement and that risk hindering sleep. Both pieces of legislation were introduced last fall and cleared the state legislature in early June. + + New York officials hailed the legislation as a critical check on social media platforms’ influence over teens. + + “Today, we save our children,” Hochul said Thursday at a press conference. “We have heard their cries for help, reminding us as adults that we have a moral responsibility to protect young New Yorkers from harm and from addictive forces.” + + In a statement Thursday afternoon, a Meta spokesperson said, “While we don’t agree with every aspect of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores.” + + “According to research, the vast majority of parents support legislation requiring app stores to obtain parental approval to download apps, and we will continue to work with policymakers in New York and elsewhere to advance this approach,” the spokesperson said. + + CNN has reached out to Google, Snap and TikTok for comment. + + Some academics have said that while studies highlight associations between specific types of social media activities and negative mental health outcomes – such as engaging in social comparison – a causal link between those harms and general social media use is less clear. Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide. + + “We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference. + + New York Attorney General Letitia James added Thursday that the legislation would take on “the most dangerous aspects of social media, the addictive algorithm feeds that exploit impressionable minds.” + + “These bills will empower my office to set rules and ensure companies are following them,” James said. + + Opponents of the social media algorithm bill — including but not limited to the tech industry — have said the legislation is likely unconstitutional because it infringes on children’s First Amendment rights and raises other questions about how social media can function in practice across state lines. + + “It’s a well-intentioned effort, but it’s aimed at the wrong target,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the tech industry advocacy group Chamber of Progress. “Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.” + + The legislation’s signing sets the stage for another in a long string of court battles over state social media laws. + + States such as Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and many others have passed laws clamping down on social media companies’ approach to teens. Industry groups have challenged some of that legislation, and courts have largely viewed the laws with skepticism. In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment. + + Two states, Texas and Florida, have passed laws that would restrict online platforms from moderating their sites; legal challenges reached the Supreme Court this term and a decision is expected within weeks.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Big changes are coming for New York’s youngest social media users after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two bills into law Thursday clamping down on digital platforms’ algorithms and use of children’s data.', 'The unprecedented move makes New York the first state to pass a law regulating social media algorithms amid nationwide allegations that apps such as Instagram or TikTok have hooked users with addictive features.', 'Hochul’s signature comes days after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be applied to social media platforms, fueling a debate about social media’s potential impact on the mental health of users, particularly teens.', 'Under New York’s SAFE For Kids Act, social media platforms will be required to display content chronologically by default for kids under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act will restrict websites from collecting or sharing the personal data of users under 18 without consent — expanding on existing federal privacy protections for children under 13.', 'The SAFE For Kids Act also requires platforms to limit late-night app notifications that state lawmakers say are engineered to drive user engagement and that risk hindering sleep.', 'Both pieces of legislation were introduced last fall and cleared the state legislature in early June.', 'New York officials hailed the legislation as a critical check on social media platforms’ influence over teens.', '“Today, we save our children,” Hochul said Thursday at a press conference. “', 'We have heard their cries for help, reminding us as adults that we have a moral responsibility to protect young New Yorkers from harm and from addictive forces.”', 'In a statement Thursday afternoon, a Meta spokesperson said, “While we don’t agree with every aspect of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores.”', '“According to research, the vast majority of parents support legislation requiring app stores to obtain parental approval to download apps, and we will continue to work with policymakers in New York and elsewhere to advance this approach,” the spokesperson said.', 'CNN has reached out to Google, Snap and TikTok for comment.', 'Some academics have said that while studies highlight associations between specific types of social media activities and negative mental health outcomes – such as engaging in social comparison – a causal link between those harms and general social media use is less clear.', 'Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide.', '“We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference.', 'New York Attorney General Letitia James added Thursday that the legislation would take on “the most dangerous aspects of social media, the addictive algorithm feeds that exploit impressionable minds.”', '“These bills will empower my office to set rules and ensure companies are following them,” James said.', 'Opponents of the social media algorithm bill — including but not limited to the tech industry — have said the legislation is likely unconstitutional because it infringes on children’s First Amendment rights and raises other questions about how social media can function in practice across state lines.', '“It’s a well-intentioned effort, but it’s aimed at the wrong target,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the tech industry advocacy group Chamber of Progress. “', 'Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.”', 'The legislation’s signing sets the stage for another in a long string of court battles over state social media laws.', 'States such as Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and many others have passed laws clamping down on social media companies’ approach to teens.', 'Industry groups have challenged some of that legislation, and courts have largely viewed the laws with skepticism.', 'In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment.', 'Two states, Texas and Florida, have passed laws that would restrict online platforms from moderating their sites; legal challenges reached the Supreme Court this term and a decision is expected within weeks.']",0.0491327487511307,"“We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference.","Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide.",-0.1618661642074585,"Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.”","In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment.",2024-06-21 +"Toyota is recalling 145,000 big SUVs for an airbag problem",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/cars/toyota-recall-suvs-airbag/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations. + + The curtain airbag on the driver’s side may not deploy properly “during certain crashes” if the driver’s side window is rolled down, according to a statement shared by Toyota Thursday. Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur. + + In a crash or a vehicle rollover, side curtain airbags deploy to cover the side window opening. They can help prevent an occupant from striking the window glass or parts of the door. In the event of a rollover, they can prevent an occupant’s arm, shoulder or head from hitting the ground or even protect a person from being thrown from the vehicle. + + Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year. They are closely related to one another. Both are large crossover, or relatively car-like, SUVs with three rows of seating. They are produced at Toyota’s factory in Princeton, Indiana. + + Toyota is currently working to develop a way to fix the issue, the automaker said in its statement. Owners will be notified of the recall by mid-August, Toyota said. + + If customers have questions, they can contact Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331 or Lexus customer service at 800-255-3987.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations.', 'The curtain airbag on the driver’s side may not deploy properly “during certain crashes” if the driver’s side window is rolled down, according to a statement shared by Toyota Thursday.', 'Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur.', 'In a crash or a vehicle rollover, side curtain airbags deploy to cover the side window opening.', 'They can help prevent an occupant from striking the window glass or parts of the door.', 'In the event of a rollover, they can prevent an occupant’s arm, shoulder or head from hitting the ground or even protect a person from being thrown from the vehicle.', 'Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year.', 'They are closely related to one another.', 'Both are large crossover, or relatively car-like, SUVs with three rows of seating.', 'They are produced at Toyota’s factory in Princeton, Indiana.', 'Toyota is currently working to develop a way to fix the issue, the automaker said in its statement.', 'Owners will be notified of the recall by mid-August, Toyota said.', 'If customers have questions, they can contact Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331 or Lexus customer service at 800-255-3987.']",0.1591725301876412,Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year.,Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur.,-0.9202458262443542,,"Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations.",2024-06-21 +What the price difference between ham and bacon tell us about inflation,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/business/ham-bacon-prices/index.html," + Updated + 3:03 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Shoppers in the meat aisle may have noticed something weird last month: Bacon prices are sizzling, but ham’s not so hot. + + Bacon is more expensive than it was a year ago, with prices up 6.9% from May 2023 to May of this year, according to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pork chops were up too, by 4.6%. But ham prices were lower, falling 5.4% overall and dropping 6.3% when you exclude canned varieties. + + What gives? + + Econ buffs may remember that prices are set according to supply and demand. You’d expect any supply issues — like too many hogs, or too few — to cause prices of each of the items to move up or down, all in the same direction. + + The discrepancy, then, must be caused by differences on the demand side. And it is: Demand for domestic pork has grown in recent years outside of the US. But rising demand, plus the same or reduced supply, should push prices up, not down. + + So again, what gives? + + To understand you have to zoom out, looking at long-term retail pricing strategy and food price trends. + + Glynn Tonsor, a professor in the department of agriculture economics at Kansas State University suggests that if you zoom out, pork prices are indeed going up across the board. + + From May 2019 to May 2024, according to government data shared by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, prices of ham, pork chops and bacon all went up. + + But prices for ham actually went up higher than the prices of bacon and pork chops. That’s because US ham exports have been booming, particularly to Mexico. + + “In the middle of that five-year period, we had that Mexican demand boost,” Tonsor said. “The US market’s competing with Mexico for the same ham,” he added. “So the prices are going to be higher domestically.” + + So that year-over-year decrease you see in the grocery store is really just a drop from those heights. + + Another reason for high bacon prices: Strong demand, even when it’s expensive. + + “People are more willing to pay for bacon than they are maybe some other pork products,” said Christine McCracken, senior animal protein analyst at RaboBank. + + Retailers set prices strategically. So if they know that customers are more willing to spend more on bacon, they might keep those prices high or raise them to make up for decreases in other areas, where customers might spend less. + + Prices in the supermarket aren’t just tied to cost. They’re also determined according to the psychology of how people shop. + + For example: If you see a deal for eggs or pancake mix, you might go into the store for those items. Once inside, you may very well pick up a package of bacon as a treat — because you’ll be making breakfast at home, anyway, and you got a good price for most of the meal. + + It’s also possible that bacon prices are not quite as high as they seem because of discounts. + + “What you see more in bacon is kind of a high-low strategy,” said McCracken. “You’ll keep the price high on a normal day and then put it on super sale.” + + And even if bacon, pork chops and (taking the long view) ham are getting more expensive, they might still be a cheaper protein option than beef — not to mention restaurant meals. + + While grocery prices are flattening, menu prices continue to increase — frustrating customers and prompting some to dine out less often and spend less when they do. + + Grocery prices rose 1% in the 12 months through May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In that period, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5%. They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual joints. + + Chains from Burger King to KFC to Starbucks have started offering menu deals in an effort both to bring people back and restore their reputations as affordable food options. + + Still, buying bacon from the supermarket and making a sandwich at home is cheaper than buying a BLT or a bacon cheeseburger from a restaurant. Even if grocery-store bacon is pricier than it was this time last year.",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Shoppers in the meat aisle may have noticed something weird last month: Bacon prices are sizzling, but ham’s not so hot.', 'Bacon is more expensive than it was a year ago, with prices up 6.9% from May 2023 to May of this year, according to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'Pork chops were up too, by 4.6%.', 'But ham prices were lower, falling 5.4% overall and dropping 6.3% when you exclude canned varieties.', 'What gives?', 'Econ buffs may remember that prices are set according to supply and demand.', 'You’d expect any supply issues —like too many hogs, or too few —to cause prices of each of the items to move up or down, all in the same direction.', 'The discrepancy, then, must be caused by differences on the demand side.', 'And it is: Demand for domestic pork has grown in recent years outside of the US.', 'But rising demand, plus the same or reduced supply, should push prices up, not down.', 'So again, what gives?', 'To understand you have to zoom out, looking at long-term retail pricing strategy and food price trends.', 'Glynn Tonsor, a professor in the department of agriculture economics at Kansas State University suggests that if you zoom out, pork prices are indeed going up across the board.', 'From May 2019 to May 2024, according to government data shared by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, prices of ham, pork chops and bacon all went up.', 'But prices for ham actually went uphigherthan the prices of bacon and pork chops.', 'That’s because US ham exports have been booming, particularly to Mexico.', '“In the middle of that five-year period, we had that Mexican demand boost,” Tonsor said. “', 'The US market’s competing with Mexico for the same ham,” he added. “', 'So the prices are going to be higher domestically.”', 'So that year-over-year decrease you see in the grocery store is really just a drop from those heights.', 'Another reason for high bacon prices: Strong demand, even when it’s expensive.', '“People are more willing to pay for bacon than they are maybe some other pork products,” said Christine McCracken, senior animal protein analyst at RaboBank.', 'Retailers set prices strategically.', 'So if they know that customers are more willing to spend more on bacon, they might keep those prices high or raise them to make up for decreases in other areas, where customers might spend less.', 'Prices in the supermarket aren’t just tied to cost.', 'They’re also determined according to the psychology of how people shop.', 'For example: If you see a deal for eggs or pancake mix, you might go into the store for those items.', 'Once inside, you may very well pick up a package of bacon as a treat — because you’ll be making breakfast at home, anyway, and you got a good price for most of the meal.', 'It’s also possible that bacon prices are not quite as high as they seem because of discounts.', '“What you see more in bacon is kind of a high-low strategy,” said McCracken. “', 'You’ll keep the price high on a normal day and then put it on super sale.”', 'And even if bacon, pork chops and (taking the long view) ham are getting more expensive, they might still be a cheaper protein option than beef — not to mention restaurant meals.', 'While grocery prices are flattening, menu prices continue to increase —frustrating customers and prompting some to dine out less often and spend less when they do.', 'Grocery prices rose 1% in the 12 months through May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'In that period, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5%.', 'They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual joints.', 'Chains from Burger King to KFC to Starbucks have started offering menu deals in an effort both to bring people back and restore their reputations as affordable food options.', 'Still, buying bacon from the supermarket and making a sandwich at home is cheaper than buying a BLT or a bacon cheeseburger from a restaurant.', 'Even if grocery-store bacon is pricier than it was this time last year.']",0.0434690223643447,"Once inside, you may very well pick up a package of bacon as a treat — because you’ll be making breakfast at home, anyway, and you got a good price for most of the meal.","But ham prices were lower, falling 5.4% overall and dropping 6.3% when you exclude canned varieties.",0.6923250048248856,"Grocery prices rose 1% in the 12 months through May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.",So that year-over-year decrease you see in the grocery store is really just a drop from those heights.,2024-06-21 +Car maker fined $6.4m for selling China-made vehicles as Italian,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckrrxj5mvkgo,2024-06-21T04:38:56.922Z,"The Italian government has fined a car company $6.4m (£5m) for allegedly branding vehicles that were made in China as being produced in Italy. DR Automobiles misleadingly marketed cars as being produced in Italy, even though they were mostly made in China, according to the country's competition regulator. The firm said it would appeal against the fine as it had never claimed its vehicles were completely made in Italy. Southern Italy-based DR Automobiles assembles low-cost vehicles, using components produced by Chinese car makers Chery, BAIC and JAC. The regulator said cars under the company's DR and EVO brands were sold as being Italian-made but were largely of Chinese origin. Only minor assembly and finishing work was carried out in Italy, it said. ""This practice has coincided with a period in which the company recorded marked growth in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market,"" the authority added. The move comes as Italy and the European Union (EU) as a whole are cracking down on cars produced outside the trading bloc. Last month, dozens of Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno because they had Italian flag insignia. Fiat's parent company Stellantis said it had followed regulations but has since removed the flags from the vehicles. In April, Alfa Romeo, which is another Italian brand under Stellantis, decided to rename its new, Poland-made Milano model as Junior following pressure from authorities. Last week, the EU threatened to hit Chinese electric vehicles with import taxes of up to 38%, after politicians called them a threat to the region's motor industry. These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% levied on all Chinese electric car imports to the EU. In response, China said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as ""protectionism"". The announcement came after the US last month raised its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%. ",BBC,21/06/2024,"['The Italian government has fined a car company $6.4m (£5m) for allegedly branding vehicles that were made in China as being produced in Italy.', ""DR Automobiles misleadingly marketed cars as being produced in Italy, even though they were mostly made in China, according to the country's competition regulator."", 'The firm said it would appeal against the fine as it had never claimed its vehicles were completely made in Italy.', 'Southern Italy-based DR Automobiles assembles low-cost vehicles, using components produced by Chinese car makers Chery, BAIC and JAC.', ""The regulator said cars under the company's DR and EVO brands were sold as being Italian-made but were largely of Chinese origin."", 'Only minor assembly and finishing work was carried out in Italy, it said. ""', 'This practice has coincided with a period in which the company recorded marked growth in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market,"" the authority added.', 'The move comes as Italy and the European Union (EU) as a whole are cracking down on cars produced outside the trading bloc.', 'Last month, dozens of Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno because they had Italian flag insignia.', ""Fiat's parent company Stellantis said it had followed regulations but has since removed the flags from the vehicles."", 'In April, Alfa Romeo, which is another Italian brand under Stellantis, decided to rename its new, Poland-made Milano model as Junior following pressure from authorities.', ""Last week, the EU threatened to hit Chinese electric vehicles with import taxes of up to 38%, after politicians called them a threat to the region's motor industry."", 'These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% levied on all Chinese electric car imports to the EU.', 'In response, China said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as ""protectionism"".', 'The announcement came after the US last month raised its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%.']",-0.085403264872553,"This practice has coincided with a period in which the company recorded marked growth in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market,"" the authority added.","Last week, the EU threatened to hit Chinese electric vehicles with import taxes of up to 38%, after politicians called them a threat to the region's motor industry.",-0.1518184185028076,"This practice has coincided with a period in which the company recorded marked growth in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market,"" the authority added.","Last week, the EU threatened to hit Chinese electric vehicles with import taxes of up to 38%, after politicians called them a threat to the region's motor industry.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +"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.",2024-06-21 +Nvidia’s shares are on fire. The broader market looks less rosy,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/investing/premarket-stocks-trading-nvidia/index.html," + Published + 7:40 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 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. + + Nvidia’s eye-popping gains this year have helped propel the stock market to repeated record highs. But beneath the surface, the rally is looking uneven. + + The S&P 500 index has jumped nearly 15% so far in 2024, notching 31 new peaks along the way. Much of those returns have been driven by the mega-cap Magnificent Seven stocks, which have seen explosive growth as investors pour cash into the burgeoning artificial intelligence boom. + + But beyond that cohort of tech stocks, the market is looking less rosy. The S&P 500 equal-weighted index, which gives every stock the same weighting, has risen just 4% this year. + + The information technology and communication services sectors of the benchmark index have gained roughly 29% and 24%, respectively. The S&P 500’s other sectors have notched single-digit gains, excluding real estate, which is lower for the year. + + At the forefront of the market’s meteoric returns is Nvidia. The company briefly surpassed Microsoft this week as the largest public company the world. Nvidia shares are up 164% for the year. + + The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half. Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can create text, images and other media. + + Can Nvidia’s blockbuster gains continue, and what does its outsized market cap mean for the stock rally? + + Before the Bell spoke with Christopher Barto, senior investment analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. + + This interview has been edited for length and clarity. + + Before the Bell: Are you worried that the stock market’s gains aren’t even across the board, and most of it is concentrated in the big tech Magnificent Seven stocks, especially Nvidia? + + I don’t know if it’s necessarily worrisome. I think it’s interesting. + + Coming out of first-quarter earnings, when you exclude the (Magnificent Seven earnings) numbers, growth was actually down 2% year-over-year. So, the majority of the market is struggling. + + There are some bright spots. There are a lot of other semiconductor equipment companies, and there are other companies that are doing well that just aren’t at the market-cap weight that Nvidia is at, and we sort of look at those as presenting opportunities (to buy.) + + Do you think investors are being too reliant on Nvidia and optimism that its stock will continue to climb? + + We could kind of circle back to Apple a year or two ago. They were the largest company in the world. And every single day, it was, “oh, the market depends on Apple.” And then you see the shift a year and a half later, maybe even less than a year, to Nvidia. Now everyone says, “the market is dependent on Nvidia’s earnings.” You’re going to see a kind of a shift in market cap over the years. + + You see the shift in market-cap weighted indices over time, and it’s driven especially by their economic profit. So, in terms of, should investors worry that Nvidia is becoming concentrated? I don’t believe so. + + Do you think Nvidia’s monster run will continue? + + I do not have the answer to that. But I do think that if you want exposure to artificial intelligence and secular mega trends that you’re seeing, you’re going to want to own some of the mega-cap companies like the Googles and the Amazons and the Microsofts and the Metas, because if they’re the ones that are spending on the (graphics processing units that Nvidia makes) and the servers and all the data centers, they have the ability to essentially pull that capital spending at any second to increase their free cash flow. + + (Much) of Nvidia’s revenue is coming from Meta, it’s coming from Google, it’s coming from Amazon. You’re seeing this shift in these companies trying to basically get ahead of AI demand, and those are the kinds of companies that could essentially afford Nvidia’s GPUs at scale like that. + + Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since early April, taking some pressure off America’s unaffordable housing market, reports my colleague Bryan Mena. + + The standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% in the week ending June 20, mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday. That’s down from last week’s 6.95% average and marks the third consecutive weekly decline. Rates are down from a 2024 peak of 7.22%. + + “Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Federal Reserve rate cut,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in a release. “These lower mortgage rates coupled with the gradually improving housing supply bodes well for the housing market.” + + Still, mortgage rates remain higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022, the year the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates to combat inflation. Borrowing costs are poised to ease this year, but it may not be by much. + + Earlier this month, Fed officials penciled in just one interest rate cut for this year, compared to the three they forecast in March. The Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates but its actions do influence them through the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which moves in anticipation of the Fed’s policy moves. Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% this year. + + Read more here. + + The OpenAI co-founder who left the high-flying artificial intelligence startup last month has announced his next venture: a company dedicated to building safe, powerful artificial intelligence that could become a rival to his old employer. + + Ilya Sutskever announced plans for the new company, aptly named Safe Superintelligence Inc., in a post on X Wednesday, reports my colleague Clare Duffy. + + “SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus. Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI,” a statement posted to the company’s website reads. “We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead. This way, we can scale in peace.” + + The announcement comes amid growing concerns in the tech world and beyond that AI may be advancing more quickly than research on using the technology safely and responsibly, as well as a dearth of regulation that has left tech companies largely free to set safety guidelines for themselves. + + Sutskever is considered one of the early pioneers of the AI revolution. As a student, he worked in a machine learning lab under Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” where they created an AI startup that was later acquired by Google. Sutskever then worked on Google’s AI research team, before helping to found what would become the maker of ChatGPT. + + Read more here.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['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.', 'Nvidia’s eye-popping gains this year have helped propel the stock market to repeated record highs.', 'But beneath the surface, the rally is looking uneven.', 'The S&P 500 index has jumped nearly 15% so far in 2024, notching 31 new peaks along the way.', 'Much of those returns have been driven by the mega-cap Magnificent Seven stocks, which have seen explosive growth as investors pour cash into the burgeoning artificial intelligence boom.', 'But beyond that cohort of tech stocks, the market is looking less rosy.', 'The S&P 500 equal-weighted index, which gives every stock the same weighting, has risen just 4% this year.', 'The information technology and communication services sectors of the benchmark index have gained roughly 29% and 24%, respectively.', 'The S&P 500’s other sectors have notched single-digit gains, excluding real estate, which is lower for the year.', 'At the forefront of the market’s meteoric returns is Nvidia.', 'The company briefly surpassed Microsoft this week as the largest public company the world.', 'Nvidia shares are up 164% for the year.', 'The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half.', 'Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can create text, images and other media.', 'Can Nvidia’s blockbuster gains continue, and what does its outsized market cap mean for the stock rally?', 'Before the Bell spoke with Christopher Barto, senior investment analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group.', 'This interview has been edited for length and clarity.', 'Before the Bell: Are you worried that the stock market’s gains aren’t even across the board, and most of it is concentrated in the big tech Magnificent Seven stocks, especially Nvidia?', 'I don’t know if it’s necessarily worrisome.', 'I think it’s interesting.', 'Coming out of first-quarter earnings, when you exclude the (Magnificent Seven earnings) numbers, growth was actually down 2% year-over-year.', 'So, the majority of the market is struggling.', 'There are some bright spots.', 'There are a lot of other semiconductor equipment companies, and there are other companies that are doing well that just aren’t at the market-cap weight that Nvidia is at, and we sort of look at those as presenting opportunities (to buy.)', 'Do you think investors are being too reliant on Nvidia and optimism that its stock will continue to climb?', 'We could kind of circle back to Apple a year or two ago.', 'They were the largest company in the world.', 'And every single day, it was, “oh, the market depends on Apple.”', 'And then you see the shift a year and a half later, maybe even less than a year, to Nvidia.', 'Now everyone says, “the market is dependent on Nvidia’s earnings.”', 'You’re going to see a kind of a shift in market cap over the years.', 'You see the shift in market-cap weighted indices over time, and it’s driven especially by their economic profit.', 'So, in terms of, should investors worry that Nvidia is becoming concentrated?', 'I don’t believe so.', 'Do you think Nvidia’s monster run will continue?', 'I do not have the answer to that.', 'But I do think that if you want exposure to artificial intelligence and secular mega trends that you’re seeing, you’re going to want to own some of the mega-cap companies like the Googles and the Amazons and the Microsofts and the Metas, because if they’re the ones that are spending on the (graphics processing units that Nvidia makes) and the servers and all the data centers, they have the ability to essentially pull that capital spending at any second to increase their free cash flow.', '(Much) of Nvidia’s revenue is coming from Meta, it’s coming from Google, it’s coming from Amazon.', 'You’re seeing this shift in these companies trying to basically get ahead of AI demand, and those are the kinds of companies that could essentially afford Nvidia’s GPUs at scale like that.', 'Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since early April, taking some pressure off America’s unaffordable housing market, reports my colleague Bryan Mena.', 'The standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% in the week ending June 20, mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday.', 'That’s down from last week’s 6.95% average and marks the third consecutive weekly decline.', 'Rates are down from a 2024 peak of 7.22%.', '��Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Federal Reserve rate cut,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in a release. “', 'These lower mortgage rates coupled with the gradually improving housing supply bodes well for the housing market.”', 'Still, mortgage rates remain higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022, the year the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates to combat inflation.', 'Borrowing costs are poised to ease this year, but it may not be by much.', 'Earlier this month, Fed officials penciled in just one interest rate cut for this year, compared to the three they forecast in March.', 'The Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates but its actions do influence them through the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which moves in anticipation of the Fed’s policy moves.', 'Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% this year.', 'Read more here.', 'The OpenAI co-founder who left the high-flying artificial intelligence startup last month has announced his next venture: a company dedicated to building safe, powerful artificial intelligence that could become a rival to his old employer.', 'Ilya Sutskever announced plans for the new company, aptly named Safe Superintelligence Inc., in a post on X Wednesday, reports my colleague Clare Duffy.', '“SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus.', 'Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI,” a statement posted to the company’s website reads. “', 'We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead.', 'This way, we can scale in peace.”', 'The announcement comes amid growing concerns in the tech world and beyond that AI may be advancing more quickly than research on using the technology safely and responsibly, as well as a dearth of regulation that has left tech companies largely free to set safety guidelines for themselves.', 'Sutskever is considered one of the early pioneers of the AI revolution.', 'As a student, he worked in a machine learning lab under Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” where they created an AI startup that was later acquired by Google.', 'Sutskever then worked on Google’s AI research team, before helping to found what would become the maker of ChatGPT.', 'Read more here.']",0.2134406697419212,"But I do think that if you want exposure to artificial intelligence and secular mega trends that you’re seeing, you’re going to want to own some of the mega-cap companies like the Googles and the Amazons and the Microsofts and the Metas, because if they’re the ones that are spending on the (graphics processing units that Nvidia makes) and the servers and all the data centers, they have the ability to essentially pull that capital spending at any second to increase their free cash flow.","Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since early April, taking some pressure off America’s unaffordable housing market, reports my colleague Bryan Mena.",0.2372473362953432,"The information technology and communication services sectors of the benchmark index have gained roughly 29% and 24%, respectively.","Coming out of first-quarter earnings, when you exclude the (Magnificent Seven earnings) numbers, growth was actually down 2% year-over-year.",2024-06-21 +Housing: Parties battle over help for first-time buyers and renters,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ggenv37eqo,2024-06-20T12:26:03.858Z,"Labour and the Conservatives have accused each other of failing to match promises on housing, in what has become a key battleground in the election campaign. The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000. Meanwhile, Labour said its more ambitious plans for energy efficiency in rental homes would protect tenants from higher energy bills. Many people who have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote said that housing was the most important issue for them during this election. The threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 until April next year. The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250. Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is not standing for re-election, said the Conservatives had a ""clear plan"" to help people get on to the housing ladder, and accused Labour of ""hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April"". Labour have said they would keep the current stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers, but speaking on Thursday leader Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to extending it as proposed by the Conservative manifesto. ""In the Budget the government set out clearly its plan, that was costed, in relation to stamp duty and we will hold to that because it's fully costed,"" Sir Keir said. He said the Conservatives' proposal on stamp duty was ""another example"" of an unfunded commitment, which he would not follow. Analysts point out that stamp duty is primarily paid by those buying larger homes, or in more expensive areas. Potential savings would not benefit everyone, as some would not need to pay it anyway. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price for first-time buyers in Britain in April 2024 was £236,000, which would not be subject to any stamp duty. Meanwhile, Labour has pledged swift action to protect renters, and claimed that tenants would be ""better off"" under them than under the Conservatives. It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election. Labour also said it would require all landlords to bring rental homes up to Energy Performance Certificate rating C by 2030, which it claims will save the average tenant £250 a year. ""This is a policy that the current government was committed to and then abandoned,"" said Ed Miliband, shadow secretary for climate change and net zero. ""They abandoned a million renters and sold them down the river. These are people living in homes that are cold and damp. Labour is on their side and we will work with landlords to make sure this happens in a way that is good for renters."" Such a policy would be a massive undertaking and questions remain over whether it is achievable, following concerns raised by charities over the quality of insulation fittings under government schemes. But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"". Asked about the costs to landlords of making properties more energy efficient, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ""I don’t think this will be too significant for them... but what we can’t have is a situation where people are in homes that are damp, that are hazardous to health. ""A lot of landlords recognise that safe, warm homes are what we should be providing,"" she added. The Conservatives would build homes, prioritising brownfield development. They would permanently waive stamp duty tax for first-time buyers of properties costing up to £425,000. This threshold was raised temporarily and is due to revert to £300,000 in March 2025. Labour would reform planning rules, fast-forward development on brownfield and what it calls “grey belt” land such as car parks. It wants to extend an existing scheme, which helps people get a mortgage with a smaller deposit and is backing more rights for renters. The Liberal Democrats want additional social housing and new “garden cities”. They support local authorities that want to end the ""right to buy"" policy for council housing, ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies the default, and create a national register of licensed landlords. The Green Party would invest in new social housing and bring empty properties back into use. They would set higher environmental standards for new builds and would require more affordable units. They support rent controls and an eviction ban. The Scottish National Party has declared a national housing emergency and is promising funding for new affordable homes across Scotland, including for rural and islands projects. Plaid Cymru would expand social housing and support the Welsh construction industry. The party would allow local authorities to buy back more second homes and holiday lets. They want a ban on no-fault evictions and rent controls. Reform would fast-track planning, offer tax incentives for development on brownfield sites and give tax breaks to small-scale landlords. People born in the UK would be given priority for social housing. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Labour and the Conservatives have accused each other of failing to match promises on housing, in what has become a key battleground in the election campaign.', 'The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000.', 'Meanwhile, Labour said its more ambitious plans for energy efficiency in rental homes would protect tenants from higher energy bills.', 'Many people who have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote said that housing was the most important issue for them during this election.', 'The threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 until April next year.', 'The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250.', 'Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is not standing for re-election, said the Conservatives had a ""clear plan"" to help people get on to the housing ladder, and accused Labour of ""hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April"".', 'Labour have said they would keep the current stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers, but speaking on Thursday leader Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to extending it as proposed by the Conservative manifesto. ""', 'In the Budget the government set out clearly its plan, that was costed, in relation to stamp duty and we will hold to that because it\'s fully costed,"" Sir Keir said.', 'He said the Conservatives\' proposal on stamp duty was ""another example"" of an unfunded commitment, which he would not follow.', 'Analysts point out that stamp duty is primarily paid by those buying larger homes, or in more expensive areas.', 'Potential savings would not benefit everyone, as some would not need to pay it anyway.', 'According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price for first-time buyers in Britain in April 2024 was £236,000, which would not be subject to any stamp duty.', 'Meanwhile, Labour has pledged swift action to protect renters, and claimed that tenants would be ""better off"" under them than under the Conservatives.', 'It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election.', 'Labour also said it would require all landlords to bring rental homes up to Energy Performance Certificate rating C by 2030, which it claims will save the average tenant £250 a year. ""', 'This is a policy that the current government was committed to and then abandoned,"" said Ed Miliband, shadow secretary for climate change and net zero. ""', 'They abandoned a million renters and sold them down the river.', 'These are people living in homes that are cold and damp.', 'Labour is on their side and we will work with landlords to make sure this happens in a way that is good for renters.""', 'Such a policy would be a massive undertaking and questions remain over whether it is achievable, following concerns raised by charities over the quality of insulation fittings under government schemes.', 'But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"".', 'Asked about the costs to landlords of making properties more energy efficient, Labour\'s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ""I don’t think this will be too significant for them... but what we can’t have is a situation where people are in homes that are damp, that are hazardous to health. ""', 'A lot of landlords recognise that safe, warm homes are what we should be providing,"" she added.', 'The Conservatives would build homes, prioritising brownfield development.', 'They would permanently waive stamp duty tax for first-time buyers of properties costing up to £425,000.', 'This threshold was raised temporarily and is due to revert to £300,000 in March 2025.', 'Labour would reform planning rules, fast-forward development on brownfield and what it calls “grey belt” land such as car parks.', 'It wants to extend an existing scheme, which helps people get a mortgage with a smaller deposit and is backing more rights for renters.', 'The Liberal Democrats want additional social housing and new “garden cities”.', 'They support local authorities that want to end the ""right to buy"" policy for council housing, ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies the default, and create a national register of licensed landlords.', 'The Green Party would invest in new social housing and bring empty properties back into use.', 'They would set higher environmental standards for new builds and would require more affordable units.', 'They support rent controls and an eviction ban.', 'The Scottish National Party has declared a national housing emergency and is promising funding for new affordable homes across Scotland, including for rural and islands projects.', 'Plaid Cymru would expand social housing and support the Welsh construction industry.', 'The party would allow local authorities to buy back more second homes and holiday lets.', 'They want a ban on no-fault evictions and rent controls.', 'Reform would fast-track planning, offer tax incentives for development on brownfield sites and give tax breaks to small-scale landlords.', 'People born in the UK would be given priority for social housing.']",0.1499755604911118,"But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"".","It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election.",0.707322932779789,"The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000.","The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250.",2024-06-21 +Chinese cities desperate for cash are chasing companies for taxes — some from the 1990s,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/china-local-government-tax-crackdown-intl-hnk/index.html," + Published + 7:47 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Authorities in cash-strapped Chinese cities are chasing companies for taxes dating back years, and in some cases decades, as they try to plug a hole blown in their finances by the real estate crisis. + + At least eight major listed companies in China have disclosed that they’ve received demands to pay historical taxes, in one case going as far back as the 1990s, in a development that has caused an uproar online and damaged already fragile business confidence. + + V V Food & Beverage, the country’s largest soy milk producer, said last week that one of its subsidiaries had received a demand for payment totaling 85 million yuan ($11.7 million) from the government of Zhijiang city in the central province of Hubei. + + The Zhijiang tax bureau said it recently found that the company had failed to file tax returns for 16 years from 1994 to 2009, the company said in a June 12 statement. + + The beverage maker isn’t the only one to fall foul of the apparent tax crackdown. At least seven other listed companies have reported similar demands over the past few months. In some cases, the companies have had to suspend production and lay off workers because they couldn’t absorb the hefty tax bills and penalties. + + The crackdown suggests local governments are searching for another way to fill their coffers, as they struggle under mounting financial stress because of a persistent property slump and economic weakness. The authorities have also publicized efforts to work more closely with police to find tax offenders, which has caused even more alarm. + + “Local governments in China are facing intense pressure to meet revenue targets, especially amidst economic slowdowns and broader fiscal challenges,” said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies. + + Regional governments have long relied on land sales as a major source of revenue, which are used to pay for everything from roads to healthcare. But a real estate crisis since 2021 has diminished that source of funding. + + Over the past year, local governments have turned to extraordinary measures to raise cash or cut spending, including fining restaurants for serving shredded cucumber on noodles without a license or cutting fuel subsidies in the middle of winter. + + After the tax crackdown went viral on social media, the State Administration of Taxation issued a statement Tuesday, trying to calm nerves. + + It acknowledged that some tax authorities had been inspecting companies for potential misconduct but denied that it had launched “any nationwide, industry-specific or centralized tax inspections.” + + “We fully understand the concerns of the business community and the public, “ it added. + + The admission has whipped up speculation online this week that the establishment of “Police & Taxation Joint Combat Centers” in some parts of the country will result in much more aggressive taxation policies to come. The centers, which enable local police and taxation authorities to share intelligence and manpower, were first trialed in the city of Yichun in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2021. + + And the central government’s attempt to reassure has jarred with the local crackdowns, causing confusion and fear. + + Investigating possible back taxes from 20 or 30 years ago seems “extreme,” said Frank Tian Xie, a professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken. + + “If those companies indeed owed taxes before, why didn’t the authority go after them right away? … Why isn’t it the government’s negligence in tax collection that resulted in this fiasco?” he said. + + The resulting payments, including the unpaid tax, fines and interest could be “exorbitant” and lead to bankruptcies of many companies, he warned. + + The crackdown poses “severe risks to businesses already strained by operational challenges and external economic pressures,” Singleton said. “This could ripple through the economy, potentially exacerbating job losses and dampening investor confidence.” + + Beijing has been trying to reassure the private sector over the past year. Such businesses have become increasingly reluctant to borrow or invest, after years of regulatory crackdowns and stringent Covid restrictions battered their confidence. + + So far, the targets of the probes have been privately owned businesses in a variety of industries. + + V V has warned that its bottomline could take a hit. Last year, the soy milk seller made a net profit of only 209 million yuan ($29 million). And it’s still unsure how much it owes in fines, which could be potentially higher than the actual $11.7 million tax bill. + + Last Wednesday, Ningbo Bohui Chemical Technology, a producer of additives and light fuel oil, said it had to suspend production because of “operating cash difficulties.” The cash crunch was revealed shortly after the Ningbo government asked the company to pay taxes for one of its products sold between July 2023 and March 2024. The company said that would “affect” its net profits by about 500 million yuan ($69 million). + + The tax bureau later said the levy was imposed after a national rule was updated last year. The company said it shouldn’t have been subjected to the tax. + + “It [the new taxes] will have a significant adverse impact on the company’s 2023 performance and future production and operations,” Bohui said in a statement in March. “The company will swing from profits to big losses in 2023.” + + Zangge Mining, a producer of potassium chloride in the western province of Qinghai, said in April that it had received a demand from the Golmud city government to pay back taxes from 2019 to 2023. Including fines, the company needed to pay a total amount of 480 million yuan ($66 million). + + Chongqing-based PKU Healthcare, Shanghai-based Shunho New Materials, Shenzhen-based ChinaLin Securities, and Yunan-based Yixintang Pharmaceutical Group have also paid tax bills to local governments going as far back as seven years, according to separate statements made in March and April. The amounts paid vary from 8 million yuan ($1.1 million) to 310 million yuan ($43 million). + + The first company to report on the trend this year was LianTronics, a major LED display manufacturer. It said in January that the Shenzhen government had asked for payment of 19.8 million yuan ($2.7 million) in back taxes for 2017 and 20.2 million yuan ($2.8 million) in fines.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Authorities in cash-strapped Chinese cities are chasing companies for taxes dating back years, and in some cases decades, as they try to plug a hole blown in their finances by the real estate crisis.', 'At least eight major listed companies in China have disclosed that they’ve received demands to pay historical taxes, in one case going as far back as the 1990s, in a development that has caused an uproar online and damaged already fragile business confidence.', 'V V Food & Beverage, the country’s largest soy milk producer, said last week that one of its subsidiaries had received a demand for payment totaling 85 million yuan ($11.7 million) from the government of Zhijiang city in the central province of Hubei.', 'The Zhijiang tax bureau said it recently found that the company had failed to file tax returns for 16 years from 1994 to 2009, the company said in a June 12 statement.', 'The beverage maker isn’t the only one to fall foul of the apparent tax crackdown.', 'At least seven other listed companies have reported similar demands over the past few months.', 'In some cases, the companies have had to suspend production and lay off workers because they couldn’t absorb the hefty tax bills and penalties.', 'The crackdown suggests local governments are searching for another way to fill their coffers, as they struggle under mounting financial stress because of a persistent property slump and economic weakness.', 'The authorities have also publicized efforts to work more closely with police to find tax offenders, which has caused even more alarm.', '“Local governments in China are facing intense pressure to meet revenue targets, especially amidst economic slowdowns and broader fiscal challenges,” said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies.', 'Regional governments have long relied on land sales as a major source of revenue, which are used to pay for everything from roads to healthcare.', 'But a real estate crisis since 2021 has diminished that source of funding.', 'Over the past year, local governments have turned to extraordinary measures to raise cash or cut spending, including fining restaurants for serving shredded cucumber on noodles without a license or cutting fuel subsidies in the middle of winter.', 'After the tax crackdown went viral on social media, the State Administration of Taxation issued a statement Tuesday, trying to calm nerves.', 'It acknowledged that some tax authorities had been inspecting companies for potential misconduct but denied that it had launched “any nationwide, industry-specific or centralized tax inspections.”', '“We fully understand the concerns of the business community and the public, “ it added.', 'The admission has whipped up speculation online this week that the establishment of “Police & Taxation Joint Combat Centers” in some parts of the country will result in much more aggressive taxation policies to come.', 'The centers, which enable local police and taxation authorities to share intelligence and manpower, were first trialed in the city of Yichun in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2021.', 'And the central government’s attempt to reassure has jarred with the local crackdowns, causing confusion and fear.', 'Investigating possible back taxes from 20 or 30 years ago seems “extreme,” said Frank Tian Xie, a professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken.', '“If those companies indeed owed taxes before, why didn’t the authority go after them right away? …', 'Why isn’t it the government’s negligence in tax collection that resulted in this fiasco?”', 'he said.', 'The resulting payments, including the unpaid tax, fines and interest could be “exorbitant” and lead to bankruptcies of many companies, he warned.', 'The crackdown poses “severe risks to businesses already strained by operational challenges and external economic pressures,” Singleton said. “', 'This could ripple through the economy, potentially exacerbating job losses and dampening investor confidence.”', 'Beijing has been trying to reassure the private sector over the past year.', 'Such businesses have become increasingly reluctant to borrow or invest, after years of regulatory crackdowns and stringent Covid restrictions battered their confidence.', 'So far, the targets of the probes have been privately owned businesses in a variety of industries.', 'V V has warned that its bottomline could take a hit.', 'Last year, the soy milk seller made a net profit of only 209 million yuan ($29 million).', 'And it’s still unsure how much it owes in fines, which could be potentially higher than the actual $11.7 million tax bill.', 'Last Wednesday, Ningbo Bohui Chemical Technology, a producer of additives and light fuel oil, saidit had to suspend production because of “operating cash difficulties.”', 'The cash crunch was revealed shortly after the Ningbo government asked the company to pay taxes for one of its products sold between July 2023 and March 2024.', 'The company said that would “affect” its net profits by about 500 million yuan ($69 million).', 'The tax bureau later said the levy was imposed after a national rule was updated last year.', 'The company said it shouldn’t have been subjected to the tax.', '“It [the new taxes] will have a significant adverse impact on the company’s 2023 performance and future production and operations,” Bohui said in a statement in March. “', 'The company will swing from profits to big losses in 2023.”', 'Zangge Mining, a producer of potassium chloride in the western province of Qinghai, said in April that it had received a demand from the Golmud city government to pay back taxes from 2019 to 2023.', 'Including fines, the company needed to pay a total amount of 480 million yuan ($66 million).', 'Chongqing-based PKU Healthcare, Shanghai-based Shunho New Materials, Shenzhen-based ChinaLin Securities, and Yunan-based Yixintang Pharmaceutical Group have also paid tax bills to local governments going as far back as seven years, according to separate statements made in March and April.', 'The amounts paid vary from 8 million yuan ($1.1 million) to 310 million yuan ($43 million).', 'The first company to report on the trend this year was LianTronics, a major LED display manufacturer.', 'It said in January that the Shenzhen government had asked for payment of 19.8 million yuan ($2.7 million) in back taxes for 2017 and 20.2 million yuan ($2.8 million) in fines.']",-0.1240802277900936,"The centers, which enable local police and taxation authorities to share intelligence and manpower, were first trialed in the city of Yichun in the southeastern province of Jiangxi in 2021.","The crackdown poses “severe risks to businesses already strained by operational challenges and external economic pressures,” Singleton said. “",-0.4190706585844357,Beijing has been trying to reassure the private sector over the past year.,V V has warned that its bottomline could take a hit.,2024-06-21 +Elon Musk’s multi-billion paycheck just got approved by stockholders. That could be a fraction of what’s coming,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/business/elon-musk-next-pay-package-tesla/index.html," + Updated + 1:40 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Tesla shareholders on Thursday confirmed they want Elon Musk to get a massive record pay package for running Tesla for the last six years. The question now is, how much will he get going forward? + + The package, made up of 303 million stock options worth more than $47 billion based on the current value of Tesla shares, was thrown out in January by a judge in Delaware, where Tesla has been incorporated. Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled in favor of a shareholder suit that the process by which Musk was awarded the options was “deeply flawed” and did not pass the burden of fairness. + + It’s not clear if even with the new shareholder vote that Musk will have the options returned to him, according to legal experts. + + “It’s not an automatic fix. It doesn’t override the decision,” Samantha Crispin, partner and chair of the corporate department at global law firm Baker Botts, told CNN. “The chancellor found a number of defects in the process.” + + But Tesla shareholders also approved moving Tesla’s state of incorporation to Texas, partly in reaction to the Delaware decision. So even if the courts in Delaware continue to rule against the pay package, the Tesla board could grant a new stock option award to Musk, although there would be negative tax implications for doing so rather than simply voting to restore the earlier options. + + Musk, who is not paid any kind of cash salary or bonus at Tesla, has been essentially working for free for more than a year, since Tesla hit the financial targets that awarded him the last of the options available in the 2018 package. + + It is clear that Musk believes he needs to receive additional stock options. Earlier this year he said he would not want to grow Tesla to become a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics — areas where he promised growth — without a compensation plan that would give him ownership of around 25% of the company’s stock. That would be about double the roughly 13% stake he currently owns. Although, if the 303 million stock options just re-approved by shareholders are restored, and if he exercises those options, his stake would top 20%. + + “I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk tweeted in January shortly before McCormick’s ruling. “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” But Musk has suggested that the question of a new pay package would likely be delayed until questions about the 2018 package are finally settled. + + Musk was not asked about a new pay package at Thursday’s annual shareholder’s meeting, which observers might consider an absolute love fest as shareholders heaped praise on the billionaire tech mogul. + + But the Tesla board made clear it believes some form of significant compensation is crucial  to keeping him focused on Tesla and the challenges ahead, including his promises about making self-driving cars and humanoid robots widely available. + + “What we recognized in 2018 and continue to recognize today is that one thing Elon most certainly does not have is unlimited time,” Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm wrote to Tesla shareholders ahead of the most recent vote. “Nor does he face any shortage of ideas and other places he can make an incredible difference in the world. We want those ideas, that energy and that time to be at Tesla, for the benefit of you, our owners.” + + Other Musk fans in the investment community also want to see him get additional shares of Tesla, even if that means their own holdings are diluted. They see Musk as the driving force behind Tesla’s success, and crucial for its success into the future. Some are particularly eager to see him execute his plans for self-driving cars and robotaxis that they believe will change the economics of personal transportation even more than Tesla has changed the auto industry by spurring widespread use of EVs. + + “The idea of him acquiring more shares doesn’t scare me,” said Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at ARK Invest, which has the most bullish forecast for Tesla. “I think look at this as an extreme pivotal moment. That’s why it’s important to have Elon at Tesla and engaged and incentivized appropriately.” + + Musk told shareholders Thursday he’s not planning on going anywhere, and said he thinks Tesla could succeed even without him, although he described himself as an “accelerant” to that success. + + It’s not clear how much any additional holdings would be needed to provide Musk with financial incentives to focus on Tesla, and take him to unprecedented levels of wealth. If the company’s stock does as well as Musk and his fans predict, his current holdings would appreciate in value so much that his 2018 $47 billion pay package will look like an afterthought. + + Ark Invest has a five-year target price for Tesla shares at $2,600 a share. That would be a 1,300% gain from its current value, something that would lift its total market cap to about $8 trillion, or more than the current values of Microsoft and Apple, combined, by 2029. + + Even if Musk doesn’t get the options from 2018 restored, his current holdings of 411 million shares, which are today worth a mere $73 billion, would be worth more than $1 trillion if Tesla shares hit that $2,600 target. That likely would make Musk the world’s first trillionaire, with his net worth rising more than the current net worths of the next five people on Bloomberg’s Billionaires list — Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Bill Gates — combined. And that doesn’t even count his holdings in other companies such as SpaceX. + + Not everyone on that list got there through packages of stock options. For example, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook, both took large stakes in their companies as founders, but neither has received stock grants or options since those companies had initial public offerings in 1997 and 2012, respectively. + + In her decision, McCormick rejected the argument that Musk would be uncompensated if the package was thrown out, writing, “Musk’s preexisting equity stake provided him tens of billions of dollars for his efforts.”",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Tesla shareholders on Thursday confirmed they want Elon Musk to get a massive record pay package for running Tesla for the last six years.', 'The question now is, how much will he get going forward?', 'The package, made up of 303 million stock options worth more than $47 billion based on the current value of Tesla shares, was thrown out in January by a judge in Delaware, where Tesla has been incorporated.', 'Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled in favor of a shareholder suit that the process by which Musk was awarded the options was “deeply flawed” and did not pass the burden of fairness.', 'It’s not clear if even with the new shareholder vote that Musk will have the options returned to him, according to legal experts.', '“It’s not an automatic fix.', 'It doesn’t override the decision,” Samantha Crispin, partner and chair of the corporate department at global law firm Baker Botts, told CNN. “', 'The chancellor found a number of defects in the process.”', 'But Tesla shareholders also approved moving Tesla’s state of incorporation to Texas, partly in reaction to the Delaware decision.', 'So even if the courts in Delaware continue to rule against the pay package, the Tesla board could grant a new stock option award to Musk, although there would be negative tax implications for doing so rather than simply voting to restore the earlier options.', 'Musk, who is not paid any kind of cash salary or bonus at Tesla, has been essentially working for free for more than a year, since Tesla hit the financial targets that awarded him the last of the options available in the 2018 package.', 'It is clear that Musk believes he needs to receive additional stock options.', 'Earlier this year he said he would not want to grow Tesla to become a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics — areas where he promised growth — without a compensation plan that wouldgive him ownership of around 25% of the company’s stock.', 'That would be about double the roughly 13% stake he currently owns.', 'Although, if the 303 million stock options just re-approved by shareholders are restored, and if he exercises those options, his stake would top 20%.', '“I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control.', 'Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk tweeted in January shortly before McCormick’s ruling. “', 'Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.”', 'But Musk has suggested that the question of a new pay package would likely be delayed until questions about the 2018 package are finally settled.', 'Musk was not asked about a new pay package at Thursday’s annual shareholder’s meeting, which observers might consider an absolute love fest as shareholders heaped praise on the billionaire tech mogul.', 'But the Tesla board made clear it believes some form of significant compensation is crucial to keeping him focused on Tesla and the challenges ahead, including his promises about making self-driving cars and humanoid robots widely available.', '“What we recognized in 2018 and continue to recognize today is that one thing Elon most certainly does not have is unlimited time,” Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm wrote to Tesla shareholders ahead of the most recent vote. “', 'Nor does he face any shortage of ideas and other places he can make an incredible difference in the world.', 'We want those ideas, that energy and that time to be at Tesla, for the benefit of you, our owners.”', 'Other Musk fans in the investment community also want to see him get additional shares of Tesla, even if that means their own holdings are diluted.', 'They see Musk as the driving force behind Tesla’s success, and crucial for its success into the future.', 'Some are particularly eager to see him execute his plans for self-driving cars and robotaxis that they believe will change the economics of personal transportation even more than Tesla has changed the auto industry by spurring widespread use of EVs.', '“The idea of him acquiring more shares doesn’t scare me,” said Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at ARK Invest, which has the most bullish forecast for Tesla. “', 'I think look at this as an extreme pivotal moment.', 'That’s why it’s important to have Elon at Tesla and engaged and incentivized appropriately.”', 'Musk told shareholders Thursday he’s not planning on going anywhere, and said he thinks Tesla could succeed even without him, although he described himself as an “accelerant” to that success.', 'It’s not clear how much any additional holdings would be needed to provide Musk with financial incentives to focus on Tesla, and take him to unprecedented levels of wealth.', 'If the company’s stock does as well as Musk and his fans predict, his current holdings would appreciate in value so much that his 2018 $47 billion pay package will look like an afterthought.', 'Ark Invest has a five-year target price for Tesla shares at $2,600 a share.', 'That would be a 1,300% gain from its current value, something that would lift its total market cap to about $8 trillion, or more than the current values of Microsoft and Apple, combined, by 2029.', 'Even if Musk doesn’t get the options from 2018 restored, his current holdings of 411 million shares, which are today worth a mere $73 billion, would be worth more than $1 trillion if Tesla shares hit that $2,600 target.', 'That likely would make Musk the world’s first trillionaire, with his net worth rising more than the current net worths of the next five people on Bloomberg’s Billionaires list — Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Bill Gates — combined.', 'And that doesn’t even count his holdings in other companies such as SpaceX. Not everyone on that list got there through packages of stock options.', 'For example, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook, both took large stakes in their companies as founders, but neither has received stock grants or options since those companies had initial public offerings in 1997 and 2012, respectively.', 'In her decision, McCormick rejected the argument that Musk would be uncompensated if the package was thrown out, writing, “Musk’s preexisting equity stake provided him tens of billions of dollars for his efforts.”']",0.3231768302865287,"But the Tesla board made clear it believes some form of significant compensation is crucial to keeping him focused on Tesla and the challenges ahead, including his promises about making self-driving cars and humanoid robots widely available.","In her decision, McCormick rejected the argument that Musk would be uncompensated if the package was thrown out, writing, “Musk’s preexisting equity stake provided him tens of billions of dollars for his efforts.”",0.668275777498881,"That would be a 1,300% gain from its current value, something that would lift its total market cap to about $8 trillion, or more than the current values of Microsoft and Apple, combined, by 2029.",Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled in favor of a shareholder suit that the process by which Musk was awarded the options was “deeply flawed” and did not pass the burden of fairness.,2024-06-21 +Baltimore bridge: Some crew of crashed ship cleared to head home,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czvvze44egqo,2024-06-20T16:58:11.994Z,"Some crew members on the cargo ship that struck a major bridge in Baltimore are set to return home after nearly three months on the vessel, according to the cargo ship's management company. Earlier this week, Baltimore officials dropped a petition that would have prevented the crew members from leaving so that they could be questioned. The 21 seafarers, predominantly from India, have been stranded on the MV Dali since it crashed into Baltimore's iconic Francis Scott Key bridge on 26 March, causing it to collapse. Six construction workers who were on the bridge were killed in the incident, which remains the focus of two investigations from the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The crash sent the mile-long bridge, a regional transportation artery, into Maryland's Patapsco River and across the vessel's deck, blocking the port of Baltimore. The seafarers have lived on the vessel since the crash occurred. They were unable to depart the ship because they were considered witnesses and did not have valid visas or shore passes to enter the US. According to local media reports, a deal reached between the city of Baltimore, the ship's owners, and its management company will now allow some sailors to leave the vessel. But they will have to be made available for depositions even after they leave the US. The number of crew members initially headed home - and their date of departure - is unclear. When contacted by the BBC, Synergy Marine - the ship's management company -spokesperson Darrel Wilson said that the company is ""working to send some crew home"", while ""some will remain to assist with the investigation"". He added that the crew is ""doing well"". Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of Sea - a programme that ministers to ships coming through Baltimore - said there were ""mixed emotions"" on board the ship when he went to meet the sailors on Thursday. ""The ones that get to go home are happy, relieved,"" he said. ""But the ones that are staying are wondering when they will get to go home too. That's added to the mental strain."" He added that he believes some crew members may leave within days. Mr Middleton said that it remains unclear when the remaining sailors will be given shore passes to step off the vessel, or what that will ""look like"" when they are. Some, he said, could ultimately be housed in hotels while the investigations progress, an experience he said could be ""isolating"" without their fellow crew members. Two unions representing the sailors said in May that morale on the ship had ""dipped"" due to ""unfounded fear of personal criminal liability"" and emotional distress. Grace Ocean Private Ltd, which owns the ship, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In court documents filed earlier this week, lawyers for Baltimore said they were made aware last-minute that eight of the seafarers were planning to leave the country as early as Wednesday. Mr Middleton also said he believes that eight sailors are expected to leave. The city initially called for a judge to intervene to prevent that from happening. A deal reached late Wednesday, however, includes a guarantee that the ""vessel interests will produce the witness in question for deposition during the discovery phase"" of legal proceedings, court documents show. Baltimore officials are currently working to determine potential compensation for the incident and have resisted attempts by the Dali's owner to cap damages at $43m (£33.9m). The US Justice Department has already interviewed the Dali's crew as part of its own investigation and has no objection to them leaving the country. After months stranded under the metal and steel remnants of the Key Bridge, the 948ft (289m) ship was towed away last month and is now at a local container terminal. Replacement sailors will be brought in while the ship remains at the terminal, according to CBS, the BBC's news partner. Last week, the shipping channel outside of Baltimore that had been blocked by the crash was re-opened after 11 weeks of closure. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""Some crew members on the cargo ship that struck a major bridge in Baltimore are set to return home after nearly three months on the vessel, according to the cargo ship's management company."", 'Earlier this week, Baltimore officials dropped a petition that would have prevented the crew members from leaving so that they could be questioned.', ""The 21 seafarers, predominantly from India, have been stranded on the MV Dali since it crashed into Baltimore's iconic Francis Scott Key bridge on 26 March, causing it to collapse."", 'Six construction workers who were on the bridge were killed in the incident, which remains the focus of two investigations from the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).', ""The crash sent the mile-long bridge, a regional transportation artery, into Maryland's Patapsco River and across the vessel's deck, blocking the port of Baltimore."", 'The seafarers have lived on the vessel since the crash occurred.', 'They were unable to depart the ship because they were considered witnesses and did not have valid visas or shore passes to enter the US.', ""According to local media reports, a deal reached between the city of Baltimore, the ship's owners, and its management company will now allow some sailors to leave the vessel."", 'But they will have to be made available for depositions even after they leave the US.', 'The number of crew members initially headed home - and their date of departure - is unclear.', 'When contacted by the BBC, Synergy Marine - the ship\'s management company -spokesperson Darrel Wilson said that the company is ""working to send some crew home"", while ""some will remain to assist with the investigation"".', 'He added that the crew is ""doing well"".', 'Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of Sea - a programme that ministers to ships coming through Baltimore - said there were ""mixed emotions"" on board the ship when he went to meet the sailors on Thursday. ""', 'The ones that get to go home are happy, relieved,"" he said. ""', 'But the ones that are staying are wondering when they will get to go home too.', 'That\'s added to the mental strain.""', 'He added that he believes some crew members may leave within days.', 'Mr Middleton said that it remains unclear when the remaining sailors will be given shore passes to step off the vessel, or what that will ""look like"" when they are.', 'Some, he said, could ultimately be housed in hotels while the investigations progress, an experience he said could be ""isolating"" without their fellow crew members.', 'Two unions representing the sailors said in May that morale on the ship had ""dipped"" due to ""unfounded fear of personal criminal liability"" and emotional distress.', 'Grace Ocean Private Ltd, which owns the ship, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.', 'In court documents filed earlier this week, lawyers for Baltimore said they were made aware last-minute that eight of the seafarers were planning to leave the country as early as Wednesday.', 'Mr Middleton also said he believes that eight sailors are expected to leave.', 'The city initially called for a judge to intervene to prevent that from happening.', 'A deal reached late Wednesday, however, includes a guarantee that the ""vessel interests will produce the witness in question for deposition during the discovery phase"" of legal proceedings, court documents show.', ""Baltimore officials are currently working to determine potential compensation for the incident and have resisted attempts by the Dali's owner to cap damages at $43m (£33.9m)."", ""The US Justice Department has already interviewed the Dali's crew as part of its own investigation and has no objection to them leaving the country."", 'After months stranded under the metal and steel remnants of the Key Bridge, the 948ft (289m) ship was towed away last month and is now at a local container terminal.', ""Replacement sailors will be brought in while the ship remains at the terminal, according to CBS, the BBC's news partner."", 'Last week, the shipping channel outside of Baltimore that had been blocked by the crash was re-opened after 11 weeks of closure.']",-0.0486778200216146,"The ones that get to go home are happy, relieved,"" he said. ""","Two unions representing the sailors said in May that morale on the ship had ""dipped"" due to ""unfounded fear of personal criminal liability"" and emotional distress.",-0.1039529868534633,"He added that the crew is ""doing well"".","Two unions representing the sailors said in May that morale on the ship had ""dipped"" due to ""unfounded fear of personal criminal liability"" and emotional distress.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +Nationwide says it’s dropping thousands of pet insurance policies due to inflation,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/business/pet-insurance-cost/index.html," + Published + 3:25 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Taking care of Fido is getting out of reach for more Americans. + + Nationwide Pet, the country’s largest provider of pet insurance, says it is dropping about 100,000 policies between now and next summer to keep up with spiraling costs in vet care. + + The move comes as other types of insurance, from homeowners to vehicles, are increasingly becoming harder to obtain for many Americans. + + “Inflation in the cost of veterinary care and other factors have led to recent underwriting changes and the withdrawal of some products in some states — difficult actions that are necessary to ensure a financially sustainable future for our pet insurance line of business,” Nationwide said in an announcement last week. + + Impacted policyholders will be notified in writing, the company said. + + Nationwide said it’s taking steps like this to continue its business in the future. + + “We certainly empathize with the disappointment many of our pet families feel and will fully stand by the protections for which they have paid through the end of their current term,” Nationwide said. + + Price increases are a double whammy for pet owners whose household finances have been weakened by persistently high inflation and for those who fear for rising instances of “economic euthanasia,” when animals are humanely put to death for financial reasons. + + It’s been an expensive year to keep up with insurance, adding to the influx of high prices hurting American families’ wallets. + + Vehicle insurance rose 20.3% for the 12 months ending in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data. Many factors are behind that trend, including rising car repair costs and more severe and frequent car accidents. + + The home insurance market is also falling apart. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather such as hurricanes, storms and wildfires. Insurers, especially in areas most impacted by extreme weather, are raising their premiums, or pulling out altogether, impacting the affordability and availability of home and fire insurance. + + There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association, previously told CNN. + + The higher costs insurers face from higher replacement costs and re-insurance, the type of insurance used by insurers to limit their own risks, is getting passed down to consumers. Insurers in states like California and Florida have paused issuing policies altogether.",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Taking care of Fido is getting out of reach for more Americans.', 'Nationwide Pet, the country’s largest provider of pet insurance, says it is dropping about 100,000 policies between now and next summer to keep up with spiraling costs in vet care.', 'The move comes as other types of insurance, from homeowners to vehicles, are increasingly becoming harder to obtain for many Americans.', '“Inflation in the cost of veterinary care and other factors have led to recent underwriting changes and the withdrawal of some products in some states — difficult actions that are necessary to ensure a financially sustainable future for our pet insurance line of business,” Nationwide said in an announcement last week.', 'Impacted policyholders will be notified in writing, the company said.', 'Nationwide said it’s taking steps like this to continue its business in the future.', '“We certainly empathize with the disappointment many of our pet families feel and will fully stand by the protections for which they have paid through the end of their current term,” Nationwide said.', 'Price increases are a double whammy for pet owners whose household finances have been weakened by persistently high inflation and for those who fear for rising instances of “economic euthanasia,” when animals are humanely put to death for financial reasons.', 'It’s been an expensive year to keep up with insurance, adding to the influx of high prices hurting American families’ wallets.', 'Vehicle insurance rose 20.3% for the 12 months ending in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data.', 'Many factors are behind that trend, including rising car repair costs and more severe and frequent car accidents.', 'The home insurance market is also falling apart.', 'Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather such as hurricanes, storms and wildfires.', 'Insurers, especially in areas most impacted by extreme weather, are raising their premiums, or pulling out altogether,impacting the affordability and availability ofhome and fire insurance.', 'There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association, previously told CNN.', 'The higher costs insurers face from higher replacement costs and re-insurance, the type of insurance used by insurers to limit their own risks, is getting passed down to consumers.', 'Insurers in states like California and Florida have paused issuing policies altogether.']",-0.0004540339565247,"There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association, previously told CNN.","Price increases are a double whammy for pet owners whose household finances have been weakened by persistently high inflation and for those who fear for rising instances of “economic euthanasia,” when animals are humanely put to death for financial reasons.",-0.5127464945499713,"Vehicle insurance rose 20.3% for the 12 months ending in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data.","Nationwide Pet, the country’s largest provider of pet insurance, says it is dropping about 100,000 policies between now and next summer to keep up with spiraling costs in vet care.",2024-06-21 +"Vitamix recalls almost 570,000 blender parts",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/vitamix-recalls-blender-parts/index.html," + Updated + 6:34 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund. + + After dozens of reports of lacerations from exposed blades, Vitamix announced a recall of about 569,000 blending containers and blade bases for its high-powered blenders. It expands on an extensive recall already issued in 2018 for some of the most expensive and well-known blenders on the market. + + The recall said that the container can separate from the blade base and can expose the blades. Twenty-seven people have reported lacerations to Vitamix, which includes 11 reports from a 2018 recall that affected more than 100,000 units. + + Vitamix is not offering replacements or a refund. All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit. The repair kit includes a protective plastic shroud to put over the blade base as well as additional instructions. + + The company said it worked with Health Canada and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to evaluate the potential remedies, and all three agreed on the repair kit. + + “Vitamix’s top priority is the safety of its customers. To ensure Vitamix has a well-built product, Vitamix products undergo extensive testing, leveraging the 130+ test procedures in Vitamix’s catalog to assess every component for quality and durability,” Vitamix said in a statement. + + Vitamix instructed customers who repaired their blenders in the 2018 recall to stop using those blender parts as well. + + The recall affects all Ascent and Venturist Series 8-ounce blending containers, 20-ounce blending containers, and blade bases. + + Faulty blade bases and blending containers may have been sold separately, according to the recall posted on the CPSC website. + + “The clear containers and black blade bases are included with certain Vitamix Venturist and Ascent Series blenders, such as the Venturist V1200, Ascent A2300, Ascent A2500, Ascent A3300, and Ascent A3500 blenders; and also sold separately, as sets, or bundles in various configurations,” the recall said. + + Ascent blenders can retail for up to $749.95 and the Venturist V1200 can retail for up to $549.95 on the Vitamix website. The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000. + + The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024. Amazon, Vitamix and QVC also sold the products online.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund.', 'After dozens of reports of lacerations from exposed blades, Vitamix announced a recall of about 569,000 blending containers and blade bases for its high-powered blenders.', 'It expands on an extensive recall already issued in 2018 for some of the most expensive and well-known blenders on the market.', 'The recall said that the container can separate from the blade base and can expose the blades.', 'Twenty-seven people have reported lacerations to Vitamix, which includes 11 reports from a 2018 recall that affected more than 100,000 units.', 'Vitamix is not offering replacements or a refund.', 'All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit.', 'The repair kit includes a protective plastic shroud to put over the blade base as well as additional instructions.', 'The company said it worked with Health Canada and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to evaluate the potential remedies, and all three agreed on the repair kit.', '“Vitamix’s top priority is the safety of its customers.', 'To ensure Vitamix has a well-built product, Vitamix products undergo extensive testing, leveraging the 130+ test procedures in Vitamix’s catalog to assess every component for quality and durability,” Vitamix said in a statement.', 'Vitamix instructed customers who repaired their blenders in the 2018 recall to stop using those blender parts as well.', 'The recall affects all Ascent and Venturist Series 8-ounce blending containers, 20-ounce blending containers, and blade bases.', 'Faulty blade bases and blending containers may have been sold separately, according to the recall posted on the CPSC website.', '“The clear containers and black blade bases are included with certain Vitamix Venturist and Ascent Series blenders, such as the Venturist V1200, Ascent A2300, Ascent A2500, Ascent A3300, and Ascent A3500 blenders; and also sold separately, as sets, or bundles in various configurations,” the recall said.', 'Ascent blenders can retail for up to $749.95 and the Venturist V1200 can retail for up to $549.95 on the Vitamix website.', 'The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000.', 'The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024.', 'Amazon, Vitamix and QVC also sold the products online.']",0.1316303586187354,"The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024.","All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit.",-0.3506919741630554,"The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000.","Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund.",2024-06-21 +Scammers tried to steal Graceland. Here’s how to make sure they don’t get your home,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/economy/graceland-title-theft/index.html," + Published + 4:00 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Last month, a much-beloved piece of American history was nearly stolen – but not in a museum heist or a home burglary. Instead, self-proclaimed scammers used a fraudulent real estate scheme. + + In late May, Graceland, Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis home-turned-tourist-attraction, was nearly auctioned off when a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending fraudulently said it had a claim to the house. A Tennessee judge ultimately stopped the sale. + + Experts say rental properties, vacation homes and homes where the owners are deceased can be targets of home title theft. However, despite the high-profile Graceland attempt, these types of scams are still relatively rare. + + Last year, there were a total of 9,521 reported real estate scams, including title theft, according to the FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report — a number that has stayed relatively stable over the past five years. But these crimes have become easier than ever to execute, according to experts. + + Here are some ways to protect yourself: + + Home title fraud occurs when scammers impersonate homeowners to refinance or sell a victim’s property and pocket the money. This type of fraud can be devastating and costly to resolve. + + The scheme can take many forms, but the internet and new technology have made it easier for crooks to carry out, said David Fleck, a real estate fraud attorney in Los Angeles. + + “The way we transfer ownership of property in this country is by signing a deed of some sort in front of a notary who verifies our identity. Then, that document is recorded by the recorder’s officer or the clerk’s office. Their job is to keep the official copy of the document forever,” he said. But new technology has provided an opening for would-be thieves. + + “It’s pretty easy to get a high-quality fake ID online,” Fleck said. “It’s also very easy to get a fake notary stamp online and literally every computer has the technology on it to create believable forged documents.” + + In the case of Graceland last month, the purported scammer presented documents claiming to show that Lisa Marie Presley, the recently deceased daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, had borrowed $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and used Graceland as collateral. + + Actress Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter and the current owner of the property, sued to protect the estate from going to auction, alleging fraud and claiming Naussany had no right to the property. + + Naussany’s documents apparently contained a Florida notary’s forged signature, according to court records. + + In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said his office was looking into the attempted foreclosure auction of Graceland. + + In an email associated with Naussany Investments to CNN, a self-proclaimed scammer claimed responsibility for the attempted home title fraud. + + “I didn’t win this one. I’ve stole (sic) many identities and received monies, we don’t win all,” the email read. + + In a separate email to the New York Times, the alleged scammer wrote that they are based in Nigeria and mostly targeted homes belonging to the dead and elderly, especially in states like Florida and California. They used sensitive documents like birth certificates to facilitate their schemes, according to the Times article. + + Jeremy Miller, director of product and development at Allstate Identity Protection, said scammers are generally attracted to properties like rental homes or vacation homes. + + “When there’s a lot of documentation flying back and forth, some red flags might be missed,” Miller said. “When there might not be anybody living there, or it’s a transient population, it’s a bit easier for them to attack something like that.” + + There isn’t an easy fix for this type of fraud. Fleck said the best recourse is to file a lawsuit so that a court can decide who actually owns the property, which can be costly and time-consuming. + + “Once a fake deed is recorded, the only option for the true owner is to file a special kind of lawsuit called a quiet title action to get the court to figure out who actually owns the property,” he said, estimating that the process often takes more than six months. + + Fortunately, there are ways to thwart home title fraudsters before they list your home for sale or take out a new mortgage in your name. + + There has been a proliferation of commercials for home-deed monitoring services: If something unlawful happens, these services say they will notify you right away — for a cost. + + What these advertisements don’t say is that many US counties offer deed monitoring services free of charge. Before you consider paying for a service, check to see your county’s offerings, Fleck advises. Some states, like Georgia, have an opt-in text alert program that will notify you if there are any changes to your home title. + + Some homeowners may already be protected. An American Land Title Association (ALTA) homeowner’s policy of title insurance covers home title forgery and impersonation post-purchase. ALTA’s similarly named owner’s policy of title insurance provides such coverage only up to the point of closing on your home. + + Overall, said Miller, home title fraud is a form of identity theft, and homeowners should try to look out for anything “that seems a little off.” + + Miller warned that if a crook with your identity goes unchecked, they may try to perpetrate other fraudulent schemes in addition to home title theft. + + There are ways to try to spot an identity thief, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Closely read credit card and bank statements and monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity to detect any signs of identity theft. + + “If it seems strange and it’s related to your finances, or if it’s a letter you get in the mail or an email from a company you don’t recognize, take that extra step to make sure there’s nothing that might be smoke signaling a larger fire,” Miller said. “A lot of times, early detection can help reduce risk.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Last month, a much-beloved piece of American history was nearly stolen – but not in a museum heist or a home burglary.', 'Instead, self-proclaimed scammers used a fraudulent real estate scheme.', 'In late May, Graceland, Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis home-turned-tourist-attraction, was nearly auctioned off when a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending fraudulently said it had a claim to the house.', 'A Tennessee judge ultimately stopped the sale.', 'Experts say rental properties, vacation homes and homes where the owners are deceased can be targets of home title theft.', 'However, despite the high-profile Graceland attempt, these types of scams are still relatively rare.', 'Last year, there were a total of 9,521 reported real estate scams, including title theft, according to the FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report — a number that has stayed relatively stable over the past five years.', 'But these crimes have become easier than ever to execute, according to experts.', 'Here are some ways to protect yourself: Home title fraud occurs when scammers impersonate homeowners to refinance or sell a victim’s property and pocket the money.', 'This type of fraud can be devastating and costly to resolve.', 'The scheme can take many forms, but the internet and new technology have made it easier for crooks to carry out, said David Fleck, a real estate fraud attorney in Los Angeles.', '“The way we transfer ownership of property in this country is by signing a deed of some sort in front of a notary who verifies our identity.', 'Then, that document is recorded by the recorder’s officer or the clerk’s office.', 'Their job is to keep the official copy of the document forever,” he said.', 'But new technology has provided an opening for would-be thieves.', '“It’s pretty easy to get a high-quality fake ID online,” Fleck said. “', 'It’s also very easy to get a fake notary stamp online and literally every computer has the technology on it to create believable forged documents.”', 'In the case of Graceland last month, the purported scammer presented documents claiming to show that Lisa Marie Presley, the recently deceased daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, had borrowed $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and used Graceland as collateral.', 'Actress Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter and the current owner of the property, sued to protect the estate from going to auction, alleging fraud and claiming Naussany had no right to the property.', 'Naussany’s documents apparently contained a Florida notary’s forged signature, according to court records.', 'In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said his office was looking into the attempted foreclosure auction of Graceland.', 'In an email associated with Naussany Investments to CNN, a self-proclaimed scammer claimed responsibility for the attempted home title fraud.', '“I didn’t win this one.', 'I’ve stole (sic) many identities and received monies, we don’t win all,” the email read.', 'In a separate email to the New York Times, the alleged scammer wrote that they are based in Nigeria and mostly targeted homes belonging to the dead and elderly, especially in states like Florida and California.', 'They used sensitive documents like birth certificates to facilitate their schemes, according to the Times article.', 'Jeremy Miller, director of product and development atAllstateIdentity Protection, said scammers are generally attracted to properties like rental homes or vacation homes.', '“When there’s a lot of documentation flying back and forth, some red flags might be missed,” Miller said. “', 'When there might not be anybody living there, or it’s a transient population, it’s a bit easier for them to attack something like that.”', 'There isn’t an easy fix for this type of fraud.', 'Fleck said the best recourse is to file a lawsuit so that a court can decide who actually owns the property, which can be costly and time-consuming.', '“Once a fake deed is recorded, the only option for the true owner is to file a special kind of lawsuit called a quiet title action to get the court to figure out who actually owns the property,” he said, estimating that the process often takes more than six months.', 'Fortunately, there are ways to thwart home title fraudsters before they list your home for sale or take out a new mortgage in your name.', 'There has been a proliferation of commercials for home-deed monitoring services: If something unlawful happens, these services say they will notify you right away — for a cost.', 'What these advertisements don’t say is that many US counties offer deed monitoring services free of charge.', 'Before you consider paying for a service, check to see your county’s offerings, Fleck advises.', 'Some states, like Georgia, have an opt-in text alert program that will notify you if there are any changes to your home title.', 'Some homeowners may already be protected.', 'An American Land Title Association (ALTA) homeowner’s policy of title insurance covers home title forgery and impersonation post-purchase.', 'ALTA’s similarly named owner’s policy of title insurance provides such coverage only up to the point of closing on your home.', 'Overall, said Miller, home title fraud is a form of identity theft, and homeowners should try to look out for anything “that seems a little off.”', 'Miller warned that if a crook with your identity goes unchecked, they may try to perpetrate other fraudulent schemes in addition to home title theft.', 'There are ways to try to spot an identity thief, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Closely read credit card and bank statements and monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity to detect any signs of identity theft.', '“If it seems strange and it’s related to your finances, or if it’s a letter you get in the mail or an email from a company you don’t recognize, take that extra step to make sure there’s nothing that might be smoke signaling a larger fire,” Miller said. “', 'A lot of times, early detection can help reduce risk.”']",-0.0363314157931303,"Jeremy Miller, director of product and development atAllstateIdentity Protection, said scammers are generally attracted to properties like rental homes or vacation homes.",This type of fraud can be devastating and costly to resolve.,0.1503603193495008,"Last year, there were a total of 9,521 reported real estate scams, including title theft, according to the FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report — a number that has stayed relatively stable over the past five years.","In late May, Graceland, Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis home-turned-tourist-attraction, was nearly auctioned off when a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending fraudulently said it had a claim to the house.",2024-06-21 +Washington Post will not bring in Robert Winnett as its top editor after report raised ethical questions,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/media/robert-winnett-washington-post/index.html," + Updated + 9:56 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","The Washington Post said Friday that Robert Winnett, the British journalist who had been slated to take over as the newspaper’s top editor, will no longer join the publication that has been ensnared in a weeks-long crisis over ethics questions. + + “It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of Editor at The Washington Post,” Will Lewis, The Post’s embattled publisher and chief executive, told staff in a Friday morning memo. + + Winnett, who had been tapped this month by Lewis to join The Post following the November election, will now remain deputy editor of London’s Telegraph newspaper. The decision comes after Winnett’s journalistic integrity was questioned in a 3,000-word front page expose published by The Post, which reported that Winnett had previously used materials from a self-described “thief” for reporting. + + The news Winnett will no longer join The Post comes as the Jeff Bezos-owned publication remains engulfed in turmoil over serious journalistic ethics questions facing Lewis, the former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant who has been accused of helping the right-wing media mogul cover up for senior executives in a decade-old UK phone hacking scandal. + + Lewis has denied wrongdoing but recently attempted to suppress stories on the matter, according to private accounts from Sally Buzbee, the former executive editor of The Post, and NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. The allegations have been revived by a lawsuit from Prince Harry and other high-profile figures, in a case which is scheduled to be adjudicated in court early next year. + + Amid questions about Lewis’ role in the phone hacking scandal, additional reporting has raised concerns about his journalistic integrity at large. The Guardian published a story this week accusing Lewis of having once advised then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “clean up” his phone during the so-called “Partygate” scandal. Lewis and Johnson denied the report. + + Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership. Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper this week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere. + + Patience has also worn thin for owner Bezos, who has yet to address the crisis in a meaningful way. In a short memo to top newsroom leadership Tuesday, Bezos reiterated his commitment to “very high” standards, but has yet to take any meaningful action to quell his newsroom’s anger. + + A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday when asked if the Amazon billionaire planned to take any additional steps to right the ship. Thus far, Bezos has tepidly signaled that he is supporting his controversy-plagued publisher, whom he installed into the top role at The Post in January. + + Lewis told staffers in his Friday memo that he will “immediately launch a new search” for a new editor. Lewis said that Matt Murray, the former top editor at The Wall Street Journal who was brought in to take over on an interim basis after Lewis ousted Buzbee, will continue in his role. + + Lewis’ memo, laying out The Post’s future plans, suggested he will remain at the newspaper, despite concerns from staffers. This week, two Pulitzer Prize-winning Post journalists went on the record, calling for leadership changes at the newspaper. + + “I don’t know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand,” David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades and won two Pulitzer Prizes at the newspaper, wrote in a candid Facebook post. “There might be a few, but very very few.” + + Maraniss also zinged Bezos, writing that he is “not of and for the Post or he would understand.” + + Scott Higham, another Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Post, echoed Maraniss’ call for Lewis to exit the newspaper. + + “Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” Higham replied in a comment on Maraniss’ post. “He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.” + + Independent corporate governance experts have also said Lewis should be shown the door. + + Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis. + + Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.” + + “This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.” + + This story has been updated with additional developments and context.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['The Washington Post said Friday that Robert Winnett, the British journalist who had been slated to take over as the newspaper’s top editor, will no longer join the publication that has been ensnared in a weeks-long crisis over ethics questions.', '“It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of Editor at The Washington Post,” Will Lewis, The Post’s embattled publisher and chief executive, told staff in a Friday morning memo.', 'Winnett, who had been tapped this month by Lewis to join The Post following the November election, will now remain deputy editor of London’s Telegraph newspaper.', 'The decision comes after Winnett’s journalistic integrity was questioned in a 3,000-word front page expose published by The Post, which reported that Winnett had previously used materials from a self-described “thief” for reporting.', 'The news Winnett will no longer join The Post comes as the Jeff Bezos-owned publication remains engulfed in turmoil over serious journalistic ethics questions facing Lewis, the former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant who has been accused of helping the right-wing media mogul cover up for senior executives in a decade-old UK phone hacking scandal.', 'Lewis has denied wrongdoing but recently attempted to suppress stories on the matter, according to private accounts from Sally Buzbee, the former executive editor of The Post, and NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.', 'The allegations have been revived by a lawsuit from Prince Harry and other high-profile figures, in a case which is scheduled to be adjudicated in court early next year.', 'Amid questions about Lewis’ role in the phone hacking scandal, additional reporting has raised concerns about his journalistic integrity at large.', 'The Guardian published a story this week accusing Lewis of having once advised then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “clean up” his phone during the so-called “Partygate” scandal.', 'Lewis and Johnson denied the report.', 'Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.', 'Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper this week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere.', 'Patience has also worn thin for owner Bezos, who has yet to address the crisis in a meaningful way.', 'In a short memo to top newsroom leadership Tuesday, Bezos reiterated his commitment to “very high” standards, but has yet to take any meaningful action to quell his newsroom’s anger.', 'A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday when asked if the Amazon billionaire planned to take any additional steps to right the ship.', 'Thus far, Bezos has tepidly signaled that he is supporting his controversy-plagued publisher, whom he installed into the top role at The Post in January.', 'Lewis told staffers in his Friday memo that he will “immediately launch a new search” for a new editor.', 'Lewis said that Matt Murray, the former top editor at The Wall Street Journal who was brought in to take over on an interim basis after Lewis ousted Buzbee, will continue in his role.', 'Lewis’ memo, laying out The Post’s future plans, suggested he will remain at the newspaper, despite concerns from staffers.', 'This week, two Pulitzer Prize-winning Post journalists went on the record, calling for leadership changes at the newspaper.', '“I don’t know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand,” David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades and won two Pulitzer Prizes at the newspaper, wrote in a candid Facebook post. “', 'There might be a few, but very very few.”', 'Maraniss also zinged Bezos, writing that he is “not of and for the Post or he would understand.”', 'Scott Higham, another Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Post, echoed Maraniss’ call for Lewis to exit the newspaper.', '“Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” Higham replied in a comment on Maraniss’ post. “', 'He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.”', 'Independent corporate governance experts have also said Lewis should be shown the door.', 'Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis.', 'Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.”', '“This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “', 'Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”', 'This story has been updated with additional developments and context.']",-0.0125672385016843,"Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”","The news Winnett will no longer join The Post comes as the Jeff Bezos-owned publication remains engulfed in turmoil over serious journalistic ethics questions facing Lewis, the former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant who has been accused of helping the right-wing media mogul cover up for senior executives in a decade-old UK phone hacking scandal.",-0.7369323210282759,"Thus far, Bezos has tepidly signaled that he is supporting his controversy-plagued publisher, whom he installed into the top role at The Post in January.","Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.",2024-06-21 +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.”",2024-06-21 +Aer Lingus to cancel 10-20% of flights during pilots' action,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cldd4l04y4xo,2024-06-20T17:29:26.271Z,"Aer Lingus has said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots. On Tuesday the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday 26 June as part of an ongoing pay dispute. Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"". In a statement issued on Thursday it said details would be communicated to those customers affected ""over the next couple of days"". The airline said customers will be offered a number of choices, with those scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July given the option to change flights for free. ""They will also be able to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher,"" the company said. ""These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus 'Travel Advisory' page will also have up-to-the-minute information on all the options."" Pilots who are members of the IALPA voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike. Aer Lingus said that: ""IALPA's industrial action will have a wholly unnecessary impact on customers who are travelling in the coming weeks, at what is peak holiday season for families. ""The nature of this industrial action will cause a significant impact on our flight schedules."" The airline said it would communicate directly with third-party agents including travel agents and online agents. ""Passengers who booked through a third-party should contact their sales agents for any updates,"" it said Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris said it was ""utterly reprehensible"" that children and families ""could be used as pawns in an industrial relations dispute"" at Aer Lingus. Mr Harris said both sides involved in the Aer Lingus pay dispute need to ""step back from the brink"". The Irish government has made the industrial relations facilities of the state available to help to resolve the dispute, he said. IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement. The figure was well below the 23.8% that the pilots are seeking. Aer Lingus has described the level of increases being sought as ""exorbitant, outrageous and untenable"". IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic. On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"". ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Aer Lingus has said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots.', 'On Tuesday the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday 26 June as part of an ongoing pay dispute.', 'Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"".', 'In a statement issued on Thursday it said details would be communicated to those customers affected ""over the next couple of days"".', 'The airline said customers will be offered a number of choices, with those scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July given the option to change flights for free. ""', 'They will also be able to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher,"" the company said. ""', 'These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus \'Travel Advisory\' page will also have up-to-the-minute information on all the options.""', 'Pilots who are members of the IALPA voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike.', 'Aer Lingus said that: ""IALPA\'s industrial action will have a wholly unnecessary impact on customers who are travelling in the coming weeks, at what is peak holiday season for families. ""', 'The nature of this industrial action will cause a significant impact on our flight schedules.""', 'The airline said it would communicate directly with third-party agents including travel agents and online agents. ""', 'Passengers who booked through a third-party should contact their sales agents for any updates,"" it said Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris said it was ""utterly reprehensible"" that children and families ""could be used as pawns in an industrial relations dispute"" at Aer Lingus.', 'Mr Harris said both sides involved in the Aer Lingus pay dispute need to ""step back from the brink"".', 'The Irish government has made the industrial relations facilities of the state available to help to resolve the dispute, he said.', 'IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement.', 'The figure was well below the 23.8% that the pilots are seeking.', 'Aer Lingus has described the level of increases being sought as ""exorbitant, outrageous and untenable"".', 'IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic.', 'On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"".']",0.0482376408120586,"On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"".",IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement.,-0.5017104612456428,"Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"".","IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic.",2024-06-21 +Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dumps BYD shares following rise in trade tension over Chinese EVs,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/cars/berkshire-hathaway-byd-china-ev-tensions-intl-hnk/index.html," + Published + 4:36 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has further cut its large stake in BYD, which vies with Tesla as the world’s largest electric car (EV) maker, as global trade tensions escalate over Chinese EVs. + + The legendary investor’s conglomerate sold another 1.35 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD on June 11, trimming its stake to 6.9% from 7.02%, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed Monday. The sale was valued at 310.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($40 million). + + It’s the first major sale of BYD shares by Berkshire in ten months and the 14th since August 2022, when it started gradually reducing its stake in China’s top EV maker. BYD shares had closed at a record high in June of that year. + + The latest sale comes as tensions soar over exports of cheap EVs from China. + + The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies. But a flood of cheap models has raised the specter of another trade war with its Western trading partners. + + Last week, the European Union hit EVs imported from China with additional tariffs because of what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undercut European carmakers. + + That is expected to deal a blow to the the country’s manufacturers, which view Europe as a key export market. BYD will face an additional levy of 17.4% on top of the bloc’s existing 10% duty on car imports, according to an announcement from the European Commission. + + Beijing, which has big dreams for its EV industry, has threatened to retaliate. On Monday, it announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork from the EU. + + Tensions had previously escalated between China and the United States over the same issue. In May, the Biden administration quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China, from 25% to 100%, aiming to boost American jobs and manufacturing. + + Buffett said last year that it’s “imperative” for the US and China to settle their differences and “get along with each other.” + + BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades. It overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) at the end of last year as the biggest seller of electric vehicles on the planet. (Tesla regained its position in the first quarter of this year, but they’re neck and neck.) + + In 2008, Berkshire spent $230 million in buying BYD shares at an average of HK$8 ($1.02) apiece. Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis. + + That investment has proved to be one of the firm’s most successful ever. + + In June 2022, the Chinese EV maker hit a record closing high of HK$331.4, about 41 times the price Berkshire had paid originally. + + Since then, Berkshire has been on a selling spree, with its first major sale disclosed in August 2022. + + So far, Berkshire has sold about 149 million shares. + + Berkshire has not disclosed the reason for the sales. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by CNN. + + Last month, Buffett mentioned BYD at Berkshire’s 2024 annual meeting, crediting his closest business partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November, for his call to buy the stock. Munger “was right, big-time,” he said. + + Berkshire still holds 75.7 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD, which were worth about 17.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.3 billion) by Tuesday.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has further cut its large stake in BYD, which vies with Tesla as the world’s largest electric car (EV) maker, as global trade tensions escalate over Chinese EVs.', 'The legendary investor’s conglomerate sold another 1.35 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD on June 11, trimming its stake to 6.9% from 7.02%, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed Monday.', 'The sale was valued at 310.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($40 million).', 'It’s the first major sale of BYD shares by Berkshire in ten months and the 14th since August 2022, when it started gradually reducing its stake in China’s top EV maker.', 'BYD shares had closed at a record high in June of that year.', 'The latest sale comes as tensions soar over exports of cheap EVs from China.', 'The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies.', 'But a flood of cheap models has raised the specter of another trade war with its Western trading partners.', 'Last week, the European Union hit EVs imported from China with additional tariffs because of what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undercut European carmakers.', 'That is expected to deal a blow to the the country’s manufacturers, which view Europe as a key export market.', 'BYD will face an additional levy of 17.4% on top of the bloc’s existing 10% duty on car imports, according to an announcement from the European Commission.', 'Beijing, which has big dreams for its EV industry, has threatened to retaliate.', 'On Monday, it announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork from the EU.', 'Tensions had previously escalated between China and the United States over the same issue.', 'In May, the Biden administration quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China, from 25% to 100%, aiming to boost American jobs and manufacturing.', 'Buffett said last year that it’s “imperative” for the US and China to settle their differences and “get along with each other.”', 'BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades.', 'It overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) at the end of last year as the biggest seller of electric vehicles on the planet. (', 'Tesla regained its positionin the first quarter of this year, but they’re neck and neck.)', 'In 2008, Berkshire spent $230 million in buying BYD shares at an average of HK$8 ($1.02) apiece.', 'Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.', 'That investment has proved to be one of the firm’s most successful ever.', 'In June 2022, the Chinese EV maker hit a record closing high of HK$331.4, about 41 times the price Berkshire had paid originally.', 'Since then, Berkshire has been on a selling spree, with its first major sale disclosed in August 2022.', 'So far, Berkshire has sold about 149 million shares.', 'Berkshire has not disclosed the reason for the sales.', 'The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by CNN.', 'Last month, Buffett mentioned BYD at Berkshire’s 2024 annual meeting, crediting his closest business partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November, for his call to buy the stock.', 'Munger “was right, big-time,” he said.', 'Berkshire still holds 75.7 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD, which were worth about 17.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.3 billion) by Tuesday.']",0.0495863339758024,"The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies.","Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.",0.023138657996529,"BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades.","Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.",2024-06-21 +Why Olive Garden doesn’t want to give discounts,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/olive-garden-discounts/index.html," + Published + 3:07 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Restaurant chains from Applebee’s to McDonald’s have in recent months clocked a troubling trend: Customers watching their budgets are spending less, and dining out less often. So they’ve come up with a solution — offer meal deals and discounts to bring people back. + + But Olive Garden is holding out. + + “We’re not doing that,” said Rick Cardenas, CEO of Olive Garden’s parent company Darden Restaurants, during an analyst call Thursday. “Even at a time that our competitors have ramped up discounting.” + + There’s a reason that so many restaurants are turning to discounts now, after years of avoiding the practice. Since the start of the pandemic, chains have been hiking prices dramatically — partially because of increasing costs, and partially because customers didn’t seem to mind spending more. But recently, diners have started to push back. So restaurants started offering temporary discounts on those higher menu prices. + + The Italian casual dining chain has bucked the trend, making relatively moderate pricing increases and avoiding deep discounts. + + The approach has yielded mixed results. In the past, Olive Garden used to outperform the industry during times of economic uncertainty. The chain has lost that edge, at least in terms of sales. + + In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%. + + Still, Cardenas is confident in the strategy. “We think that everyday low value … is more sustainable than deep discounting to try to drive people in,” he said Thursday. “This is a long game for us.” + + Customers have recently started to fume over higher prices, particularly at fast food restaurants. On TikTok, complaints of $3 McDonald’s hash browns and $16 meals have gone viral. The grumblings reached such a fever pitch that chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s have made a bid for those customers, offering deals that they say put their prices on par with those at popular fast food chains. + + Olive Garden has tried to avoid such pushback by keeping its price increases low. + + In the most recent quarter, Olive Garden raised prices by 1%. That change hurt dollar sales, but kept restaurant traffic strong, Darden CFO Raj Vennam argued during the call Thursday. + + “While Olive Garden same restaurant sales were below the industry, same-restaurant guest counts outperformed the industry,” Vennam said. “This dynamic was due to our decision to minimize pricing.” + + Over the course of the fiscal year, Olive Garden hiked prices up about 3.5%, compared to roughly 4% across Darden’s brands, which include LongHorn Steakhouse, Eddie V’s and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among other chains. Next year, executives expect Olive Garden to once again raise prices below Darden’s brands overall. + + “We’re not talking about huge pricing actions,” said Vennam. + + The increases put Olive Garden more or less on par with most sit-down restaurants in the US. According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May. They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual locations. + + Offering deals is a short-term fix to declining sales, but it’s a risky business. + + A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “Margin and profitability is going to be the challenge for 2024,” he said. “These value meals in the short term are only going to exacerbate that.” + + Cardenas sees the practice as setting a dangerous precedent. + + “If you do deep discount …. you have to do even more the next year,” he said. “The way we do it is more sustainable.” + + Rather than vie for customers with steep discounts, Olive Garden is planning to bring people in by highlighting its regular offerings. One example? Refills for soup or salad and breadsticks. “That refill is a pretty big part of what we do and a big part of the value equation.” + + The chain is also hoping to get some buzz the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth. + + “Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Restaurant chains from Applebee’s to McDonald’s have in recent months clocked a troubling trend: Customers watching their budgets are spending less, and dining out less often.', 'So they’ve come up with a solution —offer meal deals and discounts to bring people back.', 'But Olive Garden is holding out.', '“We’re not doing that,” said Rick Cardenas, CEO of Olive Garden’s parent company Darden Restaurants, during an analyst call Thursday. “', 'Even at a time that our competitors have ramped up discounting.”', 'There’s a reason that so many restaurants are turning to discounts now, after years of avoiding the practice.', 'Since the start of the pandemic, chains have been hiking prices dramatically — partially because of increasing costs, and partially because customers didn’t seem to mind spending more.', 'But recently, diners have started to push back.', 'So restaurants started offeringtemporary discounts on those higher menu prices.', 'The Italian casual dining chain has bucked the trend, making relatively moderate pricing increases and avoiding deep discounts.', 'The approach has yielded mixed results.', 'In the past, Olive Garden used to outperform the industry during times of economic uncertainty.', 'The chain has lost that edge, at least in terms of sales.', 'In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%.', 'Still, Cardenas is confident in the strategy. “', 'We think that everyday low value … is more sustainable than deep discounting to try to drive people in,” he said Thursday. “', 'This is a long game for us.”', 'Customers have recently started to fume over higher prices, particularly at fast food restaurants.', 'On TikTok, complaints of$3 McDonald’s hash brownsand$16 meals have gone viral.', 'The grumblings reached such a fever pitch that chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s have made a bid for those customers, offering deals that they say put their prices on par with those at popular fast food chains.', 'Olive Garden has tried to avoid such pushback by keeping its price increases low.', 'In the most recent quarter, Olive Garden raised prices by 1%.', 'That change hurt dollar sales, but kept restaurant traffic strong, Darden CFO Raj Vennam argued during the call Thursday.', '“While Olive Garden same restaurant sales were below the industry, same-restaurant guest counts outperformed the industry,” Vennam said. “', 'This dynamic was due to our decision to minimize pricing.”', 'Over the course of the fiscal year, Olive Garden hiked prices up about 3.5%, compared to roughly 4% across Darden’s brands, which include LongHorn Steakhouse, Eddie V’s and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among other chains.', 'Next year, executives expect Olive Garden to once again raise prices below Darden’s brands overall.', '“We’re not talking about huge pricing actions,” said Vennam.', 'The increases put Olive Garden more or less on par with most sit-down restaurants in the US.', 'According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May.', 'They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual locations.', 'Offering deals is a short-term fix to declining sales, but it’s a risky business.', 'A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “', 'Margin and profitability is going to be the challenge for 2024,” he said. “', 'These value meals in the short term are only going to exacerbate that.”', 'Cardenas sees the practice as setting a dangerous precedent.', '“If you do deep discount ….', 'you have to do even more the next year,” he said. “', 'The way we do it is more sustainable.”', 'Rather than vie for customers with steep discounts, Olive Garden is planning to bring people in by highlighting its regular offerings.', 'One example?', 'Refills for soup or salad and breadsticks. “', 'That refill is a pretty big part of what we do and a big part of the value equation.”', 'The chain is also hoping to get some buzz the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth.', '“Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”']",0.0021468923730738,“Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”,"A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “",0.1888085973673853,"According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May.","In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +"A year after the Titan tragedy, a sub is planning to go back to the Titanic to make a point",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/titan-submersible-titanic-tourism/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy. + + The agonizing spectacle sent a chill through the small but growing community of deep-sea submersible enthusiasts. OceanGate, the controversial operator behind the ill-fated sub, folded shortly after officials revealed the vessel had imploded on its way down to the site of the Titanic. + + With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut. + + But rather than tanking the entire industry, the event created an opportunity for submersible operators to double-down on their messaging around safety, and cast OceanGate as a rogue startup. + + One leading sub operator, eager to demonstrate that the Titan sub failed to live up to the industry standards that can make trips to the ocean floor relatively safe, is already planning its own journey to the wreckage of the Titanic, where Titan was headed before it collapsed. + + “If there is any positive to draw from the situation, the legacy will be that there is further investment being made in deep ocean submersibles,” said industry leader Triton Submarines, in a statement. + + In fact, just days after OceanGate disaster, the real-estate billionaire Larry Connor was on the phone with Triton’s CEO, urging him to build a sub that would reassure the world that sub travel, even as deep as the Titanic’s wreckage, could be done safely, according to the Wall Street Journal. + + “I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ. + + Triton, through a spokesperson, told CNN that trip was in the early planning stages and that “we can’t share a timeline yet.” + + OceanGate, which shut down operations last July, had been a rising but controversial player in the tight-knit world of manned submersibles. + + But in its pursuit of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation,” OceanGate frequently skirted regulations and pushed back against industry standards. + + Notably, its founder Stockton Rush, who was one of the five people killed aboard Titan, insisted that his unconventional carbon fiber hull was safe even after experts warned him that it wasn’t as safe as the more-expensive titanium used by rivals. + + “At some point, safety just is pure waste,” Rush once told journalist David Pogue. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything.” + + With a brand name uncomfortably similar to that of the ill-fated sub, Triton Submarines has spent the past year trying to distinguish itself from OceanGate. + + Two of its main points:  1) OceanGate was a rogue operation that skirted regulations and ignored repeated warnings from the tight-knit community of deep sea explorers.  2) OceanGate’s sub designs were so experimental, no other commercial sub operation would ever replicate them. + + Triton — which counts billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and filmmaker James Cameron among its investors — is quick to tout the credentials that OceanGate sidestepped, such as submitting its crafts to testing by third parties like the American Bureau of Shipping. + + “The deep ocean is no place for compromise,” Triton said in its statement. “It should be very clear to everyone by now that the events in the North Atlantic, the manner in which the operation was run and the experimental nature of the craft, bears no relation whatsoever to a highly professional, safe and accomplished sector.” + + The technology needed to reach the Earth’s deepest nooks and crannies is still in its infancy. + + But if the broader adventure tourism industry offers any guidance, the specter of death will only fuel demand. + + Every year, about half the climbers who attempt to summit Mount Everest complete the journey, and at least a few of them die in the process. But, somewhat counterintuitively, the deadlier the season, the more interest tends to spike the following year. + + Permits for Everest increased significantly in the years after 1996, a season that ended the lives of 12 climbers and became the subject of international media attention. And last year was also an especially fatal season, with 17 climbers dying on the route. + + That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator. + + “There was again the effect of Everest getting more attention after this deadly season,” founder Lukas Furtenbach said in an interview. + + But he sees a change taking root from previous years when interest spiked. Lately, he says, “it looks like there’s more readiness from the client to pay a premium for higher safety margins. … The the statistics show very clearly that the less you pay for your Everest expedition, the higher the risk to die.” + + That trend toward extra precaution was echoed by Philippe Brown, founder of luxury adventure travel firm Brown and Hudson. + + In the immediate aftermath of the Titan’s demise, before OceanGate folded for good, Brown said his firm still had a long waitlist for its Titanic tours, and that business had even ticked up. + + “The interest will always be there for boundary-pushing things,” Brown said in an interview Monday. “But what has happened is that people are way more sensitized to risk, not just in this kind of thing, or summiting Everest, but across chart travel more generally.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy.', 'The agonizing spectacle sent a chill through the small but growing community of deep-sea submersible enthusiasts.', 'OceanGate, the controversial operator behind the ill-fated sub, folded shortly after officials revealed the vessel had imploded on its way down to the site of the Titanic.', 'With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut.', 'But rather than tanking the entire industry, the event created an opportunity for submersible operators to double-down on their messaging around safety, and cast OceanGate as a rogue startup.', 'One leading sub operator, eager to demonstrate that the Titan sub failed to live up to the industry standards that can make trips to the ocean floor relatively safe, is already planning its own journey to the wreckage of the Titanic, where Titan was headed before it collapsed.', '“If there is any positive to draw from the situation, the legacy will be that there is further investment being made in deep ocean submersibles,” said industry leader Triton Submarines, in a statement.', 'In fact, just days after OceanGate disaster, the real-estate billionaire Larry Connor was on the phone with Triton’s CEO, urging him to build a sub that would reassure the world that sub travel, even as deep as the Titanic’s wreckage, could be done safely, according to the Wall Street Journal.', '“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ.', 'Triton, through a spokesperson, told CNN that trip was in the early planning stages and that “we can’t share a timeline yet.”', 'OceanGate, which shut down operations last July, had been a rising but controversial player in the tight-knit world of manned submersibles.', 'But in its pursuit of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation,” OceanGate frequently skirted regulations and pushed back against industry standards.', 'Notably, its founder Stockton Rush, who was one of the five people killed aboard Titan, insisted that his unconventional carbon fiber hull was safe even after experts warned him that it wasn’t as safe as the more-expensive titanium used by rivals.', '“At some point, safety just is pure waste,” Rush oncetold journalist David Pogue. “', 'I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed.', 'Don’t get in your car.', 'Don’t do anything.”', 'With a brand name uncomfortably similar to that of the ill-fated sub, Triton Submarines has spent the past year trying to distinguish itself from OceanGate.', 'Two of its main points: 1) OceanGate was a rogue operation that skirted regulations and ignored repeated warnings from the tight-knit community of deep sea explorers.', '2) OceanGate’s sub designs were so experimental, no other commercial sub operation would ever replicate them.', 'Triton — which counts billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and filmmaker James Cameron among its investors — is quick to tout the credentials that OceanGate sidestepped, such as submitting its crafts to testing by third parties like the American Bureau of Shipping.', '“The deep ocean is no place for compromise,” Triton said in its statement. “', 'It should be very clear to everyone by now that the events in the North Atlantic, the manner in which the operation was run and the experimental nature of the craft, bears no relation whatsoever to a highly professional, safe and accomplished sector.”', 'The technology needed to reach the Earth’s deepest nooks and crannies is still in its infancy.', 'But if the broader adventure tourism industry offers any guidance, the specter of death will only fuel demand.', 'Every year, about half the climbers who attempt to summit Mount Everest complete the journey, and at least a few of them die in the process.', 'But, somewhat counterintuitively, the deadlier the season, the more interest tends to spike the following year.', 'Permits for Everest increased significantly in the years after 1996, a season that ended the lives of 12 climbers and became the subject of international media attention.', 'And last year was also an especially fatal season, with 17 climbers dying on the route.', 'That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator.', '“There was again the effect of Everest getting more attention after this deadly season,” founder Lukas Furtenbach said in an interview.', 'But he sees a change taking root from previous years when interest spiked.', 'Lately, he says, “it looks like there’s more readinessfrom the client to pay a premium for higher safety margins. …', 'The the statistics show very clearly that the less you pay for your Everest expedition, the higher the risk to die.”', 'That trend toward extra precaution was echoed by Philippe Brown, founder of luxury adventure travel firm Brown and Hudson.', 'In the immediate aftermath of the Titan’s demise, before OceanGate folded for good, Brown said his firm still had a long waitlist for its Titanic tours, and that business had even ticked up.', '“The interest will always be there for boundary-pushing things,” Brown said in an interview Monday. “', 'But what has happened is that people are way more sensitized to risk, not just in this kind of thing, or summiting Everest, but across chart travel more generally.”']",0.080972404441563,"“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ.","A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy.",0.18618863507321,"That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator.","With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut.",2024-06-21 +"Regulators hit Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America over living will plans",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/21/living-wills-citigroup-jpmorgan-chase-goldman-sachs-hit-by-regulators.html,2024-06-21T19:40:08+0000,"Banking regulators on Friday disclosed that they found weaknesses in the resolution plans of four of the eight largest American lenders.The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the so-called living wills — plans for unwinding huge institutions in the event of distress or failure — of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America filed in 2023 were inadequate.Regulators found fault with the way each of the banks planned to unwind their massive derivatives portfolios. Derivatives are Wall Street contracts tied to stocks, bonds, currencies or interest rates.For example, when asked to quickly test Citigroup's ability to unwind its contracts using different inputs than those chosen by the bank, the firm came up short, according to the regulators. That part of the exercise appears to have snared all the banks that struggled with the exam.""An assessment of the covered company's capability to unwind its derivatives portfolio under conditions that differ from those specified in the 2023 plan revealed that the firm's capabilities have material limitations,"" regulators said of Citigroup.The living wills are a key regulatory exercise mandated in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. Every other year, the largest US. banks must submit their plans to credibly unwind themselves in the event of catastrophe. Banks with weaknesses have to address them in the next wave of living will submissions due in 2025.While JPMorgan, Goldman and Bank of America's plans were each deemed to have a ""shortcoming"" by both regulators, Citigroup was considered by the FDIC to have a more serious ""deficiency,"" meaning the plan wouldn't allow for an orderly resolution under U.S. bankruptcy code.Since the Fed didn't concur with the FDIC on its assessment of Citigroup, the bank did receive the less-serious ""shortcoming"" grade.""We are fully committed to addressing the issues identified by our regulators,"" New York-based Citigroup said in a statement.""While we've made substantial progress on our transformation, we've acknowledged that we have had to accelerate our work in certain areas,"" the bank said. ""More broadly, we continue to have confidence that Citi could be resolved without an adverse systemic impact or the need for taxpayer funds.""JPMorgan, Goldman and Bank of America declined a request to comment from CNBC.",CNBC,21/06/2024,"['Banking regulators on Friday disclosed that they found weaknesses in the resolution plans of four of the eight largest American lenders.', 'The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the so-called living wills — plans for unwinding huge institutions in the event of distress or failure — of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America filed in 2023 were inadequate.', 'Regulators found fault with the way each of the banks planned to unwind their massive derivatives portfolios.', 'Derivatives are Wall Street contracts tied to stocks, bonds, currencies or interest rates.', ""For example, when asked to quickly test Citigroup's ability to unwind its contracts using different inputs than those chosen by the bank, the firm came up short, according to the regulators."", 'That part of the exercise appears to have snared all the banks that struggled with the exam.', '""An assessment of the covered company\'s capability to unwind its derivatives portfolio under conditions that differ from those specified in the 2023 plan revealed that the firm\'s capabilities have material limitations,"" regulators said of Citigroup.', 'The living wills are a key regulatory exercise mandated in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.', 'Every other year, the largest US.', 'banks must submit their plans to credibly unwind themselves in the event of catastrophe.', 'Banks with weaknesses have to address them in the next wave of living will submissions due in 2025.While JPMorgan, Goldman and Bank of America\'s plans were each deemed to have a ""shortcoming"" by both regulators, Citigroup was considered by the FDIC to have a more serious ""deficiency,"" meaning the plan wouldn\'t allow for an orderly resolution under U.S. bankruptcy code.', 'Since the Fed didn\'t concur with the FDIC on its assessment of Citigroup, the bank did receive the less-serious ""shortcoming"" grade.', '""We are fully committed to addressing the issues identified by our regulators,"" New York-based Citigroup said in a statement.', '""While we\'ve made substantial progress on our transformation, we\'ve acknowledged that we have had to accelerate our work in certain areas,"" the bank said. ""', 'More broadly, we continue to have confidence that Citi could be resolved without an adverse systemic impact or the need for taxpayer funds.', '""JPMorgan, Goldman and Bank of America declined a request to comment from CNBC.']",-0.0593731611646184,"More broadly, we continue to have confidence that Citi could be resolved without an adverse systemic impact or the need for taxpayer funds.","The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the so-called living wills — plans for unwinding huge institutions in the event of distress or failure — of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America filed in 2023 were inadequate.",-0.5241339802742004,"""While we've made substantial progress on our transformation, we've acknowledged that we have had to accelerate our work in certain areas,"" the bank said. ""","For example, when asked to quickly test Citigroup's ability to unwind its contracts using different inputs than those chosen by the bank, the firm came up short, according to the regulators.",2024-06-21 +Forever 21 seeks rent concessions as fast-fashion brand faces financial woes,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/21/forever-21-seeks-rent-concessions-facing-financial-struggles.html,2024-06-21T16:42:18+0000,"Forever 21 is asking landlords for a break on rent as the legacy fast-fashion player's sales decline and it struggles to keep up with savvier competitors, CNBC has learned.The retailer, which has more than 380 stores in the U.S., has asked some landlords to cut its rent by as much as 50%, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. While the company is facing financial difficulties, it has yet to hire advisors and isn't considering a second bankruptcy protection filing, the people said. It's working to restructure its many leases so it can cut costs, they said. Forever 21 faces a range of issues that have long plagued its business. It operates in the increasingly saturated fast-fashion market, the people said. They also added that the retailer struggles to manage inventory and understand and respond to its consumers.The retailer's struggles come after it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 and was later bought by a consortium including brand management company Authentic Brands Group and landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners.When the company sought bankruptcy protection, it had more than 800 locations globally.Similar to many retailers, Forever 21's massive store footprint weighed on its balance sheet when it first filed for bankruptcy protection. The retailer had expanded too quickly during its growth phase, leaving it unable to invest in its supply chain and rapidly respond to changing trends. Closing hundreds of stores after filing for bankruptcy protection has not resolved its issues.Forever 21's financial position has also hurt the performance of its operator Sparc Group — the joint venture that includes Authentic, Simon and as of last summer, Chinese-linked fast-fashion behemoth Shein. Sparc runs Forever 21's operations, as well as several other formerly bankrupt retailers, including Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand. Sparc declined to comment to CNBC. Simon didn't return a request for comment.Sparc has been scrutinizing its budgets and contending with its own financial struggles, people familiar with the matter said. Many of Sparc's challenges come from the difficulty of merging numerous legacy brands and attempting to centralize their teams, technology, marketing, e-commerce, sourcing and supply chains, one of the people said. It's also contended with the issue of running brands that have long operated primarily in malls.Expensive leases for stores that perform poorly relative to their size can often weigh down retailers' balance sheets and drain cash.Forever 21 has consistently paid its vendors late over the last year, according to data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks. The data shows Forever 21's payment patterns to vendors have fluctuated, with some bills going more than 70 days past due in late 2023, according to Creditsafe.Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months, but late payments can also signal larger financial troubles. The industry average hovered between 12 and 13 days past due for the last 12 months, said Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla.In the past, Forever 21's top rivals included H&M and Zara. These days, its biggest foes are ultra-fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu. ""The speed is almost impossible to compete with. So if you juxtapose any brand that was around 20 years ago to these new, on-demand manufacturing fast-fashion companies … it's like comparing a mobile phone from 2000 to the newest iPhone. The speed, the quality, everything is just different,"" one of the people said. ""As soon as someone goes viral in a new outfit on TikTok, Shein is immediately making it and no regular brand can keep up with that."" At the ICR conference in January, Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter said acquiring Forever 21 was ""probably the biggest mistake"" of his career, adding he also erred when he failed to recognize the competitive threat posed by Shein and Temu earlier. He recalled a conversation he had with Simon's CEO David Simon, who asked Salter why he wanted to partner with Shein. ""I said, 'David, it's the right decision, we cannot beat them. Their supply chain is too good. They know what's going on. They've figured this out. We need to partner with them,'"" Salter said. ""So I was the brave one that said, 'Let's go partner with these guys.'""As part of the two retailers' partnership, Shein will design, manufacture and distribute a line of co-branded Forever 21 apparel and accessories that will be sold primarily on Shein's website. Forever 21 has also hosted Shein pop-up stores and begun accepting Shein returns, both of which have driven positive foot traffic to Forever 21's shops, one of the people said. The two originally linked up last August and under the terms of the agreement, Shein acquired about one-third of Sparc while Sparc took a minority stake in Shein. Given the concerns that Forever 21 is having with its leases, and the success of Shein's pop-up shops, some industry observers questioned whether the digital giant could soon take over Forever 21's stores. However, one of the people said that's unlikely because the retailer lacks experience in physical retail and its business model involves small-batch production and an inventory that constantly shifts based on trends.",CNBC,21/06/2024,"[""Forever 21 is asking landlords for a break on rent as the legacy fast-fashion player's sales decline and it struggles to keep up with savvier competitors, CNBC has learned."", ""The retailer, which has more than 380 stores in the U.S., has asked some landlords to cut its rent by as much as 50%, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.While the company is facing financial difficulties, it has yet to hire advisors and isn't considering a second bankruptcy protection filing, the people said."", ""It's working to restructure its many leases so it can cut costs, they said."", 'Forever 21 faces a range of issues that have long plagued its business.', 'It operates in the increasingly saturated fast-fashion market, the people said.', 'They also added that the retailer struggles to manage inventory and understand and respond to its consumers.', ""The retailer's struggles come after it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 and was later bought by a consortium including brand management company Authentic Brands Group and landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners."", 'When the company sought bankruptcy protection, it had more than 800 locations globally.', ""Similar to many retailers, Forever 21's massive store footprint weighed on its balance sheet when it first filed for bankruptcy protection."", 'The retailer had expanded too quickly during its growth phase, leaving it unable to invest in its supply chain and rapidly respond to changing trends.', 'Closing hundreds of stores after filing for bankruptcy protection has not resolved its issues.', ""Forever 21's financial position has also hurt the performance of its operator Sparc Group — the joint venture that includes Authentic, Simon and as of last summer, Chinese-linked fast-fashion behemoth Shein."", ""Sparc runs Forever 21's operations, as well as several other formerly bankrupt retailers, including Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand."", 'Sparc declined to comment to CNBC.', ""Simon didn't return a request for comment."", 'Sparc has been scrutinizing its budgets and contending with its own financial struggles, people familiar with the matter said.', ""Many of Sparc's challenges come from the difficulty of merging numerous legacy brands and attempting to centralize their teams, technology, marketing, e-commerce, sourcing and supply chains, one of the people said."", ""It's also contended with the issue of running brands that have long operated primarily in malls."", ""Expensive leases for stores that perform poorly relative to their size can often weigh down retailers' balance sheets and drain cash."", ""Forever 21 has consistently paid its vendors late over the last year, according to data from Creditsafe, a business intelligence platform that analyzes companies' financial, legal and compliance risks."", ""The data shows Forever 21's payment patterns to vendors have fluctuated, with some bills going more than 70 days past due in late 2023, according to Creditsafe."", 'Plenty of companies, including many that are healthy, leave bills unpaid for weeks or months, but late payments can also signal larger financial troubles.', 'The industry average hovered between 12 and 13 days past due for the last 12 months, said Creditsafe spokesperson Ragini Bhalla.', ""In the past, Forever 21's top rivals included H&M and Zara."", 'These days, its biggest foes are ultra-fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu.', '""The speed is almost impossible to compete with.', ""So if you juxtapose any brand that was around 20 years ago to these new, on-demand manufacturing fast-fashion companies … it's like comparing a mobile phone from 2000 to the newest iPhone."", 'The speed, the quality, everything is just different,"" one of the people said. ""', 'As soon as someone goes viral in a new outfit on TikTok, Shein is immediately making it and no regular brand can keep up with that.', '""At the ICR conference in January, Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter said acquiring Forever 21 was ""probably the biggest mistake"" of his career, adding he also erred when he failed to recognize the competitive threat posed by Shein and Temu earlier.', ""He recalled a conversation he had with Simon's CEO David Simon, who asked Salter why he wanted to partner with Shein."", '""I said, \'David, it\'s the right decision, we cannot beat them.', 'Their supply chain is too good.', ""They know what's going on."", ""They've figured this out."", 'We need to partner with them,\'"" Salter said. ""', ""So I was the brave one that said, 'Let's go partner with these guys."", '\'""As part of the two retailers\' partnership, Shein will design, manufacture and distribute a line of co-branded Forever 21 apparel and accessories that will be sold primarily on Shein\'s website.', ""Forever 21 has also hosted Shein pop-up stores and begun accepting Shein returns, both of which have driven positive foot traffic to Forever 21's shops, one of the people said."", 'The two originally linked up last August and under the terms of the agreement, Shein acquired about one-third of Sparc while Sparc took a minority stake in Shein.', ""Given the concerns that Forever 21 is having with its leases, and the success of Shein's pop-up shops, some industry observers questioned whether the digital giant could soon take over Forever 21's stores."", ""However, one of the people said that's unlikely because the retailer lacks experience in physical retail and its business model involves small-batch production and an inventory that constantly shifts based on trends.""]",-0.0224183506749679,"Forever 21 has also hosted Shein pop-up stores and begun accepting Shein returns, both of which have driven positive foot traffic to Forever 21's shops, one of the people said.","""At the ICR conference in January, Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter said acquiring Forever 21 was ""probably the biggest mistake"" of his career, adding he also erred when he failed to recognize the competitive threat posed by Shein and Temu earlier.",-0.4715827256441116,"Forever 21 has also hosted Shein pop-up stores and begun accepting Shein returns, both of which have driven positive foot traffic to Forever 21's shops, one of the people said.","Forever 21's financial position has also hurt the performance of its operator Sparc Group — the joint venture that includes Authentic, Simon and as of last summer, Chinese-linked fast-fashion behemoth Shein.",2024-06-21 +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?,2024-06-21 +Octopus to repay £3bn to taxpayers for Bulb rescue,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce997mj3qm8o,2024-06-21T11:08:05.729Z,"Octopus Energy will pay nearly £3bn to the government as part of a pledge to return the taxpayers' funds it received for rescuing Bulb, its collapsed competitor. It means the Treasury will recoup almost all the cost of temporarily nationalising Bulb back in 2021. Past forecasts had suggested that it could have been the government's biggest bailout since the financial crisis. However, lower wholesale energy costs have seen the expected final bill slashed. Octopus has already begun paying the sum but expects this to be completed in September, according to the Financial Times, in a boost to whoever wins the general election in two weeks' time. Politicians had raised concerns that extra costs could be added to customers' bills when millions have been struggling. Bulb was among the dozens of smaller energy suppliers that collapsed several years ago following a spike in wholesale gas prices, partly caused by Covid restrictions ending and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Bulb had 1.5 million UK customers when it went bust. It was placed into a so-called Special Administration Regime (SAR), where it was run by the government via Ofgem, the energy watchdog, for less than a year as it struggled to find a buyer. When Octopus Energy stepped in to take over and add Bulb's customers to its own, it struck a deal with the government which meant that it would help cover the costs of energy for the affected households to ensure supplies were not disrupted. The energy was bought by the government and, based on wholesale prices, cost £1.63bn. Under the deal, it was agreed that Octopus Energy would repay the government in line with the level set by the energy price cap, which is decided by Ofgem. As wholesale gas prices have continued to fall, where Octopus's agreed repayment price has remained the same, the government stands to not only recover the money spent, but make a profit of £1.28bn from the deal. ""This outcome is a great result for taxpayers,"" said Greg Jackson, the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy. ""Octopus worked hard in the darkest depths of the energy crisis to create a fair deal, meaning that although Bulb went bust with billions of liabilities, it has cost the government almost nothing."" Roughly £6.1m of other costs that the government has to pay in relation to the SAR remain outstanding, down from the £19.6m forecast as recently as February, according to a letter sent to the Public Accounts Committee by the permanent secretary for energy security last month. It means the government will recover more than 99% of the money lent to Octopus Energy. There are still a number of ""uncertainties"" to work through though, the letter said, so the final numbers may still be subject to some change. It has been reported that the SAR model may well be considered if Thames Water were to collapse under its debts. The Treasury, Department for Environment and regulator Ofwat have been ""wargaming"" a situation that would see financial consultants run the company on the government's behalf. ",BBC,21/06/2024,"[""Octopus Energy will pay nearly £3bn to the government as part of a pledge to return the taxpayers' funds it received for rescuing Bulb, its collapsed competitor."", 'It means the Treasury will recoup almost all the cost of temporarily nationalising Bulb back in 2021.', ""Past forecasts had suggested that it could have been the government's biggest bailout since the financial crisis."", 'However, lower wholesale energy costs have seen the expected final bill slashed.', ""Octopus has already begun paying the sum but expects this to be completed in September, according to the Financial Times, in a boost to whoever wins the general election in two weeks' time."", ""Politicians had raised concerns that extra costs could be added to customers' bills when millions have been struggling."", 'Bulb was among the dozens of smaller energy suppliers that collapsed several years ago following a spike in wholesale gas prices, partly caused by Covid restrictions ending and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.', 'Bulb had 1.5 million UK customers when it went bust.', 'It was placed into a so-called Special Administration Regime (SAR), where it was run by the government via Ofgem, the energy watchdog, for less than a year as it struggled to find a buyer.', ""When Octopus Energy stepped in to take over and add Bulb's customers to its own, it struck a deal with the government which meant that it would help cover the costs of energy for the affected households to ensure supplies were not disrupted."", 'The energy was bought by the government and, based on wholesale prices, cost £1.63bn.', 'Under the deal, it was agreed that Octopus Energy would repay the government in line with the level set by the energy price cap, which is decided by Ofgem.', 'As wholesale gas prices have continued to fall, where Octopus\'s agreed repayment price has remained the same, the government stands to not only recover the money spent, but make a profit of £1.28bn from the deal. ""', 'This outcome is a great result for taxpayers,"" said Greg Jackson, the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy. ""', 'Octopus worked hard in the darkest depths of the energy crisis to create a fair deal, meaning that although Bulb went bust with billions of liabilities, it has cost the government almost nothing.""', 'Roughly £6.1m of other costs that the government has to pay in relation to the SAR remain outstanding, down from the £19.6m forecast as recently as February, according to a letter sent to the Public Accounts Committee by the permanent secretary for energy security last month.', 'It means the government will recover more than 99% of the money lent to Octopus Energy.', 'There are still a number of ""uncertainties"" to work through though, the letter said, so the final numbers may still be subject to some change.', 'It has been reported that the SAR model may well be considered if Thames Water were to collapse under its debts.', 'The Treasury, Department for Environment and regulator Ofwat have been ""wargaming"" a situation that would see financial consultants run the company on the government\'s behalf.']",0.1277348596002809,"Octopus has already begun paying the sum but expects this to be completed in September, according to the Financial Times, in a boost to whoever wins the general election in two weeks' time.",Past forecasts had suggested that it could have been the government's biggest bailout since the financial crisis.,0.5150140176216761,"Octopus has already begun paying the sum but expects this to be completed in September, according to the Financial Times, in a boost to whoever wins the general election in two weeks' time.","Bulb was among the dozens of smaller energy suppliers that collapsed several years ago following a spike in wholesale gas prices, partly caused by Covid restrictions ending and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.",2024-06-21 +Gilead’s twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV succeeds in late-stage trial,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/gilead-prep-lenacapavir-succeeds-in-phase-3-trial.html,2024-06-20T16:22:16+0000,"In this articleGilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday.None of the roughly 2,000 women in the trial who received the lenacapavir shot had contracted HIV by an interim analysis, prompting the independent data monitoring committee to recommend Gilead unblind the Phase 3 trial and offer the treatment to everyone in the study. Other participants had received standard daily pills.The results bring Gilead one step closer to introducing a new form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and broadening its HIV business. Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday. ""What the world needs is people to have more PrEP options so they can make the choice of the option that's going to work best for them,"" said Jared Baeten, Gilead's vice president of clinical development for HIV. Before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Gilead will first need to replicate these results. The company expects to share data later this year or early next year from an ongoing Phase 3 study of men who have sex with men. If those results are positive, the company could bring lenacapavir for PrEP to market as soon as late 2025.More than a decade ago, Gilead's Truvada became the first approved PrEP for people without HIV who are at high risk of acquiring it. Daily pills dominate the market, but drugmakers are now focusing on developing longer-acting shots.PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly. Yet only a little more than one-third of people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP take it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can't or don't want to take a daily pill and better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022. ""It's really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren't going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""We need to make sure that people have options to fit with their lifestyles.""The FDA approved the first injectable PrEP in 2021. That drug, Apretude, is given every other month, or six times a year, by a medical professional. About 11,000 people take Apretude, according to its manufacturer, ViiV.Tim Oliver, a 28-year-old public health worker in New York, said he doesn't mind going to the doctor for his Apretude shots. But he added that some of his friends have told him they'd rather keep taking a daily pill than get an injection. A longer-acting option could be more attractive to patients.RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams expects Gilead's shot will significantly increase the number of people interested in preventive HIV medicine. He estimates peak sales of nearly $2 billion. Gilead's newer PrEP pill, Descovy, notched about $2 billion of revenue last year. Activists have urged Gilead to ensure that people in countries where low- and middle-incomes predominate can get access to lenacapavir. The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines. Descovy usage carries a list price of $26,000 a year.In its statement disclosing the lenacapavir trial results Thursday, Gilead said it plans to share an update on how it plans to address access in such countries where people suffer high incidence rates of HIV. — CNBC's Leanne Miller contributed to this report.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"[""In this articleGilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday."", 'None of the roughly 2,000 women in the trial who received the lenacapavir shot had contracted HIV by an interim analysis, prompting the independent data monitoring committee to recommend Gilead unblind the Phase 3 trial and offer the treatment to everyone in the study.', 'Other participants had received standard daily pills.', 'The results bring Gilead one step closer to introducing a new form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and broadening its HIV business.', 'Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday.', '""What the world needs is people to have more PrEP options so they can make the choice of the option that\'s going to work best for them,"" said Jared Baeten, Gilead\'s vice president of clinical development for HIV.Before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Gilead will first need to replicate these results.', 'The company expects to share data later this year or early next year from an ongoing Phase 3 study of men who have sex with men.', ""If those results are positive, the company could bring lenacapavir for PrEP to market as soon as late 2025.More than a decade ago, Gilead's Truvada became the first approved PrEP for people without HIV who are at high risk of acquiring it."", 'Daily pills dominate the market, but drugmakers are now focusing on developing longer-acting shots.', 'PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly.', 'Yet only a little more than one-third of people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP take it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.', 'Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can\'t or don\'t want to take a daily pilland better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022.""It\'s really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren\'t going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""', 'We need to make sure that people have options to fit with their lifestyles.', '""The FDA approved the first injectable PrEP in 2021.', 'That drug, Apretude, is given every other month, or six times a year, by a medical professional.', ""About 11,000 people take Apretude, according to its manufacturer, ViiV.Tim Oliver, a 28-year-old public health worker in New York, said he doesn't mind going to the doctor for his Apretude shots."", ""But he added that some of his friends have told him they'd rather keep taking a daily pill than get an injection."", 'A longer-acting option could be more attractive to patients.', ""RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams expects Gilead's shot will significantly increase the number of people interested in preventive HIV medicine."", 'He estimates peak sales of nearly $2 billion.', ""Gilead's newer PrEP pill, Descovy, notched about $2 billion of revenue last year."", 'Activists have urged Gilead to ensure that people in countries where low- and middle-incomes predominate can get access to lenacapavir.', 'The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines.', 'Descovy usage carries a list price of $26,000 a year.', 'In its statement disclosing the lenacapavir trial results Thursday, Gilead said it plans to share an update on how it plans to address access in such countries where people suffer high incidence rates of HIV.—', ""CNBC's Leanne Miller contributed to this report.""]",0.2335366139437328,"Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can't or don't want to take a daily pilland better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022.""It's really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren't going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""","PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly.",0.7494024932384491,Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday.,The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines.,2024-06-21 +Stellantis plans to grow Jeep sales 50% by 2027,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-jeep-sales-growth.html,2024-06-13T18:09:38+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said. Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric. That's up from 18 currently.   ""We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon. A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV. Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck. Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis, Tesla and others. The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYD and Nio grow their sales of less-expensive EVs outside of China.Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier. The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022. Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis\' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.', '""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said.', 'Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric.', 'That\'s up from 18 currently. ""', 'We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.', 'Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.', 'Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon.', 'A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV.', 'Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.', ""A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck."", 'Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.', '""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis,Teslaand others.', 'The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYDandNiogrow their salesof less-expensive EVsoutside of China.', ""Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier."", 'The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.', ""Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.""]",0.1862019152259262,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.",,0.7979354679584503,"Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.","The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.",2024-06-21 +Workers sue Disney after moving for cancelled Florida project,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdd34k33dro,2024-06-20T18:21:12.223Z,"Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled. In a proposed class action lawsuit, they accuse the media giant of misrepresenting its plans when it announced in 2021 it would open a new $1bn campus for theme park staff in Florida. The firm told roughly 2,000 people in California to relocate or resign. But less than two years later, the company reversed course. The complaint says staff had relied on Disney's claims when they uprooted their lives, incurring major moving expenses as they sold family homes and bought new ones. ""These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers. Disney declined to comment on the suit, which was brought by two current employees Maria de la Cruz, a vice president of product design, and George Fong, creative director of product design. The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive. It also followed a high-profile fight between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the company's relationship with the state. The corporate roller-coaster ride involving the project coincided with a major surge in home prices and mortgage rates in the US, a factor that some surveys have found have made Americans increasingly reluctant to relocate for jobs. The lawsuit said Disney's initial plans had pushed up home prices in the area, which were hit after it cancelled the project. Some at Disney had opted to resign rather than relocate; others opted to wait, especially after the firm informed them the project would be delayed, according to the lawsuit. But about 250 people had agreed to the transfer on the timeline the company had set out initially, according to the complaint. Mr Fong sold his childhood home to move to Florida. Since his return to California this year, he is living in a smaller house. The lawsuit said Disney ""did not compensate him fairly for the damages he had suffered and would suffer,"" but he agreed to transfer because he recognised that his job security was dependent on it. Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled.', 'In a proposed class action lawsuit, they accuse the media giant of misrepresenting its plans when it announced in 2021 it would open a new $1bn campus for theme park staff in Florida.', 'The firm told roughly 2,000 people in California to relocate or resign.', 'But less than two years later, the company reversed course.', 'The complaint says staff had relied on Disney\'s claims when they uprooted their lives, incurring major moving expenses as they sold family homes and bought new ones. ""', 'These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers.', 'Disney declined to comment on the suit, which was brought by two current employees Maria de la Cruz, a vice president of product design, and George Fong, creative director of product design.', 'The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive.', ""It also followed a high-profile fight between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the company's relationship with the state."", 'The corporate roller-coaster ride involving the project coincided with a major surge in home prices and mortgage rates in the US, a factor that some surveys have found have made Americans increasingly reluctant to relocate for jobs.', ""The lawsuit said Disney's initial plans had pushed up home prices in the area, which were hit after it cancelled the project."", 'Some at Disney had opted to resign rather than relocate; others opted to wait, especially after the firm informed them the project would be delayed, according to the lawsuit.', 'But about 250 people had agreed to the transfer on the timeline the company had set out initially, according to the complaint.', 'Mr Fong sold his childhood home to move to Florida.', 'Since his return to California this year, he is living in a smaller house.', 'The lawsuit said Disney ""did not compensate him fairly for the damages he had suffered and would suffer,"" but he agreed to transfer because he recognised that his job security was dependent on it.', 'Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said.']",-0.1851322292929587,"Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said.",Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled.,-0.621955132484436,"The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive.","These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers.",2024-06-21 +"Fast-food customers are shifting to casual-dining chains, Darden Restaurants CEO says",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/inflation-fast-food-diners-switch-to-casual-chains-darden-ceo-says.html,2024-06-20T17:52:55+0000,"In this articleCasual-dining chains are gaining customers who have grown frustrated with higher fast-food prices, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on Thursday.While Darden itself hasn't benefited from the shift, its competitors, like Chili's owner Brinker International and Applebee's parent Dine Brands, have been reigniting a rivalry with their fast-food counterparts — and it seems to be working. Chili's introduced an ad campaign that calls out the Big Mac and other fast-food burgers for their prices. Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told CNBC in May that Applebee's has been leaning into deals to win over fast-food diners.On Darden's quarterly earnings call Thursday, Cardenas told analysts that industry data is showing ""a little bit of a shift from [quick-service restaurants] to some of those competitors"" in casual dining.As of May, full-service menu prices had risen 3.5% over the last 12 months, compared with a 4.5% increase for those of limited-service eateries, according to Department of Labor data. The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.Consumers have been feeling the pinch of the more than two years of price hikes, even with fast-food chains, which typically benefit from tougher economic environments because consumers trade down to their cheaper meals. But both full-service restaurants and grocers alike have been highlighting their own value compared to fast-food meals, whether it's the actual price or the overall experience and quality.In particular, McDonald's has faced backlash from customers, social media users and even House Republicans for its higher prices. In an open letter in late May, the company's U.S. president, Joe Erlinger, hit back at critics claiming its menu prices have doubled, saying its prices are up 40% since 2019.Even so, the company has taken steps to try to appeal to price-conscious diners. On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers.Darden has been using a different strategy to win over diners. It has leaned on television advertising and kept its overall pricing lower than inflation to attract customers. In its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported flat same-store sales growth and weaker-than-expected revenue, although its earnings beat Wall Street's estimates.Cardenas said the company has dealt with a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals. Still, executives touted that its restaurants are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.Shares of Darden rose more than 1% in morning trading on Thursday. The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"['In this articleCasual-dining chains are gaining customers who have grown frustrated with higher fast-food prices, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on Thursday.', ""While Darden itself hasn't benefited from the shift, its competitors, like Chili's owner Brinker International and Applebee's parent Dine Brands, have been reigniting a rivalry with their fast-food counterparts — and it seems to be working."", ""Chili's introduced an ad campaign that calls out the Big Mac and other fast-food burgers for their prices."", ""Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told CNBC in May that Applebee's has been leaning into deals to win over fast-food diners."", 'On Darden\'s quarterly earnings call Thursday, Cardenas told analysts that industry data is showing ""a little bit of a shift from [quick-service restaurants] to some of those competitors"" in casual dining.', 'As of May, full-service menu prices had risen 3.5% over the last 12 months, compared with a 4.5% increase for those of limited-service eateries, according to Department of Labor data.', 'The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.', 'Consumers have been feeling the pinch of the more than two years of price hikes, even with fast-food chains, which typically benefit from tougher economic environments because consumers trade down to their cheaper meals.', ""But both full-service restaurants and grocers alike have been highlighting their own value compared to fast-food meals, whether it's the actual price or the overall experience and quality."", ""In particular, McDonald's has faced backlash from customers, social media users and even House Republicans for its higher prices."", ""In an open letter in late May, the company's U.S. president, Joe Erlinger, hit back at critics claiming its menu prices have doubled, saying its prices are up 40% since 2019.Even so, the company has taken steps to try to appeal to price-conscious diners."", ""On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers."", 'Darden has been using a different strategy to win over diners.', 'It has leaned on television advertising and kept its overall pricing lower than inflation to attract customers.', ""In its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported flat same-store sales growth and weaker-than-expected revenue, although its earnings beat Wall Street's estimates."", 'Cardenas said the company has dealt with a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals.', 'Still, executives touted that its restaurants are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.', 'Shares of Darden rose more than 1% in morning trading on Thursday.', ""The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.""]",0.1586343892662152,"On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers.","The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",0.3754266053438186,The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.,"The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",2024-06-21 +"Fisker files for bankruptcy protection in wave of EV startups, moment of déjà vu for its founder",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/fisker-ev-maker-bankruptcy.html,2024-06-18T18:29:37+0000,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight.It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse. Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection. That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions. Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection.The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat. Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion. The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.""They looked at Tesla's success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up. The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla. He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover. The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife.""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others. CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.""[The auto industry is] capital intensive. You're trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging.""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu.His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company. It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million.It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.""Having done this before, I'm in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry. They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls. The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January.But there was one key difference this time. With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers. While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs. Its stock was delisted in April.A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.', ""For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight."", ""It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse."", 'Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection.', 'That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions.', 'Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.', ""It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection."", 'The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat.', 'Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion.', 'The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.', 'Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.', '""They looked at Tesla\'s success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.', 'But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up.', 'The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla.', 'He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.', 'The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover.', 'The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.', ""Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer."", ""Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife."", '""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""', 'The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.', '""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.', ""According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others."", 'CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.', '""[The auto industry is] capital intensive.', 'You\'re trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""', ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging."", '""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.', ""At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu."", 'His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company.', ""It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million."", 'It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.', '""Having done this before, I\'m in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.', 'But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.', 'Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry.', 'They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.', 'Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls.', 'The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.', ""After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January."", 'But there was one key difference this time.', 'With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers.', ""While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs."", 'Its stock was delisted in April.', 'A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.', '""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""', 'After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""']",0.1223043302607959,"A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.",But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.,-0.1391244559060959,While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs.,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +Flying is getting scary. But is it still safe?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/is-it-safe-to-fly-airplanes-boeing-max/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes seem to have accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly. + + Statistics suggest that flying commercial is still the safest way to travel. But the first half of this year has been one incident after another — which could reasonably give passengers pause before booking their next flight. Even some of those who believe flying is safer than the car ride to or from the nearest airport say they understand the growing concern of passengers. + + When a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, it did more than leave a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage. It caused some passengers’ phones and clothing to be ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries. And it also brought new attention to the potential hazards of flying. + + But the Alaska Air incident is only one of a series of events raising concerns about air safety. The most recent came Wednesday night, when a Southwest Airlines flight descended to within 525 feet of the ground over an Oklahoma town while still nine miles away from the Oklahoma City airport it was approaching, setting off altitude warning from air traffic control, and prompting the flight to climb again. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating. + + It’s not just events in the air shaking the confidence of nervous flyers, but also reports on the ground. Congress has heard from a dozen whistleblowers about safety issues at Boeing, telling stories about questionable parts and “defective airplanes.” + + But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward as statistics showing fewer deaths on commercial flights than on the roads or other forms or transportation might suggest. + + The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than car rides most people take every day without thinking twice. + + “When you arrive at the airport and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an interview with CNN earlier this year. “You were more at risk driving to the airport.” + + But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact. + + Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: + + • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska. + + By comparison, an average of more than 100 people a day died on America’s roads and highways between 2003 and 2022, the most recent year for which full-year traffic deaths are available. That means nearly as many died on roads and highways every hour, on average, as the number of people who died in US commercial aviation crashes in 15 years. + + However, other forms of flying are not nearly as safe. + + Nearly 300 people have died since 2009 while traveling in on-demand air service, such as private jets. And nearly 5,500 people have died in general aviation, typically small planes often operated by amateur pilots. + + While commercial aviation has the safest record among transit options, railroads are the second safest form of travel. + + Railroads had 71 passenger deaths on commuter trains and Amtrak from 2009 through last year. But passenger trains logged far fewer miles traveled than planes or motor vehicles. + + When you control for the much higher number of miles traveled by planes, it’s clearly much more dangerous to travel on the ground than to fly on a commercial US airline. + + Ed Pierson is the director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a harsh critic of Boeing — which, in addition to the Alaska Airlines incident and the recent congressional hearings on the safety of the manufacturer’s planes, had two fatal crashes of the 737 Max, one in 2018 and one in 2019, that led to a 20-month grounding of the plane. + + He said he knows the stats, but because of concerns about quality controls at the embattled aircraft maker, he still would refuse to fly on the Boeing 737 Max or have a family member do so. He has even got off a Max just before departure after he was surprised to find out he was on that particular model of plane. + + Still, Pierson said he is willing to fly on most planes, even many older Boeing models. + + “Taking the Max out of the equation, (flying has) been proven to be pretty darn safe,” he said in an interview with CNN earlier this year. + + The Alaska Airlines incident is by far the most high-profile event this year and the Southwest flight Wednesday the most recent, but they are hardly the only ones to make headlines across the world. + + On January 2, just days before the Alaska Airlines flight, a passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake. + + On March 11, a LATAM Airlines Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing. + + A Southwest jet plunged to within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii on April 11. + + A JetBlue plane and Southwest plane nearly collided on the runway of Reagan National Airport in Washington on April 18, when one was cleared for takeoff as the other was directed to cross the runway it was on. + + Severe turbulence experienced over Myanmar by a Singapore Airlines plane on May 21 resulted in one passenger dying and 71 being injured, some critically. + + And another Southwest jet ended up with significant damage when it experienced an unusual and unsafe back-and-forth motion known in the industry as a “Dutch roll” on a May 25 flight from Phoenix to Oakland. + + There are also more minor incidents, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground. A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered. And several planes had engines catch fire. + + Still, most of these incidents did not involve fatalities, and the deaths that occurred were far outside of US airspace. Unfortunately, the safety record of recent years is not a guarantee of safety in the future. + + The record for the nearly fatality-free US airplane travel industry is partly due to the efforts of aviation authorities, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, despite the criticism heaped on all three of those groups recently. + + But mainly it’s been sheer luck. In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse. + + The Alaska Airlines plane that lost the door plug had flown for more than two months without the four bolts needed to keep the plug in place, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. + + It had made 153 flights before the door plug blew out at 16,000 feet. Twenty-two of those flights were between Hawaii and the mainland. + + If the door had blown out at the normal 35,000-foot cruising altitude, or hours from the nearest airport over the open Pacific Ocean, or if the plug had gone straight back and hit the tail of the plane and caused damage, it could likely have caused a loss of the aircraft and the 177 people on board. + + On February 4, 2023, a FedEx jet came within 150 feet of the runway before its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway. It was one of five such incidents in a period of just seven weeks at the start of last year in which an accident was only narrowly avoided. + + And none of those were potentially as serious as the incident in July 2017, when an Air Canada jet piloted by a captain who had been awake for more than 19 hours nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where three wide-body jets filled with passengers were waiting to take off. + + The NTSB later determined the Air Canada jet got within 100 feet of the ground before it took off again without making contact with any of the passenger planes on the ground. The safety regulator said more than 1,000 people on the four planes might have died had the accident not been averted at the last moment. + + “It would have been the worst disaster in aviation history,” Brickhouse said. “Pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics — they’re all human, and humans make mistakes. We’ve been working toward designing the system so that when mistakes are made, we can recover from them without it being a tragedy.” + + The NTSB has been calling for 24 years for a warning system in cockpits to alert of a possible collision on a runway. But so far there’s been no move to require the technology, which already exists. + + “It’s going to be technology that prevents any of this from reoccurring,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN earlier this month. + + Pierson said regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing need to make changes. + + “I think the system is under tremendous stress,” he said. “There’s a shortage of staff, in air traffic control, a shortage of pilots, of maintenance personnel, of manufacturing personnel.” + + What concerns Pierson the most is the attitude that the apparent safety of the American aviation system means nothing needs to be improved. + + “There’s a sense of overconfidence,” he said. “The gold standard is melting down, because we continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is. That’s not the right mindset. That’s the mindset that gets people killed.” + + Brickhouse believes the planes now in use are safe. He said the Alaska Airlines incident brought attention to a series of other events that in and of themselves don’t pose a serious threat, even if they should not have happened. + + “We have safety events in aviation all the time. That is not an indictment of the aviation industry,” he said. “But after Alaska Air, it became a snowballing event and everyone became hypersensitive.” + + Despite having more confidence in the safety of the system than Pierson, Brickhouse said he also wouldn’t dismiss anyone who’s fearful about flying right now or who wants to avoid a plane like the 737 Max. And he has his own concerns about things like the number of narrowly avoided accidents at the nation’s airports. + + “I don’t believe in luck, but we are fortunate that these incidents did not turn into disasters,” he said. “When you have a trend that keeps occurring, you need to focus on fixing it.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes seem to have accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly.', 'Statistics suggest that flying commercial is still the safest way to travel.', 'But the first half of this year has been one incident after another — which could reasonably give passengers pause before booking their next flight.', 'Even some of those who believe flying is safer than the car ride to or from the nearest airport say they understand the growing concern of passengers.', 'When a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, it did more than leave a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage.', 'It caused some passengers’ phones and clothing to be ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries.', 'And it also brought new attention to the potential hazards of flying.', 'But the Alaska Air incident is only one of a series of events raising concerns about air safety.', 'The most recent came Wednesday night, when a Southwest Airlines flight descended to within 525 feet of the ground over an Oklahoma town while still nine miles away from the Oklahoma City airport it was approaching, setting off altitude warning from air traffic control, and prompting the flight to climb again.', 'The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating.', 'It’s not just events in the air shaking the confidence of nervous flyers, but also reports on the ground.', 'Congress has heard from a dozen whistleblowers about safety issues at Boeing, telling stories about questionable parts and “defective airplanes.”', 'But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward as statistics showing fewer deaths on commercial flights than on the roads or other forms or transportation might suggest.', 'The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than car rides most people take every day without thinking twice.', '“When you arrive at the airport and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an interview with CNN earlier this year. “', 'You were more at risk driving to the airport.”', 'But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.', 'Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska.', 'By comparison, an average of more than 100 people a day died on America’s roads and highways between 2003 and 2022, the most recent year for which full-year traffic deaths are available.', 'That means nearly as many died on roads and highways every hour, on average, as the number of people who died in US commercial aviation crashes in 15 years.', 'However, other forms of flying are not nearly as safe.', 'Nearly 300 people have died since 2009 while traveling in on-demand air service, such as private jets.', 'And nearly 5,500 people have died in general aviation, typically small planes often operated by amateur pilots.', 'While commercial aviation has the safest record among transit options, railroads are the second safest form of travel.', 'Railroads had 71 passenger deaths on commuter trains and Amtrak from 2009 through last year.', 'But passenger trains logged far fewer miles traveled than planes or motor vehicles.', 'When you control for the much higher number of miles traveled by planes, it’s clearly much more dangerous to travel on the ground than to fly on a commercial US airline.', 'Ed Pierson is the director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a harsh critic of Boeing — which, in addition to the Alaska Airlines incident and the recent congressional hearings on the safety of the manufacturer’s planes, had two fatal crashes of the 737 Max, one in 2018 and one in 2019, that led to a 20-month grounding of the plane.', 'He said he knows the stats, but because of concerns about quality controls at the embattled aircraft maker, he still would refuse to fly on the Boeing 737 Max or have a family member do so.', 'He has even got off a Max just before departure after he was surprised to find out he was on that particular model of plane.', 'Still, Pierson said he is willing to fly on most planes, even many older Boeing models.', '“Taking the Max out of the equation, (flying has) been proven to be pretty darn safe,” he said in an interview with CNN earlier this year.', 'The Alaska Airlines incident is by far the most high-profile event this year and the Southwest flight Wednesday the most recent, but they are hardly the only ones to make headlines across the world.', 'On January 2, just days before the Alaska Airlines flight, a passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake.', 'On March 11, a LATAM Airlines Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing.', 'A Southwest jet plunged to within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii on April 11.', 'A JetBlue plane and Southwest plane nearly collided on the runway of Reagan National Airport in Washington on April 18, when one was cleared for takeoff as the other was directed to cross the runway it was on.', 'Severe turbulence experienced over Myanmar by a Singapore Airlines plane on May 21 resulted in one passenger dying and 71 being injured, some critically.', 'And another Southwest jet ended up with significant damage when it experienced an unusual and unsafe back-and-forth motion known in the industry as a“Dutch roll” on a May 25 flight from Phoenix to Oakland.', 'There are also more minor incidents, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground.', 'A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered.', 'And several planes had engines catch fire.', 'Still, most of these incidents did not involve fatalities, and the deaths that occurred were far outside of US airspace.', 'Unfortunately, the safety record of recent years is not a guarantee of safety in the future.', 'The record for the nearly fatality-free US airplane travel industry is partly due to the efforts of aviation authorities, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, despite the criticism heaped on all three of those groups recently.', 'But mainly it’s been sheer luck.', 'In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse.', 'The Alaska Airlines plane that lost the door plug had flown for more than two months without the four bolts needed to keep the plug in place, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.', 'It had made 153 flights before the door plug blew out at 16,000 feet.', 'Twenty-two of those flights were between Hawaii and the mainland.', 'If the door had blown out at the normal 35,000-foot cruising altitude, or hours from the nearest airport over the open Pacific Ocean, or if the plug had gone straight back and hit the tail of the plane and caused damage, it could likely have caused a loss of the aircraft and the 177 people on board.', 'On February 4, 2023, a FedEx jet came within 150 feet of the runway before its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway.', 'It was one of five such incidents in a period of just seven weeks at the start of last year in which an accident was only narrowly avoided.', 'And none of those were potentially as serious as the incident in July 2017, when an Air Canada jet piloted by a captain who had been awake for more than 19 hours nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where three wide-body jets filled with passengers were waiting to take off.', 'The NTSB later determined the Air Canada jet got within 100 feet of the ground before it took off again without making contact with any of the passenger planes on the ground.', 'The safety regulator said more than 1,000 people on the four planes might have died had the accident not been averted at the last moment.', '“It would have been the worst disaster in aviation history,” Brickhouse said. “', 'Pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics — they’re all human, and humans make mistakes.', 'We’ve been working toward designing the system so that when mistakes are made, we can recover from them without it being a tragedy.”', 'The NTSB has been calling for 24 years for a warning system in cockpits to alert of a possible collision on a runway.', 'But so far there’s been no move to require the technology, which already exists.', '“It’s going to be technology that prevents any of this from reoccurring,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN earlier this month.', 'Pierson said regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing need to make changes.', '“I think the system is under tremendous stress,” he said. “', 'There’s a shortage of staff, in air traffic control, a shortage of pilots, of maintenance personnel, of manufacturing personnel.”', 'What concerns Pierson the most is the attitude that the apparent safety of the American aviation system means nothing needs to be improved.', '“There’s a sense of overconfidence,” he said. “', 'The gold standard is melting down, because we continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is.', 'That’s not the right mindset.', 'That’s the mindset that gets people killed.”', 'Brickhouse believes the planes now in use are safe.', 'He said the Alaska Airlines incident brought attention to a series of other events that in and of themselves don’t pose a serious threat, even if they should not have happened.', '“We have safety events in aviation all the time.', 'That is not an indictment of the aviation industry,” he said. “', 'But after Alaska Air, it became a snowballing event and everyone became hypersensitive.”', 'Despite having more confidence in the safety of the system than Pierson, Brickhouse said he also wouldn’t dismiss anyone who’s fearful about flying right now or who wants to avoid a plane like the 737 Max.', 'And he has his own concerns about things like the number of narrowly avoided accidents at the nation’s airports.', '“I don’t believe in luck, but we are fortunate that these incidents did not turn into disasters,” he said. “', 'When you have a trend that keeps occurring, you need to focus on fixing it.”']",-0.0743954996888981,But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.,"Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska.",-0.3160347216057055,But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.,"In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse.",2024-06-21 +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.,2024-06-21 +Telegraph's Robert Winnett will not join Washington Post as editor,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gg44v0ww3o,2024-06-21T12:48:35.732Z,"British journalist Robert Winnett will no longer join the Washington Post as editor and instead remain at the Daily Telegraph in London, after controversy at the US newspaper over his appointment. Telegraph editor Chris Evans told staff the news in an email seen by the BBC, writing that Winnett, the Telegraph's deputy editor, is ""a talented chap and their loss is our gain"". Winnett's decision follows weeks of anger in the Washington Post newsroom over leadership changes put in place by publisher Sir Will Lewis, another Briton and the former Telegraph editor. Both the Washington Post and the New York Times have published investigations into Sir Will and Winnett, and their alleged past practices at UK newspapers. The criticism includes Sir Will, when he was editor of the Telegraph when Winnett's team at the paper exposed the MP expenses scandal, paying £110,000 for a disk containing the expenses files. Sir Will told the Leveson Inquiry the paper had taken care to ensure it was not in breach of the law. But the payment has attracted criticism in the US media. Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has been trying to reinvigorate the storied paper, which has shed readership and endured financial losses. As part of that effort he appointed Sir Will, who became the Post's publisher and CEO in January. Earlier this month, Sally Buzbee - the first woman to lead the Post as editor - abruptly announced her departure amid a hastily announced plan to restructure the newsroom. Sir Will had told staff he intended to split the newsroom into three separate divisions run by editors who report to him - a core news-reporting division, an opinion section, and a new division focused on service and social media journalism intended to attract interest from a broader audience. Buzbee - who was to be put in charge of that new division - is said to have disagreed with the plan. The New York Times also reported that she had clashed with Sir Will prior to her exit over whether to publish a story about the long-running phone hacking scandal at UK tabloid newspapers and a related civil case brought by Prince Harry. Sir Will reportedly told Buzbee he did not believe the case merited the Post's coverage, but she chose to publish the article - which mentioned Sir Will by name - anyway. A spokesperson for Lewis has denied he pressured her. In 2020 the ex-general manager of News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the News of the World and the Sun, was accused of aiding the concealment and destruction of millions of emails relating to phone hacking at the papers. Mr Lewis said at time the allegations against him were ""completely untrue"". Matt Murray, a former Wall Street Journal editor, has been named as her temporary replacement through the November presidential election. Sir Will had announced Winnett's hiring as Buzbee's permanent replacement less than three weeks ago. In a note ""with regret"" to Post staff on Friday, he wrote: “Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist. ""The leadership at The Telegraph Media Group are reaffirming his continued role as deputy editor.” He said that Murray will now continue in the role ""until after the US elections and also carry forward planning and leading the third newsroom"". Sir Will added that a search would now begin for the editor who will lead ""core coverage"". ",BBC,21/06/2024,"['British journalist Robert Winnett will no longer join the Washington Post as editor and instead remain at the Daily Telegraph in London, after controversy at the US newspaper over his appointment.', 'Telegraph editor Chris Evans told staff the news in an email seen by the BBC, writing that Winnett, the Telegraph\'s deputy editor, is ""a talented chap and their loss is our gain"".', ""Winnett's decision follows weeks of anger in the Washington Post newsroom over leadership changes put in place by publisher Sir Will Lewis, another Briton and the former Telegraph editor."", 'Both the Washington Post and the New York Times have published investigations into Sir Will and Winnett, and their alleged past practices at UK newspapers.', ""The criticism includes Sir Will, when he was editor of the Telegraph when Winnett's team at the paper exposed the MP expenses scandal, paying £110,000 for a disk containing the expenses files."", 'Sir Will told the Leveson Inquiry the paper had taken care to ensure it was not in breach of the law.', 'But the payment has attracted criticism in the US media.', 'Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has been trying to reinvigorate the storied paper, which has shed readership and endured financial losses.', ""As part of that effort he appointed Sir Will, who became the Post's publisher and CEO in January."", 'Earlier this month, Sally Buzbee - the first woman to lead the Post as editor - abruptly announced her departure amid a hastily announced plan to restructure the newsroom.', 'Sir Will had told staff he intended to split the newsroom into three separate divisions run by editors who report to him - a core news-reporting division, an opinion section, and a new division focused on service and social media journalism intended to attract interest from a broader audience.', 'Buzbee - who was to be put in charge of that new division - is said to have disagreed with the plan.', 'The New York Times also reported that she had clashed with Sir Will prior to her exit over whether to publish a story about the long-running phone hacking scandal at UK tabloid newspapers and a related civil case brought by Prince Harry.', ""Sir Will reportedly told Buzbee he did not believe the case merited the Post's coverage, but she chose to publish the article - which mentioned Sir Will by name - anyway."", 'A spokesperson for Lewis has denied he pressured her.', 'In 2020 the ex-general manager of News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the News of the World and the Sun, was accused of aiding the concealment and destruction of millions of emails relating to phone hacking at the papers.', 'Mr Lewis said at time the allegations against him were ""completely untrue"".', 'Matt Murray, a former Wall Street Journal editor, has been named as her temporary replacement through the November presidential election.', ""Sir Will had announced Winnett's hiring as Buzbee's permanent replacement less than three weeks ago."", 'In a note ""with regret"" to Post staff on Friday, he wrote: “Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist. ""', 'The leadership at The Telegraph Media Group are reaffirming his continued role as deputy editor.”', 'He said that Murray will now continue in the role ""until after the US elections and also carry forward planning and leading the third newsroom"".', 'Sir Will added that a search would now begin for the editor who will lead ""core coverage"".']",-0.0101939966031731,"Sir Will had told staff he intended to split the newsroom into three separate divisions run by editors who report to him - a core news-reporting division, an opinion section, and a new division focused on service and social media journalism intended to attract interest from a broader audience.","The criticism includes Sir Will, when he was editor of the Telegraph when Winnett's team at the paper exposed the MP expenses scandal, paying £110,000 for a disk containing the expenses files.",-0.4637455940246582,"Telegraph editor Chris Evans told staff the news in an email seen by the BBC, writing that Winnett, the Telegraph's deputy editor, is ""a talented chap and their loss is our gain"".","Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has been trying to reinvigorate the storied paper, which has shed readership and endured financial losses.",2024-06-21 +Top BofA auto analyst says Detroit automakers need to exit China as soon as possible,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/detroit-automakers-need-to-exit-china-bofa-analyst-says-.html,2024-06-18T19:09:51+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America's top automotive analyst said Tuesday.The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports.Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit. He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.""It's a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003. GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings.GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China. President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America\'s top automotive analyst said Tuesday.', ""The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports."", 'Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.', '""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA\'s annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.', 'He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.', '""It\'s a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.', ""GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003."", ""GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings."", 'GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.', ""There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China."", 'President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.', ""While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla."", 'Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""']",0.0208599936010307,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.",-0.0051125437021255,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003.",2024-06-21 +"Stellantis aims to correct 'arrogant' mistakes in U.S. market, CEO says",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-has-achieved-9-billion-in-cost-reductions-from-merger.html,2024-06-13T20:28:51+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company's investor day at its North American headquarters. ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself. I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there.""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company's operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty. The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets. Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days. Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally. Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm. Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive. That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formed one of the world's largest automakers.Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing.Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive. Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker's 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks. The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally. Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker\'s U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.', 'Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.', '""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company\'s investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself."", ""I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there."", '""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company\'s operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty.', 'The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.', ""Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets."", ""Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue."", ""In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.', 'While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally.', ""Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm.', 'Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive.', ""That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formedone of the world's largest automakers."", ""Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing."", 'Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive.', ""Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions."", 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', '""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker\'s 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.', 'Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.', 'The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally.', 'Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""']",0.0910056018442069,"Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.","In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.",0.2339884865851629,"Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year.","Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +What’s to become of summer Fridays in the age of hybrid work?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/summer-fridays-hybrid-work/index.html," + Published + 6:30 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Happy day-after-summer-solstice. + + With any luck, if your employer has instituted a Summer Fridays policy, you’ll get to knock off work early or even take the whole day off. + + It’s always been a popular perk — because who doesn’t want to start their weekend early? + + However, the majority of employees may not even have that option. Only 13% of US employees, for instance, said their organizations had Summer Fridays, in a 2023 survey commissioned by consulting and research firm Gartner. + + Among US employers, a survey last year from HR consulting firm Mercer found that only 19% said they offered summer working hours, up from 15% in 2021. + + Nevertheless, some employees may have even better options today, thanks to the transformation of work culture spurred by the pandemic. With so many people forced to work from home for long stretches, employers had to quickly get accustomed to giving employees greater flexibility in how, when and where they get their work done. + + There is no way to say definitively whether more or fewer companies are offering Summer Friday options today than before Covid-19 hit. But Caitlin Duffy, senior director of Gartner’s HR practice, said she wouldn’t be surprised if Summer Fridays become less of a featured benefit from employers because flexible work has become so much more prevalent. + + Duffy noted, for instance, that she’s seen increased interest among employers in learning about four-day work weeks, noting that various experiments have shown improvements in employee performance and engagement. “Our clients are seeing all these benefits coming out of trials that intrigue them,” she said. + + Indeed, a number of benefits that summer hours offer — such as more time to recharge and more flexibility to make family plans — may be available through other flexible options. The same 2023 Gartner survey found that 31% of US employees said they enjoy flexible work hours while 18% said they had the option of working four and a half days a week year-round and 10% said they have a four-day workweek. + + Still, Summer Fridays are likely to remain an attractive perk as part of an overall paid time off and work flexibility package, especially to those whose companies have insisted employees come into the office five days a week, said Rich Fuerstenberg, senior partner in Mercer’s Health Practice. + + If you’re working for an employer that doesn’t offer Summer Fridays, or you just generally feel that you don’t have all the flexibility you would like, at the very least take all the vacation days you’ve accrued. + + Too few US workers do. Last year, The Pew Research Center found that 46% of US workers did not take all the paid time off that their employer allowed. + + And when you don’t take your days, you’re cheating yourself of the physical rest and mental break you know you need — and which studies suggest can make you a better employee in the long run. + + So, for your own sake (and, of course, that of your company), take the time off you’ve earned. And have a very good weekend.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Happy day-after-summer-solstice.', 'With any luck, if your employer has instituted a Summer Fridays policy, you’ll get to knock off work early or even take the whole day off.', 'It’s always been a popular perk — because who doesn’t want to start their weekend early?', 'However, the majority of employees may not even have that option.', 'Only 13% of US employees, for instance, said their organizations had Summer Fridays, in a 2023 survey commissioned by consulting and research firm Gartner.', 'Among US employers, a survey last year from HR consulting firm Mercer found that only 19% said they offered summer working hours, up from 15% in 2021.', 'Nevertheless, some employees may have even better options today, thanks to the transformation of work culture spurred by the pandemic.', 'With so many people forced to work from home for long stretches, employers had to quickly get accustomed to giving employees greater flexibility in how, when and where they get their work done.', 'There is no way to say definitively whether more or fewer companies are offering Summer Friday options today than before Covid-19 hit.', 'But Caitlin Duffy, senior director of Gartner’s HR practice, said she wouldn’t be surprised if Summer Fridays become less of a featured benefit from employers because flexible work has become so much more prevalent.', 'Duffy noted, for instance, that she’s seen increased interest among employers in learning about four-day work weeks, noting that various experiments have shown improvements in employee performance and engagement. “', 'Our clients are seeing all these benefits coming out of trials that intrigue them,” she said.', 'Indeed, a number of benefits that summer hours offer — such as more time to recharge and more flexibility to make family plans — may be available through other flexible options.', 'The same 2023 Gartner survey found that 31% of US employees said they enjoy flexible work hours while 18% said they had the option of working four and a half days a week year-round and 10% said they have a four-day workweek.', 'Still, Summer Fridays are likely to remain an attractive perk as part of an overall paid time off and work flexibility package, especially to those whose companies have insisted employees come into the office five days a week, said Rich Fuerstenberg, senior partner in Mercer’s Health Practice.', 'If you’re working for an employer that doesn’t offer Summer Fridays, or you just generally feel that you don’t have all the flexibility you would like, at the very least take all the vacation days you’ve accrued.', 'Too few US workers do.', 'Last year, The Pew Research Center found that 46% of US workers did not take all the paid time off that their employer allowed.', 'And when you don’t take your days, you’re cheating yourself of the physical rest and mental break you know you need — and which studies suggest can make you a better employee in the long run.', 'So, for your own sake (and, of course, that of your company), take the time off you’ve earned.', 'And have a very good weekend.']",0.3606746909867829,"Duffy noted, for instance, that she’s seen increased interest among employers in learning about four-day work weeks, noting that various experiments have shown improvements in employee performance and engagement. “",There is no way to say definitively whether more or fewer companies are offering Summer Friday options today than before Covid-19 hit.,0.9488847434520722,"Duffy noted, for instance, that she’s seen increased interest among employers in learning about four-day work weeks, noting that various experiments have shown improvements in employee performance and engagement. “",,2024-06-21 +Boeing CEO blasted by Senate panel: 'It's a travesty that you are still in your job',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-hearing.html,2024-06-18T22:47:31+0000,"In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package.Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.""Much has been said about Boeing's culture. We've heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes."" The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max.Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday. Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk's complaint, which the subcommittee also made public. It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued. Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks.A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate's work,"" the agency said Tuesday. The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing.The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing. The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January. The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing. Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones.""We're here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee's chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen.'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing's responses to the subcommittee's request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects. Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy.Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements.The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane. Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans.Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues. Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents. The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year. With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.— CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package."", ""Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January."", 'The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.', '""Much has been said aboutBoeing\'s culture.', ""We've heard those concerns loud and clear."", 'Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.', 'Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes.""', ""The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max."", 'Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday.', 'Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.', 'Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk\'s complaint, which the subcommittee also made public.', 'It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued.', ""Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks."", 'A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.', '""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.', 'The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.', '""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate\'s work,"" the agency said Tuesday.', 'The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.', ""Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing."", 'The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing.', 'The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives.', 'A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.', 'That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January.', 'The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.', ""Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing."", 'Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.', ""At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones."", '""We\'re here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee\'s chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""', ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen."", '\'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing\'s responses to the subcommittee\'s request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.', '""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.', 'The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects.', 'Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.', ""Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy."", 'Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it\'s a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.', ""The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements."", ""The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane."", 'Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.', ""Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans."", ""Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year."", ""The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues."", 'Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents.', 'The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.', '""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year.', 'With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.—', ""CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.""]",0.0244439257592522,"""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.","Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.",-0.4281838342547416,"Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.","Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.",2024-06-21 +"Massive computer outage at car dealerships could last for days, company says",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/tech/car-dealership-cdk-cyber-incident-outage/index.html," + Updated + 3:13 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","US and Canadian auto dealerships remained at a near-standstill on Thursday because of a second cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers – an outage that could last for days, perhaps eating into sales over the first official weekend of summer. + + On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN: “We are actively investigating a cyber incident. Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible.” + + Later that day the company announced that most of the critical computer systems were back online. But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse. + + “Late in the evening of June 19, we experienced an additional cyber incident and proactively shut down most of our systems. In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers,” CDK said in a statement shared Thursday morning. “We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible.” + + The company later told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation. + + CDK operates numerous different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service. Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many. + + “We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland. + + To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore. Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access. + + Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data. But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business. Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead. + + It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern. + + “We’re in the summer months,” he said. “This is where we need systems functioning.” + + Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems. + + “My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock. + + But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said. There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for. + + Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways serve customers even with all technology issues. + + Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers. + + “Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers. While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN. + + Not just car sales, but parts and service can also be disrupted. + + The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, Benstock said. Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['US and Canadian auto dealerships remained at a near-standstill on Thursday because of a second cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers – an outage that could last for days, perhaps eating into sales over the first official weekend of summer.', 'On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN: “We are actively investigating a cyber incident.', 'Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible.”', 'Later that day the company announced that most of the critical computer systems were back online.', 'But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse.', '“Late in the evening of June 19, we experienced an additional cyber incident and proactively shut down most of our systems.', 'In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers,” CDK said in a statement shared Thursday morning. “', 'We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible.”', 'The company later told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation.', 'CDK operates numerous different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service.', 'Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many.', '“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.', 'To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore.', 'Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access.', 'Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data.', 'But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business.', 'Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead.', 'It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern.', '“We’re in the summer months,” he said. “', 'This is where we need systems functioning.”', 'Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems.', '“My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock.', 'But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said.', 'There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for.', 'Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways serve customers even with all technology issues.', 'Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers.', '“Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers.', 'While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.', 'Not just car sales, but parts and service can also be disrupted.', 'The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, Benstock said.', 'Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.']",0.0652849883185203,"While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.","Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.",-0.4192784769194467,"“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.","But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse.",2024-06-21 +"FDA approves Merck vaccine designed to protect adults from bacteria that can cause pneumonia, serious infections",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/fda-approves-merck-pneumococcal-disease-vaccine-designed-for-adults.html,2024-06-17T23:02:51+0000,"In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said.Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia. It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adults and aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker.Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease. But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form. Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia. ""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said. Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet. An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer. Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028. The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer. Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults. For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older.Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults. But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said. ""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers. Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease. Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021. The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data. Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data. The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine.Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.",CNBC,17/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said."", ""Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia."", ""It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adultsand aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker."", 'Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease.', 'But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form.', 'Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia.', '""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck\'s product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""', 'Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.', '""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said.', 'Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.', ""Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet."", 'An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.', ""Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer."", 'Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028.The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts.', ""Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer."", 'Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults.', ""For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older."", ""Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults."", 'But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said.', '""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers.', ""Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease."", ""Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021.The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data."", ""Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data."", ""The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine."", 'Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.']",0.0201231088733259,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,0.0544579252600669,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,2024-06-21 +AI is replacing human tasks faster than you think,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/ai-jobs-workers-replacing/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Corporate America is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to automate work once exclusively done by humans. + + More than half (61%) of large US firms plan to use AI within the next year to automate tasks previously done by employees, according to a survey of finance chiefs released Thursday. + + Those tasks include everything from paying suppliers and doing invoices to financial reporting, said the survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond. + + That’s in addition to creative tasks for which some businesses are already relying on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to assist, including crafting job posts, writing press releases and building marketing campaigns. + + The findings show companies are increasingly turning to AI to cut costs, boost profits and make their workers more productive. + + “You can’t be running an innovative company without seriously considering these technologies. You run the risk of being left behind,” Duke finance professor John Graham, academic director of the survey, told CNN in a phone interview. + + The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke and the Atlanta and Richmond Fed banks, found that nearly one in three (32%) firms — large or small — plan to use AI in the next year to complete tasks once done by humans. + + Some of this is already happening — especially among larger firms that have the financial firepower to experiment with AI. + + Nearly 60% of all companies (and 84% of large companies) surveyed said that over the past year they have already leaned on software, equipment or technology including AI to automate tasks employees previously did. The survey was conducted between May 13 and June 3. + + Bosses are turning to AI for a variety of reasons, including to trim what they are spending on human workers. + + The CFO Survey found that companies say they are using automation to increase product quality (58% of firms); increase output (49%), reduce labor costs (47%) and substitute for workers (33%). + + Still, the good news for workers is that some experts don’t believe AI will cause mass job loss, at least not right away. + + “I don’t think there will be a lot of job loss in the year,” said Graham. “In the short run, this will be more about plugging some holes and possibly not hiring someone they would have otherwise — but not laying someone off. In part that’s because this is all-brand new.” + + Yet workers will feel the impact of AI adoption, if they aren’t already. + + “This could give humans more time to prioritize what is most important and rewarding,” said Graham. + + Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and co-founder of LinkedIn, told CNN that AI will likely disrupt some jobs but not in the immediate future. + + “Years, not decades, but years, not months,” Hoffman said, referring to the timing of AI displacing humans. “I believe in three to five years, we’ll all have kind of an agent co-pilot that’s helping us with anything from how we cook dinner…to doing your job and writing and so forth.” + + Hoffman, who last year wrote a book called “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI” with the assistance from ChatGPT-4, stressed that for a number of years it will be a co-pilot, not a pilot. + + “It’s job transformation. Human jobs will be replaced — but will be replaced by other humans using AI,” he said. “The whole ideas is to be the human who is using AI, to learn it, to do it, to make it happen.” + + For now, bosses and employees remain concerned about the cost of living and inflationary pressures. + + The CFO Survey found that inflation is the No. 2 concern for the next year among US chief financial officers – behind only the related concern of interest rates and monetary policy. + + Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace. + + However, there was a divergence in the inflation outlook based on technological adoption. The survey found that companies that implemented automation over the past 12 months expect slower price hikes than those that hadn’t. + + Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now. + + “It doesn’t feel like it will be the cure in the next year,” he said. + + The CFO survey shows how fast companies are turning to AI — even as safeguards and regulatory frameworks are still being cobbled together. + + The rapid adoption of AI in some industries like finance has concerned some. + + Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.” + + A report issued last week by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, found that exiting regulation “insufficiently addresses” how hedge funds are already using AI. + + The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.” + + Graham, the Duke professor, said it would be wise for companies in all industries to have strong risk management systems and redundancies in place as they experiment with AI. + + “There has been rapid adoption of AI,” he said. “I hope it’s being done with a grain of salt. There will be some situations where companies have embarrassing products or supply chain situations because they moved a little too fast.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Corporate America is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to automate work once exclusively done by humans.', 'More than half (61%) of large US firms plan to use AI within the next year to automate tasks previously done by employees, according to a survey of finance chiefs released Thursday.', 'Those tasks include everything from paying suppliers and doing invoices to financial reporting, said the survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond.', 'That’s in addition to creative tasks for which some businesses are already relying on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to assist, including crafting job posts, writing press releases and building marketing campaigns.', 'The findings show companies are increasingly turning to AI to cut costs, boost profits and make their workers more productive.', '“You can’t be running an innovative company without seriously considering these technologies.', 'You run the risk of being left behind,” Duke finance professor John Graham, academic director of the survey, told CNN in a phone interview.', 'The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke and the Atlanta and Richmond Fed banks, found that nearly one in three (32%) firms — large or small — plan to use AI in the next year to complete tasks once done by humans.', 'Some of this is already happening — especially among larger firms that have the financial firepower to experiment with AI.', 'Nearly 60% of all companies (and 84% of large companies) surveyed said that over the past year they have already leaned on software, equipment or technology including AI to automate tasks employees previously did.', 'The survey was conducted between May 13 and June 3.', 'Bosses are turning to AI for a variety of reasons, including to trim what they are spending on human workers.', 'The CFO Survey found that companies say they are using automation to increase product quality (58% of firms); increase output (49%), reduce labor costs (47%) and substitute for workers (33%).', 'Still, the good news for workers is that some experts don’t believe AI will cause mass job loss, at least not right away.', '“I don’t think there will be a lot of job loss in the year,” said Graham. “', 'In the short run, this will be more about plugging some holes and possibly not hiring someone they would have otherwise — but not laying someone off.', 'In part that’s because this is all-brand new.”', 'Yet workers will feel the impact of AI adoption, if they aren’t already.', '“This could give humans more time to prioritize what is most important and rewarding,” said Graham.', 'Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and co-founder of LinkedIn, told CNN that AI will likely disrupt some jobs but not in the immediate future.', '“Years, not decades, but years, not months,” Hoffman said, referring to the timing of AI displacing humans. “', 'I believe in three to five years, we’ll all have kind of an agent co-pilot that’s helping us with anything from how we cook dinner…to doing your job and writing and so forth.”', 'Hoffman, who last year wrote a book called “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI” with the assistance from ChatGPT-4, stressed that for a number of years it will be a co-pilot, not a pilot.', '“It’s job transformation.', 'Human jobs will be replaced — but will be replaced by other humans using AI,” he said. “', 'The whole ideas is to be the human who is using AI, to learn it, to do it, to make it happen.”', 'For now, bosses and employees remain concerned about the cost of living and inflationary pressures.', 'The CFO Survey found that inflation is the No.', '2 concern for the next year among US chief financial officers – behind only the related concern of interest rates and monetary policy.', 'Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace.', 'However, there was a divergence in the inflation outlook based on technological adoption.', 'The survey found that companies that implemented automation over the past 12 months expect slower price hikes than those that hadn’t.', 'Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now.', '“It doesn’t feel like it will be the cure in the next year,” he said.', 'The CFO survey shows how fast companies are turning to AI — even as safeguards and regulatory frameworks are still being cobbled together.', 'The rapid adoption of AI in some industries like finance has concerned some.', 'Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.”', 'A report issued last week by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, found that exiting regulation “insufficiently addresses” how hedge funds are already using AI.', 'The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.”', 'Graham, the Duke professor, said it would be wise for companies in all industries to have strong risk management systems and redundancies in place as they experiment with AI.', '“There has been rapid adoption of AI,” he said. “', 'I hope it’s being done with a grain of salt.', 'There will be some situations where companies have embarrassing products or supply chain situations because they moved a little too fast.”']",0.142277606925291,"Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now.","The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.”",0.1856903714292189,Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace.,Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.”,2024-06-21 +"China car companies seek 25% tax on EU rivals, state media says",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd114dpnqxwo,2024-06-20T04:26:52.399Z,"Chinese car companies have called on Beijing to hit European Union rivals with import taxes of up to 25% if the trading bloc imposes tariffs on vehicles from China, the country's state media has reported. The demand was reportedly made at a closed-door meeting organised by China's Ministry of Commerce, which was also attended by representatives of European car firms. The measures would target cars from the EU with large petrol-driven engines. Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July. The meeting in Beijing was attended by four Chinese and six European car companies, according to an article published by a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV. German car making giant Volkswagen has confirmed to the BBC that it was present at the meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed. Porsche declined to comment, while BMW did not immediately reply when contacted by the BBC. ""China's car companies called on the government to adopt firm countermeasures against the EU,"" the report said. ""It is suggested that within the limits allowed by Word Trade Organization rules, a higher provisional tariff be imposed on large-displacement petrol vehicles imported from Europe."" The reports echo an article published last month by the state-run newspaper Global Times, which said 25% tariffs should apply to cars with petrol engines larger than 2.5 litres. The move would target ""luxury or ultra luxury"" vehicles, meaning ""an additional tax is not likely to make much of a difference on volumes,"" Bill Russo, from advisory firm Automobility, told the BBC. The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"". Firms that co-operated with the investigation, which was launched in October, will face an average 21% duty, while those who did not could face one of 38.1%. These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% tariff levied on all electric cars produced in China. The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month. The Chinese government has denounced the decisions as protectionism and has since started taking retaliatory measures. Earlier this week, China launched an investigation into imports of European pork products. Last month, Beijing signalled a similar move by launching an investigation into imports of chemicals from the EU and US. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""Chinese car companies have called on Beijing to hit European Union rivals with import taxes of up to 25% if the trading bloc imposes tariffs on vehicles from China, the country's state media has reported."", ""The demand was reportedly made at a closed-door meeting organised by China's Ministry of Commerce, which was also attended by representatives of European car firms."", 'The measures would target cars from the EU with large petrol-driven engines.', 'Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July.', 'The meeting in Beijing was attended by four Chinese and six European car companies, according to an article published by a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV.', 'German car making giant Volkswagen has confirmed to the BBC that it was present at the meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed.', 'Porsche declined to comment, while BMW did not immediately reply when contacted by the BBC. ""', 'China\'s car companies called on the government to adopt firm countermeasures against the EU,"" the report said. ""', 'It is suggested that within the limits allowed by Word Trade Organization rules, a higher provisional tariff be imposed on large-displacement petrol vehicles imported from Europe.""', 'The reports echo an article published last month by the state-run newspaper Global Times, which said 25% tariffs should apply to cars with petrol engines larger than 2.5 litres.', 'The move would target ""luxury or ultra luxury"" vehicles, meaning ""an additional tax is not likely to make much of a difference on volumes,"" Bill Russo, from advisory firm Automobility, told the BBC.', 'The EU\'s governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".', 'Firms that co-operated with the investigation, which was launched in October, will face an average 21% duty, while those who did not could face one of 38.1%.', 'These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% tariff levied on all electric cars produced in China.', ""The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month."", 'The Chinese government has denounced the decisions as protectionism and has since started taking retaliatory measures.', 'Earlier this week, China launched an investigation into imports of European pork products.', 'Last month, Beijing signalled a similar move by launching an investigation into imports of chemicals from the EU and US.']",0.030308852081287,"The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".","Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July.",-0.5608013570308685,The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month.,"The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".",2024-06-21 +Gen X stands to gain the most wealth from the $84 trillion wealth transfer,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/great-wealth-transfer-gen-x-gains.html,2024-06-18T16:05:30+0000,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term. According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances — from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study. The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.Subscribe here to get access today. The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors. Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families. More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top. In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report. Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more. In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down. Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to. The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and 'impact investing' will be a focus of many heirs' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family's existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.', 'While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.', 'According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.', 'The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances — from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study.', 'The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.', 'Subscribe here to get access today.', 'The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors.', 'Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families.', 'More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.', 'The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.', 'The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.', '""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top.', 'In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report.', 'Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more.', 'In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.', 'The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down.', 'Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.', 'Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to.', 'The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.', '""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and \'impact investing\' will be a focus of many heirs\' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family\'s existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.']",0.4888566275310664,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.",,0.9431760907173156,"While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.",,2024-06-21 +Servers for GameStop annual shareholder meeting crash due to overwhelming interest,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/gamestop-annual-shareholder-meeting-2024-servers-crash.html,2024-06-14T12:23:03+0000,"In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream. The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event. The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday. GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment.When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts. They added that ComputerShare's tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes."" The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years. Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.GameStop announced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally. GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock.In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns. Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period. They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream."", ""The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event."", 'The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.', 'It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday.', ""GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment."", 'When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.', ""The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts."", 'They added that ComputerShare\'s tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes.', '""The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years.', 'Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.', 'GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.', 'GameStopannounced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally.', 'GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.', ""Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock."", 'In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns.', 'Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period.', 'They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.', 'GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.', 'The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.', 'It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.', ""Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.""]",0.1013017582753665,"Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.","The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event.",-0.2003346773294302,GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.,"The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.",2024-06-21 +Robotics startup cofounded by Synapse CEO is raising funds with exaggerated claims about GM ties,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/robotics-startup-synapse-ceo-exaggerated-gm-claims.html,2024-06-13T19:13:42+0000,"In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC. The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process. We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.""But, according to GM and one of the startup's founders, most of Foundation's claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman.""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company. Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation's cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM's points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.""The engineering stuff we've done is really incredible, and it's the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company's fundraising pitch.It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients. The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment.The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks.Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform. Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings.Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.', 'The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC.', 'The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.', '""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.', ""On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots."", '""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""', 'Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process.', 'We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.', '""But, according to GM and one of the startup\'s founders, most of Foundation\'s claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.', ""While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman."", '""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""', 'In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company.', 'Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.', '""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation\'s cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM\'s points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.', '""The engineering stuff we\'ve done is really incredible, and it\'s the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""', 'That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.', '""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company\'s fundraising pitch.', ""It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey."", 'The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients.', 'The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.', ""Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment."", ""The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks."", 'Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform.', 'Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.', ""The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings."", 'Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.', ""Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.""]",-0.0501589084925131,"On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.",In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.,-0.5666174769401551,"It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.","Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.",2024-06-21 +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).",2024-06-21 +Here's what's next for Paramount after Skydance deal is stopped in its tracks,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/paramount-skydance-deal-ends-what-happens-next.html,2024-06-13T11:46:33+0000,"In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry.Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward.Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.""It's very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis. It's almost unheard of. How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?"" said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward.""So, what does this mean for Paramount? While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process.The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement."" National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership.While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports. Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved.""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday's memo to employees. ""And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount's new leadership team outlined a plan at last week's shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn't take place.The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25. The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call.The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year. Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan.""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation.In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""But this is a very difficult situation. Uncertainty is the worst thing.""Whether it's these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year. A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"[""In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry."", 'Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.', ""Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward."", 'Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins.', 'The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.', '""It\'s very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis.', ""It's almost unheard of."", 'How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?""', 'said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.', ""On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward."", '""So, what does this mean for Paramount?', 'While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.', ""After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process."", 'The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.', 'The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.', 'In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement.""', ""National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership."", 'While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.', 'In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.', 'In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports.', 'Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.', 'While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.', ""Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved."", '""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday\'s memo to employees. ""', 'And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.', '""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount\'s new leadership team outlined a plan at last week\'s shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn\'t take place.', 'The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.', 'The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25.', ""The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call."", ""The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year."", 'Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.', ""In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan."", '""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.', ""Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation."", ""In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations."", 'But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.', '""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""', 'But this is a very difficult situation.', 'Uncertainty is the worst thing.', '""Whether it\'s these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.', ""Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year."", 'A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.']",0.1552936129402598,"""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. """,Uncertainty is the worst thing.,0.0349052796761194,"In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.",A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.,2024-06-21 +"Darden beats on earnings, even as Olive Garden, fine-dining sales drag",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/darden-restaurants-dri-q4-2024-earnings.html,2024-06-20T15:07:48+0000,"In this articleDarden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as Olive Garden's same-store sales fell for the second consecutive quarter.The company has faced a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals, CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company's conference call.For fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting that its same-store sales will grow just 1% to 2%.Shares of the company rose less than 1% in morning trading.Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants. Still, executives emphasized that their chains are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.""We're not going to do things to buy sales, even with the increased discounting our competitors are doing. … Our focus is on profitable sales growth,"" Cardenas said.He added that consumers are concerned about inflation — and growing more anxious about the job market. Still, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse diners are more willing to spend on pricey entrees and alcoholic drinks than they had been over recent quarters, executives said.Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.5%, despite a 1% rise in its menu prices compared with the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates. Last quarter, Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.8%, driven by a pullback from low-income consumers.Darden's fine-dining restaurants, which include The Capital Grille and Eddie V's, saw their same-store sales shrink 2.6% in the quarter. That division now includes Ruth's Chris, but those same-store results won't be included in the category total until the second quarter of fiscal 2025.LongHorn Steakhouse, which is overtaking Olive Garden as the gem of Darden's portfolio, was the only segment to report same-store sales growth. The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter.Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.Excluding costs related to the company's Ruth's Chris Steak House acquisition and other items, the company earned $2.65 per share.Net sales rose 6.8% to $2.96 billion, fueled by its purchase of Ruth's Chris and 37 other net new locations.Looking to fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting earnings per share from continuing operations of $9.40 to $9.60, in line with Wall Street's expectations of $9.55 per share. The company is also anticipating net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion, on the low end of analysts' expectations of $11.94 billion.Darden is projecting total inflation of 3% and same-store sales growth of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2025. CFO Raj Vennam said the company expects that traffic will improve as the year progresses. Darden expects to raise prices about 2% to 3%, mirroring overall inflation, according to Vennam.""We feel like we've done a lot of work to keep prices low, and we're going to continue to do that,"" he said.The company plans to spend $550 million to $600 million on capital expenditures.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"[""In this articleDarden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as Olive Garden's same-store sales fell for the second consecutive quarter."", 'The company has faced a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals, CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company\'s conference call.', 'For fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting that its same-store sales will grow just 1% to 2%.Shares of the company rose less than 1% in morning trading.', ""Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants."", 'Still, executives emphasized that their chains are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.', '""We\'re not going to do things to buy sales, even with the increased discounting our competitors are doing. …', 'Our focus is on profitable sales growth,"" Cardenas said.', 'He added that consumers are concerned about inflation — and growing more anxious about the job market.', 'Still, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse diners are more willing to spend on pricey entrees and alcoholic drinks than they had been over recent quarters, executives said.', ""Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.5%, despite a 1% rise in its menu prices compared with the year-ago period."", 'Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates.', ""Last quarter, Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.8%, driven by a pullback from low-income consumers."", ""Darden's fine-dining restaurants, which include The Capital Grille and Eddie V's, saw their same-store sales shrink 2.6% in the quarter."", ""That division now includes Ruth's Chris, but those same-store results won't be included in the category total until the second quarter of fiscal 2025.LongHorn Steakhouse, which is overtaking Olive Garden as the gem of Darden's portfolio, was the only segment to report same-store sales growth."", ""The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter."", 'Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.', ""Excluding costs related to the company's Ruth's Chris Steak House acquisition and other items, the company earned $2.65 per share."", ""Net salesrose 6.8% to $2.96 billion, fueled by its purchase of Ruth's Chris and 37 other net new locations."", ""Looking to fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting earnings per share from continuing operations of $9.40 to $9.60, in line with Wall Street's expectations of $9.55 per share."", ""The company is also anticipating net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion, on the low end of analysts' expectations of $11.94 billion."", 'Darden is projecting total inflation of 3% and same-store sales growth of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2025.', 'CFO Raj Vennam said the company expects that traffic will improve as the year progresses.', 'Darden expects to raise prices about 2% to 3%, mirroring overall inflation, according to Vennam.', '""We feel like we\'ve done a lot of work to keep prices low, and we\'re going to continue to do that,"" he said.', 'The company plans to spend $550 million to $600 million on capital expenditures.']",0.1442981479384051,"Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates.","Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants.",0.1420286723545619,The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter.,"Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.",2024-06-21 +"Bugatti’s new car is a $4 million, 1,800 horsepower hybrid",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/cars/bugatti-horsepower-hybrid/index.html," + Published + 4:15 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Bugatti has unveiled its new model, the Bugatti Tourbillon, a massively powerful hybrid with an equally impressive price tag. The car will replace the $3.3 million, 1,500 horsepower Bugatti Chiron. + + You might have expected Bugatti’s new model to be all-electric. Not only is the industry headed in that direction, but in 2021 Bugatti was spun off from Volkswagen Group and merged with Rimac, the Croatian company that makes the all-electric Rimac Nevera supercar. + + But Mate Rimac, the chief executive of the new company, now called Bugatti Rimac, said he never had any intention of making an all-electric Bugatti. As gasoline-powered cars gradually fade from the world’s roads, Bugatti Rimac’s engineers and designers wanted to create something that retained the spirit of mechanically powered Bugatti cars, just better: An insanely powerful plug-in hybrid. + + Like the Bugatti Chiron and Veyron models before it, the new Bugatti Tourbillon will have a huge, 16-cylinder gas engine. The engine, which was designed in cooperation with the British race car engineering firm Cosworth, will be assisted by three powerful electric motors. One motor in the back of the car and two more in the front will be capable of producing at least 800 horsepower on their own. In total, the Bugatti Tourbillon will be able to put out at least 1,800 horsepower, according to Bugatti Rimac. + + The electric motors will help make up for the new gas engine’s lack of turbochargers. The Chiron’s gas engine had four turbochargers that pushed air into the engine to help it produce more power. Mate Rimac said they wanted this new engine to be “naturally aspirated,” meaning there would be no turbochargers. + + “We wanted to make the most exciting, most emotional combustion engine possible,” Rimac said, “and that is high revving, naturally aspirated.” + + The car’s interior is, likewise, an homage to old-fashioned machinery. The Tourbillon is named after a set of gears that helps maintain accuracy in a mechanical watch. The Bugatti’s instrument display is modeled on mechanical watch dials. + + “One of the first things we did when the new company was formed, I took the whole team to Switzerland and we visited a few watchmakers,” Rimac told CNN. + + The central speedometer display even has two needles like the hands of a clock. The long hand shows the car’s speed while the short hand registers the revolutions per minute of the high-revving 16-cylinder engine. + + With a fully charged battery, the car will be able to travel about 37 miles on purely electric power before the gas engine needs to turn on, but the driver will have the option to run the gas engine continuously, if they wish. + + Unlike past Bugattis, though, the Tourbillon does have a reasonably large display screen with Apple CarPlay available. The screen will only come out and become visible when the driver requests it, though. In general, Bugatti designers have avoided putting screens in the cars in the belief that computer displays look outmoded quickly. + + “We think, really, how will this product look in 50 years, 100 years,” said Rimac. “And it’s clear that, if you have a screen, it won’t look that great.” + + The cars will still be assembled one at a time at Bugatti’s small factory in Molsheim, France. A total of only 250 Tourbillons will be built, Mate Rimac said, at a starting price of roughly $4 million each.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Bugatti has unveiled its new model, the Bugatti Tourbillon, a massively powerful hybrid with an equally impressive price tag.', 'The car will replace the $3.3 million, 1,500 horsepower Bugatti Chiron.', 'You might have expected Bugatti’s new model to be all-electric.', 'Not only is the industry headed in that direction, but in 2021 Bugatti was spun off from Volkswagen Group and merged with Rimac, the Croatian company that makes the all-electric Rimac Nevera supercar.', 'But Mate Rimac, the chief executive of the new company, now called Bugatti Rimac, said he never had any intention of making an all-electric Bugatti.', 'As gasoline-powered cars gradually fade from the world’s roads, Bugatti Rimac’s engineers and designers wanted to create something that retained the spirit of mechanically powered Bugatti cars, just better: An insanely powerful plug-in hybrid.', 'Like the Bugatti Chiron and Veyron models before it, the new Bugatti Tourbillon will have a huge, 16-cylinder gas engine.', 'The engine, which was designed in cooperation with the British race car engineering firm Cosworth, will be assisted by three powerful electric motors.', 'One motor in the back of the car and two more in the front will be capable of producing at least 800 horsepower on their own.', 'In total, the Bugatti Tourbillon will be able to put out at least 1,800 horsepower, according to Bugatti Rimac.', 'The electric motors will help make up for the new gas engine’s lack of turbochargers.', 'The Chiron’s gas engine had four turbochargers that pushed air into the engine to help it produce more power.', 'Mate Rimac said they wanted this new engine to be “naturally aspirated,” meaning there would be no turbochargers.', '“We wanted to make the most exciting, most emotional combustion engine possible,” Rimac said, “and that is high revving, naturally aspirated.”', 'The car’s interior is, likewise, an homage to old-fashioned machinery.', 'The Tourbillon is named after a set of gears that helps maintain accuracy in a mechanical watch.', 'The Bugatti’s instrument display is modeled on mechanical watch dials.', '“One of the first things we did when the new company was formed, I took the whole team to Switzerland and we visited a few watchmakers,” Rimac told CNN.', 'The central speedometer display even has two needles like the hands of a clock.', 'The long hand shows the car’s speed while the short hand registers the revolutions per minute of the high-revving 16-cylinder engine.', 'With a fully charged battery, the car will be able to travel about 37 miles on purely electric power before the gas engine needs to turn on, but the driver will have the option to run the gas engine continuously, if they wish.', 'Unlike past Bugattis, though, the Tourbillon does have a reasonably large display screen with Apple CarPlay available.', 'The screen will only come out and become visible when the driver requests it, though.', 'In general, Bugatti designers have avoided putting screens in the cars in the belief that computer displays look outmoded quickly.', '“We think, really, how will this product look in 50 years, 100 years,” said Rimac. “', 'And it’s clear that, if you have a screen, it won’t look that great.”', 'The cars will still be assembled one at a time at Bugatti’s small factory in Molsheim, France.', 'A total of only 250 Tourbillons will be built, Mate Rimac said, at a starting price of roughly $4 million each.']",0.2210828870940111,"As gasoline-powered cars gradually fade from the world’s roads, Bugatti Rimac’s engineers and designers wanted to create something that retained the spirit of mechanically powered Bugatti cars, just better: An insanely powerful plug-in hybrid.","In general, Bugatti designers have avoided putting screens in the cars in the belief that computer displays look outmoded quickly.",-0.0180117189884185,"Bugatti has unveiled its new model, the Bugatti Tourbillon, a massively powerful hybrid with an equally impressive price tag.","And it’s clear that, if you have a screen, it won’t look that great.”",2024-06-21 +From dying mall brand to Wall Street winner: How Abercrombie & Fitch pulled off retail's biggest comeback,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/inside-abercrombie-and-fitchs-comeback.html,2024-06-13T13:23:39+0000,"In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer. Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations. Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success. Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook. She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer. Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity. To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer.', ""Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations."", 'Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.', ""Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook."", ""She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer."", 'Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.', ""To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.""]",0.3602311650416981,"Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.","Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.",0.9919991195201874,Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations.,,2024-06-21 +Can I even buy a car? What to know about the massive auto dealer outage,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/cdk-global-car-dealership-outage/index.html," + Published + 7:00 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","CDK Global is ubiquitous in the auto dealership world – its software is used at 15,000 dealers. Its products handle everything from records to scheduling. + + Now, thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada are entering a third day in a near deadlock after two consecutive cyber incidents at CDK Global led to a shut down of its systems. + + There’s never an opportune time for a systems outage, but it’s now the official start of summer, a time when many Americans are shopping for a new car and dealerships enjoy a bump in sales. Here’s what the CDK Global outage means for both car sellers and shoppers. + + On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney told CNN that the company was investigating a cyber incident. + + “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible,” Finney said in the statement. + + Later Wednesday, the company said most of its critical computer systems were back online. But Thursday morning, the company told dealerships another incident had happened. + + CDK said it proactively shut down most of its systems after it experienced an additional cyber incident late in the evening on Wednesday, June 19. + + “In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers. We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement Thursday. + + On Thursday afternoon, the company said it still had no new information. + + The company told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation. + + CDK Global provides data and technology to different automotive dealerships. Its systems are used by roughly 15,000 car dealerships across the United States and Canada. + + CDK operates different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service. Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many. + + To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore. Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for salespeople affected by the outage to access. + + The outage can eat into sales during the first official weekend of the summer. Summer is car-buying season. + + CDK said it themselves in a blog post on its site last week. + + Post Memorial Day, “this presents increased opportunities for vehicle sales, service and, of course, revenue. It also means that it’s time to roll out your summer Sales and Service marketing campaigns.” + + Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland, told CNN the shutdown is a major hassle and could cost his dealerships some business. Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead. + + However, some affected dealerships are still selling cars. + + “My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York. + + But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said. There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for. + + Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways to serve customers even with all technology issues. + + Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers. + + “Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers. While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['CDK Global is ubiquitous in the auto dealership world – its software is used at 15,000 dealers.', 'Its products handle everything from records to scheduling.', 'Now, thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada are entering a third day in a near deadlock after two consecutive cyber incidents at CDK Global led to a shut down of its systems.', 'There’s never an opportune time for a systems outage, but it’s now the official start of summer, a time when many Americans are shopping for a new car and dealerships enjoy a bump in sales.', 'Here’s what the CDK Global outage means for both car sellers and shoppers.', 'On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney told CNN that the company was investigating a cyber incident.', '“Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible,” Finney said in the statement.', 'Later Wednesday, the company said most of its critical computer systems were back online.', 'But Thursday morning, the company told dealerships another incident had happened.', 'CDK said it proactively shut down most of its systems after it experienced an additional cyber incident late in the evening on Wednesday, June 19.', '“In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers.', 'We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement Thursday.', 'On Thursday afternoon, the company said it still had no new information.', 'The company told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation.', 'CDK Global provides data and technology to different automotive dealerships.', 'Its systems are used by roughly 15,000 car dealerships across the United States and Canada.', 'CDK operates different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service.', 'Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many.', 'To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore.', 'Instead, information about deals and customer appointments iskept in a server that’s now impossible for salespeople affected by the outage to access.', 'The outage can eat into sales during the first official weekend of the summer.', 'Summer is car-buying season.', 'CDK said it themselves in a blog post on its site last week.', 'Post Memorial Day, “this presents increased opportunities for vehicle sales, service and, of course, revenue.', 'It also means that it’s time to roll out your summer Sales and Service marketing campaigns.”', 'Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland, told CNN the shutdown is a major hassle and could cost his dealerships some business.', 'Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead.', 'However, some affected dealerships are still selling cars.', '“My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York.', 'But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said.', 'There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for.', 'Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways to serve customers even with all technology issues.', 'Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers.', '“Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers.', 'While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.']",0.1038293868260292,"While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.","Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many.",-0.2816565752029419,"There’s never an opportune time for a systems outage, but it’s now the official start of summer, a time when many Americans are shopping for a new car and dealerships enjoy a bump in sales.","Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland, told CNN the shutdown is a major hassle and could cost his dealerships some business.",2024-06-21 +Sen. Warren warns Powell against weakening banking regulations: ‘Do your job’,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/sen-elizabeth-warren-powell-basel-iii-endgame.html,2024-06-18T13:43:04+0000,"Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold.In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending. The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry's campaign against the rules. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month. The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon's bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.When asked for a response to Warren's letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold."", 'In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.', '""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.', 'Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending.', 'The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.', '""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.', 'Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.', 'In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry\'s campaign against the rules.', 'JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.', '""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry\'s bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""', 'Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.', '""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.', '""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month.', 'The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.', '""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon\'s bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.', 'When asked for a response to Warren\'s letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""']",-0.1466458510797449,Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.,"""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.",-0.6343785747885704,"""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""","""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.",2024-06-21 +"At Stellantis investor day, cost cuts and China come into focus",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/stellantis-investor-day-wall-street-expectations.html,2024-06-12T16:29:01+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission. That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors.How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday.Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually. It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule.More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.""We've been cutting headcounts, but we really don't need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done.""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we'll see."" He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.""There is no silver bullet here. You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""This is no surprise. You can check my comments for the last five years. I've been running the same stuff for five years.""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company's Thursday capital markets day.Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight.""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we're leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns.""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China.At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days.Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No. 1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy. That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor.""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed. We don't expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March. GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission.', ""That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors."", ""How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday."", ""Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually."", ""It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule."", 'More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.', '""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', ""The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions."", 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', ""Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it\'s optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.', 'Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.', '""We\'ve been cutting headcounts, but we really don\'t need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""', ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done."", '""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we\'ll see.""', 'He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.', '""There is no silver bullet here.', 'You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""', 'This is no surprise.', 'You can check my comments for the last five years.', ""I've been running the same stuff for five years."", '""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company\'s Thursday capital markets day.', ""Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight."", '""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we\'re leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""', ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns."", '""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.', ""Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China."", ""At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.', 'Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No.', '1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy.', ""That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor."", '""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed.', 'We don\'t expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.', ""Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor."", ""Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March."", 'GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.', 'RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.', 'Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.—', ""CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.""]",0.1316323402178248,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.","Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.",0.520694066177715,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.",Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.,2024-06-21 +US home prices just hit a record high. Americans are still buying,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/economy/us-homes-prices-record-high/index.html," + Updated + 11:00 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Homes in America are the most expensive they’ve ever been, according to one measure. + + The median price of a previously owned US home climbed for the eleventh consecutive month in May, up 5.8% from a year ago, to $419,300, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. That’s the highest price ever recorded by NAR. + + “Home prices reaching new highs are creating a wider divide between those owning properties and those who wish to be first-time buyers,” NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a release. “Still, first-time buyers in the market understand the long-term benefits of owning.” + + Housing affordability remains in the gutter: In addition to sky-high home prices, mortgage rates are still higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022. There still aren’t enough homes in the market to keep up with demand, despite some improvements in recent months. + + The situation could improve somewhat later this year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to begin paring back interest rates from a 23-year high, which should bring down mortgage rates. But Fed officials have penciled in just one rate cut for this year, and the days of ultra-low interest rates are long gone. Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% in 2024. + + Recent research from Zillow shows that in order for a median-income household to afford a monthly mortgage payment on the typical US home, it would need to save up more than $127,000 for a down payment. That’s roughly double the median salary of a US worker. + + Potential homebuyers are indeed facing a tough market, but that doesn’t seem to be deterring some: Sales of previously owned homes in the US are up from the decades lows in the fall and only edged lower by 0.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million. + + When supply doesn’t keep up with demand, it pushes up prices. That’s been the case in the US housing market for decades now. + + However, there have been some steps in the right direction: Total housing inventory has steadily increased throughout this year, according to NAR data. Inventory at the end of May stood at 1.28 million units, 6.7% higher from April and up 18.5% from a year ago. + + Homeowners who locked in a low rate before the Fed began to hike in 2022 have been unwilling or unable to sell their homes because of months of elevated mortgage rates. But the recent growth in inventory may mean that homeowners are finally parting with their homes out of necessity because of life events such as marriage, divorce or new children, NAR’s Yun has said. + + New home construction also contributes to housing supply, but high interest rates seem to have pumped the brakes on homebuilding. Housing starts fell in May to their lowest level since 2020, according to government statistics released Thursday, dropping by 5.5% from April. Building permits, seen as a forward indicator of future construction, came in below economists’ expectations. + + This story is developing and will be updated.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Homes in America are the most expensive they’ve ever been, according to one measure.', 'The median price of a previously owned US home climbed for the eleventh consecutive month in May, up 5.8% from a year ago, to $419,300, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.', 'That’s the highest price ever recorded by NAR.', '“Home prices reaching new highs are creating a wider divide between those owning properties and those who wish to be first-time buyers,” NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a release. “', 'Still, first-time buyers in the market understand the long-term benefits of owning.”', 'Housing affordability remains in the gutter: In addition to sky-high home prices, mortgage rates are still higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022.', 'There still aren’t enough homes in the market to keep up with demand, despite some improvements in recent months.', 'The situation could improve somewhat later this year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to begin paring back interest rates from a 23-year high, which should bring down mortgage rates.', 'But Fed officials have penciled in just one rate cut for this year, and the days of ultra-low interest rates are long gone.', 'Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% in 2024.', 'Recent research from Zillow shows that in order for a median-income household to afford a monthly mortgage payment on the typical US home, it would need to save up more than $127,000 for a down payment.', 'That’s roughly double the median salary of a US worker.', 'Potential homebuyers are indeed facing a tough market, but that doesn’t seem to be deterring some: Sales of previously owned homes in the US are up from the decades lows in the fall and only edged lower by 0.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million.', 'When supply doesn’t keep up with demand, it pushes up prices.', 'That’s been the case in the US housing market for decades now.', 'However, there have been some steps in the right direction: Total housing inventory has steadily increased throughout this year, according to NAR data.', 'Inventory at the end of May stood at 1.28 million units, 6.7% higher from April and up 18.5% from a year ago.', 'Homeowners who locked in a low rate before theFedbegan to hike in 2022 have been unwilling or unable to sell their homes because of months of elevated mortgagerates.', 'But the recent growth in inventory may mean that homeowners are finally parting with their homes out of necessity because of life events such as marriage, divorce or new children, NAR’s Yun has said.', 'New home construction also contributes to housing supply, but high interest rates seem to have pumped the brakes on homebuilding.', 'Housing starts fell in May to their lowest level since 2020, according to government statistics released Thursday, dropping by 5.5% from April.', 'Building permits, seen as a forward indicator of future construction, came in below economists’ expectations.', 'This story is developing and will be updated.']",0.0796577106316985,"The situation could improve somewhat later this year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to begin paring back interest rates from a 23-year high, which should bring down mortgage rates.","Potential homebuyers are indeed facing a tough market, but that doesn’t seem to be deterring some: Sales of previously owned homes in the US are up from the decades lows in the fall and only edged lower by 0.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million.",0.1943695843219757,"The median price of a previously owned US home climbed for the eleventh consecutive month in May, up 5.8% from a year ago, to $419,300, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.","Housing starts fell in May to their lowest level since 2020, according to government statistics released Thursday, dropping by 5.5% from April.",2024-06-21 +Europe’s richest man liked this Paris bistro so much his company bought it,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/lvmh-arnault-buys-paris-restaurant/index.html," + Published + 10:45 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","French luxury conglomerate LVMH has added a tiny Parisian bistro to its sprawling empire of designer fashion brands, jewelry makers and hotels. + + The company, owned by Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault, said Thursday that it had bought a majority stake in Chez L’ami Louis, a 100-year-old restaurant in central Paris, described by LVMH as an “authentic Parisian gem.” + + “LVMH will work to preserve the unique character and family identity of the restaurant and continue to support its French savoir-faire and expertise,” it said in a press release. It did not disclose the size of its stake nor the value of the deal. + + The classic bistro — famed for its roast chicken, mounds of thin, crispy fries, and plates of sizzling snails — has hosted Bill Clinton and Martin Scorsese, as well as David and Victoria Beckham, according to a source familiar with the deal. The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. + + If that wasn’t endorsement enough, the restaurant has also earned Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval. Her lifestyle company Goop describes Chez L’ami Louis on its website as “one of the best, most venerable bistros in Paris.” + + “It is small and wood-paneled, with an ancient oven and a sick wine list,” Goop gushed. + + LVMH said in its press release that the bistro sources its produce from small breeders and market gardeners “who have been loyal to the restaurant for several generations.” + + CNN could not reach Chez L’ami Louis for comment Friday. + + Arnault has also dined at the Parisian restaurant, the source close to the deal told CNN, adding that the billionaire is passionate about preserving parts of the city’s cultural “identity and expression.” + + LVMH and Arnault pledged €200 million ($226 million) in 2019 to help rebuild Notre Dame after fire devastated the 850-year-old church. The families behind L’Oreal (LRLCF) and Kering also made big donations. + + There is a risk, the source added, that when the historical owners of culturally important venues such as Chez L’ami Louis move on, new investors swoop in and transform them “into something that is very far from (the original) identity.” + + Arnault, the world’s third-richest man after Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, is worth an estimated $199 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. + + In recent years, LVMH, which owns Dior and Louis Vuitton among other designer brands, has beefed up its portfolio of hospitality venues. In 2019, the company acquired Belmond, which owns hotels and organizes luxury rail and river cruises, in a $3.2 billion deal. + + Earlier this month, LVMH announced “a strategic investment” in the Orient Express, a brand offering luxury train travel owned by French hospitality firm Accor.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['French luxury conglomerate LVMH has added a tiny Parisian bistro to its sprawling empire of designer fashion brands, jewelry makers and hotels.', 'The company, owned by Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault, said Thursday that it had bought a majority stake in Chez L’ami Louis, a 100-year-old restaurant in central Paris, described by LVMH as an “authentic Parisian gem.”', '“LVMH will work to preserve the unique character and family identity of the restaurant and continue to support its French savoir-faire and expertise,” it said in a press release.', 'It did not disclose the size of its stake nor the value of the deal.', 'The classic bistro — famed for its roast chicken, mounds of thin, crispy fries, and plates of sizzling snails — has hosted Bill Clinton and Martin Scorsese, as well as David and Victoria Beckham, according to a source familiar with the deal.', 'The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.', 'If that wasn’t endorsement enough, the restaurant has also earned Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval.', 'Her lifestyle company Goop describes Chez L’ami Louis on its website as “one of the best, most venerable bistros in Paris.”', '“It is small and wood-paneled, with an ancient oven and a sick wine list,” Goop gushed.', 'LVMH said in its press release that the bistro sources its produce from small breeders and market gardeners “who have been loyal to the restaurant for several generations.”', 'CNN could not reach Chez L’ami Louis for comment Friday.', 'Arnault has also dined at the Parisian restaurant, the source close to the deal told CNN, adding that the billionaire is passionate about preserving parts of the city’s cultural “identity and expression.”', 'LVMH and Arnault pledged €200 million ($226 million) in 2019 to help rebuild Notre Dame after fire devastated the 850-year-old church.', 'The families behind L’Oreal(LRLCF) and Kering also made big donations.', 'There is a risk, the source added, that when the historical owners of culturally important venues such as Chez L’ami Louis move on, new investors swoop in and transform them “into something that is very far from (the original) identity.”', 'Arnault, the world’s third-richest man after Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, is worth an estimated $199 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.', 'In recent years, LVMH, which owns Dior and Louis Vuitton among other designer brands, has beefed up its portfolio of hospitality venues.', 'In 2019, the company acquired Belmond, which owns hotels and organizes luxury rail and river cruises, in a $3.2 billion deal.', 'Earlier this month, LVMH announced “a strategic investment” in the Orient Express, a brand offering luxury train travel owned by French hospitality firm Accor.']",0.161385215985062,"If that wasn’t endorsement enough, the restaurant has also earned Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval.",LVMH and Arnault pledged €200 million ($226 million) in 2019 to help rebuild Notre Dame after fire devastated the 850-year-old church.,0.923153003056844,"Earlier this month, LVMH announced “a strategic investment” in the Orient Express, a brand offering luxury train travel owned by French hospitality firm Accor.",,2024-06-21 +Ford ends EV dealership program that required hefty investment to sell electric models,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/ford-ends-ev-dealership-program.html,2024-06-13T14:13:20+0000,"In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks. That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected. That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments.""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford's Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""The growth has slowed down.""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford's 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers. The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks. ""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales.""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.Gjaja said those initial estimates were high. He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.', 'The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks.', 'That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.', 'EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected.', ""That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments."", '""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford\'s Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""', 'The growth has slowed down.', '""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford\'s 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers.', 'The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.', 'Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks.', '""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""', ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales."", '""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.', 'Gjaja said those initial estimates were high.', 'He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.']",0.0858025423727656,"That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.",In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.,0.5176552004284329,We think it's going to help us grow our sales.,The growth has slowed down.,2024-06-21 +Netflix hunts for a production partner for its Christmas NFL games,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/netflix-nfl-christmas-games-broadcast-partner.html,2024-06-13T19:57:54+0000,"In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier. The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment."" Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team. That's left the streamer looking for help.Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private. Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said.In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited.Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.There's also competition to consider.Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter. That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season.Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform. Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day. Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience. There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games.The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon's Prime Video lined up with Comcast's NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.While NBC Sports' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers. Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple.""It's not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division.""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively. Alphabet's YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming. NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.""I think that's best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.', 'The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.', ""This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier."", 'The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment.""', ""Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team."", ""That's left the streamer looking for help."", ""Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private."", ""Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said."", ""In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited."", 'Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.', ""There's also competition to consider."", 'Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season."", 'Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.', 'Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform.', ""Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day."", 'Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.', 'For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience.', ""There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games."", 'The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.', 'While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.', '""There aren\'t that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you\'re launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.', '""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon\'s Prime Video lined up with Comcast\'s NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.', 'While NBC Sports\' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.', 'Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.', ""If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers."", ""Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple."", '""It\'s not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""', ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division."", '""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.', 'Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.', 'Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.', 'Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively.', 'Alphabet\'s YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.', 'Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming.', 'NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.', 'The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.', 'That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.', 'When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.', '""I think that\'s best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.', 'Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.']",0.1863829998875434,"Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day.","Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.",0.6477434784173965,"NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.","""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.",2024-06-21 +"These employees moved across the country for work, then Disney canceled the project. Now they’re suing.",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/media/disney-employee-lawsuit/index.html," + Updated + 3:51 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the company moved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally. + + They’re proposing a class action, alleging there are many others in a similar situation. + + In 2021, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a move of 2,000 positions from California to Florida. But in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the company canceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complex amid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that has since been settled. + + The plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, both work for Disney’s product design division. De La Cruz is vice president of product design, and Fong is a creative director, according to the complaint filed by Lohr Ripamonti LLP on Tuesday. + + The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, has not yet been processed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles. + + The complaint alleges that Disney misrepresented and concealed its true plans for the Lake Nona project, hurting – financially and otherwise – at least 250 employees who had made the move from California to Florida. + + The complaint states employees were informed about the project to relocate 2,000 roles to Florida in July of 2021 and that Disney “made it clear that employees who declined relocation would lose their jobs.” + + The complaint described how De La Cruz and Fong sold their homes in Southern California and purchased homes in Central Florida. For Fong, that meant selling the childhood home that he inherited from his family. + + After the Lake Nona office project was canceled, De La Cruz emailed human resources about the future for those who might choose to stay in Florida, writing: “After all of this, will there be any security in our positions? My fear would be that we decide to stay in Florida, only to be laid off in the next year or so. I don’t want to be punished for being put into a situation my company put me in,” the complaint says. + + The complaint says De La Cruz and Fong decided to move back to California to keep their jobs, but housing prices in the Lake Nona vicinity had dropped significantly after Disney’s announcement. Fong said he had trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had. + + “Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fong and many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said. + + Disney has not replied to a request for comment. + + The company developing land in Lake Nona has confirmed with CNN that Disney still owns the 60 acres it had purchased for the new corporate campus. Disney has not said what will happen to this property.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.', 'They’re proposing a class action, alleging there are many others in a similar situation.', 'In 2021, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a move of 2,000 positions from Californiato Florida.', 'But in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the companycanceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complexamid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that hassince been settled.', 'The plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, both work for Disney’s product design division.', 'De La Cruz is vice president of product design, and Fong is a creative director, according to the complaint filed byLohr Ripamonti LLP on Tuesday.', 'The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, has not yet been processed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles.', 'The complaint alleges that Disney misrepresented and concealeditstrue plans for the Lake Nona project,hurting– financiallyand otherwise – at least250 employees who had made the move from California to Florida.', 'The complaint states employees were informed about the project to relocate 2,000 rolesto Florida in July of 2021 and that Disney “made it clear that employees who declined relocation would lose their jobs.”', 'The complaintdescribedhow De La Cruz and Fong sold their homes in Southern California and purchased homes in Central Florida.', 'For Fong, that meant sellingthechildhood home that he inherited from his family.', 'After the Lake Nona office project was canceled, De La Cruzemailed humanresources about the future for those who might choose to stay in Florida,writing: “After all of this, will there be any security in our positions?', 'My fear would be that we decide to stay in Florida, only to be laid off in the next year or so.', 'I don’t want to be punished for being put into a situation my company put me in,”the complaint says.', 'The complaint saysDe La Cruz and Fong decidedto move back to California to keep their jobs, but housing prices in the Lake Nona vicinity had dropped significantly after Disney’s announcement.', 'Fongsaidhehad trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had.', '“Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fongand many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said.', 'Disney has not replied to a request for comment.', 'The company developing land in Lake Nona has confirmed with CNN that Disney still owns the 60 acres it had purchased for the new corporate campus.', 'Disney has not said what will happen to this property.']",-0.1145113297819273,"“Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fongand many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said.","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.",0.004598930478096,"Fongsaidhehad trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had.","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.",2024-06-21 +"Boeing and NASA delay Starliner astronaut return to June 22, nearly doubling mission length to test spacecraft",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/14/boeing-and-nasa-delay-starliner-astronaut-return-to-june-22.html,2024-06-14T19:14:12+0000,"In this articleBoeing's Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS. The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET. That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.NASA said those tests include operating the capsule's hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program's managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some 'safe haven' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary. A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency. NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC's request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions. Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified. The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks. NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system. Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock.NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail. Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance. NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.Starliner was once seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years. However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slipped Starliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"['In this articleBoeing\'s Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.', ""This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS."", 'The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.', 'Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.', ""But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET."", 'That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.', 'NASA said those tests include operating the capsule\'s hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program\'s managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.', '""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some \'safe haven\' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary.', 'A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency.', 'NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC\'s request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions.', 'Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.', ""Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified."", ""The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks."", 'NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.', 'While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system.', 'Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.', ""Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock."", ""NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail."", ""Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance."", 'NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.', 'Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.', ""Starliner wasonce seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years."", 'However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.', 'Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.']",0.0231651503464283,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.",0.2881059249242146,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.",2024-06-21 +"Your Voice, Your Vote: 'How do I get on the housing ladder?'",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdd30xk04ko,2024-06-20T16:50:50.364Z,"Many people have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to say that housing is the most important issue for them in this general election. The BBC's cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey answers your questions on this topic, plus other personal finance matters. Daniel, 32, from Nottinghamshire wants to know how the main parties will help people like him get on the housing ladder. He and his partner both work full-time and rent their home privately. They feel ""penalised for something that's not our fault and would like to own our own home one day"". One of the biggest issues for voters in this election is housing - and the parties are fully aware of this. When pressed by the BBC's Nick Robinson, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that owning a home has become more difficult. There are a range of policies floated by the various parties aimed at movers and first-time buyers – from building more homes, helping with the deposit, abolishing stamp duty for some buyers and so on. Don’t forget, some housing policy is devolved, so decisions are not made entirely in Westminster. My colleague Douglas Fraser has written about the situation in Scotland. All these policies will need to go under the microscope. Promises to build require levels of construction not seen for decades. Help with deposits doesn’t address whether new buyers can cope with high mortgage rates. Stamp duty isn’t paid by most first-time buyers in many areas of the country. Yasmin from Greater Manchester wants to know how parties are going to bring down rent so professionals in their 30s don't have to house-share. We’ve had some new, official figures on the cost of renting a home. Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June. That’s a big rise compared with the norm of the last decade, but the rate has slowed over recent months. The National Residential Landlords Association says there is a “chronic shortage” of homes to rent, with lots of tenants chasing each home. That’s why rents have risen sharply. It's about supply and demand. While analysts think these increases will continue to slow, there are wider issues tied into parties’ housing policies overall – such as whether enough homes, specifically to rent, are being built. Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules. You are correct to point out that there is relatively little mention of inheritance tax in the manifestos. Some commentators claim it is the most “hated” tax in the UK, but – of course – that depends entirely on who you ask! Labour wants to crack down on inheritance tax avoidance. The Green Party wants to reform it to make it fairer. Reform wants to abolish it for estates under £2bn. How any of this can be achieved or paid for is open to scrutiny. It is worth remembering that only 4% of estates were subject to inheritance tax following deaths in 2020-21. However, rising wealth and a frozen threshold mean this proportion is rising. Peter Green wonders why putting up taxes is such a sensitive issue for the main parties. He thinks taxes should rise to improve public services given the ""dreadful state"" of the NHS, roads and public transport This issue is at the heart of the election campaign, and I’d heartily recommend this piece from my colleague Faisal Islam on economic credibility. Each party makes general promises on tax and spending on public services in their manifesto. Of course, the real detail comes from a party in power when a chancellor delivers a Budget. Remember, while the two main parties say they won’t raise tax rates, the reality is that - by freezing income tax thresholds – more people are being drawn into paying more in income tax. Overall, the tax burden on us all will rise under either of them. Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services. Krista from Nottingham wants to know what policies might stimulate the housing market to encourage economic growth in a currently stagnant UK economy. The housing market is, indeed, reflective of the UK economy as a whole. The cost of living, job security, interest rates, and just general economic confidence all have an impact on people’s decisions on whether or not to buy or sell a home. The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates. That’s meant little movement in house prices which, after seeing them soar, will be a relief to some first-time buyers. Stamp duty relief is a lever that chancellors like to pull to stimulate the sector. That’s a specific policy stated by the Conservatives and Reform. But the housing market alone will not create the kind of economic growth that all parties want to see, which is why their wider economic policies are coming under a great deal of scrutiny. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Many people have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to say that housing is the most important issue for them in this general election.', ""The BBC's cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey answers your questions on this topic, plus other personal finance matters."", 'Daniel, 32, from Nottinghamshire wants to know how the main parties will help people like him get on the housing ladder.', 'He and his partner both work full-time and rent their home privately.', 'They feel ""penalised for something that\'s not our fault and would like to own our own home one day"".', 'One of the biggest issues for voters in this election is housing - and the parties are fully aware of this.', ""When pressed by the BBC's Nick Robinson, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that owning a home has become more difficult."", 'There are a range of policies floated by the various parties aimed at movers and first-time buyers – from building more homes, helping with the deposit, abolishing stamp duty for some buyers and so on.', 'Don’t forget, some housing policy is devolved, so decisions are not made entirely in Westminster.', 'My colleague Douglas Fraser has written about the situation in Scotland.', 'All these policies will need to go under the microscope.', 'Promises to build require levels of construction not seen for decades.', 'Help with deposits doesn’t address whether new buyers can cope with high mortgage rates.', 'Stamp duty isn’t paid by most first-time buyers in many areas of the country.', ""Yasmin from Greater Manchester wants to know how parties are going to bring down rent so professionals in their 30s don't have to house-share."", 'We’ve had some new, official figures on the cost of renting a home.', 'Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.', 'That’s a big rise compared with the norm of the last decade, but the rate has slowed over recent months.', 'The National Residential Landlords Association says there is a “chronic shortage” of homes to rent, with lots of tenants chasing each home.', 'That’s why rents have risen sharply.', ""It's about supply and demand."", 'While analysts think these increases will continue to slow, there are wider issues tied into parties’ housing policies overall – such as whether enough homes, specifically to rent, are being built.', 'Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules.', 'You are correct to point out that there is relatively little mention of inheritance tax in the manifestos.', 'Some commentators claim it is the most “hated” tax in the UK, but – of course – that depends entirely on who you ask!', 'Labour wants to crack down on inheritance tax avoidance.', 'The Green Party wants to reform it to make it fairer.', 'Reform wants to abolish it for estates under £2bn.', 'How any of this can be achieved or paid for is open to scrutiny.', 'It is worth remembering that only 4% of estates were subject to inheritance tax following deaths in 2020-21.', 'However, rising wealth and a frozen threshold mean this proportion is rising.', 'Peter Green wonders why putting up taxes is such a sensitive issue for the main parties.', 'He thinks taxes should rise to improve public services given the ""dreadful state"" of the NHS, roads and public transport This issue is at the heart of the election campaign, and I’d heartily recommend this piece from my colleague Faisal Islam on economic credibility.', 'Each party makes general promises on tax and spending on public services in their manifesto.', 'Of course, the real detail comes from a party in power when a chancellor delivers a Budget.', 'Remember, while the two main parties say they won’t raise tax rates, the reality is that - by freezing income tax thresholds – more people are being drawn into paying more in income tax.', 'Overall, the tax burden on us all will rise under either of them.', 'Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services.', 'Krista from Nottingham wants to know what policies might stimulate the housing market to encourage economic growth in a currently stagnant UK economy.', 'The housing market is, indeed, reflective of the UK economy as a whole.', 'The cost of living, job security, interest rates, and just general economic confidence all have an impact on people’s decisions on whether or not to buy or sell a home.', 'The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates.', 'That’s meant little movement in house prices which, after seeing them soar, will be a relief to some first-time buyers.', 'Stamp duty relief is a lever that chancellors like to pull to stimulate the sector.', 'That’s a specific policy stated by the Conservatives and Reform.', 'But the housing market alone will not create the kind of economic growth that all parties want to see, which is why their wider economic policies are coming under a great deal of scrutiny.']",0.2092927986773165,"Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services.","Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules.",0.2084467569986979,Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.,"The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates.",2024-06-21 +Home prices hit record high in May as sales stall,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/21/home-prices-hit-record-high-in-may-as-sales-stall.html,2024-06-21T17:40:18+0000,"Sales of previously owned homes are sitting at a 30-year low and didn't move much in May as prices hit a new record and mortgage rates remain high.So-called existing home sales in May were essentially flat, down 0.7% from April to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 4.11 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors, or NAR. Sales fell 2.8% from May of last year.This count of closed sales is based on contracts likely signed in March and April. The sluggish sales pace came as rates took a big leap in April.The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan started the month just below 7% and then rose to just over 7.5% by mid-April, before settling back slightly in May, according to Mortgage News Daily. That rate is now right around 7%.""Home sales refuse to recover,"" said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR. ""I thought we would see a recovery this spring. We are not seeing it.""Sales were unchanged month to month in all regions except the South, where they fell 1.6%.The biggest change in May is that the inventory of homes for sale jumped, up 6.7% month to month and 18.5% higher than in May last year. At the current sales pace, there is now a 3.7-month supply. While inventory is gaining, it is still very low given demographics and demand.""Eventually, more inventory will help boost home sales and tame home price gains in the upcoming months. Increased housing supply spells good news for consumers who want to see more properties before making purchasing decisions,"" Yun added.That demand continues to push prices higher. The median price of an existing home sold in May was $419,300, a record-high price in the Realtors' recording and up 5.8% year over year. The gain was the strongest since October 2022. Prices gained in all regions.The Realtors noted in a release that the mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than double what it was five years ago. Not only have rates climbed, but home prices are more than 50% higher than they were five years ago. That comes in part because the median is skewing to the higher end.Sales of homes priced below $250,000 were lower than a year ago, while sales priced between $250,000 and $500,000 were up just 1%. Sales priced between $750,000 and $1 million were 13% higher, and sales priced over $1 million were up nearly 23%.Cash is still king, accounting for 28% of sales. First-time buyers are hanging in at 31% of sales, up from 28% the year before.Two-thirds of homes went under contract in less than a month, so competition is still strong despite higher prices. Redfin, a real estate brokerage, is reporting that an increasing number of listings are becoming stale, so if a home comes on the market that is well-priced and doesn't need much work, it goes fast. Other homes are sitting longer.",CNBC,21/06/2024,"[""Sales of previously owned homes are sitting at a 30-year low and didn't move much in May as prices hit a new record and mortgage rates remain high."", 'So-called existing home sales in May were essentially flat, down 0.7% from April to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 4.11 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors, or NAR.', 'Sales fell 2.8% from May of last year.', 'This count of closed sales is based on contracts likely signed in March and April.', 'The sluggish sales pace came as rates took a big leap in April.', 'The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan started the month just below 7% and then rose to just over 7.5% by mid-April, before settling back slightly in May, according to Mortgage News Daily.', 'That rate is now right around 7%.""Home sales refuse to recover,"" said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR. ""', 'I thought we would see a recovery this spring.', 'We are not seeing it.', '""Sales were unchanged month to month in all regions except the South, where they fell 1.6%.The biggest change in May is that the inventory of homes for sale jumped, up 6.7% month to month and 18.5% higher than in May last year.', 'At the current sales pace, there is now a 3.7-month supply.', 'While inventory is gaining, it is still very low given demographics and demand.', '""Eventually, more inventory will help boost home sales and tame home price gains in the upcoming months.', 'Increased housing supply spells good news for consumers who want to see more properties before making purchasing decisions,"" Yun added.', 'That demand continues to push prices higher.', ""The median price of an existing home sold in May was $419,300, a record-high price in the Realtors' recording and up 5.8% year over year."", 'The gain was the strongest since October 2022.', 'Prices gained in all regions.', 'The Realtors noted in a release that the mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than double what it was five years ago.', 'Not only have rates climbed, but home prices are more than 50% higher than they were five years ago.', 'That comes in part because the median is skewing to the higher end.', 'Sales of homes priced below $250,000 were lower than a year ago, while sales priced between $250,000 and $500,000 were up just 1%.', 'Sales priced between $750,000 and $1 million were 13% higher, and sales priced over $1 million were up nearly 23%.Cash is still king, accounting for 28% of sales.', 'First-time buyers are hanging in at 31% of sales, up from 28% the year before.', 'Two-thirds of homes went under contract in less than a month, so competition is still strong despite higher prices.', ""Redfin, a real estate brokerage, is reporting that an increasing number of listings are becoming stale, so if a home comes on the market that is well-priced and doesn't need much work, it goes fast."", 'Other homes are sitting longer.']",0.0896533493365975,"""Eventually, more inventory will help boost home sales and tame home price gains in the upcoming months.",The sluggish sales pace came as rates took a big leap in April.,0.3479445657946847,"First-time buyers are hanging in at 31% of sales, up from 28% the year before.",Sales fell 2.8% from May of last year.,2024-06-21 +SpaceX unveils backpack-sized 'Starlink Mini' satellite internet antenna for $599,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/spacex-unveils-starlink-mini-satellite-internet-antenna-for-599.html,2024-06-20T20:07:40+0000,"In this articleSpaceX is rolling out a compact version of its Starlink antennas, which the company is advertising as a mobile option for its satellite internet customers.""Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go,"" according to a customer email sent by SpaceX on Wednesday and viewed by CNBC.The company is offering a ""limited number"" of the Starlink Mini antennas for $599 each in an early access release. That's $100 more than the base model ""Standard"" antenna sold with its Residential service, although the company aspires to reduce the price tag.""Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable,"" SpaceX wrote in the email.In addition to the upfront hardware cost, service for a Starlink Mini is effectively $150 per month — as SpaceX is offering the service for a Mini as an additional $30 per month bundle on top of a $120 per month Residential service. The ""Mini Roam"" service ""can be used anywhere in the United States"" but has a cap of 50 gigabytes of data per month, with Starlink charging $1 per gigabyte for additional data.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.The Starlink Mini antenna is about the size and weight of a laptop, at just over two pounds and measuring at about 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches. It's roughly half the size and one-third the weight of Starlink's Standard antenna.SpaceX's email said Starlink Mini comes with a built-in WiFi router and ""lower power consumption"" than its other antennas, yet it still boasts download speeds of over 100 megabits per second.The email did not specify when Starlink Mini deliveries would begin. In a post on social media, Vice President of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls said the company is ""ramping production"" on Starlink Mini and that it ""will be available in international markets soon.""SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post Monday that setting up a Starlink Mini took less than five minutes.""This product will change the world,"" Musk declared.SpaceX has steadily expanded its Starlink network and product offerings since debuting the service in 2020. There are about 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit that connect more than 3 million customers in 100 countries, according to the company. SpaceX initially targeted consumer customers, but has expanded into other markets — including national security, enterprise, mobility, maritime and aviation — and disrupted the existing satellite communications sector.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"['In this articleSpaceX is rolling out a compact version of its Starlink antennas, which the company is advertising as a mobile option for its satellite internet customers.', '""Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go,"" according to a customer email sent by SpaceX on Wednesday and viewed by CNBC.The company is offering a ""limited number"" of the Starlink Mini antennas for $599 each in an early access release.', 'That\'s $100 more than the base model ""Standard"" antenna sold with its Residential service, although the company aspires to reduce the price tag.', '""Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable,"" SpaceX wrote in the email.', 'In addition to the upfront hardware cost, service for a Starlink Mini is effectively $150 per month — as SpaceX is offering the service for a Mini as an additional $30 per month bundle on top of a $120 per month Residential service.', 'The ""Mini Roam"" service ""can be used anywhere in the United States"" but has a cap of 50 gigabytes of data per month, with Starlink charging $1 per gigabyte for additional data.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'The Starlink Mini antenna is about the size and weight of a laptop, at just over two pounds and measuring at about 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches.', ""It's roughly half the size and one-third the weight of Starlink's Standard antenna."", 'SpaceX\'s email said Starlink Mini comes with a built-in WiFi router and ""lower power consumption"" than its other antennas, yet it still boasts download speeds of over 100 megabits per second.', 'The email did not specify when Starlink Mini deliveries would begin.', 'In a post on social media, Vice President of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls said the company is ""ramping production"" on Starlink Mini and that it ""will be available in international markets soon.', '""SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post Monday that setting up a Starlink Mini took less than five minutes.', '""This product will change the world,"" Musk declared.', 'SpaceX has steadily expanded its Starlink network and product offerings since debuting the service in 2020.', 'There are about 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit that connect more than 3 million customers in 100 countries, according to the company.', 'SpaceX initially targeted consumer customers, buthasexpanded into other markets— including national security, enterprise, mobility, maritime and aviation — anddisrupted the existing satellite communications sector.']",0.0669519434451558,"In addition to the upfront hardware cost, service for a Starlink Mini is effectively $150 per month — as SpaceX is offering the service for a Mini as an additional $30 per month bundle on top of a $120 per month Residential service.","SpaceX's email said Starlink Mini comes with a built-in WiFi router and ""lower power consumption"" than its other antennas, yet it still boasts download speeds of over 100 megabits per second.",0.9983904808759688,SpaceX has steadily expanded its Starlink network and product offerings since debuting the service in 2020.,,2024-06-21 +"Bezos' Blue Origin joins SpaceX, ULA in winning bids for $5.6 billion Pentagon rocket program",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/pentagon-picks-blue-origin-spacex-ula-in-5point6-billion-rocket-program.html,2024-06-14T11:37:37+0000,"In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time.Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts. Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.Space Force outlined a ""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launches from companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time."", ""Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program."", ""Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program."", 'Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.', 'Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts.', 'Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.', 'Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that']",0.2602735573621667,Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.,"Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",0.8293253978093466,"Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.",,2024-06-21 +Watch Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testify before Senate panel on whistleblower allegations,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/watch-live-boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-testimony.html,2024-06-18T18:20:59+0000,"In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans. Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification. Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made.The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET.', 'Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.', ""Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019."", 'Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.', ""Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans."", 'Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.', '""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification.', ""Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made."", 'The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.—', ""CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.""]",-0.1010147915889218,Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.,"Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.",-0.9303198903799056,,"Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans.",2024-06-21 +"This fertility clinic is trying to democratize IVF, just as some groups are condemning it",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/fertility-clinic-ivf-religious-groups/index.html," + Published + 6:01 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Since February, when Alabama’s Supreme Court declared frozen embryos are legally considered children, fertility clinics around the country have been weighing the implications of a political movement that’s suddenly turned hostile toward IVF. + + Although Alabama has since passed legislation to protect in vitro fertilization, the ruling seemed to open a new front in the far-right’s attacks on reproductive freedom. It could also threaten growth in the booming IVF market, which last year brought in an estimated $8 billion in revenue. + + Last month, Progyny, the nation’s only publicly traded fertility benefits company, saw its shares sink to a two-year low after it warned that the ruling was scaring off potential customers. + + IVF also took center stage last week at the Southern Baptist Convention, where church leaders effectively condemned the practice. + + Nightcap sat down with Gina Bartasi, who founded Progyny in 2015, to discuss her latest project, Kindbody, a national fertility clinic network she launched in 2018 that now boasts 35 clinics around the country. + + The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.  + + Nightcap: Earlier this month, you came back into the CEO role at Kindbody after two years as chair. Why now? + + Bartasi: There’s a lot of enthusiasm around our clinics right now — I’m pretty pumped. The company is tracking towards revenue of $225 to $250 million, which is an extraordinary milestone for a company as young as Kindbody — it’s only a little over five years old. + + The other critical milestone is that we’re profitable. We were profitable for consecutive months in March, April and May. + + Nightcap: It’s also a particularly fraught time for reproductive rights in America. How has the Alabama decision, or even the Southern Baptists’ statement last week, affected your work? + + Bartasi: We always say, the last person you ever want to make angry is an infertility patient. They will lock arms and really unite, and we’re honored to be a part of that community. + + I have never seen any religious or government guardrail ever stop fertility patients. I’m a former fertility patient, and no one was going to tell me no — I was going to do whatever it took to have the family I always dreamed about. And 99.9% of our patients support that same philosophy. + + I know Progyny reported some softening of utilization, but Kindbody actually saw a close to 22% increase in IVF utilization in the month after the Alabama ruling came out. + + Nightcap: Can you explain your business model a little bit? Where’s your revenue coming from? And who are you partnering with? + + Bartasi: We have three revenue channels. We started in the direct-to-consumer model to really democratize care and build a global brand. Today, one in five couples needs fertility treatment to build their family. That’s up significantly from one in eight in just the last decade. So the direct consumer business remains a big part of our business. + + Another is self-insured employers — they pay their own medical claims, and as such they want to remove the middleman. And particularly in a high-cost, niche industry like fertility, they want to be able to purchase services directly from a network of high-quality fertility doctors. + + Then our third vertical is called MCOs — managed care organizations. We are in-network with United and Aetna and Cigna and many of the Blues. + + Nightcap: Kindbody has faced some criticism over its for-profit model. (Editor’s note: Last year, a Bloomberg investigation detailed issues such as understaffed clinics, lost and mislabeled embryos, and inconsistent safety protocols. Kindbody has disputed the allegations, saying its average incident rate is comparable to other major US programs.) + + Some say that the business model creates perverse incentives for doctors to upsell, and that can be especially complicated when it comes to fertility patients, who, almost by definition are desperate for help. How do you respond to that criticism? + + Bartasi: Thank you for allowing us to be on the record about the criticism. + + Listen, without the financial support of our growth-stage investors, we would not be able to democratize care. We would not be able to help 3.1 million Americans have fertility treatment that previously could not afford to have treatment. + + We are proud and unapologetic. We are as big as any other fertility networks in terms of revenue and size of clinics. But those networks took 25 to 30 years to build. + + You can’t do it without venture capital, unless your mission is to serve as many patients as possible and in as short a time as possible. And we want to bring down the price. That historically was the challenge with IVF. In the last decade-plus, IVF was reserved for rich, white heterosexual couples on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And if you weren’t dual-income, no kids — good luck. + + This is a very mission-based company. And it starts fundamentally with the patient experience, how do we want to treat and serve patients that have historically been left out of the process. You can be mission-oriented and still take in financial sponsors to accelerate your mission. + + Nightcap: Speaking of accelerating the mission, what are your initial public offering plans? + + Bartasi: It seems to me that the IPO window is squeaking open, but it’s not open yet. Our job is to continue to run a profitable business and serve the patient. And every single investor who’s written a check to Kindbody fundamentally agrees with our priorities: Take care of your team; your team will take care of your patients; patients will take care of your profits.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Since February, when Alabama’s Supreme Court declared frozen embryos are legally considered children, fertility clinics around the country have been weighing the implications of a political movement that’s suddenly turned hostile toward IVF.', 'Although Alabama has since passed legislation to protect in vitro fertilization, the ruling seemed to open a new front in the far-right’s attacks on reproductive freedom.', 'It could also threaten growth in the booming IVF market, which last year brought in an estimated $8 billion in revenue.', 'Last month, Progyny, the nation’s only publicly traded fertility benefits company, saw its shares sink to a two-year low after it warned that the ruling was scaring off potential customers.', 'IVF also took center stage last week at the Southern Baptist Convention, where church leaders effectively condemned the practice.', 'Nightcap sat down with Gina Bartasi, who founded Progyny in 2015, to discuss her latest project, Kindbody, a national fertility clinic network she launched in 2018 that now boasts 35 clinics around the country.', 'The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.', 'Nightcap: Earlier this month, you came back into the CEO role at Kindbody after two years as chair.', 'Why now?', 'Bartasi: There’s a lot of enthusiasm around our clinics right now — I’m pretty pumped.', 'The company is tracking towards revenue of $225 to $250 million, which is an extraordinary milestone for a company as young as Kindbody — it’s only a little over five years old.', 'The other critical milestone is that we’re profitable.', 'We were profitable for consecutive months in March, April and May.', 'Nightcap: It’s also a particularly fraught time for reproductive rights in America.', 'How has the Alabama decision, or even the Southern Baptists’ statement last week, affected your work?', 'Bartasi: We always say, the last person you ever want to make angry is an infertility patient.', 'They will lock arms and really unite, and we’re honored to be a part of that community.', 'I have never seen any religious or government guardrail ever stop fertility patients.', 'I’m a former fertility patient, and no one was going to tell me no — I was going to do whatever it took to have the family I always dreamed about.', 'And 99.9% of our patients support that same philosophy.', 'I know Progyny reported some softening of utilization, but Kindbody actually saw a close to 22% increase in IVF utilization in the month after the Alabama ruling came out.', 'Nightcap: Can you explain your business model a little bit?', 'Where’s your revenue coming from?', 'And who are you partnering with?', 'Bartasi: We have three revenue channels.', 'We started in the direct-to-consumer model to really democratize care and build a global brand.', 'Today, one in five couples needs fertility treatment to build their family.', 'That’s up significantly from one in eight in just the last decade.', 'So the direct consumer business remains a big part of our business.', 'Another is self-insured employers — they pay their own medical claims, and as such they want to remove the middleman.', 'And particularly in a high-cost, niche industry like fertility, they want to be able to purchase services directly from a network of high-quality fertility doctors.', 'Then our third vertical is called MCOs — managed care organizations.', 'We are in-network with United and Aetna and Cigna and many of the Blues.', 'Nightcap: Kindbody has faced some criticism over its for-profit model. (', 'Editor’s note: Last year, aBloomberg investigationdetailed issues such as understaffed clinics, lost and mislabeled embryos, and inconsistent safety protocols.', 'Kindbody has disputed the allegations, saying its average incident rate is comparable to other major US programs.)', 'Some say that the business model creates perverse incentives for doctors to upsell, and that can be especially complicated when it comes to fertility patients, who, almost by definition are desperate for help.', 'How do you respond to that criticism?', 'Bartasi: Thank you for allowing us to be on the record about the criticism.', 'Listen, without the financial support of our growth-stage investors, we would not be able to democratize care.', 'We would not be able to help 3.1 million Americans have fertility treatment that previously could not afford to have treatment.', 'We are proud and unapologetic.', 'We are as big as any other fertility networks in terms of revenue and size of clinics.', 'But those networks took 25 to 30 years to build.', 'You can’t do it without venture capital, unless your mission is to serve as many patients as possible and in as short a time as possible.', 'And we want to bring down the price.', 'That historically was the challenge with IVF.', 'In the last decade-plus, IVF was reserved for rich, white heterosexual couples on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.', 'And if you weren’t dual-income, no kids — good luck.', 'This is a very mission-based company.', 'And it starts fundamentally with the patient experience, how do we want to treat and serve patients that have historically been left out of the process.', 'You can be mission-oriented and still take in financial sponsors to accelerate your mission.', 'Nightcap: Speaking of accelerating the mission, what are your initial public offering plans?', 'Bartasi: It seems to me that the IPO window is squeaking open, but it’s not open yet.', 'Our job is to continue to run a profitable business and serve the patient.', 'And every single investor who’s written a check to Kindbody fundamentally agrees with our priorities: Take care of your team; your team will take care of your patients; patients will take care of your profits.']",0.14915707459351,And every single investor who’s written a check to Kindbody fundamentally agrees with our priorities: Take care of your team; your team will take care of your patients; patients will take care of your profits.,"I’m a former fertility patient, and no one was going to tell me no — I was going to do whatever it took to have the family I always dreamed about.",0.1580281257629394,That’s up significantly from one in eight in just the last decade.,"Last month, Progyny, the nation’s only publicly traded fertility benefits company, saw its shares sink to a two-year low after it warned that the ruling was scaring off potential customers.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +TikTok ramps up attacks on Biden administration in challenging prospective ban,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/tech/tiktok-court-filing-biden-administration/index.html," + Published + 6:04 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","TikTok ramped up its attacks on the Biden administration Thursday over a law that could ban the popular app from the United States, arguing in a court filing that US TikTok users could be forced to live on an “island” of content disconnected from the rest of the world if the platform is forced to find a new owner. + + The legal filing also publicizes, for the first time, the text of a draft agreement between TikTok and the US government that the company claims would have addressed national security concerns linked to the app but that was allegedly discarded in favor of legislation that TikTok argues violates the First Amendment. + + Thursday’s filing marks TikTok’s opening salvo in a pivotal case that could not only determine the fate of an app used by 170 million Americans but also how courts interpret the First Amendment and its relationship to all online speech. The Justice Department declined to comment. + + TikTok has insisted it is not possible for its Chinese parent ByteDance to divest from the app – “not possible technologically, commercially, or legally” – and not by the January 2025 deadline laid out by the law that President Joe Biden signed in April. + + “Even if divestiture were feasible, TikTok in the United States would still be reduced to a shell of its former self, stripped of the innovative and expressive technology that tailors content to each user,” the company wrote in its brief. “It also would become an island, preventing Americans from exchanging views with the global TikTok community.” + + That is because the law TikTok is challenging prohibits the type of data-sharing agreements that would be necessary to display international TikTok content to US TikTok users, the company claimed in its filing. + + That dire warning echoed claims in a related legal brief filed by TikTok content creators Thursday. The group of creators, which includes a football coach, a sexual assault survivor advocate and a US Air Force veteran, argued that the challenged law would prevent them from choosing where and how to express themselves, as well as their First Amendment right to receive others’ speech. + + Meanwhile, TikTok’s focus on the draft agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a multi-agency panel charged with reviewing the national security implications of foreign investment deals, could prove central to the company’s case. + + The proposed deal’s existence, TikTok said, is evidence of a lighter-touch option that could have achieved the government’s goals without a potential divestiture or app ban. Whether the Biden administration overlooked a less restrictive alternative could become a factor in a potential test of the law’s constitutionality. + + In Thursday’s filing, TikTok said the agreement was never signed despite years of negotiations and dozens of meetings and phone calls with US government officials. And after months of radio silence beginning in September 2022, CFIUS allegedly told TikTok in March 2023 that “‘senior government officials’ demanded divestment without explaining why the Agreement was insufficient.” + + TikTok added that it then requested meetings with senior US officials but “received no meaningful responses.” + + For years, US officials have warned of the possibility that the Chinese government could gain access to TikTok’s user data through its influence over ByteDance. The Trump administration tried to ban TikTok by executive action, but that was quickly stymied by legal challenges. As Biden signed April’s legislation, Trump reversed himself, saying a ban would only help TikTok’s rival, Meta. + + Independent cybersecurity experts say the potential exists based on how China’s laws are written, but that it so far remains a hypothetical and that there are many other sources of sensitive data China can freely obtain, for example by buying it on the open market. + + US officials have not publicly presented evidence that China has accessed US users’ TikTok data. But they warn that information could be used to target propaganda or to identify intelligence targets, and they have given members of Congress classified briefings about the app’s potential risks. + + TikTok, for its part, has denied ever giving the Chinese government access to its data and has blasted the confidential congressional briefings as part of a flawed, rushed and secretive legislative process. + + Attached to the company’s brief on Thursday was an appendix containing the entire 103-page draft agreement. + + Outlining what has come to be known as Project Texas, TikTok’s plan for segregating US user data from its global operation, the draft document also shows a provision that would entitle the US government to temporarily stop or even shut down TikTok’s app if TikTok fails to comply with any of a dozen requirements, such as allowing qualified inspectors to review the company’s source code. + + On Thursday, TikTok’s filing said the company has so far spent $2 billion voluntarily implementing Project Texas. + + Also included with TikTok’s detailed filing was a signed declaration from a third-party expert and former CFIUS official, Christopher Simkins, who said the proposal as written was as robust as any they had seen in two decades of experience. If implemented, Simkins said, TikTok’s national security risks “would be reduced to a LOW level.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['TikTok ramped up its attacks on the Biden administration Thursday over a law that could ban the popular app from the United States, arguing in a court filing that US TikTok users could be forced to live on an “island” of content disconnected from the rest of the world if the platform is forced to find a new owner.', 'The legal filing also publicizes, for the first time, the text of a draft agreement between TikTok and the US government that the company claims would have addressed national security concerns linked to the app but that was allegedly discarded in favor of legislation that TikTok argues violates the First Amendment.', 'Thursday’s filing marks TikTok’s opening salvo in a pivotal case that could not only determine the fate of an app used by 170 million Americans but also how courts interpret the First Amendment and its relationship to all online speech.', 'The Justice Department declined to comment.', 'TikTok has insisted it is not possible for its Chinese parent ByteDance to divest from the app – “not possible technologically, commercially, or legally” – and not by the January 2025 deadline laid out by the law that President Joe Biden signed in April.', '“Even if divestiture were feasible, TikTok in the United States would still be reduced to a shell of its former self, stripped of the innovative and expressive technology that tailors content to each user,” the company wrote in its brief. “', 'It also would become an island, preventing Americans from exchanging views with the global TikTok community.”', 'That is because the law TikTok is challenging prohibits the type of data-sharing agreements that would be necessary to display international TikTok content to US TikTok users, the company claimed in its filing.', 'That dire warning echoed claims in a related legal brief filed by TikTok content creators Thursday.', 'The group of creators, which includes a football coach, a sexual assault survivor advocate and a US Air Force veteran, argued that the challenged law would prevent them from choosing where and how to express themselves, as well as their First Amendment right to receive others’ speech.', 'Meanwhile, TikTok’s focus on the draft agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a multi-agency panel charged with reviewing the national security implications of foreign investment deals, could prove central to the company’s case.', 'The proposed deal’s existence, TikTok said, is evidence of a lighter-touch option that could have achieved the government’s goals without a potential divestiture or app ban.', 'Whether the Biden administration overlooked a less restrictive alternative could become a factor in a potential test of the law’s constitutionality.', 'In Thursday’s filing, TikTok said the agreement was never signed despite years of negotiations and dozens of meetings and phone calls with US government officials.', 'And after months of radio silence beginning in September 2022, CFIUS allegedly told TikTok in March 2023 that “‘senior government officials’ demanded divestment without explaining why the Agreement was insufficient.”', 'TikTok added that it then requested meetings with senior US officials but “received no meaningful responses.”', 'For years, US officials have warned of the possibility that the Chinese government could gain access to TikTok’s user data through its influence over ByteDance.', 'The Trump administration tried to ban TikTok by executive action, but that was quickly stymied by legal challenges.', 'As Biden signed April’s legislation, Trump reversed himself, saying a ban would only help TikTok’s rival, Meta.', 'Independent cybersecurity experts say the potential exists based on how China’s laws are written, but that it so far remains a hypothetical and that there are many other sources of sensitive data China can freely obtain, for example by buying it on the open market.', 'US officials have not publicly presented evidence that China has accessed US users’ TikTok data.', 'But they warn that information could be used to target propaganda or to identify intelligence targets, and they have given members of Congress classified briefings about the app’s potential risks.', 'TikTok, for its part, has denied ever giving the Chinese government access to its data and has blasted the confidential congressional briefings as part of a flawed, rushed and secretive legislative process.', 'Attached to the company’s brief on Thursday was an appendix containing the entire 103-page draft agreement.', 'Outlining what has come to be known as Project Texas, TikTok’s plan for segregating US user data from its global operation, the draft document also shows a provision that would entitle the US government to temporarily stop or even shut down TikTok’s app if TikTok fails to comply with any of a dozen requirements, such as allowing qualified inspectors to review the company’s source code.', 'On Thursday, TikTok’s filing said the company has so far spent $2 billion voluntarily implementing Project Texas.', 'Also included with TikTok’s detailed filing was a signed declaration from a third-party expert and former CFIUS official, Christopher Simkins, who said the proposal as written was as robust as any they had seen in two decades of experience.', 'If implemented, Simkins said,TikTok’s national security risks “would be reduced to a LOW level.”']",0.017849445573149,"Meanwhile, TikTok’s focus on the draft agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a multi-agency panel charged with reviewing the national security implications of foreign investment deals, could prove central to the company’s case.","TikTok ramped up its attacks on the Biden administration Thursday over a law that could ban the popular app from the United States, arguing in a court filing that US TikTok users could be forced to live on an “island” of content disconnected from the rest of the world if the platform is forced to find a new owner.",-0.0039755702018737,"If implemented, Simkins said,TikTok’s national security risks “would be reduced to a LOW level.”",That dire warning echoed claims in a related legal brief filed by TikTok content creators Thursday.,2024-06-21 +Adidas is investigating allegations of embezzlement and kickbacks in China,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/business/china-adidas-embezzlement-investigation-whistleblowers-intl-hnk/index.html," + Published + 8:17 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Adidas says it has started an investigation into allegations of “compliance violations” in China, a key market for its sportswear. + + Chinese state media Jiemian reported last week that local executives had been accused of embezzling “millions of euros” in an unsigned letter written by whistleblowers calling themselves employees of Adidas China. The letter was widely publicized online. + + Claudia Lange, head of media relations at the apparel giant, told CNN on Monday that it had received an anonymous letter on June 7 “indicating potential compliance violations in China.” + + “Adidas is currently intensively investigating this matter together with external legal counsel,” she said in an emailed response. Lange declined further comment pending the outcome of the inquiry. + + Shares of Adidas fell 3.7% on Monday. + + Jiemian wrote that the letter from whistleblowers had been sent directly to the company’s German headquarters before being shared on social media. + + The reported complaint alleged that a senior executive in Greater China who manages Adidas’ marketing budget had embezzled millions of euros and taken huge kickbacks from external advertising and celebrity agencies. Several members of the executive’s team and other employees were also implicated, according to a copy of the letter published by the Chinese state media outlet. + + Adidas Greater China’s overall promotional budget amounted to 250 million euros ($268 million) a year, including expenses dedicated to marketing, branding and trade fairs, Jiemian reported, citing the letter. + + The senior manager was also accused of “nepotism” and “workplace bullying,” including isolating some employees and forcing them to leave, the whistleblowers’ reportedly said. People who followed her instructions were promoted, they added. + + The complaint also alleged that one of the manager’s subordinates had received “millions … from suppliers and physical items such as real estate.” + + The whistleblowers vowed to disclose the matter to the media and law enforcement if the company did not address the allegations. + + Adidas is the world’s second largest sportswear retailer. Greater China — a region that encompasses mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — contributes 15% of the company’s sales. + + In mainland China, Adidas is the second largest international sportswear brand behind Nike (NKE). The German company has enjoyed a rebound in sales growth in China after Beijing scrapped Covid restrictions at the end of 2022. + + But its market share has declined significantly from pre-pandemic levels because of competition from local rivals and a controversy over its refusal to use Xinjiang cotton. + + In 2021, Adidas — along with H&M, Nike and other big Western apparel brands — faced a boycott in China because of the stand they had taken against the alleged use of forced labor to produce cotton in the country’s western region of Xinjiang. + + Adidas is well known for playing the “celebrity” card in its marketing in China. It has previously worked with popular actors and singers as brand ambassadors, including Yang Mi, Dilraba and Yi Yangqianxi.",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Adidas says it has started an investigation into allegations of “compliance violations” in China, a key market for its sportswear.', 'Chinese state media Jiemian reported last week that local executives had been accused of embezzling “millions of euros” in an unsigned letter written by whistleblowers calling themselves employees of Adidas China.', 'The letter was widely publicized online.', 'Claudia Lange, head of media relations at the apparel giant, told CNN on Monday that it had received an anonymous letter on June 7 “indicating potential compliance violations in China.”', '“Adidas is currently intensively investigating this matter together with external legal counsel,” she said in an emailed response.', 'Lange declined further comment pending the outcome of the inquiry.', 'Shares of Adidas fell 3.7% on Monday.', 'Jiemian wrote that the letter from whistleblowers had been sent directly to the company’s German headquarters before being shared on social media.', 'The reported complaint alleged that a senior executive in Greater China who manages Adidas’ marketing budget had embezzled millions of euros and taken huge kickbacks from external advertising and celebrity agencies.', 'Several members of the executive’s team and other employees were also implicated, according to a copy of the letter published by the Chinese state media outlet.', 'Adidas Greater China’s overall promotional budget amounted to 250 million euros ($268 million) a year, including expenses dedicated to marketing, branding and trade fairs, Jiemian reported, citing the letter.', 'The senior manager was also accused of “nepotism” and “workplace bullying,” including isolating some employees and forcing them to leave, the whistleblowers’ reportedly said.', 'People who followed her instructions were promoted, they added.', 'The complaint also alleged that one of the manager’s subordinates had received “millions … from suppliers and physical items such as real estate.”', 'The whistleblowers vowed to disclose the matter to the media and law enforcement if the company did not address the allegations.', 'Adidas is the world’s second largest sportswear retailer.', 'Greater China — a region that encompasses mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — contributes 15% of the company’s sales.', 'In mainland China, Adidas is the second largest international sportswear brand behind Nike (NKE).', 'The German company has enjoyed a rebound in sales growth in China after Beijing scrapped Covid restrictions at the end of 2022.', 'But its market share has declined significantly from pre-pandemic levels because of competition from local rivals and a controversy over its refusal to use Xinjiang cotton.', 'In 2021, Adidas — along with H&M, Nike and other big Western apparel brands — faced a boycott in China because of the stand they had taken against thealleged use of forced laborto produce cotton in the country’s western region of Xinjiang.', 'Adidas is well known for playing the “celebrity” card in its marketing in China.', 'It has previously worked with popular actors and singers as brand ambassadors, including Yang Mi, Dilraba and Yi Yangqianxi.']",0.0698112406068041,The German company has enjoyed a rebound in sales growth in China after Beijing scrapped Covid restrictions at the end of 2022.,"The senior manager was also accused of “nepotism” and “workplace bullying,” including isolating some employees and forcing them to leave, the whistleblowers’ reportedly said.",-0.5454946160316467,The German company has enjoyed a rebound in sales growth in China after Beijing scrapped Covid restrictions at the end of 2022.,But its market share has declined significantly from pre-pandemic levels because of competition from local rivals and a controversy over its refusal to use Xinjiang cotton.,2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +Trump Media shares are in free fall,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/business/trump-media-stock-truth-social-djt/index.html," + Updated + 10:16 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024 + ","Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group has gone ice-cold. + + The conservative social media company has lost roughly half its market value since May 30, the day former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in a hush money trial. Trump Media’s volatile share price (DJT) tumbled another 5% on Friday , leaving it down by a staggering 50% in the span of just three weeks. + + The severe selloff has erased nearly $3 billion from the estimated net worth of Trump, the controversial company’s leading shareholder and chairman. + + The weeks-long selloff accelerated in recent days as Trump Media announced it received approval from regulators for a move that threatens to water down the holdings of shareholders. + + Despite the tumbling share price, some experts are warning Trump Media remains vulnerable to further losses. + + “The stock is still wildly overpriced,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida who has studied capital markets for the past four decades. + + The problem is that even after the recent selloff, Trump Media is still valued in the billions of dollars, and yet it generates very little revenue. + + Trump Media recorded revenue of just $770,500 in the first quarter, the second-straight quarter of sub-$1 million revenue. Not only that, but Truth Social remains a tiny player in social media, dwarfed by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and even Instagram’s Threads. + + “This is a development-stage company with a multi-billion-dollar valuation,” said Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital. + + That’s why some experts have dismissed Trump Media as a meme stock similar to GameStop and AMC that trades on momentum and hype, not fundamentals. + + “When a company’s stock drops significantly, you typically start to see value investors take interest, but that’s not the case with meme stocks,” said Kennedy. + + Trump Media was already having a bad June, and then it got even worse when the company announced the Securities and Exchange Commission approved its registration statement. The green light from regulators clears the way for early investors to exercise warrants they hold in the company to buy more shares. + + The move was long-expected, and it could raise nearly $250 million for Trump Media — cash the company can use to build its nascent ad platform or buy a smaller firm. + + “Today marks another milestone for Truth Social,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement on Tuesday. “With our S-1 declared effective, we’re expecting to be well positioned to energetically pursue TV streaming, other enhancements to the platform, and potential mergers and acquisitions.” + + However, the exercising of the warrants will also likely dilute the holdings of existing shareholders by dramatically increasing the supply of shares outstanding in the company. Trump Media can issue 21.5 million additional shares. + + “The price of these meme stocks is determined by supply and demand – something that is true for any stock but more so for when a stock is trading so far above its fundamental value,” said Ritter, the finance professor. + + Trump is the dominant shareholder in the company, owning 114.75 million shares, or nearly 65%. His stake was bumped up in late April when a bonus, known as earnout shares, was triggered by the company’s share price staying above certain levels. + + Trump’s stake, which can’t be sold in the near-term, is now valued at about $3.1 billion. That’s down from $6 billion as recently as May 30.",CNN,21/06/2024,"['Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group has gone ice-cold.', 'The conservative social media company has lost roughly half its market value since May 30, the day former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in a hush money trial.', 'Trump Media’s volatile share price (DJT) tumbled another 5% on Friday , leaving it down by a staggering 50% in the span of just three weeks.', 'The severe selloff has erased nearly $3 billion from the estimated net worth of Trump, the controversial company’s leading shareholder and chairman.', 'The weeks-long selloff accelerated in recent days as Trump Media announced it received approval from regulators for a move that threatens to water down the holdings of shareholders.', 'Despite the tumbling share price, some experts are warning Trump Media remains vulnerable to further losses.', '“The stock is still wildly overpriced,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida who has studied capital markets for the past four decades.', 'The problem is that even after the recent selloff, Trump Media is still valued in the billions of dollars, and yet it generates very little revenue.', 'Trump Media recorded revenue of just $770,500 in the first quarter, the second-straight quarter of sub-$1 million revenue.', 'Not only that, but Truth Social remains a tiny player in social media, dwarfed by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and even Instagram’s Threads.', '“This is a development-stage company with a multi-billion-dollar valuation,” said Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital.', 'That’s why some experts have dismissed Trump Media as a meme stock similar to GameStop and AMC that trades on momentum and hype, not fundamentals.', '“When a company’s stock drops significantly, you typically start to see value investors take interest, but that’s not the case with meme stocks,” said Kennedy.', 'Trump Media was already having a bad June, and then it got even worse when the company announced the Securities and Exchange Commission approved its registration statement.', 'The green light from regulators clears the way for early investors to exercise warrants they hold in the company to buy more shares.', 'The move was long-expected, and it could raise nearly $250 million for Trump Media — cash the company can use to build its nascent ad platform or buy a smaller firm.', '“Today marks another milestone for Truth Social,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement on Tuesday. “', 'With our S-1 declared effective, we’re expecting to be well positioned to energetically pursue TV streaming, other enhancements to the platform, and potential mergers and acquisitions.”', 'However, the exercising of the warrants will also likely dilute the holdings of existing shareholders by dramatically increasing the supply of shares outstanding in the company.', 'Trump Media can issue 21.5 million additional shares.', '“The price of these meme stocks is determined by supply and demand – something that is true for any stock but more so for when a stock is trading so far above its fundamental value,” said Ritter, the finance professor.', 'Trump is the dominant shareholder in the company, owning 114.75 million shares, or nearly 65%.', 'His stake was bumped up in late April when a bonus, known as earnout shares, was triggered by the company’s share price staying above certain levels.', 'Trump’s stake, which can’t be sold in the near-term, is now valued at about $3.1 billion.', 'That’s down from $6 billion as recently as May 30.']",0.1847984954673812,"His stake was bumped up in late April when a bonus, known as earnout shares, was triggered by the company’s share price staying above certain levels.","Despite the tumbling share price, some experts are warning Trump Media remains vulnerable to further losses.",-0.3209914705332587,"With our S-1 declared effective, we’re expecting to be well positioned to energetically pursue TV streaming, other enhancements to the platform, and potential mergers and acquisitions.”",That’s down from $6 billion as recently as May 30.,2024-06-21 +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.,,2024-06-21 +"Post Office system not a scandal, insists ex-union boss",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxxz799vxko,2024-06-21T12:32:15.843Z,"The Post Office's Horizon system is ""very robust"" and the only scandal is that the company failed to properly defend it, according to a man tasked with representing sub-postmasters. George Thomson, the former leader of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP), told a long-running inquiry: ""The Horizon system is not the scandal, the Post Office stupidity on steroids handling of the situation is the scandal."" Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for offences including theft on the strength of faulty data from the Horizon IT system. Christopher Head, a former sub-postmaster, described Mr Thomson's views as ""nothing short of abhorrent"". David Enright, a lawyer who has represented hundreds of people in connection with the Post Office, said Mr Thomson's ""flat earther defence of the Horizon computer system defies credulity"". Mr Thomson said that the number of sub-postmasters who had been prosecuted was a ""tiny percentage"" of the 100,000 people who have used Horizon over 25 years. Horizon is a software system for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking which began to be installed across Post Office branches from 1999. Sub-postmasters complained about bugs after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds - but their concerns were dismissed. Mr Thomson said the Post Office's ""mishandling of the situation"" has been ""so catastrophic"" for sub-postmasters, the brand and Royal Mail group. It means that the Post Office has ""not been able to defend a robust Horizon computer system"", Mr Thomson said. Mr Thomson denied, however, the association that it became ""too close"" to the Post Office or was ""flush with cash"". The inquiry also heard the former union general secretary privately tipped off the Post Office about those ""sniffing around"" the Horizon IT system. In an email from Mark Davies, communications and corporate affairs director at the Post Office, sent on May 10 2015, part of the chain read: ""Our media relationships with George [Thomson] and team are very good at present - he has been tipping us off, privately, about people sniffing around Horizon."" Asked by inquiry counsel Mr Blake if he was ""tipping off"" the Post Office, Mr Thomson said: “I have made the point time after time today that Horizon is a robust system”, adding that he worked closely with the Post Office to strengthen the franchise. Mr Head said: “I think his evidence so far shows him for the man that he is. He has shown no remorse, no sympathy, there is absolutely no sign of any apology for his or the NFSP's part in the scandal and the damage done in this scandal. ""The testimony so far is nothing short of abhorrent."" The NFSP was a trade union - set up in 1897 by a group of sub-postmasters to help their profession - which was changed into a trade association a decade ago after the Post Office did not recognise the group for collective bargaining purposes. During questioning at the inquiry on Friday, Mr Thomson's responses were greeted by astonishment and anger by some sub-postmasters in the room. When asked by Julian Blake, counsel for the inquiry, why the NFSP had not defended sub-postmasters, Mr Thomson insisted that the federation had argued on their behalf but had not had the funds for a legal defence. The NFSP has received millions of pounds in payments from the Post Office. The inquiry was shown an email from August 2013 that outlined plans for a 15- year deal between the Post Office and NFSP. It included annual payments starting at £500,000 in 2013-14 and reaching £2.5m between 2017 and 2028. Mr Thomson was general secretary of the NFSP between 2007 and 2018. He said: ""We worked closely with the Post Office because we both needed to have a successful franchise - that's the reality."" Following Mr Thomson's evidence to the inquiry, Calum Greenhow, chief executive of the NFSP sought to distance the organisation from his comments, saying the union was ""shocked"". ""We want to apologise unreservedly to any member who sought help from the NFSP about Horizon and didn’t receive the support they so desperately needed and deserved,"" he added. ""It is clear that more could and should have been done for them and for others."" Mr Greenhow said the evidence heard on Friday ""showed"" that during Mr Thomson’s tenure ""he did not take seriously enough the significant warning signals about Horizon and was not willing to accept challenges to his views on it"". The Horizon scandal was thrown back into the spotlight by an ITV drama broadcast at the beginning of the year: Mr Bates vs the Post Office. It followed the story of Alan Bates, a former sub-postmaster and campaigner who took the Post Office to court, and a number of sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of stealing money or falsifying records. He has led a 20-year campaign for justice for sub-postmasters, and was knighted this month. Mr Thomson criticised Sir Alan and the media for “painting Horizon as not fit for purpose”. ""This viewpoint is not only factually incorrect but has damaged the brand and post offices all over the UK,” he said. ""My support for Horizon has never wavered."" He said although bugs had been found in the software, that did not mean Horizon was not systemically robust. He added that he was ""furious"" with the Post Office for taking people to court when they knew ""people could access your computer"", adding that the ""shenanigans"" were ""bizarre"". Former sub-postmaster Nitin Pandit said the Post Ofice and the NFSP had ""just one standard response: that the system is robust."" He said himself and former colleagues ""are all very angry"". ""Even today we are sitting in the inquiry and so many of us are absolutely fuming,"" he said. ""NFSP were not supposed to work hand in hand with the Post Office, they were supposed to protect us,"" he added. ""Where were they?"" ",BBC,21/06/2024,"['The Post Office\'s Horizon system is ""very robust"" and the only scandal is that the company failed to properly defend it, according to a man tasked with representing sub-postmasters.', 'George Thomson, the former leader of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP), told a long-running inquiry: ""The Horizon system is not the scandal, the Post Office stupidity on steroids handling of the situation is the scandal.""', 'Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for offences including theft on the strength of faulty data from the Horizon IT system.', 'Christopher Head, a former sub-postmaster, described Mr Thomson\'s views as ""nothing short of abhorrent"".', 'David Enright, a lawyer who has represented hundreds of people in connection with the Post Office, said Mr Thomson\'s ""flat earther defence of the Horizon computer system defies credulity"".', 'Mr Thomson said that the number of sub-postmasters who had been prosecuted was a ""tiny percentage"" of the 100,000 people who have used Horizon over 25 years.', 'Horizon is a software system for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking which began to be installed across Post Office branches from 1999.', 'Sub-postmasters complained about bugs after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds - but their concerns were dismissed.', 'Mr Thomson said the Post Office\'s ""mishandling of the situation"" has been ""so catastrophic"" for sub-postmasters, the brand and Royal Mail group.', 'It means that the Post Office has ""not been able to defend a robust Horizon computer system"", Mr Thomson said.', 'Mr Thomson denied, however, the association that it became ""too close"" to the Post Office or was ""flush with cash"".', 'The inquiry also heard the former union general secretary privately tipped off the Post Office about those ""sniffing around"" the Horizon IT system.', 'In an email from Mark Davies, communications and corporate affairs director at the Post Office, sent on May 10 2015, part of the chain read: ""Our media relationships with George [Thomson] and team are very good at present - he has been tipping us off, privately, about people sniffing around Horizon.""', 'Asked by inquiry counsel Mr Blake if he was ""tipping off"" the Post Office, Mr Thomson said: “I have made the point time after time today that Horizon is a robust system”, adding that he worked closely with the Post Office to strengthen the franchise.', 'Mr Head said: “I think his evidence so far shows him for the man that he is.', 'He has shown no remorse, no sympathy, there is absolutely no sign of any apology for his or the NFSP\'s part in the scandal and the damage done in this scandal. ""', 'The testimony so far is nothing short of abhorrent.""', 'The NFSP was a trade union - set up in 1897 by a group of sub-postmasters to help their profession - which was changed into a trade association a decade ago after the Post Office did not recognise the group for collective bargaining purposes.', ""During questioning at the inquiry on Friday, Mr Thomson's responses were greeted by astonishment and anger by some sub-postmasters in the room."", 'When asked by Julian Blake, counsel for the inquiry, why the NFSP had not defended sub-postmasters, Mr Thomson insisted that the federation had argued on their behalf but had not had the funds for a legal defence.', 'The NFSP has received millions of pounds in payments from the Post Office.', 'The inquiry was shown an email from August 2013 that outlined plans for a 15- year deal between the Post Office and NFSP.', 'It included annual payments starting at £500,000 in 2013-14 and reaching £2.5m between 2017 and 2028.', 'Mr Thomson was general secretary of the NFSP between 2007 and 2018.', 'He said: ""We worked closely with the Post Office because we both needed to have a successful franchise - that\'s the reality.""', 'Following Mr Thomson\'s evidence to the inquiry, Calum Greenhow, chief executive of the NFSP sought to distance the organisation from his comments, saying the union was ""shocked"". ""', 'We want to apologise unreservedly to any member who sought help from the NFSP about Horizon and didn’t receive the support they so desperately needed and deserved,"" he added. ""', 'It is clear that more could and should have been done for them and for others.""', 'Mr Greenhow said the evidence heard on Friday ""showed"" that during Mr Thomson’s tenure ""he did not take seriously enough the significant warning signals about Horizon and was not willing to accept challenges to his views on it"".', 'The Horizon scandal was thrown back into the spotlight by an ITV drama broadcast at the beginning of the year: Mr Bates vs the Post Office.', 'It followed the story of Alan Bates, a former sub-postmaster and campaigner who took the Post Office to court, and a number of sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of stealing money or falsifying records.', 'He has led a 20-year campaign for justice for sub-postmasters, and was knighted this month.', 'Mr Thomson criticised Sir Alan and the media for “painting Horizon as not fit for purpose”. ""', 'This viewpoint is not only factually incorrect but has damaged the brand and post offices all over the UK,” he said. ""', 'My support for Horizon has never wavered.""', 'He said although bugs had been found in the software, that did not mean Horizon was not systemically robust.', 'He added that he was ""furious"" with the Post Office for taking people to court when they knew ""people could access your computer"", adding that the ""shenanigans"" were ""bizarre"".', 'Former sub-postmaster Nitin Pandit said the Post Ofice and the NFSP had ""just one standard response: that the system is robust.""', 'He said himself and former colleagues ""are all very angry"". ""', 'Even today we are sitting in the inquiry and so many of us are absolutely fuming,"" he said. ""', 'NFSP were not supposed to work hand in hand with the Post Office, they were supposed to protect us,"" he added. ""', 'Where were they?""']",-0.0581110857587526,"NFSP were not supposed to work hand in hand with the Post Office, they were supposed to protect us,"" he added. ""","He has shown no remorse, no sympathy, there is absolutely no sign of any apology for his or the NFSP's part in the scandal and the damage done in this scandal. """,-0.3521914958953857,"Asked by inquiry counsel Mr Blake if he was ""tipping off"" the Post Office, Mr Thomson said: “I have made the point time after time today that Horizon is a robust system”, adding that he worked closely with the Post Office to strengthen the franchise.","Mr Thomson said the Post Office's ""mishandling of the situation"" has been ""so catastrophic"" for sub-postmasters, the brand and Royal Mail group.",2024-06-21 +Jeff Bezos is under fire at the Washington Post as patience wears thin among staffers,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/media/washington-post-staffers-jeff-bezos-publisher-crisis/index.html," + Updated + 9:13 AM EDT, Fri June 21, 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. + + When will Jeff Bezos actually address the upheaval roiling his newsroom? + + The Washington Post owner and Amazon billionaire has yet to take any real action to quell concerns at his newspaper, which remains engulfed in disarray as explosive reports are published day after day throwing the ethical integrity of the outlet’s new publisher, Will Lewis, into serious question. + + Staffers at The Post are losing their patience with Bezos, whose only action thus far responding to the Lewis calamity has been to fire off a paltry, 138-word, single-paragraph memo from his Mediterranean yachting vacation to a handful of leaders at The Post, assuring them that he wants standards to remain “very high.” In the eyes of staffers at The Post, that is the very issue. They too want standards to remain “very high” and fear that Lewis poses an active danger to that shared goal. + + More drama unfolded Friday after the Lewis announced Robert Winnett, who Lewis named as the paper’s incoming editor, would not to come to lead the Post. That follows a 3,000-word front page expose this week, in which The Post reported that Winnett had previously used materials from a self-described “thief” for reporting. + + Frustrations and concerns are so high at the outlet that two of the institution’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists have chosen to speak out on the record, calling for a change in leadership, an unheard of step at the storied newspaper. David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades, said he doesn’t “know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand.” And Scott Higham, who has worked at The Post for more than two decades, agreed and called for Lewis’ head. + + “Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” wrote Higham on Facebook. “He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.” + + Suffice to say, Maraniss and Higham are just saying aloud what much of the newsroom is thinking. In conversations with more than a dozen people inside and close to The Post this week, it’s been made clear that Lewis, in his brief six months on the job, has totally alienated staff and now faces insurmountable odds to win back the employee base he seeks to lead. Whether he has good business ideas or not, is not the question. He’s lost the respect of his staff. And any good leader will tell you, without a legitimacy to lead, it is unfeasible to get anything done, let alone stage a Herculean business transformation. + + A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. But surely the billionaire understands the dire situation gripping The Post. And it taxes the imagination to believe that he really believes his brief memo to The Post’s leadership was enough to extinguish the concerns that have spurred the unprecedented uproar at the newspaper. In fact, it’s notable that Bezos has not explicitly voiced support for Lewis in recent days, giving him options as he evaluates the deteriorating situation and determines how to stem the bleeding. + + Staffers at The Post are very much waiting for Bezos to take some meaningful form of action. Since anger at Lewis erupted earlier this month, CNN has been repeatedly told by those who work at the outlet that the ongoing drama has distracted the newsroom from its invaluable work. Suffice to say, with a high-stakes election only months away, it is anything but ideal to have the attention of one of the nation’s preeminent news organizations diverted by internal turmoil whirling within its walls. + + It’s “a massive distraction,” one Postie underscored to me Thursday, adding that The Guardian’s eyebrow-raising story accusing Lewis of having once advised then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “clean up” his phone during the so-called “Partygate” scandals is “the talk of the newsroom.” (Lewis and Johnson denied the story.) + + “I don’t think the mood will change until something else changes,” the staffer added. + + In the absence of Bezos, the stories raising questions about Lewis’ ethical integrity keep coming. The Financial Times reported Thursday that Lewis still “retains links” to a public relations firm that advises high-powered corporate and political leaders how to navigate thorny situations. While the FT reported Lewis had sold his ownership stake in the business, the outlet noted the firm has “continued to distribute regular emails from Lewis,” causing “confusion among people in contact with the agency.” + + While the FT’s Thursday story certainly did not carry with it the same weight as the reports that have been published in recent days from other news outlets, it added yet additional questions about Lewis’ history and entanglements. + + Meanwhile, it is likely that many more questions will be raised in the future as The Post and outlets such as The New York Times continue to take a hard look at Lewis’ history. And as those questions keep coming, those at The Post will certainly have one in particular for Bezos: What are you planning to do to restore the respect and status of your storied newspaper?",CNN,21/06/2024,"['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.', 'When willJeff Bezosactuallyaddress the upheaval roiling his newsroom?', 'The Washington Postowner andAmazonbillionaire has yet to take any real action to quell concerns at his newspaper, which remains engulfed in disarray as explosive reports are published day after day throwing the ethical integrity of the outlet’s new publisher,Will Lewis, into serious question.', 'Staffers at The Post are losing their patience with Bezos, whose only action thus far responding to the Lewis calamity has been to fire off a paltry, 138-word, single-paragraph memo from hisMediterraneanyachting vacation to a handful of leaders at The Post, assuring them that he wants standards to remain “very high.”', 'In the eyes of staffers at The Post, that is the very issue.', 'They too want standards to remain “very high” and fear that Lewis poses an active danger to that shared goal.', 'More drama unfolded Friday after the Lewis announced Robert Winnett, who Lewis named as the paper’s incoming editor, would not to come to lead the Post.', 'That follows a 3,000-word front page expose this week, in whichThe Postreportedthat Winnett had previously used materials from a self-described “thief” for reporting.', 'Frustrations and concerns are so high at the outlet that two of the institution’sPulitzer Prize-winning journalists havechosen to speak outon the record, calling for a change in leadership, an unheard of step at the storied newspaper.', 'David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades, said he doesn’t “know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand.”', 'AndScott Higham, who has worked at The Post for more than two decades, agreed and called for Lewis’ head.', '“Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” wrote Higham on Facebook. “', 'He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.”', 'Suffice to say, Maraniss and Higham are just saying aloud what much of the newsroom is thinking.', 'In conversations with more than a dozen people inside and close to The Post this week, it’s been made clear that Lewis, in his brief six months on the job, hastotallyalienated staff and now faces insurmountable odds to win back the employee base he seeks to lead.', 'Whether he has good business ideas or not, is not the question.', 'He’s lost the respect of his staff.', 'And any good leader will tell you, without a legitimacy to lead, it is unfeasible to get anything done, let alone stage a Herculean business transformation.', 'A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.', 'But surely the billionaire understands the dire situation gripping The Post.', 'And it taxes the imagination to believe that he really believes his brief memo to The Post’s leadership was enough to extinguish the concerns that have spurred the unprecedented uproar at the newspaper.', 'In fact, it’s notable that Bezos has not explicitly voiced support for Lewis in recent days, giving him options as he evaluates the deteriorating situation and determines how to stem the bleeding.', 'Staffers at The Post are very much waiting for Bezos to take somemeaningfulform of action.', 'Since anger at Lewis erupted earlier this month, CNN has been repeatedly told by those who work at the outlet that the ongoing drama has distracted the newsroom from its invaluable work.', 'Suffice to say, with a high-stakes election only months away, it is anything but ideal to have the attention of one of the nation’s preeminent news organizations diverted by internal turmoil whirling within its walls.', 'It’s “a massive distraction,” one Postie underscored to me Thursday, adding thatThe Guardian’seyebrow-raising storyaccusing Lewis of having once advised then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnsonto “clean up” his phone during the so-called “Partygate” scandals is “the talk of the newsroom.” (', 'Lewis and Johnson denied the story.)', '“I don’t think the mood will change until something else changes,” the staffer added.', 'In the absence of Bezos, the stories raising questions about Lewis’ ethical integrity keep coming.', 'TheFinancial Timesreported Thursdaythat Lewis still “retains links” to a public relations firm that advises high-powered corporate and political leaders how to navigate thorny situations.', 'While the FT reported Lewis had sold his ownership stake in the business, the outlet noted the firm has “continued to distribute regular emails from Lewis,” causing “confusion among people in contact with the agency.”', 'While the FT’s Thursday story certainly did not carry with it the same weight as the reports that have been published in recent days from other news outlets, it added yet additional questions about Lewis’ history and entanglements.', 'Meanwhile, it is likely that many more questions will be raised in the future as The Post and outlets such asThe New York Timescontinue to take a hard look at Lewis’ history.', 'And as those questions keep coming, those at The Post will certainly have one in particular for Bezos: What are you planning to do to restore the respect and status of your storied newspaper?']",0.0432434839665363,"And as those questions keep coming, those at The Post will certainly have one in particular for Bezos: What are you planning to do to restore the respect and status of your storied newspaper?","Since anger at Lewis erupted earlier this month, CNN has been repeatedly told by those who work at the outlet that the ongoing drama has distracted the newsroom from its invaluable work.",-0.7641511013110479,And it taxes the imagination to believe that he really believes his brief memo to The Post’s leadership was enough to extinguish the concerns that have spurred the unprecedented uproar at the newspaper.,He’s lost the respect of his staff.,2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +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.",2024-06-21 +Surgeon general demands warning label on social media apps,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/media/surgeon-general-social-media-apps-warning-label/index.html," + Updated + 8:28 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said the threat social media poses to children requires urgent action, and he demanded Congress to put a label on the apps as it does with cigarettes and alcohol. + + “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy said in an op-ed in the New York Times Monday. + + Murthy cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study published in JAMA that showed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression. Teens spend nearly five hours a day on social media apps, according to a Gallup poll. + + In an interview with CNN’s Meg Tirrell, Murthy said that the prevalence of social media use among kids is over 95%, “nearly universal.” + + But Murthy cannot act unilaterally to put a warning label on apps — that requirement would have to come from Congress, with whom Murthy pleaded to pass a bill. + + “I put forward this call for a warning because I think it’s essential that parents know what we now know, which is that there are significant harms associated with social media use,” Murthy told CNN. + + Similar labels on tobacco, first instituted in 1965, led to a steady decline in cigarette smoking in America over the past several decades. + + Congress has long chastised social media companies, claiming they pose harm to children. CEOs of tech companies have been grilled routinely on Capitol Hill, most notably Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — who publicly apologized to families whose children killed themselves because of online bullying and harassment. But Congress has taken little action to curb children’s social media usage. + + Murthy argued that it’s time for Congress to get serious about curbing children’s use of social media. + + “Until that point in time, when we have reliable evidence that tells us social media is safe and changes are being made and will be made in the future… parents deserve to be warned. That’s where the label comes in,” Murthy told CNN, adding that he hopes Congress will introduce legislation to add a surgeon general’s warning label on social media as soon as possible. “I think this is an urgent issue.” + + Murthy has warned about social media’s harm to children’s welfare for years. But Monday’s declaration of an emergency and his appeal to Congress represent his most urgent call to action on the issue so far. + + In May 2023, Murthy issued an advisory that said there’s not enough evidence to determine whether social media is safe enough for children and adolescents’ mental health, saying social media use presents “a profound risk of harm” for kids. + + He suggested parents restrict their kids’ social media use, saying 13 is too young to join social apps. But such advisories are designed to call attention to urgent public health – they don’t require action. + + “We’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I’m concerned that social media is contributing to the harm that kids are experiencing,” Murthy told CNN in May 2023. “For too long, we have placed the entire burden of managing social media on the shoulders of parents and kids, despite the fact that these platforms are designed by some of the most talented engineers and designers in the world to maximize the amount of time that our kids spend on them.” + + On CNN’s “Chasing Life” podcast with Dr. Sanjay Gupta in June 2023, Murthy outlined some steps parents can take to rein in their children’s social media usage, including partnering with other parents to make sure kids lack the “I’m the only one without social media” excuse. + + A warning label, if Congress passes legislation requiring one, would be insufficient to fix the problem, Murthy acknowledged. + + He suggested schools become phone-free environments for children, as should dinner time and other family events. And Murthy urged parents to restrict children’s use of social media until they graduate from middle school. + + Several states have worked to pass legislation to increase the age at which children can begin to use social apps or some of their more time-sucking features, such as algorithms that push people to engage with more content within the app. The bills have been largely bipartisan. + + Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed a bill that would prohibit children under 14 from obtaining their own social media accounts, and children under 16 would need parental consent to have accounts. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would sign legislation passed by the state legislature that would ban social media from using algorithms in children’s feeds, and the bill would also prevent tech companies from sharing information of children under 18. + + “This is much easier said than done, which is why parents should work together with other families to establish shared rules, so no parents have to struggle alone or feel guilty when their teens say they are the only one who has to endure limits,” Murthy wrote in the New York Times. + + On Monday, Murthy confirmed to CNN that alcohol and cigarettes are currently the only two products with surgeon general warning labels but that the overall health risk of social media is “just as profound.” + + “We’re talking about the mental health and wellbeing of kids,” he said.",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said the threat social media poses to children requires urgent action, and he demanded Congress to put a label on the apps as it does with cigarettes and alcohol.', '“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy said in an op-ed in the New York Times Monday.', 'Murthy cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study published in JAMA that showed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression.', 'Teens spend nearly five hours a day on social media apps, according to a Gallup poll.', 'In an interview with CNN’s Meg Tirrell, Murthy said that the prevalence of social media use among kids is over 95%, “nearly universal.”', 'But Murthy cannot act unilaterally to put a warning label on apps — that requirement would have to come from Congress, with whom Murthy pleaded to pass a bill.', '“I put forward this call for a warning because I think it’s essential that parents know what we now know, which is that there are significant harms associated with social media use,” Murthy told CNN.', 'Similar labels on tobacco, first instituted in 1965, led to a steady decline in cigarette smoking in America over the past several decades.', 'Congress has long chastised social media companies, claiming they pose harm to children.', 'CEOs of tech companies have been grilled routinely on Capitol Hill, most notably Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — who publicly apologized to families whose children killed themselves because of online bullying and harassment.', 'But Congress has taken little action to curb children’s social media usage.', 'Murthy argued that it’s time for Congress to get serious about curbing children’s use of social media.', '“Until that point in time, when we have reliable evidence that tells us social media is safe and changes are being made and will be made in the future… parents deserve to be warned.', 'That’s where the label comes in,” Murthy told CNN, adding that he hopes Congress will introduce legislation to add a surgeon general’s warning label on social media as soon as possible. “', 'I think this is an urgent issue.”', 'Murthy has warned about social media’s harm to children’s welfare for years.', 'But Monday’s declaration of an emergency and his appeal to Congress represent his most urgent call to action on the issue so far.', 'In May 2023, Murthy issued an advisory that said there’s not enough evidence to determine whether social media is safe enough for children and adolescents’ mental health, saying social media use presents “a profound risk of harm” for kids.', 'He suggested parents restrict their kids’ social media use, saying 13 is too young to join social apps.', 'But such advisories are designed to call attention to urgent public health – they don’t require action.', '“We’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I’m concerned that social media is contributing to the harm that kids are experiencing,” Murthy told CNN in May 2023. “', 'For too long, we have placed the entire burden of managing social media on the shoulders of parents and kids, despite the fact that these platforms are designed by some of the most talented engineers and designers in the world to maximize the amount of time that our kids spend on them.”', 'On CNN’s “Chasing Life” podcast with Dr. Sanjay Gupta in June 2023, Murthy outlined some steps parents can take to rein in their children’s social media usage, including partnering with other parents to make sure kids lack the “I’m the only one without social media” excuse.', 'A warning label, if Congress passes legislation requiring one, would be insufficient to fix the problem, Murthy acknowledged.', 'He suggested schools become phone-free environments for children, as should dinner time and other family events.', 'And Murthy urged parents to restrict children’s use of social media until they graduate from middle school.', 'Several states have worked to pass legislation to increase the age at which children can begin to use social apps or some of their more time-sucking features, such as algorithms that push people to engage with more content within the app.', 'The bills have been largely bipartisan.', 'Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed a bill that would prohibit children under 14 from obtaining their own social media accounts, and children under 16 would need parental consent to have accounts.', 'New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would sign legislation passed by the state legislature that would ban social media from using algorithms in children’s feeds, and the bill would also prevent tech companies from sharing information of children under 18.', '“This is much easier said than done, which is why parents should work together with other families to establish shared rules, so no parents have to struggle alone or feel guilty when their teens say they are the only one who has to endure limits,” Murthy wrote in the New York Times.', 'On Monday, Murthy confirmed to CNN that alcohol and cigarettes are currently the only two products with surgeon general warning labels but that the overall health risk of social media is “just as profound.”', '“We’re talking about the mental health and wellbeing of kids,” he said.']",-0.2170621141236108,"Several states have worked to pass legislation to increase the age at which children can begin to use social apps or some of their more time-sucking features, such as algorithms that push people to engage with more content within the app.","CEOs of tech companies have been grilled routinely on Capitol Hill, most notably Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — who publicly apologized to families whose children killed themselves because of online bullying and harassment.",-0.4068378295217241,"Murthy cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study published in JAMA that showed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression.","“We’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I’m concerned that social media is contributing to the harm that kids are experiencing,” Murthy told CNN in May 2023. “",2024-06-21 +US bans Kaspersky antivirus software for alleged Russian links,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqq7663wd2o,2024-06-20T22:03:10.492Z,"The US has announced plans to ban the sale of antivirus software made by Russian firm Kaspersky due to its alleged links to the Kremlin. Moscow's influence over the company was found to pose a significant risk to US infrastructure and services, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday. She said that the US was compelled to take action due to Russia's ""capacity and... intent to collect and weaponise the personal information of Americans"". ""Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use,"" the Commerce Department said. Kaspersky said it intended to pursue ""all legally available options"" to fight the ban, and denied it engaged in any activity that threatened US security. The plan uses broad powers created by the Trump administration to ban or restrict transactions between US firms and tech companies from ""foreign adversary"" nations like Russia and China. The plan will effectively bar downloads of software updates, resales and licensing of the product from 29 September and new business will be restricted within 30 days of the announcement. Sellers and resellers who violate the restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department. The Commerce Department will also list two Russian and one UK-based unit of Kaspersky for allegedly cooperating with Russian military intelligence. The company has long been a target for US regulators. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security banned its flagship antivirus product from federal networks, alleging ties to Russian intelligence. While the multinational firm is headquartered in Moscow, it has offices in 31 countries around the world, servicing more than 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients in more than 200 countries, the Commerce Department said. The number of customers affected in the US is classified business data. However, a Commerce Department official was quoted by Reuters as saying that it was a “significant number” and included state and local governments and companies that supply telecommunications, power, and healthcare. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['The US has announced plans to ban the sale of antivirus software made by Russian firm Kaspersky due to its alleged links to the Kremlin.', ""Moscow's influence over the company was found to pose a significant risk to US infrastructure and services, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday."", 'She said that the US was compelled to take action due to Russia\'s ""capacity and... intent to collect and weaponise the personal information of Americans"". ""', 'Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use,"" the Commerce Department said.', 'Kaspersky said it intended to pursue ""all legally available options"" to fight the ban, and denied it engaged in any activity that threatened US security.', 'The plan uses broad powers created by the Trump administration to ban or restrict transactions between US firms and tech companies from ""foreign adversary"" nations like Russia and China.', 'The plan will effectively bar downloads of software updates, resales and licensing of the product from 29 September and new business will be restricted within 30 days of the announcement.', 'Sellers and resellers who violate the restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department.', 'The Commerce Department will also list two Russian and one UK-based unit of Kaspersky for allegedly cooperating with Russian military intelligence.', 'The company has long been a target for US regulators.', 'In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security banned its flagship antivirus product from federal networks, alleging ties to Russian intelligence.', 'While the multinational firm is headquartered in Moscow, it has offices in 31 countries around the world, servicing more than 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients in more than 200 countries, the Commerce Department said.', 'The number of customers affected in the US is classified business data.', 'However, a Commerce Department official was quoted by Reuters as saying that it was a “significant number” and included state and local governments and companies that supply telecommunications, power, and healthcare.']",-0.0743457031013124,The Commerce Department will also list two Russian and one UK-based unit of Kaspersky for allegedly cooperating with Russian military intelligence.,"Kaspersky said it intended to pursue ""all legally available options"" to fight the ban, and denied it engaged in any activity that threatened US security.",-0.7912124872207642,,"Moscow's influence over the company was found to pose a significant risk to US infrastructure and services, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday.",2024-06-21 +"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.,2024-06-21 +American Airlines suspends staff after black men kicked off flight,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722ejmvlwno,2024-06-20T21:43:48.137Z,"Several American Airlines employees have been put on leave for their involvement in an incident in which black passengers were removed from a flight after a complaint about body odour. Three passengers filed a lawsuit against the carrier in May, alleging racial discrimination in the 5 January incident. In a note to employees, CEO Robert Isom said that the incident was unacceptable and that the company ""fell short"" of its commitment to customers. ""We are holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service,"" the airline said in a statement. The company has also announced a number of initiatives aimed at preventing such incidents from taking place, including an ""advisory group"" focused on the experience of black passengers. In the May lawsuit, three men - who were not seated together and did not know each other - said that every black man was removed from the flight between Phoenix, Arizona and New York City. A total of eight passengers were removed. ""American Airlines singled us out for being black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us,"" they said in a statement. The three men - Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal - were eventually allowed to re-take their seats on their original flight. In a letter to employees dated 18 June, Mr Isom said he was ""incredibly disappointed by what happened on the flight and the breakdown of our procedures"". ""We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers,"" he said. He added that the airline is ""steadfast in our commitment"" to working with civil rights organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, to ""rebuild trust"". The incident is not the first time that American Airlines has faced allegations of discrimination. In a separate incident in 2017, the NAACP warned black travellers to avoid the airline, citing a pattern of ""disrespectful"" and ""discriminatory"" behaviour as well as a ""corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias"". They lifted the advisory the following year after the carrier announced it had made changes to its operations. On 4 June this year, however, it warned that it could reinstate the warning unless American gave a ""swift and decisive response"" to the January incident. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Several American Airlines employees have been put on leave for their involvement in an incident in which black passengers were removed from a flight after a complaint about body odour.', 'Three passengers filed a lawsuit against the carrier in May, alleging racial discrimination in the 5 January incident.', 'In a note to employees, CEO Robert Isom said that the incident was unacceptable and that the company ""fell short"" of its commitment to customers. ""', 'We are holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service,"" the airline said in a statement.', 'The company has also announced a number of initiatives aimed at preventing such incidents from taking place, including an ""advisory group"" focused on the experience of black passengers.', 'In the May lawsuit, three men - who were not seated together and did not know each other - said that every black man was removed from the flight between Phoenix, Arizona and New York City.', 'A total of eight passengers were removed. ""', 'American Airlines singled us out for being black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us,"" they said in a statement.', 'The three men - Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal - were eventually allowed to re-take their seats on their original flight.', 'In a letter to employees dated 18 June, Mr Isom said he was ""incredibly disappointed by what happened on the flight and the breakdown of our procedures"". ""', 'We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers,"" he said.', 'He added that the airline is ""steadfast in our commitment"" to working with civil rights organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, to ""rebuild trust"".', 'The incident is not the first time that American Airlines has faced allegations of discrimination.', 'In a separate incident in 2017, the NAACP warned black travellers to avoid the airline, citing a pattern of ""disrespectful"" and ""discriminatory"" behaviour as well as a ""corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias"".', 'They lifted the advisory the following year after the carrier announced it had made changes to its operations.', 'On 4 June this year, however, it warned that it could reinstate the warning unless American gave a ""swift and decisive response"" to the January incident.']",-0.1112287881593043,"He added that the airline is ""steadfast in our commitment"" to working with civil rights organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, to ""rebuild trust"".","In a separate incident in 2017, the NAACP warned black travellers to avoid the airline, citing a pattern of ""disrespectful"" and ""discriminatory"" behaviour as well as a ""corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias"".",-0.6260629892349243,"He added that the airline is ""steadfast in our commitment"" to working with civil rights organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, to ""rebuild trust"".","We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers,"" he said.",2024-06-21 +Government borrowing in May hits highest since Covid,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmll7k8pl2xo,2024-06-21T06:51:04.558Z,"Government borrowing in May hit the highest since the Covid crisis but was lower than the UK's fiscal watchdog had forecast. Borrowing reached £15bn last month, which was £800m higher than May last year. It means that the public sector spent more than it received in taxes and other income, leading the government to borrow billions of pounds. It is the third highest figure for May since records began in 1993, surpassed only by the pandemic years. However, borrowing was £600m less than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had expected. With the general election fast approaching, whichever party wins will face similar challenges on tax, spending and debt, economists have warned. “Government borrowing holds steady but the fiscal Pandora’s box awaits for the next chancellor,” said Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG UK. ""Interest rates are set to remain higher, debt more difficult to bring down and spending pressures continue to mount."" While there were some bright spots in May's borrowing figures, according to Simon Wells, chief European economist at HSBC, he pointed out that government debt was at an “extraordinary” level - and the highest since the 1960s. Government debt as a percentage of UK economic output - commonly known as gross domestic product - was at 99.8% last month. ""What has happened is public sector debt has ramped up, first through the global financial crisis and then again through Covid so it is at historically high levels,"" Mr Wells told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. High levels of debt means that public sector finances are vulnerable to higher interest rates which makes repayments more costly. Mr Wells warned that large debt leaves less headroom to deal with any future crisis. The Bank of England had been raising interest rates in an effort to bring down UK inflation but one knock-on effect of this is the government having to pay more interest on debt. Last month, the interest payable on central government debt was £8bn, which was one of the highest amounts on record. Tax is a key battleground in the upcoming general election, with the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats all ruling out increasing income tax, VAT and National Insurance rates. Cuts in National Insurance have eaten into how much money the government receives at a time when politicians are unwilling to commit to spending more on public services. The government received £900m less from National Insurance in May than it did in the same month last year. But overall, tax receipts rose by £1bn after revenue from income, corporation and value added taxes increased. Taxes, including income tax, have effectively been rising after a government freeze on thresholds - the amount of money people earn before they start paying tax or before they start paying a higher rate. Thresholds usually rise in line with inflation, but in 2021 the Conservative government froze most bands in response to Covid. This has pulled more people into paying higher rates, in a phenomenon known as ""fiscal drag"". Meanwhile in separate figures on Friday, retail sales rebounded in May after heavy rain put a dampener on April activity. The amount people bought - volumes - rose 2.9% in May, after a fall of 1.8% in April following poor weather. The value also rose, up 3.2%. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said it is ""little wonder we Brits are obsessed with the weather"". ""A bit of sunshine in the month of May which helped lift temperatures and spirits translated into a bump in sales, especially for clothing and furniture retailers,"" she said. Jacqui Baker, head of retail at auditors RSM UK, said consumers had ""stocked up on clothing in anticipation of their summer holidays and rumours of a UK heatwave"" in May. But she added that ""confidence to spend on big ticket items remains low"". ",BBC,21/06/2024,"[""Government borrowing in May hit the highest since the Covid crisis but was lower than the UK's fiscal watchdog had forecast."", 'Borrowing reached £15bn last month, which was £800m higher than May last year.', 'It means that the public sector spent more than it received in taxes and other income, leading the government to borrow billions of pounds.', 'It is the third highest figure for May since records began in 1993, surpassed only by the pandemic years.', 'However, borrowing was £600m less than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had expected.', 'With the general election fast approaching, whichever party wins will face similar challenges on tax, spending and debt, economists have warned. “', 'Government borrowing holds steady but the fiscal Pandora’s box awaits for the next chancellor,” said Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG UK. ""', 'Interest rates are set to remain higher, debt more difficult to bring down and spending pressures continue to mount.""', ""While there were some bright spots in May's borrowing figures, according to Simon Wells, chief European economist at HSBC, he pointed out that government debt was at an “extraordinary” level - and the highest since the 1960s."", 'Government debt as a percentage of UK economic output - commonly known as gross domestic product - was at 99.8% last month. ""', 'What has happened is public sector debt has ramped up, first through the global financial crisis and then again through Covid so it is at historically high levels,"" Mr Wells told BBC Radio 4\'s Today programme.', 'High levels of debt means that public sector finances are vulnerable to higher interest rates which makes repayments more costly.', 'Mr Wells warned that large debt leaves less headroom to deal with any future crisis.', 'The Bank of England had been raising interest rates in an effort to bring down UK inflation but one knock-on effect of this is the government having to pay more interest on debt.', 'Last month, the interest payable on central government debt was £8bn, which was one of the highest amounts on record.', 'Tax is a key battleground in the upcoming general election, with the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats all ruling out increasing income tax, VAT and National Insurance rates.', 'Cuts in National Insurance have eaten into how much money the government receives at a time when politicians are unwilling to commit to spending more on public services.', 'The government received £900m less from National Insurance in May than it did in the same month last year.', 'But overall, tax receipts rose by £1bn after revenue from income, corporation and value added taxes increased.', 'Taxes, including income tax, have effectively been rising after a government freeze on thresholds - the amount of money people earn before they start paying tax or before they start paying a higher rate.', 'Thresholds usually rise in line with inflation, but in 2021 the Conservative government froze most bands in response to Covid.', 'This has pulled more people into paying higher rates, in a phenomenon known as ""fiscal drag"".', 'Meanwhile in separate figures on Friday, retail sales rebounded in May after heavy rain put a dampener on April activity.', 'The amount people bought - volumes - rose 2.9% in May, after a fall of 1.8% in April following poor weather.', 'The value also rose, up 3.2%.', 'Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said it is ""little wonder we Brits are obsessed with the weather"". ""', 'A bit of sunshine in the month of May which helped lift temperatures and spirits translated into a bump in sales, especially for clothing and furniture retailers,"" she said.', 'Jacqui Baker, head of retail at auditors RSM UK, said consumers had ""stocked up on clothing in anticipation of their summer holidays and rumours of a UK heatwave"" in May.', 'But she added that ""confidence to spend on big ticket items remains low"".']",-0.0191203575198766,"But overall, tax receipts rose by £1bn after revenue from income, corporation and value added taxes increased.",Mr Wells warned that large debt leaves less headroom to deal with any future crisis.,0.0921754613518714,"The value also rose, up 3.2%.","But she added that ""confidence to spend on big ticket items remains low"".",2024-06-21 +"Some already pay tax on state pension, reports suggests",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckdd40vdg5zo,2024-06-20T23:11:46.510Z,"Some people already pay income tax on their state pension, a report suggests, despite a Conservative pledge that it will stay tax-free. The standard new state pension is currently below the threshold of £12,570 after which income tax is paid, but future rises may bring it above that level. The Conservative manifesto includes the triple lock plus - a plan to raise the tax-free threshold so the new state pension is not dragged into the income tax net. However, pensions consultancy LCP says the amount people already receive in the state pension varies and means some already pay, and would continue to pay, tax on it. That is the result of complexities and allowances in the current system. Taxation of pensions is a key issue raised by voters through the BBC's Your Voice, Your Vote project. Many people have been in touch asking for clarity on pensions policies, with some pointing out that some of their pension income is already taxed. Alan, from West Sussex, asks: ""Can you guarantee my pension will be subject to the triple lock and free of tax?"" All the major parties have said they would maintain the triple lock - a pledge to increase the state pension each year by the highest of wages, inflation or 2.5%. With tax thresholds frozen for at least the next three years, under the main parties' plans, this raises the prospect of many people being taxed if they solely received the state pension. However, the Conservatives have said they would introduce the triple lock plus, which would increase the threshold to ensure this would not happen. Nearly 12 million people receive the state pension and the standard rate is below the current £12,570 tax-free threshold. However, the research by LCP suggests that 2.5 million people already receive more under the state pension system which means they are, and would continue to be, taxed. The old state pension system - for those who reached pension age before 2016 - is complex, with some people also receiving additional state pension money. The subsequent new state pension system is designed around a standard rate. But even under this system, some pensioners may receive more than the standard amount, due to transitional measures ensuring that people who had built up pensions under the old rules could retain their entitlements. About 300,000 people would receive enough to take them into the income tax bracket, the report said. LCP partner Sir Steve Webb, who is a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister, said: ""The reality is that the amounts which pensioners receive vary hugely, from a few pounds a week to hundreds of pounds a week. ""We estimate that around 2.5 million pensioners, or more than one in five of all pensioners, have state pensions in excess of the income tax threshold. These pensioners would overwhelmingly continue to be taxpayers even if future policy linked the income tax allowance to increases in the headline rate of state pension."" A Conservative Party spokesman said: ""Under the triple lock plus, the tax-free allowance for pensioners will rise in line with the fastest of prices, earnings or 2.5% - just like the state pension."" He said that under Labour, millions of pensioners would pay more tax. Labour has said the Conservative plan is not credible. Rosie, from Scotland, said there was an impression pensioners do not pay tax, but ""state pensions are taxable income and many with tiny work pensions are taxed due to the freezing of tax thresholds"". Income tax thresholds will continue to be frozen for the next three years, under plans from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. That means more people will be drawn into paying more tax as their income increases. That includes some pensioners who receive income from a workplace or private pension, on top of their state pension income. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Some people already pay income tax on their state pension, a report suggests, despite a Conservative pledge that it will stay tax-free.', 'The standard new state pension is currently below the threshold of £12,570 after which income tax is paid, but future rises may bring it above that level.', 'The Conservative manifesto includes the triple lock plus - a plan to raise the tax-free threshold so the new state pension is not dragged into the income tax net.', 'However, pensions consultancy LCP says the amount people already receive in the state pension varies and means some already pay, and would continue to pay, tax on it.', 'That is the result of complexities and allowances in the current system.', ""Taxation of pensions is a key issue raised by voters through the BBC's Your Voice, Your Vote project."", 'Many people have been in touch asking for clarity on pensions policies, with some pointing out that some of their pension income is already taxed.', 'Alan, from West Sussex, asks: ""Can you guarantee my pension will be subject to the triple lock and free of tax?""', 'All the major parties have said they would maintain the triple lock - a pledge to increase the state pension each year by the highest of wages, inflation or 2.5%.', ""With tax thresholds frozen for at least the next three years, under the main parties' plans, this raises the prospect of many people being taxed if they solely received the state pension."", 'However, the Conservatives have said they would introduce the triple lock plus, which would increase the threshold to ensure this would not happen.', 'Nearly 12 million people receive the state pension and the standard rate is below the current £12,570 tax-free threshold.', 'However, the research by LCP suggests that 2.5 million people already receive more under the state pension system which means they are, and would continue to be, taxed.', 'The old state pension system - for those who reached pension age before 2016 - is complex, with some people also receiving additional state pension money.', 'The subsequent new state pension system is designed around a standard rate.', 'But even under this system, some pensioners may receive more than the standard amount, due to transitional measures ensuring that people who had built up pensions under the old rules could retain their entitlements.', 'About 300,000 people would receive enough to take them into the income tax bracket, the report said.', 'LCP partner Sir Steve Webb, who is a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister, said: ""The reality is that the amounts which pensioners receive vary hugely, from a few pounds a week to hundreds of pounds a week. ""', 'We estimate that around 2.5 million pensioners, or more than one in five of all pensioners, have state pensions in excess of the income tax threshold.', 'These pensioners would overwhelmingly continue to be taxpayers even if future policy linked the income tax allowance to increases in the headline rate of state pension.""', 'A Conservative Party spokesman said: ""Under the triple lock plus, the tax-free allowance for pensioners will rise in line with the fastest of prices, earnings or 2.5% - just like the state pension.""', 'He said that under Labour, millions of pensioners would pay more tax.', 'Labour has said the Conservative plan is not credible.', 'Rosie, from Scotland, said there was an impression pensioners do not pay tax, but ""state pensions are taxable income and many with tiny work pensions are taxed due to the freezing of tax thresholds"".', 'Income tax thresholds will continue to be frozen for the next three years, under plans from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.', 'That means more people will be drawn into paying more tax as their income increases.', 'That includes some pensioners who receive income from a workplace or private pension, on top of their state pension income.']",0.2023454859236981,"A Conservative Party spokesman said: ""Under the triple lock plus, the tax-free allowance for pensioners will rise in line with the fastest of prices, earnings or 2.5% - just like the state pension.""","However, pensions consultancy LCP says the amount people already receive in the state pension varies and means some already pay, and would continue to pay, tax on it.",0.0050148765246073,"A Conservative Party spokesman said: ""Under the triple lock plus, the tax-free allowance for pensioners will rise in line with the fastest of prices, earnings or 2.5% - just like the state pension.""","With tax thresholds frozen for at least the next three years, under the main parties' plans, this raises the prospect of many people being taxed if they solely received the state pension.",2024-06-21 +Microsoft back as most valuable listed company as Nvidia slips,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8884389l35o,2024-06-21T00:06:36.114Z,"Nvidia has handed back the position as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft after its share price fell by more than 3.5% on Thursday. The artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant briefly held the top spot from Tuesday, with a stock market valuation of $3.34tn (£2.64tn). But Nvidia's shares fell to $130.78 on Thursday, sending its value down to around $3.22tn, with Microsoft reclaiming the title as it held steady at more than $3.3tn. Nvidia's rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips that power AI. Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple - each worth more than $3tn - are in a three-horse race to be the world's most valuable company. While Nvidia reached the top spot for just a brief period, some analysts have predicted competition between the three technology firms will remain fierce. ""We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" Wedbush Securities said in a note earlier this week. Nvidia's stock has boomed thanks to growing demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a jump in sales of its graphics cards. Its rise as been mirrored by the growing profile of its boss, Jensen Huang, who has become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him like a rock star. ",BBC,21/06/2024,"['Nvidia has handed back the position as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft after its share price fell by more than 3.5% on Thursday.', 'The artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant briefly held the top spot from Tuesday, with a stock market valuation of $3.34tn (£2.64tn).', ""But Nvidia's shares fell to $130.78 on Thursday, sending its value down to around $3.22tn, with Microsoft reclaiming the title as it held steady at more than $3.3tn."", 'Nvidia\'s rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips that power AI.', ""Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple - each worth more than $3tn - are in a three-horse race to be the world's most valuable company."", 'While Nvidia reached the top spot for just a brief period, some analysts have predicted competition between the three technology firms will remain fierce. ""', 'We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" Wedbush Securities said in a note earlier this week.', ""Nvidia's stock has boomed thanks to growing demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT."", 'The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a jump in sales of its graphics cards.', 'Its rise as been mirrored by the growing profile of its boss, Jensen Huang, who has become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him like a rock star.']",0.5228148362682842,"Its rise as been mirrored by the growing profile of its boss, Jensen Huang, who has become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him like a rock star.",,0.4477078403745378,"The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a jump in sales of its graphics cards.","But Nvidia's shares fell to $130.78 on Thursday, sending its value down to around $3.22tn, with Microsoft reclaiming the title as it held steady at more than $3.3tn.",2024-06-21 +"How much money is the UK government borrowing, and does it matter?",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50504151,2019-11-21T15:27:10.000Z,"The government generally spends more than it raises in tax. To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back - with interest - and that can influence wider tax and spending plans. The government gets most of its income from taxes. For example, workers pay income tax, everyone pays VAT on certain goods, and companies pay tax on their profits. It could, in theory, cover all of its spending from taxes, and in some years that happens. But if it can't, it will cover the gap by raising taxes, cutting spending or borrowing. Higher taxes mean people have less money to spend, so businesses make less profit, which can be bad for jobs and wages. Lower profits also mean companies pay less tax. So, governments often borrow to boost the economy. They also borrow to pay for big projects - such as new railways and roads - which they hope will help the economy. The government borrows money by selling financial products called bonds. A bond is a promise to pay money in the future. Most require the borrower to make regular interest payments over the bond's lifetime. UK government bonds - known as ""gilts"" - are normally considered very safe, with little risk the money will not be repaid. Gilts are mainly bought by financial institutions in the UK and abroad, such as pension funds, investment funds, banks and insurance companies. The Bank of England has also bought hundreds of billions of pounds' worth of government bonds in the past to support the economy, through a process called ""quantitative easing"". The amount the government borrows varies from month to month. For instance, when people submit tax returns in January, they often pay a large chunk of their annual tax bill in one go, so the government sees a jump in the amount of money it takes in. So it is more helpful to look at the whole year, or the year-to-date. In the last financial year, to March 2024, the government borrowed £120.7bn. While it was lower than the previous year, it was £6.6bn more than the government's forecaster predicted. The most recent monthly figures show that borrowing reached £15bn in May, which was £800m higher than a year earlier. The total amount the government owes is called the national debt. It is currently about £2.7 trillion. That is roughly the same as the value of all the goods and services produced in the UK in a year, known as the gross domestic product, or GDP. That current level is more than double what was seen from the 1980s through to the financial crisis of 2008. The combination of the financial crash and the Covid pandemic pushed the UK's debt up from those historic lows to its current level. But in relation to the size of the economy, UK debt figures are still low compared with much of the last century, and also compared with some other leading economies. The larger the national debt gets, the more interest the government has to pay. That extra cost was not as big when the interest rates due were low through the 2010s, but it is more noticeable now that interest rates have been rising. Around a quarter of UK debt is index-linked, meaning payments are directly linked to the rate of inflation. Rising prices in the last two years have pushed up the bill for servicing debt significantly. If the government has to set aside more cash for paying its debts, it may mean it has less to spend on the public services which it borrowed to fund in the first place. The amount of interest the government pays on national debt fluctuates, and by one measure, hit a 20-year high in early October 2023. The most significant figures tracking the cost of debt are published monthly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). According to this data, two months in 2022 saw record levels of money set aside for debt interest: £20.2bn in June and £18bn in December. The most recent figure for May 2024 revealed interest on government debt was £8bn. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made reducing the national debt one of his five key promises and government finances are a key focus in the run-up to the general election. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has previously said the government will take ""difficult but responsible"" decisions on the public finances. He previously blamed the ""twin global emergencies of a pandemic and Putin's war in Ukraine"" for driving up government costs. The chancellor has set a target of getting underlying debt to fall in five years' time. Labour has also pledged in its manifesto to stick to this fiscal rule. In the Budget in March, Mr Hunt said the government was on track to meet the debt target. The government's official economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that debt will fall as a share of the economy to 92.9% in 2028-29. Some economists fear the government is borrowing too much, at too great a cost. Others argue extra borrowing helps the economy grow faster - generating more tax revenue in the long run. With measures such as a cut in National Insurance announced at the March Budget, the OBR expects borrowing to rise slightly in the next financial year, before remaining in line with previous forecasts. It would fall below 3% of GDP by 2025-26, meeting one of the financial rules the government has decided to set itself. But the OBR has previously warned that public debt could soar as the population ages and tax income falls. In an ageing population, the proportion of people of working age drops, meaning the government takes less in tax while paying out more in pensions. In its latest forecasts in March, the OBR said debt, measured against the size of the economy, is still set to rise over the next four years, before falling back marginally in the fifth year. Other economists argue that big economies like the UK could borrow much more than they currently do, and the negative impact is greatly exaggerated. The deficit is the gap between the government's income and the amount it spends. When a government spends less than its income, it has what is known as a surplus. Debt is the total amount of money owed by the government that has built up over years. It rises when there is a deficit, and falls in those years when there is a surplus. ",BBC,21/11/2019,"['The government generally spends more than it raises in tax.', 'To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back - with interest - and that can influence wider tax and spending plans.', 'The government gets most of its income from taxes.', 'For example, workers pay income tax, everyone pays VAT on certain goods, and companies pay tax on their profits.', 'It could, in theory, cover all of its spending from taxes, and in some years that happens.', ""But if it can't, it will cover the gap by raising taxes, cutting spending or borrowing."", 'Higher taxes mean people have less money to spend, so businesses make less profit, which can be bad for jobs and wages.', 'Lower profits also mean companies pay less tax.', 'So, governments often borrow to boost the economy.', 'They also borrow to pay for big projects - such as new railways and roads - which they hope will help the economy.', 'The government borrows money by selling financial products called bonds.', 'A bond is a promise to pay money in the future.', ""Most require the borrower to make regular interest payments over the bond's lifetime."", 'UK government bonds - known as ""gilts"" - are normally considered very safe, with little risk the money will not be repaid.', 'Gilts are mainly bought by financial institutions in the UK and abroad, such as pension funds, investment funds, banks and insurance companies.', 'The Bank of England has also bought hundreds of billions of pounds\' worth of government bonds in the past to support the economy, through a process called ""quantitative easing"".', 'The amount the government borrows varies from month to month.', 'For instance, when people submit tax returns in January, they often pay a large chunk of their annual tax bill in one go, so the government sees a jump in the amount of money it takes in.', 'So it is more helpful to look at the whole year, or the year-to-date.', 'In the last financial year, to March 2024, the government borrowed £120.7bn.', ""While it was lower than the previous year, it was £6.6bn more than the government's forecaster predicted."", 'The most recent monthly figures show that borrowing reached £15bn in May, which was £800m higher than a year earlier.', 'The total amount the government owes is called the national debt.', 'It is currently about £2.7 trillion.', 'That is roughly the same as the value of all the goods and services produced in the UK in a year, known as the gross domestic product, or GDP.', 'That current level is more than double what was seen from the 1980s through to the financial crisis of 2008.', ""The combination of the financial crash and the Covid pandemic pushed the UK's debt up from those historic lows to its current level."", 'But in relation to the size of the economy, UK debt figures are still low compared with much of the last century, and also compared with some other leading economies.', 'The larger the national debt gets, the more interest the government has to pay.', 'That extra cost was not as big when the interest rates due were low through the 2010s, but it is more noticeable now that interest rates have been rising.', 'Around a quarter of UK debt is index-linked, meaning payments are directly linked to the rate of inflation.', 'Rising prices in the last two years have pushed up the bill for servicing debt significantly.', 'If the government has to set aside more cash for paying its debts, it may mean it has less to spend on the public services which it borrowed to fund in the first place.', 'The amount of interest the government pays on national debt fluctuates, and by one measure, hit a 20-year high in early October 2023.', 'The most significant figures tracking the cost of debt are published monthly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).', 'According to this data, two months in 2022 saw record levels of money set aside for debt interest: £20.2bn in June and £18bn in December.', 'The most recent figure for May 2024 revealed interest on government debt was £8bn.', 'Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made reducing the national debt one of his five key promises and government finances are a key focus in the run-up to the general election.', 'Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has previously said the government will take ""difficult but responsible"" decisions on the public finances.', 'He previously blamed the ""twin global emergencies of a pandemic and Putin\'s war in Ukraine"" for driving up government costs.', ""The chancellor has set a target of getting underlying debt to fall in five years' time."", 'Labour has also pledged in its manifesto to stick to this fiscal rule.', 'In the Budget in March, Mr Hunt said the government was on track to meet the debt target.', ""The government's official economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that debt will fall as a share of the economy to 92.9% in 2028-29."", 'Some economists fear the government is borrowing too much, at too great a cost.', 'Others argue extra borrowing helps the economy grow faster - generating more tax revenue in the long run.', 'With measures such as a cut in National Insurance announced at the March Budget, the OBR expects borrowing to rise slightly in the next financial year, before remaining in line with previous forecasts.', 'It would fall below 3% of GDP by 2025-26, meeting one of the financial rules the government has decided to set itself.', 'But the OBR has previously warned that public debt could soar as the population ages and tax income falls.', 'In an ageing population, the proportion of people of working age drops, meaning the government takes less in tax while paying out more in pensions.', 'In its latest forecasts in March, the OBR said debt, measured against the size of the economy, is still set to rise over the next four years, before falling back marginally in the fifth year.', 'Other economists argue that big economies like the UK could borrow much more than they currently do, and the negative impact is greatly exaggerated.', ""The deficit is the gap between the government's income and the amount it spends."", 'When a government spends less than its income, it has what is known as a surplus.', 'Debt is the total amount of money owed by the government that has built up over years.', 'It rises when there is a deficit, and falls in those years when there is a surplus.']",-0.0507341153623514,"The Bank of England has also bought hundreds of billions of pounds' worth of government bonds in the past to support the economy, through a process called ""quantitative easing"".","He previously blamed the ""twin global emergencies of a pandemic and Putin's war in Ukraine"" for driving up government costs.",0.0792736517531531,"For instance, when people submit tax returns in January, they often pay a large chunk of their annual tax bill in one go, so the government sees a jump in the amount of money it takes in.","While it was lower than the previous year, it was £6.6bn more than the government's forecaster predicted.",2024-06-21 +Whyte & Mackay whisky distillery staff to strike in pay dispute,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz55zyyrdg2o,2024-06-20T18:25:19.736Z,"Distillery workers at whisky maker Whyte & Mackay are due to walk out next week after rejecting the company's latest pay offer. The GMB union said staff would strike at three Highland distilleries on Monday, with 11 more days of action in July then a two week walkout in August. It comes after 84% of union members at the company's Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty, and Tamnavulin in Moray, voted to reject a pay offer in a ballot, which saw a 90% turnout. The GMB claimed that Whyte & Mackay had ""angered members"" by saying that a strike by a small number of staff would have little impact on operations. GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “It should instead have been rushing to offer fair pay to our member because without their skill and experience there would be nothing to bottle and nothing to distribute."" GMB members were balloted following what the union said was a pay offer of between 6% and 7%. The offer was accepted by Whyte & Mackay staff at the company's bottling and distribution sites at Grangemouth, but not the Highland sites. Whyte & Mackay said its priority was to resolve this dispute. A spokesperson added: ""We do not recognise the substance of the statement regarding the negotiations. ""Whyte and Mackay has acted in accordance with legal advice, and approached the negotiation in an open and transparent manner throughout. ""We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution."" The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""Distillery workers at whisky maker Whyte & Mackay are due to walk out next week after rejecting the company's latest pay offer."", 'The GMB union said staff would strike at three Highland distilleries on Monday, with 11 more days of action in July then a two week walkout in August.', ""It comes after 84% of union members at the company's Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty, and Tamnavulin in Moray, voted to reject a pay offer in a ballot, which saw a 90% turnout."", 'The GMB claimed that Whyte & Mackay had ""angered members"" by saying that a strike by a small number of staff would have little impact on operations.', 'GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “', 'It should instead have been rushing to offer fair pay to our member because without their skill and experience there would be nothing to bottle and nothing to distribute.""', 'GMB members were balloted following what the union said was a pay offer of between 6% and 7%.', ""The offer was accepted by Whyte & Mackay staff at the company's bottling and distribution sites at Grangemouth, but not the Highland sites."", 'Whyte & Mackay said its priority was to resolve this dispute.', 'A spokesperson added: ""We do not recognise the substance of the statement regarding the negotiations. ""', 'Whyte and Mackay has acted in accordance with legal advice, and approached the negotiation in an open and transparent manner throughout. ""', 'We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""', 'The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute.']",-0.1769119146992162,"We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""","The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute.",0.218820850054423,"We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""","GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “",2024-06-21 +How mobile phone networks are embracing AI,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pp1nvw5zwo,2024-06-19T23:02:43.833Z,"Our mobile phones are getting a whole lot smarter, but what about the telecoms networks they run on? Last week, Apple became the latest mobile phone firm to announce that it will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its handsets’ operating system. Called Apple Intelligence, and also due to be incorporated into the phones’ Siri chatbot, it aims to make them easier and quicker to use. And turn Siri into even more of a personal assistant. It follows after Samsung’s Galaxy AI, and Google’s Gemini AI for its own Pixel handsets. This increased of use AI means phones will be doing a lot more computing, and that means they’ll produce and use a lot more data. This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three. To help them cope, telecoms firms such as these are also increasingly introducing AI, says Ian Fogg, director of network innovation at research consultancy CCS Insight. “Network operators are using AI to manage the radio frequencies dynamically, to provide an optimum level of service. And to manage cell towers, for example, so they use less energy at times of lower demand."" Such increased use of AI to look after mobile phone networks is now very much global. In South Korea, Korea Telecom is now able to localise and fix faults within a minute, thanks to AI-enabled network monitoring, says Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the GSMA, the body representing global mobile operators. Meanwhile, AT&T in the US is using predictive, AI algorithms schooled on trillions of previous network alerts to warn it when things are about to go wrong. Other operators, like Vodafone, are using AI digital twins - virtual digital replicas of real-world equipment, such as masts and antennas – to constantly monitor how their networks are performing. And AI is also being used to manage how increasingly massive data centres use energy to keep their servers cool and optimise storage capacity. The explosion in data created by the increased use of AI is another reason why telecoms firms around the world are continuing to invest in so-called 5G Standalone mobile networks. These use new, dedicated 5G infrastructure rather than relying in part on upgrading the older, less efficient 4G system. 5G Standalone offers much higher speeds and capacity. But some experts believe that even this higher-spec technology won’t be sufficient to cope with the demands of the AI era. At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, for example, some experts argued that AI won’t be able to reach its full potential until the roll out of 6G from 2028. While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands. So the industry is also hoping AI can radically improve the way they interact with and serve customers. For example, the Global Telco AI Alliance - a joint venture company made up of Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, Softbank and SK Telecom with 1.3 billion customers across 50 countries – aims to develop an AI chatbot specifically tailored to the telecoms sector, and the type of questions customers typically ask. This specially trained chatbot will be able to deal with most of the basic queries coming from customers, leaving call centre staff free to concentrate on more complex cases, the Alliance’s founders hope. Meanwhile, Vodafone has teamed up with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to improve its customer service, spearheaded by its digital assistant Tobi, which interacts with more than 40 million customers a month in 13 countries and across 15 languages. The more Tobi can answer customer queries without the need for human intervention, the fewer complaints there are likely to be, which is good for profits and corporate reputation. “We see AI primarily as a ‘virtual assistant’ for humans,” says Scott Petty, Vodafone’s chief technology officer. “We already see AI freeing-up Vodafone employees’ time from tedious, repetitive manual work, enabling them to focus on more creative activities that benefit our customers and the environment.” AI also leaves the customer agents freer to work on more complex cases, he argues. Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls. While many commentators worry that AI could lead to massive job losses in the telco sector, as menial tasks are increasingly automated by software, GSMA’s Mr Sinclair believes it could actually be empowering, particularly for lower-income countries. “AI will give emerging markets a specialist tool to help them catch up,” he argues. “We’re in favour of trying to democratise AI so that it’s not just the wealthy who can use it.” He believes that some of the doom-mongering around AI has been overdone, and so he strikes a more optimistic tone. It’s a view shared by CCS Insight’s Ian Fogg: “AI has been around for some years, used for specific [telecoms] cases. But now it’s being applied in many more areas - network, devices, software - such that every tool we use now has the potential to become much, much better. “AI has the potential to make networks greener, and the world a more efficient place.” ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['Our mobile phones are getting a whole lot smarter, but what about the telecoms networks they run on?', 'Last week, Apple became the latest mobile phone firm to announce that it will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its handsets’ operating system.', 'Called Apple Intelligence, and also due to be incorporated into the phones’ Siri chatbot, it aims to make them easier and quicker to use.', 'And turn Siri into even more of a personal assistant.', 'It follows after Samsung’s Galaxy AI, and Google’s Gemini AI for its own Pixel handsets.', 'This increased of use AI means phones will be doing a lot more computing, and that means they’ll produce and use a lot more data.', 'This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three.', 'To help them cope, telecoms firms such as these are also increasingly introducing AI, says Ian Fogg, director of network innovation at research consultancy CCS Insight. “', 'Network operators are using AI to manage the radio frequencies dynamically, to provide an optimum level of service.', 'And to manage cell towers, for example, so they use less energy at times of lower demand.""', 'Such increased use of AI to look after mobile phone networks is now very much global.', 'In South Korea, Korea Telecom is now able to localise and fix faults within a minute, thanks to AI-enabled network monitoring, says Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the GSMA, the body representing global mobile operators.', 'Meanwhile, AT&T in the US is using predictive, AI algorithms schooled on trillions of previous network alerts to warn it when things are about to go wrong.', 'Other operators, like Vodafone, are using AI digital twins - virtual digital replicas of real-world equipment, such as masts and antennas – to constantly monitor how their networks are performing.', 'And AI is also being used to manage how increasingly massive data centres use energy to keep their servers cool and optimise storage capacity.', 'The explosion in data created by the increased use of AI is another reason why telecoms firms around the world are continuing to invest in so-called 5G Standalone mobile networks.', 'These use new, dedicated 5G infrastructure rather than relying in part on upgrading the older, less efficient 4G system.', '5G Standalone offers much higher speeds and capacity.', 'But some experts believe that even this higher-spec technology won’t be sufficient to cope with the demands of the AI era.', 'At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, for example, some experts argued that AI won’t be able to reach its full potential until the roll out of 6G from 2028.', 'While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands.', 'So the industry is also hoping AI can radically improve the way they interact with and serve customers.', 'For example, the Global Telco AI Alliance - a joint venture company made up of Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, Softbank and SK Telecom with 1.3 billion customers across 50 countries – aims to develop an AI chatbot specifically tailored to the telecoms sector, and the type of questions customers typically ask.', 'This specially trained chatbot will be able to deal with most of the basic queries coming from customers, leaving call centre staff free to concentrate on more complex cases, the Alliance’s founders hope.', 'Meanwhile, Vodafone has teamed up with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to improve its customer service, spearheaded by its digital assistant Tobi, which interacts with more than 40 million customers a month in 13 countries and across 15 languages.', 'The more Tobi can answer customer queries without the need for human intervention, the fewer complaints there are likely to be, which is good for profits and corporate reputation. “', 'We see AI primarily as a ‘virtual assistant’ for humans,” says Scott Petty, Vodafone’s chief technology officer. “', 'We already see AI freeing-up Vodafone employees’ time from tedious, repetitive manual work, enabling them to focus on more creative activities that benefit our customers and the environment.”', 'AI also leaves the customer agents freer to work on more complex cases, he argues.', 'Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.', 'While many commentators worry that AI could lead to massive job losses in the telco sector, as menial tasks are increasingly automated by software, GSMA’s Mr Sinclair believes it could actually be empowering, particularly for lower-income countries. “', 'AI will give emerging markets a specialist tool to help them catch up,” he argues. “', 'We’re in favour of trying to democratise AI so that it’s not just the wealthy who can use it.”', 'He believes that some of the doom-mongering around AI has been overdone, and so he strikes a more optimistic tone.', 'It’s a view shared by CCS Insight’s Ian Fogg: “AI has been around for some years, used for specific [telecoms] cases.', 'But now it’s being applied in many more areas - network, devices, software - such that every tool we use now has the potential to become much, much better. “', 'AI has the potential to make networks greener, and the world a more efficient place.”']",0.1900671079372031,"Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.","While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands.",0.5172574520111084,"Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.","This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three.",2024-06-21 +Post Office accidentally leaks names of sub-postmasters,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd110nl7dppo,2024-06-20T09:14:30.107Z,"The Post Office has apologised after it published the names and addresses of 555 postmasters it pursued during the Horizon scandal. The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office. One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"". In response, chief executive Nick Read apologised and said the leak was ""a truly terrible error"". It comes as witnesses continue to give evidence at an inquiry into the scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted for theft between 1999 and 2015 when incorrect information from Horizon accounting software made it look like money was missing from their branches. Other sub-postmasters which were not prosecuted were pursued by the Post Office over alleged losses in accounts. The data breach on Wednesday was first reported by the Daily Mail and led to an angry response from former sub-postmasters. Former sub-postmaster Christopher Head tweeted the text of a letter he had written to Mr Read and Post Office chair Nigel Railton. He wrote: ""As you can imagine this has caused a great amount of upset, distress and anger amongst those whose data is now within the public domain."" Many sub-postmasters who ""hadn't shared details with their own families"" and others who were ""extremely traumatised by this whole scandal even today"" had been hit by the breach, Mr Head wrote. He later told the BBC that many sub-postmasters were suffering from post-traumatic stress and ""trying their best to move on"". ""The problem is that we are getting new scandals within a scandal and new revelations on an almost daily or weekly basis that is preventing people from trying to heal,"" he added. In response to Mr Head's letter, Mr Read said: ""This is a truly terrible error and one for which at this stage I can only apologise."" The Post Office is ""reviewing with urgency the right follow-up actions to take"" for those people who have been affected by the breach, he added, and how to correct the organisation's processes. One former sub-postmaster told the Daily Mail she was “incandescent”. Wendy Buffrey said that the action could ""destroy lives"" because criminals could now target sub-postmasters who had received compensation. Ron Warmington, the forensic investigator whose firm Second Sight was brought in to probe the Horizon system in 2013, told the Mail it was “an extraordinary breach” of confidentiality and “another example of Post Office incompetence”. The leaked document contained the names of 555 former subpostmasters who sued the Post Office in 2017. In 2019, the firm agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees. In a statement the Post Office said the document had been removed from its website. It said: “We are investigating as an urgent priority how it came to be published. We are in the process of notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident, in line with our regulatory requirements.” An ICO spokesman said: “Post Office Limited have made us aware of an incident and we are assessing the information provided."" Organisations need tell the watchdog about a data breach within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, if it poses ""a risk to people’s rights and freedoms"". More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from Horizon in what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and many were financially ruined. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['The Post Office has apologised after it published the names and addresses of 555 postmasters it pursued during the Horizon scandal.', 'The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office.', 'One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".', 'In response, chief executive Nick Read apologised and said the leak was ""a truly terrible error"".', 'It comes as witnesses continue to give evidence at an inquiry into the scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted for theft between 1999 and 2015 when incorrect information from Horizon accounting software made it look like money was missing from their branches.', 'Other sub-postmasters which were not prosecuted were pursued by the Post Office over alleged losses in accounts.', 'The data breach on Wednesday was first reported by the Daily Mail and led to an angry response from former sub-postmasters.', 'Former sub-postmaster Christopher Head tweeted the text of a letter he had written to Mr Read and Post Office chair Nigel Railton.', 'He wrote: ""As you can imagine this has caused a great amount of upset, distress and anger amongst those whose data is now within the public domain.""', 'Many sub-postmasters who ""hadn\'t shared details with their own families"" and others who were ""extremely traumatised by this whole scandal even today"" had been hit by the breach, Mr Head wrote.', 'He later told the BBC that many sub-postmasters were suffering from post-traumatic stress and ""trying their best to move on"". ""', 'The problem is that we are getting new scandals within a scandal and new revelations on an almost daily or weekly basis that is preventing people from trying to heal,"" he added.', 'In response to Mr Head\'s letter, Mr Read said: ""This is a truly terrible error and one for which at this stage I can only apologise.""', 'The Post Office is ""reviewing with urgency the right follow-up actions to take"" for those people who have been affected by the breach, he added, and how to correct the organisation\'s processes.', 'One former sub-postmaster told the Daily Mail she was “incandescent”.', 'Wendy Buffrey said that the action could ""destroy lives"" because criminals could now target sub-postmasters who had received compensation.', 'Ron Warmington, the forensic investigator whose firm Second Sight was brought in to probe the Horizon system in 2013, told the Mail it was “an extraordinary breach” of confidentiality and “another example of Post Office incompetence”.', 'The leaked document contained the names of 555 former subpostmasters who sued the Post Office in 2017.', 'In 2019, the firm agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees.', 'In a statement the Post Office said the document had been removed from its website.', 'It said: “We are investigating as an urgent priority how it came to be published.', 'We are in the process of notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident, in line with our regulatory requirements.”', 'An ICO spokesman said: “Post Office Limited have made us aware of an incident and we are assessing the information provided.""', 'Organisations need tell the watchdog about a data breach within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, if it poses ""a risk to people’s rights and freedoms"".', ""More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from Horizon in what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice."", 'Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and many were financially ruined.']",-0.322857646137914,The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office.,"One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".",-0.9307575292057462,,"One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".",2024-06-21 +UK interest rates: Bank of England opens door for August cut,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11jld7d36o,2024-06-19T23:01:30.251Z,"The Bank of England has opened the door to cutting interest rates in August in what would be the first drop in borrowing costs for more than four years. On Thursday, the Bank voted to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% in a close-run decision. Earlier this week, figures revealed that inflation – which measures the pace of price rises – had slowed to 2% in May, which is in line with the Bank of England’s target. However, prices of some items continued to rise faster than expected. But the minutes from the Bank’s rate-setting committee signalled a significant change in tone, indicating a majority could vote for a cut when they meet again on 1 August. They say they will look at whether areas of concern are “receding”. “On that basis, the committee will keep under review for how long [the] bank rate should be maintained at its current level,"" the minutes said. While not a done deal, this language is a clear signal to the markets and the public that after the Bank completes its new forecasts for the economy, a rate cut is now the most likely outcome at its next meeting. The rate-setting committee voted 7-2 to hold rates, but the result was not as cut and dried as it had been previously. For three members, voting to hold this month was a “finely balanced” decision. Those committee members leaning towards a cut, which are understood to include Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, are playing down the strength of underlying inflationary pressures. The Bank's latest decision comes in the run-up to the general election, with policies for the future of the UK economy a key battleground for political parties. However, the Bank stressed that the timing of the election was ""not relevant to its decision"". The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK. While the Bank appears to be hinting at a cut in August, many homeowners now coming to the end of a fixed-rate deal are facing mortgage rates much higher than they have become used to. The current average rate for a two-year fixed deal is 5.96%, although this is lower than last year's peak of 6.86%. Mortgage adviser Ben Perks, who works in Wolverhampton, told BBC Radio 5Live that while he was not surprised by the Bank's decision to hold rates for now, he was ""definitely disappointed, certainly frustrated"". ""It's OK saying, 'Oh, we'll wait' but the reality is that 125,000 people a month are coming to the end of their fixed rates, which over a two-month period is the population of Wolverhampton city centre."" He says he's had borrowers in tears in his office when they've found out how much their mortgage repayments are going to go up by. ""It is extremely stressful. We've had meetings when you tell them the new payments and, with the fact everything else has gone up, they don't know which way to turn."" Wednesday's inflation data showed that price rises for services - which reflect the cost of items such as cinema tickets, restaurant meals and holidays - remained higher than expected. But the Bank's minutes say that the slow fall in services inflation reflects one-off factors, including the rise in the minimum wage and bills that automatically rise by inflation, such as broadband and mobile. If the Bank does go ahead with an interest rate cut in August, it would be the first one since March 2020 when the UK was heading into the first Covid lockdown. “It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “We need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that’s why we’ve decided to hold rates at 5.25% for now.” The Bank of England is independent of the government and its main role is to keep inflation stable at 2%. In response to high inflation, the Bank in recent years has raised and then kept interest rates at a high level. The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['The Bank of England has opened the door to cutting interest rates in August in what would be the first drop in borrowing costs for more than four years.', 'On Thursday, the Bank voted to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% in a close-run decision.', 'Earlier this week, figures revealed that inflation – which measures the pace of price rises – had slowed to 2% in May, which is in line with the Bank of England’s target.', 'However, prices of some items continued to rise faster than expected.', 'But the minutes from the Bank’s rate-setting committee signalled a significant change in tone, indicating a majority could vote for a cut when they meet again on 1 August.', 'They say they will look at whether areas of concern are “receding”. “', 'On that basis, the committee will keep under review for how long [the] bank rate should be maintained at its current level,"" the minutes said.', 'While not a done deal, this language is a clear signal to the markets and the public that after the Bank completes its new forecasts for the economy, a rate cut is now the most likely outcome at its next meeting.', 'The rate-setting committee voted 7-2 to hold rates, but the result was not as cut and dried as it had been previously.', 'For three members, voting to hold this month was a “finely balanced” decision.', 'Those committee members leaning towards a cut, which are understood to include Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, are playing down the strength of underlying inflationary pressures.', ""The Bank's latest decision comes in the run-up to the general election, with policies for the future of the UK economy a key battleground for political parties."", 'However, the Bank stressed that the timing of the election was ""not relevant to its decision"".', ""The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK."", 'While the Bank appears to be hinting at a cut in August, many homeowners now coming to the end of a fixed-rate deal are facing mortgage rates much higher than they have become used to.', ""The current average rate for a two-year fixed deal is 5.96%, although this is lower than last year's peak of 6.86%."", 'Mortgage adviser Ben Perks, who works in Wolverhampton, told BBC Radio 5Live that while he was not surprised by the Bank\'s decision to hold rates for now, he was ""definitely disappointed, certainly frustrated"". ""', 'It\'s OK saying, \'Oh, we\'ll wait\' but the reality is that 125,000 people a month are coming to the end of their fixed rates, which over a two-month period is the population of Wolverhampton city centre.""', 'He says he\'s had borrowers in tears in his office when they\'ve found out how much their mortgage repayments are going to go up by. ""', 'It is extremely stressful.', 'We\'ve had meetings when you tell them the new payments and, with the fact everything else has gone up, they don\'t know which way to turn.""', ""Wednesday's inflation data showed that price rises for services - which reflect the cost of items such as cinema tickets, restaurant meals and holidays - remained higher than expected."", ""But the Bank's minutes say that the slow fall in services inflation reflects one-off factors, including the rise in the minimum wage and bills that automatically rise by inflation, such as broadband and mobile."", 'If the Bank does go ahead with an interest rate cut in August, it would be the first one since March 2020 when the UK was heading into the first Covid lockdown. “', 'It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “', 'We need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that’s why we’ve decided to hold rates at 5.25% for now.”', 'The Bank of England is independent of the government and its main role is to keep inflation stable at 2%.', 'In response to high inflation, the Bank in recent years has raised and then kept interest rates at a high level.', 'The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created.']",0.0756314806316542,"The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.",It is extremely stressful.,-0.1597197566713605,"It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “","The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created.",2024-06-21 +Mortgage rates: How do UK interest rates affect me and when will they fall?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57764601,2021-07-16T11:52:58.000Z,"The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time in a row. UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable. So, in turn, analysts believe people may have to wait a while yet for the cost of mortgages to fall significantly. Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK. An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it. The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money. This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings. The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time. When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates. The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand. Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them. The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years. However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979. There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022. The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years. However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like. As a result, previous thoughts of a spring cut were revised, but there are hints of the possibility of an interest rate cut in August. The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards. Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025. But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control. Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey. When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments. But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are. Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade, with the average two-year fixed rate now at just under 6%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts. This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago. About 1.6 million deals are expiring in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance. You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans. Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England. However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper. Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money. Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers. There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest. The UK's financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers. In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world's seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies. In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years. But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024. In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024. ",BBC,16/07/2021,"['The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time in a row.', ""UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable."", 'So, in turn, analysts believe people may have to wait a while yet for the cost of mortgages to fall significantly.', 'Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.', 'An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it.', ""The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money."", 'This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings.', 'The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time.', 'When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates.', 'The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand.', 'Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them.', 'The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years.', 'However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979.', 'There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022.', 'The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years.', 'However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like.', 'As a result, previous thoughts of a spring cut were revised, but there are hints of the possibility of an interest rate cut in August.', 'The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.', ""Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates."", 'The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025.', 'But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control.', ""Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey."", 'When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments.', 'But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals.', ""While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are."", 'Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade, with the average two-year fixed rate now at just under 6%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.', 'This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago.', 'About 1.6 million deals are expiring in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance.', 'You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.', 'Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England.', 'However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper.', 'Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money.', 'Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers.', 'There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest.', 'The UK\'s financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers.', 'In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world\'s seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies.', 'In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.', 'But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024.', 'In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024.']",0.2102840274860545,"You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.","The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.",0.1087228243167583,"Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates.","In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.",2024-06-21 +"Fisker files for bankruptcy protection in wave of EV startups, moment of déjà vu for its founder",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/fisker-ev-maker-bankruptcy.html,2024-06-18T18:29:37+0000,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight.It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse. Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection. That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions. Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection.The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat. Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion. The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.""They looked at Tesla's success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up. The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla. He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover. The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife.""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others. CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.""[The auto industry is] capital intensive. You're trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging.""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu.His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company. It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million.It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.""Having done this before, I'm in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry. They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls. The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January.But there was one key difference this time. With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers. While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs. Its stock was delisted in April.A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.', ""For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight."", ""It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse."", 'Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection.', 'That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions.', 'Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.', ""It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection."", 'The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat.', 'Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion.', 'The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.', 'Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.', '""They looked at Tesla\'s success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.', 'But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up.', 'The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla.', 'He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.', 'The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover.', 'The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.', ""Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer."", ""Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife."", '""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""', 'The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.', '""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.', ""According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others."", 'CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.', '""[The auto industry is] capital intensive.', 'You\'re trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""', ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging."", '""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.', ""At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu."", 'His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company.', ""It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million."", 'It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.', '""Having done this before, I\'m in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.', 'But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.', 'Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry.', 'They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.', 'Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls.', 'The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.', ""After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January."", 'But there was one key difference this time.', 'With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers.', ""While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs."", 'Its stock was delisted in April.', 'A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.', '""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""', 'After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""']",0.1223043302607959,"A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.",But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.,-0.1391244559060959,While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs.,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.",2024-06-20 +"Stellantis aims to correct 'arrogant' mistakes in U.S. market, CEO says",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-has-achieved-9-billion-in-cost-reductions-from-merger.html,2024-06-13T20:28:51+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company's investor day at its North American headquarters. ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself. I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there.""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company's operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty. The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets. Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days. Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally. Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm. Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive. That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formed one of the world's largest automakers.Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing.Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive. Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker's 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks. The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally. Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker\'s U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.', 'Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.', '""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company\'s investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself."", ""I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there."", '""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company\'s operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty.', 'The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.', ""Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets."", ""Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue."", ""In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.', 'While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally.', ""Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm.', 'Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive.', ""That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formedone of the world's largest automakers."", ""Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing."", 'Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive.', ""Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions."", 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', '""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker\'s 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.', 'Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.', 'The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally.', 'Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""']",0.0910056018442069,"Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.","In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.",0.2339884865851629,"Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year.","Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.",2024-06-20 +The shipping industry is sounding the alarm as another vessel sinks in the Red Sea,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/red-sea-vessel-sunk-shipping-warning/index.html," + Updated + 9:37 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Leading shipping groups have urged governments “with influence” to put a stop to Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea after a second freighter sank this week. + + At least three seafarers have been killed in the attacks so far. The latest sinking is likely to have led to another death, according to a statement Wednesday from more than a dozen shipping associations, including the International Chamber of Shipping and the World Shipping Council. + + Their call for action highlights the growing human toll from the disruption to one of the world’s trade arteries which has been virtually closed to container ships since late last year. The longer diversion around the southern tip of Africa has sent shipping costs soaring and is causing congestion at ports in Asia and Europe, threatening to scramble global supply chains. + + “It is deplorable that innocent seafarers are being attacked while simply performing their jobs, vital jobs which keep the world warm, fed, and clothed,” the shipping associations said in their statement. + + “This is an unacceptable situation, and these attacks must stop now. We call for states with influence in the region to safeguard our innocent seafarers and for the swift de-escalation of the situation in the Red Sea,” they added. + + The statement was released the same day that UK Maritime Trade Operations, part of the Royal Navy, confirmed that a Greek-owned coal carrier had sunk after being struck by the Houthis last week. + + According to the shipping groups, one seafarer on board the vessel, called the MV Tutor, “seems certain to have been killed.” + + “This is the second fatal attack in which our seafarers have been caught in the crosshairs of geopolitical conflicts,” they said in their statement. + + The MV Tutor is also the second ship sunk by the Houthis. A British-registered vessel, Rubymar, was downed in March after being struck by ballistic missiles fired from Yemen. + + The Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels, based in Yemen, started launching drone and missile strikes on vessels in the Red Sea in November in what they say is revenge against Israel’s war in Gaza. They have since also seized one vessel and its crew, who are still being held hostage. + + Beyond the loss of life, the Houthi attacks have also caused severe disruption to transit through the Red Sea, which connects with the Suez Canal, a vital thoroughfare that accounts for 10-15% of world trade. + + Major container shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag Lloyd, have been sending their vessels on the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa. + + Freight rates have surged as a result. In the week to Thursday, the composite cost of shipping a typical 40-foot container on eight major East-West routes hit $5,117, up 233% from a year ago, according to London-based shipping consultancy Drewry. + + Carriers have also tacked on emergency surcharges to account for the disruption. Last month, Maersk temporarily increased some of these additional charges. + + “The complexity of the situation in Red Sea and the ripple effects on global supply chains have intensified in recent months,” the Danish company said in a statement at the time. “We continue to face additional challenges and costs,” it added, citing “operational bottlenecks.” + + According to logistics firm Freightos, the forced diversions are causing congestion at ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai in China and Barcelona in Spain, leading to delays and cancellations of sailings as vessels miss their scheduled departures. + + The recent increase in delays and shipping costs may also be putting pressure on companies to move seasonal goods now before rates climb further or to avoid delays later in the year, which could mean shortages during the peak shopping season, Freightos’s head of research Judah Levine wrote in a note Tuesday. + + “Houthi attacks continue to make the Red Sea unsafe, and increases in charter activity and rates indicate carriers expect congestion to remain a factor for some time,” he added.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Leading shipping groups have urged governments “with influence” to put a stop to Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea after a second freighter sank this week.', 'At least three seafarers have been killed in the attacks so far.', 'The latest sinking is likely to have led to another death, according to a statement Wednesday from more than a dozen shipping associations, including the International Chamber of Shipping and the World Shipping Council.', 'Their call for action highlights the growing human toll from the disruption to one of the world’s trade arteries which has been virtually closed to container ships since late last year.', 'The longer diversion around the southern tip of Africa has sent shipping costs soaring and is causing congestion at ports in Asia and Europe, threatening to scramble global supply chains.', '“It is deplorable that innocent seafarers are being attacked while simply performing their jobs, vital jobs which keep the world warm, fed, and clothed,” the shipping associations said in their statement.', '“This is an unacceptable situation, and these attacks must stop now.', 'We call for states with influence in the region to safeguard our innocent seafarers and for the swift de-escalation of the situation in the Red Sea,” they added.', 'The statement was released the same day that UK Maritime Trade Operations, part of the Royal Navy, confirmed that a Greek-owned coal carrier had sunk after being struck by the Houthis last week.', 'According to the shipping groups, one seafarer on board the vessel, called the MV Tutor, “seems certain to have been killed.”', '“This is the second fatal attack in which our seafarers have been caught in the crosshairs of geopolitical conflicts,” they said in their statement.', 'The MV Tutor is also the second ship sunk by the Houthis.', 'A British-registered vessel, Rubymar, was downed in March after being struck by ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.', 'The Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels, based in Yemen, started launching drone and missile strikes on vessels in the Red Sea in November in what they say is revenge against Israel’s war in Gaza.', 'They have since also seized one vessel and its crew, who are still being held hostage.', 'Beyond the loss of life, the Houthi attacks have also caused severe disruption to transit through the Red Sea, which connects with the Suez Canal, a vital thoroughfare that accounts for 10-15% of world trade.', 'Major container shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag Lloyd, have been sending their vessels on the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa.', 'Freight rates have surged as a result.', 'In the week to Thursday, the composite cost of shipping a typical 40-foot container on eight major East-West routes hit $5,117, up 233% from a year ago, according to London-based shipping consultancy Drewry.', 'Carriers have also tacked on emergency surcharges to account for the disruption.', 'Last month, Maersk temporarily increased some of these additional charges.', '“The complexity of the situation in Red Sea and the ripple effects on global supply chains have intensified in recent months,” the Danish company said in a statement at the time. “', 'We continue to face additional challenges and costs,” it added, citing “operational bottlenecks.”', 'According to logistics firm Freightos, the forced diversions are causing congestion at ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai in China and Barcelona in Spain, leading to delays and cancellations of sailings as vessels miss their scheduled departures.', 'The recent increase in delays and shipping costs may also be putting pressure on companies to move seasonal goods now before rates climb further or to avoid delays later in the year, which could mean shortages during the peak shopping season, Freightos’s head of research Judah Levine wrote in a note Tuesday.', '“Houthi attacks continue to make the Red Sea unsafe, and increases in charter activity and rates indicate carriers expect congestion to remain a factor for some time,” he added.']",-0.3246626996710468,"We call for states with influence in the region to safeguard our innocent seafarers and for the swift de-escalation of the situation in the Red Sea,” they added.","The Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels, based in Yemen, started launching drone and missile strikes on vessels in the Red Sea in November in what they say is revenge against Israel’s war in Gaza.",-0.6182303703748263,Freight rates have surged as a result.,"The longer diversion around the southern tip of Africa has sent shipping costs soaring and is causing congestion at ports in Asia and Europe, threatening to scramble global supply chains.",2024-06-20 +From dying mall brand to Wall Street winner: How Abercrombie & Fitch pulled off retail's biggest comeback,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/inside-abercrombie-and-fitchs-comeback.html,2024-06-13T13:23:39+0000,"In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer. Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations. Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success. Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook. She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer. Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity. To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer.', ""Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations."", 'Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.', ""Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook."", ""She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer."", 'Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.', ""To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.""]",0.3602311650416981,"Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.","Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.",0.9919991195201874,Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations.,,2024-06-20 +Why Olive Garden doesn’t want to give discounts,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/olive-garden-discounts/index.html," + Published + 3:07 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Restaurant chains from Applebee’s to McDonald’s have in recent months clocked a troubling trend: Customers watching their budgets are spending less, and dining out less often. So they’ve come up with a solution — offer meal deals and discounts to bring people back. + + But Olive Garden is holding out. + + “We’re not doing that,” said Rick Cardenas, CEO of Olive Garden’s parent company Darden Restaurants, during an analyst call Thursday. “Even at a time that our competitors have ramped up discounting.” + + There’s a reason that so many restaurants are turning to discounts now, after years of avoiding the practice. Since the start of the pandemic, chains have been hiking prices dramatically — partially because of increasing costs, and partially because customers didn’t seem to mind spending more. But recently, diners have started to push back. So restaurants started offering temporary discounts on those higher menu prices. + + The Italian casual dining chain has bucked the trend, making relatively moderate pricing increases and avoiding deep discounts. + + The approach has yielded mixed results. In the past, Olive Garden used to outperform the industry during times of economic uncertainty. The chain has lost that edge, at least in terms of sales. + + In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%. + + Still, Cardenas is confident in the strategy. “We think that everyday low value … is more sustainable than deep discounting to try to drive people in,” he said Thursday. “This is a long game for us.” + + Customers have recently started to fume over higher prices, particularly at fast food restaurants. On TikTok, complaints of $3 McDonald’s hash browns and $16 meals have gone viral. The grumblings reached such a fever pitch that chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s have made a bid for those customers, offering deals that they say put their prices on par with those at popular fast food chains. + + Olive Garden has tried to avoid such pushback by keeping its price increases low. + + In the most recent quarter, Olive Garden raised prices by 1%. That change hurt dollar sales, but kept restaurant traffic strong, Darden CFO Raj Vennam argued during the call Thursday. + + “While Olive Garden same restaurant sales were below the industry, same-restaurant guest counts outperformed the industry,” Vennam said. “This dynamic was due to our decision to minimize pricing.” + + Over the course of the fiscal year, Olive Garden hiked prices up about 3.5%, compared to roughly 4% across Darden’s brands, which include LongHorn Steakhouse, Eddie V’s and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among other chains. Next year, executives expect Olive Garden to once again raise prices below Darden’s brands overall. + + “We’re not talking about huge pricing actions,” said Vennam. + + The increases put Olive Garden more or less on par with most sit-down restaurants in the US. According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May. They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual locations. + + Offering deals is a short-term fix to declining sales, but it’s a risky business. + + A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “Margin and profitability is going to be the challenge for 2024,” he said. “These value meals in the short term are only going to exacerbate that.” + + Cardenas sees the practice as setting a dangerous precedent. + + “If you do deep discount …. you have to do even more the next year,” he said. “The way we do it is more sustainable.” + + Rather than vie for customers with steep discounts, Olive Garden is planning to bring people in by highlighting its regular offerings. One example? Refills for soup or salad and breadsticks. “That refill is a pretty big part of what we do and a big part of the value equation.” + + The chain is also hoping to get some buzz the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth. + + “Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Restaurant chains from Applebee’s to McDonald’s have in recent months clocked a troubling trend: Customers watching their budgets are spending less, and dining out less often.', 'So they’ve come up with a solution —offer meal deals and discounts to bring people back.', 'But Olive Garden is holding out.', '“We’re not doing that,” said Rick Cardenas, CEO of Olive Garden’s parent company Darden Restaurants, during an analyst call Thursday. “', 'Even at a time that our competitors have ramped up discounting.”', 'There’s a reason that so many restaurants are turning to discounts now, after years of avoiding the practice.', 'Since the start of the pandemic, chains have been hiking prices dramatically — partially because of increasing costs, and partially because customers didn’t seem to mind spending more.', 'But recently, diners have started to push back.', 'So restaurants started offeringtemporary discounts on those higher menu prices.', 'The Italian casual dining chain has bucked the trend, making relatively moderate pricing increases and avoiding deep discounts.', 'The approach has yielded mixed results.', 'In the past, Olive Garden used to outperform the industry during times of economic uncertainty.', 'The chain has lost that edge, at least in terms of sales.', 'In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%.', 'Still, Cardenas is confident in the strategy. “', 'We think that everyday low value … is more sustainable than deep discounting to try to drive people in,” he said Thursday. “', 'This is a long game for us.”', 'Customers have recently started to fume over higher prices, particularly at fast food restaurants.', 'On TikTok, complaints of$3 McDonald’s hash brownsand$16 meals have gone viral.', 'The grumblings reached such a fever pitch that chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s have made a bid for those customers, offering deals that they say put their prices on par with those at popular fast food chains.', 'Olive Garden has tried to avoid such pushback by keeping its price increases low.', 'In the most recent quarter, Olive Garden raised prices by 1%.', 'That change hurt dollar sales, but kept restaurant traffic strong, Darden CFO Raj Vennam argued during the call Thursday.', '“While Olive Garden same restaurant sales were below the industry, same-restaurant guest counts outperformed the industry,” Vennam said. “', 'This dynamic was due to our decision to minimize pricing.”', 'Over the course of the fiscal year, Olive Garden hiked prices up about 3.5%, compared to roughly 4% across Darden’s brands, which include LongHorn Steakhouse, Eddie V’s and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among other chains.', 'Next year, executives expect Olive Garden to once again raise prices below Darden’s brands overall.', '“We’re not talking about huge pricing actions,” said Vennam.', 'The increases put Olive Garden more or less on par with most sit-down restaurants in the US.', 'According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May.', 'They jumped 4.5% at limited-service restaurants, which include fast food and fast casual locations.', 'Offering deals is a short-term fix to declining sales, but it’s a risky business.', 'A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “', 'Margin and profitability is going to be the challenge for 2024,” he said. “', 'These value meals in the short term are only going to exacerbate that.”', 'Cardenas sees the practice as setting a dangerous precedent.', '“If you do deep discount ….', 'you have to do even more the next year,” he said. “', 'The way we do it is more sustainable.”', 'Rather than vie for customers with steep discounts, Olive Garden is planning to bring people in by highlighting its regular offerings.', 'One example?', 'Refills for soup or salad and breadsticks. “', 'That refill is a pretty big part of what we do and a big part of the value equation.”', 'The chain is also hoping to get some buzz the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth.', '“Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”']",0.0021468923730738,“Our best way to drive sales is our focus on a back-to-basics operating philosophy and our guests telling others what a great value they have when they come to our restaurants.”,"A race to the bottom is “always the danger,” when it comes to cutting prices, David Henkes, a senior principal at the food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN. “",0.1888085973673853,"According to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, menu prices at full-service, or sit-down, restaurants rose 3.5% in the twelve months through May.","In the quarter ending on May 26, sales at Olive Garden restaurants open at least 16 months dropped 1.5%.",2024-06-20 +Boeing CEO blasted by Senate panel: 'It's a travesty that you are still in your job',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-hearing.html,2024-06-18T22:47:31+0000,"In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package.Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.""Much has been said about Boeing's culture. We've heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes."" The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max.Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday. Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk's complaint, which the subcommittee also made public. It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued. Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks.A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate's work,"" the agency said Tuesday. The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing.The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing. The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January. The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing. Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones.""We're here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee's chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen.'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing's responses to the subcommittee's request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects. Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy.Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements.The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane. Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans.Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues. Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents. The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year. With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.— CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package."", ""Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January."", 'The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.', '""Much has been said aboutBoeing\'s culture.', ""We've heard those concerns loud and clear."", 'Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.', 'Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes.""', ""The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max."", 'Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday.', 'Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.', 'Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk\'s complaint, which the subcommittee also made public.', 'It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued.', ""Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks."", 'A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.', '""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.', 'The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.', '""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate\'s work,"" the agency said Tuesday.', 'The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.', ""Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing."", 'The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing.', 'The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives.', 'A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.', 'That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January.', 'The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.', ""Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing."", 'Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.', ""At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones."", '""We\'re here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee\'s chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""', ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen."", '\'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing\'s responses to the subcommittee\'s request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.', '""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.', 'The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects.', 'Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.', ""Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy."", 'Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it\'s a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.', ""The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements."", ""The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane."", 'Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.', ""Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans."", ""Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year."", ""The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues."", 'Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents.', 'The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.', '""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year.', 'With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.—', ""CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.""]",0.0244439257592522,"""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.","Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.",-0.4281838342547416,"Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.","Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.",2024-06-20 +Gilead’s twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV succeeds in late-stage trial,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/gilead-prep-lenacapavir-succeeds-in-phase-3-trial.html,2024-06-20T16:22:16+0000,"In this articleGilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday.None of the roughly 2,000 women in the trial who received the lenacapavir shot had contracted HIV by an interim analysis, prompting the independent data monitoring committee to recommend Gilead unblind the Phase 3 trial and offer the treatment to everyone in the study. Other participants had received standard daily pills.The results bring Gilead one step closer to introducing a new form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and broadening its HIV business. Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday. ""What the world needs is people to have more PrEP options so they can make the choice of the option that's going to work best for them,"" said Jared Baeten, Gilead's vice president of clinical development for HIV. Before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Gilead will first need to replicate these results. The company expects to share data later this year or early next year from an ongoing Phase 3 study of men who have sex with men. If those results are positive, the company could bring lenacapavir for PrEP to market as soon as late 2025.More than a decade ago, Gilead's Truvada became the first approved PrEP for people without HIV who are at high risk of acquiring it. Daily pills dominate the market, but drugmakers are now focusing on developing longer-acting shots.PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly. Yet only a little more than one-third of people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP take it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can't or don't want to take a daily pill and better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022. ""It's really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren't going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""We need to make sure that people have options to fit with their lifestyles.""The FDA approved the first injectable PrEP in 2021. That drug, Apretude, is given every other month, or six times a year, by a medical professional. About 11,000 people take Apretude, according to its manufacturer, ViiV.Tim Oliver, a 28-year-old public health worker in New York, said he doesn't mind going to the doctor for his Apretude shots. But he added that some of his friends have told him they'd rather keep taking a daily pill than get an injection. A longer-acting option could be more attractive to patients.RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams expects Gilead's shot will significantly increase the number of people interested in preventive HIV medicine. He estimates peak sales of nearly $2 billion. Gilead's newer PrEP pill, Descovy, notched about $2 billion of revenue last year. Activists have urged Gilead to ensure that people in countries where low- and middle-incomes predominate can get access to lenacapavir. The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines. Descovy usage carries a list price of $26,000 a year.In its statement disclosing the lenacapavir trial results Thursday, Gilead said it plans to share an update on how it plans to address access in such countries where people suffer high incidence rates of HIV. — CNBC's Leanne Miller contributed to this report.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"[""In this articleGilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday."", 'None of the roughly 2,000 women in the trial who received the lenacapavir shot had contracted HIV by an interim analysis, prompting the independent data monitoring committee to recommend Gilead unblind the Phase 3 trial and offer the treatment to everyone in the study.', 'Other participants had received standard daily pills.', 'The results bring Gilead one step closer to introducing a new form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and broadening its HIV business.', 'Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday.', '""What the world needs is people to have more PrEP options so they can make the choice of the option that\'s going to work best for them,"" said Jared Baeten, Gilead\'s vice president of clinical development for HIV.Before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Gilead will first need to replicate these results.', 'The company expects to share data later this year or early next year from an ongoing Phase 3 study of men who have sex with men.', ""If those results are positive, the company could bring lenacapavir for PrEP to market as soon as late 2025.More than a decade ago, Gilead's Truvada became the first approved PrEP for people without HIV who are at high risk of acquiring it."", 'Daily pills dominate the market, but drugmakers are now focusing on developing longer-acting shots.', 'PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly.', 'Yet only a little more than one-third of people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP take it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.', 'Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can\'t or don\'t want to take a daily pilland better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022.""It\'s really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren\'t going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""', 'We need to make sure that people have options to fit with their lifestyles.', '""The FDA approved the first injectable PrEP in 2021.', 'That drug, Apretude, is given every other month, or six times a year, by a medical professional.', ""About 11,000 people take Apretude, according to its manufacturer, ViiV.Tim Oliver, a 28-year-old public health worker in New York, said he doesn't mind going to the doctor for his Apretude shots."", ""But he added that some of his friends have told him they'd rather keep taking a daily pill than get an injection."", 'A longer-acting option could be more attractive to patients.', ""RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams expects Gilead's shot will significantly increase the number of people interested in preventive HIV medicine."", 'He estimates peak sales of nearly $2 billion.', ""Gilead's newer PrEP pill, Descovy, notched about $2 billion of revenue last year."", 'Activists have urged Gilead to ensure that people in countries where low- and middle-incomes predominate can get access to lenacapavir.', 'The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines.', 'Descovy usage carries a list price of $26,000 a year.', 'In its statement disclosing the lenacapavir trial results Thursday, Gilead said it plans to share an update on how it plans to address access in such countries where people suffer high incidence rates of HIV.—', ""CNBC's Leanne Miller contributed to this report.""]",0.2335366139437328,"Health policymakers and advocates hope longer-acting options could reach people who can't or don't want to take a daily pilland better prevent the spread of a virus that caused about 1 million new infections globally in 2022.""It's really important to have more options than daily pills because the orals aren't going to get us to the end of the epidemic,"" said Bruce Richman, founding executive director of the nonprofit Prevention Access Campaign. ""","PrEP slashes the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99%, and from injected drug use by 74% when taken correctly.",0.7494024932384491,Shares of the company rose about 7% on Thursday.,The company has long faced criticism over the price of its HIV medicines.,2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +"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.,2024-06-20 +‘They’re treating us like we’re spies’: Florida property ban has Chinese citizens fuming,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/homes/florida-law-bans-chinese-citizens-buying-homes/index.html," + Published + 12:01 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","After his employer implemented a return-to-office policy last year, Jin Bian decided to cut down his one-hour commute time by purchasing a house closer to the office in Tampa, Florida. Then, he was told the purchase might get him prison time. + + “That was really shocking to me. It’s just purchasing property,” Bian, who is originally form Nanjing, China, said. “Once I learned that, I didn’t even bother to look anymore.” + + Bian, a 31-year-old software engineer who has lived in the US for 12 years, is a recipient of an H-1B visa, which allows companies to employ foreign workers. For nearly a year, however, it has been a crime for him to purchase a home in Florida after the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law restricting Chinese nationals without US green cards from purchasing property in the state. + + Bian and other Florida residents told CNN that the rules have fostered uneasiness and confusion among ethnic Chinese people living in the state. Some say the law has damaged their businesses, while others say they are considering abandoning Florida altogether. And the law underscores the heightened tensions between the two biggest economies in the world in a US presidential election year. + + Bian said that lately, he had begun reconsidering his life in Florida. He isn’t alone. Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state. Sellers and real estate agents can also be found liable under the law. + + “We feel like we’re different from everyone else because of this type of law,” said Echo King, a US citizen who was born in China and is president of the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance. “We feel like we’re not welcome.” + + Under SB 264, citizens of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria are prohibited from buying property within 10 miles of any “military installation or critical infrastructure facility” in Florida. + + For Chinese citizens without the permanent right to live in the US, specifically, the law goes a step further, barring the group from purchasing any property in the state. + + “Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat — the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” DeSantis said in a statement last year. + + The law is currently being challenged in court, but several other states are considering similar laws. + + “Florida has gone far beyond what is necessary to combat the so-called CCP influence,” said Clay Zhu, an attorney who has partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the state, challenging the law. “We think this is a form of discrimination based on race, based on national origin and based on visa status.” + + Zhu likened the law to past discriminatory laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act. He says there should be a distinction made between the CCP and Chinese nationals. + + The law specifically bans the “purchase or acquisition of real property” by “any person who is domiciled in the People’s Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.” But the term “domiciled” isn’t fully defined in the law’s language. + + Susan Li, a 47-year-old small business owner in Orlando, Florida, who holds a green card, said she “really felt the discrimination” when she learned about the bill. + + Like Bian, Li had been searching for a new home when the law passed. Despite the fact that she is a legal resident of the US, her family decided to halt their housing search for fear of potential legal complications. + + “I thought maybe it’s too much to bother, so I’m not looking right now,” she said. “No matter if I have a green card or I’m a citizen, I still have a Chinese face.” + + The controversial law comes at a time when relations between the US and China have grown increasingly tense. + + Last year, fears of the Chinese government spying in the US reached a fever pitch after a Chinese surveillance balloon was discovered over Montana and eventually shot down by the US. + + In addition to allegations that Chinese-owned apps like TikTok are used for spying (which TikTok denies), US lawmakers have increasingly warned that Chinese purchases of agricultural land pose a national security threat. According to the US Department of Agriculture, China owns 349,442 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land in the US, representing slightly less than 1% of all foreign-held land in the US. + + “The Chinese Communist Party, a dangerous foreign adversary, should not own Virginia’s farmland,” Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said on social media last year. “That’s common sense.” + + To Bian, accusations of spying are offensive. + + “We’re ordinary people. We don’t talk about these political things,” he said. “I think 99.99% of people here just want to have a good life.” + + Teresa Jin, a mortgage lender in Florida, said she no longer works with clients who are not permanent residents or citizens of the US, but the grey area around the law’s definition of “domiciled” has created uncertainty. Other lenders have agreed to close on deals that she previously rejected for fear of legal repercussions. + + “The law has caused us so much confusion,” she said. “It definitely hurts business.” + + Zhu said that some mortgage lenders and brokers in Florida have even begun refusing to work with clients with Chinese passports — even if they are legal residents. + + “People feel as if they are being treated as spies or agents of the Chinese government,” Zhu said. “It’s very unfair and also very un-American.” + + Jin, who is a citizen, said she plans to stay in Florida. But others are weighing whether they might be more comfortable living in a different state without a law like SB 264 on the books. + + Li said she will likely leave Florida after her daughter goes off to college. Bian said he has hope that the law will be overturned, but if nothing has changed in a year or two, he plans to move back to California. + + “I don’t think California will ever have this kind of law.”",CNN,17/06/2024,"['After his employer implemented a return-to-office policy last year, Jin Bian decided to cut down his one-hour commute time by purchasing a house closer to the office in Tampa, Florida.', 'Then, he was told the purchase might get him prison time.', '“That was really shocking to me.', 'It’s just purchasing property,” Bian, who is originally form Nanjing, China, said. “', 'Once I learned that, I didn’t even bother to look anymore.”', 'Bian, a 31-year-old software engineer who has lived in the US for 12 years, is a recipient of an H-1B visa, which allows companies to employ foreign workers.', 'For nearly a year, however, it has been a crime for him to purchase a home in Florida after the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law restricting Chinese nationals without US green cards from purchasing property in the state.', 'Bian and other Florida residents told CNN that the rules have fostered uneasiness and confusion among ethnic Chinese people living in the state.', 'Some say the law has damaged their businesses, while others say they are considering abandoning Florida altogether.', 'And the law underscores the heightened tensions between the two biggest economies in the world in a US presidential election year.', 'Bian said that lately,he had begun reconsidering his life in Florida.', 'He isn’t alone.', 'Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.', 'Sellers and real estate agents can also be found liable under the law.', '“We feel like we’re different from everyone else because of this type of law,” said Echo King, a US citizen who was born in China and is president of the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance. “', 'We feel like we’re not welcome.”', 'Under SB 264, citizens of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria are prohibited from buying property within 10 miles of any “military installation or critical infrastructure facility” in Florida.', 'For Chinese citizens without the permanent right to live in the US, specifically, the law goes a step further, barring the group from purchasing any property in the state.', '“Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” DeSantis said in a statement last year.', 'The law is currently being challenged in court, but several other states are considering similar laws.', '“Florida has gone far beyond what is necessary to combat the so-called CCP influence,” said Clay Zhu, an attorney who has partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the state, challenging the law. “', 'We think this is a form of discrimination based on race, based on national origin and based on visa status.”', 'Zhu likened the law to past discriminatory laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act.', 'He says there should be a distinction made between the CCP and Chinese nationals.', 'The law specifically bans the “purchase or acquisition of real property” by “any person who is domiciled in the People’s Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.”', 'But the term “domiciled” isn’t fully defined in the law’s language.', 'Susan Li, a 47-year-old small business owner in Orlando, Florida, who holds a green card, said she “really felt the discrimination” when she learned about the bill.', 'Like Bian, Li had been searching for a new home when the law passed.', 'Despite the fact that she is a legal resident of the US, her family decided to halt their housing search for fear of potential legal complications.', '“I thought maybe it’s too much to bother, so I’m not looking right now,” she said. “', 'No matter if I have a green card or I’m a citizen, I still have a Chinese face.”', 'The controversial law comes at a time when relations between the US and China have grown increasingly tense.', 'Last year, fears of the Chinese government spying in the US reached a fever pitch after a Chinese surveillance balloon was discovered over Montana and eventually shot down by the US.', 'In addition to allegations that Chinese-owned apps like TikTok are used for spying (which TikTok denies), US lawmakers have increasingly warned that Chinese purchases of agricultural land pose a national security threat.', 'According to the US Department of Agriculture, China owns 349,442 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land in the US, representing slightly less than 1% of all foreign-held land in the US.', '“The Chinese Communist Party, a dangerous foreign adversary, should not own Virginia’s farmland,” Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said on social media last year. “', 'That’s common sense.”', 'To Bian, accusations of spying are offensive.', '“We’re ordinary people.', 'We don’t talk about these political things,” he said. “', 'I think 99.99% of people here just want to have a good life.”', 'Teresa Jin, a mortgage lender in Florida, said she no longer works with clients who are not permanent residents or citizens of the US, but the grey area around the law’s definition of “domiciled” has created uncertainty.', 'Other lenders have agreed to close on deals that she previously rejected for fear of legal repercussions.', '“The law has caused us so much confusion,” she said. “', 'It definitely hurts business.”', 'Zhu said that some mortgage lenders and brokers in Florida have even begun refusing to work with clients with Chinese passports — even if they are legal residents.', '“People feel as if they are being treated as spies or agents of the Chinese government,” Zhu said. “', 'It’s very unfair and also very un-American.”', 'Jin, who is a citizen, said she plans to stay in Florida.', 'But others are weighing whether they might be more comfortable living in a different state without a law like SB 264 on the books.', 'Li said she will likely leave Florida after her daughter goes off to college.', 'Bian said he has hope that the law will be overturned, but if nothing has changed in a year or two, he plans to move back to California.', '“I don’t think California will ever have this kind of law.”']",-0.1188935252580385,"“Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” DeSantis said in a statement last year.","Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.",-0.6851268793855395,Other lenders have agreed to close on deals that she previously rejected for fear of legal repercussions.,It definitely hurts business.”,2024-06-20 +"FDA approves Merck vaccine designed to protect adults from bacteria that can cause pneumonia, serious infections",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/fda-approves-merck-pneumococcal-disease-vaccine-designed-for-adults.html,2024-06-17T23:02:51+0000,"In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said.Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia. It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adults and aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker.Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease. But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form. Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia. ""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said. Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet. An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer. Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028. The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer. Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults. For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older.Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults. But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said. ""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers. Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease. Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021. The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data. Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data. The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine.Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.",CNBC,17/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said."", ""Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia."", ""It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adultsand aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker."", 'Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease.', 'But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form.', 'Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia.', '""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck\'s product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""', 'Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.', '""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said.', 'Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.', ""Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet."", 'An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.', ""Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer."", 'Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028.The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts.', ""Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer."", 'Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults.', ""For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older."", ""Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults."", 'But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said.', '""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers.', ""Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease."", ""Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021.The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data."", ""Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data."", ""The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine."", 'Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.']",0.0201231088733259,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,0.0544579252600669,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,2024-06-20 +"Boeing and NASA delay Starliner astronaut return to June 22, nearly doubling mission length to test spacecraft",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/14/boeing-and-nasa-delay-starliner-astronaut-return-to-june-22.html,2024-06-14T19:14:12+0000,"In this articleBoeing's Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS. The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET. That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.NASA said those tests include operating the capsule's hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program's managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some 'safe haven' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary. A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency. NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC's request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions. Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified. The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks. NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system. Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock.NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail. Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance. NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.Starliner was once seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years. However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slipped Starliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"['In this articleBoeing\'s Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.', ""This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS."", 'The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.', 'Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.', ""But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET."", 'That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.', 'NASA said those tests include operating the capsule\'s hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program\'s managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.', '""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some \'safe haven\' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary.', 'A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency.', 'NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC\'s request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions.', 'Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.', ""Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified."", ""The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks."", 'NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.', 'While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system.', 'Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.', ""Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock."", ""NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail."", ""Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance."", 'NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.', 'Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.', ""Starliner wasonce seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years."", 'However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.', 'Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.']",0.0231651503464283,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.",0.2881059249242146,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.",2024-06-20 +Ford ends EV dealership program that required hefty investment to sell electric models,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/ford-ends-ev-dealership-program.html,2024-06-13T14:13:20+0000,"In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks. That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected. That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments.""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford's Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""The growth has slowed down.""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford's 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers. The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks. ""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales.""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.Gjaja said those initial estimates were high. He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.', 'The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks.', 'That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.', 'EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected.', ""That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments."", '""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford\'s Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""', 'The growth has slowed down.', '""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford\'s 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers.', 'The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.', 'Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks.', '""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""', ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales."", '""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.', 'Gjaja said those initial estimates were high.', 'He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.']",0.0858025423727656,"That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.",In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.,0.5176552004284329,We think it's going to help us grow our sales.,The growth has slowed down.,2024-06-20 +Flying is getting scary. But is it still safe?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/is-it-safe-to-fly-airplanes-boeing-max/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes seem to have accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly. + + Statistics suggest that flying commercial is still the safest way to travel. But the first half of this year has been one incident after another — which could reasonably give passengers pause before booking their next flight. Even some of those who believe flying is safer than the car ride to or from the nearest airport say they understand the growing concern of passengers. + + When a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, it did more than leave a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage. It caused some passengers’ phones and clothing to be ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries. And it also brought new attention to the potential hazards of flying. + + It’s not just events in the air shaking the confidence of nervous flyers, but also reports on the ground. Congress has heard from a dozen whistleblowers about safety issues at Boeing, telling stories about questionable parts and “defective airplanes.” + + But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward as statistics showing fewer deaths on commercial flights than on the roads or other forms or transportation might suggest. + + The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than car rides most people take every day without thinking twice. + + “When you arrive at the airport and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an interview with CNN earlier this year. “You were more at risk driving to the airport.” + + But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact. + + Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: + + • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska. + + By comparison, an average of more than 100 people a day died on America’s roads and highways between 2003 and 2022, the most recent year for which full-year traffic deaths are available. That means nearly as many died on roads and highways every hour, on average, as the number of people who died in US commercial aviation crashes in 15 years. + + However, other forms of flying are not nearly as safe. + + Nearly 300 people have died since 2009 while traveling in on-demand air service, such as private jets. And nearly 5,500 people have died in general aviation, typically small planes often operated by amateur pilots. + + While commercial aviation has the safest record among transit options, railroads are the second safest form of travel. + + Railroads had 71 passenger deaths on commuter trains and Amtrak from 2009 through last year. But passenger trains logged far fewer miles traveled than planes or motor vehicles. + + When you control for the much higher number of miles traveled by planes, it’s clearly much more dangerous to travel on the ground than to fly on a commercial US airline. + + Ed Pierson is the director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a harsh critic of Boeing — which, in addition to the Alaska Airlines incident and the recent congressional hearings on the safety of the manufacturer’s planes, had two fatal crashes of the 737 Max, one in 2018 and one in 2019, that led to a 20-month grounding of the plane. + + He said he knows the stats, but because of concerns about quality controls at the embattled aircraft maker, he still would refuse to fly on the Boeing 737 Max or have a family member do so. He has even got off a Max just before departure after he was surprised to find out he was on that particular model of plane. + + Still, Pierson said he is willing to fly on most planes, even many older Boeing models. + + “Taking the Max out of the equation, (flying has) been proven to be pretty darn safe,” he said in an interview with CNN earlier this year. + + The Alaska Airlines incident is by far the most high-profile event this year, but it is hardly the only one to make headlines across the world. + + On January 2, just days before the Alaska Airlines flight, a passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake. + + On March 11, a LATAM Airlines Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing. + + A Southwest jet plunged to within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii on April 11. + + A JetBlue plane and Southwest plane nearly collided on the runway of Reagan National Airport in Washington on April 18, when one was cleared for takeoff as the other was directed to cross the runway it was on. + + Severe turbulence experienced over Myanmar by a Singapore Airlines plane on May 21 resulted in one passenger dying and 71 being injured, some critically. + + And another Southwest jet ended up with significant damage when it experienced an unusual and unsafe back-and-forth motion known in the industry as a “Dutch roll” on a May 25 flight from Phoenix to Oakland. + + There are also more minor incidents, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground. A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered. And several planes had engines catch fire. + + Still, most of these incidents did not involve fatalities, and the deaths that occurred were far outside of US airspace. Unfortunately, the safety record of recent years is not a guarantee of safety in the future. + + The record for the nearly fatality-free US airplane travel industry is partly due to the efforts of aviation authorities, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, despite the criticism heaped on all three of those groups recently. + + But mainly it’s been sheer luck. In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse. + + The Alaska Airlines plane that lost the door plug had flown for more than two months without the four bolts needed to keep the plug in place, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. + + It had made 153 flights before the door plug blew out at 16,000 feet. Twenty-two of those flights were between Hawaii and the mainland. + + If the door had blown out at the normal 35,000-foot cruising altitude, or hours from the nearest airport over the open Pacific Ocean, or if the plug had gone straight back and hit the tail of the plane and caused damage, it could likely have caused a loss of the aircraft and the 177 people on board. + + On February 4, 2023, a FedEx jet came within 150 feet of the runway before its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway. It was one of five such incidents in a period of just seven weeks at the start of last year in which an accident was only narrowly avoided. + + And none of those were potentially as serious as the incident in July 2017, when an Air Canada jet piloted by a captain who had been awake for more than 19 hours nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where three wide-body jets filled with passengers were waiting to take off. + + The NTSB later determined the Air Canada jet got within 100 feet of the ground before it took off again without making contact with any of the passenger planes on the ground. The safety regulator said more than 1,000 people on the four planes might have died had the accident not been averted at the last moment. + + “It would have been the worst disaster in aviation history,” Brickhouse said. “Pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics — they’re all human, and humans make mistakes. We’ve been working toward designing the system so that when mistakes are made, we can recover from them without it being a tragedy.” + + The NTSB has been calling for 24 years for a warning system in cockpits to alert of a possible collision on a runway. But so far there’s been no move to require the technology, which already exists. + + “It’s going to be technology that prevents any of this from reoccurring,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN earlier this month. + + Pierson said regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing need to make changes. + + “I think the system is under tremendous stress,” he said. “There’s a shortage of staff, in air traffic control, a shortage of pilots, of maintenance personnel, of manufacturing personnel.” + + What concerns Pierson the most is the attitude that the apparent safety of the American aviation system means nothing needs to be improved. + + “There’s a sense of overconfidence,” he said. “The gold standard is melting down, because we continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is. That’s not the right mindset. That’s the mindset that gets people killed.” + + Brickhouse believes the planes now in use are safe. He said the Alaska Airlines incident brought attention to a series of other events that in and of themselves don’t pose a serious threat, even if they should not have happened. + + “We have safety events in aviation all the time. That is not an indictment of the aviation industry,” he said. “But after Alaska Air, it became a snowballing event and everyone became hypersensitive.” + + Despite having more confidence in the safety of the system than Pierson, Brickhouse said he also wouldn’t dismiss anyone who’s fearful about flying right now or who wants to avoid a plane like the 737 Max. And he has his own concerns about things like the number of narrowly avoided accidents at the nation’s airports. + + “I don’t believe in luck, but we are fortunate that these incidents did not turn into disasters,” he said. “When you have a trend that keeps occurring, you need to focus on fixing it.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Reports of harrowing and sometimes tragic incidents aboard airplanes seem to have accelerated this year, leading many to wonder if it’s still safe to fly.', 'Statistics suggest that flying commercial is still the safest way to travel.', 'But the first half of this year has been one incident after another — which could reasonably give passengers pause before booking their next flight.', 'Even some of those who believe flying is safer than the car ride to or from the nearest airport say they understand the growing concern of passengers.', 'When a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, it did more than leave a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max fuselage.', 'It caused some passengers’ phones and clothing to be ripped from their bodies and sent hurtling out into the night as oxygen masks dropped and the plane made its way to the ground, fortunately without any serious injuries.', 'And it also brought new attention to the potential hazards of flying.', 'It’s not just events in the air shaking the confidence of nervous flyers, but also reports on the ground.', 'Congress has heard from a dozen whistleblowers about safety issues at Boeing, telling stories about questionable parts and “defective airplanes.”', 'But answering the question of whether it is still safe to fly is not so straightforward as statistics showing fewer deaths on commercial flights than on the roads or other forms or transportation might suggest.', 'The quick answer is that flying is safe — safer than most forms of travel — and far, far safer than car rides most people take every day without thinking twice.', '“When you arrive at the airport and step aboard the pressurized tube, that’s the safest part of the trip,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a crash investigator and professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an interview with CNN earlier this year. “', 'You were more at risk driving to the airport.”', 'But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.', 'Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska.', 'By comparison, an average of more than 100 people a day died on America’s roads and highways between 2003 and 2022, the most recent year for which full-year traffic deaths are available.', 'That means nearly as many died on roads and highways every hour, on average, as the number of people who died in US commercial aviation crashes in 15 years.', 'However, other forms of flying are not nearly as safe.', 'Nearly 300 people have died since 2009 while traveling in on-demand air service, such as private jets.', 'And nearly 5,500 people have died in general aviation, typically small planes often operated by amateur pilots.', 'While commercial aviation has the safest record among transit options, railroads are the second safest form of travel.', 'Railroads had 71 passenger deaths on commuter trains and Amtrak from 2009 through last year.', 'But passenger trains logged far fewer miles traveled than planes or motor vehicles.', 'When you control for the much higher number of miles traveled by planes, it’s clearly much more dangerous to travel on the ground than to fly on a commercial US airline.', 'Ed Pierson is the director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a harsh critic of Boeing — which, in addition to the Alaska Airlines incident and the recent congressional hearings on the safety of the manufacturer’s planes, had two fatal crashes of the 737 Max, one in 2018 and one in 2019, that led to a 20-month grounding of the plane.', 'He said he knows the stats, but because of concerns about quality controls at the embattled aircraft maker, he still would refuse to fly on the Boeing 737 Max or have a family member do so.', 'He has even got off a Max just before departure after he was surprised to find out he was on that particular model of plane.', 'Still, Pierson said he is willing to fly on most planes, even many older Boeing models.', '“Taking the Max out of the equation, (flying has) been proven to be pretty darn safe,” he said in an interview with CNN earlier this year.', 'The Alaska Airlines incident is by far the most high-profile event this year, but it is hardly the only one to make headlines across the world.', 'On January 2, just days before the Alaska Airlines flight, a passenger plane collided with a military plane at a Tokyo airport, killing five members of the Japanese Coast Guard who were responding to an earthquake.', 'On March 11, a LATAM Airlines Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing.', 'A Southwest jet plunged to within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii on April 11.', 'A JetBlue plane and Southwest plane nearly collided on the runway of Reagan National Airport in Washington on April 18, when one was cleared for takeoff as the other was directed to cross the runway it was on.', 'Severe turbulence experienced over Myanmar by a Singapore Airlines plane on May 21 resulted in one passenger dying and 71 being injured, some critically.', 'And another Southwest jet ended up with significant damage when it experienced an unusual and unsafe back-and-forth motion known in the industry as a“Dutch roll” on a May 25 flight from Phoenix to Oakland.', 'There are also more minor incidents, like when a 200-pound wheel fell off a plane on takeoff, crushing parked vehicles on the ground.', 'A jet arrived at an airport only to have a missing panel discovered.', 'And several planes had engines catch fire.', 'Still, most of these incidents did not involve fatalities, and the deaths that occurred were far outside of US airspace.', 'Unfortunately, the safety record of recent years is not a guarantee of safety in the future.', 'The record for the nearly fatality-free US airplane travel industry is partly due to the efforts of aviation authorities, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, despite the criticism heaped on all three of those groups recently.', 'But mainly it’s been sheer luck.', 'In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse.', 'The Alaska Airlines plane that lost the door plug had flown for more than two months without the four bolts needed to keep the plug in place, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.', 'It had made 153 flights before the door plug blew out at 16,000 feet.', 'Twenty-two of those flights were between Hawaii and the mainland.', 'If the door had blown out at the normal 35,000-foot cruising altitude, or hours from the nearest airport over the open Pacific Ocean, or if the plug had gone straight back and hit the tail of the plane and caused damage, it could likely have caused a loss of the aircraft and the 177 people on board.', 'On February 4, 2023, a FedEx jet came within 150 feet of the runway before its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway.', 'It was one of five such incidents in a period of just seven weeks at the start of last year in which an accident was only narrowly avoided.', 'And none of those were potentially as serious as the incident in July 2017, when an Air Canada jet piloted by a captain who had been awake for more than 19 hours nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where three wide-body jets filled with passengers were waiting to take off.', 'The NTSB later determined the Air Canada jet got within 100 feet of the ground before it took off again without making contact with any of the passenger planes on the ground.', 'The safety regulator said more than 1,000 people on the four planes might have died had the accident not been averted at the last moment.', '“It would have been the worst disaster in aviation history,” Brickhouse said. “', 'Pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics — they’re all human, and humans make mistakes.', 'We’ve been working toward designing the system so that when mistakes are made, we can recover from them without it being a tragedy.”', 'The NTSB has been calling for 24 years for a warning system in cockpits to alert of a possible collision on a runway.', 'But so far there’s been no move to require the technology, which already exists.', '“It’s going to be technology that prevents any of this from reoccurring,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN earlier this month.', 'Pierson said regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing need to make changes.', '“I think the system is under tremendous stress,” he said. “', 'There’s a shortage of staff, in air traffic control, a shortage of pilots, of maintenance personnel, of manufacturing personnel.”', 'What concerns Pierson the most is the attitude that the apparent safety of the American aviation system means nothing needs to be improved.', '“There’s a sense of overconfidence,” he said. “', 'The gold standard is melting down, because we continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is.', 'That’s not the right mindset.', 'That’s the mindset that gets people killed.”', 'Brickhouse believes the planes now in use are safe.', 'He said the Alaska Airlines incident brought attention to a series of other events that in and of themselves don’t pose a serious threat, even if they should not have happened.', '“We have safety events in aviation all the time.', 'That is not an indictment of the aviation industry,” he said. “', 'But after Alaska Air, it became a snowballing event and everyone became hypersensitive.”', 'Despite having more confidence in the safety of the system than Pierson, Brickhouse said he also wouldn’t dismiss anyone who’s fearful about flying right now or who wants to avoid a plane like the 737 Max.', 'And he has his own concerns about things like the number of narrowly avoided accidents at the nation’s airports.', '“I don’t believe in luck, but we are fortunate that these incidents did not turn into disasters,” he said. “', 'When you have a trend that keeps occurring, you need to focus on fixing it.”']",-0.0803839402061576,But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.,"Since a regional jet crashed in Buffalo, New York, in January of 2009, killing 49 on board and one on the ground, only five other people have died in accidents on scheduled commercial flights in the United States: • Three passengers were killed in 2013 when an Asiana Airlines plane broke apart, crashing short of the runway in San Francisco.• A passenger on a 2018 Southwest flight died when an engine cover broke off and shattered the window next to where she was sitting.• A passenger was killed in 2019 when a small plane skidded off the runway in rural Alaska.",-0.3160347216057055,But it’s also true that it’s only pure luck that the American aviation industry has kept its near-perfect safety record intact.,"In each case, if things had gone just a little differently, the outcomes could have been much worse.",2024-06-20 +"National Amusements stops discussions with Skydance on Paramount deal, sources say",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/national-amusements-stops-discussions-with-skydance-on-paramount-deal-sources-say.html,2024-06-12T00:42:45+0000,"In this articleNational Amusements has stopped talks with Skydance on a proposed merger with Paramount Global, ending months of deal discussions without a transaction. National Amusements, which is owned by Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, had previously agreed to economic terms on a merger with a consortium that includes David Ellison's Skydance, and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR. The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, CNBC previously reported. National Amusements, which Redstone controls, owns 77% of class A Paramount shares.Paramount shares closed nearly 8% lower Tuesday following the report.National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.Redstone's company said it ""supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount's Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company's Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.""Paramount declined to comment. Spokespeople for Skydance and Redbird did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Wall Street Journal earlier reported talks had ended.""While National Amusements had agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement,"" a NAI spokesperson said.There's been a disconnect on why the discussions didn't amount to a deal, according to people familiar with the matter, showcasing the nature of the process that has gone on for months with various twists and turns.Redstone and the special committee had asked for a so-called majority of the minority vote as part of the deal, a clause the Skydance bidding consortium found unacceptable and impracticable to add after deal talks had long started, according to people familiar with the matter. The special committee's approval process, meant to determine the deal's fairness, negated the need for such a vote, according to those familiar with Ellison's thinking. The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Phillips declined to comment. The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Paramount Global said, ""The Special Committee met on Tuesday to discuss progress of discussions regarding a potential transaction with Skydance Media. At that time, the Special Committee was informed by a representative of National Amusements, Inc. that it did not have an agreement on a deal with Skydance Media and didn't anticipate a path forward on this transaction. The Special Committee did not vote on any potential transaction.""The about face on the proposed deal not only comes days after Skydance and Paramount agreed to merger terms, but also after Paramount's annual shareholder meeting, where the company's leadership outlined plans for the future.Last week, Paramount's current leadership, the so-called ""Office of the CEO"" — CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins — mapped out the company's strategic priorities in the event the company was not sold.The shared leadership structure was put into place in late April, when former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down.The trio outlined a plan that included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs and divesting noncore assets. The plan that was presented to shareholders was Redstone's alternative option if she chose not to sell.While Redstone noted during the beginning of the shareholder presentation the unorthodox structure of the leadership team, she voiced her support. She has approved of their ideas and leadership during their short tenure, CNBC previously reported.Redstone has controlled the future of Paramount and whether a sale would take place. She can now consider other offers for National Amusements from outside buyers. In May, another potential buyer for Paramount surfaced — Apollo Global Management and Sony, which formally expressed interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion, CNBC previously reported. However, Redstone favored a deal that would keep the company together, and Apollo and Sony planned to break up Paramount, separating its movie studio from other parts of the business including its broadcast network, CNBC previously reported.Under those terms, which were still being ironed out up until Tuesday, Redstone would have received $2 billion in cash for National Amusements, CNBC reported. Skydance would buy nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company. Skydance and RedBird would have also contributed $1.5 billion in cash to help reduce Paramount's debt.The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year. Paramount had roughly $14.6 billion in long-term debt as of March 31.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleNational Amusements has stopped talks with Skydance on a proposed merger with Paramount Global, ending months of deal discussions without a transaction.', ""National Amusements, which is owned by Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, had previously agreed to economic terms on a merger with a consortium that includes David Ellison's Skydance, and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR."", 'The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, CNBC previously reported.', 'National Amusements, which Redstone controls, owns 77% of class A Paramount shares.', 'Paramount shares closed nearly 8% lower Tuesday following the report.', 'National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.', 'Redstone\'s company said it ""supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount\'s Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company\'s Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.', '""Paramount declined to comment.', 'Spokespeople for Skydance and Redbird did not immediately respond to requests for comment.', 'The Wall Street Journal earlier reported talks had ended.', '""While National Amusements had agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement,"" a NAI spokesperson said.', ""There's been a disconnect on why the discussions didn't amount to a deal, according to people familiar with the matter, showcasing the nature of the process that has gone on for months with various twists and turns."", 'Redstone and the special committee had asked for a so-called majority of the minority vote as part of the deal, a clause the Skydance bidding consortium found unacceptable and impracticable to add after deal talks had long started, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""The special committee's approval process, meant to determine the deal's fairness, negated the need for such a vote, according to those familiar with Ellison's thinking."", ""The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter."", 'A spokesperson for Phillips declined to comment.', 'The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Paramount Global said, ""The Special Committee met on Tuesday to discuss progress of discussions regarding a potential transaction with Skydance Media.', ""At that time, the Special Committee was informed by a representative of National Amusements, Inc. that it did not have an agreement on a deal with Skydance Media and didn't anticipate a path forward on this transaction."", 'The Special Committee did not vote on any potential transaction.', '""The about face on the proposed deal not only comes days after Skydance and Paramount agreed to merger terms, but also after Paramount\'s annual shareholder meeting, where the company\'s leadership outlined plans for the future.', 'Last week, Paramount\'s current leadership, the so-called ""Office of the CEO"" — CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins — mapped out the company\'s strategic priorities in the event the company was not sold.', 'The shared leadership structure was put into place in late April, when former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down.', 'The trio outlined a plan that included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs and divesting noncore assets.', ""The plan that was presented to shareholders was Redstone's alternative option if she chose not to sell."", 'While Redstone noted during the beginning of the shareholder presentation the unorthodox structure of the leadership team, she voiced her support.', 'She has approved of their ideas and leadership during their short tenure, CNBC previously reported.', 'Redstone has controlled the future of Paramount and whether a sale would take place.', 'She can now consider other offers for National Amusements from outside buyers.', 'In May, another potential buyer for Paramount surfaced — Apollo Global Management and Sony, which formally expressed interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion, CNBC previously reported.', 'However, Redstone favored a deal that would keep the company together, and Apollo and Sony planned to break up Paramount, separating its movie studio from other parts of the business including its broadcast network, CNBC previously reported.', 'Under those terms, which were still being ironed out up until Tuesday, Redstone would have received $2 billion in cash for National Amusements, CNBC reported.', 'Skydance would buy nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.', ""Skydance and RedBird would have also contributed $1.5 billion in cash to help reduce Paramount's debt."", ""The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year."", 'Paramount had roughly $14.6 billion in long-term debt as of March 31.']",0.2387817313043969,"National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.","The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter.",0.1864744484424591,The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year.,"The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter.",2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +Watch Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testify before Senate panel on whistleblower allegations,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/watch-live-boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-testimony.html,2024-06-18T18:20:59+0000,"In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans. Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification. Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made.The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET.', 'Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.', ""Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019."", 'Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.', ""Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans."", 'Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.', '""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification.', ""Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made."", 'The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.—', ""CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.""]",-0.1010147915889218,Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.,"Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.",-0.9303198903799056,,"Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans.",2024-06-20 +Stellantis plans to grow Jeep sales 50% by 2027,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-jeep-sales-growth.html,2024-06-13T18:09:38+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said. Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric. That's up from 18 currently.   ""We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon. A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV. Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck. Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis, Tesla and others. The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYD and Nio grow their sales of less-expensive EVs outside of China.Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier. The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022. Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis\' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.', '""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said.', 'Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric.', 'That\'s up from 18 currently. ""', 'We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.', 'Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.', 'Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon.', 'A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV.', 'Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.', ""A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck."", 'Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.', '""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis,Teslaand others.', 'The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYDandNiogrow their salesof less-expensive EVsoutside of China.', ""Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier."", 'The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.', ""Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.""]",0.1862019152259262,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.",,0.7979354679584503,"Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.","The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.",2024-06-20 +"Influencer Jake Paul launching men's skin, personal care line at Walmart",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/jake-paul-launching-mens-skin-care-line-walmart.html,2024-06-12T18:59:46+0000,"Jake Paul is entering a new arena: skin care.The YouTube influencer-turned-boxer announced on Wednesday the launch of ""W,"" a skin-care company targeted toward men.The personal care line will feature products priced at less than $10 and will be available at Walmart. Later this summer, an expanded product line will be available on Amazon.""We saw this old and outdated category where the competitors have been on the shelves in the exact same way for the past 20 years,"" Paul told CNBC. ""We just believed we had a better vision, better product and could disrupt this entire space.""W, a reference to ""winning,"" will launch with three products: a body wash, body spray and antiperspirant deodorant. Paul said the company hopes to expand with a shampoo and conditioner, face wash and hair gel in the coming months.""It's a super underserved market,"" he said. ""I believe now that more men are caring about how they look and what they are putting into their body,"" he added.As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth. From 2018 to 2023, men's grooming was a $28 billion business globally, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 5%, according to market research company Euromonitor.And it's expected to keep seeing gains. Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects.Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market. Other celebrities, including Dwayne ""The Rock"" Johnson, John Legend, Idris Elba and Pharrell, have recently launched skin-care lines targeting less traditional markets.Young men are increasingly turning to social media and influencers for their sources of information. A Euromonitor report said that 50% of Gen Z male respondents found information about a brand, company or product through TikTok in 2023, an increase from 36% in 2022.Paul said he's taking a page from his brother Logan Paul's success with Prime, a sports drink that's popular with boys and young men, though the caffeinated energy drink version of Prime has drawn scrutiny in the past.""Me and my brother are like the testosterone Kardashians,"" Jake Paul said, nodding to the Kardashian sisters successfully launching their own skin-care lines. But Paul thinks the Kardashians and other celebrities have overlooked the opportunity for young men.""There's a big open market for creator-led products focused on boys,"" he added.He's also hoping that his upcoming Netflix fight, in which he'll face famed boxer Mike Tyson, will help create some momentum for the brand.""It's still gonna be a brawl, and we both plan on ripping each other's heads off,"" he added.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['Jake Paul is entering a new arena: skin care.', 'The YouTube influencer-turned-boxer announced on Wednesday the launch of ""W,"" a skin-care company targeted toward men.', 'The personal care line will feature products priced at less than $10 and will be available at Walmart.', 'Later this summer, an expanded product line will be available on Amazon.', '""We saw this old and outdated category where the competitors have been on the shelves in the exact same way for the past 20 years,"" Paul told CNBC. ""', 'We just believed we had a better vision, better product and could disrupt this entire space.', '""W, a reference to ""winning,"" will launch with three products: a body wash, body spray and antiperspirant deodorant.', 'Paul said the company hopes to expand with a shampoo and conditioner, face wash and hair gel in the coming months.', '""It\'s a super underserved market,"" he said. ""', 'I believe now that more men are caring about how they look and what they are putting into their body,"" he added.', ""As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth."", ""From 2018 to 2023, men's grooming was a $28 billion business globally, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 5%, according to market research company Euromonitor."", ""And it's expected to keep seeing gains."", ""Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects."", ""Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market."", 'Other celebrities, including Dwayne ""The Rock"" Johnson, John Legend, Idris Elba and Pharrell, have recently launched skin-care lines targeting less traditional markets.', 'Young men are increasingly turning to social media and influencers for their sources of information.', ""A Euromonitor report said that 50% of Gen Z male respondents found information about a brand, company or product through TikTok in 2023, an increase from 36% in 2022.Paul said he's taking a page from his brother Logan Paul's success with Prime, a sports drink that's popular with boys and young men, though the caffeinated energy drink version of Prime has drawn scrutiny in the past."", '""Me and my brother are like the testosterone Kardashians,"" Jake Paul said, nodding to the Kardashian sisters successfully launching their own skin-care lines.', 'But Paul thinks the Kardashians and other celebrities have overlooked the opportunity for young men.', '""There\'s a big open market for creator-led products focused on boys,"" he added.', ""He's also hoping that his upcoming Netflix fight, in which he'll face famed boxer Mike Tyson, will help create some momentum for the brand."", '""It\'s still gonna be a brawl, and we both plan on ripping each other\'s heads off,"" he added.']",0.4625497217074573,"As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth.",Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market.,0.5827901601791382,"Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects.","""It's a super underserved market,"" he said. """,2024-06-20 +"Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese rematch poised to be the most expensive WNBA game ever with seats up to $9,000",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/ticket-prices-caitlin-clark-reese-rematch/index.html," + Updated + 12:55 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","This weekend’s rematch between basketball rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is breaking more records before it even begins. + + Ticket prices for Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky are the most expensive for a WNBA game ever, according to TickPick, with the average hovering at around $253 — 187% higher than the Sky’s average purchase price of $88. Currently, the cheapest seat just to see the game is around $250 with the most expensive ticket on sale going for more than $9,000. + + It’s the third time this season that the opponents have met in the WNBA. Previous matchups have been close, physical affairs between the former college rivals that have sparked national attention and record TV ratings. + + Last Sunday’s game between Fever and Sky was the most-watched WNBA game on any network in 23 years, according to CBS, averaging 2.25 million viewers and peaking at nearly 3 million. The Fever won 91-83 and are 2-0 against the Sky this season. + + Excitement for this weekend’s game is so high that ticket prices are 116% more expensive than this past season’s tickets for Chicago Bulls home games, which averaged $117, a TickPick representative told CNN. + + Clark is no stranger to boosting ratings: The NCAA women’s basketball tournament title game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and her Iowa Hawkeyes drew nearly 19 million viewers, shattering records to become the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever measured by Nielsen. + + Clark, Reese and other high-profile players have helped the WNBA record its highest-attended opening month in 26 years, with the league recently announcing it was the most-watched start of the season games ever across all six networks that broadcast games. + + People of color and young fans have turned to the WNBA, with viewership growing 60% year over year among people of color, according to the league, a massive rise particularly among Hispanic and Black audiences.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['This weekend’s rematch between basketball rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is breaking more records before it even begins.', 'Ticket prices for Clark���s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky are the most expensive for a WNBA game ever, according to TickPick, with the average hovering at around $253 — 187% higher than the Sky’s average purchase price of $88.', 'Currently, the cheapest seat just to see the game is around $250 with the most expensive ticket on sale going for more than $9,000.', 'It’s the third time this season that the opponents have met in the WNBA.', 'Previous matchups have been close, physical affairs between the former college rivals that have sparked national attention and record TV ratings.', 'Last Sunday’s game between Fever and Sky was the most-watched WNBA game on any network in 23 years, according to CBS, averaging 2.25 million viewers and peaking at nearly 3 million.', 'The Fever won 91-83 and are 2-0 against the Sky this season.', 'Excitement for this weekend’s game is so high that ticket prices are 116% more expensive than this past season’s tickets for Chicago Bulls home games, which averaged $117, a TickPick representative told CNN.', 'Clark is no stranger to boostingratings: The NCAA women’s basketballtournament title game between the South Carolina Gamecocks andher Iowa Hawkeyes drew nearly19 million viewers, shattering records to become the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever measured by Nielsen.', 'Clark, Reese and other high-profile players have helped the WNBA record its highest-attended opening month in 26 years, with the league recently announcing it was the most-watched start of the season games ever across all six networks that broadcast games.', 'People of color and young fans have turned to the WNBA, with viewership growing 60% year over year among people of color, according to the league, a massive rise particularly among Hispanic and Black audiences.']",0.0293459701789266,The Fever won 91-83 and are 2-0 against the Sky this season.,"Ticket prices for Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky are the most expensive for a WNBA game ever, according to TickPick, with the average hovering at around $253 — 187% higher than the Sky’s average purchase price of $88.",0.5994078914324442,"People of color and young fans have turned to the WNBA, with viewership growing 60% year over year among people of color, according to the league, a massive rise particularly among Hispanic and Black audiences.","Ticket prices for Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky are the most expensive for a WNBA game ever, according to TickPick, with the average hovering at around $253 — 187% higher than the Sky’s average purchase price of $88.",2024-06-20 +"Fast-food customers are shifting to casual-dining chains, Darden Restaurants CEO says",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/inflation-fast-food-diners-switch-to-casual-chains-darden-ceo-says.html,2024-06-20T17:52:55+0000,"In this articleCasual-dining chains are gaining customers who have grown frustrated with higher fast-food prices, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on Thursday.While Darden itself hasn't benefited from the shift, its competitors, like Chili's owner Brinker International and Applebee's parent Dine Brands, have been reigniting a rivalry with their fast-food counterparts — and it seems to be working. Chili's introduced an ad campaign that calls out the Big Mac and other fast-food burgers for their prices. Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told CNBC in May that Applebee's has been leaning into deals to win over fast-food diners.On Darden's quarterly earnings call Thursday, Cardenas told analysts that industry data is showing ""a little bit of a shift from [quick-service restaurants] to some of those competitors"" in casual dining.As of May, full-service menu prices had risen 3.5% over the last 12 months, compared with a 4.5% increase for those of limited-service eateries, according to Department of Labor data. The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.Consumers have been feeling the pinch of the more than two years of price hikes, even with fast-food chains, which typically benefit from tougher economic environments because consumers trade down to their cheaper meals. But both full-service restaurants and grocers alike have been highlighting their own value compared to fast-food meals, whether it's the actual price or the overall experience and quality.In particular, McDonald's has faced backlash from customers, social media users and even House Republicans for its higher prices. In an open letter in late May, the company's U.S. president, Joe Erlinger, hit back at critics claiming its menu prices have doubled, saying its prices are up 40% since 2019.Even so, the company has taken steps to try to appeal to price-conscious diners. On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers.Darden has been using a different strategy to win over diners. It has leaned on television advertising and kept its overall pricing lower than inflation to attract customers. In its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported flat same-store sales growth and weaker-than-expected revenue, although its earnings beat Wall Street's estimates.Cardenas said the company has dealt with a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals. Still, executives touted that its restaurants are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.Shares of Darden rose more than 1% in morning trading on Thursday. The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"['In this articleCasual-dining chains are gaining customers who have grown frustrated with higher fast-food prices, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on Thursday.', ""While Darden itself hasn't benefited from the shift, its competitors, like Chili's owner Brinker International and Applebee's parent Dine Brands, have been reigniting a rivalry with their fast-food counterparts — and it seems to be working."", ""Chili's introduced an ad campaign that calls out the Big Mac and other fast-food burgers for their prices."", ""Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told CNBC in May that Applebee's has been leaning into deals to win over fast-food diners."", 'On Darden\'s quarterly earnings call Thursday, Cardenas told analysts that industry data is showing ""a little bit of a shift from [quick-service restaurants] to some of those competitors"" in casual dining.', 'As of May, full-service menu prices had risen 3.5% over the last 12 months, compared with a 4.5% increase for those of limited-service eateries, according to Department of Labor data.', 'The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.', 'Consumers have been feeling the pinch of the more than two years of price hikes, even with fast-food chains, which typically benefit from tougher economic environments because consumers trade down to their cheaper meals.', ""But both full-service restaurants and grocers alike have been highlighting their own value compared to fast-food meals, whether it's the actual price or the overall experience and quality."", ""In particular, McDonald's has faced backlash from customers, social media users and even House Republicans for its higher prices."", ""In an open letter in late May, the company's U.S. president, Joe Erlinger, hit back at critics claiming its menu prices have doubled, saying its prices are up 40% since 2019.Even so, the company has taken steps to try to appeal to price-conscious diners."", ""On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers."", 'Darden has been using a different strategy to win over diners.', 'It has leaned on television advertising and kept its overall pricing lower than inflation to attract customers.', ""In its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported flat same-store sales growth and weaker-than-expected revenue, although its earnings beat Wall Street's estimates."", 'Cardenas said the company has dealt with a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals.', 'Still, executives touted that its restaurants are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.', 'Shares of Darden rose more than 1% in morning trading on Thursday.', ""The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.""]",0.1586343892662152,"On Thursday, McDonald's announced a new $5 value meal, plus free French fries on Fridays with any purchase of at least $1 for its mobile app customers.","The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",0.3754266053438186,The overall consumer price index rose 3.3% in that period.,"The company's stock has fallen 6% this year, dragged down by concerns about the consumer environment.",2024-06-20 +"Darden beats on earnings, even as Olive Garden, fine-dining sales drag",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/darden-restaurants-dri-q4-2024-earnings.html,2024-06-20T15:07:48+0000,"In this articleDarden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as Olive Garden's same-store sales fell for the second consecutive quarter.The company has faced a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals, CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company's conference call.For fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting that its same-store sales will grow just 1% to 2%.Shares of the company rose less than 1% in morning trading.Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants. Still, executives emphasized that their chains are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.""We're not going to do things to buy sales, even with the increased discounting our competitors are doing. … Our focus is on profitable sales growth,"" Cardenas said.He added that consumers are concerned about inflation — and growing more anxious about the job market. Still, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse diners are more willing to spend on pricey entrees and alcoholic drinks than they had been over recent quarters, executives said.Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.5%, despite a 1% rise in its menu prices compared with the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates. Last quarter, Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.8%, driven by a pullback from low-income consumers.Darden's fine-dining restaurants, which include The Capital Grille and Eddie V's, saw their same-store sales shrink 2.6% in the quarter. That division now includes Ruth's Chris, but those same-store results won't be included in the category total until the second quarter of fiscal 2025.LongHorn Steakhouse, which is overtaking Olive Garden as the gem of Darden's portfolio, was the only segment to report same-store sales growth. The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter.Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.Excluding costs related to the company's Ruth's Chris Steak House acquisition and other items, the company earned $2.65 per share.Net sales rose 6.8% to $2.96 billion, fueled by its purchase of Ruth's Chris and 37 other net new locations.Looking to fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting earnings per share from continuing operations of $9.40 to $9.60, in line with Wall Street's expectations of $9.55 per share. The company is also anticipating net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion, on the low end of analysts' expectations of $11.94 billion.Darden is projecting total inflation of 3% and same-store sales growth of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2025. CFO Raj Vennam said the company expects that traffic will improve as the year progresses. Darden expects to raise prices about 2% to 3%, mirroring overall inflation, according to Vennam.""We feel like we've done a lot of work to keep prices low, and we're going to continue to do that,"" he said.The company plans to spend $550 million to $600 million on capital expenditures.",CNBC,20/06/2024,"[""In this articleDarden Restaurants on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as Olive Garden's same-store sales fell for the second consecutive quarter."", 'The company has faced a ""consistently weaker consumer environment,"" as well as increased discounting and marketing pressure from its rivals, CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company\'s conference call.', 'For fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting that its same-store sales will grow just 1% to 2%.Shares of the company rose less than 1% in morning trading.', ""Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants."", 'Still, executives emphasized that their chains are outperforming the broader casual-dining segment.', '""We\'re not going to do things to buy sales, even with the increased discounting our competitors are doing. …', 'Our focus is on profitable sales growth,"" Cardenas said.', 'He added that consumers are concerned about inflation — and growing more anxious about the job market.', 'Still, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse diners are more willing to spend on pricey entrees and alcoholic drinks than they had been over recent quarters, executives said.', ""Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.5%, despite a 1% rise in its menu prices compared with the year-ago period."", 'Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates.', ""Last quarter, Olive Garden's same-store sales fell 1.8%, driven by a pullback from low-income consumers."", ""Darden's fine-dining restaurants, which include The Capital Grille and Eddie V's, saw their same-store sales shrink 2.6% in the quarter."", ""That division now includes Ruth's Chris, but those same-store results won't be included in the category total until the second quarter of fiscal 2025.LongHorn Steakhouse, which is overtaking Olive Garden as the gem of Darden's portfolio, was the only segment to report same-store sales growth."", ""The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter."", 'Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.', ""Excluding costs related to the company's Ruth's Chris Steak House acquisition and other items, the company earned $2.65 per share."", ""Net salesrose 6.8% to $2.96 billion, fueled by its purchase of Ruth's Chris and 37 other net new locations."", ""Looking to fiscal 2025, Darden is forecasting earnings per share from continuing operations of $9.40 to $9.60, in line with Wall Street's expectations of $9.55 per share."", ""The company is also anticipating net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion, on the low end of analysts' expectations of $11.94 billion."", 'Darden is projecting total inflation of 3% and same-store sales growth of 1% to 2% in fiscal 2025.', 'CFO Raj Vennam said the company expects that traffic will improve as the year progresses.', 'Darden expects to raise prices about 2% to 3%, mirroring overall inflation, according to Vennam.', '""We feel like we\'ve done a lot of work to keep prices low, and we\'re going to continue to do that,"" he said.', 'The company plans to spend $550 million to $600 million on capital expenditures.']",0.1442981479384051,"Analysts were expecting the Italian-inspired chain to report flat same-store sales growth, according to StreetAccount estimates.","Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended May 26, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Darden's overall same-store sales were flat for the quarter, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at Olive Garden and its fine-dining restaurants.",0.1420286723545619,The chain's same-store sales rose 4% in the quarter.,"Darden reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share, down from $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.",2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +AI is replacing human tasks faster than you think,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/ai-jobs-workers-replacing/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Corporate America is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to automate work once exclusively done by humans. + + More than half (61%) of large US firms plan to use AI within the next year to automate tasks previously done by employees, according to a survey of finance chiefs released Thursday. + + Those tasks include everything from paying suppliers and doing invoices to financial reporting, said the survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond. + + That’s in addition to creative tasks for which some businesses are already relying on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to assist, including crafting job posts, writing press releases and building marketing campaigns. + + The findings show companies are increasingly turning to AI to cut costs, boost profits and make their workers more productive. + + “You can’t be running an innovative company without seriously considering these technologies. You run the risk of being left behind,” Duke finance professor John Graham, academic director of the survey, told CNN in a phone interview. + + The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke and the Atlanta and Richmond Fed banks, found that nearly one in three (32%) firms — large or small — plan to use AI in the next year to complete tasks once done by humans. + + Some of this is already happening — especially among larger firms that have the financial firepower to experiment with AI. + + Nearly 60% of all companies (and 84% of large companies) surveyed said that over the past year they have already leaned on software, equipment or technology including AI to automate tasks employees previously did. The survey was conducted between May 13 and June 3. + + Bosses are turning to AI for a variety of reasons, including to trim what they are spending on human workers. + + The CFO Survey found that companies say they are using automation to increase product quality (58% of firms); increase output (49%), reduce labor costs (47%) and substitute for workers (33%). + + Still, the good news for workers is that some experts don’t believe AI will cause mass job loss, at least not right away. + + “I don’t think there will be a lot of job loss in the year,” said Graham. “In the short run, this will be more about plugging some holes and possibly not hiring someone they would have otherwise — but not laying someone off. In part that’s because this is all-brand new.” + + Yet workers will feel the impact of AI adoption, if they aren’t already. + + “This could give humans more time to prioritize what is most important and rewarding,” said Graham. + + Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and co-founder of LinkedIn, told CNN that AI will likely disrupt some jobs but not in the immediate future. + + “Years, not decades, but years, not months,” Hoffman said, referring to the timing of AI displacing humans. “I believe in three to five years, we’ll all have kind of an agent co-pilot that’s helping us with anything from how we cook dinner…to doing your job and writing and so forth.” + + Hoffman, who last year wrote a book called “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI” with the assistance from ChatGPT-4, stressed that for a number of years it will be a co-pilot, not a pilot. + + “It’s job transformation. Human jobs will be replaced — but will be replaced by other humans using AI,” he said. “The whole ideas is to be the human who is using AI, to learn it, to do it, to make it happen.” + + For now, bosses and employees remain concerned about the cost of living and inflationary pressures. + + The CFO Survey found that inflation is the No. 2 concern for the next year among US chief financial officers – behind only the related concern of interest rates and monetary policy. + + Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace. + + However, there was a divergence in the inflation outlook based on technological adoption. The survey found that companies that implemented automation over the past 12 months expect slower price hikes than those that hadn’t. + + Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now. + + “It doesn’t feel like it will be the cure in the next year,” he said. + + The CFO survey shows how fast companies are turning to AI — even as safeguards and regulatory frameworks are still being cobbled together. + + The rapid adoption of AI in some industries like finance has concerned some. + + Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.” + + A report issued last week by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, found that exiting regulation “insufficiently addresses” how hedge funds are already using AI. + + The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.” + + Graham, the Duke professor, said it would be wise for companies in all industries to have strong risk management systems and redundancies in place as they experiment with AI. + + “There has been rapid adoption of AI,” he said. “I hope it’s being done with a grain of salt. There will be some situations where companies have embarrassing products or supply chain situations because they moved a little too fast.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Corporate America is rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to automate work once exclusively done by humans.', 'More than half (61%) of large US firms plan to use AI within the next year to automate tasks previously done by employees, according to a survey of finance chiefs released Thursday.', 'Those tasks include everything from paying suppliers and doing invoices to financial reporting, said the survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond.', 'That’s in addition to creative tasks for which some businesses are already relying on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to assist, including crafting job posts, writing press releases and building marketing campaigns.', 'The findings show companies are increasingly turning to AI to cut costs, boost profits and make their workers more productive.', '“You can’t be running an innovative company without seriously considering these technologies.', 'You run the risk of being left behind,” Duke finance professor John Graham, academic director of the survey, told CNN in a phone interview.', 'The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke and the Atlanta and Richmond Fed banks, found that nearly one in three (32%) firms — large or small — plan to use AI in the next year to complete tasks once done by humans.', 'Some of this is already happening — especially among larger firms that have the financial firepower to experiment with AI.', 'Nearly 60% of all companies (and 84% of large companies) surveyed said that over the past year they have already leaned on software, equipment or technology including AI to automate tasks employees previously did.', 'The survey was conducted between May 13 and June 3.', 'Bosses are turning to AI for a variety of reasons, including to trim what they are spending on human workers.', 'The CFO Survey found that companies say they are using automation to increase product quality (58% of firms); increase output (49%), reduce labor costs (47%) and substitute for workers (33%).', 'Still, the good news for workers is that some experts don’t believe AI will cause mass job loss, at least not right away.', '“I don’t think there will be a lot of job loss in the year,” said Graham. “', 'In the short run, this will be more about plugging some holes and possibly not hiring someone they would have otherwise — but not laying someone off.', 'In part that’s because this is all-brand new.”', 'Yet workers will feel the impact of AI adoption, if they aren’t already.', '“This could give humans more time to prioritize what is most important and rewarding,” said Graham.', 'Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and co-founder of LinkedIn, told CNN that AI will likely disrupt some jobs but not in the immediate future.', '“Years, not decades, but years, not months,” Hoffman said, referring to the timing of AI displacing humans. “', 'I believe in three to five years, we’ll all have kind of an agent co-pilot that’s helping us with anything from how we cook dinner…to doing your job and writing and so forth.”', 'Hoffman, who last year wrote a book called “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI” with the assistance from ChatGPT-4, stressed that for a number of years it will be a co-pilot, not a pilot.', '“It’s job transformation.', 'Human jobs will be replaced — but will be replaced by other humans using AI,” he said. “', 'The whole ideas is to be the human who is using AI, to learn it, to do it, to make it happen.”', 'For now, bosses and employees remain concerned about the cost of living and inflationary pressures.', 'The CFO Survey found that inflation is the No.', '2 concern for the next year among US chief financial officers – behind only the related concern of interest rates and monetary policy.', 'Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace.', 'However, there was a divergence in the inflation outlook based on technological adoption.', 'The survey found that companies that implemented automation over the past 12 months expect slower price hikes than those that hadn’t.', 'Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now.', '“It doesn’t feel like it will be the cure in the next year,” he said.', 'The CFO survey shows how fast companies are turning to AI — even as safeguards and regulatory frameworks are still being cobbled together.', 'The rapid adoption of AI in some industries like finance has concerned some.', 'Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.”', 'A report issued last week by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, found that exiting regulation “insufficiently addresses” how hedge funds are already using AI.', 'The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.”', 'Graham, the Duke professor, said it would be wise for companies in all industries to have strong risk management systems and redundancies in place as they experiment with AI.', '“There has been rapid adoption of AI,” he said. “', 'I hope it’s being done with a grain of salt.', 'There will be some situations where companies have embarrassing products or supply chain situations because they moved a little too fast.”']",0.142277606925291,"Graham, the Duke professor, said that AI could eventually help moderate price increases but isn’t optimistic it will be a major force to easing inflation right now.","The report warned that there are “no regulations or requirements” mandating “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions.”",0.1856903714292189,Most CFOs (57%) expect the price of their products to increase this year at a faster-than-normal pace.,Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a speech earlier this month that the use of AI by financial companies poses both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.”,2024-06-20 +Tasmania entices tourists with 'odd jobs' offer,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv22jzgy01lo,2024-06-19T17:28:51.254Z,"Tasmania has launched a tongue-in-cheek ""odd jobs"" initiative to boost tourism during its winter months. The Australian island state is offering people the opportunity to swap the ""daily grind"" of their job for an unusual temporary role during the off-season. Paranormal investigator, wombat walker and stargazer are among the 10 jobs being advertised. While the positions are unpaid, successful applicants will have all their expenses - including travel, food and hotels - covered by the Tasmanian tourist board. The paranormal investigator role is voluntary and just for one day, Tourism Tasmania said. It is open to those with an interest in ""history and mystery"" and involves picking up on paranormal activity using ""the latest ghost-hunting equipment"" at Willow Court, one of Australia's oldest asylums. Another role is as an ""oyster organiser"", which entails sorting, cleaning and categorising oysters freshly harvested from Great Oyster Bay. Importantly, there will also be opportunities to ""taste-test"" the oysters - though according to Tourism Tasmania, this is ""purely for quality control"". Train enthusiasts are invited to apply for the ""puffer nut"" role, another one-day job in which the applicant will join the crew on the Lynchford Express steam train as it travels along the Tasmanian west coast. Also being sought are stargazers interested in joining Tasmania's Astronomical Society for a night to observe the skies. There are also jobs for truffle hunters, ""wine whisperers"" and wombat walkers willing to take the marsupials ""on their morning waddle"". Tourism Tasmania says that 1.25 million people visited the island last year - more than the previous year, but still shy of the 1.35 million visitors in 2019, before the pandemic. Winter runs from May to August in Tasmania, where temperatures typically fall between 3-11C, Tourism Tasmania said. “As temperatures drop during winter, we know Australians are seeking a well-being boost and a break from the daily grind,” Lindene Cleary, the authority's chief marketing officer told local media. Only adult residents currently living in Australia are eligible to apply for the roles, and must explain why they want to swap their day jobs for one of the ""odd jobs"" in under 50 words. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['Tasmania has launched a tongue-in-cheek ""odd jobs"" initiative to boost tourism during its winter months.', 'The Australian island state is offering people the opportunity to swap the ""daily grind"" of their job for an unusual temporary role during the off-season.', 'Paranormal investigator, wombat walker and stargazer are among the 10 jobs being advertised.', 'While the positions are unpaid, successful applicants will have all their expenses - including travel, food and hotels - covered by the Tasmanian tourist board.', 'The paranormal investigator role is voluntary and just for one day, Tourism Tasmania said.', 'It is open to those with an interest in ""history and mystery"" and involves picking up on paranormal activity using ""the latest ghost-hunting equipment"" at Willow Court, one of Australia\'s oldest asylums.', 'Another role is as an ""oyster organiser"", which entails sorting, cleaning and categorising oysters freshly harvested from Great Oyster Bay.', 'Importantly, there will also be opportunities to ""taste-test"" the oysters - though according to Tourism Tasmania, this is ""purely for quality control"".', 'Train enthusiasts are invited to apply for the ""puffer nut"" role, another one-day job in which the applicant will join the crew on the Lynchford Express steam train as it travels along the Tasmanian west coast.', ""Also being sought are stargazers interested in joining Tasmania's Astronomical Society for a night to observe the skies."", 'There are also jobs for truffle hunters, ""wine whisperers"" and wombat walkers willing to take the marsupials ""on their morning waddle"".', 'Tourism Tasmania says that 1.25 million people visited the island last year - more than the previous year, but still shy of the 1.35 million visitors in 2019, before the pandemic.', 'Winter runs from May to August in Tasmania, where temperatures typically fall between 3-11C, Tourism Tasmania said. “', ""As temperatures drop during winter, we know Australians are seeking a well-being boost and a break from the daily grind,” Lindene Cleary, the authority's chief marketing officer told local media."", 'Only adult residents currently living in Australia are eligible to apply for the roles, and must explain why they want to swap their day jobs for one of the ""odd jobs"" in under 50 words.']",0.2295190345248329,"Another role is as an ""oyster organiser"", which entails sorting, cleaning and categorising oysters freshly harvested from Great Oyster Bay.","Tourism Tasmania says that 1.25 million people visited the island last year - more than the previous year, but still shy of the 1.35 million visitors in 2019, before the pandemic.",0.9964063763618468,"As temperatures drop during winter, we know Australians are seeking a well-being boost and a break from the daily grind,” Lindene Cleary, the authority's chief marketing officer told local media.",,2024-06-20 +"Investigation underway into rare, unsafe airliner roll experienced by a Boeing 737 Max",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/14/business/boeing-737-max-dutch-roll-investigation/index.html," + Updated + 3:46 PM EDT, Fri June 14, 2024 + ","Federal authorities and Boeing are trying to figure out why a 737 Max 8 experienced a rare, unsafe back-and-forth roll during flight. + + The oscillating motion is known as a Dutch roll, and one characteristic described by the Federal Aviation Administration is the nose of an aircraft making a figure-eight. + + There were no injuries onboard Southwest Airlines flight 746 on May 25, according to the airline and a preliminary report by the FAA. The report said the crew “regained control,” and the plane safely landed. + + But the aircraft suffered “substantial” damage and the FAA classified the incident as an “accident.” The FAA report said an inspection “revealed damage to the standby PCU,” or power control unit, which controls the rudder. + + It is unclear if the damaged unit led to or was a result of the roll. + + The plane has not flown since landing in Oakland, California after the incident, except to move it to a Boeing facility in Washington state. Boeing did not immediately comment to CNN. + + Southwest told CNN it referred the incident to the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board and is participating in and supporting the investigation. + + The incident occurred almost three weeks ago and was added to a FAA database this week. There were 175 passengers and six crew onboard, according to the airline. + + The NTSB confirmed it has opened an investigation into this incident. Investigators have downloaded data from the flight data recorder, which “will aid investigators in determining the length and severity of the event.” + + Voice recordings from the voice data recorder – the other of the so-called black boxes - were overwritten. + + In February, the FAA required airlines flying some 737 Max 8 and similar aircraft to inspect the rudder assembly for loose or missing nut, washer and bolt. It said the flaw would prevent the pilots from controlling the rudder using foot pedals. Authorities have not said if this condition and the Dutch roll last month are related. + + Most passengers have never felt a plane make this movement — and most airline pilots have never experienced it in actual flight. + + “It’s very obscure,” aviation safety analyst and former airline pilot Kathleen Bangs told CNN. “It’s a very uncomfortable movement and you feel the tail swinging around.” + + While moving forward in flight, airplanes can pivot along three axis: Nose up and down, known as pitch; wings dipping down or raising up, known as roll; and the tail shifting left or right, known as yaw. + + Airliners turn using a typically seamless combination of roll and yaw coordinated by the aircraft’s computers. These large aircraft also have yaw dampers that make small adjustments throughout flight. + + In the Dutch roll, the plane both rolls and yaws excessively. Passengers would feel the plane shift to one side, and back to the other — moving back and forth, Bangs said. + + She said airline pilots train for scenarios where their yaw dampers fail. They could take an aircraft simulator to a high altitude and turn off the yaw damper. + + “Then you stomp on a rudder pedal really hard to try to initiate [the roll] in the simulator,” Bangs said. + + To get out of a Dutch roll, pilots can slow the aircraft and descend to thicker air. Modern airliners are designed to be inherently stable in air, she said, so the plane may return to level flight with minimal additional input. + + But the forces can be powerful. In 1959, four of the eight occupants on a Boeing 707 test and training flight were killed just outside of Washington, DC, after extremely steep Dutch rolls. + + “The aircraft immediately yawed and rolled violently to the right,” reads a report from the Civil Aeronautics Board, which investigated the incident. “Several gyrations followed and after control of the aircraft was regained, it was determined that three of the four engines had separated from the aircraft and it was on fire.”",CNN,14/06/2024,"['Federal authorities and Boeing are trying to figure out why a 737 Max 8 experienced a rare, unsafe back-and-forth roll during flight.', 'The oscillating motion is known as a Dutch roll, and one characteristic described by the Federal Aviation Administration is the nose of an aircraft making a figure-eight.', 'There were no injuries onboard Southwest Airlines flight 746 on May 25, according to the airline and a preliminary report by the FAA.', 'The report said the crew “regained control,” and the plane safely landed.', 'But the aircraft suffered “substantial” damage and the FAA classified the incident as an “accident.”', 'The FAA report said an inspection “revealed damage to the standby PCU,” or power control unit, which controls the rudder.', 'It is unclear if the damaged unit led to or was a result of the roll.', 'The plane has not flown since landing in Oakland, California after the incident, except to move it to a Boeing facility in Washington state.', 'Boeing did not immediately comment to CNN.', 'Southwest told CNN it referred the incident to the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board and is participating in and supporting the investigation.', 'The incident occurred almost three weeks ago and was added to a FAA database this week.', 'There were 175 passengers and six crew onboard, according to the airline.', 'The NTSB confirmed it has opened an investigation into this incident.', 'Investigators have downloaded data from the flight data recorder, which “will aid investigators in determining the length and severity of the event.”', 'Voice recordings from the voice data recorder – the other of the so-called black boxes - were overwritten.', 'In February, the FAA required airlines flying some 737 Max 8 and similar aircraft to inspect the rudder assembly for loose or missing nut, washer and bolt.', 'It said the flaw would prevent the pilots from controlling the rudder using foot pedals.', 'Authorities have not said if this condition and the Dutch roll last month are related.', 'Most passengers have never felt a plane make this movement — and most airline pilots have never experienced it in actual flight.', '“It’s very obscure,” aviation safety analyst and former airline pilot Kathleen Bangs told CNN.“It’s a very uncomfortable movement and you feel the tail swinging around.”', 'While moving forward in flight, airplanes can pivot along three axis:Nose up and down, known as pitch; wings dipping down or raising up, known as roll;and the tail shifting left or right, known as yaw.', 'Airliners turn using a typically seamless combination of roll and yaw coordinated by the aircraft’s computers.', 'These large aircraft also have yaw dampers that make small adjustments throughout flight.', 'In the Dutch roll, the plane both rolls and yaws excessively.', 'Passengers would feel the plane shift to one side, and back to the other — moving back and forth, Bangs said.', 'She said airline pilots train for scenarios where their yaw dampers fail.', 'They could take an aircraft simulator to a high altitude and turn off the yaw damper.', '“Then you stomp on a rudder pedal really hard to try to initiate [the roll] in the simulator,” Bangs said.', 'To get out of a Dutch roll, pilots can slow the aircraft and descend to thicker air.', 'Modern airliners are designed to be inherently stable in air, she said, so the plane may return to level flight with minimal additional input.', 'But the forces can be powerful.', 'In 1959, four of the eight occupants on a Boeing 707 test and training flight were killed just outside of Washington, DC, after extremely steep Dutch rolls.', '“The aircraft immediately yawed and rolled violently to the right,” reads a report from the Civil Aeronautics Board, which investigated the incident. “', 'Several gyrations followed and after control of the aircraft was regained, it was determined that three of the four engines had separated from the aircraft and it was on fire.”']",-0.0812634494333823,Southwest told CNN it referred the incident to the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board and is participating in and supporting the investigation.,But the aircraft suffered “substantial” damage and the FAA classified the incident as an “accident.”,-0.9796725809574128,,"Federal authorities and Boeing are trying to figure out why a 737 Max 8 experienced a rare, unsafe back-and-forth roll during flight.",2024-06-20 +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.,2024-06-20 +"Bezos' Blue Origin joins SpaceX, ULA in winning bids for $5.6 billion Pentagon rocket program",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/pentagon-picks-blue-origin-spacex-ula-in-5point6-billion-rocket-program.html,2024-06-14T11:37:37+0000,"In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time.Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts. Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.Space Force outlined a ""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launches from companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time."", ""Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program."", ""Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program."", 'Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.', 'Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts.', 'Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.', 'Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that']",0.2602735573621667,Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.,"Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",0.8293253978093466,"Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.",,2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +"At Stellantis investor day, cost cuts and China come into focus",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/stellantis-investor-day-wall-street-expectations.html,2024-06-12T16:29:01+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission. That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors.How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday.Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually. It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule.More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.""We've been cutting headcounts, but we really don't need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done.""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we'll see."" He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.""There is no silver bullet here. You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""This is no surprise. You can check my comments for the last five years. I've been running the same stuff for five years.""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company's Thursday capital markets day.Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight.""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we're leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns.""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China.At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days.Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No. 1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy. That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor.""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed. We don't expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March. GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission.', ""That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors."", ""How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday."", ""Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually."", ""It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule."", 'More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.', '""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', ""The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions."", 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', ""Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it\'s optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.', 'Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.', '""We\'ve been cutting headcounts, but we really don\'t need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""', ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done."", '""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we\'ll see.""', 'He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.', '""There is no silver bullet here.', 'You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""', 'This is no surprise.', 'You can check my comments for the last five years.', ""I've been running the same stuff for five years."", '""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company\'s Thursday capital markets day.', ""Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight."", '""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we\'re leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""', ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns."", '""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.', ""Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China."", ""At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.', 'Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No.', '1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy.', ""That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor."", '""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed.', 'We don\'t expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.', ""Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor."", ""Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March."", 'GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.', 'RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.', 'Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.—', ""CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.""]",0.1316323402178248,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.","Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.",0.520694066177715,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.",Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.,2024-06-20 +Servers for GameStop annual shareholder meeting crash due to overwhelming interest,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/gamestop-annual-shareholder-meeting-2024-servers-crash.html,2024-06-14T12:23:03+0000,"In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream. The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event. The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday. GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment.When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts. They added that ComputerShare's tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes."" The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years. Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.GameStop announced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally. GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock.In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns. Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period. They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream."", ""The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event."", 'The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.', 'It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday.', ""GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment."", 'When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.', ""The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts."", 'They added that ComputerShare\'s tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes.', '""The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years.', 'Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.', 'GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.', 'GameStopannounced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally.', 'GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.', ""Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock."", 'In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns.', 'Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period.', 'They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.', 'GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.', 'The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.', 'It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.', ""Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.""]",0.1013017582753665,"Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.","The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event.",-0.2003346773294302,GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.,"The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.",2024-06-20 +Fisker recalls thousands of Ocean EVs for safety and compliance issues,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/fisker-recalls-thousands-of-ocean-evs-for-safety-and-compliance-issues.html,2024-06-12T17:52:33+0000,"In this articleElectric vehicle startup Fisker announced on Wednesday that it is recalling thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software and will roll out an over-the-air software update.The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues. The affected vehicles potentially had issues with the Motor Control Unit and Vehicle Control Unit software, which could make the vehicle lose motor power, the company said in a press release.Fisker also recalled 6,864 Oceans in the U.S. and 281 in Canada for compliance reasons. The company said the vehicles do not currently comply with federal vehicle safety standards related to gauges and telltale icons in the cluster display.Fisker said that vehicles updated to OS 2.1 are not impacted by the recall. Fisker anticipates completing the software update process by June 30, 2024. The recalls come after months of setbacks for Fisker. Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand. Fisker's struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup's shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels. In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. auto safety regulator opened an investigation into the 2023 Ocean due to complaints over the vehicles' doors failing to open. This marked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's third probe into Fisker — additional investigations are open due to issues with the 2023 Ocean's brakes and unintended vehicle movement.Fisker delivered 4,929 Oceans in 2023, the company said in February when announcing its full-year financial results, the most recent report available. The company said it expected to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 vehicles in 2024.The company said it informed its dealers of the recalls on May 30 and will notify owners by June 30.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleElectric vehicle startup Fisker announced on Wednesday that it is recalling thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software and will roll out an over-the-air software update.', 'The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues.', 'The affected vehicles potentially had issues with the Motor Control Unit and Vehicle Control Unit software, which could make the vehicle lose motor power, the company said in a press release.', 'Fisker also recalled 6,864 Oceans in the U.S. and 281 in Canada for compliance reasons.', 'The company said the vehicles do not currently comply with federal vehicle safety standards related to gauges and telltale icons in the cluster display.', 'Fisker said that vehicles updated to OS 2.1 are not impacted by the recall.', 'Fisker anticipates completing the software update process by June 30, 2024.The recalls come after months of setbacks for Fisker.', 'Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand.', 'Fisker\'s struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup\'s shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels.', ""In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. auto safety regulator opened an investigation into the 2023 Ocean due to complaints over the vehicles' doors failing to open."", ""This marked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's third probe into Fisker — additional investigations are open due to issues with the 2023 Ocean's brakes and unintended vehicle movement."", 'Fisker delivered 4,929 Oceans in 2023, the company said in February when announcing its full-year financial results, the most recent report available.', 'The company said it expected to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 vehicles in 2024.The company said it informed its dealers of the recalls on May 30 and will notify owners by June 30.']",0.0060538940872337,"The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues.","Fisker's struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup's shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels.",-0.9712965488433838,,Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand.,2024-06-20 +Sen. Warren warns Powell against weakening banking regulations: ‘Do your job’,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/sen-elizabeth-warren-powell-basel-iii-endgame.html,2024-06-18T13:43:04+0000,"Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold.In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending. The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry's campaign against the rules. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month. The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon's bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.When asked for a response to Warren's letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold."", 'In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.', '""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.', 'Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending.', 'The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.', '""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.', 'Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.', 'In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry\'s campaign against the rules.', 'JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.', '""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry\'s bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""', 'Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.', '""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.', '""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month.', 'The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.', '""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon\'s bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.', 'When asked for a response to Warren\'s letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""']",-0.1466458510797449,Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.,"""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.",-0.6343785747885704,"""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""","""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.",2024-06-20 +Top BofA auto analyst says Detroit automakers need to exit China as soon as possible,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/detroit-automakers-need-to-exit-china-bofa-analyst-says-.html,2024-06-18T19:09:51+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America's top automotive analyst said Tuesday.The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports.Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit. He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.""It's a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003. GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings.GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China. President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America\'s top automotive analyst said Tuesday.', ""The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports."", 'Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.', '""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA\'s annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.', 'He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.', '""It\'s a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.', ""GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003."", ""GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings."", 'GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.', ""There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China."", 'President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.', ""While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla."", 'Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""']",0.0208599936010307,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.",-0.0051125437021255,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003.",2024-06-20 +Southwest CEO vows change as activist investor pushes for new leadership,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/southwest-ceo-vows-change-amid-activist-pressure.html,2024-06-12T16:53:03+0000,"In this articleSouthwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company is ready to adapt to changing customer trends like premium seating as pressure from an activist investor mounts.""We will adapt as our customers' needs adapt,"" Jordan said at an industry event hosted by Politico on Wednesday.Jordan's comments came two days after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and said the carrier needs a new CEO and new chairman.In April, Jordan told investors that the airline is considering major changes to its product, potentially ditching its system of unassigned seating that has made the Dallas-based carrier a standout among airlines, and even reevaluating its single class of service.Jordan reiterated those considerations Wednesday, saying that the airline, which started flying in 1971 and now carries more passengers in the United States than any other, is in its ""third generation."" He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.Elliott didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Jordan's remarks on Wednesday.Southwest on Monday said in response to the activist campaign that its board backed the company's leaders and the airline's strategy, while it will also ""look forward to further conversations with Elliott.""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises. The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.Southwest had also taken months to find its footing after a year-end holiday meltdown in 2022 cost it more than $1 billion. The company later acknowledged its technology couldn't handle the hundreds of flight and crew changes triggered by a winter storm, prompting it to quickly upgrade its system.Meanwhile, Jordan said Southwest has continued to work toward improving the customer experience. It's upgraded its inflight Wi-Fi and added power outlets on its fleet of Boeing 737s in recent years.""I think customer preference is going beyond that,"" Jordan said Wednesday. The carrier has spent months surveying customers to figure out what changes are needed, he added.""It's been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preferences and expectations change over time,"" an airline spokeswoman told CNBC. ""We are also studying the operational and financial benefits of any potential change.""— CNBC's Rohan Goswami contributed to this article.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleSouthwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company is ready to adapt to changing customer trends like premium seating as pressure from an activist investor mounts.', '""We will adapt as our customers\' needs adapt,"" Jordan said at an industry event hosted by Politico on Wednesday.', ""Jordan's comments came two days after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and said the carrier needs a new CEO and new chairman."", 'In April, Jordan told investors that the airline is considering major changes to its product, potentially ditching its system of unassigned seating that has made the Dallas-based carrier a standout among airlines, and even reevaluating its single class of service.', 'Jordan reiterated those considerations Wednesday, saying that the airline, which started flying in 1971 and now carries more passengers in the United States than any other, is in its ""third generation.""', ""He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks."", ""Elliott didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Jordan's remarks on Wednesday."", 'Southwest on Monday said in response to the activist campaign that its board backed the company\'s leaders and the airline\'s strategy, while it will also ""look forward to further conversations with Elliott.', '""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises.', 'The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.', 'Southwest had also taken months to find its footing after a year-end holiday meltdown in 2022 cost it more than $1 billion.', ""The company later acknowledged its technology couldn't handle the hundreds of flight and crew changes triggered by a winter storm, prompting it to quickly upgrade its system."", 'Meanwhile, Jordan said Southwest has continued to work toward improving the customer experience.', ""It's upgraded its inflight Wi-Fi and added power outlets on its fleet of Boeing 737s in recent years."", '""I think customer preference is going beyond that,"" Jordan said Wednesday.', 'The carrier has spent months surveying customers to figure out what changes are needed, he added.', '""It\'s been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preferences and expectations change over time,"" an airline spokeswoman told CNBC. ""', 'We are also studying the operational and financial benefits of any potential change.""—', ""CNBC's Rohan Goswami contributed to this article.""]",0.1227597138954453,"He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.","""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises.",-0.1408947110176086,"He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.","The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.",2024-06-20 +Robotics startup cofounded by Synapse CEO is raising funds with exaggerated claims about GM ties,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/robotics-startup-synapse-ceo-exaggerated-gm-claims.html,2024-06-13T19:13:42+0000,"In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC. The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process. We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.""But, according to GM and one of the startup's founders, most of Foundation's claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman.""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company. Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation's cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM's points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.""The engineering stuff we've done is really incredible, and it's the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company's fundraising pitch.It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients. The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment.The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks.Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform. Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings.Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.', 'The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC.', 'The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.', '""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.', ""On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots."", '""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""', 'Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process.', 'We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.', '""But, according to GM and one of the startup\'s founders, most of Foundation\'s claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.', ""While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman."", '""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""', 'In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company.', 'Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.', '""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation\'s cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM\'s points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.', '""The engineering stuff we\'ve done is really incredible, and it\'s the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""', 'That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.', '""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company\'s fundraising pitch.', ""It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey."", 'The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients.', 'The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.', ""Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment."", ""The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks."", 'Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform.', 'Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.', ""The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings."", 'Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.', ""Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.""]",-0.0501589084925131,"On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.",In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.,-0.5666174769401551,"It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.","Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.",2024-06-20 +Alfa Bank: US-sanctioned Russian banking giant expands in China,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/russia-alfa-bank-china-expansion-intl-hnk/index.html," + Updated + 4:27 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Battered by Western sanctions, Russia’s largest privately owned bank is expanding its business in the world’s second-largest economy. + + Alfa Bank, controlled by sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, has launched a website and support service in Chinese for businesses in the country, it said in a statement earlier this week. + + The bank is also planning to open branches in Beijing and Shanghai, it noted in the statement issued Tuesday. That would make the lender the first private Russian bank to open full-service branches in the two major Chinese cities. The move, which was announced in September, could help Russian clients do business with China “even more efficiently,” it said at the time. + + CNN has requested further comment from the bank but hasn’t received a response. + + “Developing relations with China is one of the most important areas of work for the bank,” the lender had said in a statement in February. + + The bank is part of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest financial and investment conglomerates, which was founded by Fridman. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on the group and individuals linked to it, as part of their sweeping punitive measures against Moscow. + + The sanctions hit Russian banks hard. Alfa Bank made a loss of 117.1 billion rubles ($1.44 billion) in 2022, according to its annual report for that year. A year later, it seemed to bounce back, reporting profit of 120.9 billion rubles ($1.4 billion) for 2023. + + China claims to be neutral on the war but has increased ties with Russia on many fronts. Last year, its trade with Russia hit a record $240.1 billion, up 26% from 2022, according to Chinese customs statistics. + + The two countries have also reduced their dependence on the US dollar, with about 95% of mutual payments made in Russian rubles or Chinese yuan last year, according to comments by a top Russian official during his visit to Beijing in November. + + Last week, at the Group of Seven summit in Italy, the US and its allies accused China of enabling Russia’s war. G7 leaders also threatened further action, including sanctions, to punish Chinese entities that they say are helping Russia circumvent Western embargoes. + + In the Tuesday statement, Alfa Bank said it was already working with “thousands” of Chinese companies and had received a solid rating from a major Chinese credit rating agency. The Hong Kong Equity Investment Association had also recognized the bank as the “most technologically advanced” lender, it added.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Battered by Western sanctions, Russia’s largest privately owned bank is expanding its business in the world’s second-largest economy.', 'Alfa Bank, controlled by sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, has launched a website and support service in Chinese for businesses in the country, it said in a statement earlier this week.', 'The bank is also planning to open branches in Beijing and Shanghai, it noted in the statement issued Tuesday.', 'That would make the lender the first private Russian bank to open full-service branches in the two major Chinese cities.', 'The move, which was announced in September, could help Russian clients do business with China “even more efficiently,” it said at the time.', 'CNN has requested further comment from the bank but hasn’t received a response.', '“Developing relations with China is one of the most important areas of work for the bank,” the lender had said in a statement in February.', 'The bank is part of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest financial and investment conglomerates, which was founded by Fridman.', 'Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on the group and individuals linked to it, as part of their sweeping punitive measures against Moscow.', 'The sanctions hit Russian banks hard.', 'Alfa Bank made a loss of 117.1 billion rubles ($1.44 billion) in 2022, according to its annual report for that year.', 'A year later, it seemed to bounce back, reporting profit of 120.9 billion rubles ($1.4 billion) for 2023.', 'China claims to be neutral on the war but has increased ties with Russia on many fronts.', 'Last year, its trade with Russia hit a record $240.1 billion, up 26% from 2022, according to Chinese customs statistics.', 'The two countries have also reduced their dependence on the US dollar, with about 95% of mutual payments made in Russian rubles or Chinese yuan last year, according to comments by a top Russian official during his visit to Beijing in November.', 'Last week, at the Group of Seven summit in Italy, the US and its allies accused China of enabling Russia’s war.', 'G7 leaders also threatened further action, including sanctions, to punish Chinese entities that they say are helping Russia circumvent Western embargoes.', 'In the Tuesday statement, Alfa Bank said it was already working with “thousands” of Chinese companies and had received a solid rating from a major Chinese credit rating agency.', 'The Hong Kong Equity Investment Association had also recognized the bank as the “most technologically advanced” lender, it added.']",0.0534319599918419,"The move, which was announced in September, could help Russian clients do business with China “even more efficiently,” it said at the time.","Last week, at the Group of Seven summit in Italy, the US and its allies accused China of enabling Russia’s war.",0.3737639188766479,"Last year, its trade with Russia hit a record $240.1 billion, up 26% from 2022, according to Chinese customs statistics.","Alfa Bank made a loss of 117.1 billion rubles ($1.44 billion) in 2022, according to its annual report for that year.",2024-06-20 +‘Just too burnt out’: Child care crisis crunches providers,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/15/business/child-care-crisis-providers/index.html," + Published + 9:00 AM EDT, Sat June 15, 2024 + ","For the past eight years in the small city of Waupaca, Wisconsin, Susan Elandt has been a fixture for dozens of families — taking care of their children, some as early as 4:45 a.m., so they can get to work. + + “Most of our parents, when they drop off, are like, ‘I could never do what you do,’” Elandt says. “And my response is always, ‘Well, I can’t do what you do either! So I’ll watch your kids and you go do that, because I’m better at this.’” + + Elandt is the owner and operator of My First Adventure Child Care and Preschool — but only for a few more weeks. She announced in May that she’s closing her doors before the end of August. + + “It’s emotionally and physically and mentally demanding,” Elandt says. “There’s not benefits. The pay is not anywhere near what it should be. And we don’t get a lot of professional recognition in the community, either, for the value of the work that we do.” + + Like so many centers around the country, My First Adventure is feeling the squeeze of a child care crisis that’s crippling parents and providers alike. + + Nationwide, the average yearly cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, according to Child Care Aware of America’s latest annual report. Placing two kids at a child care center cost at least 25% more than the typical rent, on average, in every state. And the tab exceeded annual typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia. The report looked at care for an infant and a 4-year-old. + + While the price of keeping children in care is sky-high, the burden of running these centers is equally unsustainable. Running a center comes with a battery of expenses, from hefty insurance policies to “consumables” such as art supplies, books and food. Tight margins don’t leave much room for the biggest cost — staff — which is also Elandt’s biggest challenge. + + “If you were going to pay your teachers what they were worth even based off of basic education and experience, you would need to charge the parents so much that you would have no children in your center, no could parents afford care,” she says. + + The basic costs of employing enough staff to comply with legal and safety requirements in child care centers are already high. The costs are also compounded by the additional expenses of fielding high staff turnover, due in large part to the low wages that these employers can afford to pay. Over the years, Elandt has struggled to keep employees because she can’t compete with what’s offered by local factories or even fast food restaurants. The typical hourly wage for a child care worker in Wisconsin is $13.78, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. + + “It’s very humbling to go to work every day and pass Help Wanted signs at McDonald’s and Hardee’s, and they are paying more money than child care providers can afford to pay their staff,” says Lydia Higgins, a teacher at My First Adventure. + + The child care industry got a brief boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, as federal funding allowed providers to give their staff much-needed raises and bonuses, as well as cover their rent, mortgages and utilities and buy personal protective equipment and other supplies. Elandt was able to bring up her starting salaries from $8 or $9 an hour to $12 and reward more experienced teachers, attracting and retaining enough employees to keep the center open during the depths of the pandemic. + + The historic $24 billion federal investment helped more than 225,000 providers nationwide — or more than 8 in 10 licensed child care centers — and affected as many as 10 million children. But it expired last September, leaving many centers facing what’s been dubbed “the child care cliff.” + + An analysis last year by The Century Foundation projected that more than 70,000 child care programs could close and about 3.2 million children could lose their spots due to the end of the federal child care stabilization grant program, which Congress approved as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Multiple states have beefed up their child care investments in recent years, but it’s generally not enough to keep all providers afloat. + + Elandt has implemented several rate increases for parents in the last year, knowing it would increase their burden. She felt there was no other choice because a return to pre-pandemic salaries would likely mean losing her whole staff. In some cases the higher wages weren’t enough. A few months ago, she says, one of her employees left for a factory: “She needed to make a living.” + + The stresses of managing a tight budget and dealing with staff turnover have taken a toll.Elandt first started thinking seriously about leaving her business two years ago and tried to sell, but no viable option emerged. In May, she made the formal announcement that this summer would be the center’s last. + + The news left families and staff scrambling. Higgins, who is also a parent at My First Adventure, described the moment as “panic.” + + As more and more child care providers and parents find themselves struggling through this crisis, she hopes bigger picture solutions will emerge. + + “It needs to start with an awareness of how critical this crisis is, and not just from the parents that are terrified and suffering through it, but as a whole picture as a whole country,” Higgins said. “I think everybody was really aware during the height of the pandemic, with the critical workers and things like that. I don’t know if that has started to fade out for people.” + + The city of Waupaca is actively trying to help facilitate a sale to keep the facility or re-open it under new ownership. As it stands, My First Adventure is expected to close in July. + + This fall will find Elandt in the public school system, where she’s found joy the past few months working as a substitute teacher. Both she and Higgins say they plan to get more involved in activism to raise the voices of child care workers and fight for better conditions. + + “We are literally shaping tomorrow’s youth,” Higgins says. “I think that needs to start being reflected in compensation and policies and where government funding is being directed.”",CNN,15/06/2024,"['For the past eight years in the small city of Waupaca, Wisconsin, Susan Elandt has been a fixture for dozens of families — taking care of their children, some as early as 4:45 a.m., so they can get to work.', '“Most of our parents, when they drop off, are like, ‘I could never do what you do,’” Elandt says. “', 'And my response is always, ‘Well, I can’t do what you do either!', 'So I’ll watch your kids and you go do that, because I’m better at this.’”', 'Elandt is the owner and operator of My First Adventure Child Care and Preschool — but only for a few more weeks.', 'She announced in May that she’s closing her doors before the end of August.', '“It’s emotionally and physically and mentally demanding,” Elandt says. “', 'There’s not benefits.', 'The pay is not anywhere near what it should be.', 'And we don’t get a lot of professional recognition in the community, either, for the value of the work that we do.”', 'Like so many centers around the country, My First Adventure is feeling the squeeze of a child care crisis that’s crippling parents and providers alike.', 'Nationwide, the average yearly cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, according to Child Care Aware of America’s latestannual report.', 'Placing two kids at a child care center cost at least 25% more than the typical rent, on average, in every state.', 'And the tab exceeded annualtypicalmortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia.', 'The report looked at care for an infant and a 4-year-old.', 'While the price of keeping children in care is sky-high, the burden of running these centers is equally unsustainable.', 'Running a center comes with a battery of expenses, from hefty insurance policies to “consumables” such as art supplies, books and food.', 'Tight margins don’t leave much room for the biggest cost — staff — which is also Elandt’s biggest challenge.', '“If you were going to pay your teachers what they were worth even based off of basic education and experience, you would need to charge the parents so much that you would have no children in your center, no could parents afford care,” she says.', 'The basic costs of employing enough staff to comply with legal and safety requirements in child care centers are already high.', 'The costs are also compounded by the additional expenses of fielding high staff turnover, due in large part to the low wages that these employers can afford to pay.', 'Over the years, Elandt has struggled to keep employees because she can’t compete with what’s offered by local factories or even fast food restaurants.', 'The typical hourly wage for a child care worker in Wisconsin is $13.78, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.', '“It’s very humbling to go to work every day and pass Help Wanted signs at McDonald’s and Hardee’s, and they are paying more money than child care providers can afford to pay their staff,” says Lydia Higgins, a teacher at My First Adventure.', 'The child care industry got a brief boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, as federal funding allowed providers to give their staff much-needed raises and bonuses, as well as cover their rent, mortgages and utilities and buy personal protective equipment and other supplies.', 'Elandt was able to bring up her starting salaries from $8 or $9 an hour to $12 and reward more experienced teachers, attracting and retaining enough employees to keep the center open during the depths of the pandemic.', 'The historic $24 billion federal investment helped more than 225,000 providers nationwide — or more than 8 in 10 licensed child care centers — and affected as many as 10 million children.', 'But it expired last September, leaving many centers facing what’s been dubbed “the child care cliff.”', 'An analysis last year by The Century Foundation projected that more than 70,000 child care programs could close and about 3.2 million children could lose their spots due to the end of the federal child care stabilization grant program, which Congress approved as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.', 'Multiple states have beefed up their child care investments in recent years, but it’s generally not enough to keep all providers afloat.', 'Elandt has implemented several rate increases for parents in the last year, knowing it would increase their burden.', 'She felt there was no other choice because a return to pre-pandemic salaries would likely mean losing her whole staff.', 'In some cases the higher wages weren’t enough.', 'A few months ago, she says, one of her employees left for a factory: “She needed to make a living.”', 'The stresses of managing a tight budget and dealing with staff turnover have taken a toll.', 'Elandt first started thinking seriously about leaving her business two years ago and tried to sell, but no viable option emerged.', 'In May, she made the formal announcement that this summer would be the center’s last.', 'The news left families and staff scrambling.', 'Higgins, who is also a parent at My First Adventure, described the moment as “panic.”', 'As more and more child care providers and parents find themselves struggling through this crisis, she hopes bigger picture solutions will emerge.', '“It needs to start with an awareness of how critical this crisis is, and not just from the parents that are terrified and suffering through it, but as a whole picture as a whole country,” Higgins said. “', 'I think everybody was really aware during the height of the pandemic, with the critical workers and things like that.', 'I don’t know if that has started to fade out for people.”', 'The city of Waupaca is actively trying to help facilitate a sale to keep the facility or re-open it under new ownership.', 'As it stands, My First Adventure is expected to close in July.', 'This fall will find Elandt in the public school system, where she’s found joy the past few months working as a substitute teacher.', 'Both she and Higgins say they plan to get more involved in activism to raise the voices of child care workers and fight for better conditions.', '“We are literally shaping tomorrow’s youth,” Higgins says. “', 'I think that needs to start being reflected in compensation and policies and where government funding is being directed.”']",0.1751321793448637,"An analysis last year by The Century Foundation projected that more than 70,000 child care programs could close and about 3.2 million children could lose their spots due to the end of the federal child care stabilization grant program, which Congress approved as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.","“It needs to start with an awareness of how critical this crisis is, and not just from the parents that are terrified and suffering through it, but as a whole picture as a whole country,” Higgins said. “",-0.2154543910707746,"The child care industry got a brief boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, as federal funding allowed providers to give their staff much-needed raises and bonuses, as well as cover their rent, mortgages and utilities and buy personal protective equipment and other supplies.",She felt there was no other choice because a return to pre-pandemic salaries would likely mean losing her whole staff.,2024-06-20 +Netflix hunts for a production partner for its Christmas NFL games,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/netflix-nfl-christmas-games-broadcast-partner.html,2024-06-13T19:57:54+0000,"In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier. The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment."" Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team. That's left the streamer looking for help.Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private. Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said.In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited.Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.There's also competition to consider.Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter. That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season.Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform. Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day. Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience. There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games.The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon's Prime Video lined up with Comcast's NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.While NBC Sports' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers. Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple.""It's not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division.""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively. Alphabet's YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming. NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.""I think that's best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.', 'The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.', ""This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier."", 'The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment.""', ""Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team."", ""That's left the streamer looking for help."", ""Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private."", ""Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said."", ""In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited."", 'Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.', ""There's also competition to consider."", 'Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season."", 'Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.', 'Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform.', ""Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day."", 'Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.', 'For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience.', ""There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games."", 'The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.', 'While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.', '""There aren\'t that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you\'re launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.', '""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon\'s Prime Video lined up with Comcast\'s NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.', 'While NBC Sports\' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.', 'Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.', ""If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers."", ""Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple."", '""It\'s not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""', ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division."", '""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.', 'Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.', 'Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.', 'Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively.', 'Alphabet\'s YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.', 'Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming.', 'NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.', 'The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.', 'That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.', 'When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.', '""I think that\'s best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.', 'Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.']",0.1863829998875434,"Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day.","Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.",0.6477434784173965,"NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.","""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.",2024-06-20 +What is the Bank of England and why does it change interest rates?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50837114,2019-12-20T08:53:32.000Z,"The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.25% for the seventh time at its June meeting, keeping them at their highest level for 16 years. The pause follows a period of 14 successive increases, as the Bank tried to control inflation. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank. It is independent of government but works closely with the Treasury. It describes its key job as ensuring the UK has secure banknotes, stable prices, a safe banking sector and a resilient financial system. The Bank has a target to keep inflation - the official measure of how quickly prices are rising. The headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate - which tracks the price of a typical basket of goods - has fallen from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2% in May 2024. This was the first time inflation has hit the Bank of England's target in almost three years. The recent sharp increases in inflation were initially due to rising energy and food costs - largely caused by global events such as the war in Ukraine. But other factors - like wage increases in the UK - also helped keep prices high. The Bank's traditional response to rising inflation is to increase the UK's official interest rate. This affects the saving and mortgage rates which High Street banks and building societies charge individuals and businesses. From November 2021, the Bank increased interest rates on 14 successive occasions to 5.25%, the highest level since February 2008. The Bank has since held rates at that level seven times, most recently in June 2024. Although the headline rate of inflation has now fallen to the Bank's target, other measures of inflation are still higher than it would like. Higher interest rates mean people have to pay more for their mortgages, for example, which means they have less money to spend on other things. Fewer people wanting to buy things should, in theory, mean that prices rise less quickly. It also makes it harder for firms to borrow money and expand. Alternatively, if the Bank cuts interest rates, borrowing becomes cheaper, and people have more money to spend on other things. This can encourage businesses and people to borrow and spend more, boosting the economy. The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said he had seen ""strong evidence"" that the process to reduce inflation ""is working its way through"". But he emphasised that the Bank had to be sure that having reached its 2% target, it would stay there. The minutes of the Bank's June meeting suggest the first cut could come at its next meeting on 1 August. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets eight times a year to set rates. Its nine members vote on whether to increase, reduce or hold interest rates. Minutes of the meeting at which the decision was taken are also published. These show how the different members voted, and can gave some clues about future decisions. Four times a year, the Bank also publishes a Monetary Policy Report, which sets out the economic analysis and inflation projections that the MPC uses to make its interest rate decisions. The next report will be published alongside its August decision. The Bank of England also buys and sells government bonds. Bonds are a bit like an IOU from the government, which uses them to raise money to help meet its spending commitments. In the period from the 2009 financial crisis until 2021, the Bank bought £875bn of government bonds. This was done through a process called quantitative easing. This was designed to reduce overall government borrowing costs, lower interest rates and stimulate spending in the economy. The bank also announced an emergency bond-buying programme to try to stabilise the economy, after the September 2022 mini-budget caused turmoil on financial markets. Once that intervention ended, the Bank said it would go ahead with a plan - first announced in August 2022 - to sell off some of the government bonds it holds. The Bank also: Andrew Bailey became governor in 2019, having already worked at the Bank of England for more than 30 years. He was the chief cashier from January 2004 until April 2011, which meant his signature appeared on billions of UK banknotes. As well as being responsible for overseeing the Bank, the governor also chairs three important committees that help it work towards its targets: the Monetary Policy Committee, the Financial Policy Committee and the Prudential Regulation Authority. ",BBC,20/12/2019,"['The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.25% for the seventh time at its June meeting, keeping them at their highest level for 16 years.', 'The pause follows a period of 14 successive increases, as the Bank tried to control inflation.', ""The Bank of England is the UK's central bank."", 'It is independent of government but works closely with the Treasury.', 'It describes its key job as ensuring the UK has secure banknotes, stable prices, a safe banking sector and a resilient financial system.', 'The Bank has a target to keep inflation - the official measure of how quickly prices are rising.', 'The headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate - which tracks the price of a typical basket of goods - has fallen from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2% in May 2024.', ""This was the first time inflation has hit the Bank of England's target in almost three years."", 'The recent sharp increases in inflation were initially due to rising energy and food costs - largely caused by global events such as the war in Ukraine.', 'But other factors - like wage increases in the UK - also helped keep prices high.', ""The Bank's traditional response to rising inflation is to increase the UK's official interest rate."", 'This affects the saving and mortgage rates which High Street banks and building societies charge individuals and businesses.', 'From November 2021, the Bank increased interest rates on 14 successive occasions to 5.25%, the highest level since February 2008.', 'The Bank has since held rates at that level seven times, most recently in June 2024.', ""Although the headline rate of inflation has now fallen to the Bank's target, other measures of inflation are still higher than it would like."", 'Higher interest rates mean people have to pay more for their mortgages, for example, which means they have less money to spend on other things.', 'Fewer people wanting to buy things should, in theory, mean that prices rise less quickly.', 'It also makes it harder for firms to borrow money and expand.', 'Alternatively, if the Bank cuts interest rates, borrowing becomes cheaper, and people have more money to spend on other things.', 'This can encourage businesses and people to borrow and spend more, boosting the economy.', 'The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said he had seen ""strong evidence"" that the process to reduce inflation ""is working its way through"".', 'But he emphasised that the Bank had to be sure that having reached its 2% target, it would stay there.', ""The minutes of the Bank's June meeting suggest the first cut could come at its next meeting on 1 August."", ""The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets eight times a year to set rates."", 'Its nine members vote on whether to increase, reduce or hold interest rates.', 'Minutes of the meeting at which the decision was taken are also published.', 'These show how the different members voted, and can gave some clues about future decisions.', 'Four times a year, the Bank also publishes a Monetary Policy Report, which sets out the economic analysis and inflation projections that the MPC uses to make its interest rate decisions.', 'The next report will be published alongside its August decision.', 'The Bank of England also buys and sells government bonds.', 'Bonds are a bit like an IOU from the government, which uses them to raise money to help meet its spending commitments.', 'In the period from the 2009 financial crisis until 2021, the Bank bought £875bn of government bonds.', 'This was done through a process called quantitative easing.', 'This was designed to reduce overall government borrowing costs, lower interest rates and stimulate spending in the economy.', 'The bank also announced an emergency bond-buying programme to try to stabilise the economy, after the September 2022 mini-budget caused turmoil on financial markets.', 'Once that intervention ended, the Bank said it would go ahead with a plan - first announced in August 2022 - to sell off some of the government bonds it holds.', 'The Bank also: Andrew Bailey became governor in 2019, having already worked at the Bank of England for more than 30 years.', 'He was the chief cashier from January 2004 until April 2011, which meant his signature appeared on billions of UK banknotes.', 'As well as being responsible for overseeing the Bank, the governor also chairs three important committees that help it work towards its targets: the Monetary Policy Committee, the Financial Policy Committee and the Prudential Regulation Authority.']",0.1915339022121246,"It describes its key job as ensuring the UK has secure banknotes, stable prices, a safe banking sector and a resilient financial system.","In the period from the 2009 financial crisis until 2021, the Bank bought £875bn of government bonds.",0.5468583064419883,"This was designed to reduce overall government borrowing costs, lower interest rates and stimulate spending in the economy.",The headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate - which tracks the price of a typical basket of goods - has fallen from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2% in May 2024.,2024-06-20 +Nvidia beats Microsoft to become world's most valuable company,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyrr40x0z2mo,2024-06-18T20:22:12.440Z,"Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday. It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year. The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month. The Californian company's meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at an event in Copenhagen, Chris Penrose, global head of business development for telco at Nvidia, predicted further growth in the sector. “The generative AI journey is really transforming businesses and telcos around the world,"" he said. “We’re just at the beginning.” Analysts Wedbush Securities agreed. ""We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" it said in a note earlier this week. Other commentators though have questioned whether there will be big future gains, given the increasing competition Nvidia faces. What is not in doubt though is how spectacularly it has grown. Eight years ago, the stock was worth less than 1% of its current price. Back then, Nvidia's value came from its competition with rival AMD, in a race to make the best graphics cards. In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT. The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a sharp uptick in sales of its graphics cards. The rise and rise of the tech giant has been mirrored by the increasingly high profile of its boss, Jensen Huang. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg even called the 61-year-old electrical engineer - known for his signature leather jacket - the ""Taylor Swift of tech"" for the celebrity status he has achieved. He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts. Competition among AI developers is fierce. Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product. This competition benefits Nvidia, which as well as developing AI tech of its own, dominates the vast majority of the AI chip market. Nvidia’s sales and profit figures have surpassed many analyst expectations in recent years. In May, after its latest set of financial results were published, Quilter Cheviot technology analyst Ben Barringer said the company had ""once again cleared a very high hurdle"". ""Demand is showing no signs of switching off either,"" he added. However, a minority are more cautious. In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"['Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday.', 'It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year.', 'The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft.', 'It overtook Apple earlier this month.', 'The Californian company\'s meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI).', 'Speaking at an event in Copenhagen, Chris Penrose, global head of business development for telco at Nvidia, predicted further growth in the sector. “', 'The generative AI journey is really transforming businesses and telcos around the world,"" he said. “', 'We’re just at the beginning.”', 'Analysts Wedbush Securities agreed. ""', 'We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" it said in a note earlier this week.', 'Other commentators though have questioned whether there will be big future gains, given the increasing competition Nvidia faces.', 'What is not in doubt though is how spectacularly it has grown.', 'Eight years ago, the stock was worth less than 1% of its current price.', ""Back then, Nvidia's value came from its competition with rival AMD, in a race to make the best graphics cards."", ""In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT."", 'The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a sharp uptick in sales of its graphics cards.', 'The rise and rise of the tech giant has been mirrored by the increasingly high profile of its boss, Jensen Huang.', 'Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg even called the 61-year-old electrical engineer - known for his signature leather jacket - the ""Taylor Swift of tech"" for the celebrity status he has achieved.', ""He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts."", 'Competition among AI developers is fierce.', 'Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product.', 'This competition benefits Nvidia, which as well as developing AI tech of its own, dominates the vast majority of the AI chip market.', 'Nvidia’s sales and profit figures have surpassed many analyst expectations in recent years.', 'In May, after its latest set of financial results were published, Quilter Cheviot technology analyst Ben Barringer said the company had ""once again cleared a very high hurdle"". ""', 'Demand is showing no signs of switching off either,"" he added.', 'However, a minority are more cautious.', 'In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software.']",0.2387587166779065,"He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts.","Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product.",0.7441431599504807,"In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT.","In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software.",2024-06-20 +Here's what's next for Paramount after Skydance deal is stopped in its tracks,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/paramount-skydance-deal-ends-what-happens-next.html,2024-06-13T11:46:33+0000,"In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry.Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward.Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.""It's very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis. It's almost unheard of. How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?"" said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward.""So, what does this mean for Paramount? While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process.The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement."" National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership.While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports. Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved.""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday's memo to employees. ""And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount's new leadership team outlined a plan at last week's shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn't take place.The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25. The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call.The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year. Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan.""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation.In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""But this is a very difficult situation. Uncertainty is the worst thing.""Whether it's these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year. A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"[""In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry."", 'Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.', ""Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward."", 'Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins.', 'The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.', '""It\'s very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis.', ""It's almost unheard of."", 'How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?""', 'said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.', ""On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward."", '""So, what does this mean for Paramount?', 'While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.', ""After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process."", 'The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.', 'The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.', 'In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement.""', ""National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership."", 'While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.', 'In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.', 'In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports.', 'Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.', 'While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.', ""Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved."", '""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday\'s memo to employees. ""', 'And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.', '""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount\'s new leadership team outlined a plan at last week\'s shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn\'t take place.', 'The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.', 'The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25.', ""The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call."", ""The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year."", 'Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.', ""In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan."", '""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.', ""Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation."", ""In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations."", 'But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.', '""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""', 'But this is a very difficult situation.', 'Uncertainty is the worst thing.', '""Whether it\'s these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.', ""Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year."", 'A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.']",0.1552936129402598,"""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. """,Uncertainty is the worst thing.,0.0349052796761194,"In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.",A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.,2024-06-20 +Americans could be on a tight budget this summer,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/investing/premarket-stocks-trading-consumer-value/index.html," + Published + 7:19 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 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. + + Americans tend to shell out in the summer as they venture outdoors, book trips and step away from their desks. This year, warm weather might not be enough to get consumers to open up their wallets. + + Consumers plan to spend less on away-from-home entertainment and vacations this summer, according to the 2024 KPMG Consumer Pulse Survey released Tuesday. That’s a contrast to last year when Americans shelled out on the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert tickets and getaways. + + Americans expect to reduce their monthly spending on dining out by 9% on average, by 8% for entertainment and media and by 7% on travel and vacations. + + It’s not just discretionary spending that could take a hit. Just 21% of consumers plan to spend more on personal care products, a drop from 32% last year, according to the survey. + + “Consumers are tightening their belts another notch as they hunt for discounts, and even some essentials are being impacted,” said Duleep Rodrigo, KPMG’s US consumer and retail sector leader, in a release. + + While some companies have simply raised their prices to account for higher inflation, others have reduced the size of products like cleaning products, coffee and candies instead so that the price tag remains the same, though they are more expensive by unit. + + Both tactics have drawn criticism from consumers. And there are signs that shoppers are becoming fatigued. Sales at US retailers rose just 0.1% in May from the month before, according to a report from the Commerce Department released Tuesday. That was above April’s downwardly revised 0.2% but short of FactSet consensus estimates of a 0.3% gain. + + Slowing consumer spending should help cool the economy and help the Federal Reserve cut interest rates sooner rather than later, as long as inflation also edges closer to the central bank’s 2% goal. But a sharp, unexpected decline in spending, which accounts for the vast majority of economic output, would likely mean that the broader economy is in recession territory. + + Customers are also searching for more than just the cheapest prices — they want quality, long-lasting products, even if it means they have to pay a little bit more. + + Retailers that offer Americans more bang for their buck including Ross Stores, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods-parent TJX, Dollar General and Walmart have benefitted. But companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and Williams-Sonoma, which have loftier price tags than discount stores but are known for carrying high-quality products, are also seeing strong sales. + + Americans are also feeling worse about the economy as they struggle with elevated inflation and high borrowing rates. The University of Michigan’s reading of consumer sentiment for early June showed that Americans’ attitudes about the economy was around the same levels as May, which saw a roughly 10% decline after three straight months of little change. + + Relief could come later this year for consumers. Cool May inflation data has led investors to raise their bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year. The Fed at its June policy meeting penciled in one cut this year and four in 2025. + +  A record number of millionaires could leave the United Kingdom this year as political turmoil and the potential for higher taxes under a future Labour government reduce the appeal of what was once among the top destinations for the rich, reports my colleague Mark Thompson. + + As many as 9,500 people with at least $1 million in liquid, investable assets, will leave the country, more than double the number that left in 2023, according to provisional estimates contained in a report Tuesday by migration advisers Henley & Partners. + + “These figures reflect a steady accumulation of factors detracting from the UK’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals,” Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, wrote in the report. “The hangover from Brexit continues to be felt, with the City of London no longer seen as the financial center of the world.” + + The report is based on data on 150,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) tracked by investment firm New World Wealth. The firm only counts people who stay in their new country more than half of the year, and focuses primarily on company founders, chairs, CEOs, presidents, directors and managing partners. + + The continuing exodus from the UK — 16,500 millionaires left between 2017 and 2023 — is part of a global mass migration of the rich that appears to be accelerating. The Henley Private Wealth Migration report found that 128,000 millionaires are set to relocate this year, beating last year’s record by 8,000. + + Read more here. + + Nvidia, Wall Street’s artificial intelligence poster child, is now the most valuable company in the world, taking the crown from Microsoft. + + Nvidia’s market capitalization closed at roughly $3.34 trillion on Tuesday, edging past Microsoft’s $3.32 trillion value. Apple is the third most valuable company in the US with a $3.27 trillion market cap. + + Nvidia shares closed 3.5% higher on Tuesday. Microsoft shares fell 0.5% and Apple shares lost 1.1%. Nvidia earlier this month joined the tech giants in becoming the only US companies to cross a $3 trillion market cap. + + The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half. Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can create text, images and other media. + + Read more here.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['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.', 'Americans tend to shell out in the summer as they venture outdoors, book trips and step away from their desks.', 'This year, warm weather might not be enough to get consumers to open up their wallets.', 'Consumers plan to spend less on away-from-home entertainment and vacations this summer, according to the 2024 KPMG Consumer Pulse Survey released Tuesday.', 'That’s a contrast to last year when Americans shelled out on the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert tickets and getaways.', 'Americans expect to reduce their monthly spending on dining out by 9% on average, by 8% for entertainment and media and by 7% on travel and vacations.', 'It’s not just discretionary spending that could take a hit.', 'Just 21% of consumers plan to spend more on personal care products, a drop from 32% last year, according to the survey.', '“Consumers are tightening their belts another notch as they hunt for discounts, and even some essentials are being impacted,” said Duleep Rodrigo, KPMG’s US consumer and retail sector leader, in a release.', 'While some companies have simply raised their prices to account for higher inflation, others have reduced the size of products like cleaning products, coffee and candies instead so that the price tag remains the same, though they are more expensive by unit.', 'Both tactics have drawn criticism from consumers.', 'And there are signs that shoppers are becoming fatigued.', 'Sales at US retailers rose just 0.1% in May from the month before, according to a report from the Commerce Department released Tuesday.', 'That was above April’s downwardly revised 0.2% but short of FactSet consensus estimates of a 0.3% gain.', 'Slowing consumer spending should help cool the economy and help the Federal Reserve cut interest rates sooner rather than later, as long as inflation also edges closer to the central bank’s 2% goal.', 'But a sharp, unexpected decline in spending, which accounts for the vast majority of economic output, would likely mean that the broader economy is in recession territory.', 'Customers are also searching for more than just the cheapest prices — they want quality, long-lasting products, even if it means they have to pay a little bit more.', 'Retailers that offer Americans more bang for their buck including Ross Stores, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods-parent TJX, Dollar General and Walmart have benefitted.', 'But companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and Williams-Sonoma, which have loftier price tags than discount stores but are known for carrying high-quality products, are also seeing strong sales.', 'Americans are also feeling worse about the economy as they struggle with elevated inflation and high borrowing rates.', 'The University of Michigan’s reading of consumer sentiment for early June showed that Americans’ attitudes about the economy was around the same levels as May, which saw a roughly 10% decline after three straight months of little change.', 'Relief could come later this year for consumers.', 'Cool May inflation data has led investors to raise their bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.', 'The Fed at its June policy meeting penciled in one cut this year and four in 2025.', 'A record number of millionaires could leave the United Kingdom this year as political turmoil and the potential for higher taxes under a future Labour government reduce the appeal of what was once among the top destinations for the rich, reports my colleague Mark Thompson.', 'As many as 9,500 people with at least $1 million in liquid, investable assets, will leave the country, more than double the number that left in 2023, according to provisional estimates contained in a report Tuesday by migration advisers Henley & Partners.', '“These figures reflect a steady accumulation of factors detracting from the UK’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals,” Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, wrote in the report. “', 'The hangover from Brexit continues to be felt, with the City of London no longer seen as the financial center of the world.”', 'The report is based on data on 150,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) tracked by investment firm New World Wealth.', 'The firm only counts people who stay in their new country more than half of the year, and focuses primarily on company founders, chairs, CEOs, presidents, directors and managing partners.', 'The continuing exodus from the UK — 16,500 millionaires left between 2017 and 2023 — is part of a global mass migration of the rich that appears to be accelerating.', 'The Henley Private Wealth Migration report found that 128,000 millionaires are set to relocate this year, beating last year’s record by 8,000.', 'Read more here.', 'Nvidia, Wall Street’s artificial intelligence poster child, is now the most valuable company in the world, taking the crown from Microsoft.', 'Nvidia’s market capitalization closed at roughly $3.34 trillion on Tuesday, edging past Microsoft’s $3.32 trillion value.', 'Apple is the third most valuable company in the US with a $3.27 trillion market cap.', 'Nvidia shares closed 3.5% higher on Tuesday.', 'Microsoft shares fell 0.5% and Apple shares lost 1.1%.', 'Nvidia earlier this month joined the tech giants in becoming the only US companies to cross a $3 trillion market cap.', 'The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half.', 'Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can create text, images and other media.', 'Read more here.']",0.183466165154202,"But companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and Williams-Sonoma, which have loftier price tags than discount stores but are known for carrying high-quality products, are also seeing strong sales.",Americans are also feeling worse about the economy as they struggle with elevated inflation and high borrowing rates.,-0.0532381082403248,"Sales at US retailers rose just 0.1% in May from the month before, according to a report from the Commerce Department released Tuesday.",Americans are also feeling worse about the economy as they struggle with elevated inflation and high borrowing rates.,2024-06-20 +How a company whose name you probably can’t pronounce is now worth more than Apple,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/investing/nvidia-most-valuable-company-explained/index.html," + Published + 7:09 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","It’s easy to grasp why Apple, Microsoft and Google are multitrillion-dollar companies: Just think about how many people around the world interact with the companies’ products and rely on them to go about their daily lives. But these multigenerational brand names are now trailing behind Nvidia, suddenly the most valuable public company in the world. + + The tech behemoth, whose launch into AI chipmaking sent its stock into the stratosphere is hardly a household name. Many people can’t even pronounce it (it’s en-VID-eeyah, the company says on its website). It’s derived from the Latin word “invidia,” meaning envy, something many companies are undoubtedly feeling these days. + + “I just read that it is now the world’s most valuable company, surpassing Microsoft. Why is that, because what does it do?” one user posted on Reddit on Tuesday. Many Nvidia investors who hopped on the train likely can’t explain what it does either. + + With a market value of over $3 trillion, Nvidia is worth more than most countries’ entire economies. How did Nvidia get there? + + Artificial intelligence wasn’t on the minds of Nvidia’s founders when they launched the company 31 years ago over a meal at Denny’s, where its CEO Jensen Huang worked at one point as a dishwasher. Their discussion revolved around finding a way to boost the processing capabilities of computers, especially graphics-intensive applications, Huang said in a recent interview that aired on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” That was the impetus for Nvidia entering the graphics processing unit, or GPU, space in 1999. (While Nvidia popularized the term, it didn’t invent it, though it is often mistakenly credited with having done so.) + + Nvidia’s GPUs revolutionized the gaming industry, bringing to market new games with movie-like visuals, whereas prior games were 2-D. + + Eventually, the company took things one step further, creating a programming language that enabled developers to create applications to run on its hardware. By 2012, it discovered that its chips could be used to power much, much more than video games. Chief among those: artificial intelligence applications. + + Still, the company remained relatively obscure to most investors and consumers — except for hardcore PC gamers. + + That all changed in November 2022, when OpenAI announced ChatGPT, permanently altering people’s understanding of AI’s capabilities. The app’s stunning ability to mimic human speech and perform complex tasks shook Silicon Valley and Wall Street. + + Suppose everyone collectively at the same time decided they don’t want to commute to work by driving or using mass transit. Instead, everyone is going to bike to work from here on out. Well, naturally demand for bikes is going to explode overnight. Want to get in on the action and start making bikes? You’re going to need a lot of steel. Nvidia is the steel of AI. + + Now that just about every company, tech or not, is trying to find some way to use AI after OpenAI’s success made them look silly in comparison, everyone needs a lot of Nvidia. + + It’s no wonder why it was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2023, gaining a whopping 239%. Up an additional 181% so far this year, it’s been the best-performing again. + + All that demand for Nvidia chips surely must’ve increased competition, right? + + Slowly but surely it has, with heavyweights like Meta, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft starting to play catchup. However, no company is close to Nvidia’s capabilities in the AI space, which is why it controls upwards of 70% of the market in AI chips. + + Wall Street’s love affair with AI doesn’t seem like it’ll ever end. Could it all be one big bubble that’s bound to burst like the dot-com era? Maybe, but it seems less likely given the intrinsic value AI carries. All that means is demand for Nvidia chips isn’t going away any time soon — but competition will continue to grow more fierce. + + And before we know it, another company with a name most people can’t pronounce will be referred to as the next Nvidia.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['It’s easy to grasp why Apple, Microsoft and Google are multitrillion-dollar companies: Just think about how many people around the world interact with the companies’ products and rely on them to go about their daily lives.', 'But these multigenerational brand names are now trailing behind Nvidia, suddenly the most valuable public company in the world.', 'The tech behemoth, whose launch into AI chipmaking sent its stock into the stratosphere is hardly a household name.', 'Many people can’t even pronounce it (it’s en-VID-eeyah, the company says on its website).', 'It’s derived from the Latin word “invidia,” meaning envy, something many companies are undoubtedly feeling these days.', '“I just read that it is now the world’s most valuable company, surpassing Microsoft.', 'Why is that, because what does it do?”', 'one user posted on Reddit on Tuesday.', 'Many Nvidia investors who hopped on the train likely can’t explain what it does either.', 'With a market value of over $3 trillion, Nvidia is worth more than most countries’ entire economies.', 'How did Nvidia get there?', 'Artificial intelligence wasn’t on the minds of Nvidia’s founders when they launched the company 31 years ago over a meal at Denny’s, where its CEO Jensen Huang worked at one point as a dishwasher.', 'Their discussion revolved around finding a way to boost the processing capabilities of computers, especially graphics-intensive applications, Huang said in a recent interview that aired on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”', 'That was the impetus for Nvidia entering the graphics processing unit, or GPU, space in 1999. (', 'While Nvidia popularized the term, it didn’t invent it, though it is often mistakenly credited with having done so.)', 'Nvidia’s GPUs revolutionized the gaming industry, bringing to market new games with movie-like visuals, whereas prior games were 2-D. Eventually, the company took things one step further, creating a programming language that enabled developers to create applications to run on its hardware.', 'By 2012, it discovered that its chips could be used to power much, much more than video games.', 'Chief among those: artificial intelligence applications.', 'Still, the company remained relatively obscure to most investors and consumers — except for hardcore PC gamers.', 'That all changed in November 2022, when OpenAI announced ChatGPT, permanently altering people’s understanding of AI’s capabilities.', 'The app’s stunning ability to mimic human speech and perform complex tasks shook Silicon Valley and Wall Street.', 'Suppose everyone collectively at the same time decided they don’t want to commute to work by driving or using mass transit.', 'Instead, everyone is going to bike to work from here on out.', 'Well, naturally demand for bikes is going to explode overnight.', 'Want to get in on the action and start making bikes?', 'You’re going to need a lot of steel.', 'Nvidia is the steel of AI.', 'Now that just about every company, tech or not, is trying to find some way to use AI after OpenAI’s success made them look silly in comparison, everyone needs a lot of Nvidia.', 'It’s no wonder why it was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2023, gaining a whopping 239%.', 'Up an additional 181% so far this year, it’s been the best-performing again.', 'All that demand for Nvidia chips surely must’ve increased competition, right?', 'Slowly but surely it has, with heavyweights like Meta, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft starting to play catchup.', 'However, no company is close to Nvidia’s capabilities in the AI space, which is why it controls upwards of 70% of the market in AI chips.', 'Wall Street’s love affair with AI doesn’t seem like it’ll ever end.', 'Could it all be one big bubble that’s bound to burst like the dot-com era?', 'Maybe, but it seems less likely given the intrinsic value AI carries.', 'All that means is demand for Nvidia chips isn’t going away any time soon — but competition will continue to grow more fierce.', 'And before we know it, another company with a name most people can’t pronounce will be referred to as the next Nvidia.']",0.2658769576205299,"Slowly but surely it has, with heavyweights like Meta, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft starting to play catchup.","However, no company is close to Nvidia’s capabilities in the AI space, which is why it controls upwards of 70% of the market in AI chips.",0.6197502396323464,"It’s no wonder why it was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2023, gaining a whopping 239%.","But these multigenerational brand names are now trailing behind Nvidia, suddenly the most valuable public company in the world.",2024-06-20 +Gen X stands to gain the most wealth from the $84 trillion wealth transfer,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/great-wealth-transfer-gen-x-gains.html,2024-06-18T16:05:30+0000,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term. According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances — from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study. The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.Subscribe here to get access today. The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors. Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families. More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top. In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report. Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more. In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down. Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to. The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and 'impact investing' will be a focus of many heirs' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family's existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.', 'While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.', 'According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.', 'The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances — from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study.', 'The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.', 'Subscribe here to get access today.', 'The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors.', 'Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families.', 'More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.', 'The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.', 'The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.', '""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top.', 'In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report.', 'Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more.', 'In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.', 'The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down.', 'Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.', 'Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to.', 'The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.', '""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and \'impact investing\' will be a focus of many heirs\' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family\'s existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.']",0.4888566275310664,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.",,0.9431760907173156,"While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.",,2024-06-20 +Sony Pictures is buying Alamo Drafthouse theater chain,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/sony-pictures-buys-alamo-drafthouse.html,2024-06-13T03:13:23+0000,"In this articleSony Pictures has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, the seventh-largest movie theater chain in North America, the company announced Wednesday.This is the first time a studio has purchased a theater chain since the Department of Justice's antitrust division terminated a decree that prohibited certain film distributors from owning exhibition companies in 2020.Enacted in 1948, the Paramount Consent Decrees ordered major studios to divest their cinemas. It was a landmark antitrust decision for the motion picture industry and held firm for more than 70 years.However the decree only affected some studios. While Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM were barred from reentering the theater business without court approval, others like Universal, Columbia and United Artists which did not own theaters at the time of the decree were therefore not banned from acquiring them in the future.Which is why Columbia Pictures, now under the Sony banner, was able to take a minority stake in the Walter Reade Organization, which owned less than a dozen theaters, in the late '80s and later acquired the Lowes Theater. It is also why Disney was permitted to own the El Capitan Theatre and Netflix was able to purchase The Egyptian Theatre and New York's Paris Theater.Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann will remain at the helm of the dine-in movie theater chain and will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO of the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences division. The company's 35 cinemas will continue to be operated by Alamo Drafthouse and its headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas.""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.The cinema company was purchased from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions. It was rescued by a private equity firm. However, just last week, five North Texas locations closed after a franchisee filed for bankruptcy.""We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,"" said Kustermann. ""We were created by film lovers for film lovers. We know how important this is to Sony, and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience. Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.""Correction: This story was updated to accurately reflect the terms of the Paramount Consent Decrees and when studio acquisitions of theaters occurred.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleSony Pictures has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, the seventh-largest movie theater chain in North America, the company announced Wednesday.', ""This is the first time a studio has purchased a theater chain since the Department of Justice's antitrust division terminated a decree that prohibited certain film distributors from owning exhibition companies in 2020.Enacted in 1948, the Paramount Consent Decrees ordered major studios to divest their cinemas."", 'It was a landmark antitrust decision for the motion picture industry and held firm for more than 70 years.', 'However the decree only affected some studios.', 'While Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM were barred from reentering the theater business without court approval, others like Universal, Columbia and United Artists which did not own theaters at the time of the decree were therefore not banned from acquiring them in the future.', ""Which is why Columbia Pictures, now under the Sony banner, was able to take a minority stake in the Walter Reade Organization, which owned less than a dozen theaters, in the late '80s and later acquired the Lowes Theater."", ""It is also why Disney was permitted to own the El Capitan Theatre and Netflix was able to purchase The EgyptianTheatre and New York's Paris Theater."", 'Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann will remain at the helm of the dine-in movie theater chain and will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO of the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences division.', ""The company's 35 cinemas will continue to be operated by Alamo Drafthouse and its headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas."", '""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.', 'The cinema company was purchased from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.', 'The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions.', 'It was rescued by a private equity firm.', 'However, just last week, five North Texas locations closed after a franchisee filed for bankruptcy.', '""We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,"" said Kustermann. ""', 'We were created by film lovers for film lovers.', 'We know how important this is to Sony, and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience.', 'Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.', '""Correction: This story was updated to accurately reflect the terms of the Paramount Consent Decrees and when studio acquisitions of theaters occurred.']",0.2755990695936975,Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.,The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions.,0.9728320717811584,"""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.",,2024-06-20 +"These employees moved across the country for work, then Disney canceled the project. Now they’re suing.",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/media/disney-employee-lawsuit/index.html," + Updated + 3:51 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the company moved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally. + + They’re proposing a class action, alleging there are many others in a similar situation. + + In 2021, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a move of 2,000 positions from California to Florida. But in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the company canceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complex amid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that has since been settled. + + The plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, both work for Disney’s product design division. De La Cruz is vice president of product design, and Fong is a creative director, according to the complaint filed by Lohr Ripamonti LLP on Tuesday. + + The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, has not yet been processed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles. + + The complaint alleges that Disney misrepresented and concealed its true plans for the Lake Nona project, hurting – financially and otherwise – at least 250 employees who had made the move from California to Florida. + + The complaint states employees were informed about the project to relocate 2,000 roles to Florida in July of 2021 and that Disney “made it clear that employees who declined relocation would lose their jobs.” + + The complaint described how De La Cruz and Fong sold their homes in Southern California and purchased homes in Central Florida. For Fong, that meant selling the childhood home that he inherited from his family. + + After the Lake Nona office project was canceled, De La Cruz emailed human resources about the future for those who might choose to stay in Florida, writing: “After all of this, will there be any security in our positions? My fear would be that we decide to stay in Florida, only to be laid off in the next year or so. I don’t want to be punished for being put into a situation my company put me in,” the complaint says. + + The complaint says De La Cruz and Fong decided to move back to California to keep their jobs, but housing prices in the Lake Nona vicinity had dropped significantly after Disney’s announcement. Fong said he had trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had. + + “Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fong and many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said. + + Disney has not replied to a request for comment. + + The company developing land in Lake Nona has confirmed with CNN that Disney still owns the 60 acres it had purchased for the new corporate campus. Disney has not said what will happen to this property.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.', 'They’re proposing a class action, alleging there are many others in a similar situation.', 'In 2021, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a move of 2,000 positions from Californiato Florida.', 'But in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the companycanceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complexamid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that hassince been settled.', 'The plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, both work for Disney’s product design division.', 'De La Cruz is vice president of product design, and Fong is a creative director, according to the complaint filed byLohr Ripamonti LLP on Tuesday.', 'The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, has not yet been processed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles.', 'The complaint alleges that Disney misrepresented and concealeditstrue plans for the Lake Nona project,hurting– financiallyand otherwise – at least250 employees who had made the move from California to Florida.', 'The complaint states employees were informed about the project to relocate 2,000 rolesto Florida in July of 2021 and that Disney “made it clear that employees who declined relocation would lose their jobs.”', 'The complaintdescribedhow De La Cruz and Fong sold their homes in Southern California and purchased homes in Central Florida.', 'For Fong, that meant sellingthechildhood home that he inherited from his family.', 'After the Lake Nona office project was canceled, De La Cruzemailed humanresources about the future for those who might choose to stay in Florida,writing: “After all of this, will there be any security in our positions?', 'My fear would be that we decide to stay in Florida, only to be laid off in the next year or so.', 'I don’t want to be punished for being put into a situation my company put me in,”the complaint says.', 'The complaint saysDe La Cruz and Fong decidedto move back to California to keep their jobs, but housing prices in the Lake Nona vicinity had dropped significantly after Disney’s announcement.', 'Fongsaidhehad trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had.', '“Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fongand many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said.', 'Disney has not replied to a request for comment.', 'The company developing land in Lake Nona has confirmed with CNN that Disney still owns the 60 acres it had purchased for the new corporate campus.', 'Disney has not said what will happen to this property.']",-0.1145113297819273,"“Ms. De La Cruz, Mr. Fongand many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said.","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.",0.004598930478096,"Fongsaidhehad trouble selling his Florida home, and when he managed to move back to California, mortgage rates and home prices had climbed so rapidly that he was only able to afford a smaller home than he previously had.","Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the companymoved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally.",2024-06-20 +Trader Joe’s tiny coolers are selling like hot cakes. Why and how do products go viral?,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/15/business/why-do-small-trader-joes-bags-keep-going-viral/index.html," + Published + 3:00 AM EDT, Sat June 15, 2024 + ","A few months ago, Thaddeus Yan heard that Trader Joe’s was preparing to sell a fairly mundane new item: A miniature insulated cooler bag. Right away, he was on the lookout. When he went to London on a trip, he even deputized his mom to keep an eye out for the bags. + + After months of waiting, Yan drove to a Trader Joe’s at 7:30 one morning this month and bought as many as he could, given the store’s purchasing limit: Two in bright teal, and one in hot pink, both with prominent TJ’s branding. Yan, a social media content creator, paid $3.99 for each of the small bags (too tiny for his Stanley cup, he noted in a TikTok video on his “thaddybearz” account — but big enough for a six pack). Others may not be so lucky. The mini-coolers have already been listed for several times that price on eBay. + + Yan is part of a throng of influencers who have been changing, and even accelerating, the way certain retail products go viral. They’re not only rushing out to buy as many items as they can, but spreading the word on their popular social channels, where trends catch fire. + + Before social media, it took a lot more for a niche item to hit. “You’d have to see people in public settings,” so trends were much more localized, said Colin Campbell, an associate professor of marketing at the University of San Diego’s Knauss business school. But now “you can have it all happen instantly across the whole country.” + + This isn’t even the first time little Trader Joe’s bags have gone viral. In March, shoppers went wild over Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote bags, which rapidly sold out. + + Most brands don’t see their products take off this way, especially not twice in a row. On those rare occasions, companies make hay: They talk to fans online and build new marketing campaigns, squeezing as much as possible out of that moment in the sun. + + But Trader Joe doesn’t have much of a social media presence. The company staying (mostly) mum has allowed content creators, particularly on TikTok, to fill the vacuum, making the items — which may well have been popular on their own — even more successful. These creators are playing a key role in the worlds of retail marketing. + + Talia Heskett, for example, has more than 134,000 followers on TikTok and about 146,000 on Instagram, plus roughly 68,000 on Facebook for her “Trader Joe’s Talia” accounts, as of Friday. Because Trader Joe’s doesn’t boast much of an official online presence, “I’ve kind of taken on that role” with those pages, she said. Heskett is a fan of the grocery chain, and has turned her interest in the brand into something lucrative. Her channels are popular enough for her to earn payment from TikTok. + + She’s not the only one posting this type of content. Christy Vetere runs her own TikTok account, “Trader Joe’s and Target Finds,” where she spotlights products from the stores. It had more than 54,000 followers on the social platform on Friday. Heskett, Vetere and others keep shoppers up to date on TJ’s news, tapping into an existing audience of fans to bolster their own followings. + + Last March, when TJ’s canvas mini totes went viral, the chain appeared baffled by their popularity. + + “What is up with these tote bags? Like, they’re a thing that we didn’t plan for them to be,” said Tara Miller, co-host of the company’s Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, in a March episode. “I’m still a little perplexed about how quickly that excitement went to kind of frenzy,” she said. + + “We thought we bought enough of these mini canvas totes to last for several weeks, maybe a whole month,” said Matt Sloan, who hosts the podcast with Miller. “We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers. We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week.” + + This time, with the brightly colored coolers, the brand seemed more prepared. “Consider yourself fairly warned: these Totes are totally destined to become the next craze!” screams a product description on the grocery chain’s site. + + Apart from the prediction on its website, Trader Joe’s hasn’t said much about the swift-selling seasonal items. A Trader Joe’s representative told CNN that the brand is always looking for new products its customers will like — and that it plans to offer more of the mini insulated bags this summer. + + If you search “Trader Joe’s mini insulated bag,” right now you’ll be served a seemingly endless stream of videos featuring the brightly colored items. Some people might just decide to pick one up on their next grocery trip because they saw it online. Others may seek the item out specifically, rushing to stores before they sell out. + + “When you can get something that not everyone else has it makes you look cool, makes you look like an insider,” said Jonah Berger, marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.” + + That desire doesn’t only apply to high-priced or extremely rare luxury items, he noted. + + “You often see … trends and things catching on, or going viral, in what I would describe as low-cost public consumables,” Berger said. Think Stanley cups, Owala water bottles and Nike socks — all items that can be seen in public. + + These items “can be affordable luxuries, and can allow people to either show their distinction or show that they’re part of a certain group,” Berger added. + + For some, the treasure hunt aspect may be part of the fun — especially when it ends not only with the coveted item, but a chance to post evidence of success online. + + Yan, who drove to Trader Joe’s at 7:30 am to find the bags, doesn’t run a Trader Joe’s-focused account like Vetere and Heskett. His videos on Instagram and TikTok are mostly devoted to pop culture and Disney. But he likes the chain, and he likes to post about what he buys there. + + “You never know what they’re going to drop, it could be some random, really cool thing that everyone might be interested” in seeing, or getting for themselves, he said. “It’s always a surprise.” + + The chain’s unusually loyal fanbase is eager for more Trader Joe’s branded merchandise, TikToker Heskett said, but Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer much of that. + + “You can’t buy a Trader Joe’s hat, you can’t buy a Trader Joe’s sweatshirt,” she said. That’s why, she thinks, the branded bags have been such a hit. “People want a little piece of Trader Joe’s to carry around with them.”",CNN,15/06/2024,"['A few months ago, Thaddeus Yan heard that Trader Joe’s was preparing to sell a fairly mundane new item: A miniature insulated cooler bag.', 'Right away, he was on the lookout.', 'When he went to London on a trip, he even deputized his mom to keep an eye out for the bags.', 'After months of waiting, Yan drove to a Trader Joe’s at 7:30 one morning this month and bought as many as he could, given the store’s purchasing limit: Two in bright teal, and one in hot pink, both with prominent TJ’s branding.', 'Yan, a social media content creator, paid $3.99 for each of the small bags (too tiny for his Stanley cup, he noted in a TikTok video on his “thaddybearz” account — but big enough for a six pack).', 'Others may not be so lucky.', 'The mini-coolers have already been listed for several times that price on eBay.', 'Yan is part of a throng of influencers who have been changing, and even accelerating, the way certain retail products go viral.', 'They’re not only rushing out to buy as many items as they can, but spreading the word on their popular social channels, where trends catch fire.', 'Before social media, it took a lot more for a niche item to hit. “', 'You’d have to see people in public settings,” so trends were much more localized, said Colin Campbell, an associate professor of marketing at the University of San Diego’s Knauss business school.', 'But now “you can have it all happen instantly across the whole country.”', 'This isn’t even the first time little Trader Joe’s bags have gone viral.', 'In March, shoppers went wild over Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote bags, which rapidly sold out.', 'Most brands don’t see their products take off this way, especially not twice in a row.', 'On those rare occasions, companies make hay: They talk to fans online and build new marketing campaigns, squeezing as much as possible out of that moment in the sun.', 'But Trader Joe doesn’t have much of a social media presence.', 'The company staying (mostly) mum has allowed content creators, particularly on TikTok, to fill the vacuum, making the items —which may well have been popular on their own — even more successful.', 'These creators are playing a key role in the worlds of retail marketing.', 'Talia Heskett, for example, has more than 134,000 followers on TikTok and about 146,000 on Instagram, plus roughly 68,000 on Facebook for her “Trader Joe’s Talia” accounts, as of Friday.', 'Because Trader Joe’s doesn’t boast much of an official online presence, “I’ve kind of taken on that role” with those pages, she said.', 'Heskett is a fan of the grocery chain, and has turned her interest in the brand into something lucrative.', 'Her channels are popular enough for her to earn payment from TikTok.', 'She’s not the only one posting this type of content.', 'Christy Vetere runs her own TikTok account, “Trader Joe’s and Target Finds,” where she spotlights products from the stores.', 'It had more than 54,000 followers on the social platform on Friday.', 'Heskett, Vetere and others keep shoppers up to date on TJ’s news, tapping into an existing audience of fans to bolster their own followings.', 'Last March, when TJ’s canvas mini totes went viral, the chain appeared baffled by their popularity.', '“What is up with these tote bags?', 'Like, they’re a thing that we didn’t plan for them to be,” said Tara Miller, co-host of the company’s Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, in a March episode. “', 'I’m still a little perplexed about how quickly that excitement went to kind of frenzy,” she said.', '“We thought we bought enough of these mini canvas totes to last for several weeks, maybe a whole month,” said Matt Sloan, who hosts the podcast with Miller. “', 'We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers.', 'We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week.”', 'This time, with the brightly colored coolers, the brand seemed more prepared. “', 'Consider yourself fairly warned: these Totes are totally destined to become the next craze!”', 'screams a product description on the grocery chain’s site.', 'Apart from the prediction on its website, Trader Joe’s hasn’t said much about the swift-selling seasonal items.', 'A Trader Joe’s representative told CNN that the brand is always looking for new products its customers will like — and that it plans to offer more of the mini insulated bags this summer.', 'If you search “Trader Joe’s mini insulated bag,” right now you’ll be served a seemingly endless stream of videos featuring the brightly colored items.', 'Some people might just decide to pick one up on their next grocery trip because they saw it online.', 'Others may seek the item out specifically, rushing to stores before they sell out.', '“When you can get something that not everyone else has it makes you look cool, makes you look like an insider,” said Jonah Berger, marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”', 'That desire doesn’t only apply to high-priced or extremely rare luxury items, he noted.', '“You often see … trends and things catching on, or going viral, in what I would describe as low-cost public consumables,” Berger said.', 'Think Stanley cups, Owala water bottles and Nike socks — all items that can be seen in public.', 'These items “can be affordable luxuries, and can allow people to either show their distinction or show that they’re part of a certain group,” Berger added.', 'For some, the treasure hunt aspect may be part of the fun —especially when it ends not only with the coveted item, but a chance to post evidence of success online.', 'Yan, who drove to Trader Joe’s at 7:30 am to find the bags, doesn’t run a Trader Joe’s-focused account like Vetere and Heskett.', 'His videos on Instagram and TikTok are mostly devoted to pop culture and Disney.', 'But he likes the chain, and he likes to post about what he buys there.', '“You never know what they’re going to drop, it could be some random, really cool thing that everyone might be interested” in seeing, or getting for themselves, he said. “', 'It’s always a surprise.”', 'The chain’s unusually loyal fanbase is eager for more Trader Joe’s branded merchandise, TikToker Heskett said, but Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer much of that.', '“You can’t buy a Trader Joe’s hat, you can’t buy a Trader Joe’s sweatshirt,” she said.', 'That’s why, she thinks, the branded bags have been such a hit. “', 'People want a little piece of Trader Joe’s to carry around with them.”']",0.1861896278490253,"For some, the treasure hunt aspect may be part of the fun —especially when it ends not only with the coveted item, but a chance to post evidence of success online.",Consider yourself fairly warned: these Totes are totally destined to become the next craze!”,0.7747427523136139,"The company staying (mostly) mum has allowed content creators, particularly on TikTok, to fill the vacuum, making the items —which may well have been popular on their own — even more successful.","Last March, when TJ’s canvas mini totes went viral, the chain appeared baffled by their popularity.",2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +"Airbnb undermined team that removed extremist users, whistleblower claims",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/tech/airbnb-whistleblower-complaint-dangerous-organizations-team/index.html," + Published + 4:31 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Airbnb has undermined users’ safety by scaling back its work to remove extremists from its platform, a former contractor alleged in a new whistleblower complaint. + + Jess Hernandez worked full-time as an investigations analyst for Airbnb’s dangerous organizations team from May 2022 to November 2023, researching extremist networks as part of the company’s work to keep dangerous individuals off the platform. But she says she was terminated in November 2023, shortly after her team was directed by management to reinstate users who had been removed for their participation in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. + + “Airbnb spent much of 2023 scaling back and undermining the work of its team tasked with removing individuals affiliated with dangerous and extremist organizations from the platform,” Whistleblower Aid, the organization representing Hernandez, said in a statement. It added that by making the changes, “Airbnb privately abandoned its public commitment to its hosts’ and guests’ safety and security under this policy.” + + Hernandez filed the whistleblower disclosure in May to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission. The complaint was first reported Wednesday by NBC News. CNN has not viewed the complaint and could not independently verify the details included in the NBC News report. + + Airbnb disputed Hernandez’s claims, saying that it continues to enforce against members of dangerous or extremist organizations. + + “Contrary to these baseless and inaccurate allegations, we have actually expanded the remit of our team to detect and remove users who pose safety risk and this year we’ve hired additional team members to support the enforcement of this policy,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “As an online platform that facilitates millions of real-world interactions globally, we have robust policies, processes, and teams across the company focusing on promoting community safety, including preventing unsafe users from using the platform.” + + Airbnb touts more than 5 million hosts who list space on the room- and home-rental platform. In the first three months of 2024 alone, Airbnb facilitated the booking of more than 132 million nights and “experiences,” non-overnight offerings such as walking tours. + + The whistleblower complaint comes as Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has for years tried to quell safety concerns over a business that is, at its heart, strangers staying in the homes of other strangers. Those efforts have included crackdowns on parties, resources for solo female travelers and a ban on indoor security cameras. + + Airbnb in 2016 asked members to sign a commitment that they would “accept people regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age” in order to host or make a booking on the platform. And in the following years, it pointed to that pledge when removing users associated with extremist organizations. + + In 2017, the company removed some accounts and canceled bookings associated with the Unite the Right White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. + + And in 2021, months after the January 6 attack, Airbnb said it had removed “numerous individuals” who had been identified as having “participated in the violent criminal activity at the US Capitol.” It added that it had canceled reservations in the Washington DC metro area during inauguration week in response to calls from local and federal officials. + + But in 2023, Airbnb came under fire by conservative media for removing the parents of far-right activist Lauren Southern from the platform; the company quickly reversed the removal, calling it a “mistake.” Southern, a far-right Canadian YouTube personality, had criticized her parents’ removal from the platform on social media and later in an appearance on Fox News. + + Around the same time, Hernandez claims that Airbnb made the dangerous organizations team’s work slower and more complicated, requiring proposed removals to be reviewed by legal, communications and community policy departments leaders, according to NBC, which said it received Hernandez’s 161-page complaint from an anonymous source on Capitol Hill. + + “Our hands were tied — we weren’t removing people,” Hernandez told NBC. + + Prior to her work at Airbnb, Hernandez worked as a researcher for the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, an organization that tracks terrorist and hate groups, according to Whistleblower Aid.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Airbnb has undermined users’ safety by scaling back its work to remove extremists from its platform, a former contractor alleged in a new whistleblower complaint.', 'Jess Hernandez worked full-time as an investigations analyst for Airbnb’s dangerous organizations team from May 2022 to November 2023, researching extremist networks as part of the company’s work to keep dangerous individuals off the platform.', 'But she says she was terminated in November 2023, shortly after her team was directed by management to reinstate users who had been removed for their participation in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.', '“Airbnb spent much of 2023 scaling back and undermining the work of its team tasked with removing individuals affiliated with dangerous and extremist organizations from the platform,” Whistleblower Aid, the organization representing Hernandez, said in a statement.', 'It added that by making the changes, “Airbnb privately abandoned its public commitment to its hosts’ and guests’ safety and security under this policy.”', 'Hernandez filed the whistleblower disclosure in May to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission.', 'The complaint was first reported Wednesday by NBC News.', 'CNN has not viewed the complaint and could not independently verify the details included in the NBC News report.', 'Airbnb disputed Hernandez’s claims, saying that it continues to enforce against members of dangerous or extremist organizations.', '“Contrary to these baseless and inaccurate allegations, we have actually expanded the remit of our teamto detect and remove users who pose safety riskand this year we’ve hired additional team members to support the enforcement of this policy,” a spokesperson said in a statement.', '“As an online platform thatfacilitates millions of real-world interactions globally,we have robust policies, processes, and teams across the company focusing on promoting community safety, including preventing unsafe users from using the platform.”', 'Airbnb touts more than 5 million hosts who list space on the room- and home-rental platform.', 'In the first three months of 2024 alone, Airbnb facilitated the booking of more than 132 million nights and “experiences,” non-overnight offerings such as walking tours.', 'The whistleblower complaint comes as Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has for years tried to quell safety concerns over a business that is, at its heart, strangers staying in the homes of other strangers.', 'Those efforts have included crackdowns on parties, resources for solo female travelers and a ban on indoor security cameras.', 'Airbnb in 2016 asked members to sign a commitment that they would “accept people regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age” in order to host or make a booking on the platform.', 'And in the following years, it pointed to that pledge when removing users associated with extremist organizations.', 'In 2017, the company removed some accounts and canceled bookings associated with the Unite the Right White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.', 'And in 2021, months after the January 6 attack, Airbnb said it had removed “numerous individuals” who had been identified as having “participated in the violent criminal activity at the US Capitol.”', 'It added that it had canceled reservations in the Washington DC metro area during inauguration week in response to calls from local and federal officials.', 'But in 2023, Airbnb came under fire by conservative media for removing the parents of far-right activist Lauren Southern from the platform; the company quickly reversed the removal, calling it a “mistake.”', 'Southern, a far-right Canadian YouTube personality, had criticized her parents’ removal from the platform on social media and later in an appearance on Fox News.', 'Around the same time, Hernandez claims that Airbnb made the dangerous organizations team’s work slower and more complicated, requiring proposed removals to be reviewed by legal, communications and community policy departments leaders, according to NBC, which said it received Hernandez’s 161-page complaint from an anonymous source on Capitol Hill.', '“Our hands were tied — we weren’t removing people,” Hernandez told NBC.', 'Prior to her work at Airbnb, Hernandez worked as a researcher for the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, an organization that tracks terrorist and hate groups, according to Whistleblower Aid.']",-0.142295043306221,"“As an online platform thatfacilitates millions of real-world interactions globally,we have robust policies, processes, and teams across the company focusing on promoting community safety, including preventing unsafe users from using the platform.”","Prior to her work at Airbnb, Hernandez worked as a researcher for the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, an organization that tracks terrorist and hate groups, according to Whistleblower Aid.",-0.5226036045286391,"“Contrary to these baseless and inaccurate allegations, we have actually expanded the remit of our teamto detect and remove users who pose safety riskand this year we’ve hired additional team members to support the enforcement of this policy,” a spokesperson said in a statement.","Airbnb has undermined users’ safety by scaling back its work to remove extremists from its platform, a former contractor alleged in a new whistleblower complaint.",2024-06-20 +"Vitamix recalls almost 570,000 blender parts",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/business/vitamix-recalls-blender-parts/index.html," + Published + 3:18 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund. + + After dozens of reports of lacerations from exposed blades, Vitamix announced a recall of about 569,000 blending containers and blade bases for its high-powered blenders. It expands on an extensive recall already issued in 2018 for some of the most expensive and well-known blenders on the market. + + The recall said that the container can separate from the blade base and can expose the blades. Twenty-seven people have reported lacerations to Vitamix, which includes 11 reports from a 2018 recall that affected more than 100,000 units. + + Vitamix is not offering replacements or a refund. All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit. The repair kit includes a protective plastic shroud to put over the blade base as well as additional instructions. + + CNN has reached out to Vitamix for additional comment on the recall. + + Vitamix instructed customers who repaired their blenders in the 2018 recall to stop using those blender parts as well. + + The recall affects all Ascent and Venturist Series 8-ounce blending containers, 20-ounce blending containers, and blade bases. + + Faulty blade bases and blending containers may have been sold separately, according to the recall posted on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website. + + “The clear containers and black blade bases are included with certain Vitamix Venturist and Ascent Series blenders, such as the Venturist V1200, Ascent A2300, Ascent A2500, Ascent A3300, and Ascent A3500 blenders; and also sold separately, as sets, or bundles in various configurations,” the recall said. + + Ascent blenders can retail for up to $749.95 and the Venturist V1200 can retail for up to $549.95 on the Vitamix website. The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000. + + The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024. Amazon, Vitamix and QVC also sold the products online.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund.', 'After dozens of reports of lacerations from exposed blades, Vitamix announced a recall of about 569,000 blending containers and blade bases for its high-powered blenders.', 'It expands on an extensive recall already issued in 2018 for some of the most expensive and well-known blenders on the market.', 'The recall said that the container can separate from the blade base and can expose the blades.', 'Twenty-seven people have reported lacerations to Vitamix, which includes 11 reports from a 2018 recall that affected more than 100,000 units.', 'Vitamix is not offering replacements or a refund.', 'All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit.', 'The repair kit includes a protective plastic shroud to put over the blade base as well as additional instructions.', 'CNN has reached out to Vitamix for additional comment on the recall.', 'Vitamix instructed customers who repaired their blenders in the 2018 recall to stop using those blender parts as well.', 'The recall affects all Ascent and Venturist Series 8-ounce blending containers, 20-ounce blending containers, and blade bases.', 'Faulty blade bases and blending containers may have been sold separately, according to the recall posted on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.', '“The clear containers and black blade bases are included with certain Vitamix Venturist and Ascent Series blenders, such as the Venturist V1200, Ascent A2300, Ascent A2500, Ascent A3300, and Ascent A3500 blenders; and also sold separately, as sets, or bundles in various configurations,” the recall said.', 'Ascent blenders can retail for up to $749.95 and the Venturist V1200 can retail for up to $549.95 on the Vitamix website.', 'The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000.', 'The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024.', 'Amazon, Vitamix and QVC also sold the products online.']",0.0777252468465459,"The pricey blenders were sold at Costco, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target, Williams Sonoma, Walmart and specialty stores from April 2017 through May 2024.","All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit.",-0.3506919741630554,"The bundles cost even more and add to the base price, bringing the total to nearly $1,000.","Parts of a pricey blender that can cost up to $990 can cause deep cuts, Vitamix announced in an expanded recall Thursday — but don’t expect a refund.",2024-06-20 +Adnams brewery chairman to step down,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv22yerermzo,2024-06-20T13:04:19.608Z,"The chairman of historic brewer Adnams is to step down, marking the end of the family's representation on the company's board. The ale business was founded in Southwold, Suffolk by George and Ernest Adnams in 1872. Jonathan Adnams has confirmed he would step down before an annual shareholder meeting in June 2025. The family remains a major shareholder in the company. Adnams also announced it has made progress in its search for fundraising after announcing in February it was looking for financial backing to support ""future growth plans"". It said it has ""secured interest from multiple parties"". ""A board committee is currently evaluating indicative and non-binding proposals based on its greed framework to determine which route offers the best long-term value for the company and its shareholders,"" it said in a statement. It comes amid reports the historic brewery was exploring an outright sale earlier this year. As well as its brewery and distillery, Adnams runs 11 pubs and hotels and has a further 34 partner pubs across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. In May it announced operating losses of £2.5m in 2023, blaming higher costs. The company said falling inflation had ""eased some costs"" since the start of 2024. Longstanding chief executive Andy Wood will also step down from his role at the end of June to be replaced by chief financial officer Jenny Hanlon. Ms Hanlon will be the first female chief executive officer in the company's 152-year history. Follow Suffolk news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830 ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""The chairman of historic brewer Adnams is to step down, marking the end of the family's representation on the company's board."", 'The ale business was founded in Southwold, Suffolk by George and Ernest Adnams in 1872.', 'Jonathan Adnams has confirmed he would step down before an annual shareholder meeting in June 2025.', 'The family remains a major shareholder in the company.', 'Adnams also announced it has made progress in its search for fundraising after announcing in February it was looking for financial backing to support ""future growth plans"".', 'It said it has ""secured interest from multiple parties"". ""', 'A board committee is currently evaluating indicative and non-binding proposals based on its greed framework to determine which route offers the best long-term value for the company and its shareholders,"" it said in a statement.', 'It comes amid reports the historic brewery was exploring an outright sale earlier this year.', 'As well as its brewery and distillery, Adnams runs 11 pubs and hotels and has a further 34 partner pubs across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.', 'In May it announced operating losses of £2.5m in 2023, blaming higher costs.', 'The company said falling inflation had ""eased some costs"" since the start of 2024.', 'Longstanding chief executive Andy Wood will also step down from his role at the end of June to be replaced by chief financial officer Jenny Hanlon.', ""Ms Hanlon will be the first female chief executive officer in the company's 152-year history."", 'Follow Suffolk news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story?', 'Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830']",0.1287146050168872,"It said it has ""secured interest from multiple parties"". ""","In May it announced operating losses of £2.5m in 2023, blaming higher costs.",0.3972421288490295,"Adnams also announced it has made progress in its search for fundraising after announcing in February it was looking for financial backing to support ""future growth plans"".","In May it announced operating losses of £2.5m in 2023, blaming higher costs.",2024-06-20 +"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.",2024-06-20 +"New York governor signs bill regulating social media algorithms, in a US first",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/tech/new-york-hochul-social-media-algorithms-children/index.html," + Published + 2:58 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Big changes are coming for New York’s youngest social media users after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two bills into law Thursday clamping down on digital platforms’ algorithms and use of children’s data. + + The unprecedented move makes New York the first state to pass a law regulating social media algorithms amid nationwide allegations that apps such as Instagram or TikTok have hooked users with addictive features. + + Hochul’s signature comes days after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be applied to social media platforms, fueling a debate about social media’s potential impact on the mental health of users, particularly teens. + + Under New York’s SAFE For Kids Act, social media platforms will be required to display content chronologically by default for kids under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act will restrict websites from collecting or sharing the personal data of users under 18 without consent — expanding on existing federal privacy protections for children under 13. + + The SAFE For Kids Act also requires platforms to limit late-night app notifications that state lawmakers say are engineered to drive user engagement and that risk hindering sleep. Both pieces of legislation were introduced last fall and cleared the state legislature in early June. + + New York officials hailed the legislation as a critical check on social media platforms’ influence over teens. + + “Today, we save our children,” Hochul said Thursday at a press conference. “We have heard their cries for help, reminding us as adults that we have a moral responsibility to protect young New Yorkers from harm and from addictive forces.” + + Some academics have said that while studies highlight associations between specific types of social media activities and negative mental health outcomes – such as engaging in social comparison – a causal link between those harms and general social media use is less clear. Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide. + + “We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference. + + New York Attorney General Letitia James added Thursday that the legislation would take on “the most dangerous aspects of social media, the addictive algorithm feeds that exploit impressionable minds.” + + “These bills will empower my office to set rules and ensure companies are following them,” James said. + + Opponents of the social media algorithm bill — including but not limited to the tech industry — have said the legislation is likely unconstitutional because it infringes on children’s First Amendment rights and raises other questions about how social media can function in practice across state lines. + + “It’s a well-intentioned effort, but it’s aimed at the wrong target,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the tech industry advocacy group Chamber of Progress. “Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.” + + The legislation’s signing sets the stage for another in a long string of court battles over state social media laws. + + States such as Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and many others have passed laws clamping down on social media companies’ approach to teens. Industry groups have challenged some of that legislation, and courts have largely viewed the laws with skepticism. In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment. + + Two states, Texas and Florida, have passed laws that would restrict online platforms from moderating their sites; legal challenges reached the Supreme Court this term and a decision is expected within weeks.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Big changes are coming for New York’s youngest social media users after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two bills into law Thursday clamping down on digital platforms’ algorithms and use of children’s data.', 'The unprecedented move makes New York the first state to pass a law regulating social media algorithms amid nationwide allegations that apps such as Instagram or TikTok have hooked users with addictive features.', 'Hochul’s signature comes days after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be applied to social media platforms, fueling a debate about social media’s potential impact on the mental health of users, particularly teens.', 'Under New York’s SAFE For Kids Act, social media platforms will be required to display content chronologically by default for kids under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act will restrict websites from collecting or sharing the personal data of users under 18 without consent — expanding on existing federal privacy protections for children under 13.', 'The SAFE For Kids Act also requires platforms to limit late-night app notifications that state lawmakers say are engineered to drive user engagement and that risk hindering sleep.', 'Both pieces of legislation were introduced last fall and cleared the state legislature in early June.', 'New York officials hailed the legislation as a critical check on social media platforms’ influence over teens.', '“Today, we save our children,” Hochul said Thursday at a press conference. “', 'We have heard their cries for help, reminding us as adults that we have a moral responsibility to protect young New Yorkers from harm and from addictive forces.”', 'Some academics have said that while studies highlight associations between specific types of social media activities and negative mental health outcomes – such as engaging in social comparison – a causal link between those harms and general social media use is less clear.', 'Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide.', '“We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference.', 'New York Attorney General Letitia James added Thursday that the legislation would take on “the most dangerous aspects of social media, the addictive algorithm feeds that exploit impressionable minds.”', '“These bills will empower my office to set rules and ensure companies are following them,” James said.', 'Opponents of the social media algorithm bill — including but not limited to the tech industry — have said the legislation is likely unconstitutional because it infringes on children’s First Amendment rights and raises other questions about how social media can function in practice across state lines.', '“It’s a well-intentioned effort, but it’s aimed at the wrong target,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the tech industry advocacy group Chamber of Progress. “', 'Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.”', 'The legislation’s signing sets the stage for another in a long string of court battles over state social media laws.', 'States such as Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and many others have passed laws clamping down on social media companies’ approach to teens.', 'Industry groups have challenged some of that legislation, and courts have largely viewed the laws with skepticism.', 'In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment.', 'Two states, Texas and Florida, have passed laws that would restrict online platforms from moderating their sites; legal challenges reached the Supreme Court this term and a decision is expected within weeks.']",-0.0111473669090819,"“We will save lives with this, my friends,” Hochul said at Thursday’s press conference.","Still, numerous states and federal lawmakers have pushed for legislation clamping down on social media platforms, arguing that tech companies’ products are to blame for eating disorders, sleeplessness, distraction and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide.",-0.1618661642074585,"Algorithmic curation makes teenagers’ feeds healthier, and banning algorithms is going to make social media worse for teens.”","In Ohio this year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law prohibiting online platforms from creating accounts for users under 16 unless they obtain parental consent, saying the legislation likely violates the First Amendment.",2024-06-20 +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.”",2024-06-20 +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).",2024-06-20 +Steps you can take now to avoid college sticker shock,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/success/how-to-find-good-affordable-colleges/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Long before you take your high schooler on college campus tours, consider this: Shopping for college shouldn’t be any different than shopping for a home. When you want to buy a home, you come up with a range of how much you can afford and get pre-qualified for a mortgage. Then you look in neighborhoods that offer homes that meet your family’s needs and fall within your price range. + + “Adopt a mindset that we’re buying college like we’re buying a house,” said Beth Walker, author of “Buying College Better” and “Never Pay Retail for College.” + + As a financial adviser and certified college planning specialist, Walker tries to help families avoid a situation that many find themselves in at the 11th hour: Their child applies — and gets into — schools they cannot afford because the schools won’t give them enough aid. And then they just … try to make it work, no matter how much debt is involved for the parents or the student. + + Instead, she advises families to start as early as 9th or 10th grade in figuring out what is affordable for them as a family — so parents don’t sacrifice their own financial welfare and the future college student doesn’t drown in debt upon graduation. And second, she recommends assessing how a child’s talents and interests pare with majors and careers they might want to pursue. Doing both those things can help you target the right colleges to apply to. + + Mike McKinnon, executive director of the National Institute of Certified College Planners, defines the perfect college as one “where a student can go be happy, safe and successful, graduate in four years or less with a marketable degree and little or no debt.” + + In helping families align parents’ affordability constraints with their student’s academic and social needs, he cautions them not to automatically assume the Ivys or other high-prestige schools will be best simply because of their status. And he stresses what success in life looks like after college and notes that an Ivy League degree isn’t the only path to achieving it, especially if your child won’t get much aid to attend. + + In fact, said Todd Fothergill, founder and CEO of Strategies for College, a lot of brand-name schools don’t even offer merit-based aid, only need-based. So if you’re not rich, but you make too much to qualify for need-based aid, you could find yourself having to cover the entire cost of tuition, room and board every year, which is pushing $90,000 at some US colleges. + + Fothergill created a free calculator called CostHero that lets parents assess what financial resources they will have available to pay for a child’s college education. It then provides a range of affordability: At the low end is the number representing what they can pay if they don’t take on debt. And at the high end is the number they can pay if they also take out an unsubsidized federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). + + “If you’re not in a position to write a check for $90,000 a year, put up guardrails for yourself so you don’t blow up your retirement,” he said. + + The calculator inputs let you set the amount of resources you’re willing to use to pay for college from your income and savings, your child’s earnings from summer jobs, any family gifts, and any federal Stafford loans your child may take. It also factors in if you qualify for the federal American Opportunity Tax Credit. That credit, for qualified educational expenses, will reduce your tax bill or increase any refund you have coming. + + The calculator also gives you a debt-to-income score like the kind a mortgage lender might use to assess whether you’re a good credit risk. Ideally, he said, you don’t want your housing costs to exceed 36% of your gross income and your total debt — including debt from housing, cars, credit cards and any parental education loans — to exceed 43%. + + If your DTI ratio is close to or higher than 43% that is a sign you could get yourself into trouble if you end up having any financial problems while your child is in college, Fothergill said. + + “If folks have a way to determine the range of affordability prior to the onset of the college search, the outcomes are a lot better.  For example, if one knows that the range of affordability is between $30,000 [a year] with no parent debt and $50,000 with parent debt, then any college that comes in with a net cost in that range is, by definition, affordable,” Fothergill said. + + Net cost refers to the true cost of attendance after figuring out how much aid your child may get (e.g., grants and scholarships). + + Generally speaking, the biggest tuition discounts go to the most academically accomplished students in an incoming class. “The student needs to be in the top 25% of those admitted,” Walker said. + + Getting into that top 25% cohort is based on SAT or ACT scores, and having a high, unweighted GPA based on a rigorous high school curriculum. The curriculum’s academic rigor can be further bolstered by taking AP courses. + + Since your child is more likely to make the top quartile at some schools than others, Fothergill and Walker both recommend your child focus on applying only to those schools in which they stand the best chances of being in that top group to maximize their chances for merit-based aid. Otherwise, you‘ll spend money to apply to guidance-counselor-recommended “safety” schools or “reach” schools with no sense if those places are affordable to you should your child get in. + + Using reported data from admissions officers about their key criteria in admitting an incoming class and based on what more than 1,000 schools report about the qualifications they used to grant aid, Fothergill created another tool called ListHero. It gives students a score that helps gauge how competitive their profile is at a given school, relative to others admitted, and by extension their eligibility for tuition discounts. Right now the tool is only available to college planning professionals for a fee. But Fothergill plans to create a free mini-version for consumers to use. + + For parents doing their own research on test scores, GPA requirements, costs and aid, he recommends checking the Department of Education College Scorecard, the site CollegeData.com and the College Board. + + While your children are in high school they can take other steps to reduce the total cost of their education. + + One way is by doing well on the PSAT to qualify to compete for a National Merit Scholarship. + + Another is to take AP courses. If their high school doesn’t offer them, there is a program called Freshman Year for Free offered by the Modern States Education Alliance. It provides free AP placement courses and pays the fee for students to take the AP tests or college-level preparation (CLEP) tests administered through the College Board. + + Getting the minimum AP scores a college requires to earn a college credit will lower how much you ultimately have to spend on tuition. + + A third option is to see if your state has a program that offers a year of free in-state community college, the credits from which can be transferred to a state university from which your child could earn their degree. Or, if you plan to go to any other college, make sure the school will accept the credits from a community college course you plan to take. + + No matter what steps you take, starting the research and budgeting process early can save everyone a lot of stress, debt and potential heartache in the end. Said Walker: “We have to be a lot more intentional about this purchase.”",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Long before you take your high schooler on college campus tours, consider this: Shopping for college shouldn’t be any different than shopping for a home.', 'When you want to buy a home, you come up with a range of how much you can afford and get pre-qualified for a mortgage.', 'Then you look in neighborhoods that offer homes that meet your family’s needs and fall within your price range.', '“Adopt a mindset that we’re buying college like we’re buying a house,” said Beth Walker, author of “Buying College Better” and “Never Pay Retail for College.”', 'As a financial adviser and certifiedcollege planning specialist, Walker tries to help families avoid a situation that many find themselves in at the 11th hour: Their child applies — and gets into — schools they cannot afford because the schools won’t give them enough aid.', 'And then they just … try to make it work, no matter how much debt is involved for the parents or the student.', 'Instead, she advises families to start as early as 9th or 10th grade in figuring out what is affordable for them as a family — so parents don’t sacrifice their own financial welfare and the future college student doesn’t drown in debt upon graduation.', 'And second, she recommends assessing how a child’s talents and interests pare with majors and careers they might want to pursue.', 'Doing both those things can help you target the right colleges to apply to.', 'Mike McKinnon, executive director of the National Institute of Certified College Planners, defines the perfect college as one “where a student can go be happy, safe and successful, graduate in four years or less with a marketable degree and little or no debt.”', 'In helping families align parents’ affordability constraints with their student’s academic and social needs, he cautions them not to automatically assume the Ivys or other high-prestige schools will be best simply because of their status.', 'And he stresses what success in life looks like after college and notes that an Ivy League degree isn’t the only path to achieving it, especially if your child won’t get much aid to attend.', 'In fact, said Todd Fothergill, founder and CEO of Strategies for College, a lot of brand-name schools don’t even offer merit-based aid, only need-based.', 'So if you’re not rich, but you make too much to qualify for need-based aid, you could find yourself having to cover the entire cost of tuition, room and board every year, which is pushing $90,000 at some US colleges.', 'Fothergill created a free calculator called CostHero that lets parents assess what financial resources they will have available to pay for a child’s college education.', 'It then provides a range of affordability: At the low end is the number representing what they can pay if they don’t take on debt.', 'And at the high end is the number they can pay if they also take out an unsubsidized federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).', '“If you’re not in a position to write a check for $90,000 a year, put up guardrails for yourself so you don’t blow up your retirement,” he said.', 'The calculator inputs let you set the amount of resources you’re willing to use to pay for college from your income and savings, your child’s earnings from summer jobs, any family gifts, and any federal Stafford loans your child may take.', 'It also factors in if you qualify for the federal American Opportunity Tax Credit.', 'That credit, for qualified educational expenses, will reduce your tax bill or increase any refund you have coming.', 'The calculator also gives you a debt-to-income score like the kind a mortgage lender might use to assess whether you’re a good credit risk.', 'Ideally, he said, you don’t want your housing costs to exceed 36% of your gross income and your total debt — including debt from housing, cars, credit cards and any parental education loans — to exceed 43%.', 'If your DTI ratio is close to or higher than 43% that is a sign you could get yourself into trouble if you end up having any financial problems while your child is in college, Fothergill said.', '“If folks have a way to determine the range of affordability prior to the onset of the college search, the outcomes are a lot better.', 'For example, if one knows that the range of affordability is between $30,000 [a year] with no parent debt and $50,000 with parent debt, then any college that comes in with a net cost in that range is, by definition, affordable,” Fothergill said.', 'Net cost refers to the true cost of attendance after figuring out how much aid your child may get (e.g., grants and scholarships).', 'Generally speaking, the biggest tuition discounts go to the most academically accomplished students in an incoming class. “', 'The student needs to be in the top 25% of those admitted,” Walker said.', 'Getting into that top 25% cohort is based on SAT or ACT scores, and having a high, unweighted GPA based on a rigorous high school curriculum.', 'The curriculum’s academic rigor can be further bolstered by taking AP courses.', 'Since your child is more likely to make the top quartile at some schools than others, Fothergill and Walker both recommend your child focus on applying only to those schools in which they stand the best chances of being in that top group to maximize their chances for merit-based aid.', 'Otherwise, you‘ll spend money to apply to guidance-counselor-recommended “safety” schools or “reach” schools with no sense if those places are affordable to you should your child get in.', 'Using reported data from admissions officers about their key criteria in admitting an incoming class and based on what more than 1,000 schools report about the qualifications they used to grant aid, Fothergill created another tool called ListHero.', 'It gives students a score that helps gaugehow competitive their profile isat a given school, relative to others admitted, and by extension their eligibility for tuition discounts.', 'Right now the tool is only available to college planning professionals for a fee.', 'But Fothergill plans to create a free mini-version for consumers to use.', 'For parents doing their own research on test scores, GPA requirements, costs and aid, he recommends checking the Department of Education College Scorecard, the site CollegeData.com and the College Board.', 'While your children are in high school they can take other steps to reduce the total cost of their education.', 'One way is by doing well on the PSAT to qualify to compete for a National Merit Scholarship.', 'Another is to take AP courses.', 'If their high school doesn’t offer them, there is a program called Freshman Year for Free offered by the Modern States Education Alliance.', 'It provides free AP placement courses and pays the fee for students to take the AP tests or college-level preparation (CLEP) tests administered through the College Board.', 'Getting the minimum AP scores a college requires to earn a college credit will lower how much you ultimately have to spend on tuition.', 'A third option is to see if your state has a program that offers a year of free in-state community college, the credits from which can be transferred to a state university from which your child could earn their degree.', 'Or, if you plan to go to any other college, make sure the school will accept the credits from a community college course you plan to take.', 'No matter what steps you take, starting the research and budgeting process early can save everyone a lot of stress, debt and potential heartache in the end.', 'Said Walker: “We have to be a lot more intentional about this purchase.”']",0.2311100222180991,"Since your child is more likely to make the top quartile at some schools than others, Fothergill and Walker both recommend your child focus on applying only to those schools in which they stand the best chances of being in that top group to maximize their chances for merit-based aid.","Instead, she advises families to start as early as 9th or 10th grade in figuring out what is affordable for them as a family — so parents don’t sacrifice their own financial welfare and the future college student doesn’t drown in debt upon graduation.",0.7111026823520661,"“If folks have a way to determine the range of affordability prior to the onset of the college search, the outcomes are a lot better.","If your DTI ratio is close to or higher than 43% that is a sign you could get yourself into trouble if you end up having any financial problems while your child is in college, Fothergill said.",2024-06-20 +Workers sue Disney after moving for cancelled Florida project,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdd34k33dro,2024-06-20T18:21:12.223Z,"Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled. In a proposed class action lawsuit, they accuse the media giant of misrepresenting its plans when it announced in 2021 it would open a new $1bn campus for theme park staff in Florida. The firm told roughly 2,000 people in California to relocate or resign. But less than two years later, the company reversed course. The complaint says staff had relied on Disney's claims when they uprooted their lives, incurring major moving expenses as they sold family homes and bought new ones. ""These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers. Disney declined to comment on the suit, which was brought by two current employees Maria de la Cruz, a vice president of product design, and George Fong, creative director of product design. The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive. It also followed a high-profile fight between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the company's relationship with the state. The corporate roller-coaster ride involving the project coincided with a major surge in home prices and mortgage rates in the US, a factor that some surveys have found have made Americans increasingly reluctant to relocate for jobs. The lawsuit said Disney's initial plans had pushed up home prices in the area, which were hit after it cancelled the project. Some at Disney had opted to resign rather than relocate; others opted to wait, especially after the firm informed them the project would be delayed, according to the lawsuit. But about 250 people had agreed to the transfer on the timeline the company had set out initially, according to the complaint. Mr Fong sold his childhood home to move to Florida. Since his return to California this year, he is living in a smaller house. The lawsuit said Disney ""did not compensate him fairly for the damages he had suffered and would suffer,"" but he agreed to transfer because he recognised that his job security was dependent on it. Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled.', 'In a proposed class action lawsuit, they accuse the media giant of misrepresenting its plans when it announced in 2021 it would open a new $1bn campus for theme park staff in Florida.', 'The firm told roughly 2,000 people in California to relocate or resign.', 'But less than two years later, the company reversed course.', 'The complaint says staff had relied on Disney\'s claims when they uprooted their lives, incurring major moving expenses as they sold family homes and bought new ones. ""', 'These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers.', 'Disney declined to comment on the suit, which was brought by two current employees Maria de la Cruz, a vice president of product design, and George Fong, creative director of product design.', 'The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive.', ""It also followed a high-profile fight between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the company's relationship with the state."", 'The corporate roller-coaster ride involving the project coincided with a major surge in home prices and mortgage rates in the US, a factor that some surveys have found have made Americans increasingly reluctant to relocate for jobs.', ""The lawsuit said Disney's initial plans had pushed up home prices in the area, which were hit after it cancelled the project."", 'Some at Disney had opted to resign rather than relocate; others opted to wait, especially after the firm informed them the project would be delayed, according to the lawsuit.', 'But about 250 people had agreed to the transfer on the timeline the company had set out initially, according to the complaint.', 'Mr Fong sold his childhood home to move to Florida.', 'Since his return to California this year, he is living in a smaller house.', 'The lawsuit said Disney ""did not compensate him fairly for the damages he had suffered and would suffer,"" but he agreed to transfer because he recognised that his job security was dependent on it.', 'Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said.']",-0.1851322292929587,"Since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, numerous others have expressed interest, Mr Lohr said.",Disney workers are suing the company for damages after they were told to move across the country for a project that was later cancelled.,-0.621955132484436,"The company changed its mind on the Lake Nona campus in 2023, after Bob Iger returned to lead the company, quickly embarking on a major cost-cutting drive.","These folks are really frustrated by their circumstances,"" said lawyer Jason Lohr, who is representing the workers.",2024-06-20 +Muslim millionaire gives major donation to Reform UK,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11xxn833yo,2024-06-19T21:03:43.925Z,"A Muslim entrepreneur has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Reform UK, claiming the UK has ""lost control of our borders”. The precise amount Zia Yusuf has given to the party has not been disclosed but Reform UK claims it is the biggest donation of their general election campaign so far. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has faced criticism from Muslim organisations after he said a growing number of Muslims do not share British values. When asked by the BBC about critics labelling some in Reform UK racist, Mr Yusuf said the party leadership ""feel very strongly that we should protect British values and put British people of all religions and creeds first."" As well as being a donor, the BBC understands the 37-year-old will have a public role for Reform UK during the campaign. In an interview with The Telegraph, which first reported the story of his donation, Mr Yusuf said: ""I love Britain and I'm a patriot, a British Muslim patriot, which I believe the vast majority of Muslims in the UK are."" Mr Yusuf, who earned an estimated £31m from selling his luxury concierge app Velocity Black last year, told the BBC he believed ""unsustainable"" net migration levels were making it harder for legal migrants to integrate and overwhelming the NHS. ""We have lost control of our borders. That's my view. And I think it's an objective statement,"" he told the BBC. The entrepreneur, whose parents came to Britain from Sri Lanka in the 1980s and worked in the NHS, told the BBC ""we need a grown-up discussion about immigration without name-calling"". He said it was his ""patriotic duty"" to fund Nigel Farage and Reform UK. Last month, Mr Farage told Sky News: “We have a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values, [who] in fact loathe much of what we stand for.” Asked if he was talking about Muslims, he said: “We are."" Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, accused him of deploying “horribly Islamophobic, racist and hate-filled rhetoric of misinformation”. Reform UK said Mr Yusuf's donation was given “very recently” as a single lump sum so it has not yet shown up in Electoral Commission donation figures. In the first week of the campaign, Reform UK raised £140,000, compared to Labour's £927,000 the Conservatives £575,000 and the Lib Dems £455,000, the Electoral Commission reported. Born in Scotland, Mr Yusuf moved with his parents to the south of England and won a partial scholarship to attend the private Hampton School in Middlesex. After working at Goldman Sachs, he quit his high-paying job to start Velocity Black with an old school friend. Until recently, he was a Conservative Party member but left due to Rishi Sunak's government's inability to ""make difficult decisions."" Despite parallels with Mr Sunak - both sons of migrants who entered finance after attending elite fee-paying schools - Mr Yusuf said the PM can no longer ""credibly govern"". ""Whatever is in the hearts of Conservative leaders, the reality is they are so disunited, and when there is so much infighting in the party,"" he said. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['A Muslim entrepreneur has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Reform UK, claiming the UK has ""lost control of our borders”.', 'The precise amount Zia Yusuf has given to the party has not been disclosed but Reform UK claims it is the biggest donation of their general election campaign so far.', 'Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has faced criticism from Muslim organisations after he said a growing number of Muslims do not share British values.', 'When asked by the BBC about critics labelling some in Reform UK racist, Mr Yusuf said the party leadership ""feel very strongly that we should protect British values and put British people of all religions and creeds first.""', 'As well as being a donor, the BBC understands the 37-year-old will have a public role for Reform UK during the campaign.', 'In an interview with The Telegraph, which first reported the story of his donation, Mr Yusuf said: ""I love Britain and I\'m a patriot, a British Muslim patriot, which I believe the vast majority of Muslims in the UK are.""', 'Mr Yusuf, who earned an estimated £31m from selling his luxury concierge app Velocity Black last year, told the BBC he believed ""unsustainable"" net migration levels were making it harder for legal migrants to integrate and overwhelming the NHS. ""', 'We have lost control of our borders.', ""That's my view."", 'And I think it\'s an objective statement,"" he told the BBC.', 'The entrepreneur, whose parents came to Britain from Sri Lanka in the 1980s and worked in the NHS, told the BBC ""we need a grown-up discussion about immigration without name-calling"".', 'He said it was his ""patriotic duty"" to fund Nigel Farage and Reform UK.', 'Last month, Mr Farage told Sky News: “We have a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values, [who] in fact loathe much of what we stand for.”', 'Asked if he was talking about Muslims, he said: “We are.""', 'Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, accused him of deploying “horribly Islamophobic, racist and hate-filled rhetoric of misinformation”.', ""Reform UK said Mr Yusuf's donation was given “very recently” as a single lump sum so it has not yet shown up in Electoral Commission donation figures."", ""In the first week of the campaign, Reform UK raised £140,000, compared to Labour's £927,000 the Conservatives £575,000 and the Lib Dems £455,000, the Electoral Commission reported."", 'Born in Scotland, Mr Yusuf moved with his parents to the south of England and won a partial scholarship to attend the private Hampton School in Middlesex.', 'After working at Goldman Sachs, he quit his high-paying job to start Velocity Black with an old school friend.', 'Until recently, he was a Conservative Party member but left due to Rishi Sunak\'s government\'s inability to ""make difficult decisions.""', 'Despite parallels with Mr Sunak - both sons of migrants who entered finance after attending elite fee-paying schools - Mr Yusuf said the PM can no longer ""credibly govern"". ""', 'Whatever is in the hearts of Conservative leaders, the reality is they are so disunited, and when there is so much infighting in the party,"" he said.']",0.0062354629086352,"In an interview with The Telegraph, which first reported the story of his donation, Mr Yusuf said: ""I love Britain and I'm a patriot, a British Muslim patriot, which I believe the vast majority of Muslims in the UK are.""","Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, accused him of deploying “horribly Islamophobic, racist and hate-filled rhetoric of misinformation”.",-0.3582432627677917,"In the first week of the campaign, Reform UK raised £140,000, compared to Labour's £927,000 the Conservatives £575,000 and the Lib Dems £455,000, the Electoral Commission reported.","Mr Yusuf, who earned an estimated £31m from selling his luxury concierge app Velocity Black last year, told the BBC he believed ""unsustainable"" net migration levels were making it harder for legal migrants to integrate and overwhelming the NHS. """,2024-06-20 +"Your Voice, Your Vote: 'How do I get on the housing ladder?'",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdd30xk04ko,2024-06-20T16:50:50.364Z,"Many people have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to say that housing is the most important issue for them in this general election. The BBC's cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey answers your questions on this topic, plus other personal finance matters. Daniel, 32, from Nottinghamshire wants to know how the main parties will help people like him get on the housing ladder. He and his partner both work full-time and rent their home privately. They feel ""penalised for something that's not our fault and would like to own our own home one day"". One of the biggest issues for voters in this election is housing - and the parties are fully aware of this. When pressed by the BBC's Nick Robinson, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that owning a home has become more difficult. There are a range of policies floated by the various parties aimed at movers and first-time buyers – from building more homes, helping with the deposit, abolishing stamp duty for some buyers and so on. Don’t forget, some housing policy is devolved, so decisions are not made entirely in Westminster. My colleague Douglas Fraser has written about the situation in Scotland. All these policies will need to go under the microscope. Promises to build require levels of construction not seen for decades. Help with deposits doesn’t address whether new buyers can cope with high mortgage rates. Stamp duty isn’t paid by most first-time buyers in many areas of the country. Yasmin from Greater Manchester wants to know how parties are going to bring down rent so professionals in their 30s don't have to house-share. We’ve had some new, official figures on the cost of renting a home. Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June. That’s a big rise compared with the norm of the last decade, but the rate has slowed over recent months. The National Residential Landlords Association says there is a “chronic shortage” of homes to rent, with lots of tenants chasing each home. That’s why rents have risen sharply. It's about supply and demand. While analysts think these increases will continue to slow, there are wider issues tied into parties’ housing policies overall – such as whether enough homes, specifically to rent, are being built. Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules. You are correct to point out that there is relatively little mention of inheritance tax in the manifestos. Some commentators claim it is the most “hated” tax in the UK, but – of course – that depends entirely on who you ask! Labour wants to crack down on inheritance tax avoidance. The Green Party wants to reform it to make it fairer. Reform wants to abolish it for estates under £2bn. How any of this can be achieved or paid for is open to scrutiny. It is worth remembering that only 4% of estates were subject to inheritance tax following deaths in 2020-21. However, rising wealth and a frozen threshold mean this proportion is rising. Peter Green wonders why putting up taxes is such a sensitive issue for the main parties. He thinks taxes should rise to improve public services given the ""dreadful state"" of the NHS, roads and public transport This issue is at the heart of the election campaign, and I’d heartily recommend this piece from my colleague Faisal Islam on economic credibility. Each party makes general promises on tax and spending on public services in their manifesto. Of course, the real detail comes from a party in power when a chancellor delivers a Budget. Remember, while the two main parties say they won’t raise tax rates, the reality is that - by freezing income tax thresholds – more people are being drawn into paying more in income tax. Overall, the tax burden on us all will rise under either of them. Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services. Krista from Nottingham wants to know what policies might stimulate the housing market to encourage economic growth in a currently stagnant UK economy. The housing market is, indeed, reflective of the UK economy as a whole. The cost of living, job security, interest rates, and just general economic confidence all have an impact on people’s decisions on whether or not to buy or sell a home. The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates. That’s meant little movement in house prices which, after seeing them soar, will be a relief to some first-time buyers. Stamp duty relief is a lever that chancellors like to pull to stimulate the sector. That’s a specific policy stated by the Conservatives and Reform. But the housing market alone will not create the kind of economic growth that all parties want to see, which is why their wider economic policies are coming under a great deal of scrutiny. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Many people have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to say that housing is the most important issue for them in this general election.', ""The BBC's cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey answers your questions on this topic, plus other personal finance matters."", 'Daniel, 32, from Nottinghamshire wants to know how the main parties will help people like him get on the housing ladder.', 'He and his partner both work full-time and rent their home privately.', 'They feel ""penalised for something that\'s not our fault and would like to own our own home one day"".', 'One of the biggest issues for voters in this election is housing - and the parties are fully aware of this.', ""When pressed by the BBC's Nick Robinson, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that owning a home has become more difficult."", 'There are a range of policies floated by the various parties aimed at movers and first-time buyers – from building more homes, helping with the deposit, abolishing stamp duty for some buyers and so on.', 'Don’t forget, some housing policy is devolved, so decisions are not made entirely in Westminster.', 'My colleague Douglas Fraser has written about the situation in Scotland.', 'All these policies will need to go under the microscope.', 'Promises to build require levels of construction not seen for decades.', 'Help with deposits doesn’t address whether new buyers can cope with high mortgage rates.', 'Stamp duty isn’t paid by most first-time buyers in many areas of the country.', ""Yasmin from Greater Manchester wants to know how parties are going to bring down rent so professionals in their 30s don't have to house-share."", 'We’ve had some new, official figures on the cost of renting a home.', 'Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.', 'That’s a big rise compared with the norm of the last decade, but the rate has slowed over recent months.', 'The National Residential Landlords Association says there is a “chronic shortage” of homes to rent, with lots of tenants chasing each home.', 'That’s why rents have risen sharply.', ""It's about supply and demand."", 'While analysts think these increases will continue to slow, there are wider issues tied into parties’ housing policies overall – such as whether enough homes, specifically to rent, are being built.', 'Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules.', 'You are correct to point out that there is relatively little mention of inheritance tax in the manifestos.', 'Some commentators claim it is the most “hated” tax in the UK, but – of course – that depends entirely on who you ask!', 'Labour wants to crack down on inheritance tax avoidance.', 'The Green Party wants to reform it to make it fairer.', 'Reform wants to abolish it for estates under £2bn.', 'How any of this can be achieved or paid for is open to scrutiny.', 'It is worth remembering that only 4% of estates were subject to inheritance tax following deaths in 2020-21.', 'However, rising wealth and a frozen threshold mean this proportion is rising.', 'Peter Green wonders why putting up taxes is such a sensitive issue for the main parties.', 'He thinks taxes should rise to improve public services given the ""dreadful state"" of the NHS, roads and public transport This issue is at the heart of the election campaign, and I’d heartily recommend this piece from my colleague Faisal Islam on economic credibility.', 'Each party makes general promises on tax and spending on public services in their manifesto.', 'Of course, the real detail comes from a party in power when a chancellor delivers a Budget.', 'Remember, while the two main parties say they won’t raise tax rates, the reality is that - by freezing income tax thresholds – more people are being drawn into paying more in income tax.', 'Overall, the tax burden on us all will rise under either of them.', 'Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services.', 'Krista from Nottingham wants to know what policies might stimulate the housing market to encourage economic growth in a currently stagnant UK economy.', 'The housing market is, indeed, reflective of the UK economy as a whole.', 'The cost of living, job security, interest rates, and just general economic confidence all have an impact on people’s decisions on whether or not to buy or sell a home.', 'The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates.', 'That’s meant little movement in house prices which, after seeing them soar, will be a relief to some first-time buyers.', 'Stamp duty relief is a lever that chancellors like to pull to stimulate the sector.', 'That’s a specific policy stated by the Conservatives and Reform.', 'But the housing market alone will not create the kind of economic growth that all parties want to see, which is why their wider economic policies are coming under a great deal of scrutiny.']",0.2092927986773165,"Smaller parties, perhaps for political reasons, are a touch more confident in saying they will raise certain taxes to spend on certain services.","Sharon thinks the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax should be raised to keep up with house prices, but none of the parties seem likely to change the rules.",0.2084467569986979,Average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.,"The sector has been relatively subdued recently, mostly because of relatively high mortgage rates.",2024-06-20 +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.,,2024-06-20 +Hyundai: India’s biggest IPO could come from South Korean car manufacturer,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/17/cars/india-hyundai-ipo-south-korea-intl-hnk/index.html," + Published + 12:39 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2024 + ","Hyundai Motor’s India unit sought regulatory approval on Saturday for a stock market listing in Mumbai, which could be the nation’s biggest and will see the South Korean parent sell a stake of up to 17.5% in the company. + + The initial public offering (IPO) will make it the country’s first car maker to go public in two decades since Maruti Suzuki in 2003, and would come just as Indian stock markets are trading near record highs. + + Hyundai counts India as a crucial growth market where it has two manufacturing units and has invested $5 billion, with commitments to pump in another $4 billion over the next decade. The world’s biggest car market after China and the United States is the company’s third-biggest revenue generator globally. + + The Hyundai draft prospectus filed gave no details of the pricing of the IPO or the company’s valuation, but sources have said Hyundai aims to raise around $2.5 to $3 billion at a valuation of up to $30 billion. + + Hyundai, India’s second-biggest car maker behind Maruti Suzuki, will not issue new shares in the IPO, which will involve its South Korean parent selling part of its stake in the wholly owned unit to retail and other investors via a so-called “offer for sale” route. + + The listing is seen putting Hyundai Motor India on a stronger footing versus Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and other rivals as it could make future fundraising easier, without the need to depend on its Korean parent. + + Hyundai expects the listing of the equity shares in India “will enhance our visibility and brand image,” and “provide liquidity and a public market” for the shares, the company said in the draft prospectus filed on Saturday. + + It did not provide a timeline for the listing, but typically India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, takes three to six months to approve, reject or seek more information on IPOs. + + The company said it plans to focus on “premiumisation” — selling more expensive cars, as well as increasing its EV market share and adding charging stations, where it lags behind Tata Motors. Hyundai India also said it wants to ship more cars, “strengthening” its position as an export hub. + + Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the automotive industry as a cornerstone to boosting growth in the world’s fifth-largest economy. His government has built hundreds of kilometers of new roads and is incentivising car makers to increase local manufacturing, especially of electric vehicles. + + Hyundai entered India 28 years ago and has won over buyers with its affordable cars such as Santro and sports-utility vehicle Creta. The company has plans to launch new electric vehicles, establish charging stations and a battery pack assembly unit. + + The South Korean parent will sell up to 142 million of the total 812 million shares, or 17.5%, in the IPO. The sources have said the final percentage could be lower. + + With the IPO, Hyundai aims to unlock value for the Indian business and also help the Korean automaker shed its valuation discount compared to global and Asian peers. + + Benchmark Indian stock indices have doubled between 2019 and 2023, while Seoul’s KOSPI index has risen just 30% over the same period. + + Hyundai is being advised on the IPO by investment banks Citi, JP Morgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and India’s Kotak.",CNN,17/06/2024,"['Hyundai Motor’s India unit sought regulatory approval on Saturday for a stock market listing in Mumbai, which could be thenation’s biggestand will see the South Korean parent sell a stake of up to 17.5% in the company.', 'The initial public offering (IPO) will make it the country’s first car maker to go public in two decades since Maruti Suzuki in 2003, and would come just as Indian stock markets are trading near record highs.', 'Hyundai counts India as a crucial growth market where it has two manufacturing units and has invested $5 billion, with commitments to pump in another $4 billion over the next decade.', 'The world’s biggest car market after China and the United States is the company’s third-biggest revenue generator globally.', 'The Hyundai draft prospectus filed gave no details of the pricing of the IPO or the company’s valuation, but sources have said Hyundai aims to raise around $2.5 to $3 billion at a valuation of up to $30 billion.', 'Hyundai, India’s second-biggest car maker behind Maruti Suzuki, will not issue new shares in the IPO, which will involve its South Korean parent selling part of its stake in the wholly owned unit to retail and other investors via a so-called “offer for sale” route.', 'The listing is seen putting Hyundai Motor India on a stronger footing versus Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors andother rivalsas it could make future fundraising easier, without the need to depend on its Korean parent.', 'Hyundai expects the listing of the equity shares in India “will enhance our visibility and brand image,” and “provide liquidity and a public market” for the shares, the company said in the draft prospectus filed on Saturday.', 'It did not provide a timeline for the listing, but typically India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, takes three to six months to approve, reject or seek more information on IPOs.', 'The company said it plans to focus on “premiumisation” — selling more expensive cars, as well as increasing its EV market share and adding charging stations, where it lags behind Tata Motors.', 'Hyundai India also said it wants to ship more cars, “strengthening” its position as an export hub.', 'Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the automotive industry as a cornerstone to boosting growth in the world’s fifth-largest economy.', 'His government has built hundreds of kilometers of new roads and is incentivising car makers to increase local manufacturing, especially of electric vehicles.', 'Hyundai entered India 28 years ago and has won over buyers with its affordable cars such as Santro and sports-utility vehicle Creta.', 'The company has plans to launch new electric vehicles, establish charging stations and a battery pack assembly unit.', 'The South Korean parent will sell up to 142 million of the total 812 million shares, or 17.5%, in the IPO.', 'The sources have said the final percentage could be lower.', 'With the IPO, Hyundai aims to unlock value for the Indian business and also help the Korean automaker shed its valuation discount compared to global and Asian peers.', 'Benchmark Indian stock indices have doubled between 2019 and 2023, while Seoul’s KOSPI index has risen just 30% over the same period.', 'Hyundai is being advised on the IPO by investment banks Citi, JP Morgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and India’s Kotak.']",0.2621860827397431,"The listing is seen putting Hyundai Motor India on a stronger footing versus Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors andother rivalsas it could make future fundraising easier, without the need to depend on its Korean parent.",The sources have said the final percentage could be lower.,0.8568693832917647,"Benchmark Indian stock indices have doubled between 2019 and 2023, while Seoul’s KOSPI index has risen just 30% over the same period.",The sources have said the final percentage could be lower.,2024-06-20 +"Massive computer outage at car dealerships could last for days, company says",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/tech/car-dealership-cdk-cyber-incident-outage/index.html," + Updated + 3:13 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","US and Canadian auto dealerships remained at a near-standstill on Thursday because of a second cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers – an outage that could last for days, perhaps eating into sales over the first official weekend of summer. + + On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN: “We are actively investigating a cyber incident. Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible.” + + Later that day the company announced that most of the critical computer systems were back online. But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse. + + “Late in the evening of June 19, we experienced an additional cyber incident and proactively shut down most of our systems. In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers,” CDK said in a statement shared Thursday morning. “We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible.” + + The company later told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation. + + CDK operates numerous different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service. Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many. + + “We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland. + + To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore. Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access. + + Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data. But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business. Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead. + + It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern. + + “We’re in the summer months,” he said. “This is where we need systems functioning.” + + Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems. + + “My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock. + + But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said. There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for. + + Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways serve customers even with all technology issues. + + Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers. + + “Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers. While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN. + + Not just car sales, but parts and service can also be disrupted. + + The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, Benstock said. Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['US and Canadian auto dealerships remained at a near-standstill on Thursday because of a second cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers – an outage that could last for days, perhaps eating into sales over the first official weekend of summer.', 'On Wednesday, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN: “We are actively investigating a cyber incident.', 'Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible.”', 'Later that day the company announced that most of the critical computer systems were back online.', 'But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse.', '“Late in the evening of June 19, we experienced an additional cyber incident and proactively shut down most of our systems.', 'In partnership with third party experts, we are assessing the impact and providing regular updates to our customers,” CDK said in a statement shared Thursday morning. “', 'We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible.”', 'The company later told dealers the systems could be down for several days, according to two sources briefed on the situation.', 'CDK operates numerous different products that car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service.', 'Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but the system shutdown has been a problem for many.', '“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.', 'To protect customer privacy, customers’ details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on a desk anymore.', 'Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access.', 'Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data.', 'But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business.', 'Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead.', 'It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern.', '“We’re in the summer months,” he said. “', 'This is where we need systems functioning.”', 'Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems.', '“My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock.', 'But salespeople could lack access to customer agreements that had been previously negotiated, making it harder to close those sales, dealers CNN spoke with said.', 'There’s more than just the negotiated price of the car involved, since these agreements can involve rebates and incentives, some of which customers must show they’re qualified for.', 'Ramsey, whose company operates a number of dealerships, said automakers including Kia, Toyota and Stellantis, which makes Jeep and Dodge vehicles, have been very helpful with finding ways serve customers even with all technology issues.', 'Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers.', '“Although there is an industry-wide system outage for some dealers who use CDK, Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers.', 'While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.', 'Not just car sales, but parts and service can also be disrupted.', 'The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, Benstock said.', 'Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.']",0.0652849883185203,"While a customer’s local dealer remains the best place for information about their sales and service needs, they can always contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673,” Ford said in a statement shared with CNN.","Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.",-0.4192784769194467,"“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.","But Thursday morning, the company sent dealerships another message indicating things had a taken a turn for the worse.",2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +Elon Musk is trying to woo advertisers after telling them to ‘go f–k yourself’,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/media/elon-musk-advertisers-cannes-lions/index.html," + Published + 8:26 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 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. + + Elon Musk told advertisers last year to “go f**k yourself.” This year, he is showcasing a much different attitude. + + The erratic billionaire, realizing that he very much needs major advertisers to power X, was in the South of France on Wednesday, attending Cannes Lions, the world’s largest advertising festival. Sitting for an interview with Mark Read, the chief executive of marketing giant WPP, Musk was immediately — and directly — confronted with his past rhetoric toward the advertising community. + + “Back in November you had a message to us. You told us to go f**k ourselves, so maybe we start there,” Read said, not mincing any words. “Why did you say that and what did you mean?” + + Musk, striking a starkly different tone from when he fumed at the advertising community during his infamous interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, asserted that he hadn’t actually directed his profane remarks toward “advertisers as a whole.” This time, in what amounted to a tepid walk-back of his previous attitude, Musk agreed that advertisers do indeed “have a right to appear next to content that they find compatible with their brands.” + + “That’s totally fine,” Musk said, as if that had been his position all along. Setting up a straw man, he then added, “What is not cool is insisting that there can be no content they disagree with on the platform.” + + Of course, major advertisers have never insisted that X — or any social media company — ensure that their platforms are entirely free of “content they disagree with.” What advertisers have voiced displeasure with is when their paid marketing is placed directly next to hate speech or other forms of toxic content, which X has repeatedly done. + + But perhaps more discouraging to the advertising community had been Musk’s own unhinged behavior. The SpaceX and Tesla boss has gleefully promoted conspiracy theories, used his perch as the most-followed X account to launch ugly attacks on critics, smeared the news media, worked to stifle free speech that inconveniences him, and elevated political extremists on the platform, among other offensive actions. Last year, in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel, Musk casually endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, only apologizing days later after coming under immense pressure. + + Put together, it’s is no mystery why major brands have taken their advertising dollars elsewhere. + + Not only has X proven to be an unsafe advertising environment for their brands, but the leader of the company himself has engaged in the very toxic behavior they don’t want their companies associated with. Which is why brands fled X in droves last year, dealing a devastating blow to the company’s business, which had been largely fueled by advertising. Musk even said at the time that the damage to X’s bottom line was so great, it could eventually kill the company. + + Musk likely does not want to see the platform go the way of the woolly mammoth, which is why he is now trying to woo advertisers back. The trouble for the mercurial mogul is that, despite his ability to sometimes say the correct words at events such as Cannes Lions, the real Musk is not brand safe — and neither is his platform. + + In just the last month, Musk has blasted the Associated Press as a supposed “far left propaganda machine,” claimed “the left has become an extinctionist movement,” advanced a version of the Great Replacement Theory by arguing that President Joe Biden’s administration is engaged in “voter importation” from Mexico, assailed The Washington Post as a “far left propaganda publication,” promoted the notion that the Democratic Party is engaged in “lawfare” against Republicans, contended that the conviction of Donald Trump was “abuse of the law for political purposes,” and endorsed the notion that diversity and equity programs are making science dangerous, among other things. + + That is not the type of rhetoric blue chip companies want their carefully curated brands anywhere near. And until Musk’s actions on X start to match the calculated show he puts on for advertisers when trying to win over their business, it is hard to see major brands returning en masse to his platform.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['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.', 'Elon Musktold advertisers last year to “go f**k yourself.”', 'This year, he is showcasing a much different attitude.', 'The erratic billionaire, realizing that he very much needs major advertisers to powerX, was in the South ofFranceon Wednesday, attendingCannes Lions, the world’s largest advertising festival.', 'Sitting for an interview withMark Read, the chief executive of marketing giantWPP, Musk was immediately —and directly— confronted with his past rhetoric toward the advertising community.', '“Back in November you had a message to us.', 'You told us to go f**k ourselves, so maybe we start there,” Read said, not mincing any words. “', 'Why did you say that and what did you mean?”', 'Musk, striking a starkly different tone from when he fumed at the advertising community during his infamous interview withAndrew Ross Sorkin, asserted that he hadn’t actually directed his profane remarks toward “advertisers as a whole.”', 'This time, in what amounted to a tepid walk-back of his previous attitude, Musk agreed that advertisers do indeed “have a right to appear next to content that they find compatible with their brands.”', '“That’s totally fine,” Musk said, as if that had been his position all along.', 'Setting up a straw man, he then added, “What is not cool is insisting that there can be no content they disagree with on the platform.”', 'Of course, major advertisers have never insisted that X — or any social media company — ensure that their platforms are entirely free of “content they disagree with.”', 'What advertisers have voiced displeasure with is when their paid marketing is placed directly next to hate speech or other forms of toxic content, which X hasrepeatedlydone.', 'But perhaps more discouraging to the advertising community had been Musk’s own unhinged behavior.', 'TheSpaceXandTeslaboss has gleefully promoted conspiracy theories, used his perch as the most-followed X account to launch ugly attacks on critics, smeared the news media, worked to stifle free speech that inconveniences him, and elevated political extremists on the platform, among other offensive actions.', 'Last year, in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel, Musk casually endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, only apologizing days later after coming under immense pressure.', 'Put together, it’s is no mystery why major brands have taken their advertising dollars elsewhere.', 'Not only has X proven to be an unsafe advertising environment for their brands, but the leader of the company himself has engaged in the very toxic behavior they don’t want their companies associated with.', 'Which is why brands fled X in droves last year, dealing a devastating blow to the company’s business, which had been largely fueled by advertising.', 'Musk even said at the time that the damage to X’s bottom line was so great, it could eventually kill the company.', 'Musk likely does not want to see the platform go the way of the woolly mammoth, which is why he is now trying to woo advertisers back.', 'The trouble for the mercurial mogul is that, despite his ability to sometimes say the correct words at events such as Cannes Lions, the real Musk is not brand safe — and neither is his platform.', 'In just the last month, Musk has blasted theAssociated Pressas a supposed “far left propaganda machine,” claimed “the left has become an extinctionist movement,” advanced a version of theGreat Replacement Theoryby arguing thatPresident Joe Biden’sadministration is engaged in “voter importation” from Mexico, assailedThe Washington Postas a “far left propaganda publication,” promoted the notion that theDemocratic Partyis engaged in “lawfare” against Republicans, contended that the conviction ofDonald Trumpwas “abuse of the law for political purposes,” and endorsed the notion that diversity and equity programs are making science dangerous, among other things.', 'That is not the type of rhetoric blue chip companies want their carefully curated brands anywhere near.', 'And until Musk’s actions on X start to match the calculated show he puts on for advertisers when trying to win over their business, it is hard to see major brands returning en masse to his platform.']",-0.1327035850761325,"Not only has X proven to be an unsafe advertising environment for their brands, but the leader of the company himself has engaged in the very toxic behavior they don’t want their companies associated with.","Last year, in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel, Musk casually endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, only apologizing days later after coming under immense pressure.",-0.7219057594026838,"And until Musk’s actions on X start to match the calculated show he puts on for advertisers when trying to win over their business, it is hard to see major brands returning en masse to his platform.",But perhaps more discouraging to the advertising community had been Musk’s own unhinged behavior.,2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +Boeing 737 Max crash victims ask US to impose $25bn fine,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw00l7d2ljno,2024-06-19T22:49:44.832Z,"The families of victims in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes have asked for prosecutions and a fine of $24.8bn for ""the deadliest corporate crime in US history"". The families' lawyer Paul Cassell said the amount was ""justified and clearly appropriate"" given ""enormous human costs of Boeing's crimes"". In a 32-page letter seen by the BBC, Mr Cassell said that the US government should prosecute those leading the company when 346 people were killed in two crashes in 2018 and 2019. The letter cited the apology by Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun on Tuesday while he gave evidence to Congress. ""I apologise for the grief that we have caused,"" he said, as he was heckled by family members of victims of the crashes. Two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate but almost identical accidents that killed 346 people. In October 2018, all 189 on a Lion Air flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia. In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. All 157 on-board were killed. Both crashes were linked to faulty flight control systems. Mr Calhoun acknowledged in his Congressional appearance that the company had made mistakes and said it had ""learned"" from the past. He also acknowledged that Boeing had retaliated against whistleblowers but said he had ""listened"" to those employees. The Justice Department is considering whether to revive a criminal charge of fraud against Boeing laid in 2021, that was linked to the two crashes. The charge has laid dormant since the company acknowledged in a settlement that it had mislead air-safety regulators about aspects if the 737 Max, and promised to create a new compliance system to detect and prevent further fraud. Last month, prosecutors determined that the settlement was violated when a door panel flew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage mid-flight. The Justice Department has until 7 July decide whether to revive the case. In the letter, Mr Cassell said his clients recommended that the department order a portion of any future fine to be used to create an independent monitor of the company's safety and compliance measures. Families of those killed in the crashes attended Tuesday's hearing in Congress and held up photographs of loved ones. “I flew from England to Washington DC to hear in person what the Boeing CEO has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet. “I also continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people. We will not rest until we see justice.” ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['The families of victims in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes have asked for prosecutions and a fine of $24.8bn for ""the deadliest corporate crime in US history"".', 'The families\' lawyer Paul Cassell said the amount was ""justified and clearly appropriate"" given ""enormous human costs of Boeing\'s crimes"".', 'In a 32-page letter seen by the BBC, Mr Cassell said that the US government should prosecute those leading the company when 346 people were killed in two crashes in 2018 and 2019.', 'The letter cited the apology by Boeing\'s chief executive Dave Calhoun on Tuesday while he gave evidence to Congress. ""', 'I apologise for the grief that we have caused,"" he said, as he was heckled by family members of victims of the crashes.', 'Two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate but almost identical accidents that killed 346 people.', 'In October 2018, all 189 on a Lion Air flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia.', 'In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.', 'All 157 on-board were killed.', 'Both crashes were linked to faulty flight control systems.', 'Mr Calhoun acknowledged in his Congressional appearance that the company had made mistakes and said it had ""learned"" from the past.', 'He also acknowledged that Boeing had retaliated against whistleblowers but said he had ""listened"" to those employees.', 'The Justice Department is considering whether to revive a criminal charge of fraud against Boeing laid in 2021, that was linked to the two crashes.', 'The charge has laid dormant since the company acknowledged in a settlement that it had mislead air-safety regulators about aspects if the 737 Max, and promised to create a new compliance system to detect and prevent further fraud.', 'Last month, prosecutors determined that the settlement was violated when a door panel flew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage mid-flight.', 'The Justice Department has until 7 July decide whether to revive the case.', ""In the letter, Mr Cassell said his clients recommended that the department order a portion of any future fine to be used to create an independent monitor of the company's safety and compliance measures."", ""Families of those killed in the crashes attended Tuesday's hearing in Congress and held up photographs of loved ones. “"", 'I flew from England to Washington DC to hear in person what the Boeing CEO has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet. “', 'I also continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people.', 'We will not rest until we see justice.”']",-0.1167656860896523,"In the letter, Mr Cassell said his clients recommended that the department order a portion of any future fine to be used to create an independent monitor of the company's safety and compliance measures.",Two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate but almost identical accidents that killed 346 people.,-0.3923716247081756,"The families' lawyer Paul Cassell said the amount was ""justified and clearly appropriate"" given ""enormous human costs of Boeing's crimes"".","In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.",2024-06-20 +NatWest to buy Sainsbury's banking arm,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czqqzlw0159o,2024-06-20T06:50:21.658Z,"NatWest is to buy the main banking business of Sainsbury's as the supermarket chain withdraws from the sector in order to focus on food. Under the deal, NatWest will take on the credit cards, loans and savings accounts of Sainsbury's Bank. However, it is not buying the Sainsbury's Bank brand, or its cash machines, insurance or travel money businesses. Customers will see no immediate change as a result of the deal, Sainsbury's said, and ""do not need to take any action"". Sainsbury's said it would seek to redeploy employees at risk of losing their jobs as part of a consultation process. Although NatWest is not automatically taking on those Sainsbury's employees as part of the deal, a spokeswoman for the supermarket said ""both parties are committed to exploring opportunities for ongoing employment with NatWest"". She declined to say how many employees would be affected. NatWest said it would gain about one million customer accounts as part of the deal, which is expected to complete at the end of March next year. The bank will take on £1.4bn of unsecured personal loans and £1.1bn of credit card balances, as well as £2.6bn of customer deposits. Sainsbury's Bank will pay out £125m to NatWest and £250m to Sainsbury's as part of the agreement. Sainsbury's Bank started as a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland in 1997, before Sainsbury's took full ownership in 2014 But the supermarket said in January that it planned to wind down its banking division in order to focus on its core food business. Sainsbury's is not the only supermarket to have pulled out of the banking sector. In February, Tesco sold its retail banking operations to Barclays in a deal worth £600m. Barclays bought Tesco Bank's credit cards, loans and savings accounts and also agreed to market Tesco-branded banking services. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""NatWest is to buy the main banking business of Sainsbury's as the supermarket chain withdraws from the sector in order to focus on food."", ""Under the deal, NatWest will take on the credit cards, loans and savings accounts of Sainsbury's Bank."", ""However, it is not buying the Sainsbury's Bank brand, or its cash machines, insurance or travel money businesses."", 'Customers will see no immediate change as a result of the deal, Sainsbury\'s said, and ""do not need to take any action"".', ""Sainsbury's said it would seek to redeploy employees at risk of losing their jobs as part of a consultation process."", 'Although NatWest is not automatically taking on those Sainsbury\'s employees as part of the deal, a spokeswoman for the supermarket said ""both parties are committed to exploring opportunities for ongoing employment with NatWest"".', 'She declined to say how many employees would be affected.', 'NatWest said it would gain about one million customer accounts as part of the deal, which is expected to complete at the end of March next year.', 'The bank will take on £1.4bn of unsecured personal loans and £1.1bn of credit card balances, as well as £2.6bn of customer deposits.', ""Sainsbury's Bank will pay out £125m to NatWest and £250m to Sainsbury's as part of the agreement."", ""Sainsbury's Bank started as a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland in 1997, before Sainsbury's took full ownership in 2014 But the supermarket said in January that it planned to wind down its banking division in order to focus on its core food business."", ""Sainsbury's is not the only supermarket to have pulled out of the banking sector."", ""In February, Tesco sold its retail banking operations to Barclays in a deal worth £600m. Barclays bought Tesco Bank's credit cards, loans and savings accounts and also agreed to market Tesco-branded banking services.""]",0.1549041331658093,"Although NatWest is not automatically taking on those Sainsbury's employees as part of the deal, a spokeswoman for the supermarket said ""both parties are committed to exploring opportunities for ongoing employment with NatWest"".",Sainsbury's said it would seek to redeploy employees at risk of losing their jobs as part of a consultation process.,0.9996637105941772,"NatWest said it would gain about one million customer accounts as part of the deal, which is expected to complete at the end of March next year.",,2024-06-20 +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?,2024-06-20 +"Toyota is recalling 145,000 big SUVs for an airbag problem",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/cars/toyota-recall-suvs-airbag/index.html," + Updated + 2:02 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations. + + The curtain airbag on the driver’s side may not deploy properly “during certain crashes” if the driver’s side window is rolled down, according to a statement shared by Toyota Thursday. Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur. + + In a crash or a vehicle rollover, side curtain airbags deploy to cover the side window opening. They can help prevent an occupant from striking the window glass or parts of the door. In the event of a rollover, they can prevent an occupant’s arm, shoulder or head from hitting the ground or even protect a person from being thrown from the vehicle. + + Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year. They are closely related to one another. Both are large crossover, or relatively car-like, SUVs with three rows of seating. They are produced at Toyota’s factory in Princeton, Indiana. + + Toyota is currently working to develop a way to fix the issue, the automaker said in its statement. Owners will be notified of the recall by mid-August, Toyota said. + + If customers have questions, they can contact Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331 or Lexus customer service at 800-255-3987.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations.', 'The curtain airbag on the driver’s side may not deploy properly “during certain crashes” if the driver’s side window is rolled down, according to a statement shared by Toyota Thursday.', 'Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur.', 'In a crash or a vehicle rollover, side curtain airbags deploy to cover the side window opening.', 'They can help prevent an occupant from striking the window glass or parts of the door.', 'In the event of a rollover, they can prevent an occupant’s arm, shoulder or head from hitting the ground or even protect a person from being thrown from the vehicle.', 'Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year.', 'They are closely related to one another.', 'Both are large crossover, or relatively car-like, SUVs with three rows of seating.', 'They are produced at Toyota’s factory in Princeton, Indiana.', 'Toyota is currently working to develop a way to fix the issue, the automaker said in its statement.', 'Owners will be notified of the recall by mid-August, Toyota said.', 'If customers have questions, they can contact Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331 or Lexus customer service at 800-255-3987.']",0.1591725301876412,Both the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander are new models that went on sale last year.,Toyota did not provide details on the type of situation in which the problem might occur.,-0.9202458262443542,,"Toyota is recalling 145,000 Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander SUVs because of an issue that could cause one of the side curtain airbags to fail to deploy in some situations.",2024-06-20 +"He tried to oust OpenAI’s CEO. Now, he’s starting a ‘safe’ rival",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/tech/openai-ilya-sutskever-safe-super-intelligence-new-company/index.html," + Published + 11:43 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","The OpenAI co-founder who left the high-flying artificial intelligence startup last month has announced his next venture: a company dedicated to building safe, powerful artificial intelligence that could become a rival to his old employer. + + Ilya Sutskever announced plans for the new company, aptly named Safe Superintelligence Inc., in a post on X Wednesday. + + “SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus. Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI,” a statement posted to the company’s website reads. “We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead. This way, we can scale in peace.” + + The announcement comes amid growing concerns in the tech world and beyond that AI may be advancing more quickly than research on using the technology safely and responsibly, as well as a dearth of regulation that has left tech companies largely free to set safety guidelines for themselves. + + Sutskever is considered one of the early pioneers of the AI revolution. As a student, he worked in a machine learning lab under Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” where they created an AI startup that was later acquired by Google. Sutskever then worked on Google’s AI research team, before helping to found what would become the maker of ChatGPT. + + But things got complicated for Sutskever at OpenAI when he was involved in an effort to oust CEO Sam Altman last year, which resulted in the dramatic leadership shuffle that saw Altman fired, then rehired and the company’s board overhauled, all within about a week. + + CNN contributor Kara Swisher previously reported that Sutskever had been concerned that Altman was pushing AI technology “too far, too fast.” But days after Altman’s ouster, Sutskever had a change of heart: He signed an employee letter calling for the entire board to resign and for Altman to return, and later said he “deeply” regretted his role in the dustup. + + Last month, Sutskever said he was leaving his role as chief scientist at OpenAI — one of a string of departures from the company around the same time — to work on “a project that is very personally meaningful to me.” + + It is not clear how Safe Superintelligence plans to translate a “safer” AI model into revenue or how its technology will manifest in the form of products. It’s also not clear exactly what the new company thinks of as “safety” in the context of highly powerful artificial intelligence technology. + + But the company’s launch reflects the belief among some in the tech world that artificial intelligence systems that are as smart as humans, if not smarter, are not some far-off science fiction dream but an impending reality that is not so far away. + + “By safe, we mean safe like nuclear safety as opposed to safe as in ‘trust and safety,’” Sutskever told Bloomberg in an interview published Tuesday. + + Some employees who recently departed OpenAI had criticized it for prioritizing commercial growth over investing in long-term safety. One of those former employees, Jan Leike, last month raised alarms about OpenAI’s decision to dissolve its “superalignment” team, which was dedicated to training AI systems to operate within human needs and priorities. (OpenAI, for its part, said it was spreading superalignment team members throughout the company to better achieve safety objectives.) + + The launch announcement from Safe Superintelligence suggests that the company wants to take a different approach: “Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulated from short-term commercial pressures.” + + Joining Sutskever in launching the new company are Daniel Levy, who had worked at OpenAI for the past two years, and Daniel Gross, an investor who previously worked as a partner at the startup accelerator Y Combinator and on machine learning efforts at Apple. The company says it will have offices in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['The OpenAI co-founder who left the high-flying artificial intelligence startup last month has announced his next venture: a company dedicated to building safe, powerful artificial intelligence that could become a rival to his old employer.', 'Ilya Sutskever announced plans for the new company, aptly named Safe Superintelligence Inc., in a post on X Wednesday.', '“SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus.', 'Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI,” a statement posted to the company’s website reads. “', 'We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead.', 'This way, we can scale in peace.”', 'The announcement comes amid growing concerns in the tech world and beyond that AI may be advancing more quickly than research on using the technology safely and responsibly, as well as a dearth of regulation that has left tech companies largely free to set safety guidelines for themselves.', 'Sutskever is considered one of the early pioneers of the AI revolution.', 'As a student, he worked in a machine learning lab under Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” where they created an AI startup that was later acquired by Google.', 'Sutskever then worked on Google’s AI research team, before helping to found what would become the maker of ChatGPT.', 'But things got complicated for Sutskever at OpenAI when he was involved in an effort to oust CEO Sam Altman last year, which resulted in the dramatic leadership shuffle that saw Altman fired, then rehired and the company’s board overhauled, all within about a week.', 'CNN contributor Kara Swisherpreviously reportedthat Sutskever had been concerned that Altman was pushing AI technology “too far, too fast.”', 'But days after Altman’s ouster, Sutskever had a change of heart: He signed an employee letter calling for the entire board to resign and for Altman to return, and later said he “deeply” regretted his role in the dustup.', 'Last month, Sutskever said he was leaving his role as chief scientist at OpenAI — one of a string of departures from the company around the same time — to work on “a project that is very personally meaningful to me.”', 'It is not clear how Safe Superintelligence plans to translate a “safer” AI model into revenue or how its technology will manifest in the form of products.', 'It’s also not clear exactly what the new company thinks of as “safety” in the context of highly powerful artificial intelligence technology.', 'But the company’s launch reflects the belief among some in the tech world that artificial intelligence systems that are as smart as humans, if not smarter, are not some far-off science fiction dream but an impending reality that is not so far away.', '“By safe, we mean safe like nuclear safety as opposed to safe as in ‘trust and safety,’” Sutskever told Bloomberg in an interview published Tuesday.', 'Some employees who recently departed OpenAI had criticized it for prioritizing commercial growth over investing in long-term safety.', 'One of those former employees, Jan Leike, last month raised alarms about OpenAI’s decision to dissolve its “superalignment” team, which was dedicated to training AI systems to operate within human needs and priorities. (', 'OpenAI, for its part, said it was spreading superalignment team members throughout the company to better achieve safety objectives.)', 'The launch announcement from Safe Superintelligence suggests that the company wants to take a different approach: “Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulated from short-term commercial pressures.”', 'Joining Sutskever in launching the new company are Daniel Levy, who had worked at OpenAI for the past two years, and Daniel Gross, an investor who previously worked as a partner at the startup accelerator Y Combinator and on machine learning efforts at Apple.', 'The company says it will have offices in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.']",0.2753680276210273,"“By safe, we mean safe like nuclear safety as opposed to safe as in ‘trust and safety,’” Sutskever told Bloomberg in an interview published Tuesday.","But days after Altman’s ouster, Sutskever had a change of heart: He signed an employee letter calling for the entire board to resign and for Altman to return, and later said he “deeply” regretted his role in the dustup.",0.0353110507130622,"The announcement comes amid growing concerns in the tech world and beyond that AI may be advancing more quickly than research on using the technology safely and responsibly, as well as a dearth of regulation that has left tech companies largely free to set safety guidelines for themselves.","One of those former employees, Jan Leike, last month raised alarms about OpenAI’s decision to dissolve its “superalignment” team, which was dedicated to training AI systems to operate within human needs and priorities. (",2024-06-20 +Aer Lingus to cancel 10-20% of flights during pilots' action,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cldd4l04y4xo,2024-06-20T17:29:26.271Z,"Aer Lingus has said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots. On Tuesday the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday 26 June as part of an ongoing pay dispute. Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"". In a statement issued on Thursday it said details would be communicated to those customers affected ""over the next couple of days"". The airline said customers will be offered a number of choices, with those scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July given the option to change flights for free. ""They will also be able to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher,"" the company said. ""These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus 'Travel Advisory' page will also have up-to-the-minute information on all the options."" Pilots who are members of the IALPA voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike. Aer Lingus said that: ""IALPA's industrial action will have a wholly unnecessary impact on customers who are travelling in the coming weeks, at what is peak holiday season for families. ""The nature of this industrial action will cause a significant impact on our flight schedules."" The airline said it would communicate directly with third-party agents including travel agents and online agents. ""Passengers who booked through a third-party should contact their sales agents for any updates,"" it said Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris said it was ""utterly reprehensible"" that children and families ""could be used as pawns in an industrial relations dispute"" at Aer Lingus. Mr Harris said both sides involved in the Aer Lingus pay dispute need to ""step back from the brink"". The Irish government has made the industrial relations facilities of the state available to help to resolve the dispute, he said. IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement. The figure was well below the 23.8% that the pilots are seeking. Aer Lingus has described the level of increases being sought as ""exorbitant, outrageous and untenable"". IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic. On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"". ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Aer Lingus has said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots.', 'On Tuesday the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday 26 June as part of an ongoing pay dispute.', 'Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"".', 'In a statement issued on Thursday it said details would be communicated to those customers affected ""over the next couple of days"".', 'The airline said customers will be offered a number of choices, with those scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July given the option to change flights for free. ""', 'They will also be able to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher,"" the company said. ""', 'These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus \'Travel Advisory\' page will also have up-to-the-minute information on all the options.""', 'Pilots who are members of the IALPA voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike.', 'Aer Lingus said that: ""IALPA\'s industrial action will have a wholly unnecessary impact on customers who are travelling in the coming weeks, at what is peak holiday season for families. ""', 'The nature of this industrial action will cause a significant impact on our flight schedules.""', 'The airline said it would communicate directly with third-party agents including travel agents and online agents. ""', 'Passengers who booked through a third-party should contact their sales agents for any updates,"" it said Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris said it was ""utterly reprehensible"" that children and families ""could be used as pawns in an industrial relations dispute"" at Aer Lingus.', 'Mr Harris said both sides involved in the Aer Lingus pay dispute need to ""step back from the brink"".', 'The Irish government has made the industrial relations facilities of the state available to help to resolve the dispute, he said.', 'IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement.', 'The figure was well below the 23.8% that the pilots are seeking.', 'Aer Lingus has described the level of increases being sought as ""exorbitant, outrageous and untenable"".', 'IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic.', 'On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"".']",0.0482376408120586,"On Monday the president of the IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said Aer Lingus management had to ""understand the strength of feeling"" and ""see that the pilots will not back down"".",IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement.,-0.5017104612456428,"Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to ""protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible"".","IALPA has said previous pay offers have failed to take account of inflation, the big profits being made by Aer Lingus and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the airline during the Covid pandemic.",2024-06-20 +"Boeing committed ‘the deadliest corporate crime in US history’ and should be fined $24 billion, victims’ families say",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/business/boeing-families-lawsuit/index.html," + Updated + 2:20 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial. + + The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecution of Boeing. The Justice Department said last month that Boeing’s recent string of safety lapses and mishaps constituted a violation of its 2021 agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March 2019 that killed 346 people. + + The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote. + + “Because time is of the essence to avoid any statute of limitations from running (out), the Department should begin these prosecutions promptly,” they wrote in the 32-page letter, which was sent by Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families. + + The letter also asks the Justice Department for an independent corporate monitor to oversee Boeing’s safety measures and to direct it in its efforts to improve its quality. + + Boeing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. + + In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms of its 2021 agreement following a January incident in which a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff in January. + + The Justice Department said in its letter that it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing had the opportunity to respond to its breach of the agreement – and steps it has taken to remediate the situation – by last week. The DOJ said it will let the court know by July 7 how it will proceed. + + Boeing, in a previous statement, said it has upheld its end of the bargain. + + “We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement.” + + On Tuesday, current Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified before both Republican and Democratic senators. He apologized to families of victims of the two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO and admitted that Boeing is “far from perfect.” He also acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust. + + The 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that Boeing reached with the Justice Department was harshly criticized by the family members and some members of Congress at that time. Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion, but most of that money - $1.77 billion – was paid to the airlines that owned the grounded planes, money that Boeing had already agreed to pay. It also agreed to set up a $500 million fund to compensate family members, which it had also already agreed to do in the face of lawsuits, and it would have paid a $244 million fine to the federal government. The $24 billion, as significant as it would be, would still be less than the $31.9 billion in core operating losses it has reported since the second crash of the plane in 2019 resulted in a 20-month grounding of its best-selling jet. Boeing has identified more than $20 billion in direct costs from that grounding, and that doesn’t count the tens of billions in lost sales revenue and increased interest costs as its debt soared to cover its losses. Nor does it include the costs incurred since the January 5 Alaska Airlines incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max and the FAA put limits on its rate of production due to new questions about the safety and quality of its planes. + + –CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial.', 'The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecution of Boeing.', 'The Justice Department said last month that Boeing’s recent string of safety lapses and mishaps constituted a violation of its 2021 agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March 2019 that killed 346 people.', 'The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote.', '“Because time is of the essence to avoid any statute of limitations from running (out), the Department should begin these prosecutions promptly,” they wrote in the 32-page letter, which was sent by Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families.', 'The letter also asks the Justice Department for an independent corporate monitor to oversee Boeing’s safety measures and to direct it in its efforts to improve its quality.', 'Boeing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.', 'In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms ofits2021 agreement following a January incident in which adoor plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flightshortly after takeoff in January.', 'The Justice Department said in its letter that it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing had the opportunity to respond to its breach of the agreement – and steps it has taken to remediate the situation – by last week.', 'The DOJ said it will let the court know by July 7 how it will proceed.', 'Boeing, in a previous statement, said it has upheld its end of the bargain.', '“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “', 'As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement.”', 'On Tuesday, current Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified before both Republican and Democratic senators.', 'He apologized to families of victims of the two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO and admitted that Boeing is “far from perfect.”', 'He also acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust.', 'The 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that Boeing reached with the Justice Department was harshly criticized by the family members and some members of Congress at that time.', 'Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion, but most of that money - $1.77 billion – was paid to the airlines that owned the grounded planes, money that Boeing had already agreed to pay.', 'It also agreed to set up a $500 million fund to compensate family members, which it had also already agreed to do in the face of lawsuits, and it would have paid a $244 million fine to the federal government.', 'The $24 billion, as significant as it would be, would still be less than the $31.9 billion in core operating losses it has reported since the second crash of the plane in 2019 resulted in a 20-month grounding of its best-selling jet.', 'Boeing has identified more than $20 billion in direct costs from that grounding, and that doesn’t count the tens of billions in lost sales revenue and increased interest costs as its debt soared to cover its losses.', 'Nor does it include the costs incurred since the January 5 Alaska Airlines incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max and the FAA put limits on its rate of production due to new questions about the safety and quality of its planes.', '–CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.']",0.2220598325958888,"“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “","The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote.",-0.1234646981412714,"“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “","In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms ofits2021 agreement following a January incident in which adoor plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flightshortly after takeoff in January.",2024-06-20 +McDonald’s releases a new $5 value meal to combat inflation,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/food/mcdonalds-value-meal-details/index.html," + Published + 8:28 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","McDonald’s has revealed the details of its highly anticipated $5 value meal, which the fast food chain hopes will rev up sluggish sales and lure back customers who have cut back. + + Beginning June 25, McDonald’s US locations are selling a “$5 Meal Deal” for a limited time. It includes a McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, small french fries, 4-piece chicken nuggets and small soft drink. + + “We heard our fans loud and clear — they’re looking for even more great value from us, and this summer that’s exactly what they’ll get,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, in a press release. + + Word of McDonald’s newest value meal was released last month in the Wall Street Journal, prompting fast food rivals to get a jumpstart on offering similar deals and attract cost-conscious eaters. Burger King, Wendy’s and even Starbucks have rolled out meal deals in recent weeks. + + The arrival of the McDonald’s meal deal comes at a time when the company is battling the perception that it has become too expensive. That caused Erlinger to put out a rare open letter denouncing “viral social posts and poorly sourced reports that McDonald’s has raised prices significantly beyond inflationary rates.” + + “The average price of a Big Mac in the US was $4.39 in 2019,” he wrote. “Despite a global pandemic and historic rises in supply chain costs, wages and other inflationary pressures in the years that followed, the average cost is now $5.29. That’s an increase of 21% (not 100%).” + + Online, people have been airing their fast food price grievances. But they’re not just griping: Customers are pulling back on spending, too. Diners, frustrated by higher prices, are not going out to eat as often and spending less when they do, causing fast food sales to slow and traffic to dip. + + In Thursday’s release, McDonald’s pointed out that franchisees are also offering deals like a “buy one, get one” deal for $1 breakfast sandwiches in Memphis and a double cheeseburger and small fries pairing for $3.50 in Columbus, Ohio. + + “Affordable prices and creating memorable moments are what McDonald’s is all about,” said John Palmaccio, a McDonald’s owner and chair of the Operator’s National Advertising Fund. “As small business owners, it’s our responsibility to deliver great value to our local communities when they need it most.” + + McDonald’s is expected to release its next earnings report in late July.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['McDonald’s has revealed the details of its highly anticipated $5 value meal, which the fast food chain hopes will rev up sluggish sales and lure back customers who have cut back.', 'Beginning June 25, McDonald’s US locations are selling a “$5 Meal Deal” for a limited time.', 'It includes a McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, small french fries, 4-piece chicken nuggets and small soft drink.', '“We heard our fans loud and clear — they’re looking for even more great value from us, and this summer that’s exactly what they’ll get,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, in a press release.', 'Word of McDonald’s newest value meal was released last month in the Wall Street Journal, prompting fast food rivals to get a jumpstart on offering similar deals and attract cost-conscious eaters.', 'Burger King, Wendy’s and even Starbucks have rolled out meal deals in recent weeks.', 'The arrival of the McDonald’s meal deal comes at a time when the company is battling the perception that it has become too expensive.', 'That caused Erlinger to put out a rare open letter denouncing “viral social posts and poorly sourced reports that McDonald’s has raised prices significantly beyond inflationary rates.”', '“The average price of a Big Mac in the US was $4.39 in 2019,” he wrote. “', 'Despite a global pandemic and historic rises in supply chain costs, wages and other inflationary pressures in the years that followed, the average cost is now $5.29.', 'That’s an increase of 21% (not 100%).”', 'Online, people havebeen airing their fast food price grievances.', 'But they’renot just griping: Customers are pulling back on spending, too.', 'Diners, frustrated by higher prices, are notgoing out to eat as often and spending lesswhen they do, causing fast food sales to slow and traffic to dip.', 'In Thursday’s release, McDonald’s pointed out that franchisees are also offering deals like a “buy one, get one” deal for $1 breakfast sandwiches in Memphis and a double cheeseburger and small fries pairing for $3.50 in Columbus, Ohio.', '“Affordable prices and creating memorable moments are what McDonald’s is all about,” said John Palmaccio, a McDonald’s owner and chair of the Operator’s National Advertising Fund. “', 'As small business owners, it’s our responsibility to deliver great value to our local communities when they need it most.”', 'McDonald’s is expected to release its next earnings report in late July.']",0.0885848524552683,"“We heard our fans loud and clear — they’re looking for even more great value from us, and this summer that’s exactly what they’ll get,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, in a press release.","Diners, frustrated by higher prices, are notgoing out to eat as often and spending lesswhen they do, causing fast food sales to slow and traffic to dip.",0.0107276707887649,"Word of McDonald’s newest value meal was released last month in the Wall Street Journal, prompting fast food rivals to get a jumpstart on offering similar deals and attract cost-conscious eaters.","Diners, frustrated by higher prices, are notgoing out to eat as often and spending lesswhen they do, causing fast food sales to slow and traffic to dip.",2024-06-20 +Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalists call for leadership change amid publisher scrutiny,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/media/washington-post-will-lewis-leadership-change/index.html," + Published + 10:35 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at The Washington Post went on the record late Wednesday, calling for leadership change at the storied newspaper as questions swirl over the integrity of its new publisher and chief executive, Will Lewis. + + “I don’t know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand,” David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades and won two Pulitzer Prizes at the newspaper, wrote in a candid Facebook post. “There might be a few, but very very few.” + + Maraniss also zinged Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Post who installed Lewis, writing that he is “not of and for the Post or he would understand.” + + Scott Higham, another Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Post, echoed Maraniss’ call for Lewis to exit the newspaper. + + “Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” Higham replied in a comment on Maraniss’ post. “He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.” + + Spokespersons for Bezos and The Post did not immediately comment. + + The backlash from The Post’s journalists comes after serious questions were raised about Lewis, who has been the subject of several explosive reports in recent days scrutinizing his journalistic integrity. + + The New York Times reported over the weekend that, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records. And The Post itself reported in a 3,000-word front page expose Sunday that a “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Lewis’ hand-picked incoming top editor, Robert Winnett. + + The stories, which landed like a one-two punch in The Post’s newsroom, followed reports that Lewis tried to suppress stories at The Post and NPR about his role cleaning up Rupert Murdoch’s UK phone hacking scandal, when he served as a lieutenant to the right-wing media mogul. + + In response to the reports earlier this month, Lewis initially lashed out, criticizing his own media reporters and attacking veteran NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, who he referred to as an “activist, not a journalist.” Lewis later sent a memo to staffers, striking a notably different tone. But the note failed to quell the growing disapproval within the newspaper’s ranks. + + Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership. Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper last week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere. + + Sensing the turmoil, Bezos on Tuesday sent a memo to top leaders at The Post, expressing support for maintaining high journalistic standards at his newspaper. + + “You have my full commitment on maintaining the quality, ethics, and standards we all believe in,” Bezos wrote. + + But the memo did little to quell the growing rebellion in the newsroom. + + Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis. + + Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.” + + “This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at The Washington Post went on the record late Wednesday, calling for leadership change at the storied newspaper as questions swirl over the integrity of its new publisher and chief executive, Will Lewis.', '“I don’t know a single person at the Post who thinks the current situation with the publisher and supposed new editor can stand,” David Maraniss, an associate editor who has worked at The Post for nearly five decades and won two Pulitzer Prizes at the newspaper, wrote in a candid Facebook post. “', 'There might be a few, but very very few.”', 'Maraniss also zinged Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Post who installed Lewis, writing that he is “not of and for the Post or he would understand.”', 'Scott Higham, another Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Post, echoed Maraniss’ call for Lewis to exit the newspaper.', '“Will Lewis needs to step down for the good of The Post and the public,” Higham replied in a comment on Maraniss’ post. “', 'He has lost the newsroom and will never win it back.”', 'Spokespersons for Bezos and The Post did not immediately comment.', 'The backlash from The Post’s journalists comes after serious questions were raised about Lewis, who has been the subject of several explosive reports in recent days scrutinizing his journalistic integrity.', 'The New York Times reported over the weekend that, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records.', 'And The Post itself reported in a 3,000-word front page expose Sunday that a “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Lewis’ hand-picked incoming top editor, Robert Winnett.', 'The stories, which landed like a one-two punch in The Post’s newsroom, followed reports that Lewis tried to suppress stories at The Post and NPR about his role cleaning up Rupert Murdoch’s UK phone hacking scandal, when he served as a lieutenant to the right-wing media mogul.', 'In response to the reports earlier this month, Lewis initially lashed out, criticizing his own media reporters and attacking veteran NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, who he referred to as an “activist, not a journalist.”', 'Lewis later sent a memo to staffers, striking a notably different tone.', 'But the note failed to quell the growing disapproval within the newspaper’s ranks.', 'Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.', 'Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper last week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere.', 'Sensing the turmoil, Bezos on Tuesday sent a memo to top leaders at The Post, expressing support for maintaining high journalistic standards at his newspaper.', '“You have my full commitment on maintaining the quality, ethics, and standards we all believe in,” Bezos wrote.', 'But the memo did little to quell the growing rebellion in the newsroom.', 'Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis.', 'Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.”', '“This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “', 'Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”']",0.0604464169081955,"Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”","In response to the reports earlier this month, Lewis initially lashed out, criticizing his own media reporters and attacking veteran NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, who he referred to as an “activist, not a journalist.”",-0.930598293031965,,"Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.",2024-06-20 +‘Inside Out 2’ jolts a sleepy summer box office,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/16/business/inside-out-2-summer-box-office/index.html," + Published + 5:35 PM EDT, Sun June 16, 2024 + ","It was a weekend no doubt filled with Joy for Disney. The studio’s latest animated film, “Inside Out 2,” has rocked the lethargic summer box office, becoming the first movie of 2024 to reach $100 million in domestic sales during its opening weekend. + + Heading for a $155 million weekend per Comscore estimates, the movie marks the most lucrative box office opening since last July’s “Barbie,” which grossed $162 million. According to Comscore and Disney, “Inside Out 2” has also cinched the No. 2 spot for the all-time highest domestic animated three-day opening, lagging less than $30 million behind 2018’s “Incredibles 2.” It also beat “Dune: Part 2” as the highest-grossing opening of 2024 so far. + + “This performance came in well above our expectations,” said Daniel Loria, editorial director at Box Office Pro, which collects sales and showtime data from thousands of movie theaters across the United States. “We imagined it could … maybe match ‘Toy Story 4’s’ $120 million opening weekend, but this result is absolutely extraordinary.” + + Industry experts agree this weekend was a turning point for both Disney and the overall domestic box office. The summer has been off to a lukewarm start following a devastatingly low turnout Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally kicks off the season. + + Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, called this opening weekend a “well-earned victory lap for Disney, Pixar, and movie theaters.” + + “Disney is still in the early phases of its refocused theatrical prioritization,” he said. “Time will tell what original (intellectual property) can accomplish in the future and how consistently they can generate these types of performances again, but this is a major rebound for the parent company and for Pixar after a string of underperformers on both sides.” + + In addition to production delays that have plagued studios as a result of the multi-month-long Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, Disney’s recent Marvel fare has been lackluster. + + “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the only Marvel property release this summer, is expected to reinvigorate audience enthusiasm after “The Marvels” disappointed last November with a $47 million opening weekend. The third R-rated installment featuring the foul-mouthed anti-hero is set to hit theaters July 26. + + “The story of the summer was always going to come down to how Pixar (‘Inside Out 2’) and Marvel (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) rebounded,” said Loria. + + Domestic box office totals since the beginning of May are still down by about 28% compared to this time last year, according to Comscore data. But senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian said “Inside Out 2” marks a “major turning point” for theaters, adding it only takes “one or two overperforming films to change the entire narrative.” + + “This the best possible news for Pixar, movie theatres and indeed rival studios whose own upcoming summer films (including the family friendly ‘Despicable Me 4’) will enjoy the tailwinds brought on by the amount of interest and increased foot traffic at the multiplex,” Dergarabedian noted.",CNN,16/06/2024,"['It was a weekend no doubt filled with Joy for Disney.', 'The studio’s latest animated film, “Inside Out 2,” has rocked the lethargic summer box office, becoming the first movie of 2024 to reach $100 million in domestic sales during its opening weekend.', 'Heading for a $155 million weekend per Comscore estimates, the movie marks the most lucrative box office opening since last July’s “Barbie,” which grossed $162 million.', 'According to Comscore and Disney, “Inside Out 2” has also cinched the No.', '2 spot for the all-time highest domestic animated three-day opening, lagging less than $30 million behind 2018’s “Incredibles 2.”', 'It also beat “Dune: Part 2” as the highest-grossing opening of 2024 so far.', '“This performance came in well above our expectations,” said Daniel Loria, editorial director at Box Office Pro, which collects sales and showtimedata from thousands of movie theaters across the United States. “', 'We imagined it could … maybe match ‘Toy Story 4’s’ $120 million opening weekend, but this result is absolutely extraordinary.”', 'Industry experts agree this weekend was a turning point for both Disney and the overall domestic box office.', 'The summer has been off to a lukewarm start following a devastatingly low turnout Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally kicks off the season.', 'Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, called this opening weekend a “well-earned victory lap for Disney, Pixar, and movie theaters.”', '“Disney is still in the early phases of its refocused theatrical prioritization,” he said. “', 'Time will tell what original (intellectual property) can accomplish in the future and how consistently they can generate these types of performances again, but this is a major rebound for the parent company and for Pixar after a string of underperformers on both sides.”', 'In addition to production delays that have plagued studios as a result of the multi-month-long Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, Disney’s recent Marvel fare has been lackluster.', '“Deadpool & Wolverine,” the only Marvel property release this summer, is expected to reinvigorate audience enthusiasm after“The Marvels” disappointed last Novemberwith a $47 million opening weekend.', 'The third R-rated installment featuring the foul-mouthed anti-hero is set to hit theaters July 26.', '“The story of the summer was always going to come down to how Pixar (‘Inside Out 2’) and Marvel (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) rebounded,” said Loria.', 'Domestic box office totals since the beginning of May are still down by about 28% compared to this time last year, according to Comscore data.', 'But senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian said “Inside Out 2” marks a “major turning point” for theaters, adding it only takes “one or two overperforming films to change the entire narrative.”', '“This the best possible news for Pixar, movie theatres and indeed rival studios whose own upcoming summer films (including the family friendly ‘Despicable Me 4’) will enjoy the tailwinds brought on by the amount of interest and increased foot traffic at the multiplex,” Dergarabedian noted.']",0.136589664167877,"“This the best possible news for Pixar, movie theatres and indeed rival studios whose own upcoming summer films (including the family friendly ‘Despicable Me 4’) will enjoy the tailwinds brought on by the amount of interest and increased foot traffic at the multiplex,” Dergarabedian noted.","The summer has been off to a lukewarm start following a devastatingly low turnout Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally kicks off the season.",0.4915643018834731,"“This the best possible news for Pixar, movie theatres and indeed rival studios whose own upcoming summer films (including the family friendly ‘Despicable Me 4’) will enjoy the tailwinds brought on by the amount of interest and increased foot traffic at the multiplex,” Dergarabedian noted.","The summer has been off to a lukewarm start following a devastatingly low turnout Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally kicks off the season.",2024-06-20 +Mortgage rates fall to their lowest level in almost three months,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/economy/mortgage-rates-june-20/index.html," + Updated + 12:57 PM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since early April, taking some pressure off America’s unaffordable housing market. + + The standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% in the week ending June 20, mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday. That’s down from last week’s 6.95% average and marks the third consecutive weekly decline. Rates are down from a 2024 peak of 7.22%. + + “Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Federal Reserve rate cut,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in a release. “These lower mortgage rates coupled with the gradually improving housing supply bodes well for the housing market.” + + Still, mortgage rates remain higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022, the year the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates to combat inflation. Borrowing costs are poised to ease this year, but it may not be by much. + + Earlier this month, Fed officials penciled in just one interest rate cut for this year, compared to the three they forecast in March. The Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates but its actions do influence them through the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which moves in anticipation of the Fed’s policy moves. Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% this year. + + While mortgage rates have eased recently, the US housing market overall remains hamstrung by elevated interest rates, which seem to be taking a toll on homebuilding. + + New home construction was much weaker than expected in May, according to separate government statistics released Thursday, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units in May, the lowest level since 2020 and down by 5.5% from April. That was well below the 1% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll. + + Building permits, seen as a forward indicator of future construction, also came in below economists’ expectations. Additionally, sentiment among America’s homebuilders fell in May to its lowest level since December, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Wednesday. + + “Persistently high mortgage rates are keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines,” NAHB Chairman Carl Harris said in a release. “Home builders are also dealing with higher rates for construction and development loans, chronic labor shortages and a dearth of buildable lots.” + + A lack of homes on the market has been a longstanding issue for housing in America. Sluggish homebuilding doesn’t help that, but housing inventory has improved in recent months as some Americans part with their homes. + + Home prices remain sky-high, which is another key factor exacerbating America’s affordability crisis. + + The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index rose 6.5% in March from a year earlier to a record high, showing strong demand in urban population centers such as San Diego, Los Angeles and New York. It was the sixth time the index has reached a new record high over the past year. The index for April is due next week. + + The annual Demographic International Housing Affordability report, which has been tracking home prices for 20 years, showed that America’s most expensive housing markets are in California. Honolulu, Hawaii’s capital, was also listed as one of the most expensive in the world. + + Buyers are also having to come up with a huge down payment that’s roughly double the median salary of a US worker. A median-income household would need to save up more than $127,000 for a down payment to afford a monthly mortgage payment on the typical US home, according to a recent Zillow analysis. + + “Saving enough is a tall task without outside help — a gift from family or perhaps a stock windfall. To make the finances work, some folks are making a big move across the country, co-buying or buying a home with an extra room to rent out,” Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, said in a release.",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since early April, taking some pressure off America’s unaffordable housing market.', 'The standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% in the week ending June 20, mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday.', 'That’s down from last week’s 6.95% average and marks the third consecutive weekly decline.', 'Rates are down from a 2024 peak of 7.22%.', '“Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Federal Reserve rate cut,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in a release. “', 'These lower mortgage rates coupled with the gradually improving housing supply bodes well for the housing market.”', 'Still, mortgage rates remain higher than anything seen in the decade before 2022, the year the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates to combat inflation.', 'Borrowing costs are poised to ease this year, but it may not be by much.', 'Earlier this month, Fed officials penciled in just one interest rate cut for this year, compared to the three they forecast in March.', 'The Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates but its actions do influence them through the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which moves in anticipation of the Fed’s policy moves.', 'Economists don’t expect the average mortgage rate to fall below 6% this year.', 'While mortgage rates have eased recently, the US housing market overall remains hamstrung by elevated interest rates, which seem to be taking a toll on homebuilding.', 'New home construction was much weaker than expected in May, according to separate government statistics released Thursday, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units in May, the lowest level since 2020 and down by 5.5% from April.', 'That was well below the 1% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll.', 'Building permits, seen as a forward indicator of future construction, also came in below economists’ expectations.', 'Additionally, sentiment among America’s homebuilders fell in May to its lowest level since December, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Wednesday.', '“Persistently high mortgage rates are keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines,” NAHB Chairman Carl Harris said in a release. “', 'Home builders are also dealing with higher rates for construction and development loans, chronic labor shortages and a dearth of buildable lots.”', 'A lack of homes on the market has been a longstanding issue for housing in America.', 'Sluggish homebuilding doesn’t help that, but housing inventory has improved in recent months as some Americans part with their homes.', 'Home prices remain sky-high, which is another key factor exacerbating America’s affordability crisis.', 'The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index rose 6.5% in March from a year earlier to a record high, showing strong demand in urban population centers such as San Diego, Los Angeles and New York.', 'It was the sixth time the index has reached a new record high over the past year.', 'The index for April is due next week.', 'The annual Demographic International Housing Affordability report, which has been tracking home prices for 20 years, showed that America’s most expensive housing markets are in California.', 'Honolulu, Hawaii’s capital, was also listed as one of the most expensive in the world.', 'Buyers are also having to come up with a huge down payment that’s roughly double the median salary of a US worker.', 'A median-income household would need to save up more than $127,000 for a down payment to afford a monthly mortgage payment on the typical US home, according to a recent Zillow analysis.', '“Saving enough is a tall task without outside help — a gift from family or perhaps a stock windfall.', 'To make the finances work, some folks are making a big move across the country, co-buying or buying a home with an extra room to rent out,” Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, said in a release.']",0.0648245276717131,That was well below the 1% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll.,"New home construction was much weaker than expected in May, according to separate government statistics released Thursday, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units in May, the lowest level since 2020 and down by 5.5% from April.",-0.4185430122458417,"The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index rose 6.5% in March from a year earlier to a record high, showing strong demand in urban population centers such as San Diego, Los Angeles and New York.","New home construction was much weaker than expected in May, according to separate government statistics released Thursday, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units in May, the lowest level since 2020 and down by 5.5% from April.",2024-06-20 +"China car companies seek 25% tax on EU rivals, state media says",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd114dpnqxwo,2024-06-20T04:26:52.399Z,"Chinese car companies have called on Beijing to hit European Union rivals with import taxes of up to 25% if the trading bloc imposes tariffs on vehicles from China, the country's state media has reported. The demand was reportedly made at a closed-door meeting organised by China's Ministry of Commerce, which was also attended by representatives of European car firms. The measures would target cars from the EU with large petrol-driven engines. Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July. The meeting in Beijing was attended by four Chinese and six European car companies, according to an article published by a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV. German car making giant Volkswagen has confirmed to the BBC that it was present at the meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed. Porsche declined to comment, while BMW did not immediately reply when contacted by the BBC. ""China's car companies called on the government to adopt firm countermeasures against the EU,"" the report said. ""It is suggested that within the limits allowed by Word Trade Organization rules, a higher provisional tariff be imposed on large-displacement petrol vehicles imported from Europe."" The reports echo an article published last month by the state-run newspaper Global Times, which said 25% tariffs should apply to cars with petrol engines larger than 2.5 litres. The move would target ""luxury or ultra luxury"" vehicles, meaning ""an additional tax is not likely to make much of a difference on volumes,"" Bill Russo, from advisory firm Automobility, told the BBC. The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"". Firms that co-operated with the investigation, which was launched in October, will face an average 21% duty, while those who did not could face one of 38.1%. These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% tariff levied on all electric cars produced in China. The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month. The Chinese government has denounced the decisions as protectionism and has since started taking retaliatory measures. Earlier this week, China launched an investigation into imports of European pork products. Last month, Beijing signalled a similar move by launching an investigation into imports of chemicals from the EU and US. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""Chinese car companies have called on Beijing to hit European Union rivals with import taxes of up to 25% if the trading bloc imposes tariffs on vehicles from China, the country's state media has reported."", ""The demand was reportedly made at a closed-door meeting organised by China's Ministry of Commerce, which was also attended by representatives of European car firms."", 'The measures would target cars from the EU with large petrol-driven engines.', 'Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July.', 'The meeting in Beijing was attended by four Chinese and six European car companies, according to an article published by a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV.', 'German car making giant Volkswagen has confirmed to the BBC that it was present at the meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed.', 'Porsche declined to comment, while BMW did not immediately reply when contacted by the BBC. ""', 'China\'s car companies called on the government to adopt firm countermeasures against the EU,"" the report said. ""', 'It is suggested that within the limits allowed by Word Trade Organization rules, a higher provisional tariff be imposed on large-displacement petrol vehicles imported from Europe.""', 'The reports echo an article published last month by the state-run newspaper Global Times, which said 25% tariffs should apply to cars with petrol engines larger than 2.5 litres.', 'The move would target ""luxury or ultra luxury"" vehicles, meaning ""an additional tax is not likely to make much of a difference on volumes,"" Bill Russo, from advisory firm Automobility, told the BBC.', 'The EU\'s governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".', 'Firms that co-operated with the investigation, which was launched in October, will face an average 21% duty, while those who did not could face one of 38.1%.', 'These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% tariff levied on all electric cars produced in China.', ""The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month."", 'The Chinese government has denounced the decisions as protectionism and has since started taking retaliatory measures.', 'Earlier this week, China launched an investigation into imports of European pork products.', 'Last month, Beijing signalled a similar move by launching an investigation into imports of chemicals from the EU and US.']",0.030308852081287,"The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".","Last week, the EU threatened Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers with tariffs of up to 38% from 4 July.",-0.5608013570308685,The EU's intervention comes after the US made the much bolder move of raising its tariff on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100% last month.,"The EU's governing European Commission (EC) announced last week that it had ""provisionally concluded"" that Chinese EV manufacturers will face tariffs ""should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution"".",2024-06-20 +Pilots warned smoke could penetrate cabin if Boeing 737 Max planes have a bird strike,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/business/smoke-cabin-boeing-737-max-bird-strike/index.html," + Updated + 5:26 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","At least two major airlines have warned pilots that if a bird hits one of the engines on a Boeing 737 Max, the passenger cabin could become filled with smoke. + + Documents newly obtained by CNN detail that Boeing warned Southwest Airlines and American Airlines of the potential problem in February and both airlines in turn sent alerts to their respective pilot groups. + + “Boeing has received two reports of CFM LEAP-1B engine failures following large bird strikes on takeoff and initial climb,” said the alert to American Airlines pilots. Southwest’s alert says such a strike could cause oil to burn and the “immediate presence of smoke and fumes” entering the passenger cabin “through the air conditioning system.” + + The issue was not made widely public until being first reported by The Seattle Times but is significant as it could signal another potential issue with 737 Max aircraft which have been dogged by manufacturing and design issues. + + Engine maker CFM International says their engine has met “bird ingestion certification requirements, and the engines performed as designed during these events.” + + The company underscored that birds in the two incidents that prompted pilot bulletins were much larger than required for certification testing and that the CFM engine still performed as designed. + + The Federal Aviation Administration says it “will continue working with Boeing on the investigation into these incidents and will determine if additional actions are required based on the findings.” + + Boeing says it issued a service bulletin in February “after two bird strike incidents” and has been working with engine manufacturer CFM “to learn more about this matter and we are keeping the FAA and our operators informed of any learnings.” + + On Tuesday, outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he accepts responsibility for the plane maker’s recent failures, including a door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 and the crash of two 737 Max 8s that killed 346 people abroad.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['At least two major airlines have warned pilots that if a bird hits one of the engines on a Boeing 737 Max, the passenger cabin could become filled with smoke.', 'Documents newly obtained by CNN detail that Boeing warned Southwest Airlines and American Airlines of the potential problem in February and both airlines in turn sent alerts to their respective pilot groups.', '“Boeing has received two reports of CFM LEAP-1B engine failures following large bird strikes on takeoff and initial climb,” said the alert to American Airlines pilots.', 'Southwest’s alert says such a strike could cause oil to burn and the “immediate presence of smoke and fumes” entering the passenger cabin “through the air conditioning system.”', 'The issue was not made widely public until being firstreported by The Seattle Timesbut is significant as it could signal another potential issue with 737 Max aircraft which have been dogged by manufacturing and design issues.', 'Engine maker CFM International says their engine has met “bird ingestion certification requirements, and the engines performed as designed during these events.”', 'The company underscored that birds in the two incidents that prompted pilot bulletins were much larger than required for certification testing and that the CFM engine still performed as designed.', 'The Federal Aviation Administration says it “will continue working with Boeing on the investigation into these incidents and will determine if additional actions are required based on the findings.”', 'Boeing says it issued a service bulletin in February “after two bird strike incidents” and has been working with engine manufacturer CFM “to learn more about this matter and we are keeping the FAA and our operators informed of any learnings.”', 'On Tuesday, outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he accepts responsibility for the plane maker’s recent failures, including a door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 and the crash of two 737 Max 8s that killed 346 people abroad.']",-0.1544252570421516,The issue was not made widely public until being firstreported by The Seattle Timesbut is significant as it could signal another potential issue with 737 Max aircraft which have been dogged by manufacturing and design issues.,"On Tuesday, outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he accepts responsibility for the plane maker’s recent failures, including a door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 and the crash of two 737 Max 8s that killed 346 people abroad.",-0.4968201279640197,"Engine maker CFM International says their engine has met “bird ingestion certification requirements, and the engines performed as designed during these events.”","“Boeing has received two reports of CFM LEAP-1B engine failures following large bird strikes on takeoff and initial climb,” said the alert to American Airlines pilots.",2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +Wikipedia now labels the top Jewish civil rights group as an unreliable source,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/media/wikipedia-adl/index.html," + Updated + 6:53 AM EDT, Thu June 20, 2024 + ","Wikipedia’s editors declared that the Anti-Defamation League cannot be trusted to give reliable information on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and they overwhelmingly said the ADL is an unreliable source on antisemitism. It’s a stunning rebuke to one of the world’s preeminent authorities on anti-Jewish hate and a significant advocate for the rights and causes of American Jews. + + The editors, a group of volunteer moderators for one of the world’s most popular information websites, voted last week to label the ADL as a “generally unreliable” source on the Israel-Palestine conflict. That means that the ADL should usually not be cited in Wikipedia articles on that topic except for extraordinary circumstances. Other generally unreliable sources, according to Wikipedia editors, include Russian state media, Fox News’ political coverage and Amazon reviews. + + The ADL also faces a vote from Wikipedia editors to potentially label the organization as unreliable on the topic of antisemitism. The editors overwhelmingly support that label but continue to debate the decision, which could ultimately deal a blow to the credibility of the leading source of research and information on antisemitism. JTA was first to report the vote. + + The Wikipedia editors said in an online forum that the ADL’s dual role as an advocacy and research organization prevented it from providing unbiased accounts on Israel or antisemitism. + + “The ADL is heavily biased regarding Israel/Palestine to the point of often acting as a pro-Israel lobbying organization,” wrote an editor with the username Loki, who has edited more than 3,000 Wikipedia articles. “This can and does compromise its ability to accurately report facts regarding people and organizations that disagree with it on this issue, especially non-Zionist or anti-Zionist Jews and Jewish organizations.” + + A minority of editors disagreed, arguing the editors voting in favor failed to provide evidence that the ADL has made false claims because of its advocacy work. + + The ADL strongly rebuked the decision. + + “It is deeply disturbing that the many editors who flagged the severe flaws and inaccuracies in both the reasoning and sources being used in this campaign to delegitimize ADL are being ignored,” an ADL spokesman said in a statement. “They have provided point by point refutations, grounded in factual citations, to every claim made, but apparently facts no longer matter.” + + Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism. But the spokesman warned Wikipedia’s action would prevent information on antisemitism from reaching the public. + + Prior to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, the ADL had been largely focused on educating about and advocating for action against the rise in antisemitism around the world. That alarming trend included (and continues to include) a growing number of threats and anti-Jewish actions taken by White supremacist groups, and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt became a frequent guest on television news, such as CNN. + + After the events of October 7 and the ongoing war that followed, the ADL produced numerous reports about rising antisemitic hate speech and incidents, particularly on college campuses. It produced two report cards on universities’ actions to protect Jewish students, giving failing grades to more than a dozen colleges. + + But the ADL faced some criticism for doubling down on what some detractors believed was an overly broad definition of antisemitism that included anti-Zionism and some anti-Israel speech and actions. + + “ADL’s leadership has taken a much more aggressive stance than most academic researchers in blurring the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” said James Loeffler, professor of modern Jewish history at John Hopkins University. “It’s clear from reading the Wikipedia editors’ conversation that they are heavily influenced by the ADL leadership’s comments.” + + Greenblatt and the ADL made clear that political opposition to Israel’s government and policies were acceptable and not antisemitic. But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL. + + “Let’s make this very clear: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Greenblatt said at an ADL “State of Hate” event in March. “Antizionism is a negation of Jewish history, a denial of Jewish humanity.” + + That didn’t sit well with Wikipedia’s editors. For example, one editor, with the username Sameboat, claimed the ADL leader’s advocacy “demonstrates its skewed views and manipulative presentation on the IP (Israel-Palestine) topic and thus (is) highly unreliable.” + + The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler. And the fact that the ADL balances advocacy with research is not a new problem for the organization. + + But Wikipedia’s decision may reflect a changing landscape that the ADL needs to reckon with. The war in Gaza has deeply divided people of all backgrounds, including Jews. The war has added significant ambiguity and complications to the world’s view of the Israel-Palestine conflict. + + If Wikipedia’s editors are distancing themselves from the ADL, that could suggest media, academic and partnering advocacy organizations will think twice about how they approach ADL data in their own efforts to inform their audiences on antisemitism. + + “The challenge to the ADL is to separate the advocacy from the data when it comes to the overall message,” Loeffler said. “I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue. The staff there will continue to do rigorous work, but this will provide an opportunity for self-reflection.”",CNN,20/06/2024,"['Wikipedia’s editors declared that the Anti-Defamation League cannot be trusted to give reliable information on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and they overwhelmingly said the ADL is an unreliable source on antisemitism.', 'It’s a stunning rebuke to one of the world’s preeminent authorities on anti-Jewish hate and a significant advocate for the rights and causes of American Jews.', 'The editors, a group of volunteer moderators for one of the world’s most popular information websites, voted last week to label the ADL as a “generally unreliable” source on the Israel-Palestine conflict.', 'That means that the ADL should usually not be cited in Wikipedia articles on that topic except for extraordinary circumstances.', 'Other generally unreliable sources, according to Wikipedia editors, include Russian state media, Fox News’ political coverage and Amazon reviews.', 'The ADL also faces a vote from Wikipedia editors to potentially label the organization as unreliable on the topic of antisemitism.', 'The editors overwhelmingly support that label but continue to debate the decision, which could ultimately deal a blow to the credibility of the leading source of research and information on antisemitism.', 'JTA was first to report the vote.', 'The Wikipedia editors said in an online forum that the ADL’s dual role as an advocacy and research organization prevented it from providing unbiased accounts on Israel or antisemitism.', '“The ADL is heavily biased regarding Israel/Palestine to the point of often acting as a pro-Israel lobbying organization,” wrote an editor with the username Loki, who has edited more than 3,000 Wikipedia articles. “', 'This can and does compromise its ability to accurately report facts regarding people and organizations that disagree with it on this issue, especially non-Zionist or anti-Zionist Jews and Jewish organizations.”', 'A minority of editors disagreed, arguing the editors voting in favor failed to provide evidence that the ADL has made false claims because of its advocacy work.', 'The ADL strongly rebuked the decision.', '“It is deeply disturbing that the many editors who flagged the severe flaws and inaccuracies in both the reasoning and sources being used in this campaign to delegitimize ADL are being ignored,” an ADL spokesman said in a statement. “', 'They have provided point by point refutations, grounded in factual citations, to every claim made, but apparently facts no longer matter.”', 'Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism.', 'But the spokesman warned Wikipedia’s action would prevent information on antisemitism from reaching the public.', 'Prior to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, the ADL had been largely focused on educating about and advocating for action against the rise in antisemitism around the world.', 'That alarming trend included (and continues to include) a growing number of threats and anti-Jewish actions taken by White supremacist groups, and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt became a frequent guest on television news, such as CNN.', 'After the events of October 7 and the ongoing war that followed, the ADL produced numerous reports about rising antisemitic hate speech and incidents, particularly on college campuses.', 'It produced two report cards on universities’ actions to protect Jewish students, giving failing grades to more than a dozen colleges.', 'But the ADL faced some criticism for doubling down on what some detractors believed was an overly broad definition of antisemitism that included anti-Zionism and some anti-Israel speech and actions.', '“ADL’s leadership has taken a much more aggressive stance than most academic researchers in blurring the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” said James Loeffler, professor of modern Jewish history at John Hopkins University. “', 'It’s clear from reading the Wikipedia editors’ conversation that they are heavily influenced by the ADL leadership’s comments.”', 'Greenblatt and the ADL made clear that political opposition to Israel’s government and policies were acceptable and not antisemitic.', 'But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL.', '“Let’s make this very clear: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Greenblatt said at an ADL “State of Hate” event in March. “', 'Antizionism is a negation of Jewish history, a denial of Jewish humanity.”', 'That didn’t sit well with Wikipedia’s editors.', 'For example, one editor, with the username Sameboat, claimed the ADL leader’s advocacy “demonstrates its skewed views and manipulative presentation on the IP (Israel-Palestine) topic and thus (is) highly unreliable.”', 'The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler.', 'And the fact that the ADL balances advocacy with research is not a new problem for the organization.', 'But Wikipedia’s decision may reflect a changing landscape that the ADL needs to reckon with.', 'The war in Gaza has deeply divided people of all backgrounds, including Jews.', 'The war has added significant ambiguity and complications to the world’s view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.', 'If Wikipedia’s editors are distancing themselves from the ADL, that could suggest media, academic and partnering advocacy organizations will think twice about how they approach ADL data in their own efforts to inform their audiences on antisemitism.', '“The challenge to the ADL is to separate the advocacy from the data when it comes to the overall message,” Loeffler said. “', 'I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue.', 'The staff there will continue to do rigorous work, but this will provide an opportunity for self-reflection.”']",-0.1502034921700429,"But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL.","Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism.",-0.7661631896215326,"The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler.",I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue.,2024-06-20 +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.",2024-06-20 +Post Office accidentally leaks names of sub-postmasters,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd110nl7dppo,2024-06-20T09:14:30.107Z,"The Post Office has apologised after it published the names and addresses of 555 postmasters it pursued during the Horizon scandal. The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office. One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"". In response, chief executive Nick Read apologised and said the leak was ""a truly terrible error"". It comes as witnesses continue to give evidence at an inquiry into the scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted for theft between 1999 and 2015 when incorrect information from Horizon accounting software made it look like money was missing from their branches. Other sub-postmasters which were not prosecuted were pursued by the Post Office over alleged losses in accounts. The data breach on Wednesday was first reported by the Daily Mail and led to an angry response from former sub-postmasters. Former sub-postmaster Christopher Head tweeted the text of a letter he had written to Mr Read and Post Office chair Nigel Railton. He wrote: ""As you can imagine this has caused a great amount of upset, distress and anger amongst those whose data is now within the public domain."" Many sub-postmasters who ""hadn't shared details with their own families"" and others who were ""extremely traumatised by this whole scandal even today"" had been hit by the breach, Mr Head wrote. He later told the BBC that many sub-postmasters were suffering from post-traumatic stress and ""trying their best to move on"". ""The problem is that we are getting new scandals within a scandal and new revelations on an almost daily or weekly basis that is preventing people from trying to heal,"" he added. In response to Mr Head's letter, Mr Read said: ""This is a truly terrible error and one for which at this stage I can only apologise."" The Post Office is ""reviewing with urgency the right follow-up actions to take"" for those people who have been affected by the breach, he added, and how to correct the organisation's processes. One former sub-postmaster told the Daily Mail she was “incandescent”. Wendy Buffrey said that the action could ""destroy lives"" because criminals could now target sub-postmasters who had received compensation. Ron Warmington, the forensic investigator whose firm Second Sight was brought in to probe the Horizon system in 2013, told the Mail it was “an extraordinary breach” of confidentiality and “another example of Post Office incompetence”. The leaked document contained the names of 555 former subpostmasters who sued the Post Office in 2017. In 2019, the firm agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees. In a statement the Post Office said the document had been removed from its website. It said: “We are investigating as an urgent priority how it came to be published. We are in the process of notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident, in line with our regulatory requirements.” An ICO spokesman said: “Post Office Limited have made us aware of an incident and we are assessing the information provided."" Organisations need tell the watchdog about a data breach within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, if it poses ""a risk to people’s rights and freedoms"". More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from Horizon in what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and many were financially ruined. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['The Post Office has apologised after it published the names and addresses of 555 postmasters it pursued during the Horizon scandal.', 'The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office.', 'One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".', 'In response, chief executive Nick Read apologised and said the leak was ""a truly terrible error"".', 'It comes as witnesses continue to give evidence at an inquiry into the scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted for theft between 1999 and 2015 when incorrect information from Horizon accounting software made it look like money was missing from their branches.', 'Other sub-postmasters which were not prosecuted were pursued by the Post Office over alleged losses in accounts.', 'The data breach on Wednesday was first reported by the Daily Mail and led to an angry response from former sub-postmasters.', 'Former sub-postmaster Christopher Head tweeted the text of a letter he had written to Mr Read and Post Office chair Nigel Railton.', 'He wrote: ""As you can imagine this has caused a great amount of upset, distress and anger amongst those whose data is now within the public domain.""', 'Many sub-postmasters who ""hadn\'t shared details with their own families"" and others who were ""extremely traumatised by this whole scandal even today"" had been hit by the breach, Mr Head wrote.', 'He later told the BBC that many sub-postmasters were suffering from post-traumatic stress and ""trying their best to move on"". ""', 'The problem is that we are getting new scandals within a scandal and new revelations on an almost daily or weekly basis that is preventing people from trying to heal,"" he added.', 'In response to Mr Head\'s letter, Mr Read said: ""This is a truly terrible error and one for which at this stage I can only apologise.""', 'The Post Office is ""reviewing with urgency the right follow-up actions to take"" for those people who have been affected by the breach, he added, and how to correct the organisation\'s processes.', 'One former sub-postmaster told the Daily Mail she was “incandescent”.', 'Wendy Buffrey said that the action could ""destroy lives"" because criminals could now target sub-postmasters who had received compensation.', 'Ron Warmington, the forensic investigator whose firm Second Sight was brought in to probe the Horizon system in 2013, told the Mail it was “an extraordinary breach” of confidentiality and “another example of Post Office incompetence”.', 'The leaked document contained the names of 555 former subpostmasters who sued the Post Office in 2017.', 'In 2019, the firm agreed to pay them £58m in compensation, but much of the money went on legal fees.', 'In a statement the Post Office said the document had been removed from its website.', 'It said: “We are investigating as an urgent priority how it came to be published.', 'We are in the process of notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident, in line with our regulatory requirements.”', 'An ICO spokesman said: “Post Office Limited have made us aware of an incident and we are assessing the information provided.""', 'Organisations need tell the watchdog about a data breach within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, if it poses ""a risk to people’s rights and freedoms"".', ""More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from Horizon in what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice."", 'Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and many were financially ruined.']",-0.322857646137914,The company confirmed personal details had been shared in a document on its website and said it had referred itself to data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office.,"One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".",-0.9307575292057462,,"One former sub-postmaster said the breach had caused ""upset, distress and anger"" and added the data leak was ""preventing people from trying to heal"".",2024-06-20 +Housing: Parties battle over help for first-time buyers and renters,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ggenv37eqo,2024-06-20T12:26:03.858Z,"Labour and the Conservatives have accused each other of failing to match promises on housing, in what has become a key battleground in the election campaign. The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000. Meanwhile, Labour said its more ambitious plans for energy efficiency in rental homes would protect tenants from higher energy bills. Many people who have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote said that housing was the most important issue for them during this election. The threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 until April next year. The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250. Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is not standing for re-election, said the Conservatives had a ""clear plan"" to help people get on to the housing ladder, and accused Labour of ""hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April"". Labour have said they would keep the current stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers, but speaking on Thursday leader Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to extending it as proposed by the Conservative manifesto. ""In the Budget the government set out clearly its plan, that was costed, in relation to stamp duty and we will hold to that because it's fully costed,"" Sir Keir said. He said the Conservatives' proposal on stamp duty was ""another example"" of an unfunded commitment, which he would not follow. Analysts point out that stamp duty is primarily paid by those buying larger homes, or in more expensive areas. Potential savings would not benefit everyone, as some would not need to pay it anyway. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price for first-time buyers in Britain in April 2024 was £236,000, which would not be subject to any stamp duty. Meanwhile, Labour has pledged swift action to protect renters, and claimed that tenants would be ""better off"" under them than under the Conservatives. It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election. Labour also said it would require all landlords to bring rental homes up to Energy Performance Certificate rating C by 2030, which it claims will save the average tenant £250 a year. ""This is a policy that the current government was committed to and then abandoned,"" said Ed Miliband, shadow secretary for climate change and net zero. ""They abandoned a million renters and sold them down the river. These are people living in homes that are cold and damp. Labour is on their side and we will work with landlords to make sure this happens in a way that is good for renters."" Such a policy would be a massive undertaking and questions remain over whether it is achievable, following concerns raised by charities over the quality of insulation fittings under government schemes. But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"". Asked about the costs to landlords of making properties more energy efficient, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ""I don’t think this will be too significant for them ... but what we can’t have is a situation where people are in homes that are damp, that are hazardous to health"". ""A lot of landlords recognise that safe, warm homes are what we should be providing"", she added. The Conservatives would build homes, prioritising brownfield development. They would permanently waive stamp duty tax for first-time buyers of properties costing up to £425,000. This threshold was raised temporarily and is due to revert to £300,000 in March 2025. Labour would reform planning rules, fast-forward development on brownfield and what it calls “grey belt” land such as car parks. It wants to extend an existing scheme, which helps people get a mortgage with a smaller deposit and is backing more rights for renters. The Liberal Democrats want additional social housing and new “garden cities”. They support local authorities that want to end the ""right to buy"" policy for council housing, ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies the default, and create a national register of licensed landlords. The Green Party would invest in new social housing and bring empty properties back into use. They would set higher environmental standards for new builds and would require more affordable units. They support rent controls and an eviction ban. The Scottish National Party has declared a national housing emergency and is promising funding for new affordable homes across Scotland, including for rural and islands projects. Plaid Cymru would expand social housing and support the Welsh construction industry. The party would allow local authorities to buy back more second homes and holiday lets. They want a ban on no-fault evictions and rent controls. Reform would fast-track planning, offer tax incentives for development on brownfield sites and give tax breaks to small-scale landlords. People born in the UK would be given priority for social housing. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Labour and the Conservatives have accused each other of failing to match promises on housing, in what has become a key battleground in the election campaign.', 'The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000.', 'Meanwhile, Labour said its more ambitious plans for energy efficiency in rental homes would protect tenants from higher energy bills.', 'Many people who have got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote said that housing was the most important issue for them during this election.', 'The threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 until April next year.', 'The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250.', 'Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is not standing for re-election, said the Conservatives had a ""clear plan"" to help people get on to the housing ladder, and accused Labour of ""hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April"".', 'Labour have said they would keep the current stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers, but speaking on Thursday leader Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to extending it as proposed by the Conservative manifesto. ""', 'In the Budget the government set out clearly its plan, that was costed, in relation to stamp duty and we will hold to that because it\'s fully costed,"" Sir Keir said.', 'He said the Conservatives\' proposal on stamp duty was ""another example"" of an unfunded commitment, which he would not follow.', 'Analysts point out that stamp duty is primarily paid by those buying larger homes, or in more expensive areas.', 'Potential savings would not benefit everyone, as some would not need to pay it anyway.', 'According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price for first-time buyers in Britain in April 2024 was £236,000, which would not be subject to any stamp duty.', 'Meanwhile, Labour has pledged swift action to protect renters, and claimed that tenants would be ""better off"" under them than under the Conservatives.', 'It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election.', 'Labour also said it would require all landlords to bring rental homes up to Energy Performance Certificate rating C by 2030, which it claims will save the average tenant £250 a year. ""', 'This is a policy that the current government was committed to and then abandoned,"" said Ed Miliband, shadow secretary for climate change and net zero. ""', 'They abandoned a million renters and sold them down the river.', 'These are people living in homes that are cold and damp.', 'Labour is on their side and we will work with landlords to make sure this happens in a way that is good for renters.""', 'Such a policy would be a massive undertaking and questions remain over whether it is achievable, following concerns raised by charities over the quality of insulation fittings under government schemes.', 'But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"".', 'Asked about the costs to landlords of making properties more energy efficient, Labour\'s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ""I don’t think this will be too significant for them ... but what we can’t have is a situation where people are in homes that are damp, that are hazardous to health"". ""', 'A lot of landlords recognise that safe, warm homes are what we should be providing"", she added.', 'The Conservatives would build homes, prioritising brownfield development.', 'They would permanently waive stamp duty tax for first-time buyers of properties costing up to £425,000.', 'This threshold was raised temporarily and is due to revert to £300,000 in March 2025.', 'Labour would reform planning rules, fast-forward development on brownfield and what it calls “grey belt” land such as car parks.', 'It wants to extend an existing scheme, which helps people get a mortgage with a smaller deposit and is backing more rights for renters.', 'The Liberal Democrats want additional social housing and new “garden cities”.', 'They support local authorities that want to end the ""right to buy"" policy for council housing, ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies the default, and create a national register of licensed landlords.', 'The Green Party would invest in new social housing and bring empty properties back into use.', 'They would set higher environmental standards for new builds and would require more affordable units.', 'They support rent controls and an eviction ban.', 'The Scottish National Party has declared a national housing emergency and is promising funding for new affordable homes across Scotland, including for rural and islands projects.', 'Plaid Cymru would expand social housing and support the Welsh construction industry.', 'The party would allow local authorities to buy back more second homes and holiday lets.', 'They want a ban on no-fault evictions and rent controls.', 'Reform would fast-track planning, offer tax incentives for development on brownfield sites and give tax breaks to small-scale landlords.', 'People born in the UK would be given priority for social housing.']",0.1499755604911118,"But Mr Miliband said if Labour won the election the party would ""make sure this money is well spent with proper regulations"".","It said it would immediately ban no-fault evictions, something which the Conservatives have also pledged to eventually do after the government ran out of time to pass the relevant legislation ahead of the election.",0.708147868514061,"The Conservatives said they were offering a better deal on stamp duty, by permanently abolishing the levy for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £425,000.","The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250.",2024-06-20 +Kenya Finance Bill: Gen Z anti-tax revolutionaries - the new faces of protest,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2jj5mee1pmo,2024-06-20T00:48:17.202Z,"A bold and new generation of young Kenyan protesters has emerged on the streets forcing the government to back down on some of a slew of unpopular tax proposals. What started as anger on TikTok about a controversial finance bill has morphed into a revolt - without being organised by political parties. The government of President William Ruto has managed to do what generations of politicians in the East African nation have failed to do - unite huge numbers of Kenyans beyond ethnicity and party. On Tuesday, hundreds of trainer-wearing protesters, who feel Kenyans are already overtaxed with little to show for it, braved tear gas lobbed by police to march through the capital, Nairobi, bringing the city's central business district to a standstill. Armed with their smartphones, they live-streamed the intense confrontations with officers. The protests, dubbed ""occupy parliament"", were co-ordinated and mobilised on social media in contrast to those led and sponsored by politicians. Organisers encouraged fellow protesters to wear black clothes, but some still turned up in ripped jeans and stylish hairdos. The youthful demonstrators, popularly referred to as Gen Zs - in reference to the term generally used to describe those born during the late 1990s and early 2000s - showed up in huge numbers, vowing to ensure that their discontent did not end with just a hashtag or meme. “We are the Gen Zs, we were able to mobilise ourselves. We use TikTok as a space to be able to not only have young people come to protest but to educate them on the why,” protester Zaha Indimuli told journalists. Many of them were demonstrating for the first time and waved signs such as ""Do Not Force The Taxes On Us"" , while others chanted: “Ruto must go”. ""I’m here slaving for a country I love. It is the first time I'm doing this because my parents are old and they cannot do it any more,"" Ken Makilya, a 24-year-old university student, told the BBC. The hashtags used to pressure MPs and rally protesters were ""#OccupyParliament"" and ""#RejectFinanceBill2024"". “This is my first demonstration. I hope it will be the last. I hope things change after this,"" said Naserian Kasura, who opposed the proposal to tax sanitary pads. The protesters' efforts to march to parliament were thwarted as police used water cannon to block them. ""We have been arrested but don’t let them get to you please proceed to parliament,"" Hanifa Farsafi, reportedly one of the organisers, posted on X, formerly Twitter. More than 200 young protesters were arrested but some of them were later released after lawyers went to the police stations where they had been detained. “I am not going, I am not co-operating, why are you arresting me?” one protester was heard saying in a viral video as she refused to board a police vehicle. Those who did not make it to the streets helped spread the word by sharing messages, pictures and videos on social media. As the protest lacked any clear leadership, the police have found it hard to target those behind it. They banned the march on a technicality though the protesters said all requirements had been met. And unlike previous political anti-government protests, it was not characterised by looting, destruction of property and stone-throwing. No political affiliations or ethnic alignments were mentioned - just a clear determination by the protesters to be heard. Several hours after the demonstrators had mobilised, the presidency appeared to bow to the pressure and announced that it would scrap some of the bill's most contentious provisions, including a proposed 16% value-added tax (VAT) on bread. ""We have listened to the view of Kenyans,” Kuria Kimani, the chairman of parliament's finance committee, said at a press briefing attended by President Ruto and lawmakers in the ruling coalition. Changes to the finance bill were driven by a “need to protect Kenyans from increased cost of living”, Mr Kimani added. The government had earlier defended the tax hikes, which had been projected to raise $2.7bn (£2.1bn), saying they were needed to cut reliance on external borrowing. Other proposed taxes that have been axed include ones on cooking oil, mobile money services and on motor vehicles, which critics said would have hit the insurance industry. MPs are now debating the revised bill and are expected to vote on it next Tuesday. The opposition, which did not participate in the demonstrations, wants the withdrawal of the entire bill, terming it ""punitive"". Another hashtag being used by the campaigners is ""#unfollowRuto"", encouraging people to stop following the president on X in a bid to pressure him to drop the bill. They have vowed to continue with the protests in Nairobi and other cities until the bill is dropped altogether A few days ago, presidential adviser David Ndii had rudely dismissed online efforts that started on TikTok around two weeks ago, but following Tuesday's show of strength he acknowledged their achievement. Following the publication of the draft bill, TikTokers began making video explainers that were widely shared on other platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and X - that would trend for days helped by pushes from Kenyan influencers. One tactic that has forced MPs to take notice is the list of their phone numbers that has been shared across social media with the message ""SMS your MP"". MP Stephen Mule told local media that his phone was spammed with more than 30,000 messages from young Kenyans asking him to reject the bill. Other legislators have also complained that their phones have become practically unusable because of the number of texts they were receiving. Local media have also picked up the online conversations, amplifying the voices of protest and issues about the cost of living. Some urged veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has been the face of anti-government protests for years, to stay away from Tuesday's march. He obliged, posting on social media: ""I’m a very proud father today! Well done to all those who bravely stood up for their rights!"" Mutuma Mathiu, a veteran journalist, said Tuesday's events had shifted the dynamics of Kenyan politics: ""Protest politics found a new fulcrum and a new and different generation of Kenyans found their rather loud voice."" Popular political commentator Pauline Njoroge agreed: “They are not just brave, they are also very cool and well spoken. Today’s youth-led protest has been the most peaceful yet very successful."" Prof Kivutha Kibwana, a law scholar and a former county governor, urged dialogue in his post on X: ""The most dangerous thing for a government to do is to declare war on its youth."" Dr Willy Mutunga, a former chief justice, said young people across the world had a common enemy in ""their respective ruling classes, warning: ""The uprising is on the horizon."" The government has long held fears that social media could be used to promote discord and has pushed for stricter oversight by regulators. The online collective known as Kenyans on X (KOX) is renowned for calling out issues and Kenya is among the countries with the highest TikTok usage rate worldwide. In March, the interior minister threatened to restrict the use of TikTok, which he accused of spreading malicious content. But the protesters do not intend to be cowed. ""We are not scared, we are not moved and this is only the beginning of the revolution. We are coming, we are many and in good numbers,"" said Ms Indimuli from the sidelines of Tuesday's demonstration. Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['A bold and new generation of young Kenyan protesters has emerged on the streets forcing the government to back down on some of a slew of unpopular tax proposals.', 'What started as anger on TikTok about a controversial finance bill has morphed into a revolt - without being organised by political parties.', 'The government of President William Ruto has managed to do what generations of politicians in the East African nation have failed to do - unite huge numbers of Kenyans beyond ethnicity and party.', ""On Tuesday, hundreds of trainer-wearing protesters, who feel Kenyans are already overtaxed with little to show for it, braved tear gas lobbed by police to march through the capital, Nairobi, bringing the city's central business district to a standstill."", 'Armed with their smartphones, they live-streamed the intense confrontations with officers.', 'The protests, dubbed ""occupy parliament"", were co-ordinated and mobilised on social media in contrast to those led and sponsored by politicians.', 'Organisers encouraged fellow protesters to wear black clothes, but some still turned up in ripped jeans and stylish hairdos.', 'The youthful demonstrators, popularly referred to as Gen Zs - in reference to the term generally used to describe those born during the late 1990s and early 2000s - showed up in huge numbers, vowing to ensure that their discontent did not end with just a hashtag or meme. “', 'We are the Gen Zs, we were able to mobilise ourselves.', 'We use TikTok as a space to be able to not only have young people come to protest but to educate them on the why,” protester Zaha Indimuli told journalists.', 'Many of them were demonstrating for the first time and waved signs such as ""Do Not Force The Taxes On Us"" , while others chanted: “Ruto must go”. ""', 'I’m here slaving for a country I love.', 'It is the first time I\'m doing this because my parents are old and they cannot do it any more,"" Ken Makilya, a 24-year-old university student, told the BBC.', 'The hashtags used to pressure MPs and rally protesters were ""#OccupyParliament"" and ""#RejectFinanceBill2024"". “', 'This is my first demonstration.', 'I hope it will be the last.', 'I hope things change after this,"" said Naserian Kasura, who opposed the proposal to tax sanitary pads.', 'The protesters\' efforts to march to parliament were thwarted as police used water cannon to block them. ""', 'We have been arrested but don’t let them get to you please proceed to parliament,"" Hanifa Farsafi, reportedly one of the organisers, posted on X, formerly Twitter.', 'More than 200 young protesters were arrested but some of them were later released after lawyers went to the police stations where they had been detained. “', 'I am not going, I am not co-operating, why are you arresting me?”', 'one protester was heard saying in a viral video as she refused to board a police vehicle.', 'Those who did not make it to the streets helped spread the word by sharing messages, pictures and videos on social media.', 'As the protest lacked any clear leadership, the police have found it hard to target those behind it.', 'They banned the march on a technicality though the protesters said all requirements had been met.', 'And unlike previous political anti-government protests, it was not characterised by looting, destruction of property and stone-throwing.', 'No political affiliations or ethnic alignments were mentioned - just a clear determination by the protesters to be heard.', 'Several hours after the demonstrators had mobilised, the presidency appeared to bow to the pressure and announced that it would scrap some of the bill\'s most contentious provisions, including a proposed 16% value-added tax (VAT) on bread. ""', ""We have listened to the view of Kenyans,” Kuria Kimani, the chairman of parliament's finance committee, said at a press briefing attended by President Ruto and lawmakers in the ruling coalition."", 'Changes to the finance bill were driven by a “need to protect Kenyans from increased cost of living”, Mr Kimani added.', 'The government had earlier defended the tax hikes, which had been projected to raise $2.7bn (£2.1bn), saying they were needed to cut reliance on external borrowing.', 'Other proposed taxes that have been axed include ones on cooking oil, mobile money services and on motor vehicles, which critics said would have hit the insurance industry.', 'MPs are now debating the revised bill and are expected to vote on it next Tuesday.', 'The opposition, which did not participate in the demonstrations, wants the withdrawal of the entire bill, terming it ""punitive"".', 'Another hashtag being used by the campaigners is ""#unfollowRuto"", encouraging people to stop following the president on X in a bid to pressure him to drop the bill.', ""They have vowed to continue with the protests in Nairobi and other cities until the bill is dropped altogether A few days ago, presidential adviser David Ndii had rudely dismissed online efforts that started on TikTok around two weeks ago, but following Tuesday's show of strength he acknowledged their achievement."", 'Following the publication of the draft bill, TikTokers began making video explainers that were widely shared on other platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and X - that would trend for days helped by pushes from Kenyan influencers.', 'One tactic that has forced MPs to take notice is the list of their phone numbers that has been shared across social media with the message ""SMS your MP"".', 'MP Stephen Mule told local media that his phone was spammed with more than 30,000 messages from young Kenyans asking him to reject the bill.', 'Other legislators have also complained that their phones have become practically unusable because of the number of texts they were receiving.', 'Local media have also picked up the online conversations, amplifying the voices of protest and issues about the cost of living.', ""Some urged veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has been the face of anti-government protests for years, to stay away from Tuesday's march."", 'He obliged, posting on social media: ""I’m a very proud father today!', 'Well done to all those who bravely stood up for their rights!""', 'Mutuma Mathiu, a veteran journalist, said Tuesday\'s events had shifted the dynamics of Kenyan politics: ""Protest politics found a new fulcrum and a new and different generation of Kenyans found their rather loud voice.""', 'Popular political commentator Pauline Njoroge agreed: “They are not just brave, they are also very cool and well spoken.', 'Today’s youth-led protest has been the most peaceful yet very successful.""', 'Prof Kivutha Kibwana, a law scholar and a former county governor, urged dialogue in his post on X: ""The most dangerous thing for a government to do is to declare war on its youth.""', 'Dr Willy Mutunga, a former chief justice, said young people across the world had a common enemy in ""their respective ruling classes, warning: ""The uprising is on the horizon.""', 'The government has long held fears that social media could be used to promote discord and has pushed for stricter oversight by regulators.', 'The online collective known as Kenyans on X (KOX) is renowned for calling out issues and Kenya is among the countries with the highest TikTok usage rate worldwide.', 'In March, the interior minister threatened to restrict the use of TikTok, which he accused of spreading malicious content.', 'But the protesters do not intend to be cowed. ""', 'We are not scared, we are not moved and this is only the beginning of the revolution.', 'We are coming, we are many and in good numbers,"" said Ms Indimuli from the sidelines of Tuesday\'s demonstration.', 'Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.', 'Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica']",-0.0178513656202644,"The youthful demonstrators, popularly referred to as Gen Zs - in reference to the term generally used to describe those born during the late 1990s and early 2000s - showed up in huge numbers, vowing to ensure that their discontent did not end with just a hashtag or meme. “","Prof Kivutha Kibwana, a law scholar and a former county governor, urged dialogue in his post on X: ""The most dangerous thing for a government to do is to declare war on its youth.""",0.1216243426005045,"Today’s youth-led protest has been the most peaceful yet very successful.""",Other legislators have also complained that their phones have become practically unusable because of the number of texts they were receiving.,2024-06-20 +How mobile phone networks are embracing AI,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pp1nvw5zwo,2024-06-19T23:02:43.833Z,"Our mobile phones are getting a whole lot smarter, but what about the telecoms networks they run on? Last week, Apple became the latest mobile phone firm to announce that it will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its handsets’ operating system. Called Apple Intelligence, and also due to be incorporated into the phones’ Siri chatbot, it aims to make them easier and quicker to use. And turn Siri into even more of a personal assistant. It follows after Samsung’s Galaxy AI, and Google’s Gemini AI for its own Pixel handsets. This increased of use AI means phones will be doing a lot more computing, and that means they’ll produce and use a lot more data. This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three. To help them cope, telecoms firms such as these are also increasingly introducing AI, says Ian Fogg, director of network innovation at research consultancy CCS Insight. “Network operators are using AI to manage the radio frequencies dynamically, to provide an optimum level of service. And to manage cell towers, for example, so they use less energy at times of lower demand."" Such increased use of AI to look after mobile phone networks is now very much global. In South Korea, Korea Telecom is now able to localise and fix faults within a minute, thanks to AI-enabled network monitoring, says Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the GSMA, the body representing global mobile operators. Meanwhile, AT&T in the US is using predictive, AI algorithms schooled on trillions of previous network alerts to warn it when things are about to go wrong. Other operators, like Vodafone, are using AI digital twins - virtual digital replicas of real-world equipment, such as masts and antennas – to constantly monitor how their networks are performing. And AI is also being used to manage how increasingly massive data centres use energy to keep their servers cool and optimise storage capacity. The explosion in data created by the increased use of AI is another reason why telecoms firms around the world are continuing to invest in so-called 5G Standalone mobile networks. These use new, dedicated 5G infrastructure rather than relying in part on upgrading the older, less efficient 4G system. 5G Standalone offers much higher speeds and capacity. But some experts believe that even this higher-spec technology won’t be sufficient to cope with the demands of the AI era. At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, for example, some experts argued that AI won’t be able to reach its full potential until the roll out of 6G from 2028. While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands. So the industry is also hoping AI can radically improve the way they interact with and serve customers. For example, the Global Telco AI Alliance - a joint venture company made up of Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, Softbank and SK Telecom with 1.3 billion customers across 50 countries – aims to develop an AI chatbot specifically tailored to the telecoms sector, and the type of questions customers typically ask. This specially trained chatbot will be able to deal with most of the basic queries coming from customers, leaving call centre staff free to concentrate on more complex cases, the Alliance’s founders hope. Meanwhile, Vodafone has teamed up with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to improve its customer service, spearheaded by its digital assistant Tobi, which interacts with more than 40 million customers a month in 13 countries and across 15 languages. The more Tobi can answer customer queries without the need for human intervention, the fewer complaints there are likely to be, which is good for profits and corporate reputation. “We see AI primarily as a ‘virtual assistant’ for humans,” says Scott Petty, Vodafone’s chief technology officer. “We already see AI freeing-up Vodafone employees’ time from tedious, repetitive manual work, enabling them to focus on more creative activities that benefit our customers and the environment.” AI also leaves the customer agents freer to work on more complex cases, he argues. Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls. While many commentators worry that AI could lead to massive job losses in the telco sector, as menial tasks are increasingly automated by software, GSMA’s Mr Sinclair believes it could actually be empowering, particularly for lower-income countries. “AI will give emerging markets a specialist tool to help them catch up,” he argues. “We’re in favour of trying to democratise AI so that it’s not just the wealthy who can use it.” He believes that some of the doom-mongering around AI has been overdone, and so he strikes a more optimistic tone. It’s a view shared by CCS Insight’s Ian Fogg: “AI has been around for some years, used for specific [telecoms] cases. But now it’s being applied in many more areas - network, devices, software - such that every tool we use now has the potential to become much, much better. “AI has the potential to make networks greener, and the world a more efficient place.” ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['Our mobile phones are getting a whole lot smarter, but what about the telecoms networks they run on?', 'Last week, Apple became the latest mobile phone firm to announce that it will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its handsets’ operating system.', 'Called Apple Intelligence, and also due to be incorporated into the phones’ Siri chatbot, it aims to make them easier and quicker to use.', 'And turn Siri into even more of a personal assistant.', 'It follows after Samsung’s Galaxy AI, and Google’s Gemini AI for its own Pixel handsets.', 'This increased of use AI means phones will be doing a lot more computing, and that means they’ll produce and use a lot more data.', 'This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three.', 'To help them cope, telecoms firms such as these are also increasingly introducing AI, says Ian Fogg, director of network innovation at research consultancy CCS Insight. “', 'Network operators are using AI to manage the radio frequencies dynamically, to provide an optimum level of service.', 'And to manage cell towers, for example, so they use less energy at times of lower demand.""', 'Such increased use of AI to look after mobile phone networks is now very much global.', 'In South Korea, Korea Telecom is now able to localise and fix faults within a minute, thanks to AI-enabled network monitoring, says Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the GSMA, the body representing global mobile operators.', 'Meanwhile, AT&T in the US is using predictive, AI algorithms schooled on trillions of previous network alerts to warn it when things are about to go wrong.', 'Other operators, like Vodafone, are using AI digital twins - virtual digital replicas of real-world equipment, such as masts and antennas – to constantly monitor how their networks are performing.', 'And AI is also being used to manage how increasingly massive data centres use energy to keep their servers cool and optimise storage capacity.', 'The explosion in data created by the increased use of AI is another reason why telecoms firms around the world are continuing to invest in so-called 5G Standalone mobile networks.', 'These use new, dedicated 5G infrastructure rather than relying in part on upgrading the older, less efficient 4G system.', '5G Standalone offers much higher speeds and capacity.', 'But some experts believe that even this higher-spec technology won’t be sufficient to cope with the demands of the AI era.', 'At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, for example, some experts argued that AI won’t be able to reach its full potential until the roll out of 6G from 2028.', 'While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands.', 'So the industry is also hoping AI can radically improve the way they interact with and serve customers.', 'For example, the Global Telco AI Alliance - a joint venture company made up of Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, Softbank and SK Telecom with 1.3 billion customers across 50 countries – aims to develop an AI chatbot specifically tailored to the telecoms sector, and the type of questions customers typically ask.', 'This specially trained chatbot will be able to deal with most of the basic queries coming from customers, leaving call centre staff free to concentrate on more complex cases, the Alliance’s founders hope.', 'Meanwhile, Vodafone has teamed up with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to improve its customer service, spearheaded by its digital assistant Tobi, which interacts with more than 40 million customers a month in 13 countries and across 15 languages.', 'The more Tobi can answer customer queries without the need for human intervention, the fewer complaints there are likely to be, which is good for profits and corporate reputation. “', 'We see AI primarily as a ‘virtual assistant’ for humans,” says Scott Petty, Vodafone’s chief technology officer. “', 'We already see AI freeing-up Vodafone employees’ time from tedious, repetitive manual work, enabling them to focus on more creative activities that benefit our customers and the environment.”', 'AI also leaves the customer agents freer to work on more complex cases, he argues.', 'Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.', 'While many commentators worry that AI could lead to massive job losses in the telco sector, as menial tasks are increasingly automated by software, GSMA’s Mr Sinclair believes it could actually be empowering, particularly for lower-income countries. “', 'AI will give emerging markets a specialist tool to help them catch up,” he argues. “', 'We’re in favour of trying to democratise AI so that it’s not just the wealthy who can use it.”', 'He believes that some of the doom-mongering around AI has been overdone, and so he strikes a more optimistic tone.', 'It’s a view shared by CCS Insight’s Ian Fogg: “AI has been around for some years, used for specific [telecoms] cases.', 'But now it’s being applied in many more areas - network, devices, software - such that every tool we use now has the potential to become much, much better. “', 'AI has the potential to make networks greener, and the world a more efficient place.”']",0.1900671079372031,"Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.","While mobile customers only tend to notice the network when things go wrong, they are much more aware when customer service levels are poor, with all the reputational damage this can cause brands.",0.5172574520111084,"Vodafone also says that Azure OpenAI is helping customers more easily find what they’re looking for on its websites, with early evidence showing a doubling in the number of successful completed online customer journeys, and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.","This is going to put more strain on the mobile phone networks, such as the UK’s O2, EE, Vodafone and Three.",2024-06-20 +Mortgage rates: How do UK interest rates affect me and when will they fall?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57764601,2021-07-16T11:52:58.000Z,"The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time in a row. UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable. So, in turn, analysts believe people may have to wait a while yet for the cost of mortgages to fall significantly. Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK. An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it. The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money. This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings. The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time. When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates. The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand. Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them. The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years. However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979. There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022. The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years. However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like. As a result, previous thoughts of a spring cut were revised, but there are hints of the possibility of an interest rate cut in August. The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards. Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025. But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control. Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey. When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments. But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are. Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade, with the average two-year fixed rate now at just under 6%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts. This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago. About 1.6 million deals are expiring in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance. You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans. Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England. However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper. Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money. Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers. There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest. The UK's financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers. In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world's seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies. In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years. But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024. In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024. ",BBC,16/07/2021,"['The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time in a row.', ""UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable."", 'So, in turn, analysts believe people may have to wait a while yet for the cost of mortgages to fall significantly.', 'Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.', 'An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it.', ""The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money."", 'This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings.', 'The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time.', 'When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates.', 'The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand.', 'Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them.', 'The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years.', 'However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979.', 'There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022.', 'The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years.', 'However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like.', 'As a result, previous thoughts of a spring cut were revised, but there are hints of the possibility of an interest rate cut in August.', 'The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.', ""Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates."", 'The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025.', 'But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control.', ""Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey."", 'When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments.', 'But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals.', ""While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are."", 'Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade, with the average two-year fixed rate now at just under 6%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.', 'This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago.', 'About 1.6 million deals are expiring in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance.', 'You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.', 'Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England.', 'However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper.', 'Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money.', 'Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers.', 'There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest.', 'The UK\'s financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers.', 'In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world\'s seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies.', 'In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.', 'But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024.', 'In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024.']",0.2102840274860545,"You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.","The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.",0.1087228243167583,"Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates.","In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.",2024-06-20 +TikTok child privacy complaint referred to US justice department,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgg7z9d8rxo,2024-06-19T01:57:15.509Z,"The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children's privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"". In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision. The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business. The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC also said it does not usually announce that it has referred a complaint to the DOJ but in this instance felt doing so was in the public interest. COPPA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by online services about children under 13-years-old. The FTC Act targets “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by companies. In response, a TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and that it had ""been working with the FTC for more than a year to address its concerns."" ""We're disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added. A DOJ spokesperson told BBC News they ""cannot comment on the substance of the referral from the FTC against TikTok."" ""Consistent with our normal approach, the Justice Department consulted with FTC in advance of this referral and will continue to do so as we consider the claims,"" they added. The FTC's announcement adds to the growing pressure faced by TikTok in the US. In April, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that gave ByteDance a maximum of a year to sell the app or face a ban in the country. That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office. The law was introduced to address concerns that TikTok might share user data with Chinese authorities - claims the company has denied. In May, TikTok filed a lawsuit aiming to block that legislation, arguing it is an ""extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights"" of the company and its 170 million American users. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"[""The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children's privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ)."", 'The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"".', 'In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision.', 'The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business.', ""The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)."", 'The FTC also said it does not usually announce that it has referred a complaint to the DOJ but in this instance felt doing so was in the public interest.', 'COPPA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by online services about children under 13-years-old.', 'The FTC Act targets “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by companies.', 'In response, a TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and that it had ""been working with the FTC for more than a year to address its concerns."" ""', 'We\'re disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added.', 'A DOJ spokesperson told BBC News they ""cannot comment on the substance of the referral from the FTC against TikTok."" ""', 'Consistent with our normal approach, the Justice Department consulted with FTC in advance of this referral and will continue to do so as we consider the claims,"" they added.', ""The FTC's announcement adds to the growing pressure faced by TikTok in the US."", 'In April, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that gave ByteDance a maximum of a year to sell the app or face a ban in the country.', 'That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.', 'The law was introduced to address concerns that TikTok might share user data with Chinese authorities - claims the company has denied.', 'In May, TikTok filed a lawsuit aiming to block that legislation, arguing it is an ""extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights"" of the company and its 170 million American users.']",-0.190995647288388,"That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.","The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"".",-0.8604920208454132,,"We're disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added.",2024-06-20 +Booking.com warns of up to 900% increase in travel scams,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8003dd8jzeo,2024-06-20T10:20:50.932Z,"Booking.com is warning artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an explosion in travel scams. The firm's internet safety boss, Marnie Wilking, said there had been ""anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase"" in the past 18 months. She said there had been a particularly marked increase in phishing - where people are tricked into handing over their financial details - since generative AI tools like ChatGPT burst onto the market. ""Of course, we've had phishing since the dawn of email, but the uptick started shortly after ChatGPT got launched,"" she said. ""The attackers are definitely using AI to launch attacks that mimic emails far better than anything that they've done to date,"" she said. Phishing attacks often try to convince people to hand over their card details through by sending them fake - but very convincing looking - internet booking links. Scammers often target websites like Booking.com and Airbnb because they allow people to list their own places to stay After someone pays up, the scammers either vanish without a trace - leaving the buyer without a place to stay - or even try to scam them out of more money through follow-up messages. These sorts of scams have been around for decades, though they often come with telltale signs of fraud, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. But - speaking at the Collision technology conference in Toronto - Ms Wilking said AI was making them harder to detect because it could generate realistic images and much more accurate text, in multiple languages. She is calling for hotels and travellers to use two-factor authentication - it involves an additional security check, such as inputting a code sent to you phone - calling it ""the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing"". She also urged people to more vigilant than before when clicking on links. But despite criticising how scammers are using AI, she said the technology was also allowing Booking.com to rapidly remove fake hotels that tried to scam people. ""We've set up AI models to detect those and either block them from getting on there to begin or take it down before there's any booking,"" she said. Jane Hawkes, a consumer expert specialising in the travel industry, said travel providers should ""step up efforts"" to make people aware of the scams. ""They also have a responsibility to advise travellers ways to minimise the risk of being scammed,"" she said. But she said people should do their research ""with due diligence"" to avoid falling for them in the first place. ""Check that contact details are readily available on websites and that there is a telephone number - many scam sites purposely don’t have one,"" she said. And she also recommended booking package holidays, rather than booking flights and accommodation separately, and to use a credit card to maximise how much you are protected. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"['Booking.com is warning artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an explosion in travel scams.', 'The firm\'s internet safety boss, Marnie Wilking, said there had been ""anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase"" in the past 18 months.', 'She said there had been a particularly marked increase in phishing - where people are tricked into handing over their financial details - since generative AI tools like ChatGPT burst onto the market. ""', 'Of course, we\'ve had phishing since the dawn of email, but the uptick started shortly after ChatGPT got launched,"" she said. ""', 'The attackers are definitely using AI to launch attacks that mimic emails far better than anything that they\'ve done to date,"" she said.', 'Phishing attacks often try to convince people to hand over their card details through by sending them fake - but very convincing looking - internet booking links.', 'Scammers often target websites like Booking.com and Airbnb because they allow people to list their own places to stay After someone pays up, the scammers either vanish without a trace - leaving the buyer without a place to stay - or even try to scam them out of more money through follow-up messages.', 'These sorts of scams have been around for decades, though they often come with telltale signs of fraud, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.', 'But - speaking at the Collision technology conference in Toronto - Ms Wilking said AI was making them harder to detect because it could generate realistic images and much more accurate text, in multiple languages.', 'She is calling for hotels and travellers to use two-factor authentication - it involves an additional security check, such as inputting a code sent to you phone - calling it ""the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing"".', 'She also urged people to more vigilant than before when clicking on links.', 'But despite criticising how scammers are using AI, she said the technology was also allowing Booking.com to rapidly remove fake hotels that tried to scam people. ""', 'We\'ve set up AI models to detect those and either block them from getting on there to begin or take it down before there\'s any booking,"" she said.', 'Jane Hawkes, a consumer expert specialising in the travel industry, said travel providers should ""step up efforts"" to make people aware of the scams. ""', 'They also have a responsibility to advise travellers ways to minimise the risk of being scammed,"" she said.', 'But she said people should do their research ""with due diligence"" to avoid falling for them in the first place. ""', 'Check that contact details are readily available on websites and that there is a telephone number - many scam sites purposely don’t have one,"" she said.', 'And she also recommended booking package holidays, rather than booking flights and accommodation separately, and to use a credit card to maximise how much you are protected.']",-0.1277917110522892,"And she also recommended booking package holidays, rather than booking flights and accommodation separately, and to use a credit card to maximise how much you are protected.","These sorts of scams have been around for decades, though they often come with telltale signs of fraud, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.",0.4885143339633941,"The firm's internet safety boss, Marnie Wilking, said there had been ""anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase"" in the past 18 months.",Booking.com is warning artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an explosion in travel scams.,2024-06-20 +Whyte & Mackay whisky distillery staff to strike in pay dispute,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz55zyyrdg2o,2024-06-20T18:25:19.736Z,"Distillery workers at whisky maker Whyte & Mackay are due to walk out next week after rejecting the company's latest pay offer. The GMB union said staff would strike at three Highland distilleries on Monday, with 11 more days of action in July then a two week walkout in August. It comes after 84% of union members at the company's Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty, and Tamnavulin in Moray, voted to reject a pay offer in a ballot, which saw a 90% turnout. The GMB claimed that Whyte & Mackay had ""angered members"" by saying that a strike by a small number of staff would have little impact on operations. GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “It should instead have been rushing to offer fair pay to our member because without their skill and experience there would be nothing to bottle and nothing to distribute."" GMB members were balloted following what the union said was a pay offer of between 6% and 7%. The offer was accepted by Whyte & Mackay staff at the company's bottling and distribution sites at Grangemouth, but not the Highland sites. Whyte & Mackay said its priority was to resolve this dispute. A spokesperson added: ""We do not recognise the substance of the statement regarding the negotiations. ""Whyte and Mackay has acted in accordance with legal advice, and approached the negotiation in an open and transparent manner throughout. ""We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution."" The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute. ",BBC,20/06/2024,"[""Distillery workers at whisky maker Whyte & Mackay are due to walk out next week after rejecting the company's latest pay offer."", 'The GMB union said staff would strike at three Highland distilleries on Monday, with 11 more days of action in July then a two week walkout in August.', ""It comes after 84% of union members at the company's Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty, and Tamnavulin in Moray, voted to reject a pay offer in a ballot, which saw a 90% turnout."", 'The GMB claimed that Whyte & Mackay had ""angered members"" by saying that a strike by a small number of staff would have little impact on operations.', 'GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “', 'It should instead have been rushing to offer fair pay to our member because without their skill and experience there would be nothing to bottle and nothing to distribute.""', 'GMB members were balloted following what the union said was a pay offer of between 6% and 7%.', ""The offer was accepted by Whyte & Mackay staff at the company's bottling and distribution sites at Grangemouth, but not the Highland sites."", 'Whyte & Mackay said its priority was to resolve this dispute.', 'A spokesperson added: ""We do not recognise the substance of the statement regarding the negotiations. ""', 'Whyte and Mackay has acted in accordance with legal advice, and approached the negotiation in an open and transparent manner throughout. ""', 'We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""', 'The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute.']",-0.1769119146992162,"We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""","The walkout comes as GMB members at whisky maker Edrington, which makes The Macallan and Famous Grouse, are also being balloted on industrial action in an ongoing pay dispute.",0.218820850054423,"We continue to engage both our trade union partners to reach a sustainable resolution.""","GMB Highlands organiser, Lesley-Ann MacAskill said: “The company’s rush to suggest distilleries are somehow less important than bottling and distribution operations was insulting and inflammatory. “",2024-06-20 +Chinese 'underground bankers' accused of aiding Mexican cartel,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw44mdkg0e9o,2024-06-19T13:47:20.183Z,"The US has accused a Chinese ""underground banking"" network of helping Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drugs cartel with money laundering and other crimes. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged 24 people with offences that also include distributing narcotics. Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills. The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side. The US accuses the Sinaloa cartel of helping to fuel a deadly epidemic by flooding the country with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The DoJ highlighted a ""conspiracy"" during which more than $50m in drug proceeds moved between the Sinaloa gang members and Chinese underground ""money exchanges"". It said these underground exchanges were being used by Sinaloa operatives to move their illegally acquired cash from the US to Mexico. These Chinese exchanges offer a ""ready market"" for US currency, the DoJ said, explaining that some Chinese nationals want ""informal alternatives"" to conventional banking because the Beijing government caps the amount of money they can take out of China. A statement from Beijing, quoted by the AFP news agency, appeared to confirm the rare close collaboration with the US, saying authorities there had arrested a money-laundering suspect. That person had been involved in running a US car dealership before switching to ""illegal foreign exchange trading"". Most of the 24 suspects named in the indictment will appear in a Los Angeles court ""in the coming weeks"", the DoJ added in its statement. The US has long accused China itself of flooding the country with deadly drugs like fentanyl - an allegation that China denies. In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['The US has accused a Chinese ""underground banking"" network of helping Mexico\'s powerful Sinaloa drugs cartel with money laundering and other crimes.', 'The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged 24 people with offences that also include distributing narcotics.', 'Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.', 'The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side.', 'The US accuses the Sinaloa cartel of helping to fuel a deadly epidemic by flooding the country with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin.', 'The DoJ highlighted a ""conspiracy"" during which more than $50m in drug proceeds moved between the Sinaloa gang members and Chinese underground ""money exchanges"".', 'It said these underground exchanges were being used by Sinaloa operatives to move their illegally acquired cash from the US to Mexico.', 'These Chinese exchanges offer a ""ready market"" for US currency, the DoJ said, explaining that some Chinese nationals want ""informal alternatives"" to conventional banking because the Beijing government caps the amount of money they can take out of China.', 'A statement from Beijing, quoted by the AFP news agency, appeared to confirm the rare close collaboration with the US, saying authorities there had arrested a money-laundering suspect.', 'That person had been involved in running a US car dealership before switching to ""illegal foreign exchange trading"".', 'Most of the 24 suspects named in the indictment will appear in a Los Angeles court ""in the coming weeks"", the DoJ added in its statement.', 'The US has long accused China itself of flooding the country with deadly drugs like fentanyl - an allegation that China denies.', ""In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.""]",-0.1530764445831638,"Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.","In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.",0.0044366419315338,The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side.,"In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.",2024-06-20 +UK interest rates: Bank of England opens door for August cut,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11jld7d36o,2024-06-19T23:01:30.251Z,"The Bank of England has opened the door to cutting interest rates in August in what would be the first drop in borrowing costs for more than four years. On Thursday, the Bank voted to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% in a close-run decision. Earlier this week, figures revealed that inflation – which measures the pace of price rises – had slowed to 2% in May, which is in line with the Bank of England’s target. However, prices of some items continued to rise faster than expected. But the minutes from the Bank’s rate-setting committee signalled a significant change in tone, indicating a majority could vote for a cut when they meet again on 1 August. They say they will look at whether areas of concern are “receding”. “On that basis, the committee will keep under review for how long [the] bank rate should be maintained at its current level,"" the minutes said. While not a done deal, this language is a clear signal to the markets and the public that after the Bank completes its new forecasts for the economy, a rate cut is now the most likely outcome at its next meeting. The rate-setting committee voted 7-2 to hold rates, but the result was not as cut and dried as it had been previously. For three members, voting to hold this month was a “finely balanced” decision. Those committee members leaning towards a cut, which are understood to include Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, are playing down the strength of underlying inflationary pressures. The Bank's latest decision comes in the run-up to the general election, with policies for the future of the UK economy a key battleground for political parties. However, the Bank stressed that the timing of the election was ""not relevant to its decision"". The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK. While the Bank appears to be hinting at a cut in August, many homeowners now coming to the end of a fixed-rate deal are facing mortgage rates much higher than they have become used to. The current average rate for a two-year fixed deal is 5.96%, although this is lower than last year's peak of 6.86%. Mortgage adviser Ben Perks, who works in Wolverhampton, told BBC Radio 5Live that while he was not surprised by the Bank's decision to hold rates for now, he was ""definitely disappointed, certainly frustrated"". ""It's OK saying, 'Oh, we'll wait' but the reality is that 125,000 people a month are coming to the end of their fixed rates, which over a two-month period is the population of Wolverhampton city centre."" He says he's had borrowers in tears in his office when they've found out how much their mortgage repayments are going to go up by. ""It is extremely stressful. We've had meetings when you tell them the new payments and, with the fact everything else has gone up, they don't know which way to turn."" Wednesday's inflation data showed that price rises for services - which reflect the cost of items such as cinema tickets, restaurant meals and holidays - remained higher than expected. But the Bank's minutes say that the slow fall in services inflation reflects one-off factors, including the rise in the minimum wage and bills that automatically rise by inflation, such as broadband and mobile. If the Bank does go ahead with an interest rate cut in August, it would be the first one since March 2020 when the UK was heading into the first Covid lockdown. “It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “We need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that’s why we’ve decided to hold rates at 5.25% for now.” The Bank of England is independent of the government and its main role is to keep inflation stable at 2%. In response to high inflation, the Bank in recent years has raised and then kept interest rates at a high level. The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['The Bank of England has opened the door to cutting interest rates in August in what would be the first drop in borrowing costs for more than four years.', 'On Thursday, the Bank voted to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% in a close-run decision.', 'Earlier this week, figures revealed that inflation – which measures the pace of price rises – had slowed to 2% in May, which is in line with the Bank of England’s target.', 'However, prices of some items continued to rise faster than expected.', 'But the minutes from the Bank’s rate-setting committee signalled a significant change in tone, indicating a majority could vote for a cut when they meet again on 1 August.', 'They say they will look at whether areas of concern are “receding”. “', 'On that basis, the committee will keep under review for how long [the] bank rate should be maintained at its current level,"" the minutes said.', 'While not a done deal, this language is a clear signal to the markets and the public that after the Bank completes its new forecasts for the economy, a rate cut is now the most likely outcome at its next meeting.', 'The rate-setting committee voted 7-2 to hold rates, but the result was not as cut and dried as it had been previously.', 'For three members, voting to hold this month was a “finely balanced” decision.', 'Those committee members leaning towards a cut, which are understood to include Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, are playing down the strength of underlying inflationary pressures.', ""The Bank's latest decision comes in the run-up to the general election, with policies for the future of the UK economy a key battleground for political parties."", 'However, the Bank stressed that the timing of the election was ""not relevant to its decision"".', ""The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK."", 'While the Bank appears to be hinting at a cut in August, many homeowners now coming to the end of a fixed-rate deal are facing mortgage rates much higher than they have become used to.', ""The current average rate for a two-year fixed deal is 5.96%, although this is lower than last year's peak of 6.86%."", 'Mortgage adviser Ben Perks, who works in Wolverhampton, told BBC Radio 5Live that while he was not surprised by the Bank\'s decision to hold rates for now, he was ""definitely disappointed, certainly frustrated"". ""', 'It\'s OK saying, \'Oh, we\'ll wait\' but the reality is that 125,000 people a month are coming to the end of their fixed rates, which over a two-month period is the population of Wolverhampton city centre.""', 'He says he\'s had borrowers in tears in his office when they\'ve found out how much their mortgage repayments are going to go up by. ""', 'It is extremely stressful.', 'We\'ve had meetings when you tell them the new payments and, with the fact everything else has gone up, they don\'t know which way to turn.""', ""Wednesday's inflation data showed that price rises for services - which reflect the cost of items such as cinema tickets, restaurant meals and holidays - remained higher than expected."", ""But the Bank's minutes say that the slow fall in services inflation reflects one-off factors, including the rise in the minimum wage and bills that automatically rise by inflation, such as broadband and mobile."", 'If the Bank does go ahead with an interest rate cut in August, it would be the first one since March 2020 when the UK was heading into the first Covid lockdown. “', 'It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “', 'We need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that’s why we’ve decided to hold rates at 5.25% for now.”', 'The Bank of England is independent of the government and its main role is to keep inflation stable at 2%.', 'In response to high inflation, the Bank in recent years has raised and then kept interest rates at a high level.', 'The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created.']",0.0756314806316542,"The Bank of England's interest rate has a knock-on effect on mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.",It is extremely stressful.,-0.1597197566713605,"It’s good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target,"" said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. “","The theory behind rising rates is that it will slow inflation, but it can also drag on economic growth as businesses may put off investment or hiring, which could mean fewer jobs being created.",2024-06-20 +Here's what's next for Paramount after Skydance deal is stopped in its tracks,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/paramount-skydance-deal-ends-what-happens-next.html,2024-06-13T11:46:33+0000,"In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry.Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward.Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.""It's very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis. It's almost unheard of. How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?"" said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward.""So, what does this mean for Paramount? While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process.The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement."" National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership.While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports. Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved.""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday's memo to employees. ""And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount's new leadership team outlined a plan at last week's shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn't take place.The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25. The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call.The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year. Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan.""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation.In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""But this is a very difficult situation. Uncertainty is the worst thing.""Whether it's these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year. A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"[""In this articleNational Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry."", 'Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle.', ""Now it's up to the three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward."", 'Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called Office of the CEO: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins.', 'The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried.', '""It\'s very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis.', ""It's almost unheard of."", 'How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?""', 'said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities.', ""On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward."", '""So, what does this mean for Paramount?', 'While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,"" the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained Wednesday.', ""After months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process."", 'The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion.', 'The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares.', 'In a statement Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had ""agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement.""', ""National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership."", 'While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders.', 'In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.', 'In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports.', 'Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed.', 'While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in ""a full acquisition"" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported.', ""Paramount's Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved."", '""We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,"" the leadership trio said in Wednesday\'s memo to employees. ""', 'And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.', '""Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount\'s new leadership team outlined a plan at last week\'s shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn\'t take place.', 'The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures such as layoffs and divesting noncore assets.', 'The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall June 25.', ""The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August's earnings call."", ""The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount's debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year."", 'Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt.', ""In the memo to employees Wednesday, Paramount's leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan."", '""Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,"" the leaders said in the memo.', ""Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders' meeting presentation."", ""In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations."", 'But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone acknowledged during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed.', '""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. ""', 'But this is a very difficult situation.', 'Uncertainty is the worst thing.', '""Whether it\'s these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note.', ""Among those, Paramount's earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney's Bob Iger said last year."", 'A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.']",0.1552936129402598,"""The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profit; also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,"" said Reif-Ehrlich. """,Uncertainty is the worst thing.,0.0349052796761194,"In Wednesday's memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations.",A weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.,2024-06-19 +UK’s richest family on trial in Switzerland for human trafficking,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm55gzvv1dro,2024-06-18T13:12:12.492Z,"Four members of the UK's richest family are on trial in Switzerland amid allegations they spent more money caring for their dog than their servants. The Hinduja family, worth an estimated £37bn ($47bn), is accused of exploitation and human trafficking. The family own a villa in Geneva’s wealthy neighbourhood of Cologny, and the charges against them all relate to their practice of importing servants from India to look after their children and household. It’s alleged that Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, together with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, confiscated staff passports, paid them as little as $8 (£7) for 18-hour days, and allowed them little freedom to leave the house. Although a financial settlement over exploitation was reached last week, the Hindujas remain on trial for trafficking, which is a serious criminal offence in Switzerland. They deny the charges. This week in court, one of Geneva’s most famous prosecutors, Yves Bertossa, compared the almost $10,000 a year he claimed the family had spent on their dog, to the daily amount they were allegedly paying their servants. The Hinduja family's lawyers did not specifically deny the allegations of low wages, but said they must be viewed in context - noting that the staff were also receiving accommodation and food. The charge of long hours was also disputed, with one defence lawyer arguing that watching a film with the Hinduja children could not really be classed as work. Some former servants testified for the Hindujas, describing them as a friendly family who treated their servants with dignity. But the allegations that servants’ passports were confiscated, and that they could not even leave the house without permission, are serious, because they could be judged as human trafficking. Mr Bertossa is calling for prison terms, and millions of dollars in compensation as well as legal fees. It is not the first time that Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, has been in the spotlight over the alleged mistreatment of servants. In 2008, Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested in his five star Geneva hotel by police acting on information that he and his wife had been beating their servants, including with a coat hanger. The case was later dropped. But it caused a huge diplomatic row between Switzerland and Libya, with two Swiss citizens arrested in Tripoli as a retaliatory measure. Just last year, four domestic workers from the Philippines launched a case against one of Geneva’s diplomatic missions to the United Nations, claiming they had not been paid for years. The Hinduja's ongoing, high profile case will draw attention, once again, to the darker, uglier side of the city that likes to call itself ""the city of peace"". ",BBC,18/06/2024,"[""Four members of the UK's richest family are on trial in Switzerland amid allegations they spent more money caring for their dog than their servants."", 'The Hinduja family, worth an estimated £37bn ($47bn), is accused of exploitation and human trafficking.', 'The family own a villa in Geneva’s wealthy neighbourhood of Cologny, and the charges against them all relate to their practice of importing servants from India to look after their children and household.', 'It’s alleged that Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, together with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, confiscated staff passports, paid them as little as $8 (£7) for 18-hour days, and allowed them little freedom to leave the house.', 'Although a financial settlement over exploitation was reached last week, the Hindujas remain on trial for trafficking, which is a serious criminal offence in Switzerland.', 'They deny the charges.', 'This week in court, one of Geneva’s most famous prosecutors, Yves Bertossa, compared the almost $10,000 a year he claimed the family had spent on their dog, to the daily amount they were allegedly paying their servants.', ""The Hinduja family's lawyers did not specifically deny the allegations of low wages, but said they must be viewed in context - noting that the staff were also receiving accommodation and food."", 'The charge of long hours was also disputed, with one defence lawyer arguing that watching a film with the Hinduja children could not really be classed as work.', 'Some former servants testified for the Hindujas, describing them as a friendly family who treated their servants with dignity.', 'But the allegations that servants’ passports were confiscated, and that they could not even leave the house without permission, are serious, because they could be judged as human trafficking.', 'Mr Bertossa is calling for prison terms, and millions of dollars in compensation as well as legal fees.', 'It is not the first time that Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, has been in the spotlight over the alleged mistreatment of servants.', 'In 2008, Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested in his five star Geneva hotel by police acting on information that he and his wife had been beating their servants, including with a coat hanger.', 'The case was later dropped.', 'But it caused a huge diplomatic row between Switzerland and Libya, with two Swiss citizens arrested in Tripoli as a retaliatory measure.', 'Just last year, four domestic workers from the Philippines launched a case against one of Geneva’s diplomatic missions to the United Nations, claiming they had not been paid for years.', 'The Hinduja\'s ongoing, high profile case will draw attention, once again, to the darker, uglier side of the city that likes to call itself ""the city of peace"".']",0.0321408182462088,Four members of the UK's richest family are on trial in Switzerland amid allegations they spent more money caring for their dog than their servants.,"In 2008, Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested in his five star Geneva hotel by police acting on information that he and his wife had been beating their servants, including with a coat hanger.",-0.9453395207722982,,"But it caused a huge diplomatic row between Switzerland and Libya, with two Swiss citizens arrested in Tripoli as a retaliatory measure.",2024-06-19 +Ford ends EV dealership program that required hefty investment to sell electric models,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/ford-ends-ev-dealership-program.html,2024-06-13T14:13:20+0000,"In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks. That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected. That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments.""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford's Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""The growth has slowed down.""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford's 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers. The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks. ""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales.""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.Gjaja said those initial estimates were high. He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.', 'The ""EV-certified"" program was announced in September 2022 by Ford CEO Jim Farley amid high demand for the vehicles, low supplies and industry-wide optimism for all-electric cars and trucks.', 'That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.', 'EV sales for Ford and other automakers are growing but at a far slower pace than many expected.', ""That's led to automakers delaying or canceling future electric vehicles and investments."", '""The world has changed,"" Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford\'s Model E electric vehicle business, said Thursday during a media briefing. ""', 'The growth has slowed down.', '""Gjaja said the Model e Dealership Program, which included about half of Ford\'s 2,800 U.S. dealers, ""is being sunset"" as the market undergoes changing conditions and amid conversations with dealers.', 'The company had faced lawsuits from dealers over the program.', 'Instead, Ford will open EV sales to all of its dealers in an attempt to grow sales of its all-electric cars and trucks.', '""It allows us to open EV sales and service to more dealers,"" Gjaja said. ""', ""We think it's going to help us grow our sales."", '""Dealers will need to make some investments for charging, training and other EV-related expenses, but not as much as they did under the prior program, which included expected investments of between $500,000 and $1.2 million.', 'Gjaja said those initial estimates were high.', 'He said dealers who participated in the full program invested about $600,000 on average.']",0.0858025423727656,"That optimism, however, has not panned out as expected.",In this articleFord Motor is ending a controversial electric vehicle dealership program that initially asked store owners to invest upward of $1 million to sell EVs.,0.5176552004284329,We think it's going to help us grow our sales.,The growth has slowed down.,2024-06-19 +"Boeing and NASA delay Starliner astronaut return to June 22, nearly doubling mission length to test spacecraft",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/14/boeing-and-nasa-delay-starliner-astronaut-return-to-june-22.html,2024-06-14T19:14:12+0000,"In this articleBoeing's Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS. The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET. That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.NASA said those tests include operating the capsule's hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program's managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some 'safe haven' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary. A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency. NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC's request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions. Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified. The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks. NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system. Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock.NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail. Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance. NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.Starliner was once seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years. However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slipped Starliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"['In this articleBoeing\'s Starliner capsule ""Calypso"" will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.', ""This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing's crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it is docked with the ISS."", 'The mission represents the first time Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.', 'Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.', ""But Calypso's mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22, departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET."", 'That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.', 'NASA said those tests include operating the capsule\'s hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program\'s managers and astronauts ""finalize departure planning and operations.', '""The agency also noted that Starliner would ""repeat some \'safe haven\' testing,"" but did not explain why that was necessary.', 'A safe haven test is when astronauts on the ISS use a spacecraft for shelter during an emergency.', 'NASA said ""the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules,"" referencing the possible scenario of an unexpected evacuation of the astronauts off the ISS.NASA, after publishing an update Friday, deferred CNBC\'s request for further clarification until a press conference that will be held Tuesday before the planned departure.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'The crew flight test represents a final major step before NASA certifies Boeing to fly crew on operational, six-month missions.', 'Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.', ""Before the launch, a single leak in Calypso's helium propulsion system was identified."", ""The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks."", 'NASA earlier this week wrote that Calypso ""has plenty of margin to support the return trip"" based on the current rate of the five leaks, with 10 times the needed capacity of helium in its tanks.', 'While Boeing was guiding Starliner in for docking, another issue — which NASA says is separate from the helium leaks — cropped up with the spacecraft propulsion system.', 'Starliner has 28 jets, known as its reaction control system, or RCS, engines, which help the spacecraft make small movements in orbit.', ""Five of the 28 thrusters were not operating but after troubleshooting, Boeing recovered four of Starliner's malfunctioning jets and NASA allowed the spacecraft to dock."", ""NASA said Friday that it would perform hot fire testing before undocking with seven of the eight thrusters near the spacecraft's tail."", ""Hot fires are very brief bursts of the thrusters, with Boeing looking to evaluate the thrusters' performance."", 'NASA did not specify whether any of the seven thrusters that will undergo testing were the same as the five that stopped operating before docking.', 'Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said in a statement that despite the mission doubling in length, ""We have plenty of margin and time on station"" remaining.', ""Starliner wasonce seen as a competitor to SpaceX's Dragon, which has made 12 crewed trips to the ISS over the past four years."", 'However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.', 'Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the duration of the flight test.']",0.0231651503464283,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","Yet, similar to the previous two spaceflights that were uncrewed, Starliner is running into several problems during the mission.",0.2881059249242146,"The leak was deemed to be stable and not a threat to the capsule's safety, so the launch moved forward and was successful in delivering Starliner to the ISS.However, since docking with the ISS, the spacecraft has sprung four additional helium leaks.","However, various setbacks and delays have steadily slippedStarliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency planning to have SpaceX and Boeing fly astronauts on alternating flights.",2024-06-19 +Servers for GameStop annual shareholder meeting crash due to overwhelming interest,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/gamestop-annual-shareholder-meeting-2024-servers-crash.html,2024-06-14T12:23:03+0000,"In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream. The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event. The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday. GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment.When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts. They added that ComputerShare's tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes."" The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years. Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.GameStop announced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally. GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock.In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns. Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period. They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleGameStop's annual shareholder meeting was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday, as servers crashed under overwhelming interest in the stream, according to the company and a customer service representative for the firm hosting the stream."", ""The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event."", 'The meeting was later brought to order and was immediately adjourned without any business being conducted ""due to technical difficulties with the third-party hosting site,"" GameStop later said in a statement.', 'It said the meeting will be reconvened at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday.', ""GameStop didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment."", 'When reached by phone during the disruption, a customer service rep for ComputerShare told CNBC that it was seeing a ""mass amount"" of issues from people trying to access the meeting.', ""The rep said ComputerShare's servers appeared to be unable to handle the amount of traffic the meeting had received and weren't accustomed to the volume of accounts."", 'They added that ComputerShare\'s tech team was working to solve the issue and advised interested parties to attempt to log in ""every 5 to 10 minutes.', '""The debacle comes amid a new meme stock craze that surged when Keith Gill — known as Roaring Kitty online — resumed posting on his social accounts after going dark for more than three years.', 'Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm for his big bets on the stock, spurring a frenzy among retail traders.', 'GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.', 'GameStopannounced Tuesday that it raised more than $2 billion in a recent at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally.', 'GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments.', ""Traders have been closely monitoring Roaring Kitty's positioning, as his active selling could knock the price of the stock."", 'In late afternoon trading Wednesday, a sell-off in GameStop shares intensified suddenly just as the trading volume spiked in the call options that Roaring Kitty owns.', 'Call options give the buyer the right to buy a stock at a specified price within a specific period.', 'They increase in value if the stock rises above the so-called strike price.', 'GameStop calls with a $20 strike price and expiration on June 21 traded a whopping 93,266 contracts Wednesday, more than nine times its 30-day average volume of 10,233 contracts.', 'The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.', 'It is unclear if it was indeed Roaring Kitty behind the large volume, but options traders said he could be involved given he is such a large holder of those contracts.', ""Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.""]",0.1013017582753665,"Open interest on those calls, the total number of contracts for an asset that have not been settled, has declined to 111,818 contracts as of Thursday morning, already below Roaring Kitty's original 120,000.More than 47,000 such contracts have changed hands Thursday.","The meeting, slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET, was hosted on ComputerShare, but when people tried to access the event, many received error messages that the page couldn't load, according to posts made on social media site X and CNBC's own attempts to access the event.",-0.2003346773294302,GameStop surged 14.4% on Thursday in another volatile session.,"The price of these contracts dropped more than 40% during the session, while the stock plunged 16.5%.Roaring Kitty owned 120,000 contracts of those calls, according to a screenshot he shared Monday evening.",2024-06-19 +GM trims 2024 EV forecast amid slower-than-expected demand,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/gm-trims-2024-ev-sales-forecast-amid-slower-than-expected-demand.html,2024-06-11T17:51:08+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – General Motors is trimming its expected sales and production of all-electric vehicles this year, as U.S. adoption of EVs occurs slower than expected.GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company now expects production of its all-electric vehicles to range from 200,000 to 250,000 this year, down from a previously announced range of 200,000 to 300,000. The company has recently said it will produce volume to match demand, which is growing more slowly than had been forecast.""So at the lower end of that, and I think it reflects the momentum that we have in the business,"" Jacobson said Tuesday during a Deutsche Bank investor event.Jacobson said GM expects EVs to make up 8% of U.S. sales industrywide this year. That's lower than many other auto analyst forecasts, which expect EVs to represent around 10% of industry sales in 2024.GM expects its EVs to be profitable on a production, or contribution-margin basis, once it reaches production of 200,000 units. That milestone is still expected in the fourth quarter of this year, he said.Jacobson said the automaker, which does not report monthly sales, sold more than 9,500 EVs in North America in May. Sales of GM's all-electric vehicles remained minuscule during the first quarter. EV sales totaled 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker's overall sales during the period.The Detroit automaker is in the middle of launching its newest EVs, including its new entry-level Chevrolet Equinox EV. The vehicle will start at around $35,000 before EV incentives, such as a federal credit of up to $7,500. GM also recently relaunched its Chevrolet Blazer EV after halting sales due to software issues.The two new EVs, which share GM's ""Ultium"" EV platform and technologies, are crucial for GM's EV growth.In addition to making the EVs announcement, Jacobson said the company expects its second-quarter earnings to be better than the first three months of the year. He also said the automaker this month will invest $850 million into its troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit to help with operational cash.The comments by Jacobson come after the company on Tuesday morning announced that a new $6 billion stock repurchase authorization has been approved by its board, largely backed by sales of its traditional gas-powered vehicles.The new buyback authorization comes as an accelerated $10 billion share repurchase program announced in November 2023 is expected to be completed by the end of June.""We are very focused on the profitability of our [internal combustion engine] business, we're growing and improving the profitability of our EV business and deploying our capital efficiently. This allows us to continue returning cash to shareholders,"" Jacobson said in a release.Correction: GM is trimming its EV production target to 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles in 2024. A prior version of this article misstated that range.",CNBC,11/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – General Motors is trimming its expected sales and production of all-electric vehicles this year, as U.S. adoption of EVs occurs slower than expected.', 'GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company now expects production of its all-electric vehicles to range from 200,000 to 250,000 this year, down from a previously announced range of 200,000 to 300,000.', 'The company has recently said it will produce volume to match demand, which is growing more slowly than had been forecast.', '""So at the lower end of that, and I think it reflects the momentum that we have in the business,"" Jacobson said Tuesday during a Deutsche Bank investor event.', 'Jacobson said GM expects EVs to make up 8% of U.S. sales industrywide this year.', ""That's lower than many other auto analyst forecasts, which expect EVs to represent around 10% of industry sales in 2024.GM expects its EVs to be profitable on a production, or contribution-margin basis, once it reaches production of 200,000 units."", 'That milestone is still expected in the fourth quarter of this year, he said.', 'Jacobson said the automaker, which does not report monthly sales, sold more than 9,500 EVs in North America in May.', ""Sales of GM's all-electric vehicles remained minuscule during the first quarter."", ""EV sales totaled 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker's overall sales during the period."", 'The Detroit automaker is in the middle of launching its newest EVs, including its new entry-level Chevrolet Equinox EV.', 'The vehicle will start at around $35,000 before EV incentives, such as a federal credit of up to $7,500.', 'GM also recently relaunched its Chevrolet Blazer EV after halting sales due to software issues.', 'The two new EVs, which share GM\'s ""Ultium"" EV platform and technologies, are crucial for GM\'s EV growth.', 'In addition to making the EVs announcement, Jacobson said the company expects its second-quarter earnings to be better than the first three months of the year.', 'He also said the automaker this month will invest $850 million into its troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit to help with operational cash.', 'The comments by Jacobson come after the company on Tuesday morning announced that a new $6 billion stock repurchase authorization has been approved by its board, largely backed by sales of its traditional gas-powered vehicles.', 'The new buyback authorization comes as anaccelerated $10 billionshare repurchase program announced in November 2023 is expected to be completed by the end of June.', '""We are very focused on the profitability of our [internal combustion engine] business, we\'re growing and improving the profitability of our EV business and deploying our capital efficiently.', 'This allows us to continue returning cash to shareholders,"" Jacobsonsaid in a release.', 'Correction: GM is trimming its EV production target to 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles in 2024.', 'A prior version of this article misstated that range.']",0.1281523670116651,"""We are very focused on the profitability of our [internal combustion engine] business, we're growing and improving the profitability of our EV business and deploying our capital efficiently.","""So at the lower end of that, and I think it reflects the momentum that we have in the business,"" Jacobson said Tuesday during a Deutsche Bank investor event.",0.0904689051888205,"""We are very focused on the profitability of our [internal combustion engine] business, we're growing and improving the profitability of our EV business and deploying our capital efficiently.","GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company now expects production of its all-electric vehicles to range from 200,000 to 250,000 this year, down from a previously announced range of 200,000 to 300,000.",2024-06-19 +"FDA approves Merck vaccine designed to protect adults from bacteria that can cause pneumonia, serious infections",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/fda-approves-merck-pneumococcal-disease-vaccine-designed-for-adults.html,2024-06-17T23:02:51+0000,"In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said.Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia. It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adults and aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker.Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease. But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form. Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia. ""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said. Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet. An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer. Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028. The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer. Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults. For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older.Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults. But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said. ""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers. Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease. Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021. The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data. Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data. The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine.Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.",CNBC,17/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said."", ""Merck's shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia."", ""It's the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adultsand aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker."", 'Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease.', 'But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called ""invasive"" form.', 'Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia.', '""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck\'s product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. ""', 'Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.', '""Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said.', 'Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.', ""Even after the FDA approval, the company's single-dose vaccine won't reach patients just yet."", 'An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.', ""Platt said Merck will support the committee's decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer."", 'Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028.The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts.', ""Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer."", 'Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults.', ""For example, the company's existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older."", ""Pfizer's single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults."", 'But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said.', '""We do expect there to be rapid uptake of"" Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will ""really resonate"" with clinicians and policymakers.', ""Merck's pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease."", ""Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021.The 21 strains included in Merck's shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data."", ""Meanwhile, Pfizer's Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data."", ""The FDA's approval is partly based on Merck's late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer's Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine."", 'Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.']",0.0201231088733259,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,0.0544579252600669,"Merck's newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer.","""If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,"" Heather Platt, Merck's product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. """,2024-06-19 +"Bezos' Blue Origin joins SpaceX, ULA in winning bids for $5.6 billion Pentagon rocket program",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/pentagon-picks-blue-origin-spacex-ula-in-5point6-billion-rocket-program.html,2024-06-14T11:37:37+0000,"In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time.Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter.Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts. Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.Space Force outlined a ""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launches from companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",CNBC,14/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Pentagon announced the first winning bidders in its rocket launch contract sweepstakes on Thursday, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin grabbing a spot for the first time."", ""Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program."", ""Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program."", 'Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.', ""Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter."", 'Under the program, known as NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, the trio of companies will be eligible to compete for contracts through mid-2029.ULA and SpaceX have already been competing for contracts under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL: In total, over five years of Phase 2 launch orders, the military assigned ULA with 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX got 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.', 'Blue Origin, as well as Northrop Grumman, missed out on Phase 2 when the Pentagon selected ULA and SpaceX for the program in August 2020.But with Phase 3, the U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts.', 'Phase 3 is expected to see 90 rocket launch orders in total, with a split approach of categories Lane 1 and Lane 2 to allow even more companies to bid.', 'Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that']",0.2602735573621667,Blue Origin's winning bid came as part of contracts awarded under the Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program.,"Space Force outlined a""mutual fund"" strategy to buying launchesfrom companies under Phase 3: The military branch split the program into two lanes, in order to have one that features three companies fulfilling the most demanding and expensive missions, and the other that",0.8293253978093466,"Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance – also known as ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing – were also awarded contracts as part of the multi-year third phase of the NSSL program.",,2024-06-19 +"At Stellantis investor day, cost cuts and China come into focus",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/stellantis-investor-day-wall-street-expectations.html,2024-06-12T16:29:01+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission. That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors.How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday.Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually. It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule.More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.""We've been cutting headcounts, but we really don't need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done.""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we'll see."" He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.""There is no silver bullet here. You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""This is no surprise. You can check my comments for the last five years. I've been running the same stuff for five years.""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company's Thursday capital markets day.Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight.""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we're leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns.""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China.At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days.Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No. 1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy. That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor.""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed. We don't expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March. GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – Since spearheading a merger to create Stellantis in 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission.', ""That's beginning to pay dividends for the company and investors."", ""How the trans-Atlantic automaker expects to keep that momentum amid uncertainty surrounding all-electric vehicles and increasing competition from Chinese automakers is expected to be in focus this week as Tavares leads the automaker's investor day Thursday."", ""Tavares and other executive are expected to address Chinese competition, capital discipline, forthcoming products, software initiatives, and potentially, further cost reductions as the company aims to achieve ambitious financial targets by 2030.When Tavares' PSA Groupe merged with Fiat Chrysler in January 2021, the freshly combined company set out to reduce spending by 5 billion euros, or about $5.4 billion, annually."", ""It's a target the company says it will achieve in 2024, a year ahead of schedule."", 'More recently, Tavares has said the parent of brands like Ram and Jeep needs to remove 40% of its costs to be able to profitably produce and sell EVs to mass-market consumers, citing the need for affordable models despite higher costs to manufacture the vehicles.', '""We are not in the race to transition to EVs, but in a race to cut cost on EVs,"" Tavares said in late May during a Bernstein investor conference.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', ""The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions."", 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', ""Meanwhile the associated billions in operational savings have helped to increase the automaker's adjusted operating income by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it\'s optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.', 'Curic, who joined the company from Amazon in 2021, said headcount reductions, including laying off about 400 U.S. engineers in March, come after the company completed many of its systems for the next decade.', '""We\'ve been cutting headcounts, but we really don\'t need that many,"" he said during an interview last month, adding the company still employs 50,000 or so engineers. ""', ""To engineer the systems for our 10-year road map, it's already done."", '""Tavares, when asked last month whether additional cuts would be needed in the U.S., said ""we\'ll see.""', 'He said officials ""still have work to do"" when it comes to getting EVs to be as profitable as traditional internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles.', '""There is no silver bullet here.', 'You need to throw 40% of additional cost because the middle class in the U.S. as much as the middle class of Europe, they need to buy EVs at the price of ICEs,"" he said during a media roundtable in May. ""', 'This is no surprise.', 'You can check my comments for the last five years.', ""I've been running the same stuff for five years."", '""Future cost-saving efforts could be part of the company\'s Thursday capital markets day.', ""Executives on Thursday will outline developments across Stellantis' regions and businesses, including its capital and operational disciplines, according to Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight."", '""We want to help you better understand how we see the industry evolving, how we\'re leveraging standout technology, our leading operational discipline, and other competitive advantages that distinguish ourselves further,"" she told investors in April. ""', ""And how we're building a powerful and productive capital discipline that help us maintain and maximize sustainable returns."", '""Stellantis declined to disclose any specifics ahead of the event, which is taking place at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.', ""Wall Street will be looking for executives to address the company's growing U.S. vehicle inventory levels, upcoming product launches and plans for China."", ""At the start of May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.', 'Tavares has called Chinese automakers his ""No.', '1 competitor"" and said the company is taking an ""asset-light"" strategy.', ""That includes plans to quickly grow vehicle exports from the country through a Stellantis-controlled joint venture with China's Leapmotor."", '""The share price reaction to the [capital markets day] will likely be driven by how these short-term concerns are addressed.', 'We don\'t expect any new financial targets to be announced,"" UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a Thursday investor note.', ""Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor."", ""Stellantis' U.S.-traded shares are down more than 6% this year and off roughly 30% from an all-time high of more than $29.50 per share in March."", 'GM shares in contrast are up more than 30% this year, and Ford shares are essentially flat.', 'RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan notes Stellantis, which has a roughly $68 billion market cap, should return 7.7 billion euros to shareholders in 2024 — 4.7 billion euros in dividends and 3 billion euros in buybacks.', 'Redburn Atlantis analyst Adrian Yanoshik last week in a note said largely muted expectations raise the potential for Stellantis to outperform expectations.—', ""CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.""]",0.1316323402178248,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.","Meanwhile the threat of cheaper, Chinese-made EVs looms in the background.",0.520694066177715,"Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame to 12.8%.Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said the company is operating far more efficiently than before, including ""proper system engineering"" to ensure it's optimizing design and function for its new vehicles.",Hummel and other analysts have noted a divergence in Stellantis' stock performance compared with that of General Motors and Ford Motor.,2024-06-19 +Boeing crash victims' families shout at CEO as he apologises in hearing,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce77l2xl2r5o,2024-06-18T21:41:51.074Z,"Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun faced a grilling from US senators about the company's culture as he apologised to family members of plane crash victims, who shouted at him throughout the hearing. Mr Calhoun testified on Tuesday to Congress that the company had ""learned"" from past mistakes and that the process for employee whistleblowers ""works"" - but lawmakers still accused him of not doing enough to rectify a culture of retaliation. The US company most recently was put in the spotlight when a door panel fell off a new 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole. As part of an ongoing investigation, Boeing whistleblowers told the Senate in April that the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models had serious production issues. Mr Calhoun, who became CEO in 2020 and plans to leave later this year, told the Senate sub-committee that some problems come from an ""untrained workforce"". He blamed the layoffs and worker turnover that plagued the industry after Covid, saying they contributed to manufacturing issues at the company. ""So much of this is related to an untrained workforce. It's all about that, honestly,"" he said. The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people. Several family members of victims who died in those crashes attended the hearing, holding up pictures of loved ones. They spoke outside in a news conference beforehand. “I flew from England to Washington DC to hear in person what the Boeing CEO has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet. “I also continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people. We will not rest until we see justice.” Clariss Moore, whose daughter died in a Boeing crash in Ethiopia in 2019, confronted Mr Calhoun, asking him during the hearing about “my daughter's last breath on the plane"". ""Did she call for me? Did someone hold her hands?"" she demanded. Committee chairman Richard Blumenthal kicked off the tense hearing by thanking family members ""for having the strength and courage to be with us"". He also demanded to know what Boeing was doing ""to end this broken safety culture"". ""I assure you that I listened to the whistleblowers,"" Mr Calhoun responded. He added that he had not spoken to whistleblowers and acknowledged company retaliation against several. “I know it happens,” he said, adding that he does not know how many employees were fired or disciplined for speaking out about safety issues. During the hearing, Mr Calhoun rose and turned to say sorry to the families for their losses. ""They're gut-wrenching,"" he said, his voice seeming to break with emotion, ""and I apologise for the grief that we have caused."" Boeing chief engineer Howard McKenzie testified that there ""absolutely"" was a culture of safety first within Boeing's engineering team. After the hearing ended, Senator Blumenthal told BBC News that he was not satisfied with the CEO's answers, and that his probe would continue. ""I have a lot more questions that need to be answered and we're going to be pursuing our investigation,"" he said. In May, the US justice department informed Boeing that it launched a criminal investigation into its practices. Several family members on Tuesday said they hoped criminal charges would be filed against the company. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"[""Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun faced a grilling from US senators about the company's culture as he apologised to family members of plane crash victims, who shouted at him throughout the hearing."", 'Mr Calhoun testified on Tuesday to Congress that the company had ""learned"" from past mistakes and that the process for employee whistleblowers ""works"" - but lawmakers still accused him of not doing enough to rectify a culture of retaliation.', 'The US company most recently was put in the spotlight when a door panel fell off a new 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole.', 'As part of an ongoing investigation, Boeing whistleblowers told the Senate in April that the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models had serious production issues.', 'Mr Calhoun, who became CEO in 2020 and plans to leave later this year, told the Senate sub-committee that some problems come from an ""untrained workforce"".', 'He blamed the layoffs and worker turnover that plagued the industry after Covid, saying they contributed to manufacturing issues at the company. ""', 'So much of this is related to an untrained workforce.', 'It\'s all about that, honestly,"" he said.', 'The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.', 'Several family members of victims who died in those crashes attended the hearing, holding up pictures of loved ones.', 'They spoke outside in a news conference beforehand. “', 'I flew from England to Washington DC to hear in person what the Boeing CEO has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet. “', 'I also continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people.', 'We will not rest until we see justice.”', 'Clariss Moore, whose daughter died in a Boeing crash in Ethiopia in 2019, confronted Mr Calhoun, asking him during the hearing about “my daughter\'s last breath on the plane"". ""', 'Did she call for me?', 'Did someone hold her hands?""', 'she demanded.', 'Committee chairman Richard Blumenthal kicked off the tense hearing by thanking family members ""for having the strength and courage to be with us"".', 'He also demanded to know what Boeing was doing ""to end this broken safety culture"". ""', 'I assure you that I listened to the whistleblowers,"" Mr Calhoun responded.', 'He added that he had not spoken to whistleblowers and acknowledged company retaliation against several. “', 'I know it happens,” he said, adding that he does not know how many employees were fired or disciplined for speaking out about safety issues.', 'During the hearing, Mr Calhoun rose and turned to say sorry to the families for their losses. ""', 'They\'re gut-wrenching,"" he said, his voice seeming to break with emotion, ""and I apologise for the grief that we have caused.""', 'Boeing chief engineer Howard McKenzie testified that there ""absolutely"" was a culture of safety first within Boeing\'s engineering team.', 'After the hearing ended, Senator Blumenthal told BBC News that he was not satisfied with the CEO\'s answers, and that his probe would continue. ""', 'I have a lot more questions that need to be answered and we\'re going to be pursuing our investigation,"" he said.', 'In May, the US justice department informed Boeing that it launched a criminal investigation into its practices.', 'Several family members on Tuesday said they hoped criminal charges would be filed against the company.']",-0.1274344133155907,"Committee chairman Richard Blumenthal kicked off the tense hearing by thanking family members ""for having the strength and courage to be with us"".","The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.",-0.7011739313602448,"Mr Calhoun testified on Tuesday to Congress that the company had ""learned"" from past mistakes and that the process for employee whistleblowers ""works"" - but lawmakers still accused him of not doing enough to rectify a culture of retaliation.","He blamed the layoffs and worker turnover that plagued the industry after Covid, saying they contributed to manufacturing issues at the company. """,2024-06-19 +Watch Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testify before Senate panel on whistleblower allegations,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/watch-live-boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-testimony.html,2024-06-18T18:20:59+0000,"In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans. Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification. Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made.The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this article[The stream is slated to start at 2:00 PM ET.', 'Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.', ""Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane has been the source of controversy since two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019."", 'Scrutiny of the company increased again after a door plug blew out of one of its nearly new 737 Max planes during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.', ""Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans."", 'Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.', '""The subcommittee released new whistleblower claims Tuesday from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who alleges that the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification.', ""Mohawk alleges that the lost parts were likely installed on airplanes in Boeing's Washington plant where 737 Max models are made."", 'The company announced March that Calhoun will step down from his post as CEO before the end of the year.—', ""CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this reportSubscribe to CNBC on YouTube.""]",-0.1010147915889218,Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations on Tuesday over quality control concerns and whistleblower allegations.,"Boeing denied the claims as ""inaccurate.",-0.9303198903799056,,"Following the incident, company whistleblower Sam Salehpour came forward and claimed that the aerospace company put excessive stress on airplane joints, which reduced some of the planes' lifespans.",2024-06-19 +Northamptonshire solar farm between M1 and A5 approved,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c511rlzgvjlo,2024-06-19T13:27:43.060Z,"Plans for a large solar farm between the M1 and A5 have been approved. The 54.9-hectare (136-acre) site, close to the villages of Kilsby and Crick in Northamptonshire, and is expected to operate for 40 years. Extra traffic control measures have also been accepted to alleviate some safety worries put forward by the Crick Parish Council. West Northamptonshire Council unanimously approved the application, submitted by Voltalia UK. The solar panel development will generate 49.9 MW at its peak, which would then be transferred into the national grid, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. According to the plans, the developer could install up to 76,912 solar panels across the entire site. Robert Chamberlain, from Voltalia UK, told the planning meeting on Tuesday: ""We're an experienced renewable energy developer and power producer and unlike a lot of promoters we build and operate our own sites."" The main entries to the two parcels of the site are from existing field access from Kilsby Road, a single-carriageway route that connects to the A5. Despite the safety concerns raised by Crick Parish Council surrounding HGV access to the site from the A5, no objections from the public were received and five letters of support were submitted. Further safety restrictions were added by the council ahead of the approval. Follow Northamptonshire news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830 ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['Plans for a large solar farm between the M1 and A5 have been approved.', 'The 54.9-hectare (136-acre) site, close to the villages of Kilsby and Crick in Northamptonshire, and is expected to operate for 40 years.', 'Extra traffic control measures have also been accepted to alleviate some safety worries put forward by the Crick Parish Council.', 'West Northamptonshire Council unanimously approved the application, submitted by Voltalia UK.', 'The solar panel development will generate 49.9 MW at its peak, which would then be transferred into the national grid, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.', 'According to the plans, the developer could install up to 76,912 solar panels across the entire site.', 'Robert Chamberlain, from Voltalia UK, told the planning meeting on Tuesday: ""We\'re an experienced renewable energy developer and power producer and unlike a lot of promoters we build and operate our own sites.""', 'The main entries to the two parcels of the site are from existing field access from Kilsby Road, a single-carriageway route that connects to the A5.', 'Despite the safety concerns raised by Crick Parish Council surrounding HGV access to the site from the A5, no objections from the public were received and five letters of support were submitted.', 'Further safety restrictions were added by the council ahead of the approval.', 'Follow Northamptonshire news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story?', 'Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830']",0.1574069432974854,Further safety restrictions were added by the council ahead of the approval.,"Despite the safety concerns raised by Crick Parish Council surrounding HGV access to the site from the A5, no objections from the public were received and five letters of support were submitted.",0.9995343685150146,Extra traffic control measures have also been accepted to alleviate some safety worries put forward by the Crick Parish Council.,,2024-06-19 +Green energy plan 'won't benefit' Welsh valley residents,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxwwdpgdjeyo,2024-06-17T15:44:05.665Z,"From the end of Dina Smith’s driveway, there is green as far as the eye can see. Sunlight touches the rolling hills and moorland peaks. ""Just look at it,"" she says as we take it all in. ""This is beautiful, untouched Mid Wales."" But this could all change if plans for a huge wind turbine project get the go-ahead. For Dina, the valley is a ""really special place"", where she, her daughters and their families live and where her grandfather grew up. In the run-up to the general election, she contacted the BBC through the Your Voice, Your Vote portal with her concerns. ""I just don’t want my grandchildren looking around this valley with industrial views of turbines and pylons and roads, and ask: 'What did you do about it Nanna?'"" she said. The Towy Usk project is being proposed by the renewable energy firm Green GEN Cymru and would take power from 31 giant turbines on a 60-mile pylon ""pathway"" spanning almost the width of Wales, in order to connect to the national grid. Although it is the local council and Welsh government who grant planning permission, the reason the power lines have to run such a long way is that there are a limited number of points, which are controlled by the UK government, where big power projects can connect into the grid. And whoever is in charge of the next government has an incredibly difficult task on their hands: keeping energy bills low while millions are still struggling, ensuring energy security and hitting green energy targets. Projects like this one in Wales are part of that mix. But some local residents I have been speaking to have said the turbine construction would damage an existing forest, removing ancient trees along the pylon construction route. ""It’s destroying the environment in an attempt to save the environment"" is the refrain that I keep hearing. In recent years, there have been huge advances in the development of offshore wind, and residents here want the focus of the UK and Welsh governments on offshore renewable technology instead. But Abi Beck of RenewableUK Cymru says onshore wind needs to remain part of the mix. “Onshore wind is the cheapest, it’s the quickest to build and it’s the most readily deployable technology we have for renewable energy. ""And we desperately need to upscale the amount of renewable energy we produce if we are going to be anywhere near meeting our targets in the next decade,"" she says. The difficulty here is that the place the onshore wind is generated is a very long way from the place it can be plugged into the UK network. Green GEN Cymru says it is listening to residents' concerns but that “the existing network in Mid and West Wales does not have nearly enough capacity to connect all the new renewable energy we need for our homes and businesses, locally and nationally"". Llandovery farmer Dyfan Walters knows that only too well. ""We all know the infrastructure needs improving,"" he says. ""I’m not against renewable energy."" He and his wife, Carys, have just finished building their family farm on the land Carys grew up on. Now there are plans for two pylons in their fields so they’ve become members of the local Llandovery Pylon Steering Group. ""This plan isn’t going to benefit anyone here in the Towy Valley,"" Dyfan says. ""It’s to take energy to the grid which will be used by others."" As a result, Dyfan thinks Green GEN should use the latest technology to send the wires underground rather than use pylons, whatever the cost might be to the company. That is the bind - those living in the valley feel they are being made to pay the price for green targets made more than 200 miles away in Westminster. Labour says it will work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030. The Conservative Party says in its manifesto that it will ""ensure democratic consent for onshore wind"" and strike the right balance between energy security and the views of local communities. It says it seeks to ensure local areas that host onshore wind directly benefit, including potentially through energy bill discounts. The Liberal Democrats say they will accelerate the deployment of renewable power and deliver energy security by removing restrictions on new solar and wind power. Plaid Cymru says Wales should have full control over energy powers without any upper limit or conditions set by the UK government, and ""that the beauty of Wales’ natural landscape should be preserved"". It says that large-scale pylon developments or solar developments should be considered in the context of their impact and alternative methods for linking renewable energy to the national grid should be implemented, including through the undergrounding of cables. Reform says that net zero is pushing up bills, damaging British industries like steel and making the UK less secure. It says the environment can be protected with more tree planting, more recycling and using less single-use plastics. The Green Party wants wind power to provide about 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030. The SNP says it is committed to ensuring that at least 50% of energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2030 ""by striking a balance between appropriate developments and our natural environment"". ",BBC,17/06/2024,"['From the end of Dina Smith’s driveway, there is green as far as the eye can see.', 'Sunlight touches the rolling hills and moorland peaks. ""', 'Just look at it,"" she says as we take it all in. ""', 'This is beautiful, untouched Mid Wales.""', 'But this could all change if plans for a huge wind turbine project get the go-ahead.', 'For Dina, the valley is a ""really special place"", where she, her daughters and their families live and where her grandfather grew up.', 'In the run-up to the general election, she contacted the BBC through the Your Voice, Your Vote portal with her concerns. ""', 'I just don’t want my grandchildren looking around this valley with industrial views of turbines and pylons and roads, and ask: \'What did you do about it Nanna?\'""', 'she said.', 'The Towy Usk project is being proposed by the renewable energy firm Green GEN Cymru and would take power from 31 giant turbines on a 60-mile pylon ""pathway"" spanning almost the width of Wales, in order to connect to the national grid.', 'Although it is the local council and Welsh government who grant planning permission, the reason the power lines have to run such a long way is that there are a limited number of points, which are controlled by the UK government, where big power projects can connect into the grid.', 'And whoever is in charge of the next government has an incredibly difficult task on their hands: keeping energy bills low while millions are still struggling, ensuring energy security and hitting green energy targets.', 'Projects like this one in Wales are part of that mix.', 'But some local residents I have been speaking to have said the turbine construction would damage an existing forest, removing ancient trees along the pylon construction route. ""', 'It’s destroying the environment in an attempt to save the environment"" is the refrain that I keep hearing.', 'In recent years, there have been huge advances in the development of offshore wind, and residents here want the focus of the UK and Welsh governments on offshore renewable technology instead.', 'But Abi Beck of RenewableUK Cymru says onshore wind needs to remain part of the mix. “', 'Onshore wind is the cheapest, it’s the quickest to build and it’s the most readily deployable technology we have for renewable energy. ""', 'And we desperately need to upscale the amount of renewable energy we produce if we are going to be anywhere near meeting our targets in the next decade,"" she says.', 'The difficulty here is that the place the onshore wind is generated is a very long way from the place it can be plugged into the UK network.', 'Green GEN Cymru says it is listening to residents\' concerns but that “the existing network in Mid and West Wales does not have nearly enough capacity to connect all the new renewable energy we need for our homes and businesses, locally and nationally"".', 'Llandovery farmer Dyfan Walters knows that only too well. ""', 'We all know the infrastructure needs improving,"" he says. ""', 'I’m not against renewable energy.""', 'He and his wife, Carys, have just finished building their family farm on the land Carys grew up on.', 'Now there are plans for two pylons in their fields so they’ve become members of the local Llandovery Pylon Steering Group. ""', 'This plan isn’t going to benefit anyone here in the Towy Valley,"" Dyfan says. ""', 'It’s to take energy to the grid which will be used by others.""', 'As a result, Dyfan thinks Green GEN should use the latest technology to send the wires underground rather than use pylons, whatever the cost might be to the company.', 'That is the bind - those living in the valley feel they are being made to pay the price for green targets made more than 200 miles away in Westminster.', 'Labour says it will work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.', 'The Conservative Party says in its manifesto that it will ""ensure democratic consent for onshore wind"" and strike the right balance between energy security and the views of local communities.', 'It says it seeks to ensure local areas that host onshore wind directly benefit, including potentially through energy bill discounts.', 'The Liberal Democrats say they will accelerate the deployment of renewable power and deliver energy security by removing restrictions on new solar and wind power.', 'Plaid Cymru says Wales should have full control over energy powers without any upper limit or conditions set by the UK government, and ""that the beauty of Wales’ natural landscape should be preserved"".', 'It says that large-scale pylon developments or solar developments should be considered in the context of their impact and alternative methods for linking renewable energy to the national grid should be implemented, including through the undergrounding of cables.', 'Reform says that net zero is pushing up bills, damaging British industries like steel and making the UK less secure.', 'It says the environment can be protected with more tree planting, more recycling and using less single-use plastics.', 'The Green Party wants wind power to provide about 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030.', 'The SNP says it is committed to ensuring that at least 50% of energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2030 ""by striking a balance between appropriate developments and our natural environment"".']",0.2153261074893634,"The Conservative Party says in its manifesto that it will ""ensure democratic consent for onshore wind"" and strike the right balance between energy security and the views of local communities.","But some local residents I have been speaking to have said the turbine construction would damage an existing forest, removing ancient trees along the pylon construction route. """,0.2714220122857527,The Liberal Democrats say they will accelerate the deployment of renewable power and deliver energy security by removing restrictions on new solar and wind power.,"Reform says that net zero is pushing up bills, damaging British industries like steel and making the UK less secure.",2024-06-19 +Southwest CEO vows change as activist investor pushes for new leadership,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/southwest-ceo-vows-change-amid-activist-pressure.html,2024-06-12T16:53:03+0000,"In this articleSouthwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company is ready to adapt to changing customer trends like premium seating as pressure from an activist investor mounts.""We will adapt as our customers' needs adapt,"" Jordan said at an industry event hosted by Politico on Wednesday.Jordan's comments came two days after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and said the carrier needs a new CEO and new chairman.In April, Jordan told investors that the airline is considering major changes to its product, potentially ditching its system of unassigned seating that has made the Dallas-based carrier a standout among airlines, and even reevaluating its single class of service.Jordan reiterated those considerations Wednesday, saying that the airline, which started flying in 1971 and now carries more passengers in the United States than any other, is in its ""third generation."" He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.Elliott didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Jordan's remarks on Wednesday.Southwest on Monday said in response to the activist campaign that its board backed the company's leaders and the airline's strategy, while it will also ""look forward to further conversations with Elliott.""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises. The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.Southwest had also taken months to find its footing after a year-end holiday meltdown in 2022 cost it more than $1 billion. The company later acknowledged its technology couldn't handle the hundreds of flight and crew changes triggered by a winter storm, prompting it to quickly upgrade its system.Meanwhile, Jordan said Southwest has continued to work toward improving the customer experience. It's upgraded its inflight Wi-Fi and added power outlets on its fleet of Boeing 737s in recent years.""I think customer preference is going beyond that,"" Jordan said Wednesday. The carrier has spent months surveying customers to figure out what changes are needed, he added.""It's been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preferences and expectations change over time,"" an airline spokeswoman told CNBC. ""We are also studying the operational and financial benefits of any potential change.""— CNBC's Rohan Goswami contributed to this article.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleSouthwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company is ready to adapt to changing customer trends like premium seating as pressure from an activist investor mounts.', '""We will adapt as our customers\' needs adapt,"" Jordan said at an industry event hosted by Politico on Wednesday.', ""Jordan's comments came two days after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and said the carrier needs a new CEO and new chairman."", 'In April, Jordan told investors that the airline is considering major changes to its product, potentially ditching its system of unassigned seating that has made the Dallas-based carrier a standout among airlines, and even reevaluating its single class of service.', 'Jordan reiterated those considerations Wednesday, saying that the airline, which started flying in 1971 and now carries more passengers in the United States than any other, is in its ""third generation.""', ""He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks."", ""Elliott didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Jordan's remarks on Wednesday."", 'Southwest on Monday said in response to the activist campaign that its board backed the company\'s leaders and the airline\'s strategy, while it will also ""look forward to further conversations with Elliott.', '""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises.', 'The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.', 'Southwest had also taken months to find its footing after a year-end holiday meltdown in 2022 cost it more than $1 billion.', ""The company later acknowledged its technology couldn't handle the hundreds of flight and crew changes triggered by a winter storm, prompting it to quickly upgrade its system."", 'Meanwhile, Jordan said Southwest has continued to work toward improving the customer experience.', ""It's upgraded its inflight Wi-Fi and added power outlets on its fleet of Boeing 737s in recent years."", '""I think customer preference is going beyond that,"" Jordan said Wednesday.', 'The carrier has spent months surveying customers to figure out what changes are needed, he added.', '""It\'s been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preferences and expectations change over time,"" an airline spokeswoman told CNBC. ""', 'We are also studying the operational and financial benefits of any potential change.""—', ""CNBC's Rohan Goswami contributed to this article.""]",0.1227597138954453,"He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.","""Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises.",-0.1408947110176086,"He said the airline's leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks.","The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes.",2024-06-19 +Gen X stands to gain the most wealth from the $84 trillion wealth transfer,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/great-wealth-transfer-gen-x-gains.html,2024-06-18T16:05:30+0000,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term. According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances — from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study. The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.Subscribe here to get access today. The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors. Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families. More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top. In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report. Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more. In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down. Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to. The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and 'impact investing' will be a focus of many heirs' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family's existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.', 'While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.', 'According to Wealth-X, the average age of individuals in North America set to inherit fortunes from parents worth $5 million or more is 46.1 years old.', 'The average age of children expected to receive the most substantial inheritances �� from parents worth $30 million or more — is 47.6, according to the study.', 'The study defines members of Gen X as being between the ages of 44 and 59 today, and millennials as between the ages of 28 and 43.The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.', 'Subscribe here to get access today.', 'The findings cast a spotlight on the large wealth potential for Generation X, which has been largely overlooked in the discussion of young inheritors.', 'Wealth management firms and private banks have largely been focused on potential clients in their 20s and 30s as they wait for trillions to be passed down by families.', 'More than half of millennials are expecting an inheritance of at least $350,000, according to Alliant Credit Union.', 'The Wealth-X report suggests that wealth management firms, luxury companies and real estate firms targeting the next generation of wealthy clients should also start considering Generation X.""Much is often made in the media of millennial and Generation Z heirs but, in fact, Generation X will be first in line to inherit from their wealthy parent(s),"" according to the report.', 'The report said that for now, millennials and Gen Z ""are more likely to receive sums as grandchildren, which will often be less substantial.', '""Inheritances will be extremely concentrated at the top.', 'In the next 10 years, 1.2 million individuals worth $5 million or more will pass down a total of more than $31 trillion in wealth, according to the report.', 'Of that amount, nearly two-thirds, 64%, will be from the ultra-wealthy, defined as those worth $30 million or more.', 'In other words, nearly $20 trillion will be passed down from 155,000 people in that upper echelon of wealth.', 'The super-wealthy, or those worth $100 million or more, will account for nearly half the $31 trillion total being handed down.', 'Billionaires will pass down about $5 trillion, according to the report.', 'Inheritors will have different values and priorities from previous generations, which wealth managers, luxury firms and philanthropies need to adapt to.', 'The next generation of investors are more tech influenced, more focused on the environment and social justice and more global, according to the report.', '""New technologies, the clean-energy transition and \'impact investing\' will be a focus of many heirs\' ambitions, which may not necessarily align with a family\'s existing business structures or the legacy plans of those transferring their fortunes,"" the report said.']",0.4888566275310664,"Generation X may be the biggest beneficiary from the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer in the next 10 years, according to a new study.",,0.9431760907173156,"While millennials and members of Generation Z are expecting the biggest inheritances in the coming years as baby boomers pass down their fortunes, Gen Xers will likely get the largest windfalls in the near term.",,2024-06-19 +Robotics startup cofounded by Synapse CEO is raising funds with exaggerated claims about GM ties,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/robotics-startup-synapse-ceo-exaggerated-gm-claims.html,2024-06-13T19:13:42+0000,"In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC. The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process. We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.""But, according to GM and one of the startup's founders, most of Foundation's claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman.""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company. Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation's cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM's points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.""The engineering stuff we've done is really incredible, and it's the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company's fundraising pitch.It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients. The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment.The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks.Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform. Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings.Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.', 'The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC.', 'The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.', '""Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,"" the startup declared.', ""On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots."", '""GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,"" Foundation said in the document. ""', 'Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process.', 'We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.', '""But, according to GM and one of the startup\'s founders, most of Foundation\'s claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.', ""While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman."", '""GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,"" spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. ""', 'In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company.', 'Any claims to the contrary are fabricated.', '""In a phone interview with CNBC, one of Foundation\'s cofounders, Mike LeBlanc, confirmed GM\'s points and said he was embarrassed that marketing materials existed that overstated their relationship.', '""The engineering stuff we\'ve done is really incredible, and it\'s the bedrock of what this company will be,"" LeBlanc said. ""', 'That, to me is what Foundation Robotics is.', '""Foundation was started in April by Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, Tribe Capital CEO Arjun Sethi, and LeBlanc, cofounder of Cobalt Robotics, a maker of autonomous security guards, according to the company\'s fundraising pitch.', ""It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey."", 'The misleading fundraising pitch was shared in an email group with about 1,500 startup executives and investors this month, according to one of the recipients.', 'The contents of the document were confirmed by someone with direct knowledge of Tribe Capital.', ""Tribe Capital and its cofounder Sethi declined to comment, while Pathak didn't respond to messages seeking comment."", ""The robotics startup finds itself in the spotlight after the implosion of Pathak's other company, Synapse, which enabled fintech brands like Mercury and Dave to offer banking services by connecting them to FDIC-backed banks."", 'Cofounded by Pathak in 2014, Synapse went bankrupt earlier this year after some of its largest clients, including Mercury, left its platform.', 'Mercury, which instead pursued a direct relationship with Evolve, later had disagreements with Synapse over contract issues.', ""The mess has left more than 100,000 Americans with a combined $265 million in deposits locked out of their accounts for more than a month, according to a trustee appointed to oversee the firm's bankruptcy proceedings."", 'Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.', ""Pathak's move to his next venture, coming on the heels of the still-ongoing Synapse failure, has raised eyebrows among some founders and investors in the startup community.""]",-0.0501589084925131,"On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.",In this articleA humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.,-0.5666174769401551,"It's raising money at a time when American corporations look to automate more of their labor: 25% of capital spending by industrial companies in the coming years will be on automated systems, according to McKinsey.","Making matters worse, there is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, and no answers yet on what happened to the missing funds, according to the trustee.",2024-06-19 +Technology giant Apple scraps its Pay Later loan scheme in US,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c255y82y9x8o,2024-06-18T03:21:56.963Z,"Apple is ending its in-house buy now, pay later scheme in the US, which it launched just last year. The technology giant says it will now offer customers payment plans through third-party credit and debit card lenders. Existing borrowers will be able to continue managing payments using Apple's Wallet app. The decision marks a retreat for Apple from plans to offer traditional financial services. Apple Pay Later users in the US could break up the cost of purchases worth up to $1,000 (£788) into four instalments over six weeks without having to pay interest or fees. The scheme represented a move into providing financial services, with Apple effectively offering customers loans, instead of resorting to banks and other traditional lenders. The company used a new subsidiary, Apple Financing, to issue the loans. It came at a time when US interest rates were close to zero, making both borrowing much more attractive. However, as central banks put up rates to tackle rising prices, such plans became less appealing. During its annual developer event last week, Apple announced that it would be partnering with banks , including Citi in the US, HSBC in the UK and ANZ in Australia, to offer instalment payment options. The new payment options will be made available on its upcoming iOS 18 operating system, which is expected to be released later this year. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"['Apple is ending its in-house buy now, pay later scheme in the US, which it launched just last year.', 'The technology giant says it will now offer customers payment plans through third-party credit and debit card lenders.', ""Existing borrowers will be able to continue managing payments using Apple's Wallet app."", 'The decision marks a retreat for Apple from plans to offer traditional financial services.', 'Apple Pay Later users in the US could break up the cost of purchases worth up to $1,000 (£788) into four instalments over six weeks without having to pay interest or fees.', 'The scheme represented a move into providing financial services, with Apple effectively offering customers loans, instead of resorting to banks and other traditional lenders.', 'The company used a new subsidiary, Apple Financing, to issue the loans.', 'It came at a time when US interest rates were close to zero, making both borrowing much more attractive.', 'However, as central banks put up rates to tackle rising prices, such plans became less appealing.', 'During its annual developer event last week, Apple announced that it would be partnering with banks , including Citi in the US, HSBC in the UK and ANZ in Australia, to offer instalment payment options.', 'The new payment options will be made available on its upcoming iOS 18 operating system, which is expected to be released later this year.']",0.2397277358438681,"It came at a time when US interest rates were close to zero, making both borrowing much more attractive.",,0.0010699033737182,"It came at a time when US interest rates were close to zero, making both borrowing much more attractive.","However, as central banks put up rates to tackle rising prices, such plans became less appealing.",2024-06-19 +Boeing CEO blasted by Senate panel: 'It's a travesty that you are still in your job',https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/boeing-ceo-dave-calhoun-senate-hearing.html,2024-06-18T22:47:31+0000,"In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package.Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.""Much has been said about Boeing's culture. We've heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes."" The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max.Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday. Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk's complaint, which the subcommittee also made public. It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued. Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks.A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate's work,"" the agency said Tuesday. The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing.The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing. The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January. The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing. Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones.""We're here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee's chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen.'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing's responses to the subcommittee's request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects. Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy.Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements.The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane. Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans.Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues. Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents. The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year. With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.— CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""In this articleWASHINGTON — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was hammered by a Senate panel on Tuesday over the company's safety and quality lapses, a host of whistleblower allegations about company corner-cutting and retaliation, and his own pay package."", ""Calhoun, who said in March that he will step down by year's end, defended the plane-maker's actions to try to improve manufacturing quality and to fix its tarnished safety reputation in the wake of a midair door-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January."", 'The company has still not named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after its previous leader was ousted for the handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.', '""Much has been said aboutBoeing\'s culture.', ""We've heard those concerns loud and clear."", 'Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,"" Calhoun told the subcommittee.', 'Hours before the hearing the Senate subcommittee released whistleblower claims on Tuesday from Sam Mohawk, a quality-assurance investigator at Boeing, alleging the company lost track of parts that were damaged or not up to specification and that ""those parts are likely being installed on airplanes.""', ""The parts Mohawk flagged were in Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant, where the company makes its best-selling 737 Max."", 'Mohawk said he was retaliated against and that he was told by supervisors to hide evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a memo shared by the committee on Tuesday.', 'Dozens of important parts were stored outside during an FAA inspection, including 42 rudders as well as winglets and stabilizers, Mohawk alleged in claims with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the memo said.', 'Boeing issued a written warning against Mohawk, saying he engaged in ""unacceptable/disruptive behavior or communication,"" according to Mohawk\'s complaint, which the subcommittee also made public.', 'It said he could be ""discharged"" if the behavior continued.', ""Mohawk's also alleged the company reduced staffing during his shift making it difficult to complete tasks."", 'A Boeing spokeswoman said the company received the claims Monday night and that staff are reviewing them.', '""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.', 'The FAA said it has seen an increase in the number of reports from Boeing staff since the door-plug blowout in January.', '""We thoroughly investigate every report, including allegations uncovered in the Senate\'s work,"" the agency said Tuesday.', 'The FAA declined to comment on the specifics of the latest allegations.', ""Mohawk is not testifying before the Senate subcommittee's hearing."", 'The hearing and new whistleblower claims are further complicating matters for Boeing.', 'The company already faces potential U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that the plane-maker violated a 2021 settlement tied to 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives.', 'A flight-control system Boeing included on the Max, the latest generation of a jet that has flown since the late 1960s, was implicated in the crashes.', 'That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges tied to the crashes, would have expired just days after the Alaska Airlines incident in January.', 'The Department of Justice has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.', ""Several victims' family members attended Tuesday's hearing."", 'Relatives of Max crash victims met with DOJ officials late last month to urge the U.S. to prosecute.', ""At the start of the hearing, Calhoun stood and apologized to the victims' families, many of whom held photos of their lost loved ones."", '""We\'re here because we want Boeing to succeed,"" Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee\'s chair, said at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, pointing to the jobs Boeing provides and the products it supplies to the U.S. military. ""', ""It's not enough for Boeing to shrug its shoulders and say, 'Mistakes happen."", '\'""Blumenthal railed against Boeing\'s responses to the subcommittee\'s request for more information, holding up a document and calling it ""complete gobbledygook.', '""""I would describe it precisely as you did,"" Calhoun replied.', 'The company is trying to stamp out quality flaws on jets and reduce so-called traveled work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address defects.', 'Last month, Boeing pointed to a host of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality issues and retaliation.', ""Calhoun defended the company's handling of whistleblowers and said that some employees have been fired for retaliation, though he declined to provide names, citing the individuals' privacy."", 'Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it\'s a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.', ""The FAA has taken a hard line against Boeing, with Administrator Mike Whitaker saying the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements."", ""The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its bestselling plane."", 'Whitaker last month said it would likely be several months before lifting that restriction.', ""Boeing's aircraft output has suffered from the resulting crisis, forcing big customers such as Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to adjust their growth and hiring plans."", ""Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year."", ""The company's shares are down nearly 33% this year through Tuesday's close, compared with a roughly 15% gain in the S&P 500.Separately, Boeing is facing supply chain issues."", 'Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents.', 'The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed that the material is ""airplane-grade titanium.', '""Boeing has been trying to purchase fuselage supplier Spirit, a deal Calhoun said is ""more than likely"" to be finalized in the first half of the year.', 'With less than two weeks to go in that period, Calhoun declined to comment on Tuesday whether he still expects a deal in that time frame.—', ""CNBC's Ece Yildirim contributed to this report.""]",0.0244439257592522,"""We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,"" she said.","Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.",-0.4281838342547416,"Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Calhoun and Boeing of ""strip mining"" the company by cutting corners and criticized his compensation package of nearly $33 million, up 45% last year from 2022.""And frankly, sir, I think it's a travesty that you are still in your job,"" Hawley said.","Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and it warned investors last month that it would burn, instead of generate, cash this year, using about $8 billion in the first half of the year.",2024-06-19 +"Fisker files for bankruptcy protection in wave of EV startups, moment of déjà vu for its founder",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/fisker-ev-maker-bankruptcy.html,2024-06-18T18:29:37+0000,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight.It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse. Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection. That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions. Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection.The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat. Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion. The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.""They looked at Tesla's success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up. The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla. He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover. The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife.""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others. CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.""[The auto industry is] capital intensive. You're trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging.""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu.His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company. It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million.It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.""Having done this before, I'm in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry. They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls. The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January.But there was one key difference this time. With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers. While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs. Its stock was delisted in April.A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.', ""For investors, the writing's been on the wall for some time as Fisker issued a going concern about its ability to continue as a company in February, leading its charismatic founder and CEO Henrik Fisker to disappear from social media and the limelight."", ""It's the latest in a series of EV companies to collapse."", 'Other companies backed by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC, have also filed for bankruptcy protection.', 'That list includes companies such as Proterra, Lordstown Motors and Electric Last Mile Solutions.', 'Others such as Nikola and Faraday Future remain in business but trade for under $1 per share amid operational challenges, missed targets and broader industry headwinds.', ""It's also a bit of déjà vu, as it marks Henrik Fisker's second car company, both branded under his last name, to file for bankruptcy protection."", 'The new filing comes after the Fisker company failed to secure an investment from a big automaker to keep afloat.', 'Nearly four years ago, Fisker announced plans to go public through a reverse merger with an Apollo-backed SPAC that valued the company at $2.9 billion.', 'The deal infused Fisker with more than $1 billion in cash.', 'Fisker, like many other companies at the time, was fueled by low interest rates and a bullishness on Wall Street around EVs following the rise of U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.', '""They looked at Tesla\'s success, and Tesla was more of an anomaly than an example,"" said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.', 'But consumer adoption for EVs has grown slower than expected, costs have risen and investor interest in EVs other than Tesla has dried up.', 'The company also faced significant issues with its operations as well as the launch of its first product, called the Ocean SUV EV.When going public through a SPAC in 2020, Henrik Fisker compared the company with U.S. EV leader Tesla.', 'He also touted its production relationship with Canadian auto supplier Magna, comparing it with the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.', 'The automaker, unlike most of its peers, contracted a third-party manufacturer to build the Fisker Ocean crossover.', 'The partnership with Magna was supposed to be an ""asset-light"" strategy, as Fisker described it, to allow the company to save cash and focus on differentiating technologies, such as software.', ""Abuelsamid said such a strategy isn't inherently bad, but he called the management of the company inept and pointed the finger at Geeta Gupta-Fisker, the company's chief financial officer and chief operating officer."", ""Gupta-Fisker is also Henrik Fisker's wife."", '""That approach can be made to work,"" he said. ""', 'The problem in the case of Fisker that I underestimated was … the incompetency of the senior management.', '""The company burned through cash and last month recalled thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software.', ""According to the company's Chapter 11 filing, it owes millions to software and engineering companies, such as Adobe, SAP America, Manpower Group and Prelude Systems, among others."", 'CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is also listed as a top creditor.', '""[The auto industry is] capital intensive.', 'You\'re trying to match production, consumer demand and when they have any kind of issue with the vehicle, money has to be allocated to that,"" said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights. ""', ""Also when they don't have other revenues like [internal combustion engines] to fund it ... it makes it very challenging."", '""Its operating unit, Fisker Group Inc., estimated assets of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.', ""At the end of last year, Fisker had $530 million in inventory, as it only sold 4,700 of the more than 10,000 Ocean EVs it had produced in 2023.For Henrik Fisker, a renowned automotive designer credited with designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, it's déjà vu."", 'His first namesake company – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, shortly after he left the company.', ""It later sold its assets to China's Wanxiang Group for $150 million."", 'It was supposed to be better the second time around for the founder, who said he had learned from his past mistakes with his former bankrupt company.', '""Having done this before, I\'m in a unique position to kind of almost take lessons learned, which is very rare especially in the car industry,"" he said in 2017, a year after launching the new company.', 'But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.', 'Both companies were much-hyped, largely by Fisker himself claiming they would revolutionize the industry.', 'They were fueled by ""free"" money – first federal funds, more recently Wall Street – on the premise that ""green,"" or electrified, vehicles were the future of the auto industry.', 'Both also faced significant quality problems that led to recalls.', 'The first Karmas produced by Fisker were recalled for a battery safety issue and fire risk in 2011.Both companies also changed direction and priorities many times.', ""After delivering less than half of the more than 10,000 vehicles it produced through a direct-to-consumer approach that resembled Tesla's model, the second Fisker turned to a dealership-based distribution model in January."", 'But there was one key difference this time.', 'With the failure of the second Fisker, its investors were left out to dry instead of American taxpayers.', ""While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs."", 'Its stock was delisted in April.', 'A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.', '""Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,"" the spokesperson said in a release. ""', 'After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.""']",0.1223043302607959,"A Fisker spokesperson said in a statement early Tuesday that the company is ""proud of our achievements"" but determined that Chapter 11 was the best option.",But the parallels between the two failed companies are hard to ignore.,-0.1391244559060959,While Henrik Fisker's first company was boosted by a $529 million federal loan — $139 million of which the government lost — the second was funded through Wall Street's bullishness on SPACs and EVs.,"Fisker on Monday became the latest all-electric vehicle startup to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid lackluster consumer demand, significant cash burn and operational and product issues.",2024-06-19 +Nvidia beats Microsoft to become world's most valuable company,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyrr40x0z2mo,2024-06-18T20:22:12.440Z,"Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday. It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year. The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month. The Californian company's meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at an event in Copenhagen, Chris Penrose, global head of business development for telco at Nvidia, predicted further growth in the sector. “The generative AI journey is really transforming businesses and telcos around the world,"" he said. “We’re just at the beginning.” Analysts Wedbush Securities agreed. ""We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" it said in a note earlier this week. Other commentators though have questioned whether there will be big future gains, given the increasing competition Nvidia faces. What is not in doubt though is how spectacularly it has grown. Eight years ago, the stock was worth less than 1% of its current price. Back then, Nvidia's value came from its competition with rival AMD, in a race to make the best graphics cards. In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT. The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a sharp uptick in sales of its graphics cards. The rise and rise of the tech giant has been mirrored by the increasingly high profile of its boss, Jensen Huang. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg even called the 61-year-old electrical engineer - known for his signature leather jacket - the ""Taylor Swift of tech"" for the celebrity status he has achieved. He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts. Competition among AI developers is fierce. Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product. This competition benefits Nvidia, which as well as developing AI tech of its own, dominates the vast majority of the AI chip market. Nvidia’s sales and profit figures have surpassed many analyst expectations in recent years. In May, after its latest set of financial results were published, Quilter Cheviot technology analyst Ben Barringer said the company had ""once again cleared a very high hurdle"". ""Demand is showing no signs of switching off either,"" he added. However, a minority are more cautious. In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"['Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday.', 'It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year.', 'The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft.', 'It overtook Apple earlier this month.', 'The Californian company\'s meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the ""new gold or oil in the tech sector"" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI).', 'Speaking at an event in Copenhagen, Chris Penrose, global head of business development for telco at Nvidia, predicted further growth in the sector. “', 'The generative AI journey is really transforming businesses and telcos around the world,"" he said. “', 'We’re just at the beginning.”', 'Analysts Wedbush Securities agreed. ""', 'We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,"" it said in a note earlier this week.', 'Other commentators though have questioned whether there will be big future gains, given the increasing competition Nvidia faces.', 'What is not in doubt though is how spectacularly it has grown.', 'Eight years ago, the stock was worth less than 1% of its current price.', ""Back then, Nvidia's value came from its competition with rival AMD, in a race to make the best graphics cards."", ""In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT."", 'The firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a sharp uptick in sales of its graphics cards.', 'The rise and rise of the tech giant has been mirrored by the increasingly high profile of its boss, Jensen Huang.', 'Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg even called the 61-year-old electrical engineer - known for his signature leather jacket - the ""Taylor Swift of tech"" for the celebrity status he has achieved.', ""He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts."", 'Competition among AI developers is fierce.', 'Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product.', 'This competition benefits Nvidia, which as well as developing AI tech of its own, dominates the vast majority of the AI chip market.', 'Nvidia’s sales and profit figures have surpassed many analyst expectations in recent years.', 'In May, after its latest set of financial results were published, Quilter Cheviot technology analyst Ben Barringer said the company had ""once again cleared a very high hurdle"". ""', 'Demand is showing no signs of switching off either,"" he added.', 'However, a minority are more cautious.', 'In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software.']",0.2387587166779065,"He's become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts.","Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product.",0.7441431599504807,"In recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well known of which being OpenAI's ChatGPT.","In February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software.",2024-06-19 +"Affirm buy now, pay later loans will be embedded into Apple Pay later this year",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/apple-pay-affirm-buy-now-pay-later-loans.html,2024-06-11T21:30:25+0000,"In this articleApple device users will soon be able to tap into buy now, pay later loans from Affirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.Affirm will surface as an option for U.S. Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year, the San Francisco-based fintech company said in a filing. Apple confirmed the news in its own update.""This provides users with additional payment choices, and offers the ease, convenience and security of Apple Pay alongside the features users love in Affirm – flexibility, transparency and no late or hidden fees,"" Affirm said in an email statement.The move is a boost to Affirm and the buy now, pay later sector in general. When Apple introduced its own BNPL product last year, investors were concerned that the tech giant would crowd out stand-alone providers like Affirm. But the fact that Apple decided to also allow Affirm products in its ecosystem shows that the fintech company has something unique to offer.For instance, while Apple's BNPL loan lets users repay purchases in four installments over six weeks, Affirm has an array of longer-term offerings that can be repaid over a year or more. The companies didn't provide details on the terms of the new loans.""The bottom-line — in our view — is that Affirm's strong brand and sophisticated underwriting technology have a moat that Apple likely could not replicate on its own,"" Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev said in a research note.Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the U.S. with Citigroup, Synchrony and Fiserv-related issuers. Traditional credit card players have begun offering BNPL-style installment loans after their popularity surged during the Covid pandemicSynchrony said in an email that it was planning personalized installment loans with promotions based on the transaction size and merchant involved, with the possible use of promotional interest rates and loan durations. ""This announcement with Apple marks an opportunity for Synchrony to scale our flexible payment options and offer our merchants the ability to expand their presence in a growing mobile payments ecosystem,"" Mike Bopp, Synchrony's chief growth officer, said in an email. Thanks to the ubiquity of the iPhone, Apple Pay has more than 500 million users around the world and a leading market share in the U.S. for its mobile payment and digital wallet platform.Shares of Affirm rose 11% Tuesday, while Apple's stock was up 7.3%.Affirm's stock rose despite the fact that the company indicated it would take time for the partnership to significantly boost its revenue.""Affirm does not expect this partnership to have a material impact on revenue or gross merchandise volume in fiscal year 2025,"" the company said in its filing.",CNBC,11/06/2024,"['In this articleApple device users will soon be able to tap into buy now, pay later loans from Affirm for purchases, the companies said Tuesday.', 'Affirm will surface as an option for U.S. Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads later this year, the San Francisco-based fintech company said in a filing.', 'Apple confirmed the news in its own update.', '""This provides users with additional payment choices, and offers the ease, convenience and security of Apple Pay alongside the features users love in Affirm – flexibility, transparency and no late or hidden fees,"" Affirm said in an email statement.', 'The move is a boost to Affirm and the buy now, pay later sector in general.', 'When Apple introduced its own BNPL product last year, investors were concerned that the tech giant would crowd out stand-alone providers like Affirm.', 'But the fact that Apple decided to also allow Affirm products in its ecosystem shows that the fintech company has something unique to offer.', ""For instance, while Apple's BNPL loan lets users repay purchases in four installments over six weeks, Affirm has an array of longer-term offerings that can be repaid over a year or more."", ""The companies didn't provide details on the terms of the new loans."", '""The bottom-line — in our view — is that Affirm\'s strong brand and sophisticated underwriting technology have a moat that Apple likely could not replicate on its own,"" Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev said in a research note.', 'Apple also said that installment loans via credit and debit cards would be available on Apple Pay in the U.S. with Citigroup, Synchrony and Fiserv-related issuers.', 'Traditional credit card players have begun offering BNPL-style installment loans after their popularity surged during the Covid pandemicSynchrony said in an email that it was planning personalized installment loans with promotions based on the transaction size and merchant involved, with the possible use of promotional interest rates and loan durations. ""', 'This announcement with Apple marks an opportunity for Synchrony to scale our flexible payment options and offer our merchants the ability to expand their presence in a growing mobile payments ecosystem,"" Mike Bopp, Synchrony\'s chief growth officer, said in an email.', 'Thanks to the ubiquity of the iPhone, Apple Pay has more than 500 million users around the world and a leading market share in the U.S. for its mobile payment and digital wallet platform.', ""Shares of Affirm rose 11% Tuesday, while Apple's stock was up 7.3%.Affirm's stock rose despite the fact that the company indicated it would take time for the partnership to significantly boost its revenue."", '""Affirm does not expect this partnership to have a material impact on revenue or gross merchandise volume in fiscal year 2025,"" the company said in its filing.']",0.3099241024494723,"This announcement with Apple marks an opportunity for Synchrony to scale our flexible payment options and offer our merchants the ability to expand their presence in a growing mobile payments ecosystem,"" Mike Bopp, Synchrony's chief growth officer, said in an email.","""Affirm does not expect this partnership to have a material impact on revenue or gross merchandise volume in fiscal year 2025,"" the company said in its filing.",0.4899860024452209,"Shares of Affirm rose 11% Tuesday, while Apple's stock was up 7.3%.Affirm's stock rose despite the fact that the company indicated it would take time for the partnership to significantly boost its revenue.","""Affirm does not expect this partnership to have a material impact on revenue or gross merchandise volume in fiscal year 2025,"" the company said in its filing.",2024-06-19 +Boeing boss Dave Calhoun admits culture 'far from perfect',https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11dd6e455o,2024-06-17T23:13:07.748Z,"Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun will tell US lawmakers on Tuesday that he understands concerns about its safety culture after a mid-air emergency in January raised alarm. In prepared remarks ahead of the US Senate sub-committee hearing, he said: ""Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress. We understand the gravity."" The company has been in the spotlight since an unused door fell off a brand new 737 Max plane during a flight operated by Alaska Airlines, leaving a gaping hole in its side. As part of an ongoing investigation, Boeing whistleblowers told the Senate in April that the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models had serious production issues. Mr Calhoun, who has led the company since 2020, is expected to face tough questions about how Boeing responded when concerns were raised. Ahead of the hearing, the Senate shared a report detailing concerns shared by whistleblowers in recent weeks, including allegations that the company had lost track of faulty parts, which staff sometimes tried to use in planes even after issues were identified. The report said the accounts and other documents ""paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritises speed of manufacturing and cutting costs over ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft"". Concerns about Boeing's attitudes toward safety and quality control conditions in its factories are not new, however. The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people. Mr Calhoun is also expected to apologise to the families affected on Tuesday in what will mark his first time giving testimony in front of the panel during his time as chief executive. “We are deeply sorry for your losses,” his prepared opening comment says. “Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board our airplanes."" Mr Calhoun is stepping down as Boeing's chief executive at the end of this year after less than five years in the role and with a pay package worth $33m. He took over from former boss Dennis Muilenburg when the company was reeling from the aftermath of the fatal crashes. In October 2018, the Lion Air crash led to a temporary grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. All 189 people on the flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia. In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight, which was a Boeing 737 Max, crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. All 157 on-board were killed and both these crashes were linked to faulty flight control systems. Since the 2018 and 2019 incidents, family members of those killed, some of whom are still working to resolve legal claims against the firm, have spoken out. Several are planning to attend the hearing on Tuesday. Zipporah Kuria, who lost her father in the 2019 crash, is one of them. ""I flew from England to Washington, DC, to hear in person what the Boeing chief executive has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,"" she said in a statement ahead of the hearing. ""We will not rest until we see justice,"" she added. Speaking ahead of the hearing on Tuesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the panel, said in a statement: ""Boeing must repair a broken safety culture and that is management's task ahead."" ""Years of putting profits ahead of safety, stock price ahead of quality, and production speed ahead of responsibility has brought Boeing to this moment of reckoning, and its hollow promises can no longer stand,"" he added. Mr Calhoun also said in his prepared remarks that it was ""thankful"" there were no fatalities during the Alaska Airlines incident. ""I come from this industry, and I know full well that this is an industry where we simply must get it right, every time,"" he wrote. He also added that in the wake of the incident, the company has co-operated with investigations by US authorities, as well as listening to employees and holding ""stand downs"" in plants to address any potential issues. In May, the company also presented regulators with a plan aimed at improving the quality of its aircraft. ",BBC,17/06/2024,"[""Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun will tell US lawmakers on Tuesday that he understands concerns about its safety culture after a mid-air emergency in January raised alarm."", 'In prepared remarks ahead of the US Senate sub-committee hearing, he said: ""Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.', 'We understand the gravity.""', 'The company has been in the spotlight since an unused door fell off a brand new 737 Max plane during a flight operated by Alaska Airlines, leaving a gaping hole in its side.', 'As part of an ongoing investigation, Boeing whistleblowers told the Senate in April that the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models had serious production issues.', 'Mr Calhoun, who has led the company since 2020, is expected to face tough questions about how Boeing responded when concerns were raised.', 'Ahead of the hearing, the Senate shared a report detailing concerns shared by whistleblowers in recent weeks, including allegations that the company had lost track of faulty parts, which staff sometimes tried to use in planes even after issues were identified.', 'The report said the accounts and other documents ""paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritises speed of manufacturing and cutting costs over ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft"".', ""Concerns about Boeing's attitudes toward safety and quality control conditions in its factories are not new, however."", 'The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.', 'Mr Calhoun is also expected to apologise to the families affected on Tuesday in what will mark his first time giving testimony in front of the panel during his time as chief executive. “', 'We are deeply sorry for your losses,” his prepared opening comment says. “', 'Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board our airplanes.""', ""Mr Calhoun is stepping down as Boeing's chief executive at the end of this year after less than five years in the role and with a pay package worth $33m. He took over from former boss Dennis Muilenburg when the company was reeling from the aftermath of the fatal crashes."", 'In October 2018, the Lion Air crash led to a temporary grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.', 'All 189 people on the flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia.', 'In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight, which was a Boeing 737 Max, crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.', 'All 157 on-board were killed and both these crashes were linked to faulty flight control systems.', 'Since the 2018 and 2019 incidents, family members of those killed, some of whom are still working to resolve legal claims against the firm, have spoken out.', 'Several are planning to attend the hearing on Tuesday.', 'Zipporah Kuria, who lost her father in the 2019 crash, is one of them. ""', 'I flew from England to Washington, DC, to hear in person what the Boeing chief executive has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,"" she said in a statement ahead of the hearing. ""', 'We will not rest until we see justice,"" she added.', 'Speaking ahead of the hearing on Tuesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the panel, said in a statement: ""Boeing must repair a broken safety culture and that is management\'s task ahead."" ""', 'Years of putting profits ahead of safety, stock price ahead of quality, and production speed ahead of responsibility has brought Boeing to this moment of reckoning, and its hollow promises can no longer stand,"" he added.', 'Mr Calhoun also said in his prepared remarks that it was ""thankful"" there were no fatalities during the Alaska Airlines incident. ""', 'I come from this industry, and I know full well that this is an industry where we simply must get it right, every time,"" he wrote.', 'He also added that in the wake of the incident, the company has co-operated with investigations by US authorities, as well as listening to employees and holding ""stand downs"" in plants to address any potential issues.', 'In May, the company also presented regulators with a plan aimed at improving the quality of its aircraft.']",-0.0092807956467601,"In prepared remarks ahead of the US Senate sub-committee hearing, he said: ""Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.","The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.",-0.4551664441823959,"In May, the company also presented regulators with a plan aimed at improving the quality of its aircraft.","The report said the accounts and other documents ""paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritises speed of manufacturing and cutting costs over ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft"".",2024-06-19 +Nathan's hot dog contest parts ways with champion Joey Chestnut over plant-based frank partnership,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/joey-chestnut-out-of-nathans-hot-dog-contest.html,2024-06-12T00:48:49+0000,"In this articleThe Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest will be down one dog this year.Major League Eating announced Tuesday that it's parting ways with 16-time champion Joey ""Jaws"" Chestnut ahead of this year's competition, hosted by Nathan's Famous.Chestnut was previously offered a $1.2 million, four-year contract with MLE to participate in the hot dog competition, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.The decision to end the relationship comes after Chestnut chose to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs, the organization told CNBC in a statement. The New York Post reported that the brand is Impossible Foods, though the company didn't immediately provide a comment.An account on X under Chestnut's name late Tuesday said he was ""gutted"" to find out from the media that he was ""banned"" from Nathan's hot dog eating contest this year. CNBC has not independently verified the account. The post also said: ""To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with. This is apparently the basis on which I'm being banned, and it doesn't impact the July 4th event.""Impossible Foods offers plant-based hot dogs, which the company claims to be healthier and more eco-friendly than the traditional meat version, with half the saturated fat of the animal version and 84% less greenhouse gas emissions generated.For nearly two decades, contestants, including Chestnut, have worked under the same ""hot dog exclusivity provisions,"" the MLE said in a statement.""Joey is a great champion and a friend, and he is loved in Coney Island and all around the world. So I hope he's there on July fourth as we celebrate Independence Day and he changes his choice to promote a veggie hot dog rather than ours,"" Major League Eating President Richard Shea told CNBC.The MLE said it worked with Nathan's to accommodate Chestnut's requests, including allowing him to compete in a rival unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day to be streamed by an unnamed major platform.Joey Chestnut holds the Guinness World Record for eating the most hot dogs in 10 minutes, a title he won at the annual hot dog eating contest in 2021. Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, is a Fourth of July tradition and broadcast nationally on ESPN. It's also a marketing strategy for Nathan's Famous, whose signature offering, the hot dog, is on a decline.Particularly with the rise of health-conscious eating habits and the increasing importance of the wellness trend for consumers, the American staple food hot dog is one of many processed foods whose sales have been hurting.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"[""In this articleThe Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest will be down one dog this year."", 'Major League Eating announced Tuesday that it\'s parting ways with 16-time champion Joey ""Jaws"" Chestnut ahead of this year\'s competition, hosted by Nathan\'s Famous.', 'Chestnut was previously offered a $1.2 million, four-year contract with MLE to participate in the hot dog competition, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.The decision to end the relationship comes after Chestnut chose to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs, the organization told CNBC in a statement.', ""The New York Post reported that the brand is Impossible Foods, though the company didn't immediately provide a comment."", 'An account on X under Chestnut\'s name late Tuesday said he was ""gutted"" to find out from the media that he was ""banned"" from Nathan\'s hot dog eating contest this year.', 'CNBC has not independently verified the account.', 'The post also said: ""To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with.', ""This is apparently the basis on which I'm being banned, and it doesn't impact the July 4th event."", '""Impossible Foods offers plant-based hot dogs, which the company claims to be healthier and more eco-friendly than the traditional meat version, with half the saturated fat of the animal version and 84% less greenhouse gas emissions generated.', 'For nearly two decades, contestants, including Chestnut, have worked under the same ""hot dog exclusivity provisions,"" the MLE said in a statement.', '""Joey is a great champion and a friend, and he is loved in Coney Island and all around the world.', 'So I hope he\'s there on July fourth as we celebrate Independence Day and he changes his choice to promote a veggie hot dog rather than ours,"" Major League Eating President Richard Shea told CNBC.The MLE said it worked with Nathan\'s to accommodate Chestnut\'s requests, including allowing him to compete in a rival unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day to be streamed by an unnamed major platform.', ""Joey Chestnut holds the Guinness World Record for eating the most hot dogs in 10 minutes, a title he won at the annual hot dog eating contest in 2021.Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, is a Fourth of July tradition and broadcast nationally on ESPN."", ""It's also a marketing strategy for Nathan's Famous, whose signature offering, the hot dog, is on a decline."", 'Particularly with the rise of health-conscious eating habits and the increasing importance of the wellness trend for consumers, the American staple food hot dog is one of many processed foods whose sales have been hurting.']",0.2157806098957802,"""Joey is a great champion and a friend, and he is loved in Coney Island and all around the world.","An account on X under Chestnut's name late Tuesday said he was ""gutted"" to find out from the media that he was ""banned"" from Nathan's hot dog eating contest this year.",-0.5937366843223572,"""Impossible Foods offers plant-based hot dogs, which the company claims to be healthier and more eco-friendly than the traditional meat version, with half the saturated fat of the animal version and 84% less greenhouse gas emissions generated.","Particularly with the rise of health-conscious eating habits and the increasing importance of the wellness trend for consumers, the American staple food hot dog is one of many processed foods whose sales have been hurting.",2024-06-19 +"Influencer Jake Paul launching men's skin, personal care line at Walmart",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/jake-paul-launching-mens-skin-care-line-walmart.html,2024-06-12T18:59:46+0000,"Jake Paul is entering a new arena: skin care.The YouTube influencer-turned-boxer announced on Wednesday the launch of ""W,"" a skin-care company targeted toward men.The personal care line will feature products priced at less than $10 and will be available at Walmart. Later this summer, an expanded product line will be available on Amazon.""We saw this old and outdated category where the competitors have been on the shelves in the exact same way for the past 20 years,"" Paul told CNBC. ""We just believed we had a better vision, better product and could disrupt this entire space.""W, a reference to ""winning,"" will launch with three products: a body wash, body spray and antiperspirant deodorant. Paul said the company hopes to expand with a shampoo and conditioner, face wash and hair gel in the coming months.""It's a super underserved market,"" he said. ""I believe now that more men are caring about how they look and what they are putting into their body,"" he added.As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth. From 2018 to 2023, men's grooming was a $28 billion business globally, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 5%, according to market research company Euromonitor.And it's expected to keep seeing gains. Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects.Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market. Other celebrities, including Dwayne ""The Rock"" Johnson, John Legend, Idris Elba and Pharrell, have recently launched skin-care lines targeting less traditional markets.Young men are increasingly turning to social media and influencers for their sources of information. A Euromonitor report said that 50% of Gen Z male respondents found information about a brand, company or product through TikTok in 2023, an increase from 36% in 2022.Paul said he's taking a page from his brother Logan Paul's success with Prime, a sports drink that's popular with boys and young men, though the caffeinated energy drink version of Prime has drawn scrutiny in the past.""Me and my brother are like the testosterone Kardashians,"" Jake Paul said, nodding to the Kardashian sisters successfully launching their own skin-care lines. But Paul thinks the Kardashians and other celebrities have overlooked the opportunity for young men.""There's a big open market for creator-led products focused on boys,"" he added.He's also hoping that his upcoming Netflix fight, in which he'll face famed boxer Mike Tyson, will help create some momentum for the brand.""It's still gonna be a brawl, and we both plan on ripping each other's heads off,"" he added.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['Jake Paul is entering a new arena: skin care.', 'The YouTube influencer-turned-boxer announced on Wednesday the launch of ""W,"" a skin-care company targeted toward men.', 'The personal care line will feature products priced at less than $10 and will be available at Walmart.', 'Later this summer, an expanded product line will be available on Amazon.', '""We saw this old and outdated category where the competitors have been on the shelves in the exact same way for the past 20 years,"" Paul told CNBC. ""', 'We just believed we had a better vision, better product and could disrupt this entire space.', '""W, a reference to ""winning,"" will launch with three products: a body wash, body spray and antiperspirant deodorant.', 'Paul said the company hopes to expand with a shampoo and conditioner, face wash and hair gel in the coming months.', '""It\'s a super underserved market,"" he said. ""', 'I believe now that more men are caring about how they look and what they are putting into their body,"" he added.', ""As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth."", ""From 2018 to 2023, men's grooming was a $28 billion business globally, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 5%, according to market research company Euromonitor."", ""And it's expected to keep seeing gains."", ""Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects."", ""Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market."", 'Other celebrities, including Dwayne ""The Rock"" Johnson, John Legend, Idris Elba and Pharrell, have recently launched skin-care lines targeting less traditional markets.', 'Young men are increasingly turning to social media and influencers for their sources of information.', ""A Euromonitor report said that 50% of Gen Z male respondents found information about a brand, company or product through TikTok in 2023, an increase from 36% in 2022.Paul said he's taking a page from his brother Logan Paul's success with Prime, a sports drink that's popular with boys and young men, though the caffeinated energy drink version of Prime has drawn scrutiny in the past."", '""Me and my brother are like the testosterone Kardashians,"" Jake Paul said, nodding to the Kardashian sisters successfully launching their own skin-care lines.', 'But Paul thinks the Kardashians and other celebrities have overlooked the opportunity for young men.', '""There\'s a big open market for creator-led products focused on boys,"" he added.', ""He's also hoping that his upcoming Netflix fight, in which he'll face famed boxer Mike Tyson, will help create some momentum for the brand."", '""It\'s still gonna be a brawl, and we both plan on ripping each other\'s heads off,"" he added.']",0.4625497217074573,"As men have prioritized skin care and other beauty products in recent years, the men's grooming category has seen strong growth.",Paul isn't alone in trying to tap into the market.,0.5827901601791382,"Men's personal care is expected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next four years, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 10%, The Business Research Company projects.","""It's a super underserved market,"" he said. """,2024-06-19 +"Stellantis aims to correct 'arrogant' mistakes in U.S. market, CEO says",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-has-achieved-9-billion-in-cost-reductions-from-merger.html,2024-06-13T20:28:51+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company's investor day at its North American headquarters. ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself. I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there.""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company's operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty. The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets. Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days. Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally. Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year. Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm. Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive. That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formed one of the world's largest automakers.Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing.Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive. Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions.Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings. Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective. Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030. The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker's 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks. The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally. Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker\'s U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.', 'Tavares said the convergence of three factors led to the problems: not selling down vehicle inventory fast enough; manufacturing issues, specifically with two unnamed plants; and lack of ""sophistication in the way to go to market.', '""""We had a convergence of three things that should have triggered, from me and nobody else, an immediate task force to address those things,"" he told media Thursday after the company\'s investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', ""When I'm saying that you are arrogant, I'm talking about myself."", ""I'm talking about the fact that I should have acted immediately recognizing that the convergence of those three problems was there."", '""During the investor day, Tavares and his top lieutenants broadly updated investors on the company\'s operations and how Stellantis plans to achieve ambitious financial targets amid industry and economic uncertainty.', 'The company also reconfirmed its 2024 guidance and vowed to continue to return capital to shareholders going forward.', ""Tavares did not elaborate on the manufacturing or go-to-market problems, but Stellantis' inventory of vehicles leads major U.S. automakers as the company has held back incentives and cut marketing budgets."", ""Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue."", ""In May, Cox Automotive reported days' supply of vehicles at Stellantis' Jeep and Ram brands were more than twice the industry average of 76 days."", 'Stellantis was the only major automaker to report a decline in U.S. sales last year; its market share dropped below 10%; and Hyundai, including Kia, outsold Stellantis for the first time ever.', 'While sales have been down, the company remains among the most profitable automakers globally.', ""Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year."", 'Its adjusted profit margin is also up, rising 0.4 percentage point during that time frame, to 12.8%.Stellantis reported a 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm.', 'Its average vehicle transaction price in the U.S. was $57,266, according to Cox Automotive.', ""That compares to an industry average of $48,389.As part of the event, Tavares said Stellantis has achieved 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in cost reductions from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe that created the company in January 2021.That amount is more than double initial expectations from when the merger was announced in 2019, and an increase from the updated 5 billion euros in expected reductions within five years of completion of the merger, which formedone of the world's largest automakers."", ""Tavares said the largest reduction was achieved in the sharing and consolidation of engineering assets for the company's vehicles, followed by purchasing."", 'Cost-cutting has been a critical mission of the veteran automotive executive.', ""Other cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company's supply chain and operations, as well as head-count reductions."", 'Since the merger was agreed to in December 2019, Stellantis has reduced head count by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, through 2023, according to public filings.', 'Additional job cuts this year involving thousands of plant workers in the U.S. and Italy have drawn the ire of unions in both countries.', 'Several Stellantis executives described the cuts to CNBC as difficult but effective.', 'Others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential repercussions, have described them as grueling to the point of excessiveness.', ""The cuts are part of Stellantis' strategic plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros by 2030."", 'The plan also includes targets such as achieving adjusted operating profit of more than 12% and industrial free cash flow of more than 20 billion euros.', '""We are not looking for our way; we know where we are going,"" Tavares said, referring to the automaker\'s 2030 ""Dare Forward"" strategic plan.', 'Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.', 'The automaker anticipates that Jeep will be a main driver for the company globally.', 'Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Tavares said. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""']",0.0910056018442069,"Stellantis reconfirmed its 2024 guidance that included a double-digit adjusted operating income (AOI) margin, positive industrial free cash flow and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks.","In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis is correcting what CEO Carlos Tavares described Thursday as ""arrogant"" mistakes by himself and the company in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to sales declines, bloated inventories and investor concerns.",0.2339884865851629,"Since merging Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in 2021, the automaker's adjusted operating income rose by 31% from 2021 through last year.","Stellantis' U.S. sales were off 10% during the first quarter, leading to notable declines in revenue.",2024-06-19 +Netflix hunts for a production partner for its Christmas NFL games,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/netflix-nfl-christmas-games-broadcast-partner.html,2024-06-13T19:57:54+0000,"In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier. The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment."" Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team. That's left the streamer looking for help.Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private. Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said.In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited.Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.There's also competition to consider.Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter. That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season.Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform. Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day. Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience. There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games.The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon's Prime Video lined up with Comcast's NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.While NBC Sports' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers. Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple.""It's not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division.""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively. Alphabet's YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming. NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.""I think that's best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleNetflix is trying to get ready for some football.', 'The streaming giant has been reaching out to broadcasters this week in the hopes of finding a partner to produce the NFL games it will air on Christmas Day this year, according to people familiar with the matter.', 'Netflix will show two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one matchup in both 2025 and 2026, the company announced last month.', ""This is Netflix's first real foray into traditional live sports, driven by the company's ambitions to grow its advertising tier."", 'The company signed a deal earlier this year with WWE to be the home for its live ""Raw"" events, but Netflix dubbed that deal as ""sports entertainment.""', ""Unlike WWE, Netflix's deal for Christmas NFL games doesn't come with a full production team."", ""That's left the streamer looking for help."", ""Netflix has been in touch with the broadcasters that currently air NFL games, including Disney's ESPN, Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount Global's CBS Sports, said the people familiar, who asked not to be named because the discussions have been private."", ""Disney won't produce the games because it already has college football obligations the same day, two of the people said."", ""In-depth discussions haven't begun with the other broadcasters, but Netflix's options may be somewhat limited."", 'Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.', ""There's also competition to consider."", 'Amazon inked a deal with NBCUniversal to produce its NFL games before its first season of ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2022, but there may be more resistance among current NFL partners to help out Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""That's because Netflix could be auditioning as a future long-term media rights partner for NFL games in place of a legacy media company, such as Paramount, Fox or NBC.The NFL has an out clause in its current media contracts that allows it to select new media partners after the 2029-30 season."", 'Representatives for Netflix, the NFL, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Fox declined to comment.', 'Netflix announced its entry into the NFL in mid-May ahead of its Upfront presentation, when it tried to woo advertisers for its burgeoning ad-supported platform.', ""Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day."", 'Netflix will pay the NFL roughly $75 million per game, CNBC previously reported.', 'For the NFL, Netflix represents the chance to reach a global, younger audience.', ""There's also the potential to lay the groundwork for Netflix to become a future bidder on a larger package of games."", 'The NFL signed long-term deals in 2021 with Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon for its five primary packages of games.', 'While there is some trepidation among current media partners to produce games for a potential rival, pressure from the league — and a hefty paycheck from Netflix — could convince broadcasters to strike a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.', '""There aren\'t that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you\'re launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.', '""Netflix and the league are looking to mirror the partnership that Amazon\'s Prime Video lined up with Comcast\'s NBC Sports for ""Thursday Night Football"" games.', 'While NBC Sports\' Fred Gaudelli produced the 2022 season of ""Thursday Night Football,"" Amazon appointed Mark Teitelman, one of its own employees, to the role of lead game producer in 2023.Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, but NBC Sports handles the extensive production work that goes into an NFL game, and employs the vast majority of those workers.', 'Netflix is interested in finding a similar partner, according to people familiar with its plans.', ""If a deal can't be made with one of the incumbents, Netflix could find other options with third-party producers."", ""Endeavor Group Holdings' IMG is the production partner for Major League Soccer, which is offered through Apple."", '""It\'s not easy to do an NFL game at a level that people are used to watching, which is a very high level and well produced,"" said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. ""', ""But there's a number of options out there that can pull it together without [Netflix] having a fully staffed sports division."", '""Amazon Prime Video was the first streamer to obtain exclusive rights to NFL games as the league pushed to broaden its media partners and have more streaming offerings to widen its audience.', 'Amazon reached its deal to carry ""Thursday Night Football"" in 2021 in conjunction with the rest of the media rights deals for the NFL — an 11-year media rights agreement worth over $100 billion, with an opt out clause at the seven-year mark.', 'Given the recent NBA media rights negotiations, which are beckoning top dollar from various media companies, many in and around the industry expect the NFL to exercise the clause and look for new partners.', 'Since the NFL has inked its deal, streaming services for Comcast, ESPN and Paramount have begun to simultaneously stream games, and in some cases, hosted games exclusively.', 'Alphabet\'s YouTube TV is also the new home of the ""Sunday Ticket"" package of games.', 'Sports, particularly the NFL, have been the glue holding the traditional TV bundle together — and have also proved to be a boost to streaming.', 'NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.', 'The league has been vocal in its push to add more streaming partners in an effort to widen its audience.', 'That was the thinking behind the deal with Netflix to stream these Christmas Day games.', 'When the ""Sunday Ticket"" rights negotiations were underway, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC the longtime package offered only by DirecTV would move to streaming.', '""I think that\'s best for consumers at this stage,"" Goodell said at the time.', 'Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.']",0.1863829998875434,"Netflix said last month it has reached 40 million global active users for its advertising tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. and debuted in November 2022.In May, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told CNBC that the NFL was the right fit for Netflix because it matched the streamer's event strategy — effectively allowing Netflix to own the day.","Fox and CBS Sports already produce various games in different regions each week, which could make taking on additional games for Netflix a burden, some of the people said.",0.6477434784173965,"NBCUniversal said in April its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Peacock helped to add, and then retain, more customers than expected.","""There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you're launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,"" said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, adding that the production side ""can be a big hole for streaming partners.",2024-06-19 +Fisker recalls thousands of Ocean EVs for safety and compliance issues,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/fisker-recalls-thousands-of-ocean-evs-for-safety-and-compliance-issues.html,2024-06-12T17:52:33+0000,"In this articleElectric vehicle startup Fisker announced on Wednesday that it is recalling thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software and will roll out an over-the-air software update.The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues. The affected vehicles potentially had issues with the Motor Control Unit and Vehicle Control Unit software, which could make the vehicle lose motor power, the company said in a press release.Fisker also recalled 6,864 Oceans in the U.S. and 281 in Canada for compliance reasons. The company said the vehicles do not currently comply with federal vehicle safety standards related to gauges and telltale icons in the cluster display.Fisker said that vehicles updated to OS 2.1 are not impacted by the recall. Fisker anticipates completing the software update process by June 30, 2024. The recalls come after months of setbacks for Fisker. Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand. Fisker's struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup's shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels. In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. auto safety regulator opened an investigation into the 2023 Ocean due to complaints over the vehicles' doors failing to open. This marked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's third probe into Fisker — additional investigations are open due to issues with the 2023 Ocean's brakes and unintended vehicle movement.Fisker delivered 4,929 Oceans in 2023, the company said in February when announcing its full-year financial results, the most recent report available. The company said it expected to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 vehicles in 2024.The company said it informed its dealers of the recalls on May 30 and will notify owners by June 30.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleElectric vehicle startup Fisker announced on Wednesday that it is recalling thousands of Ocean SUVs in North America and Europe due to issues with vehicle software and will roll out an over-the-air software update.', 'The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues.', 'The affected vehicles potentially had issues with the Motor Control Unit and Vehicle Control Unit software, which could make the vehicle lose motor power, the company said in a press release.', 'Fisker also recalled 6,864 Oceans in the U.S. and 281 in Canada for compliance reasons.', 'The company said the vehicles do not currently comply with federal vehicle safety standards related to gauges and telltale icons in the cluster display.', 'Fisker said that vehicles updated to OS 2.1 are not impacted by the recall.', 'Fisker anticipates completing the software update process by June 30, 2024.The recalls come after months of setbacks for Fisker.', 'Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand.', 'Fisker\'s struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup\'s shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels.', ""In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. auto safety regulator opened an investigation into the 2023 Ocean due to complaints over the vehicles' doors failing to open."", ""This marked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's third probe into Fisker — additional investigations are open due to issues with the 2023 Ocean's brakes and unintended vehicle movement."", 'Fisker delivered 4,929 Oceans in 2023, the company said in February when announcing its full-year financial results, the most recent report available.', 'The company said it expected to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 vehicles in 2024.The company said it informed its dealers of the recalls on May 30 and will notify owners by June 30.']",0.0060538940872337,"The company recalled 11,201 Oceans across the U.S., Canada, and Europe due to safety issues.","Fisker's struggles continued into March as talks for a potential deal with an unnamed large automaker collapsed, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist the startup's shares due to ""abnormally low"" price levels.",-0.9712965488433838,,Reuters reported in February that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern due to high interest rates causing a slowdown in demand.,2024-06-19 +Top BofA auto analyst says Detroit automakers need to exit China as soon as possible,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/detroit-automakers-need-to-exit-china-bofa-analyst-says-.html,2024-06-18T19:09:51+0000,"In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America's top automotive analyst said Tuesday.The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports.Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit. He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.""It's a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003. GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings.GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China. President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"['In this articleDETROIT – The traditional Detroit automakers – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – should exit the Chinese market ""as soon as they possibly can,"" Bank of America\'s top automotive analyst said Tuesday.', ""The warning from BofA Securities research analyst John Murphy comes amid unprecedented competition in China – the world's largest auto market – and as the country significantly increases vehicle production for Chinese consumers as well as for global exports."", 'Murphy, who has previously asked General Motors about exiting the market, said the ""D3"" automakers need to focus on their core products and more profitable regions.', '""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA\'s annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.', 'He said, ""China is no longer core to GM, Ford or Stellantis.', '""It\'s a prospect that would have been unthinkable for the automakers, specifically GM, just a few years ago, but the rise of local Chinese automakers, such as BYD and Geely, has put growing pressure on the companies.', ""GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003."", ""GM's earnings from the operations have also fallen, down 78.5% since peaking in 2014, according to regulatory filings."", 'GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.', ""There's also geopolitical risks and uncertainty for U.S. companies operating in China."", 'President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration would quadruple tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.', ""While the Detroit automakers need to rethink the way their doing business in China, Murphy said it's slightly different for U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla."", 'Murphy said Tesla has a roughly $17,000 cost advantage in EV components compared with the traditional Detroit automakers to assist the company in the Chinese market, allowing it to have ""more room to run.""']",0.0208599936010307,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","""I think you have to see the D3 exit China as soon as they possibly can,"" he said Tuesday during an Automotive Press Association event to discuss BofA's annual ""Car Wars"" report in suburban Detroit.",-0.0051125437021255,"GM executives have said they believe they can turn around the operations and regain market share in China, largely with the help of new electric vehicles.","GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003.",2024-06-19 +The end of Infowars? Judge to decide fate of Alex Jones’ conspiracy empire in Sandy Hook families’ quest for justice,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/14/media/infowars-liquidation-alex-jones-sandy-hook-families/index.html," + Published + 7:01 AM EDT, Fri June 14, 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. + + Alex Jones’ conspiracy empire is on the brink. + + The fate of the right-wing extremist’s Infowars outlet could be decided on Friday as a Texas bankruptcy court hears a high-stakes motion filed by the families of the Sandy Hook victims over whether to liquidate the company. + + The families, who have yet to see a penny of the approximately $1.5 billion in judgments they are owed, have argued to the court that there is “no prospect” the company can produce a proper reorganization plan under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After years of waiting, they have asked the court to liquidate Jones’ Free Speech Systems, the parent of Infowars. + + If the judge rules in favor of Sandy Hook families, Infowars would be shuttered. In such a scenario, a court-appointed trustee would be tasked with securing the assets and then selling off Jones’ media empire, including the website, studio space, and broadcasting equipment. + + “Infowars would no longer exist,” Christopher Mattei, an attorney who represents some of the Sandy Hook families, explained this week to CNN’s Hadas Gold. + + The process could play out quickly, denying Jones the megaphone he has used for decades to spread dangerous and hateful conspiracy theories. Since founding Infowars in the late 1990s, Jones has poisoned the public discourse with toxic commentary, most notably pushing the lie that the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, shooting was a so-called “false flag” operation staged by the government and that the grieving family members of 20 child victims were “actors.” Jones, who hawks high-priced dietary supplements to his audience, has used the lies to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars. + + While juries in Texas and Connecticut punished Jones, awarding the Sandy Hook families hundreds of millions of dollars, the radical host has been able to continue operating his conspiracy empire after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Jones, who also filed for personal bankruptcy protection, moved to liquidate his personal assets last week, meaning that even if the judge does not order such a move for his company, it will ultimately mean he no longer owns Infowars in the future. + + While it’s possible that the liquidation of Jones’ company, if ordered by the court on Friday, could lead to its ultimate demise, a court-appointed trustee could opt to sell the company to a potential buyer. Perhaps a fellow conspiracy theorist, such as Tucker Carlson, who is trying to gain traction with his own media startup, would be interested in purchasing the assets. But the attorneys representing Sandy Hook families expect that the most likely scenario is Jones’ Infowars empire will be sold off, piece by piece, with the proceeds going to their clients. + + The outlet’s potential demise is the latest instance in which the legal system is holding right-wing media outlets accountable for their lies. Companies operated by dishonest conspiracy profiteers rarely — if ever — admit to wrongdoing unless they are either threatened by or face legal action, leaving the courts the only real avenue for victims of lies to correct the public record. + + In the last year, Fox News paid a historic $787.5 million settlement to voting technology company Dominion Voting Systems. The Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy protection. One America News settled a case with voting technology company Smartmatic. Salem Media Group apologized for and stopped distributing an election denialist documentary from Dinesh D’Souza. And several cases are still pending in the legal system. + + While the wheels of the legal system turn slowly, they have been proven to be effective in helping victims recoup some of the damages for the lies. Of course, no monetary award can ever heal the wounds inflicted by the reprehensible lies Jones told about Sandy Hook, dishonoring the children massacred that day and tormenting their families for years. But the liquidation of Jones’ assets will represent some progress. + + “If the judge ordered Alex Jones’ business to be liquidated… that will be a moment the families can take some pride in,” Mattei said. “Their objective has long been to protect their families and other families from the type of harm that Alex Jones inflicted on them for years.”",CNN,14/06/2024,"['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.', 'Alex Jones’ conspiracy empire is on the brink.', 'The fate of the right-wing extremist’sInfowarsoutlet could be decided on Friday as a Texas bankruptcy court hears a high-stakes motion filed by the families of theSandy Hookvictims over whether to liquidate the company.', 'The families, who have yet to see a penny of the approximately $1.5 billion in judgments they are owed, have argued to the court that there is “no prospect” the company can produce a proper reorganization plan under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.', 'After years of waiting, they have asked the court to liquidate Jones’Free Speech Systems, the parent of Infowars.', 'If the judge rules in favor of Sandy Hook families, Infowars would be shuttered.', 'In such a scenario, a court-appointed trustee would be tasked with securing the assets and then selling off Jones’ media empire, including the website, studio space, and broadcasting equipment.', '“Infowars would no longer exist,”Christopher Mattei, an attorney who represents some of the Sandy Hook families, explained this week to CNN’sHadas Gold.', 'The process could play out quickly, denying Jones the megaphone he has used for decades to spread dangerous and hateful conspiracy theories.', 'Since founding Infowars in the late 1990s, Jones has poisoned the public discourse with toxic commentary, most notably pushing the lie that the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, shooting was a so-called “false flag” operation staged by the government and that the grieving family members of 20 child victims were “actors.”', 'Jones, who hawks high-priced dietary supplements to his audience, has used the lies to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars.', 'While juries in Texas and Connecticut punished Jones, awarding the Sandy Hook families hundreds of millions of dollars, the radical host has been able to continue operating his conspiracy empire after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.', 'Jones, who also filed for personal bankruptcy protection, moved toliquidate his personal assetslast week, meaning that even if the judge does not order such a move for his company, it will ultimately mean he no longer owns Infowars in the future.', 'While it’s possible that the liquidation of Jones’ company, if ordered by the court on Friday, could lead to its ultimate demise, a court-appointed trustee could opt to sell the company to a potential buyer.', 'Perhaps a fellow conspiracy theorist, such asTucker Carlson, who is trying to gain traction with his own media startup, would be interested in purchasing the assets.', 'But the attorneys representing Sandy Hook families expect that the most likely scenario is Jones’ Infowars empire will be sold off, piece by piece, with the proceeds going to their clients.', 'The outlet’s potential demise is the latest instance in which the legal system is holding right-wing media outlets accountable for their lies.', 'Companies operated by dishonest conspiracy profiteers rarely —if ever— admit to wrongdoing unless they are either threatened by or face legal action, leaving the courts the only real avenue for victims of lies to correct the public record.', 'In the last year,Fox Newspaid a historic $787.5 million settlementto voting technology companyDominion Voting Systems.', 'The Gateway Punditfiled for bankruptcy protection.', 'One America Newssettled a casewith voting technology companySmartmatic.', 'Salem Media Groupapologized for and stopped distributingan election denialist documentary fromDinesh D’Souza.', 'And several cases are still pending in the legal system.', 'While the wheels of the legal system turn slowly, they have been proven to be effective in helping victims recoup some of the damages for the lies.', 'Of course, no monetary award can ever heal the wounds inflicted by the reprehensible lies Jones told about Sandy Hook, dishonoring the children massacred that day and tormenting their families for years.', 'But the liquidation of Jones’ assets will represent some progress.', '“If the judge ordered Alex Jones’ business to be liquidated… that will be a moment the families can take some pride in,” Mattei said. “', 'Their objective has long been to protect their families and other families from the type of harm that Alex Jones inflicted on them for years.”']",-0.1134271641384359,But the liquidation of Jones’ assets will represent some progress.,"Companies operated by dishonest conspiracy profiteers rarely —if ever— admit to wrongdoing unless they are either threatened by or face legal action, leaving the courts the only real avenue for victims of lies to correct the public record.",0.2628013372421264,"While the wheels of the legal system turn slowly, they have been proven to be effective in helping victims recoup some of the damages for the lies.",Salem Media Groupapologized for and stopped distributingan election denialist documentary fromDinesh D’Souza.,2024-06-19 +Sony Pictures is buying Alamo Drafthouse theater chain,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/12/sony-pictures-buys-alamo-drafthouse.html,2024-06-13T03:13:23+0000,"In this articleSony Pictures has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, the seventh-largest movie theater chain in North America, the company announced Wednesday.This is the first time a studio has purchased a theater chain since the Department of Justice's antitrust division terminated a decree that prohibited certain film distributors from owning exhibition companies in 2020.Enacted in 1948, the Paramount Consent Decrees ordered major studios to divest their cinemas. It was a landmark antitrust decision for the motion picture industry and held firm for more than 70 years.However the decree only affected some studios. While Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM were barred from reentering the theater business without court approval, others like Universal, Columbia and United Artists which did not own theaters at the time of the decree were therefore not banned from acquiring them in the future.Which is why Columbia Pictures, now under the Sony banner, was able to take a minority stake in the Walter Reade Organization, which owned less than a dozen theaters, in the late '80s and later acquired the Lowes Theater. It is also why Disney was permitted to own the El Capitan Theatre and Netflix was able to purchase The Egyptian Theatre and New York's Paris Theater.Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann will remain at the helm of the dine-in movie theater chain and will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO of the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences division. The company's 35 cinemas will continue to be operated by Alamo Drafthouse and its headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas.""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.The cinema company was purchased from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions. It was rescued by a private equity firm. However, just last week, five North Texas locations closed after a franchisee filed for bankruptcy.""We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,"" said Kustermann. ""We were created by film lovers for film lovers. We know how important this is to Sony, and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience. Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.""Correction: This story was updated to accurately reflect the terms of the Paramount Consent Decrees and when studio acquisitions of theaters occurred.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleSony Pictures has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, the seventh-largest movie theater chain in North America, the company announced Wednesday.', ""This is the first time a studio has purchased a theater chain since the Department of Justice's antitrust division terminated a decree that prohibited certain film distributors from owning exhibition companies in 2020.Enacted in 1948, the Paramount Consent Decrees ordered major studios to divest their cinemas."", 'It was a landmark antitrust decision for the motion picture industry and held firm for more than 70 years.', 'However the decree only affected some studios.', 'While Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM were barred from reentering the theater business without court approval, others like Universal, Columbia and United Artists which did not own theaters at the time of the decree were therefore not banned from acquiring them in the future.', ""Which is why Columbia Pictures, now under the Sony banner, was able to take a minority stake in the Walter Reade Organization, which owned less than a dozen theaters, in the late '80s and later acquired the Lowes Theater."", ""It is also why Disney was permitted to own the El Capitan Theatre and Netflix was able to purchase The EgyptianTheatre and New York's Paris Theater."", 'Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann will remain at the helm of the dine-in movie theater chain and will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO of the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences division.', ""The company's 35 cinemas will continue to be operated by Alamo Drafthouse and its headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas."", '""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.', 'The cinema company was purchased from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.', 'The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions.', 'It was rescued by a private equity firm.', 'However, just last week, five North Texas locations closed after a franchisee filed for bankruptcy.', '""We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,"" said Kustermann. ""', 'We were created by film lovers for film lovers.', 'We know how important this is to Sony, and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience.', 'Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.', '""Correction: This story was updated to accurately reflect the terms of the Paramount Consent Decrees and when studio acquisitions of theaters occurred.']",0.2755990695936975,Together we will continue to innovate and bring exciting new opportunities for our teammates and moviegoers alike.,The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions.,0.9728320717811584,"""We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors,"" Ahuja said in a statement.",,2024-06-19 +"National Amusements stops discussions with Skydance on Paramount deal, sources say",https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/11/national-amusements-stops-discussions-with-skydance-on-paramount-deal-sources-say.html,2024-06-12T00:42:45+0000,"In this articleNational Amusements has stopped talks with Skydance on a proposed merger with Paramount Global, ending months of deal discussions without a transaction. National Amusements, which is owned by Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, had previously agreed to economic terms on a merger with a consortium that includes David Ellison's Skydance, and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR. The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, CNBC previously reported. National Amusements, which Redstone controls, owns 77% of class A Paramount shares.Paramount shares closed nearly 8% lower Tuesday following the report.National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.Redstone's company said it ""supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount's Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company's Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.""Paramount declined to comment. Spokespeople for Skydance and Redbird did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Wall Street Journal earlier reported talks had ended.""While National Amusements had agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement,"" a NAI spokesperson said.There's been a disconnect on why the discussions didn't amount to a deal, according to people familiar with the matter, showcasing the nature of the process that has gone on for months with various twists and turns.Redstone and the special committee had asked for a so-called majority of the minority vote as part of the deal, a clause the Skydance bidding consortium found unacceptable and impracticable to add after deal talks had long started, according to people familiar with the matter. The special committee's approval process, meant to determine the deal's fairness, negated the need for such a vote, according to those familiar with Ellison's thinking. The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Phillips declined to comment. The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Paramount Global said, ""The Special Committee met on Tuesday to discuss progress of discussions regarding a potential transaction with Skydance Media. At that time, the Special Committee was informed by a representative of National Amusements, Inc. that it did not have an agreement on a deal with Skydance Media and didn't anticipate a path forward on this transaction. The Special Committee did not vote on any potential transaction.""The about face on the proposed deal not only comes days after Skydance and Paramount agreed to merger terms, but also after Paramount's annual shareholder meeting, where the company's leadership outlined plans for the future.Last week, Paramount's current leadership, the so-called ""Office of the CEO"" — CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins — mapped out the company's strategic priorities in the event the company was not sold.The shared leadership structure was put into place in late April, when former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down.The trio outlined a plan that included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs and divesting noncore assets. The plan that was presented to shareholders was Redstone's alternative option if she chose not to sell.While Redstone noted during the beginning of the shareholder presentation the unorthodox structure of the leadership team, she voiced her support. She has approved of their ideas and leadership during their short tenure, CNBC previously reported.Redstone has controlled the future of Paramount and whether a sale would take place. She can now consider other offers for National Amusements from outside buyers. In May, another potential buyer for Paramount surfaced — Apollo Global Management and Sony, which formally expressed interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion, CNBC previously reported. However, Redstone favored a deal that would keep the company together, and Apollo and Sony planned to break up Paramount, separating its movie studio from other parts of the business including its broadcast network, CNBC previously reported.Under those terms, which were still being ironed out up until Tuesday, Redstone would have received $2 billion in cash for National Amusements, CNBC reported. Skydance would buy nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company. Skydance and RedBird would have also contributed $1.5 billion in cash to help reduce Paramount's debt.The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year. Paramount had roughly $14.6 billion in long-term debt as of March 31.",CNBC,12/06/2024,"['In this articleNational Amusements has stopped talks with Skydance on a proposed merger with Paramount Global, ending months of deal discussions without a transaction.', ""National Amusements, which is owned by Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, had previously agreed to economic terms on a merger with a consortium that includes David Ellison's Skydance, and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR."", 'The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, CNBC previously reported.', 'National Amusements, which Redstone controls, owns 77% of class A Paramount shares.', 'Paramount shares closed nearly 8% lower Tuesday following the report.', 'National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.', 'Redstone\'s company said it ""supports the recently announced strategic plan being executed by Paramount\'s Office of the CEO as well as their ongoing work and that of the Company\'s Board of Directors to continue to explore opportunities to drive value creation for all Paramount shareholders.', '""Paramount declined to comment.', 'Spokespeople for Skydance and Redbird did not immediately respond to requests for comment.', 'The Wall Street Journal earlier reported talks had ended.', '""While National Amusements had agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement,"" a NAI spokesperson said.', ""There's been a disconnect on why the discussions didn't amount to a deal, according to people familiar with the matter, showcasing the nature of the process that has gone on for months with various twists and turns."", 'Redstone and the special committee had asked for a so-called majority of the minority vote as part of the deal, a clause the Skydance bidding consortium found unacceptable and impracticable to add after deal talks had long started, according to people familiar with the matter.', ""The special committee's approval process, meant to determine the deal's fairness, negated the need for such a vote, according to those familiar with Ellison's thinking."", ""The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter."", 'A spokesperson for Phillips declined to comment.', 'The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Paramount Global said, ""The Special Committee met on Tuesday to discuss progress of discussions regarding a potential transaction with Skydance Media.', ""At that time, the Special Committee was informed by a representative of National Amusements, Inc. that it did not have an agreement on a deal with Skydance Media and didn't anticipate a path forward on this transaction."", 'The Special Committee did not vote on any potential transaction.', '""The about face on the proposed deal not only comes days after Skydance and Paramount agreed to merger terms, but also after Paramount\'s annual shareholder meeting, where the company\'s leadership outlined plans for the future.', 'Last week, Paramount\'s current leadership, the so-called ""Office of the CEO"" — CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins — mapped out the company\'s strategic priorities in the event the company was not sold.', 'The shared leadership structure was put into place in late April, when former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down.', 'The trio outlined a plan that included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs and divesting noncore assets.', ""The plan that was presented to shareholders was Redstone's alternative option if she chose not to sell."", 'While Redstone noted during the beginning of the shareholder presentation the unorthodox structure of the leadership team, she voiced her support.', 'She has approved of their ideas and leadership during their short tenure, CNBC previously reported.', 'Redstone has controlled the future of Paramount and whether a sale would take place.', 'She can now consider other offers for National Amusements from outside buyers.', 'In May, another potential buyer for Paramount surfaced — Apollo Global Management and Sony, which formally expressed interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion, CNBC previously reported.', 'However, Redstone favored a deal that would keep the company together, and Apollo and Sony planned to break up Paramount, separating its movie studio from other parts of the business including its broadcast network, CNBC previously reported.', 'Under those terms, which were still being ironed out up until Tuesday, Redstone would have received $2 billion in cash for National Amusements, CNBC reported.', 'Skydance would buy nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company.', ""Skydance and RedBird would have also contributed $1.5 billion in cash to help reduce Paramount's debt."", ""The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year."", 'Paramount had roughly $14.6 billion in long-term debt as of March 31.']",0.2387817313043969,"National Amusements said in a statement on Tuesday it has ""not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms regarding the potential transaction with Skydance Media for the acquisition of a controlling stake in NAI.""""NAI is grateful to Skydance for their months of work in pursuing this potential transaction and looks forward to the ongoing, successful production collaboration between Paramount and Skydance,"" the statement said.","The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter.",0.1864744484424591,The plan outlined by Paramount's three leaders last week emphasized the reduction of debt and getting the company back to an investment-grade rating after it was lowered to junk status earlier this year.,"The Skydance bidding consortium instead blamed Redstone's inability to let go of a family asset, her desire for more money for NAI, and private comments critical of David Ellison from Paramount board member Charles Phillips as likely reasons a deal collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter.",2024-06-19 +How do UK interest rates affect me and when will they come down?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57764601,2021-07-16T11:52:58.000Z,"The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time when it meets on Thursday. UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable. Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK. An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it. The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money. This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings. The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time. When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates. The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand. Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them. The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years. However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979. There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022. The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years. However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like. As a result, many experts think a cut is more likely when the Bank next meets on 1 August. The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards. Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025. But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control. Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey. When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments. But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are. Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade. This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago. About 1.6 million deals will expire in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance. You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans. Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England. However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper. Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money. Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers. There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest. The UK's financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers. In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world's seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies. In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years. But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024. In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024. ",BBC,16/07/2021,"['The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time when it meets on Thursday.', ""UK inflation hit the Bank's target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable."", 'Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.', 'An interest rate tells you how much it costs to borrow money, or the reward for saving it.', ""The Bank of England's base rate is what it charges other lenders to borrow money."", 'This influences what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, and the interest they pay on savings.', 'The Bank of England moves rates up and down in order to control UK inflation - which is the increase in the price of something over time.', 'When inflation is high, the Bank - which has a target to keep inflation at 2% - may decide to raise rates.', 'The idea is to encourage people to spend less, to help bring inflation down by reducing demand.', 'Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them.', 'The current Bank rate of 5.25% is the highest level for 16 years.', 'However, it was significantly above this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, hitting 17% in November 1979.', 'There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, given inflation is now far below its peak of 11.1% in October 2022.', 'The main inflation measure, CPI, hit 2% in May - the lowest rate in almost three years.', 'However, the Bank also considers other measures of inflation when deciding how to change rates, and some of these remain higher than it would like.', 'As a result, many experts think a cut is more likely when the Bank next meets on 1 August.', 'The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.', ""Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates."", 'The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that UK interest rates should fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025.', 'But the organisation, which advises its members on how to improve their economies, acknowledged that the Bank had to balance the risk of not cutting too quickly before inflation is under control.', ""Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey."", 'When interest rates rise or fall, around 1.2 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their payments.', 'But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals.', ""While their monthly payments aren't immediately affected, any future deals are."", 'Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade.', 'This means homebuyers and those remortgaging have to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago.', 'About 1.6 million deals will expire in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance.', 'You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.', 'Lenders can decide to put their rates up if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England.', 'However, if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper.', 'Savings The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money.', 'Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers.', 'There are some good deals on the market and experts say customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest.', 'The UK\'s financial watchdog warned banks will face ""robust action"" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to customers.', 'In recent years, the UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world\'s seven largest so-called ""advanced"" economies.', 'In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.', 'But in the same month, the US central bank decided to keep its key interest rates at between 5.25% and 5.5% - unchanged since July 2023 - and signalled it expects to cut them just once in 2024.', 'In March it had suggested there could be three cuts in 2024.']",0.2033046182024206,"You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: Credit cards and loans Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.","The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy, or cutting rates only to have to raise them again shortly afterwards.",0.1085730745242192,"Although UK inflation has hit the Bank's target of 2%, it is expected to rise a little over the course of the year before settling back down in early 2025, so it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen to interest rates.","In June, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%, the first drop in five years.",2024-06-19 +From dying mall brand to Wall Street winner: How Abercrombie & Fitch pulled off retail's biggest comeback,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/inside-abercrombie-and-fitchs-comeback.html,2024-06-13T13:23:39+0000,"In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer. Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations. Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success. Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook. She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer. Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity. To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer.', ""Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations."", 'Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.', ""Over the last seven years, Horowitz changed Abercrombie's product assortment and moved the company away from loud branding and sex appeal, critical components of the retailer's past playbook."", ""She also overhauled the retailer's store footprint by closing hundreds of locations and changing the shops to look more modern, inviting and better suited to its new target customer."", 'Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.', ""To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.""]",0.3602311650416981,"Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success.","Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity.",0.9919991195201874,Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations.,,2024-06-19 +Stellantis plans to grow Jeep sales 50% by 2027,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/stellantis-jeep-sales-growth.html,2024-06-13T18:09:38+0000,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027. To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said. Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric. That's up from 18 currently.   ""We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon. A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV. Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck. Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis, Tesla and others. The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYD and Nio grow their sales of less-expensive EVs outside of China.Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier. The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022. Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.",CNBC,13/06/2024,"['In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.', 'The trans-Atlantic automaker on Thursday said it will expand production and sales to roughly 1.5 million units by 2027.', 'To do so, the company will grow its vehicle and powertrain offerings.', '""The Jeep brand can be a local hero anywhere,"" Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday during Stellantis\' investor day at its North American headquarters. ""', 'We are going to reinforce the manufacturing footprint of Jeep.', '""Jeep plans to expand its vehicle nameplates from 10 to 13 by 2027, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said.', 'Those vehicles will include 27 different powertrain offerings – traditional internal combustion engine, hybrid, extended-range/plug-in hybrid electric and all electric.', 'That\'s up from 18 currently. ""', 'We want to grow,"" said Filosa outlining three pillars of its strategy: customer choice of powertrains, increasing market coverage and globalization.', 'Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.', 'Jeep is expected to roll out the recently revealed Wagoneer S EV later this year, followed by a Jeep Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon.', 'A new mainstream unnamed midsize SUV is planned for next year to replace the discontinued, gas-powered Cherokee SUV.', 'Jeep is also planning plug-in versions of its current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs.', ""A roughly $25,000 Jeep Renegade EV is expected by 2027, according to the company's investor deck."", 'Tavares announced such a vehicle last month, saying it would come to the U.S. ""very soon.', '""Offering a new EV for around $25,000 has long been a target for automakers such as Stellantis,Teslaand others.', 'The importance of such a vehicle has grown more apparent as Chinese automakers such as BYDandNiogrow their salesof less-expensive EVsoutside of China.', ""Through the first quarter of this year, Jeep's sales totaled 31,750, up 47% from the same period a year earlier."", 'The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.', ""Jeep represented 42% of Stellantis' U.S. sales in 2023.""]",0.1862019152259262,"In this articleAUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Stellantis expects to grow sales of Jeep vehicles globally by 50% in the next three years, as the automaker attempts to leverage the quintessential American SUV brand for increased profits.",,0.7979354679584503,"Much of the expected growth is targeted in North America, where the brand aims to top sales of 1 million units by 2027, up from roughly 700,000 last year.","The brand sold nearly 643,000 vehicles last year, down 6% from 2022.",2024-06-19 +Evidence is mounting that the American shopper is cutting back,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/economy/us-retail-sales-may/index.html," + Updated + 12:48 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Sales at US retailers rose last month at an unexpectedly weak pace as Americans continue to deal with still-high inflation and elevated interest rates. + + Retail sales rose just 0.1% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s better than April’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline but below the 0.3% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation. + + Sales declined the most at gas stations, down 2.2% in May. Excluding that, sales were up by 0.3% last month. American shoppers also pulled back on purchases at furniture stores (-1.1%) and shops that sell building materials and garden equipment (-0.8%). + + Meanwhile, spending was the strongest at specialty stores that sell sporting goods, books, and musical instruments, which jumped by 2.8% last month. + + Monthly retail sales have increased four times over the past six months through May, but figures for April and March were revised lower, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. + + Inflation is down from the 40-year highs of two years ago, but it remains elevated. Meanwhile, interest rates are at their highest in nearly a quarter century after the Federal Reserve launched an aggressive rate-hiking campaign in 2022 to rein in price hikes. Household savings accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic are dwindling, and may have already been exhausted. + + A slowing economy help builds a case for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates — if it’s accompanied by inflation also easing. + + “Spending is cooling back towards a more sustainable pace,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, told CNN’s Matt Egan in an interview. “It’s important we don’t confuse a slower pace of spending with the economy turning over, because that’s clearly not happening.” + + “To be honest with you, this is a big relief for policymakers at the Fed,” he added. + + Evidence is starting to mount that US consumers are pulling back as they face tough economic hurdles. + + Retailers such as Walmart, Kohl’s and Target have said that shoppers are feeling pinched and are starting to cut back. While lower-income Americans were already struggling, the pain has now spread to middle-income consumers. + + “Our customers continue to be pressured by a number of economic factors, including high interest rates and inflation,” Kohl’s CEO Thomas Kingsbury said in an earnings call earlier this month. “Our middle income customer continues to be impacted.” + + There are signs that even wealthier shoppers are feeling strained. Walmart, America’s largest retailer, said higher-income consumers have been flocking to its stores in search of bargains. High-end retailers have also sounded the alarm of a broad and ongoing slowdown in luxury spending. + + But at the same time, spending on travel and other in-person experiences such as concerts is expected to be robust this summer. The Commerce Department releases broader consumer spending figures for May, which include services, later this month. Tuesday’s retail sales report only captures spending on goods and food services. + + Weaker-than-expected spending over the past few months helps set the stage for the Fed to begin lowering borrowing costs sometime this year. The figures provide some evidence that the US economy isn’t overheating and is instead slowing. + + It hasn’t just been spending figures that have come in soft recently. Economic data for April and May showed that inflation began to moderate again after stalling in the first three months of the year. + + The latest Consumer Price Index, released last week, showed that prices held flat in May on a monthly basis for the first time since July 2022. From a year earlier, consumer prices were up 3.3% in May, slowing from April’s 3.4% rate. + + Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said this week that the latest CPI was “very welcome” and that the Fed’s latest economic projections reflecting just one rate cut this year make sense. + + “In my view, this calls for a cautious approach,” said Harker, who doesn’t vote on policy moves this year, during an event Monday. “If we start to see several months of where we’re seeing data move in the right direction, I could see taking action. But I’m not there right now.” + + The timing of the Fed’s first rate cut this cycle will be primarily determined by what’s going on with inflation, but officials say they look at what’s happening economy wide. The first cut will be a consequential decision, because inflation could heat back up if central bank officials cut too soon — or the economy could slip into a recession if they cut too late.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Sales at US retailers rose last month at an unexpectedly weak pace as Americans continue to deal with still-high inflation and elevated interest rates.', 'Retail sales rose just 0.1% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.', 'That’s better than April’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline but below the 0.3% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll.', 'The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.', 'Sales declined the most at gas stations, down 2.2% in May.', 'Excluding that, sales were up by 0.3% last month.', 'American shoppers also pulled back on purchases at furniture stores (-1.1%) and shops that sell building materials and garden equipment (-0.8%).', 'Meanwhile, spending was the strongest at specialty stores that sell sporting goods, books, and musical instruments, which jumped by 2.8% last month.', 'Monthly retail sales have increased four times over the past six months through May, but figures for April and March were revised lower, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.', 'Inflation is down from the 40-year highs of two years ago, but it remains elevated.', 'Meanwhile, interest rates are at their highest in nearly a quarter century after the Federal Reserve launched an aggressive rate-hiking campaign in 2022 to rein in price hikes.', 'Household savings accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic are dwindling, and may have already been exhausted.', 'A slowing economy help builds a case for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates — if it’s accompanied by inflation also easing.', '“Spending is cooling back towards a more sustainable pace,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, told CNN’s Matt Egan in an interview. “', 'It’s important we don’t confuse a slower pace of spending with the economy turning over, because that’s clearly not happening.”', '“To be honest with you, this is a big relief for policymakers at the Fed,” he added.', 'Evidence is starting to mount that US consumers are pulling back as they face tough economic hurdles.', 'Retailers such as Walmart, Kohl’s and Target have said that shoppers are feeling pinched and are starting to cut back.', 'While lower-income Americans were already struggling, the pain has now spread to middle-income consumers.', '“Our customers continue to be pressured by a number of economic factors, including high interest rates and inflation,” Kohl’s CEO Thomas Kingsbury said in an earnings call earlier this month. “', 'Our middle income customer continues to be impacted.”', 'There are signs that even wealthier shoppers are feeling strained.', 'Walmart, America’s largest retailer, said higher-income consumers have been flocking to its stores in search of bargains.', 'High-end retailers have also sounded the alarm of a broad and ongoing slowdown in luxury spending.', 'But at the same time, spending on travel and other in-person experiences such as concerts is expected to be robust this summer.', 'The Commerce Department releases broader consumer spending figures for May, which include services, later this month.', 'Tuesday’s retail sales report only captures spending on goods and food services.', 'Weaker-than-expected spending over the past few months helps set the stage for the Fed to begin lowering borrowing costs sometime this year.', 'The figures provide some evidence that the US economy isn’t overheating and is instead slowing.', 'It hasn’t just been spending figures that have come in soft recently.', 'Economic data for April and May showed that inflation began to moderate again after stalling in the first three months of the year.', 'The latest Consumer Price Index, released last week, showed that prices held flat in May on a monthly basis for the first time since July 2022.', 'From a year earlier, consumer prices were up 3.3% in May, slowing from April’s 3.4% rate.', 'Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said this week that the latest CPI was “very welcome” and that the Fed’s latest economic projections reflecting just one rate cut this year make sense.', '“In my view, this calls for a cautious approach,” said Harker, who doesn’t vote on policy moves this year, during an event Monday. “', 'If we start to see several months of where we’re seeing data move in the right direction, I could see taking action.', 'But I’m not there right now.”', 'The timing of the Fed’s first rate cut this cycle will be primarily determined by what’s going on with inflation, but officials say they look at what’s happening economy wide.', 'The first cut will be a consequential decision, because inflation could heat back up if central bank officials cut too soon — or the economy could slip into a recession if they cut too late.']",0.036385808741985,That’s better than April’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline but below the 0.3% gain economists projected in a FactSet poll.,"While lower-income Americans were already struggling, the pain has now spread to middle-income consumers.",0.0912866150179217,"Meanwhile, spending was the strongest at specialty stores that sell sporting goods, books, and musical instruments, which jumped by 2.8% last month.","Inflation is down from the 40-year highs of two years ago, but it remains elevated.",2024-06-19 +Sen. Warren warns Powell against weakening banking regulations: ‘Do your job’,https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/sen-elizabeth-warren-powell-basel-iii-endgame.html,2024-06-18T13:43:04+0000,"Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold.In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending. The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry's campaign against the rules. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month. The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon's bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.When asked for a response to Warren's letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""",CNBC,18/06/2024,"[""Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is accusing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of doing the financial industry's bidding by considering changes to a sweeping set of regulations aimed at boosting the capital cushion that large American banks would be required to hold."", 'In a June 17 letter first obtained by CNBC, Warren asked Powell for a response to reports that ""you are advocating for slashing in half"" the increase in capital required under the proposals, known as the Basel III Endgame.', '""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.', 'Last year, three U.S. banking regulators including the Federal Reserve unveiled the proposed rules, a long-expected regime shift around bank capital and risky activities such as trading and lending.', 'The regulations incorporate new international standards created as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis.', '""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.', 'Bank CEOs and their lobbying groups have said the increases are unnecessarily aggressive and would force the industry to curtail lending.', 'In March, Powell told lawmakers that he expected ""broad and material changes"" to the proposal in the wake of the industry\'s campaign against the rules.', 'JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon coordinated efforts to weaken the rules, urging CEOs to appeal directly to Powell, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.', '""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry\'s bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""', 'Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.', '""She further criticized Powell, saying ""regulatory rollbacks"" under the Fed chair allowed the regional banking crisis of 2023 to happen and ""enriched Jamie Dimon and his Wall Street cronies.', '""Warren urged Powell to allow a Federal Reserve Board vote on the original, tougher Basel proposal by the end of this month.', 'The window to finalize and approve the rules ahead of U.S. elections in November is closing, and analysts have said that the proposal could be delayed or killed if Donald Trump is reelected president.', '""Instead of doing Mr. Dimon\'s bidding, you should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,"" Warren said.', 'When asked for a response to Warren\'s letter, a Fed spokesperson had this statement on Tuesday morning: ""We have received the letter and plan to respond.""']",-0.1466458510797449,Taking orders from the industry that caused the 2008 economic meltdown would sacrifice the financial security of middle-class and working families to line the pockets of wealthy investors and CEOs.,"""These rules are critical and long overdue, particularly in the wake of the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank failures, and as risks from the weak commercial real estate market and other economic threats ripple through the banking system,"" Warren said.",-0.6343785747885704,"""It now appears that you are directly doing the bank industry's bidding, rewarding them for their extensive personal lobbying of you,"" Warren said in her letter. ""","""I am disappointed by press reports indicating that you are personally intervening—after numerous meetings with big bank CEOs—to delay and water down the Basel III capital rules,"" said Warren.",2024-06-19 +The complicated partnership between Apple and OpenAI,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/14/tech/apple-openai-partnership/index.html," + Published + 7:00 AM EDT, Fri June 14, 2024 + ","When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attended Apple’s annual developer conference this week, he walked the campus, mingling with current and former executives, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Nearly an hour later, the iPhone maker announced a much-rumored partnership with OpenAI to bring its ChatGPT technology to devices later this year. + + But Altman, who has emerged as the poster child for generative AI in the 18 months since the launch of ChatGPT, was not featured in Apple’s formal presentation, neither in person or via livestream. Nor did he join Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives in a private press event about privacy and security and the partnership between the two companies. + + “I was not surprised Sam Altman did not appear on stage,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at market research firm CCS Insight in an interview with CNN. “Apple had to manage the message carefully. OpenAI is merely the vehicle to address broader AI-powered inquiries that are not core to the Apple experience. Having him in the livestream would have only created an unnecessary level of confusion.” + + Earlier this week, Apple showed off a handful of AI-powered features coming to the iPhone, iPad and Mac in the fall – the majority of which are fueled by the company’s own proprietary technology, called Apple Intelligence. + + The company will offer OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT tool in a limited capacity, usually only when Siri is activated and needs more assistance answering an inquiry. + + The move to invite Altman to the announcement but not have him appear before the public also represents in some ways how Apple is cautiously moving forward with the partnership. OpenAI, along with other AI companies, continues to face concerns from researchers, industry experts and government officials around misinformation, biases, copyright, privacy and security, and more. The deal also comes at a time when the industry is moving quickly, and government regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to engage with the technology responsibly. + + Apple hopes that a big push into AI could spur growth for iPhone sales as the device has languished without a major upgrade for years and users are now waiting longer to upgrade their devices as a result. An uncertain economic environment is also weighing on consumers, particularly in China. + + The company also faces regulatory scrutiny in Washington and was recently passed by chip maker Nvidia as the second-largest public company in the US. In the 60 hours after Apple’s Monday event, however, the company’s stock price (AAPL) rose by as much as 10%, boosting Apple’s market capitalization by more than $300 billion, rocketing past Nvidia and putting Apple back in contention with Microsoft for largest market value. + + The timing is further noteworthy: Apple is not always first to adopt and integrate emerging technologies — it typically researches, develops and aims to perfect new tech for years before including it in new products — but the speed at which the world is adopting generative AI is perhaps expediting the company’s need to have a smartphone with the latest buzzy technology. + + “Apple needed to deliver an AI story and Apple Intelligence should help placate nervous investors and reassure them that Apple is keeping pace with its rivals,” Wood added. “The partnership with ChatGPT is a major development which beefs up Apple’s AI offerings, and new features like a significantly improved Siri will be welcome to users.” + + But the partnership could also open Apple up to some vulnerability, as it has no control over OpenAI’s models or what it does with user inputs. Apple alignment with a company and a technology that have yet to win public trust could also cause some challenges down the road. + + Although Apple has been working on its own AI program for years, a partnership with OpenAI marks a way for it to fill in the competitive gaps. + + When a user has a question beyond Siri’s scope, ChatGPT can step in. In the demo following the keynote, Apple showed CNN how someone could upload a picture of vegetables at a farmer’s market and ask what they could make for dinner. Siri may suggest that the question is better suited for ChatGPT, and provide the user with a prompt to give consent to use the service. + + Apple using ChatGPT as a complimentary service could potentially cut down on risks associated with the company. It’s also very possible Apple could partner with other AI companies in the future too, such as Google’s Gemini or more niche providers with certain expertise, such as in healthcare. + + “I think Apple will take a pragmatic approach to the OpenAI partnership,” Wood said. “If Apple finds that the relationship with OpenAI starts to affect the overall user experience or worse, create challenges around security and data integrity, it might look to add further guardrails, or find other ways to deliver AI-powered content.” + + Apple has been vocal about how it intends to keep user data private and secure when using its own proprietary technology, noting most AI functions will be done on the phone and inputs will be kept away from a far-off server cloud. + + “As we look to build in these incredible new capabilities, we want to ensure that the outcome reflects the principles at the core of our products, it has to be powerful enough to help with the things that matter most to you,” Cook said during the keynote. “It has to be intuitive and easy to use. It has to be deeply integrated into your product experiences.” + + “And, of course, it has to be built with privacy, from the ground up,” he added. + + Apple said it will not share any personal user information with OpenAI, so inquiries made through ChatGPT won’t be linked to an Apple user’s account. And the repeated consent prompt to require users to opt into using ChatGPT with Siri is noteworthy too; each time Siri wants to kick over a question to ChatGPT, it’ll ask for permission first. + + Wood believes the consent prompts and other guardrails that Apple is implementing “reflect its nervousness.” + + Meanwhile, Reece Hayden, a principal analyst at ABI Research, told CNN that Apple’s approach is smart because it provides customers with a choice of how to deal with their data. + + “By providing a phased approach that blends ChatGPT and native capabilities, users will worry less about the partnership,” he said. “Apple can also continue to highlight their own AI capabilities and mitigate some of the risks of being associated with OpenAI, which remains in a state of flux.” + + Companies like OpenAI have acknowledged the serious risks posed by AI — from manipulation to a loss of control that could potentially result in human extinction — but many experts, researchers and AI employees believe they should be doing more to educate the public about risks and protective measures. Just last week, a group of OpenAI insiders demanded that artificial intelligence companies be far more transparent about the concerns over the technology they’re building. + + So it came as no surprise when some industry watchers, including Elon Musk, were quick to react to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI. + + In a post to X Monday, Musk said he would ban Apple devices at his companies — which include Tesla, SpaceX and X, among others — if the iPhone maker went ahead with its AI plans. If Apple “integrates OpenAI at the (operating system) level,” Musk said that would constitute “an unacceptable security violation.” + + Although concerns over how employees are using AI models is a topic of worldwide discussion at the moment across many industries, Gartner analyst Annette Zimmermann said Musk’s reaction is a bit misdirected and the topic is not specific to iPhones. + + “Any employee with a smartphone should follow company policies and not enter any private information into the open domain of ChatGPT,” she said. “This is not specific to the iPhone … or Tesla.” + + Andrew Cornwall, senior analyst at Forrester, told CNN he thinks it’s unlikely that Apple users will become loyal to ChatGPT, as many people won’t use the service unless the iPhone maker can’t provide an appropriate response. + + “When users do query ChatGPT, Apple will track the prompts and gather metrics to improve its own models,” he said. “Apple may switch providers or even use more than one third party — until it has mastered its own model. At that point, Apple will shut the garden gate.”",CNN,14/06/2024,"['When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attended Apple’s annual developer conference this week, he walked the campus, mingling with current and former executives, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.', 'Nearly an hour later, the iPhone maker announced a much-rumored partnership with OpenAI to bring its ChatGPT technology to devices later this year.', 'But Altman, who has emerged as the poster child for generative AI in the 18 months since the launch of ChatGPT, was not featured in Apple’s formal presentation, neither in person or via livestream.', 'Nor did he join Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives in a private press event about privacy and security and the partnership between the two companies.', '“I was not surprised Sam Altman did not appear on stage,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at market research firm CCS Insight in an interview with CNN. “', 'Apple had to manage the message carefully.', 'OpenAI is merely the vehicle to address broader AI-powered inquiries that are not core to the Apple experience.', 'Having him in the livestream would have only created an unnecessary level of confusion.”', 'Earlier this week, Apple showed off a handful of AI-powered features coming to the iPhone, iPad and Mac in the fall – the majority of which are fueled by the company’s own proprietary technology, called Apple Intelligence.', 'The company will offer OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT tool in a limited capacity, usually only when Siri is activated and needs more assistance answering an inquiry.', 'The move to invite Altman to the announcement but not have him appear before the public also represents in some ways how Apple is cautiously moving forward with the partnership.', 'OpenAI, along with other AI companies, continues to face concerns from researchers, industry experts and government officials around misinformation, biases, copyright, privacy and security, and more.', 'The deal also comes at a time when the industry is moving quickly, and government regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to engage with the technology responsibly.', 'Apple hopes that a big push into AI could spur growth for iPhone sales as the device has languished without a major upgrade for years and users are now waiting longer to upgrade their devices as a result.', 'An uncertain economic environment is also weighing on consumers, particularly in China.', 'The company also faces regulatory scrutiny in Washington and was recently passed by chip maker Nvidia as the second-largest public company in the US.', 'In the 60 hours after Apple’s Monday event, however, the company’s stock price (AAPL) rose by as much as 10%, boosting Apple’s market capitalization by more than $300 billion, rocketing past Nvidia and putting Apple back in contention with Microsoft for largest market value.', 'The timing is further noteworthy: Apple is not always first to adopt and integrate emerging technologies — it typically researches, develops and aims to perfect new tech for years before including it in new products — but the speed at which the world is adopting generative AI is perhaps expediting the company’s need to have a smartphone with the latest buzzy technology.', '“Apple needed to deliver an AI story and Apple Intelligence should help placate nervous investors and reassure them that Apple is keeping pace with its rivals,” Wood added. “', 'The partnership with ChatGPT is a major development which beefs up Apple’s AI offerings, and new features like a significantly improved Siri will be welcome to users.”', 'But the partnership could also open Apple up to some vulnerability, as it has no control over OpenAI’s models or what it does with user inputs.', 'Apple alignment with a company and a technology that have yet to win public trust could also cause some challenges down the road.', 'Although Apple has been working on its own AI program for years, a partnership with OpenAI marks a way for it to fill in the competitive gaps.', 'When a user has a question beyond Siri’s scope, ChatGPT can step in.', 'In the demo following the keynote, Apple showed CNN how someone could upload a picture of vegetables at a farmer’s market and ask what they could make for dinner.', 'Siri may suggest that the question is better suited for ChatGPT, and provide the user with a prompt to give consent to use the service.', 'Apple using ChatGPT as a complimentary service could potentially cut down on risks associated with the company.', 'It’s also very possible Apple could partner with other AI companies in the future too, such as Google’s Gemini or more niche providers with certain expertise, such as in healthcare.', '“I think Apple will take a pragmatic approach to the OpenAI partnership,” Wood said. “', 'If Apple finds that the relationship with OpenAI starts to affect the overall user experience or worse, create challenges around security and data integrity, it might look to add further guardrails, or find other ways to deliver AI-powered content.”', 'Apple has been vocal about how it intends to keep user data private and secure when using its own proprietary technology, noting most AI functions will be done on the phone and inputs will be kept away from a far-off server cloud.', '“As we look to build in these incredible new capabilities, we want to ensure that the outcome reflects the principles at the core of our products, it has to be powerful enough to help with the things that matter most to you,” Cook said during the keynote. “', 'It has to be intuitive and easy to use.', 'It has to be deeply integrated into your product experiences.”', '“And, of course, it has to be built with privacy, from the ground up,” he added.', 'Apple said it will not share any personal user information with OpenAI, so inquiries made through ChatGPT won’t be linked to an Apple user’s account.', 'And the repeated consent prompt to require users to opt into using ChatGPT with Siri is noteworthy too; each time Siri wants to kick over a question to ChatGPT, it’ll ask for permission first.', 'Wood believes the consent prompts and other guardrails that Apple is implementing “reflect its nervousness.”', 'Meanwhile, Reece Hayden, a principal analyst at ABI Research, told CNN that Apple’s approach is smart because it provides customers with a choice of how to deal with their data.', '“By providing a phased approach that blends ChatGPT and native capabilities, users will worry less about the partnership,” he said. “', 'Apple can also continue to highlight their own AI capabilities and mitigate some of the risks of being associated with OpenAI, which remains in a state of flux.”', 'Companies like OpenAI have acknowledged the serious risks posed by AI — from manipulation to a loss of control that could potentially result in human extinction — but many experts, researchers and AI employees believe they should be doing more to educate the public about risks and protective measures.', 'Just last week, a group of OpenAI insiders demanded that artificial intelligence companies be far more transparent about the concerns over the technology they’re building.', 'So it came as no surprise when some industry watchers, including Elon Musk, were quick to react to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI.', 'In a post to X Monday, Musk said he would ban Apple devices at his companies — which include Tesla, SpaceX and X, among others — if the iPhone maker went ahead with its AI plans.', 'If Apple “integrates OpenAI at the (operating system) level,” Musk said that would constitute “an unacceptable security violation.”', 'Although concerns over how employees are using AI models is a topic of worldwide discussion at the moment across many industries, Gartner analyst Annette Zimmermann said Musk’s reaction is a bit misdirected and the topic is not specific to iPhones.', '“Any employee with a smartphone should follow company policies and not enter any private information into the open domain of ChatGPT,” she said. “', 'This is not specific to the iPhone … or Tesla.”', 'Andrew Cornwall, senior analyst at Forrester, told CNN he thinks it’s unlikely that Apple users will become loyal to ChatGPT, as many people won’t use the service unless the iPhone maker can’t provide an appropriate response.', '“When users do query ChatGPT, Apple will track the prompts and gather metrics to improve its own models,” he said. “', 'Apple may switch providers or even use more than one third party — until it has mastered its own model.', 'At that point, Apple will shut the garden gate.”']",0.1264127176766117,"The partnership with ChatGPT is a major development which beefs up Apple’s AI offerings, and new features like a significantly improved Siri will be welcome to users.”","But the partnership could also open Apple up to some vulnerability, as it has no control over OpenAI’s models or what it does with user inputs.",0.217459581115029,"In the 60 hours after Apple’s Monday event, however, the company’s stock price (AAPL) rose by as much as 10%, boosting Apple’s market capitalization by more than $300 billion, rocketing past Nvidia and putting Apple back in contention with Microsoft for largest market value.","If Apple finds that the relationship with OpenAI starts to affect the overall user experience or worse, create challenges around security and data integrity, it might look to add further guardrails, or find other ways to deliver AI-powered content.”",2024-06-19 +Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dumps BYD shares following rise in trade tension over Chinese EVs,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/cars/berkshire-hathaway-byd-china-ev-tensions-intl-hnk/index.html," + Published + 4:36 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has further cut its large stake in BYD, which vies with Tesla as the world’s largest electric car (EV) maker, as global trade tensions escalate over Chinese EVs. + + The legendary investor’s conglomerate sold another 1.35 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD on June 11, trimming its stake to 6.9% from 7.02%, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed Monday. The sale was valued at 310.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($40 million). + + It’s the first major sale of BYD shares by Berkshire in ten months and the 14th since August 2022, when it started gradually reducing its stake in China’s top EV maker. BYD shares had closed at a record high in June of that year. + + The latest sale comes as tensions soar over exports of cheap EVs from China. + + The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies. But a flood of cheap models has raised the specter of another trade war with its Western trading partners. + + Last week, the European Union hit EVs imported from China with additional tariffs because of what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undercut European carmakers. + + That is expected to deal a blow to the the country’s manufacturers, which view Europe as a key export market. BYD will face an additional levy of 17.4% on top of the bloc’s existing 10% duty on car imports, according to an announcement from the European Commission. + + Beijing, which has big dreams for its EV industry, has threatened to retaliate. On Monday, it announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork from the EU. + + Tensions had previously escalated between China and the United States over the same issue. In May, the Biden administration quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China, from 25% to 100%, aiming to boost American jobs and manufacturing. + + Buffett said last year that it’s “imperative” for the US and China to settle their differences and “get along with each other.” + + BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades. It overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) at the end of last year as the biggest seller of electric vehicles on the planet. (Tesla regained its position in the first quarter of this year, but they’re neck and neck.) + + In 2008, Berkshire spent $230 million in buying BYD shares at an average of HK$8 ($1.02) apiece. Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis. + + That investment has proved to be one of the firm’s most successful ever. + + In June 2022, the Chinese EV maker hit a record closing high of HK$331.4, about 41 times the price Berkshire had paid originally. + + Since then, Berkshire has been on a selling spree, with its first major sale disclosed in August 2022. + + So far, Berkshire has sold about 149 million shares. + + Berkshire has not disclosed the reason for the sales. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by CNN. + + Last month, Buffett mentioned BYD at Berkshire’s 2024 annual meeting, crediting his closest business partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November, for his call to buy the stock. Munger “was right, big-time,” he said. + + Berkshire still holds 75.7 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD, which were worth about 17.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.3 billion) by Tuesday.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has further cut its large stake in BYD, which vies with Tesla as the world’s largest electric car (EV) maker, as global trade tensions escalate over Chinese EVs.', 'The legendary investor’s conglomerate sold another 1.35 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD on June 11, trimming its stake to 6.9% from 7.02%, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed Monday.', 'The sale was valued at 310.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($40 million).', 'It’s the first major sale of BYD shares by Berkshire in ten months and the 14th since August 2022, when it started gradually reducing its stake in China’s top EV maker.', 'BYD shares had closed at a record high in June of that year.', 'The latest sale comes as tensions soar over exports of cheap EVs from China.', 'The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies.', 'But a flood of cheap models has raised the specter of another trade war with its Western trading partners.', 'Last week, the European Union hit EVs imported from China with additional tariffs because of what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undercut European carmakers.', 'That is expected to deal a blow to the the country’s manufacturers, which view Europe as a key export market.', 'BYD will face an additional levy of 17.4% on top of the bloc’s existing 10% duty on car imports, according to an announcement from the European Commission.', 'Beijing, which has big dreams for its EV industry, has threatened to retaliate.', 'On Monday, it announced an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork from the EU.', 'Tensions had previously escalated between China and the United States over the same issue.', 'In May, the Biden administration quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China, from 25% to 100%, aiming to boost American jobs and manufacturing.', 'Buffett said last year that it’s “imperative” for the US and China to settle their differences and “get along with each other.”', 'BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades.', 'It overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) at the end of last year as the biggest seller of electric vehicles on the planet. (', 'Tesla regained its positionin the first quarter of this year, but they’re neck and neck.)', 'In 2008, Berkshire spent $230 million in buying BYD shares at an average of HK$8 ($1.02) apiece.', 'Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.', 'That investment has proved to be one of the firm’s most successful ever.', 'In June 2022, the Chinese EV maker hit a record closing high of HK$331.4, about 41 times the price Berkshire had paid originally.', 'Since then, Berkshire has been on a selling spree, with its first major sale disclosed in August 2022.', 'So far, Berkshire has sold about 149 million shares.', 'Berkshire has not disclosed the reason for the sales.', 'The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by CNN.', 'Last month, Buffett mentioned BYD at Berkshire’s 2024 annual meeting, crediting his closest business partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November, for his call to buy the stock.', 'Munger “was right, big-time,” he said.', 'Berkshire still holds 75.7 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD, which were worth about 17.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.3 billion) by Tuesday.']",0.0495863339758024,"The country has become a dominant force in the global EV market, thanks to significant policy support from the government and heavy state subsidies.","Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.",0.023138657996529,"BYD, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, has had an extraordinary rise over the past three decades.","Back then, BYD’s share price had fallen to a record low during the global financial crisis.",2024-06-19 +Millionaires are fleeing Britain in their thousands,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/uk-millionaires-loss-record/index.html," + Published + 8:26 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","A record number of millionaires could leave the United Kingdom this year as political turmoil and the potential for higher taxes under a future Labour government reduce the appeal of what was once among the top destinations for the rich. + + As many as 9,500 people with at least $1 million in liquid, investable assets, will leave the country, more than double the number that left in 2023, according to provisional estimates contained in a report Tuesday by migration advisers Henley & Partners. + + “These figures reflect a steady accumulation of factors detracting from the UK’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals,” Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, wrote in the report. “The hangover from Brexit continues to be felt, with the City of London no longer seen as the financial center of the world.” + + The report is based on data on 150,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) tracked by investment firm New World Wealth. The firm only counts people who stay in their new country more than half of the year, and focuses primarily on company founders, chairs, CEOs, presidents, directors and managing partners. + + The continuing exodus from the UK — 16,500 millionaires left between 2017 and 2023 — is part of a global mass migration of the rich that appears to be accelerating. The Henley Private Wealth Migration report found that 128,000 millionaires are set to relocate this year, beating last year’s record by 8,000. + + “As the world grapples with a perfect storm of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and social upheaval, millionaires are voting with their feet in record numbers,” Dominic Volek, head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said in a press release. + + Of the 15 places with most resident millionaires, the UK is suffering more than most — only China will lose more HNWIs (15,200) in 2024 — and it’s one of just three locations, alongside Japan and Hong Kong, to have seen a net loss in the decade since 2013, according to the report. By contrast, the ranks of the wealthy have grown in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and France over the same period. + + The impact of Brexit, which ended the free movement of people between the UK and the European Union as well as raising new barriers to trade and investment, and other economic shocks such as the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy price spike, has been compounded by a period of unprecedented political uncertainty. + + The UK has had five prime ministers since 2010, including the 45-day tenure of Liz Truss in 2022, when her plan to jack up government borrowing to slash taxes sent the pound crashing to a record low against the dollar and forced the Bank of England to intervene to prevent a financial crisis. + + Such instability has made it much harder for policymakers to address the country’s anemic economic growth and foster a better climate for investment. + + Now there’s a new risk on the horizon. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which is leading Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives by a margin of about 20% in opinion polls, has gone out of its way to woo business and investors, and to promise economic stability and stronger growth if it wins the upcoming election on July 4. + + Starmer and his finance spokesperson Rachel Reeves, who previously worked at the Bank of England, have promised not to increase income tax or sales tax — and to stick with fiscal rules adopted by Sunak’s government. + + But Labour is committed to targeted tax increases that could hit the rich. It wants to remove a 20% tax break from private schools to fund new teachers in the state sector, close remaining loopholes that allow so-called non-dom residents to protect some of their foreign earnings from tax and raise more money from private equity firms. + + “The outflow of high-net-worth individuals already generated by the economic and political context is now being accelerated by policy decisions ahead of the election,” said White. + + Still, one very rich couple will apparently be staying, whatever the result on July 4. Sunak, a millionaire former hedge fund manager, and his wife Akshata Murty — the daughter of an Indian tech billionaire — are worth £651 million ($826 million), according to The Sunday Times Rich List, making them richer than King Charles. + + Sunak said last week he would serve a full term if re-elected as member of parliament in his northern England constituency, even if his party is kicked out of government.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['A record number of millionaires could leave the United Kingdom this year as political turmoil and the potential for higher taxes under a future Labour government reduce the appeal of what was once among the top destinations for the rich.', 'As many as 9,500 people with at least $1 million in liquid, investable assets, will leave the country, more than double the number that left in 2023, according to provisional estimates contained in a report Tuesday by migration advisers Henley & Partners.', '“These figures reflect a steady accumulation of factors detracting from the UK’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals,” Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, wrote in the report. “', 'The hangover from Brexit continues to be felt, with the City of London no longer seen as the financial center of the world.”', 'The report is based on data on 150,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) tracked by investment firm New World Wealth.', 'The firm only counts people who stay in their new country more than half of the year, and focuses primarily on company founders, chairs, CEOs, presidents, directors and managing partners.', 'The continuing exodus from the UK — 16,500 millionaires left between 2017 and 2023 — is part of a global mass migration of the rich that appears to be accelerating.', 'The Henley Private Wealth Migration report found that 128,000 millionaires are set to relocate this year, beating last year’s record by 8,000.', '“As the world grapples with a perfect storm of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and social upheaval, millionaires are voting with their feet in record numbers,” Dominic Volek, head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said in a press release.', 'Of the 15 places with most resident millionaires, the UK is suffering more than most — only China will lose more HNWIs (15,200) in 2024 — and it’s one of just three locations, alongside Japan and Hong Kong, to have seen a net loss in the decade since 2013, according to the report.', 'By contrast, the ranks of the wealthy have grown in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and France over the same period.', 'The impact of Brexit, which ended the free movement of people between the UK and the European Union as well as raising new barriers to trade and investment, and other economic shocks such as the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy price spike, has been compounded by a period of unprecedented political uncertainty.', 'The UK has had five prime ministers since 2010, including the 45-day tenure of Liz Truss in 2022, when her plan to jack up government borrowing to slash taxes sent the pound crashing to a record low against the dollar and forced the Bank of England to intervene to prevent a financial crisis.', 'Such instability has made it much harder for policymakers to address the country’s anemic economic growth and foster a better climate for investment.', 'Now there’s a new risk on the horizon.', 'Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which is leading Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives by a margin of about 20% in opinion polls, has gone out of its way to woo business and investors, and to promise economic stability and stronger growth if it wins the upcoming election on July 4.', 'Starmer and his finance spokesperson Rachel Reeves, who previously worked at the Bank of England, have promised not to increase income tax or sales tax — and to stick with fiscal rules adopted by Sunak’s government.', 'But Labour is committed to targeted tax increases that could hit the rich.', 'It wants to remove a 20% tax break from private schools to fund new teachers in the state sector, close remaining loopholes that allow so-called non-dom residents to protect some of their foreign earnings from tax and raise more money from private equity firms.', '“The outflow of high-net-worth individuals already generated by the economic and political context is now being accelerated by policy decisions ahead of the election,” said White.', 'Still, one very rich couple will apparently be staying, whatever the result on July 4.', 'Sunak, a millionaire former hedge fund manager, and his wife Akshata Murty — the daughter of an Indian tech billionaire — are worth £651 million ($826 million), according to The Sunday Times Rich List, making them richer than King Charles.', 'Sunak said last week he would serve a full term if re-elected as member of parliament in his northern England constituency, even if his party is kicked out of government.']",0.2265850981404316,"Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which is leading Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives by a margin of about 20% in opinion polls, has gone out of its way to woo business and investors, and to promise economic stability and stronger growth if it wins the upcoming election on July 4.","The UK has had five prime ministers since 2010, including the 45-day tenure of Liz Truss in 2022, when her plan to jack up government borrowing to slash taxes sent the pound crashing to a record low against the dollar and forced the Bank of England to intervene to prevent a financial crisis.",-0.1902571767568588,"By contrast, the ranks of the wealthy have grown in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and France over the same period.","“These figures reflect a steady accumulation of factors detracting from the UK’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals,” Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, wrote in the report. “",2024-06-19 +Former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs hired to lead Warner Bros. Discovery PR,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/media/robert-gibbs-wbd-pr/index.html," + Published + 1:40 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Robert Gibbs, a former White House press secretary during the Obama administration, will be joining Warner Bros. Discovery to lead its communications team. + + Gibbs, who has been leading public relations efforts in the private sector for years after leaving the White House, will take over public relations and public affairs at a time when the media industry is in turmoil. Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock (WBD) is at an all-time low, and the media industry is fighting to regain its footing as consumers rapidly change their behavior. + + Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, has been occasionally buoyed by big box office wins like “Barbie” and its TNT sports division. But, like its competitors, Warner Bros. has largely struggled to persuade people to go to the movies this year. Television ratings and cable subscriptions continue to decline. And Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly on the outside looking in as it tries to renew its lucrative – albeit expensive – NBA package. + + It won’t be Gibbs’ job to fix the media industry woes that are challenging Warner Bros. Discovery and its competitors along with it. But the company has struggled to frame its strategy and narrative to its fans as it continues to cancel expensive programming, cut back on resources and slowly reboot the DC Entertainment brand. + + “His incredible track record of advancing strong communications and public affairs strategies will make Robert an asset to WBD as we focus on nurturing our internal culture, deepening our connections to consumers and partners, and innovating across our businesses,” said CEO David Zaslav in a memo to staff. + + Zaslav noted Gibbs’ successful track record positioning companies for success during times of transformation, which the embattled CEO said makes Gibbs “the perfect person to assume this role.” + + Gibbs was former President Barack Obama’s communications director for both his 2004 Senate campaign and 2008 presidential campaign, before serving as his first White House press secretary. He was most recently a partner at the consultancy Bully Pulpit International. Before that, Gibbs served as McDonald’s chief communications officer. + + He’ll replace Katie Martin Kelly and Laura Watson, who had been serving as interim communications directors for the company since January after Nathaniel Brown, the company’s former communications director, stepped down. Gibbs will start on August 5.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Robert Gibbs, a former White House press secretary during the Obama administration, will be joining Warner Bros. Discovery to lead its communications team.', 'Gibbs, who has been leading public relations efforts in the private sector for years after leaving the White House, will take over public relations and public affairs at a time when the media industry is in turmoil.', 'Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock (WBD) is at an all-time low, and the media industry is fighting to regain its footing as consumers rapidly change their behavior.', 'Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, has been occasionally buoyed by big box office wins like “Barbie” and its TNT sports division.', 'But, like its competitors, Warner Bros. has largely struggled to persuade people to go to the movies this year.', 'Television ratings and cable subscriptions continue to decline.', 'And Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly on the outside looking in as it tries to renew its lucrative – albeit expensive – NBA package.', 'It won’t be Gibbs’ job to fix the media industry woes that are challenging Warner Bros. Discovery and its competitors along with it.', 'But the company has struggled to frame its strategy and narrative to its fans as it continues to cancel expensive programming, cut back on resources and slowly reboot the DC Entertainment brand.', '“His incredible track record of advancing strong communications and public affairs strategies will make Robert an asset to WBD as we focus on nurturing our internal culture, deepening our connections to consumers and partners, and innovating across our businesses,” said CEO David Zaslav in a memo to staff.', 'Zaslav noted Gibbs’ successful track record positioning companies for success during times of transformation, which the embattled CEO said makes Gibbs “the perfect person to assume this role.”', 'Gibbs was former President Barack Obama’s communications director for both his 2004 Senate campaign and 2008 presidential campaign, before serving as his first White House press secretary.', 'He was most recently a partner at the consultancy Bully Pulpit International.', 'Before that, Gibbs served as McDonald’s chief communications officer.', 'He’ll replace Katie Martin Kelly and Laura Watson, who had been serving as interim communications directors for the company since January after Nathaniel Brown, the company’s former communications director, stepped down.', 'Gibbs will start on August 5.']",0.0143204640438823,"Zaslav noted Gibbs’ successful track record positioning companies for success during times of transformation, which the embattled CEO said makes Gibbs “the perfect person to assume this role.”","Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock (WBD) is at an all-time low, and the media industry is fighting to regain its footing as consumers rapidly change their behavior.",-0.1418147001947675,"Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, has been occasionally buoyed by big box office wins like “Barbie” and its TNT sports division.","Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock (WBD) is at an all-time low, and the media industry is fighting to regain its footing as consumers rapidly change their behavior.",2024-06-19 +Coming down but still going up: the trouble with inflation,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722gm1zrx4o,2024-06-19T11:32:55.228Z,"Consumer price inflation is on target at 2%. So is it game over for the cost of living crisis? No. But it's a good start. Read on... An imaginary basket of 700 goods and services bought by households has gone up in price by 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% in the year to April. In autumn of 2022, the consumer price inflation (CPI) rate peaked at 11.1%. Energy prices had soared in the wake of disruption to Russian oil and gas imports. Liz Truss's tax-cutting mini-budget was piling more demand into prices. The fall in price inflation does not mean that prices are falling. Some fall, but overall, the cost of that basket is now not rising as fast. And while inflation is down and back on target, the past two years have left prices much higher than they were. Food, for instance, is 25% more expensive than it was. So for many whose income rise has not matched price increases, the cost of living pressures remain. This month's figures show food inflation down to 1.7% over the year to May, from 2.9% in the year to April. Easing that price inflation rate were bread and cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam, syrup, chocolate and sweets. Still going up were cooking oils, dairy and eggs. The cost of buying a pet is easing, after the pandemic saw prices soar. Also bearing down on price inflation are package holidays, books, vacuum cleaners, fridges, freezers and washing machines. Offsetting that has been the cost of petrol, with a litre of unleaded up 4p on May last year, though in that transport category, the average price of a used car has fallen by more than 11% in a year, with the unwinding of disruption to manufacturing of cars during the pandemic. Housing is not included in the CPI figure, but it obviously has an impact on household budgets. While housing is not as high a cost in Scotland as it is in parts of England, it has been rising. Figures from the Registers of Scotland show the average house transaction rose in the year to April by 4.5%, despite mortgage rates at relatively high levels. In England and Wales, prices have been falling but were up 1.1% in the most recent 12 months. That rise has been seen across 27 of Scotland's council areas, but the latest figures continue a downward trend in Aberdeen and slightly lower prices in Highland. Since the start of 2020 and of the pandemic, the average house price in Scotland has risen by 25%. There are also fresh figures on renting a home, with Scotland again seeing a sharper increase than England and Wales. The evidence on new tenancies shows the average monthly payment up by 9.3% on May of last year. While there are wide variations on rental, the Scottish average last month was £957. That increase is despite Scottish government measures to dampen rent increases with a freeze and then a rent cap. New tenancies are not included in that cap, and it seems landlords have taken the opportunity of new leases to put up prices ahead of further rent controls. Price increases come from external pressures, so rising international prices for energy and food were a big part of the problem. Other rising costs can be within Britain, so labour shortages for some sectors have been pushing up pay, which companies pass on to customers. The UK government takes some credit for pushing price inflation down through its resistance to wage inflation in the public sector. That signal and rising unemployment can have the effect of dampening pay rise expectations. Prices can also be pushed up by increasing demand for goods and services, which is why the Bank of England uses the cost of borrowing to push down demand. Yes, there is some concern that there remain pressures within the economy that could push it up, as well as the risk from those external factors, such as global energy prices. In the domestic economy, the latest figures show the cost of services - from banking to a haircut - have gone up much more than the cost of goods. The service sector dominates the UK economy. Part of the reason for that is that pay increases have remained relatively high, which can lead to inflation if other groups of workers push to match the 5.9% pay inflation rate in the most recent figures. The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) will tell us on Thursday at noon if it intends to cut its base rate for borrowing from 5.25%. Many borrowers got used to exceptionally low interest rates after the banking crisis in 2008. Price inflation brought a response from central banks, such as the Bank of England, to stifle demand with higher borrowing costs. Some countries have begun to cut their borrowing costs, but not yet in the UK. That is taking longer than expected because of these continued indications of inflation in services and pay. Economists do not expect to see a cut in the base rate this week and look to the next MPC meeting in August. A little inflation is seen as a good thing. If the target was to be set at zero, an undershoot on that by tightened borrowing and demand would risk prices deflating, and that is dangerous for the economy. It means people put off spending in the expectation they can buy more cheaply in future, and that spirals into a trap. The 2% target is used by around 60 central banks around the world, and was set as the target for the Bank of England in 1997, at the point it was made independent of the Treasury. The level of inflation is not as important as stability in prices. It is good for the economy if businesses, workers and consumers can reliably predict where prices will be over time. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['Consumer price inflation is on target at 2%.', 'So is it game over for the cost of living crisis?', 'No.', ""But it's a good start."", 'Read on... An imaginary basket of 700 goods and services bought by households has gone up in price by 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% in the year to April.', 'In autumn of 2022, the consumer price inflation (CPI) rate peaked at 11.1%.', 'Energy prices had soared in the wake of disruption to Russian oil and gas imports.', ""Liz Truss's tax-cutting mini-budget was piling more demand into prices."", 'The fall in price inflation does not mean that prices are falling.', 'Some fall, but overall, the cost of that basket is now not rising as fast.', 'And while inflation is down and back on target, the past two years have left prices much higher than they were.', 'Food, for instance, is 25% more expensive than it was.', 'So for many whose income rise has not matched price increases, the cost of living pressures remain.', ""This month's figures show food inflation down to 1.7% over the year to May, from 2.9% in the year to April."", 'Easing that price inflation rate were bread and cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam, syrup, chocolate and sweets.', 'Still going up were cooking oils, dairy and eggs.', 'The cost of buying a pet is easing, after the pandemic saw prices soar.', 'Also bearing down on price inflation are package holidays, books, vacuum cleaners, fridges, freezers and washing machines.', 'Offsetting that has been the cost of petrol, with a litre of unleaded up 4p on May last year, though in that transport category, the average price of a used car has fallen by more than 11% in a year, with the unwinding of disruption to manufacturing of cars during the pandemic.', 'Housing is not included in the CPI figure, but it obviously has an impact on household budgets.', 'While housing is not as high a cost in Scotland as it is in parts of England, it has been rising.', 'Figures from the Registers of Scotland show the average house transaction rose in the year to April by 4.5%, despite mortgage rates at relatively high levels.', 'In England and Wales, prices have been falling but were up 1.1% in the most recent 12 months.', ""That rise has been seen across 27 of Scotland's council areas, but the latest figures continue a downward trend in Aberdeen and slightly lower prices in Highland."", 'Since the start of 2020 and of the pandemic, the average house price in Scotland has risen by 25%.', 'There are also fresh figures on renting a home, with Scotland again seeing a sharper increase than England and Wales.', 'The evidence on new tenancies shows the average monthly payment up by 9.3% on May of last year.', 'While there are wide variations on rental, the Scottish average last month was £957.', 'That increase is despite Scottish government measures to dampen rent increases with a freeze and then a rent cap.', 'New tenancies are not included in that cap, and it seems landlords have taken the opportunity of new leases to put up prices ahead of further rent controls.', 'Price increases come from external pressures, so rising international prices for energy and food were a big part of the problem.', 'Other rising costs can be within Britain, so labour shortages for some sectors have been pushing up pay, which companies pass on to customers.', 'The UK government takes some credit for pushing price inflation down through its resistance to wage inflation in the public sector.', 'That signal and rising unemployment can have the effect of dampening pay rise expectations.', 'Prices can also be pushed up by increasing demand for goods and services, which is why the Bank of England uses the cost of borrowing to push down demand.', 'Yes, there is some concern that there remain pressures within the economy that could push it up, as well as the risk from those external factors, such as global energy prices.', 'In the domestic economy, the latest figures show the cost of services - from banking to a haircut - have gone up much more than the cost of goods.', 'The service sector dominates the UK economy.', 'Part of the reason for that is that pay increases have remained relatively high, which can lead to inflation if other groups of workers push to match the 5.9% pay inflation rate in the most recent figures.', ""The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) will tell us on Thursday at noon if it intends to cut its base rate for borrowing from 5.25%."", 'Many borrowers got used to exceptionally low interest rates after the banking crisis in 2008.', 'Price inflation brought a response from central banks, such as the Bank of England, to stifle demand with higher borrowing costs.', 'Some countries have begun to cut their borrowing costs, but not yet in the UK.', 'That is taking longer than expected because of these continued indications of inflation in services and pay.', 'Economists do not expect to see a cut in the base rate this week and look to the next MPC meeting in August.', 'A little inflation is seen as a good thing.', 'If the target was to be set at zero, an undershoot on that by tightened borrowing and demand would risk prices deflating, and that is dangerous for the economy.', 'It means people put off spending in the expectation they can buy more cheaply in future, and that spirals into a trap.', 'The 2% target is used by around 60 central banks around the world, and was set as the target for the Bank of England in 1997, at the point it was made independent of the Treasury.', 'The level of inflation is not as important as stability in prices.', 'It is good for the economy if businesses, workers and consumers can reliably predict where prices will be over time.']",-0.040492787546486,"Easing that price inflation rate were bread and cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam, syrup, chocolate and sweets.","If the target was to be set at zero, an undershoot on that by tightened borrowing and demand would risk prices deflating, and that is dangerous for the economy.",0.0168782538837856,"Figures from the Registers of Scotland show the average house transaction rose in the year to April by 4.5%, despite mortgage rates at relatively high levels.","This month's figures show food inflation down to 1.7% over the year to May, from 2.9% in the year to April.",2024-06-19 +Call for Isle of Man patient transfer air service provider,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pp1vkv5m2o,2024-06-18T06:20:18.129Z,"Airlines interested in operating the Isle of Man's patient transfer system to the UK for hospital appointments and treatment have been asked to come forward. Manx Care has invited eligible airlines to submit expressions of interest as the existing contract expires in September. The agreement sees the Manx government arrange air transport to Liverpool for patients who need treatment in UK hospitals. About 15,000 patient transfer journeys are taken each year with operator Loganair, which took over the service following the collapse of Flybe in 2020. The contract involved a minimum daily return service from Monday to Friday providing flights mainly to and from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Patients are sent to UK hospitals for specialist treatments that were not available on the island, including specialised cancer treatment, burn care and transplants. The government has contracts with several hospitals, predominantly in the North West. Only operators holding a current UK CAA issued Air Operator’s Certificate or Air Transport Licence were eligible for inclusion in the tender process, which can be accessed via the government's portal. The deadline for applying to take over the services is 28 June. Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X? You can also send story ideas to IsleofMan@bbc.co.uk ",BBC,18/06/2024,"[""Airlines interested in operating the Isle of Man's patient transfer system to the UK for hospital appointments and treatment have been asked to come forward."", 'Manx Care has invited eligible airlines to submit expressions of interest as the existing contract expires in September.', 'The agreement sees the Manx government arrange air transport to Liverpool for patients who need treatment in UK hospitals.', 'About 15,000 patient transfer journeys are taken each year with operator Loganair, which took over the service following the collapse of Flybe in 2020.', 'The contract involved a minimum daily return service from Monday to Friday providing flights mainly to and from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.', 'Patients are sent to UK hospitals for specialist treatments that were not available on the island, including specialised cancer treatment, burn care and transplants.', 'The government has contracts with several hospitals, predominantly in the North West.', ""Only operators holding a current UK CAA issued Air Operator’s Certificate or Air Transport Licence were eligible for inclusion in the tender process, which can be accessed via the government's portal."", 'The deadline for applying to take over the services is 28 June.', 'Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X?', 'You can also send story ideas to IsleofMan@bbc.co.uk']",0.076464790471263,Manx Care has invited eligible airlines to submit expressions of interest as the existing contract expires in September.,"About 15,000 patient transfer journeys are taken each year with operator Loganair, which took over the service following the collapse of Flybe in 2020.",,,,2024-06-19 +Computers built like brains could be a 'competition killer'?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx99qv2w1ddo,2024-06-17T23:24:11.093Z,"Modern computing's appetite for electricity is increasing at an alarming rate. By 2026 consumption by data centres, artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency could be as much as double 2022 levels, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It estimates that in 2026 energy consumption by those three sectors could be roughly equivalent to Japan's annual energy needs. Companies like Nvidia - whose computer chips underpin most AI applications today - are working on developing more energy efficient hardware. But could an alternative path be to build computers with a fundamentally different type of architecture, one that is more energy efficient? Some firms certainly think so, and are drawing on the structure and function of an organ which uses a fraction of the power of a conventional computer to perform more operations faster: the brain. In neuromorphic computing, electronic devices imitate neurons and synapses, and are interconnected in a way that resembles the electrical network of the brain. It isn't new - researchers have been working on the technique since the 1980s. But the energy requirements of the AI revolution are increasing the pressure to get the nascent technology into the real world. Current systems and platforms exist primarily as research tools, but proponents say they could provide huge gains in energy efficiency, Amongst those with commercial ambitions include hardware giants like Intel and IBM. A handful of small companies are also on the scene. “The opportunity is there waiting for the company that can figure this out,” says Dan Hutcheson, an analyst at TechInsights. “[And] the opportunity is such that it could be an Nvidia killer”. In May SpiNNcloud Systems, a spinout of the Dresden University of Technology, announced it will begin selling neuromorphic supercomputers for the first time, and is taking pre-orders. “We have reached the commercialisation of neuromorphic supercomputers in front of other companies,” says Hector Gonzalez, its co-chief executive. It is a significant development says Tony Kenyon, a professor of nanoelectronic and nanophotonic materials at University College London who works in the field. “While there still isn’t a killer app… there are lots of areas where neuromorphic computing will provide significant gains in energy efficiency and performance, and I’m sure we’ll start to see wide adoption of the technology as it matures,” he says. Neuromorphic computing covers a range of approaches - from simply a more brain-inspired approach, to a near-total simulation of the human brain (which we are really nowhere near). But there are some basic design properties that set it apart from conventional computing. First, unlike conventional computers, neuromorphic computers don’t have separate memory and processing units. Instead, those tasks are performed together on one chip in a single location. Removing that need to transfer data between the two reduces the energy used and speeds up processing time, notes Prof Kenyon. Also common can be an event-driven approach to computing. In contrast to conventional computing where every part of the system is always on and available to communicate with any other part all the time, activation in neuromorphic computing can be sparser. The imitation neurons and synapses only activate in a moment of time when they have something to communicate, much the same way plenty of neurons and synapses in our brains only spring into action where there is a reason. Doing work only when there is something to process also saves power. And while modern computers are digital – using 1s or 0s to represent data - a neuromorphic computing can be analogue. Historically important, that method of computing relies on continuous signals and can be useful where data coming from the outside world needs to be analysed. However, for reasons of ease, most commercially oriented neuromorphic efforts are digital. Commercial applications envisaged fall into two main categories. One, which is where SpiNNcloud is focused, is in providing a more energy efficient and higher performance platform for AI applications – including image and video analysis, speech recognition and the large-language models that power chatbots such as ChatGPT. Another is in ""edge computing"" applications – where data is processed not in the cloud, but in real time on connected devices, but which operate on power constraints. Autonomous vehicles, robots, cell phones and wearable technology could all benefit. Technical challenges, however, remain. Long regarded as a main stumbling block to the advance of neuromorphic computing generally is developing the software needed for the chips to run. While having the hardware is one thing, it must be programmed to work, and that can require developing from scratch a totally different style of programming to that used by conventional computers. “The potential for these devices is huge… the problem is how do you make them work,” sums up Mr Hutcheson, who predicts it will be at least a decade, if not two, before the benefits of neuromorphic computing are really felt. There are also issues with cost. Whether they use silicon, as the commercially oriented efforts do, or other materials, creating radically new chips is expensive, notes Prof Kenyon. Intel’s current prototype neuromorphic chip is called Loihi 2. In April, the company announced it had brought together 1,152 of them to create Hala Point, a large-scale neuromorphic research system comprising more than 1.15 billion fake neurons and 128 billion fake synapses. With a neuron capacity roughly equivalent to an owl brain, Intel claims is the world’s largest system to date. At the moment it is still a research project for Intel. “[But Hala Point] is showing that there's some real viability here for applications to use AI,” says Mike Davies, director of Intel’s neuromorphic computing lab. About the size of a microwave oven, Hala Point is “commercially relevant” and “rapid progress” is being made on the software side, he says. IBM calls its latest brain-inspired prototype chip NorthPole. Unveiled last year, it is an evolution of its previous TrueNorth prototype chip. Tests show it is more energy efficient, space efficient and faster than any chip currently on the market, says Dharmendra Modha, the company’s chief scientist of brain-inspired computing. He adds that his group is now working to demonstrate chips can be dialed together into a larger system. “Path to market will be at story to come,” he says. One of the big innovations with NorthPole, notes Dr Modha, is that it has been co-designed with the software so the full capabilities of the architecture can be exploited from the get-go. Other smaller neuromorphic companies include BrainChip, SynSense and Innatera. SpiNNcloud’s supercomputer commercialises neuromorphic computing developed by researchers at both TU Dresden and the University of Manchester, under the umbrella of the EU’s Human Brain Project. Those efforts have resulted in two research-purpose neuromorphic supercomputers: the SpiNNaker1 machine based at the University of Manchester consisting of over one billion neurons, and operational since 2018. A second generation SpiNNaker2 machine at TU Dresden, which is currently in the process of being configured, has the capacity to emulate at least five billion neurons. The commercially available systems offered by SpiNNcloud can reach an even higher level of at least 10 billion neurons, says Mr Gonzalez. The future will be one of different types of computing platforms - conventional, neuromorphic and quantum, which is another novel type of computing also on the horizon - all working together, says Prof Kenyon. ",BBC,17/06/2024,"[""Modern computing's appetite for electricity is increasing at an alarming rate."", 'By 2026 consumption by data centres, artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency could be as much as double 2022 levels, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).', ""It estimates that in 2026 energy consumption by those three sectors could be roughly equivalent to Japan's annual energy needs."", 'Companies like Nvidia - whose computer chips underpin most AI applications today - are working on developing more energy efficient hardware.', 'But could an alternative path be to build computers with a fundamentally different type of architecture, one that is more energy efficient?', 'Some firms certainly think so, and are drawing on the structure and function of an organ which uses a fraction of the power of a conventional computer to perform more operations faster: the brain.', 'In neuromorphic computing, electronic devices imitate neurons and synapses, and are interconnected in a way that resembles the electrical network of the brain.', ""It isn't new - researchers have been working on the technique since the 1980s."", 'But the energy requirements of the AI revolution are increasing the pressure to get the nascent technology into the real world.', 'Current systems and platforms exist primarily as research tools, but proponents say they could provide huge gains in energy efficiency, Amongst those with commercial ambitions include hardware giants like Intel and IBM.', 'A handful of small companies are also on the scene. “', 'The opportunity is there waiting for the company that can figure this out,” says Dan Hutcheson, an analyst at TechInsights. “[', 'And] the opportunity is such that it could be an Nvidia killer”.', 'In May SpiNNcloud Systems, a spinout of the Dresden University of Technology, announced it will begin selling neuromorphic supercomputers for the first time, and is taking pre-orders. “', 'We have reached the commercialisation of neuromorphic supercomputers in front of other companies,” says Hector Gonzalez, its co-chief executive.', 'It is a significant development says Tony Kenyon, a professor of nanoelectronic and nanophotonic materials at University College London who works in the field. “', 'While there still isn’t a killer app… there are lots of areas where neuromorphic computing will provide significant gains in energy efficiency and performance, and I’m sure we’ll start to see wide adoption of the technology as it matures,” he says.', 'Neuromorphic computing covers a range of approaches - from simply a more brain-inspired approach, to a near-total simulation of the human brain (which we are really nowhere near).', 'But there are some basic design properties that set it apart from conventional computing.', 'First, unlike conventional computers, neuromorphic computers don’t have separate memory and processing units.', 'Instead, those tasks are performed together on one chip in a single location.', 'Removing that need to transfer data between the two reduces the energy used and speeds up processing time, notes Prof Kenyon.', 'Also common can be an event-driven approach to computing.', 'In contrast to conventional computing where every part of the system is always on and available to communicate with any other part all the time, activation in neuromorphic computing can be sparser.', 'The imitation neurons and synapses only activate in a moment of time when they have something to communicate, much the same way plenty of neurons and synapses in our brains only spring into action where there is a reason.', 'Doing work only when there is something to process also saves power.', 'And while modern computers are digital – using 1s or 0s to represent data - a neuromorphic computing can be analogue.', 'Historically important, that method of computing relies on continuous signals and can be useful where data coming from the outside world needs to be analysed.', 'However, for reasons of ease, most commercially oriented neuromorphic efforts are digital.', 'Commercial applications envisaged fall into two main categories.', 'One, which is where SpiNNcloud is focused, is in providing a more energy efficient and higher performance platform for AI applications – including image and video analysis, speech recognition and the large-language models that power chatbots such as ChatGPT.', 'Another is in ""edge computing"" applications – where data is processed not in the cloud, but in real time on connected devices, but which operate on power constraints.', 'Autonomous vehicles, robots, cell phones and wearable technology could all benefit.', 'Technical challenges, however, remain.', 'Long regarded as a main stumbling block to the advance of neuromorphic computing generally is developing the software needed for the chips to run.', 'While having the hardware is one thing, it must be programmed to work, and that can require developing from scratch a totally different style of programming to that used by conventional computers. “', 'The potential for these devices is huge… the problem is how do you make them work,” sums up Mr Hutcheson, who predicts it will be at least a decade, if not two, before the benefits of neuromorphic computing are really felt.', 'There are also issues with cost.', 'Whether they use silicon, as the commercially oriented efforts do, or other materials, creating radically new chips is expensive, notes Prof Kenyon.', 'Intel’s current prototype neuromorphic chip is called Loihi 2.', 'In April, the company announced it had brought together 1,152 of them to create Hala Point, a large-scale neuromorphic research system comprising more than 1.15 billion fake neurons and 128 billion fake synapses.', 'With a neuron capacity roughly equivalent to an owl brain, Intel claims is the world’s largest system to date.', 'At the moment it is still a research project for Intel. “[', ""But Hala Point] is showing that there's some real viability here for applications to use AI,” says Mike Davies, director of Intel’s neuromorphic computing lab."", 'About the size of a microwave oven, Hala Point is “commercially relevant” and “rapid progress” is being made on the software side, he says.', 'IBM calls its latest brain-inspired prototype chip NorthPole.', 'Unveiled last year, it is an evolution of its previous TrueNorth prototype chip.', 'Tests show it is more energy efficient, space efficient and faster than any chip currently on the market, says Dharmendra Modha, the company’s chief scientist of brain-inspired computing.', 'He adds that his group is now working to demonstrate chips can be dialed together into a larger system. “', 'Path to market will be at story to come,” he says.', 'One of the big innovations with NorthPole, notes Dr Modha, is that it has been co-designed with the software so the full capabilities of the architecture can be exploited from the get-go.', 'Other smaller neuromorphic companies include BrainChip, SynSense and Innatera.', 'SpiNNcloud’s supercomputer commercialises neuromorphic computing developed by researchers at both TU Dresden and the University of Manchester, under the umbrella of the EU’s Human Brain Project.', 'Those efforts have resulted in two research-purpose neuromorphic supercomputers: the SpiNNaker1 machine based at the University of Manchester consisting of over one billion neurons, and operational since 2018.', 'A second generation SpiNNaker2 machine at TU Dresden, which is currently in the process of being configured, has the capacity to emulate at least five billion neurons.', 'The commercially available systems offered by SpiNNcloud can reach an even higher level of at least 10 billion neurons, says Mr Gonzalez.', 'The future will be one of different types of computing platforms - conventional, neuromorphic and quantum, which is another novel type of computing also on the horizon - all working together, says Prof Kenyon.']",0.1591256167848189,"Current systems and platforms exist primarily as research tools, but proponents say they could provide huge gains in energy efficiency, Amongst those with commercial ambitions include hardware giants like Intel and IBM.","In April, the company announced it had brought together 1,152 of them to create Hala Point, a large-scale neuromorphic research system comprising more than 1.15 billion fake neurons and 128 billion fake synapses.",0.72090403472676,"While there still isn’t a killer app… there are lots of areas where neuromorphic computing will provide significant gains in energy efficiency and performance, and I’m sure we’ll start to see wide adoption of the technology as it matures,” he says.",Long regarded as a main stumbling block to the advance of neuromorphic computing generally is developing the software needed for the chips to run.,2024-06-19 +TikTok child privacy complaint referred to US justice department,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgg7z9d8rxo,2024-06-19T01:57:15.509Z,"The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children's privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"". In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision. The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business. The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC also said it does not usually announce that it has referred a complaint to the DOJ but in this instance felt doing so was in the public interest. COPPA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by online services about children under 13-years-old. The FTC Act targets “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by companies. In response, a TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and that it had ""been working with the FTC for more than a year to address its concerns."" ""We're disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added. A DOJ spokesperson told BBC News they ""cannot comment on the substance of the referral from the FTC against TikTok."" ""Consistent with our normal approach, the Justice Department consulted with FTC in advance of this referral and will continue to do so as we consider the claims,"" they added. The FTC's announcement adds to the growing pressure faced by TikTok in the US. In April, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that gave ByteDance a maximum of a year to sell the app or face a ban in the country. That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office. The law was introduced to address concerns that TikTok might share user data with Chinese authorities - claims the company has denied. In May, TikTok filed a lawsuit aiming to block that legislation, arguing it is an ""extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights"" of the company and its 170 million American users. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"[""The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children's privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ)."", 'The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"".', 'In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision.', 'The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business.', ""The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)."", 'The FTC also said it does not usually announce that it has referred a complaint to the DOJ but in this instance felt doing so was in the public interest.', 'COPPA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by online services about children under 13-years-old.', 'The FTC Act targets “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by companies.', 'In response, a TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and that it had ""been working with the FTC for more than a year to address its concerns."" ""', 'We\'re disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added.', 'A DOJ spokesperson told BBC News they ""cannot comment on the substance of the referral from the FTC against TikTok."" ""', 'Consistent with our normal approach, the Justice Department consulted with FTC in advance of this referral and will continue to do so as we consider the claims,"" they added.', ""The FTC's announcement adds to the growing pressure faced by TikTok in the US."", 'In April, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that gave ByteDance a maximum of a year to sell the app or face a ban in the country.', 'That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.', 'The law was introduced to address concerns that TikTok might share user data with Chinese authorities - claims the company has denied.', 'In May, TikTok filed a lawsuit aiming to block that legislation, arguing it is an ""extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights"" of the company and its 170 million American users.']",-0.190995647288388,"That means the deadline is likely to come some time in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.","The FTC says its own investigation ""uncovered reason to believe"" that the firms ""are violating or are about to violate the law"".",-0.8604920208454132,,"We're disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution,"" they added.",2024-06-19 +"Boeing hid questionable parts from regulators that may have been installed in 737 Max planes, new whistleblower alleges",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/boeing-whistleblower-calhoun-testimony/index.html," + Updated + 8:52 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","A current Boeing employee claims that the company tried to shield broken or out-of-specification 737 Max plane parts from regulators and lost track of them, according to a Senate subcommittee investigation made public Tuesday. + + Boeing tried to hide the nonconforming parts from Federal Aviation Administration regulators by moving them out of sight and falsifying records, claims Sam Mohawk, the new whistleblower who works for Boeing quality assurance unit in Renton, Washington. Boeing was unable to account for many of the parts that it moved around to skirt regulators, and they probably ended up getting installed in some planes, Mohawk said. + + Boeing said it received the report from Congressional investigators Monday evening. + + “We are reviewing the claims,” said the company’s statement. “We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public.” + + Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will be confronted with the new claims in addition to other whistleblower charges about Boeing’s safety lapses at his first-ever congressional hearing Tuesday. The outgoing Boeing CEO plans to apologize for Boeing’s recent safety failures in his testimony. + + According to his prepared testimony shared with CNN, Calhoun will admit to problems with the company’s culture, but he’ll push back on claims that the company retaliated against those who brought safety issues to light. + + “Much has been said about Boeing’s culture. We’ve heard those concerns loud and clear,” he will say in prepared remarks released by Boeing Monday afternoon. “Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress. We understand the gravity, and we are committed to moving forward.” + + The “far from perfect” remark is a massive understatement. Boeing has been under intense scrutiny with numerous federal investigations and congressional hearings since a January 5 Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flight had a door plug blow off, leaving a gaping hole in both the plane and Boeing’s reputation. + + Beyond the bad publicity of the Senate hearing, Boeing has been ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve its safety issues before it can resume normal production, causing problems for airlines that can’t get the planes they ordered. And that, in turn, has meant higher fares for passengers, who have had their faith the company’s planes sorely tested. + + In prepared remarks released early Tuesday from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the committee, the senator accuses Calhoun of putting profits of airplane safety, of leading a company where those raising safety concerns regularly faced retaliation, despite the claims otherwise from management. + + “This is a culture that continues to prioritize profits, push limits, and disregard its workers,” said the prepared opening remarks released by Blumenthal. “A culture where those who speak up are silenced and sidelined while blame is pushed down to the factory floor. A culture that enables retaliation against those who do not submit to the bottom line. A culture that desperately needs to be repaired.” + + Blumenthal told CNN Tuesday that his committee has heard from a dozen whistleblowers at Boeing, including Mohawk. + + “His allegations are extraordinarily serious,” Blumenthal said. “His account of the retaliation against him is particularly chilling the pressure that was exerted on him to stay silent. They have a program called Speak up well, he was told to shut up.” + + Blumenthal said he and others had hoped that Calhoun would change the culture and practices at Boeing for the better when he was took over as CEO in January 2020, 10 months into a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that followed two fatal crashes. + + “But then, this past January, the façade quite literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world,” Blumenthal will say, according to his prepared testimony, a reference to the door plug blowout. “And once that chasm was exposed, we learned that there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below.” + + An extensive research document prepared by committee aides show the panel is armed with whistleblower accounts from inside Boeing. Some of the whistleblowers in the document have shared their accounts publicly or with CNN. + + Among them is Mohawk’s claim that in June 2023, when the FAA notified Boeing that it would inspect its Renton plant, the company told employees to move the majority of the 60 nonconforming parts to another location to hide them from inspectors. Many of them were moved back, but some were lost, Mohawk alleges. + + He also claims Boeing in August 2023 told employees to delete records about nonconforming parts, which led him to complain – but Boeing took no action. + + Aides wrote in a memo that the whistleblowers “paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritizes speed of manufacturing and cutting costs over ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft.” + + “These misplaced priorities appear to contribute to a safety culture that insufficiently values and addresses the root causes of employee concerns and insufficiently deters retaliation against employees that speak up,” the memo reads. + + The hearing Tuesday by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations is entitled “Boeing’s broken safety culture.” It is just the latest congressional hearing this year about safety issues at Boeing but the first time Calhoun is testifying in his more than four years running the troubled company. He will be joined by Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer. + + At an April 17 hearing Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour testified that Boeing is putting out defective planes because he and others who complain faced pressure not to do so. + + “I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft, and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk about them,” Salehpour said in his opening statement. He said when he raised concerns, “I was ignored. I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.” + + Calhoun’s prepared remarks deny the claims of the whistleblowers and Blumenthal about retaliation against those who raise safety concerns. + + “We are committed to making sure every employee feels empowered to speak up if there is a problem,” he’ll say, according to the prepared remarks. “We also have strict policies in place to prohibit retaliation against employees who come forward. It is our job to listen, regardless of how we obtain feedback, and handle it with the seriousness it deserves.” + + Despite the attention the hearing is expected to garner, it’s unlikely to produce significant change at the company, said Richard Aboulafia, managing partner for AeroDynamic Consultancy, an aerospace advisory firm. + + “Nothing has produced change (at Boeing) except frustration from a bunch of airline customers,” said Aboulafia. “I’m not sure what will change as a consequence of this. He (Calhoun) needs to go. He has shown a strong desire to double down on what’s bad.” + + A preliminary investigation of the Alaska Air incident has found that the plane left a Boeing factory two months before the incident without the four bolts needed to hold the door plug in place. + + And Boeing has yet to produce the paperwork to identify who in the factory installed the door plug without the bolts. It has been harshly criticized by members of Congress and safety regulators and will likely face more criticism Tuesday. + + Calhoun has already met with members of Congress since the Alaska Air incident, albeit behind closed doors. He has also made numerous public statements to Boeing employees and to investors since the Alaska Air incident. + + “We caused the problem, and we understand that,” he told investors in January during a call after reporting its fifth straight annual loss. “Whatever conclusions (from the investigations) are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened. Whatever the specific cause of the accident might turn out to be, an event like this simply must not happen on an airplane that leaves one of our factories. We simply must be better.” + + Calhoun’s prepared remarks begin with an apology to the family members of the victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes. Some of those family members plan to attend the hearing. Between them, 346 people were killed in the 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, leading to to a 20-month grounding of the jet to fix a design flaw that caused the crashes. + + “We are deeply sorry for your losses,” he’ll say in his opening comments. “Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board our airplanes. Every day we seek to honor the memory of those lost.” + + He also plans to again apologize to the passengers and crew of the Alaska Air flight in January. + + “We deeply regret the impact that the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident had on Alaska Airlines’ team and its passengers, and we are grateful to the pilots and crew for safely landing the plane,” he’ll say. “We are thankful that there were no fatalities.” + + But experts say that it was sheer luck that no one was killed in the Alaska Air incident. + + This could very well be Calhoun’s only time testifying on Capitol Hill. He has announced plans to retire before the end of this year. His successor has yet to be selected. + + Beyond Tuesday’s hearing, and the numerous federal investigations it faces, the company could still face criminal liability from the original certification process of the 737 Max. In January of 2021 Boeing agreed to a probationary period, which deferred any prosecution on those charges and which would have exempted it from criminal liability in the crashes. + + But the January 5 incident aboard the Alaska Air flight happened just days before the end of the probationary period. In May the Justice Department notified Boeing that it was now subject to criminal prosecution. Boeing has denied the Alaska Air incident violated the deferred prosecution agreement and is challenging any potential criminal liability in court. The family members planning to attend Tuesday’s hearing say they want to see Boeing prosecuted criminally. + + Blumenthal told CNN Tuesday that he will reserve judgment on whether Boeing is guilty of criminal misconduct but that “I think there is mounting evidence, perhaps overwhelming evidence now, that prosecution should be pursued.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['A current Boeing employee claims that the company tried to shield broken or out-of-specification 737 Max plane parts from regulators and lost track of them, according to a Senate subcommittee investigation made public Tuesday.', 'Boeing tried to hide the nonconforming parts from Federal Aviation Administration regulators by moving them out of sight and falsifying records, claims Sam Mohawk, the new whistleblower who works for Boeing quality assurance unit in Renton, Washington.', 'Boeing was unable to account for many of the parts that it moved around to skirt regulators, and they probably ended up getting installed in some planes, Mohawk said.', 'Boeing said it received the report from Congressional investigators Monday evening.', '“We are reviewing the claims,” said the company’s statement. “', 'We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public.”', 'Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will be confronted with the new claims in addition to other whistleblower charges about Boeing’s safety lapses at his first-ever congressional hearing Tuesday.', 'The outgoing Boeing CEO plans to apologize for Boeing’s recent safety failures in his testimony.', 'According to his prepared testimony shared with CNN, Calhoun will admit to problems with the company’s culture, but he’ll push back on claims that the company retaliated against those who brought safety issues to light.', '“Much has been said about Boeing’s culture.', 'We’ve heard those concerns loud and clear,” he will say in prepared remarks released by Boeing Monday afternoon. “', 'Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.', 'We understand the gravity, and we are committed to moving forward.”', 'The “far from perfect” remark is a massive understatement.', 'Boeing has been under intense scrutiny with numerous federal investigations and congressional hearings since a January 5 Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flight had a door plug blow off, leaving a gaping hole in both the plane and Boeing’s reputation.', 'Beyond the bad publicity of the Senate hearing, Boeing has been ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve its safety issues before it can resume normal production, causing problems for airlines that can’t get the planes they ordered.', 'And that, in turn, has meant higher fares for passengers, who have had their faith the company’s planes sorely tested.', 'In prepared remarks released early Tuesday from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the committee, the senator accuses Calhoun of putting profits of airplane safety, of leading a company where those raising safety concerns regularly faced retaliation, despite the claims otherwise from management.', '“This is a culture that continues to prioritize profits, push limits, and disregard its workers,” said the prepared opening remarks released by Blumenthal.', '“A culture where those who speak up are silenced and sidelined while blame is pushed down to the factory floor.', 'A culture that enables retaliation against those who do not submit to the bottom line.', 'A culture that desperately needs to be repaired.”', 'Blumenthal told CNN Tuesday that his committee has heard from a dozen whistleblowers at Boeing, including Mohawk.', '“His allegations are extraordinarily serious,” Blumenthal said. “', 'His account of the retaliation against him is particularly chilling the pressure that was exerted on him to stay silent.', 'They have a program called Speak up well, he was told to shut up.”', 'Blumenthal said he and others had hoped that Calhoun would change the culture and practices at Boeing for the better when he was took over as CEO in January 2020, 10 months into a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that followed two fatal crashes.', '“But then, this past January, the façade quite literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world,” Blumenthal will say, according to his prepared testimony, a reference to the door plug blowout.', '“And once that chasm was exposed, we learned that there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below.”', 'An extensive research document prepared by committee aides show the panel is armed with whistleblower accounts from inside Boeing.', 'Some of the whistleblowers in the document have shared their accounts publicly or with CNN.', 'Among them is Mohawk’s claim that in June 2023, when the FAA notified Boeing that it would inspect its Renton plant, the company told employees to move the majority of the 60 nonconforming parts to another location to hide them from inspectors.', 'Many of them were moved back, but some were lost, Mohawk alleges.', 'He also claims Boeing in August 2023 told employees to delete records about nonconforming parts, which led him to complain – but Boeing took no action.', 'Aides wrote in a memo that the whistleblowers“paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritizes speed of manufacturing and cutting costs over ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft.”', '“These misplaced priorities appear to contribute to a safety culture that insufficiently values and addresses the root causes of employee concerns and insufficiently deters retaliation against employees that speak up,” the memo reads.', 'The hearing Tuesday by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations is entitled “Boeing’s broken safety culture.”', 'It is just the latest congressional hearing this year about safety issues at Boeing but the first time Calhoun is testifying in his more than four years running the troubled company.', 'He will be joined by Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer.', 'At an April 17 hearing Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour testified that Boeing is putting out defective planes because he and others who complain faced pressure not to do so.', '“I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft, and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk about them,” Salehpour said in his opening statement.', 'He said when he raised concerns, “I was ignored.', 'I was told not to create delays.', 'I was told, frankly, to shut up.”', 'Calhoun’s prepared remarks deny the claims of the whistleblowers and Blumenthal about retaliation against those who raise safety concerns.', '“We are committed to making sure every employee feels empowered to speak up if there is a problem,” he’ll say, according to the prepared remarks. “', 'We also have strict policies in place to prohibit retaliation against employees who come forward.', 'It is our job to listen, regardless of how we obtain feedback, and handle it with the seriousness it deserves.”', 'Despite the attention the hearing is expected to garner, it’s unlikely to produce significant change at the company, said Richard Aboulafia, managing partner for AeroDynamic Consultancy, an aerospace advisory firm.', '“Nothing has produced change (at Boeing) except frustration from a bunch of airline customers,” said Aboulafia. “', 'I’m not sure what will change as a consequence of this.', 'He (Calhoun) needs to go.', 'He has shown a strong desire to double down on what’s bad.”', 'A preliminary investigation of the Alaska Air incident has found that the plane left a Boeing factory two months before the incident without the four bolts needed to hold the door plug in place.', 'And Boeing has yet to produce the paperwork to identify who in the factory installed the door plug without the bolts.', 'It has been harshly criticized by members of Congress and safety regulators and will likely face more criticism Tuesday.', 'Calhoun has already met with members of Congress since the Alaska Air incident, albeit behind closed doors.', 'He has also made numerous public statements to Boeing employees and to investors since the Alaska Air incident.', '“We caused the problem, and we understand that,” he told investors in January during a call after reporting its fifth straight annual loss. “', 'Whatever conclusions (from the investigations) are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened.', 'Whatever the specific cause of the accident might turn out to be, an event like this simply must not happen on an airplane that leaves one of our factories.', 'We simply must be better.”', 'Calhoun’s prepared remarks begin with an apology to the family members of the victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes.', 'Some of those family members plan to attend the hearing.', 'Between them, 346 people were killed in the 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, leading to to a 20-month grounding of the jet to fix a design flaw that caused the crashes.', '“We are deeply sorry for your losses,” he’ll say in his opening comments. “', 'Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board our airplanes.', 'Every day we seek to honor the memory of those lost.”', 'He also plans to again apologize to the passengers and crew of the Alaska Air flight in January.', '“We deeply regret the impact that the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident had on Alaska Airlines’ team and its passengers, and we are grateful to the pilots and crew for safely landing the plane,” he’ll say. “', 'We are thankful that there were no fatalities.”', 'But experts say that it was sheer luck that no one was killed in the Alaska Air incident.', 'This could very well be Calhoun’s only time testifying on Capitol Hill.', 'He has announced plans to retire before the end of this year.', 'His successor has yet to be selected.', 'Beyond Tuesday’s hearing, and the numerous federal investigations it faces, the company could still face criminal liability from the original certification process of the 737 Max.', 'In January of 2021 Boeing agreed to a probationary period, which deferred any prosecution on those charges and which would have exempted it from criminal liability in the crashes.', 'But the January 5 incident aboard the Alaska Air flight happened just days before the end of the probationary period.', 'In May the Justice Department notified Boeing that it was now subject to criminal prosecution.', 'Boeing has denied the Alaska Air incident violated the deferred prosecution agreement and is challenging any potential criminal liability in court.', 'The family members planning to attend Tuesday’s hearing say they want to see Boeing prosecuted criminally.', 'Blumenthal told CNN Tuesday that he will reserve judgment on whether Boeing is guilty of criminal misconduct but that “I think there is mounting evidence, perhaps overwhelming evidence now, that prosecution should be pursued.”']",-0.027093920072606,We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public.”,Boeing has denied the Alaska Air incident violated the deferred prosecution agreement and is challenging any potential criminal liability in court.,-0.3803132230585271,He has shown a strong desire to double down on what’s bad.”,"“These misplaced priorities appear to contribute to a safety culture that insufficiently values and addresses the root causes of employee concerns and insufficiently deters retaliation against employees that speak up,” the memo reads.",2024-06-19 +McDonalds removes AI drive-throughs after order errors,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722gne7qngo,2024-06-18T11:13:47.185Z,"McDonald's is removing artificial intelligence (AI) powered ordering technology from its drive-through restaurants in the US, after customers shared its comical mishaps online. A trial of the system, which was developed by IBM and uses voice recognition software to process orders, was announced in 2019. It has not proved entirely reliable, however, resulting in viral videos of bizarre misinterpreted orders ranging from bacon-topped ice cream to hundreds of dollars' worth of chicken nuggets. McDonald's told franchisees it would remove the tech from the more than 100 restaurants it has been testing it in by the end of July, as first reported by trade publication Restaurant Business. ""After thoughtful review, McDonald's has decided to end our current global partnership with IBM on AOT [Automated Order Taking] beyond this year,"" the restaurant chain said in a statement. However, it added it remained confident the tech would still be ""part of its restaurants’ future."" ""We will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year,"" the statement said. The technology has been controversial from the outset, though initially concerns centred on its potential to make people's jobs obsolete. However, it has become apparent that replacing human restaurant workers may not be as straightforward as people initially feared - and the system's backers hoped. The AI order-taker's mishaps have been documented online. In one video, which has 30,000 views on TikTok, a young woman becomes increasingly exasperated as she attempts to convince the AI that she wants a caramel ice cream, only for it to add multiple stacks of butter to her order. In another, which has 360,000 views, a person claims that her order got confused with one being made by someone else, resulting in nine orders of tea being added to her bill. Another popular video includes two people laughing while hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets are added to their order, while the New York Post reported another person had bacon added to their ice cream in error. The ending of this trial though does not mean an end to concerns about AI reshaping the workplace. IBM said it would continue to work with McDonald's in the future. ""This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions,"" it said in a statement. ""While McDonald's is re-evaluating and refining its plans for AOT we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects."" ",BBC,18/06/2024,"[""McDonald's is removing artificial intelligence (AI) powered ordering technology from its drive-through restaurants in the US, after customers shared its comical mishaps online."", 'A trial of the system, which was developed by IBM and uses voice recognition software to process orders, was announced in 2019.', ""It has not proved entirely reliable, however, resulting in viral videos of bizarre misinterpreted orders ranging from bacon-topped ice cream to hundreds of dollars' worth of chicken nuggets."", 'McDonald\'s told franchisees it would remove the tech from the more than 100 restaurants it has been testing it in by the end of July, as first reported by trade publication Restaurant Business. ""', 'After thoughtful review, McDonald\'s has decided to end our current global partnership with IBM on AOT [Automated Order Taking] beyond this year,"" the restaurant chain said in a statement.', 'However, it added it remained confident the tech would still be ""part of its restaurants’ future."" ""', 'We will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year,"" the statement said.', ""The technology has been controversial from the outset, though initially concerns centred on its potential to make people's jobs obsolete."", ""However, it has become apparent that replacing human restaurant workers may not be as straightforward as people initially feared - and the system's backers hoped."", ""The AI order-taker's mishaps have been documented online."", 'In one video, which has 30,000 views on TikTok, a young woman becomes increasingly exasperated as she attempts to convince the AI that she wants a caramel ice cream, only for it to add multiple stacks of butter to her order.', 'In another, which has 360,000 views, a person claims that her order got confused with one being made by someone else, resulting in nine orders of tea being added to her bill.', 'Another popular video includes two people laughing while hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets are added to their order, while the New York Post reported another person had bacon added to their ice cream in error.', 'The ending of this trial though does not mean an end to concerns about AI reshaping the workplace.', 'IBM said it would continue to work with McDonald\'s in the future. ""', 'This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions,"" it said in a statement. ""', 'While McDonald\'s is re-evaluating and refining its plans for AOT we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects.""']",0.080317648649433,"We will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year,"" the statement said.","The technology has been controversial from the outset, though initially concerns centred on its potential to make people's jobs obsolete.",-0.1815230131149292,"This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions,"" it said in a statement. ""","However, it has become apparent that replacing human restaurant workers may not be as straightforward as people initially feared - and the system's backers hoped.",2024-06-19 +Elder Scrolls Online: Building a $2bn game by breaking the rules,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c511z0n9gr5o,2024-06-18T03:16:53.360Z,"Ask anyone to name a successful online multiplayer game and you're likely to get a handful of names in response. Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Roblox, Helldivers II. But there's another title, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, that's been a relatively quiet success. The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), a spin-off of the hugely popular fantasy RPG series from Fallout makers Bethesda, has been played by 24 million people and made $2bn since it launched. Developer Zenimax Online Studios began work on the game in 2007 following the huge success of single-player game The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion two years earlier. At the time, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, were all the rage, with World of Warcraft, Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot attracting millions of players. So an Elder Scrolls take on the genre seemed, on paper, like a sure-fire hit to many. But the game didn't meet expectations when it was first released. Creative director Rich Lambert and studio director Matt Firor tell BBC Newsbeat the first version of ESO failed to fully land with either Elders Scrolls fans or MMORPG players raised on those titles. ""We didn't really pick a lane,"" says Rich. ""We tried to appeal to both, and we didn't particularly meet either of their needs as much as those groups wanted."" MMORPGs are, traditionally, all about levelling up your character by performing quests and other tasks to gain experience and unlock new areas. This was a big feature of early ESO versions, and Rich says it made it harder for friends to play together. ""That causes this friction, this really painful thing for you and your friends where you have to always be kind of in lockstep,"" he says. Although the initial reception of the game was below expectations, Matt says it was successful enough to attract a ""hardcore group"" of players that logged in daily. Matt says this spurred the team on, but also revealed something surprising. ""They were questing and exploring,"" he says. ""But they also did lots of things that I called virtual world activities. They got together and chatted, they danced and played drums and musical instruments. ""Players, even back then, spent a lot of time just living in the game with a virtual character."" Matt says this observation made the team realise that what players really wanted was ""an Elder Scrolls virtual world where they can establish an identity and go from there"". Today, ESO includes standard story quests and battle arenas but some players will spend most of their time doing various side activities including housebuilding, a card game and a detailed fashion mode. ""We have a whole in-game economy of players that are home decorators,"" says Matt. But the decision to make this pivot was divisive within the studio, which employed a lot of ""old-school MMO developers"", according to Matt. ""There were a lot of meetings and a lot of whiteboards,"" he says. ""I made the statement in a meeting that I wanted ESO to be more like Grand Theft Auto. ""Does anybody care what level they are in Grand Theft Auto? No, they just log in and play. And that we need to copy that feeling. ""Looking back, it was the right decision. But it wasn't an easy decision."" Rich adds: ""Honestly, it wasn't up until people actually got to play it, that they started to really understand where the magic was. ""But those those first few months were challenges within the studio, for sure."" Streamers KayPOWXD GeekyCassie, and Dawnwhisper tell Newsbeat that the game's sense of community is what keeps them coming back. Kay, who got into gaming thanks to her dad and has been playing ESO since the beginning, says long-term players refer to themselves as an ""ESO fam"". ""That's the hashtag we use, because we're such a big family and everyone's so loving and wonderful,"" she says. Dawn says the game's players are mature, ""not in the sense of the age of the players, but in how they treat each other"". ""There's less kind of trolling, making new players feel lesser and more including them, getting them in."" Cassie, who's a founding member of Black Twitch UK, has been playing ESO for about three years and says toxicity from other players is usually a big concern for her whenever she starts a new game. But she says the ESO community has been a much ""warmer"" place for her. ""It's not about who you are,"" she says. ""It's just about having fun within gaming. ""I haven't really been playing anything else at the moment because I can't be bothered dealing with toxicity."" Jessica Folsom, ESO's director of community management, tells Newsbeat that Zenimax does have teams able to step in where players are facing harassment. But, she says: ""When toxicity does surface, our players often stomp it out before we ever have to take action."" A recent report by US analytics firm Newzoo found that 2023's most played games in terms of monthly users were largely older, established titles such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. While ESO's not quite got the same household name recognition, it's got a 10-year head-start on others scrambling to create the next big online hit, but it also needs to attract new players. Matt says the game's freeform direction means it has ""the opposite problem"" to competitors, where newbies are forced to play catch-up with years of past content. With ESO, he says, there's an ""overwhelming amount of choice"" when they first log in. ""If you ask five Elder Scrolls Online players to describe the game that they're playing, you will get five different games described to you,"" he says. That's by design, but Rich says the ""metric ton"" of activities in the game can be hard to communicate. ""Arguably we don't do a great job at surfacing all of those things,"" he says. ""And that's something that we need to work on and are definitely going to focus on over the next few years."" Community manager Jessica agrees that ""one of our biggest challenges getting new players to give ESO a try is the misconception that new players – or even players who haven’t hopped in for a few years – will be woefully behind."" With so many ""amazing games out there these days,"" she says, ""just getting people’s attention among so much chatter can be a challenge"". Rich and Matt tell Newsbeat being able to turn around the early fortunes of ESO owes a lot to the former boss of Zenimax Online Studios, Robert A Altman, who died in 2021. Matt says he ""saw the magic in the game and gave us the support and the time we needed to do to what we thought was right to improve on the game."" Rich adds: ""Making games of this scale is hard. And it's really expensive. So there's a lot of risk in that. ""Working in other companies before, I don't know that we would have been afforded the luxuries of that."" Asked whether they could pull it off again if they started from scratch today, Rich believes it could be done. ""I always say we're smarter now than we were back then,"" he says. ""You learn every time you do something and we're still learning. ""And that's kind of the fun part of game development. That it's not an exact science."" Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"[""Ask anyone to name a successful online multiplayer game and you're likely to get a handful of names in response."", 'Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Roblox, Helldivers II.', ""But there's another title, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, that's been a relatively quiet success."", 'The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), a spin-off of the hugely popular fantasy RPG series from Fallout makers Bethesda, has been played by 24 million people and made $2bn since it launched.', 'Developer Zenimax Online Studios began work on the game in 2007 following the huge success of single-player game The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion two years earlier.', 'At the time, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, were all the rage, with World of Warcraft, Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot attracting millions of players.', 'So an Elder Scrolls take on the genre seemed, on paper, like a sure-fire hit to many.', ""But the game didn't meet expectations when it was first released."", 'Creative director Rich Lambert and studio director Matt Firor tell BBC Newsbeat the first version of ESO failed to fully land with either Elders Scrolls fans or MMORPG players raised on those titles. ""', 'We didn\'t really pick a lane,"" says Rich. ""', 'We tried to appeal to both, and we didn\'t particularly meet either of their needs as much as those groups wanted.""', 'MMORPGs are, traditionally, all about levelling up your character by performing quests and other tasks to gain experience and unlock new areas.', 'This was a big feature of early ESO versions, and Rich says it made it harder for friends to play together. ""', 'That causes this friction, this really painful thing for you and your friends where you have to always be kind of in lockstep,"" he says.', 'Although the initial reception of the game was below expectations, Matt says it was successful enough to attract a ""hardcore group"" of players that logged in daily.', 'Matt says this spurred the team on, but also revealed something surprising. ""', 'They were questing and exploring,"" he says. ""', 'But they also did lots of things that I called virtual world activities.', 'They got together and chatted, they danced and played drums and musical instruments. ""', 'Players, even back then, spent a lot of time just living in the game with a virtual character.""', 'Matt says this observation made the team realise that what players really wanted was ""an Elder Scrolls virtual world where they can establish an identity and go from there"".', 'Today, ESO includes standard story quests and battle arenas but some players will spend most of their time doing various side activities including housebuilding, a card game and a detailed fashion mode. ""', 'We have a whole in-game economy of players that are home decorators,"" says Matt.', 'But the decision to make this pivot was divisive within the studio, which employed a lot of ""old-school MMO developers"", according to Matt. ""', 'There were a lot of meetings and a lot of whiteboards,"" he says. ""', 'I made the statement in a meeting that I wanted ESO to be more like Grand Theft Auto. ""', 'Does anybody care what level they are in Grand Theft Auto?', 'No, they just log in and play.', 'And that we need to copy that feeling. ""', 'Looking back, it was the right decision.', 'But it wasn\'t an easy decision.""', 'Rich adds: ""Honestly, it wasn\'t up until people actually got to play it, that they started to really understand where the magic was. ""', 'But those those first few months were challenges within the studio, for sure.""', ""Streamers KayPOWXD GeekyCassie, and Dawnwhisper tell Newsbeat that the game's sense of community is what keeps them coming back."", 'Kay, who got into gaming thanks to her dad and has been playing ESO since the beginning, says long-term players refer to themselves as an ""ESO fam"". ""', 'That\'s the hashtag we use, because we\'re such a big family and everyone\'s so loving and wonderful,"" she says.', 'Dawn says the game\'s players are mature, ""not in the sense of the age of the players, but in how they treat each other"". ""', 'There\'s less kind of trolling, making new players feel lesser and more including them, getting them in.""', ""Cassie, who's a founding member of Black Twitch UK, has been playing ESO for about three years and says toxicity from other players is usually a big concern for her whenever she starts a new game."", 'But she says the ESO community has been a much ""warmer"" place for her. ""', 'It\'s not about who you are,"" she says. ""', 'It\'s just about having fun within gaming. ""', 'I haven\'t really been playing anything else at the moment because I can\'t be bothered dealing with toxicity.""', ""Jessica Folsom, ESO's director of community management, tells Newsbeat that Zenimax does have teams able to step in where players are facing harassment."", 'But, she says: ""When toxicity does surface, our players often stomp it out before we ever have to take action.""', ""A recent report by US analytics firm Newzoo found that 2023's most played games in terms of monthly users were largely older, established titles such as Fortnite and Call of Duty."", ""While ESO's not quite got the same household name recognition, it's got a 10-year head-start on others scrambling to create the next big online hit, but it also needs to attract new players."", 'Matt says the game\'s freeform direction means it has ""the opposite problem"" to competitors, where newbies are forced to play catch-up with years of past content.', 'With ESO, he says, there\'s an ""overwhelming amount of choice"" when they first log in. ""', 'If you ask five Elder Scrolls Online players to describe the game that they\'re playing, you will get five different games described to you,"" he says.', 'That\'s by design, but Rich says the ""metric ton"" of activities in the game can be hard to communicate. ""', 'Arguably we don\'t do a great job at surfacing all of those things,"" he says. ""', 'And that\'s something that we need to work on and are definitely going to focus on over the next few years.""', 'Community manager Jessica agrees that ""one of our biggest challenges getting new players to give ESO a try is the misconception that new players – or even players who haven’t hopped in for a few years – will be woefully behind.""', 'With so many ""amazing games out there these days,"" she says, ""just getting people’s attention among so much chatter can be a challenge"".', 'Rich and Matt tell Newsbeat being able to turn around the early fortunes of ESO owes a lot to the former boss of Zenimax Online Studios, Robert A Altman, who died in 2021.', 'Matt says he ""saw the magic in the game and gave us the support and the time we needed to do to what we thought was right to improve on the game.""', 'Rich adds: ""Making games of this scale is hard.', ""And it's really expensive."", 'So there\'s a lot of risk in that. ""', 'Working in other companies before, I don\'t know that we would have been afforded the luxuries of that.""', 'Asked whether they could pull it off again if they started from scratch today, Rich believes it could be done. ""', 'I always say we\'re smarter now than we were back then,"" he says. ""', 'You learn every time you do something and we\'re still learning. ""', ""And that's kind of the fun part of game development."", 'That it\'s not an exact science.""', 'Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.']",0.2956902956697712,"But there's another title, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, that's been a relatively quiet success.","Jessica Folsom, ESO's director of community management, tells Newsbeat that Zenimax does have teams able to step in where players are facing harassment.",0.2262185911337534,"While ESO's not quite got the same household name recognition, it's got a 10-year head-start on others scrambling to create the next big online hit, but it also needs to attract new players.","Community manager Jessica agrees that ""one of our biggest challenges getting new players to give ESO a try is the misconception that new players – or even players who haven’t hopped in for a few years – will be woefully behind.""",2024-06-19 +London Stock Exchange becomes Europe's largest stock market again,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqee1vpe3deo,2024-06-17T15:20:18.532Z,"The UK’s main stock market retook its crown as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, data shows. The total value of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hit $3.18 trillion on Monday, overtaking the $3.13tn total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data. Both valuations have shifted since and remain close, but analysts describe it as a milestone. They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance. The LSE had been Europe’s largest stock market for many years before November 2022 when it was overtaken. Analysts at the time blamed the LSE’s performance on the fallout from former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, a weak pound, recession fears and Brexit. The LSE was worth about $1.4tn more than its Parisian rival in 2016. Analysts say that market investors generally dislike uncertainty - and there are many questions about what France's upcoming election will mean. President Emmanuel Macron called the snap election earlier this month, following a victory for his rival Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Rally in European elections. Hargreaves Lansdown's money and markets head Susannah Streeter suggested that National Rally's manifesto contains ""unfunded spending"". ""They are not so focused about winning over the market,"" said Ms Streeter. Financial markets often react badly when they do not know where the money for a government's pledges will come from. This is because it affects the value of bonds, which is money investors loan the government at a rate agreed by the market. If investors believe that a government or potential government's policies don't add up, the interest rate on bonds, known as the yield, tends to rise. This then hurts the value of listed companies, because if the bond yield is very high then investors can often make more money lending to the government than investing in a company's shares. Looking at the UK, Ms Streeter said that the Labour Party, which is currently leading in the polls in the run-up to the general election, has been trying to reassure investors and the City that it is a ""safe pair of hands"". The Conservative Party has also been trying to convince investors of its approach. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Wall Street Journal chief executives' council summit last month: ""I think London’s stock market demise is massively overstated. ""We do have challenges, and we’re addressing those challenges.” One of the biggest challenges facing the LSE over the last decade has been pitching to investors and companies tempted by American exchanges. A number of big firms, including ones based in the UK, have chosen to list in the US rather than the UK. This has driven up the value of American stocks, which then encourages even more companies to list there. The S&P All-Share index, which tracks the value of every listed company in the US, has soared over 85% over the last five years. The equivalent FTSE All-Share index has increased by less than a tenth over the same time period. However, since the start of this year, the UK index has picked up, which AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould said was partly due to clarity on interest rates. They are expected to go down at some point this year, meaning British companies can borrow money for less. Despite this, British stocks are much cheaper than American stocks relative to their earnings, and Mr Mould suggested investors may be overvaluing US companies and undervaluing UK ones. He noted that the main US exchanges are heavily dependent on a handful of highly valued tech stocks, including Google, Apple, and Amazon, but did not believe this would be sustainable in the long term. ""If everyone is sitting on one side of the boat, it's going to tip over eventually,"" he said. ",BBC,17/06/2024,"['The UK’s main stock market retook its crown as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, data shows.', 'The total value of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hit $3.18 trillion on Monday, overtaking the $3.13tn total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data.', 'Both valuations have shifted since and remain close, but analysts describe it as a milestone.', 'They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance.', 'The LSE had been Europe’s largest stock market for many years before November 2022 when it was overtaken.', 'Analysts at the time blamed the LSE’s performance on the fallout from former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, a weak pound, recession fears and Brexit.', 'The LSE was worth about $1.4tn more than its Parisian rival in 2016.', ""Analysts say that market investors generally dislike uncertainty - and there are many questions about what France's upcoming election will mean."", ""President Emmanuel Macron called the snap election earlier this month, following a victory for his rival Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Rally in European elections."", 'Hargreaves Lansdown\'s money and markets head Susannah Streeter suggested that National Rally\'s manifesto contains ""unfunded spending"". ""', 'They are not so focused about winning over the market,"" said Ms Streeter.', ""Financial markets often react badly when they do not know where the money for a government's pledges will come from."", 'This is because it affects the value of bonds, which is money investors loan the government at a rate agreed by the market.', ""If investors believe that a government or potential government's policies don't add up, the interest rate on bonds, known as the yield, tends to rise."", ""This then hurts the value of listed companies, because if the bond yield is very high then investors can often make more money lending to the government than investing in a company's shares."", 'Looking at the UK, Ms Streeter said that the Labour Party, which is currently leading in the polls in the run-up to the general election, has been trying to reassure investors and the City that it is a ""safe pair of hands"".', 'The Conservative Party has also been trying to convince investors of its approach.', 'Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Wall Street Journal chief executives\' council summit last month: ""I think London’s stock market demise is massively overstated. ""', 'We do have challenges, and we’re addressing those challenges.”', 'One of the biggest challenges facing the LSE over the last decade has been pitching to investors and companies tempted by American exchanges.', 'A number of big firms, including ones based in the UK, have chosen to list in the US rather than the UK.', 'This has driven up the value of American stocks, which then encourages even more companies to list there.', 'The S&P All-Share index, which tracks the value of every listed company in the US, has soared over 85% over the last five years.', 'The equivalent FTSE All-Share index has increased by less than a tenth over the same time period.', ""However, since the start of this year, the UK index has picked up, which AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould said was partly due to clarity on interest rates."", 'They are expected to go down at some point this year, meaning British companies can borrow money for less.', 'Despite this, British stocks are much cheaper than American stocks relative to their earnings, and Mr Mould suggested investors may be overvaluing US companies and undervaluing UK ones.', 'He noted that the main US exchanges are heavily dependent on a handful of highly valued tech stocks, including Google, Apple, and Amazon, but did not believe this would be sustainable in the long term. ""', 'If everyone is sitting on one side of the boat, it\'s going to tip over eventually,"" he said.']",0.1699830481594668,"Looking at the UK, Ms Streeter said that the Labour Party, which is currently leading in the polls in the run-up to the general election, has been trying to reassure investors and the City that it is a ""safe pair of hands"".","Analysts at the time blamed the LSE’s performance on the fallout from former Prime Minister Liz Truss��s mini-Budget, a weak pound, recession fears and Brexit.",-0.0146378988311404,The equivalent FTSE All-Share index has increased by less than a tenth over the same time period.,"They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance.",2024-06-19 +"Post Office sabotaged Horizon probe, says investigator",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyddlynqlryo,2024-06-18T11:39:05.037Z,"The Post Office was ""constantly sabotaging"" the work of independent investigators probing issues with the Horizon IT system, an inquiry has heard. Forensic accountant Ian Henderson said the Post Office unjustifiably withheld documents from his company, Second Sight, which was brought in to investigate the accounting software in 2012. He said protecting the Post Office brand was the priority, rather than supporting sub-postmasters. Mr Henderson added that former Post Office boss Paula Vennells tried to steer investigators away from looking into potential miscarriages of justice. Between 1999 and 2015 the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters for offences such as theft and fraud on the basis of faulty accounting data from the Horizon IT system. In 2012, under pressure from MPs, the Post Office commissioned a report from Second Sight to look into claims from sub-postmasters that Horizon had been to blame for shortfalls in their accounts, rather than criminality. Mr Henderson and his colleague Ron Warmington began investigating various cases but were sacked by the Post Office in March 2015. In a statement to the inquiry into the scandal, Mr Henderson said that rather than being interested in getting to the truth of what happened, the Post Office had tried to obstruct Second Sight's efforts. ""Requests for documents were either ignored or responses were excessively delayed,"" he wrote. ""Unjustified claims of legal professional privilege were used to justify withholding documents from us."" As part of the probe, Second Sight asked for documents relating to prosecution cases to be collated. Mr Henderson said that ""within days"" of being provided with the available documents in late October 2012, ""we realised that we may be looking at a significant number of miscarriages of justice"". However, he said that Ms Vennells, who was Post Office chief executive at the time, ""frequently and consistently attempted to steer Second Sight away from investigating potential miscarriages of justice"". By February 2015, Mr Henderson said he ""felt we were dealing with a cover-up"" by the Post Office ""and possibly a criminal conspiracy"". At the time he was concerned the Post Office would take him to court for alleged breaches of confidentiality and a non-disclosure agreement. His partner Mr Warmington said it became clear that the Post Office was ""aware, possibly at the highest levels"" that the Horizon system had ""for years been producing spurious discrepancies in branch accounts"". He also said the Post Office ""had been responsible for numerous unsafe prosecutions, convictions, custodial sentences, bankruptcies and even suicides"" due to the ""improper behaviour"" of its prosecutors. The investigators wrote an interim report into the Horizon system, published in July 2013, which identified bugs that could have made Horizon convictions unsafe. Following this report the Post Office, along with Second Sight and campaigners led by former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, set up a mediation scheme in August 2013. The Post Office closed this scheme in March 2015. Mr Henderson said that towards the end of the scheme ""some questions asked 12 months earlier had still not been answered"". ""Protecting 'the brand' was the priority, not supporting sub-postmasters,"" he said. He added that many aspects of the individual cases that were prosecuted ""just didn't make sense"". ""For example, in none of the cases that we looked at did we find any evidence of personal gain or benefit,"" he said. ""This may indicate that the alleged loss was not real and was more likely to have been caused by a faulty computer system."" The Post Office did extensive vetting of sub-postmasters before taking them on, he added, but ""would have us believe that significant numbers... had suddenly become career criminals. I found this implausible."" Mr Henderson added that at one point the Post Office had more people working in its public relations department than its legal department, which appeared an ""inappropriate"" and ""unsustainable"" priority for the business. ",BBC,18/06/2024,"['The Post Office was ""constantly sabotaging"" the work of independent investigators probing issues with the Horizon IT system, an inquiry has heard.', 'Forensic accountant Ian Henderson said the Post Office unjustifiably withheld documents from his company, Second Sight, which was brought in to investigate the accounting software in 2012.', 'He said protecting the Post Office brand was the priority, rather than supporting sub-postmasters.', 'Mr Henderson added that former Post Office boss Paula Vennells tried to steer investigators away from looking into potential miscarriages of justice.', 'Between 1999 and 2015 the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters for offences such as theft and fraud on the basis of faulty accounting data from the Horizon IT system.', 'In 2012, under pressure from MPs, the Post Office commissioned a report from Second Sight to look into claims from sub-postmasters that Horizon had been to blame for shortfalls in their accounts, rather than criminality.', 'Mr Henderson and his colleague Ron Warmington began investigating various cases but were sacked by the Post Office in March 2015.', 'In a statement to the inquiry into the scandal, Mr Henderson said that rather than being interested in getting to the truth of what happened, the Post Office had tried to obstruct Second Sight\'s efforts. ""', 'Requests for documents were either ignored or responses were excessively delayed,"" he wrote. ""', 'Unjustified claims of legal professional privilege were used to justify withholding documents from us.""', 'As part of the probe, Second Sight asked for documents relating to prosecution cases to be collated.', 'Mr Henderson said that ""within days"" of being provided with the available documents in late October 2012, ""we realised that we may be looking at a significant number of miscarriages of justice"".', 'However, he said that Ms Vennells, who was Post Office chief executive at the time, ""frequently and consistently attempted to steer Second Sight away from investigating potential miscarriages of justice"".', 'By February 2015, Mr Henderson said he ""felt we were dealing with a cover-up"" by the Post Office ""and possibly a criminal conspiracy"".', 'At the time he was concerned the Post Office would take him to court for alleged breaches of confidentiality and a non-disclosure agreement.', 'His partner Mr Warmington said it became clear that the Post Office was ""aware, possibly at the highest levels"" that the Horizon system had ""for years been producing spurious discrepancies in branch accounts"".', 'He also said the Post Office ""had been responsible for numerous unsafe prosecutions, convictions, custodial sentences, bankruptcies and even suicides"" due to the ""improper behaviour"" of its prosecutors.', 'The investigators wrote an interim report into the Horizon system, published in July 2013, which identified bugs that could have made Horizon convictions unsafe.', 'Following this report the Post Office, along with Second Sight and campaigners led by former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, set up a mediation scheme in August 2013.', 'The Post Office closed this scheme in March 2015.', 'Mr Henderson said that towards the end of the scheme ""some questions asked 12 months earlier had still not been answered"". ""', 'Protecting \'the brand\' was the priority, not supporting sub-postmasters,"" he said.', 'He added that many aspects of the individual cases that were prosecuted ""just didn\'t make sense"". ""', 'For example, in none of the cases that we looked at did we find any evidence of personal gain or benefit,"" he said. ""', 'This may indicate that the alleged loss was not real and was more likely to have been caused by a faulty computer system.""', 'The Post Office did extensive vetting of sub-postmasters before taking them on, he added, but ""would have us believe that significant numbers... had suddenly become career criminals.', 'I found this implausible.""', 'Mr Henderson added that at one point the Post Office had more people working in its public relations department than its legal department, which appeared an ""inappropriate"" and ""unsustainable"" priority for the business.']",-0.0022305102128061,"For example, in none of the cases that we looked at did we find any evidence of personal gain or benefit,"" he said. """,Between 1999 and 2015 the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters for offences such as theft and fraud on the basis of faulty accounting data from the Horizon IT system.,-0.881015590259007,,"He also said the Post Office ""had been responsible for numerous unsafe prosecutions, convictions, custodial sentences, bankruptcies and even suicides"" due to the ""improper behaviour"" of its prosecutors.",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +Forecast: Very hot. What your employer should be doing to protect you on high-heat days,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/employer-obligations-worker-safety-heat-waves/index.html," + Updated + 4:08 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Summer is just starting in North America, and already an intense “heat dome” is forecast to affect more than half the US population this week. + + Some areas, including Montpelier, Vermont; Syracuse, New York; and Pittsburgh, haven’t seen heat like this in about three decades. + + Along with stifling days comes the risk of developing dangerous heat-related conditions, such as dehydration, heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other hazards. + + While you can take as many measures as you like to stay cool at home, what about when you go to work? What responsibilities does your employer have to prevent you from suffering a heat-related illness? And what can you do if you think those aren’t being met? + + Under the federal law that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers always have a duty to keep your workplace free of known hazards. “This includes protecting workers from heat-related hazards,” OSHA notes on its website. + + And it applies whether you work outdoors or indoors. + + While some states have specific laws governing occupational heat exposure, there is no heat-specific federal regulation mandating how employers must prevent heat illness in the workplace. But they are expected to “take reasonable action to prevent their employees from illness and death.” Nor is there a specific threshold that defines “extreme heat,” although OSHA said it is working “towards enacting a federal heat standard that encompasses indoor and outdoor workers.” + + The heat an employee’s body experiences will depend on a lot of factors beyond the general temperature. “For someone working outside without shade and working on cement – the heat index is going to be higher for them than [if the thermometer says] it’s 85 degrees,” said attorney Jason Krasno, a senior partner at Krasno, Krasno & Onwudinjo, who specializes in worker compensation cases. + + The same goes if someone is working in high humidity or in rooms where air circulation is poor and there is no air conditioning. Anyone required to wear a uniform that doesn’t breathe may be at greater risk of overheating. And an employee’s underlying chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease may make them more vulnerable to heat risks. + + All that said, both OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which research the prevention of work-related illnesses and injury, provide recommendations for employers to follow as they seek to keep workers safe on hot days. + + They recommend companies: + + Have a heat illness prevention plan. It should outline procedures, supplies and equipment necessary to prevent workers from getting a heat-related illness, as well as an emergency action plan if a worker shows signs of distress. + + Make water easily accessible. “Encourage workers to drink at least one cup every 20 minutes, even if they are not thirsty,” according to OSHA recommendations. + + Allow regular rest breaks. These should be in the shade or a cool area. + + Give employees time to acclimate. OSHA recommends the so-called “20% rule.” “On the first day, don’t allow employees to work more than 20% of a shift at full intensity in the heat. Increase their time by no more than 20% a day until they are used to working in the heat.” + + In a worker’s first few days, the agency notes, “absolutely all symptoms should be taken seriously” and workers should be allowed to stop working and get an evaluation to see if they’ve developed a heat-related illness. + + “New employees whose bodies have not had time to adjust to working in the heat are most vulnerable — nearly 3 out of 4 workers who die from heat-related causes die in their first week on the job,” OSHA notes in its Extreme Heat Hazard Alert. + + Encourage employees to dress for the heat. That means wearing light-colored, loose fitting, breathable clothing. + + Monitor workers for signs and symptoms of heat illness. These include dizziness, fainting, nausea and muscle spasms. Also, do verbal checks frequently with workers who are wearing face coverings or wearing face equipment like a respirator. Managers should encourage employees to do the same for themselves and their coworkers. Should any signs appear, try to cool the worker down and “when in doubt, call 911,” OSHA recommends. + + Change work hours. Another OSHA-recommended accommodation employers may make when feasible is to alter employees’ working hours so that they work primarily during the coolest parts of a day — such as very early morning or after the sun goes down, said attorney Alka Ramchandani-Raj, who is co-chair of the occupational safety and health practice group at Littler, a law firm representing employers in employment law and labor practice issues. + + To find out more about your particular employer’s obligations and commitment to providing a healthy workplace, first check the company’s safety handbook to see what recommendations they build into their policies and what the best way is to alert managers about potentially unsafe working conditions, Ramchandani-Raj noted. + + Next, check to see which rules and recommendations your employer should be following in the state where you work. While more than 20 states are subject to federal OSHA requirements, which establish the most basic obligations of most US employers, your particular state may have its own OSHA-like agency that establishes more stringent rules. + + If you suspect your employer is not providing a healthy workplace, you can file a confidential complaint with OSHA either by calling 800-321-OSHA or filing online. “You have the right to speak up about hazards without fear of retaliation,” OSHA notes. + + The agency also noted that it “is planning enhanced enforcement actions, with a strategic focus on geographic locations and industries where high heat impacts vulnerable worker populations.” Translation: More inspection activity and greater enforcement. + + And, it added, “OSHA will also be providing outreach and compliance assistance to ensure employers, including those not covered by the OSH Act, and worker organizations have the tools to protect workers from hazardous heat.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Summer is just starting in North America, and already an intense “heat dome” is forecast to affect more than half the US population this week.', 'Some areas, including Montpelier, Vermont; Syracuse, New York; and Pittsburgh, haven’t seen heat like this in about three decades.', 'Along with stifling days comes the risk of developing dangerous heat-related conditions, such as dehydration, heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other hazards.', 'While you can take as many measures as you like to stay cool at home, what about when you go to work?', 'What responsibilities does your employer have to prevent you from suffering a heat-related illness?', 'And what can you do if you think those aren’t being met?', 'Under the federal law that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers always have a duty to keep your workplace free of known hazards. “', 'This includes protecting workers from heat-related hazards,” OSHA notes on its website.', 'And it applies whether you work outdoors or indoors.', 'While some states have specific laws governing occupational heat exposure, there is no heat-specific federal regulation mandating how employers must prevent heat illness in the workplace.', 'But they are expected to “take reasonable action to prevent their employees from illness and death.”', 'Nor is there a specific threshold that defines “extreme heat,” although OSHA said it is working “towards enacting a federal heat standard that encompasses indoor and outdoor workers.”', 'The heat an employee’s body experiences will depend on a lot of factors beyond the general temperature.', '“For someone working outside without shade and working on cement – the heat index is going to be higher for them than [if the thermometer says] it’s 85 degrees,” said attorney Jason Krasno, a senior partner at Krasno, Krasno & Onwudinjo, who specializes in worker compensation cases.', 'The same goes if someone is working in high humidity or in rooms where air circulation is poor and there is no air conditioning.', 'Anyone required to wear a uniform that doesn’t breathe may be at greater risk of overheating.', 'And an employee’s underlying chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease may make them more vulnerable to heat risks.', 'All that said, both OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which research the prevention of work-related illnesses and injury, provide recommendations for employers to follow as they seek to keep workers safe on hot days.', 'They recommend companies: Have a heat illness prevention plan.', 'It should outline procedures, supplies and equipment necessary to prevent workers from getting a heat-related illness, as well as an emergency action plan if a worker shows signs of distress.', 'Make water easily accessible. “', 'Encourage workers to drink at least one cup every 20 minutes, even if they are not thirsty,” according to OSHA recommendations.', 'Allow regular rest breaks.', 'These should be in the shade or a cool area.', 'Give employees time to acclimate.', 'OSHA recommends the so-called “20% rule.” “', 'On the first day, don’t allow employees to work more than 20% of a shift at full intensity in the heat.', 'Increase their time by no more than 20% a day until they are used to working in the heat.”', 'In a worker’s first few days, the agency notes, “absolutely all symptoms should be taken seriously” and workers should be allowed to stop working and get an evaluation to see if they’ve developed a heat-related illness.', '“New employees whose bodies have not had time to adjust to working in the heat are most vulnerable — nearly 3 out of 4 workers who die from heat-related causes die in their first week on the job,” OSHA notes in its Extreme Heat Hazard Alert.', 'Encourage employees to dress for the heat.', 'That means wearing light-colored, loose fitting, breathable clothing.', 'Monitor workers for signs and symptoms of heat illness.', 'These include dizziness, fainting, nausea and muscle spasms.', 'Also, do verbal checks frequently with workers who are wearing face coverings or wearing face equipment like a respirator.', 'Managers should encourage employees to do the same for themselves and their coworkers.', 'Should any signs appear, try to cool the worker down and “when in doubt, call 911,” OSHA recommends.', 'Change work hours.', 'Another OSHA-recommended accommodation employers may make when feasible is to alter employees’ working hours so that they work primarily during the coolest parts of a day — such as very early morning or after the sun goes down, said attorney Alka Ramchandani-Raj, who is co-chair ofthe occupational safety and health practice group at Littler, a law firm representing employers in employment law and labor practice issues.', 'To find out more about your particular employer’s obligations and commitment to providing a healthy workplace, first check the company’s safety handbook to see what recommendations they build into their policies and what the best way is to alert managers about potentially unsafe working conditions, Ramchandani-Raj noted.', 'Next, check to see which rules and recommendations your employer should be following in the state where you work.', 'While more than 20 states are subject to federal OSHA requirements, which establish the most basic obligations of most US employers, your particular state may have its own OSHA-like agency that establishes more stringent rules.', 'If you suspect your employer is not providing a healthy workplace, you can file a confidential complaint with OSHA either by calling 800-321-OSHA or filing online. “', 'You have the right to speak up about hazardswithout fear of retaliation,” OSHA notes.', 'The agency also noted that it “is planning enhanced enforcement actions, with a strategic focus on geographic locations and industries where high heat impacts vulnerable worker populations.”', 'Translation: More inspection activity and greater enforcement.', 'And, it added, “OSHA will also be providing outreach and compliance assistance to ensure employers, including those not covered by the OSH Act, and worker organizations have the tools to protect workers from hazardous heat.”']",-0.0078465445918826,"To find out more about your particular employer’s obligations and commitment to providing a healthy workplace, first check the company’s safety handbook to see what recommendations they build into their policies and what the best way is to alert managers about potentially unsafe working conditions, Ramchandani-Raj noted.",But they are expected to “take reasonable action to prevent their employees from illness and death.”,-0.5524315436681112,Translation: More inspection activity and greater enforcement.,And an employee’s underlying chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease may make them more vulnerable to heat risks.,2024-06-19 +Tyson CFO and chicken family scion John Tyson arrested for DWI,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/13/business/john-tyson-chicken-cfo-dwi-arrest/index.html," + Published + 3:14 PM EDT, Thu June 13, 2024 + ","Tyson Foods suspended its CFO John R. Tyson after he was arrested Thursday on charges of DWI and careless driving. Tyson, the great grandson of the founder of the meat processing company, was previously arrested in 2022 on charges of public intoxication and criminal trespass. + + The 34-year-old was booked early Thursday and has since been released, according to the Washington County, Arkansas, Detention Intake Report. His initial hearing is scheduled for Friday. + + “We are aware that John Randal Tyson, Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods, was arrested for an alleged DWI,” the company said in a statement Thursday. + + “Tyson Foods has suspended Mr. Tyson from his duties effective immediately and named Curt Calaway as interim Chief Financial Officer.” + + Back in 2022, Tyson was charged after he allegedly wandered into the wrong home and fell asleep. News reports at the time said he was found asleep on a bed by a woman who lived there. She called the police, who then identified Tyson through his driver’s license. He reportedly later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to the incident. + + Tyson issued an apology during an analyst call in November 2022. “I’m embarrassed and I want to let you know that I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said at the time. “I also want to apologize to our investors as I have to our employees.” + + During that same call, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said that the company was taking the incident seriously through its “corporate governance process.” + + — CNN’s Rebekah Riess and Parija Kavilanz contributed to this report.",CNN,13/06/2024,"['Tyson Foods suspended its CFO John R. Tyson after he was arrested Thursday on charges of DWI and careless driving.', 'Tyson, the great grandson of the founder of the meat processing company, was previously arrested in 2022 on charges of public intoxication and criminal trespass.', 'The 34-year-old was booked early Thursday and has since been released, according to the Washington County, Arkansas, Detention Intake Report.', 'His initial hearing is scheduled for Friday.', '“We are aware that John Randal Tyson, Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods, was arrested for an alleged DWI,” the company said in a statement Thursday.', '“Tyson Foods has suspended Mr. Tyson from his duties effective immediately and named Curt Calaway as interim Chief Financial Officer.”', 'Back in 2022, Tyson was charged after he allegedly wandered into the wrong home and fell asleep.', 'News reports at the time said he was found asleep on a bed by a woman who lived there.', 'She called the police, who then identified Tyson through his driver’s license.', 'He reportedly later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to the incident.', 'Tyson issued an apology during an analyst call in November 2022. “', 'I’m embarrassed and I want to let you know that I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said at the time. “', 'I also want to apologize to our investors as I have to our employees.”', 'During that same call, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said that the company was taking the incident seriously through its “corporate governance process.”', '— CNN’s Rebekah Riess and Parija Kavilanz contributed to this report.']",-0.2461478537356802,I also want to apologize to our investors as I have to our employees.”,Tyson Foods suspended its CFO John R. Tyson after he was arrested Thursday on charges of DWI and careless driving.,-0.9333429336547852,,Tyson Foods suspended its CFO John R. Tyson after he was arrested Thursday on charges of DWI and careless driving.,2024-06-19 +Jeff Bezos breaks his silence about turmoil at The Washington Post,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/media/jeff-bezos-will-lewis-washington-post/index.html," + Updated + 5:20 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, broke his silence Tuesday on the mounting turmoil within his newspaper, expressing support for maintaining high standards at the storied publication as questions swirl over the ethical integrity of its new publisher, Will Lewis. + + “I know you’ve already heard this from Will, but I wanted to also weigh in directly: the journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will not change,” Bezos said in an email to top newsroom leaders, signaling support for Lewis, though not explicitly. + + Bezos added in the memo, which was obtained by CNN, that “it can’t be business as usual” at The Post, which has been plagued by financial and audience woes. + + “The world is evolving rapidly and we do need to change as a business. With your support, we’ll do that and lead this great institution into the future,” Bezos wrote. “But, as the newsroom leaders who’ve been shaping and guiding our coverage, you also know our standards at The Post have always been very high. That can’t change — and it won’t.” + + “You have my full commitment on maintaining the quality, ethics, and standards we all believe in,” Bezos added. + + The memo to The Post’s top personnel comes after serious questions were raised about Lewis, who has been the subject of several explosive reports in recent days that raise questions over whether he is committed to the newspaper’s rigorous journalistic standards. + + The New York Times reported over the weekend that, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records. And The Post itself reported in a 3,000-word front page story Sunday that a “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Lewis’ hand-picked incoming top editor, Robert Winnett. + + The stories, which landed like a one-two punch in The Post’s newsroom, followed reports that Lewis tried to suppress stories at The Post and NPR about his role cleaning up Rupert Murdoch’s UK phone hacking scandal, when he served as a lieutenant to the right-wing media mogul. + + Instead of deescalating the situation, Lewis initially lashed out, going so far as to criticize his own media reporters and launch an on-the-record attack aimed at the well-respected NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, who he referred to as an “activist, not a journalist.” + + Lewis later sent a memo to staffers, striking a notably different, non-confrontational tone. But the note did not quell the growing anger within The Post. + + Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged in recent months as alarmed staffers express frustration over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership. + + Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper this week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere. + + Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis. + + Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.” + + “This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage, and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, broke his silence Tuesday on the mounting turmoil within his newspaper, expressing support for maintaining high standards at the storied publication as questions swirl over the ethical integrity of its new publisher, Will Lewis.', '“I know you’ve already heard this from Will, but I wanted to also weigh in directly: the journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will not change,” Bezos said in an email to top newsroom leaders, signaling support for Lewis, though not explicitly.', 'Bezos added in the memo, which was obtained by CNN, that “it can’t be business as usual” at The Post, which has been plagued by financial and audience woes.', '“The world is evolving rapidly and we do need to change as a business.', 'With your support, we’ll do that and lead this great institution into the future,” Bezos wrote. “', 'But, as the newsroom leaders who’ve been shaping and guiding our coverage, you also know our standards at The Post have always been very high.', 'That can’t change — and it won’t.”', '“You have my full commitment on maintaining the quality, ethics, and standards we all believe in,” Bezos added.', 'The memo to The Post’s top personnel comes after serious questions were raised about Lewis, who has been the subject of several explosive reports in recent days that raise questions over whether he is committed to the newspaper’s rigorous journalistic standards.', 'The New York Timesreported over the weekendthat, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records.', 'And The Post itself reported in a 3,000-wordfront page storySunday that a “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Lewis’ hand-picked incoming top editor, Robert Winnett.', 'The stories, which landed like a one-two punch in The Post’s newsroom, followed reports that Lewis tried to suppress stories at The Post and NPR about his role cleaning up Rupert Murdoch’s UK phone hacking scandal, when he served as a lieutenant to the right-wing media mogul.', 'Instead of deescalating the situation, Lewis initially lashed out, going so far as to criticize his own media reporters and launch an on-the-record attack aimed at the well-respected NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, who he referred to as an “activist, not a journalist.”', 'Lewis later sent a memo to staffers, striking a notably different, non-confrontational tone.', 'But the note did not quell the growing anger within The Post.', 'Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged in recent months as alarmed staffers express frustration over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.', 'Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper this week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere.', 'Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos should dismiss Lewis.', 'Sonnenfeld, who has advised US presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.”', '“This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage, and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “', 'Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”']",0.0089630482907144,"Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”","Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged in recent months as alarmed staffers express frustration over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.",-0.6714812020460764,"But, as the newsroom leaders who’ve been shaping and guiding our coverage, you also know our standards at The Post have always been very high.","Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged in recent months as alarmed staffers express frustration over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership.",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +"Low investment blocking UK growth, says think tank",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cl44edly2ryo,2024-06-17T23:22:14.686Z,"Investment levels in the UK remain among the worst of the world's richest nations and unless they improve it is hard to see how the economy will grow, a think tank has said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said total investment in the UK is ""significantly"" behind the nearest competitor in the G7 group of wealthy nations. However, the centre-left think tank said both the Conservatives and Labour plan to reduce government investment over the next parliamentary term. It is calling for the next government to commit to an industrial strategy and end the chopping and changing of policy in order to boost investment by private companies. After years of sluggish growth, the question of how to improve productivity in the UK economy is one of the key battlegrounds in the run-up to the general election. ""If the economy is an engine, then investment is its fuel,"" said Dr George Dibb, associate director for economic policy at the IPPR. Spending by businesses on things like new factories, equipment and new technologies can help to boost productivity and economic output, which in turn can help to lift wages and living standards. Governments also invest when they spend money on things such as new schools, the health service, and on new roads and railways. However, the IPPR said that data from the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD) shows that when measuring total investment - which covers both businesses and government - the UK has had the lowest level of investment in the G7 for 24 of the past 30 years. It added that the UK currently was not just bottom of the G7 investment table with investment at 18.3% of national income, but ""significantly"" behind the next worst performer - the US at 21.2%. ""The UK's dire productivity performance since the great financial crisis of 2008 is, to a large extent, the single biggest driver of our dire living standards,"" the IPPR said. ""Without resources flowing into new investment, it's hard to see how UK economic performance can improve,"" Dr Dibb added. Paddy Fletcher is the co-founder of the Port of Leith, a start-up whisky distillery in Edinburgh city centre. He told the BBC's Today programme that it had taken ""10 years to find the money"" to keep building the business. He said current government tax breaks were great for persuading individuals to invest relatively small amounts in companies, but said there was a ""terrible gap"" when it came to attracting larger institutional investors and the government needed to step in. ""When you're looking for one, two, three million pounds to continue to evolve your business and grow it to the next stage, you need to be taking institutional funding,"" he said. The IPPR sets out several measures to try to lift investment across the economy. These include: Business groups have suggested that Brexit, political uncertainty and stringent planning regulations have all contributed to the low levels of investment in the UK. Dr Dibb said more public sector investment in infrastructure was needed to spur private-sector investment. Previous analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that current government spending plans would include a large cut to public investment over the rest of the decade. Dr Dibb also said there had been an ""over reliance"" on the services sector in the UK economy, which includes everything from hospitality to hairdressing, and tends to invest at a lower rate. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, have promised planning reform to try to boost the economy and unlock investment. Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, pointed to the problem of not being able to build onshore wind farms. ""[This is] our cheapest form of generation, and we need it to keep the lights on,"" she said, adding that bureaucracy in planning slows down building offshore wind turbines. Zack Simons, planning barrister at Landmark Chambers, said greenbelt planning laws designed to halt ""urban sprawl"" - the rapid expansion of cities and towns - made it difficult to build in places where it ""makes sense to be concentrating our growth"". ",BBC,17/06/2024,"[""Investment levels in the UK remain among the worst of the world's richest nations and unless they improve it is hard to see how the economy will grow, a think tank has said."", 'The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said total investment in the UK is ""significantly"" behind the nearest competitor in the G7 group of wealthy nations.', 'However, the centre-left think tank said both the Conservatives and Labour plan to reduce government investment over the next parliamentary term.', 'It is calling for the next government to commit to an industrial strategy and end the chopping and changing of policy in order to boost investment by private companies.', 'After years of sluggish growth, the question of how to improve productivity in the UK economy is one of the key battlegrounds in the run-up to the general election. ""', 'If the economy is an engine, then investment is its fuel,"" said Dr George Dibb, associate director for economic policy at the IPPR.', 'Spending by businesses on things like new factories, equipment and new technologies can help to boost productivity and economic output, which in turn can help to lift wages and living standards.', 'Governments also invest when they spend money on things such as new schools, the health service, and on new roads and railways.', 'However, the IPPR said that data from the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD) shows that when measuring total investment - which covers both businesses and government - the UK has had the lowest level of investment in the G7 for 24 of the past 30 years.', 'It added that the UK currently was not just bottom of the G7 investment table with investment at 18.3% of national income, but ""significantly"" behind the next worst performer - the US at 21.2%. ""', 'The UK\'s dire productivity performance since the great financial crisis of 2008 is, to a large extent, the single biggest driver of our dire living standards,"" the IPPR said. ""', 'Without resources flowing into new investment, it\'s hard to see how UK economic performance can improve,"" Dr Dibb added.', 'Paddy Fletcher is the co-founder of the Port of Leith, a start-up whisky distillery in Edinburgh city centre.', 'He told the BBC\'s Today programme that it had taken ""10 years to find the money"" to keep building the business.', 'He said current government tax breaks were great for persuading individuals to invest relatively small amounts in companies, but said there was a ""terrible gap"" when it came to attracting larger institutional investors and the government needed to step in. ""', 'When you\'re looking for one, two, three million pounds to continue to evolve your business and grow it to the next stage, you need to be taking institutional funding,"" he said.', 'The IPPR sets out several measures to try to lift investment across the economy.', 'These include: Business groups have suggested that Brexit, political uncertainty and stringent planning regulations have all contributed to the low levels of investment in the UK.', 'Dr Dibb said more public sector investment in infrastructure was needed to spur private-sector investment.', 'Previous analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that current government spending plans would include a large cut to public investment over the rest of the decade.', 'Dr Dibb also said there had been an ""over reliance"" on the services sector in the UK economy, which includes everything from hospitality to hairdressing, and tends to invest at a lower rate.', 'The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, have promised planning reform to try to boost the economy and unlock investment.', 'Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, pointed to the problem of not being able to build onshore wind farms. ""[', 'This is] our cheapest form of generation, and we need it to keep the lights on,"" she said, adding that bureaucracy in planning slows down building offshore wind turbines.', 'Zack Simons, planning barrister at Landmark Chambers, said greenbelt planning laws designed to halt ""urban sprawl"" - the rapid expansion of cities and towns - made it difficult to build in places where it ""makes sense to be concentrating our growth"".']",0.0323202391160618,"Spending by businesses on things like new factories, equipment and new technologies can help to boost productivity and economic output, which in turn can help to lift wages and living standards.","It added that the UK currently was not just bottom of the G7 investment table with investment at 18.3% of national income, but ""significantly"" behind the next worst performer - the US at 21.2%. """,-0.2535078901993601,"Spending by businesses on things like new factories, equipment and new technologies can help to boost productivity and economic output, which in turn can help to lift wages and living standards.","The UK's dire productivity performance since the great financial crisis of 2008 is, to a large extent, the single biggest driver of our dire living standards,"" the IPPR said. """,2024-06-19 +UK inflation rate calculator: How much are prices rising for you?,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62558817,2022-08-17T06:39:38.000Z,"Every month there's a new figure for inflation - it estimates how much prices are rising across all the goods and services in the economy. In the 12 months to May 2024, the figure was 2.0%. That means things costing £1 in May 2023 cost £1.02 the same time the following year. Our personal inflation calculator, built by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in collaboration with the BBC, shows you what the inflation rate is for your household, and identifies the items in your household budget that have gone up the most in price over the past year. Note: in the calculator, the ONS compares your personal inflation rate with CPIH, a measure of inflation that includes housing costs for those who own their home, rather than the more widely-reported measure called CPI. In May 2024 this was 2.8%. If you can't see the calculator, click here. ",BBC,17/08/2022,"[""Every month there's a new figure for inflation - it estimates how much prices are rising across all the goods and services in the economy."", 'In the 12 months to May 2024, the figure was 2.0%.', 'That means things costing £1 in May 2023 cost £1.02 the same time the following year.', 'Our personal inflation calculator, built by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in collaboration with the BBC, shows you what the inflation rate is for your household, and identifies the items in your household budget that have gone up the most in price over the past year.', 'Note: in the calculator, the ONS compares your personal inflation rate with CPIH, a measure of inflation that includes housing costs for those who own their home, rather than the more widely-reported measure called CPI.', 'In May 2024 this was 2.8%.', ""If you can't see the calculator, click here.""]",0.0,,,0.9732926487922668,"Our personal inflation calculator, built by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in collaboration with the BBC, shows you what the inflation rate is for your household, and identifies the items in your household budget that have gone up the most in price over the past year.",,2024-06-19 +Wikipedia now labels the top Jewish civil rights group as an unreliable source,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/media/wikipedia-adl/index.html," + Published + 3:58 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Wikipedia’s editors declared that the Anti-Defamation League cannot be trusted to give reliable information on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and they overwhelmingly said the ADL is an unreliable source on antisemitism. It’s a stunning rebuke to one of the world’s preeminent authorities on anti-Jewish hate and a significant advocate for the rights and causes of American Jews. + + The editors, a group of volunteer moderators for one of the world’s most popular information websites, voted last week to label the ADL as a “generally unreliable” source on the Israel-Palestine conflict. That means that the ADL should usually not be cited in Wikipedia articles on that topic except for extraordinary circumstances. Other generally unreliable sources, according to Wikipedia editors, include Russian state media, Fox News’ political coverage and Amazon reviews. + + The ADL also faces a vote from Wikipedia editors to potentially label the organization as unreliable on the topic of antisemitism. The editors overwhelmingly support that label but continue to debate the decision, which could ultimately deal a blow to the credibility of the leading source of research and information on antisemitism. + + The Wikipedia editors said in an online forum that the ADL’s dual role as an advocacy and research organization prevented it from providing unbiased accounts on Israel or antisemitism. + + “The ADL is heavily biased regarding Israel/Palestine to the point of often acting as a pro-Israel lobbying organization,” wrote an editor with the username Loki, who has edited more than 3,000 Wikipedia articles. “This can and does compromise its ability to accurately report facts regarding people and organizations that disagree with it on this issue, especially non-Zionist or anti-Zionist Jews and Jewish organizations.” + + A minority of editors disagreed, arguing the editors voting in favor failed to provide evidence that the ADL has made false claims because of its advocacy work. + + The ADL strongly rebuked the decision. + + “It is deeply disturbing that the many editors who flagged the severe flaws and inaccuracies in both the reasoning and sources being used in this campaign to delegitimize ADL are being ignored,” an ADL spokesman said in a statement. “They have provided point by point refutations, grounded in factual citations, to every claim made, but apparently facts no longer matter.” + + Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism. But the spokesman warned Wikipedia’s action would prevent information on antisemitism from reaching the public. + + Prior to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, the ADL had been largely focused on educating about and advocating for action against the rise in antisemitism around the world. That alarming trend included (and continues to include) a growing number of threats and anti-Jewish actions taken by White supremacist groups, and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt became a frequent guest on television news, such as CNN. + + After the events of October 7 and the ongoing war that followed, the ADL produced numerous reports about rising antisemitic hate speech and incidents, particularly on college campuses. It produced two report cards on universities’ actions to protect Jewish students, giving failing grades to more than a dozen colleges. + + But the ADL faced some criticism for doubling down on what some detractors believed was an overly broad definition of antisemitism that included anti-Zionism and some anti-Israel speech and actions. + + “ADL’s leadership has taken a much more aggressive stance than most academic researchers in blurring the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” said James Loeffler, professor of modern Jewish history at John Hopkins University. “It’s clear from reading the Wikipedia editors’ conversation that they are heavily influenced by the ADL leadership’s comments.” + + Greenblatt and the ADL made clear that political opposition to Israel’s government and policies were acceptable and not antisemitic. But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL. + + “Let’s make this very clear: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Greenblatt said at an ADL “State of Hate” event in March. “Antizionism is a negation of Jewish history, a denial of Jewish humanity.” + + That didn’t sit well with Wikipedia’s editors. For example, one editor, with the username Sameboat, claimed the ADL leader’s advocacy “demonstrates its skewed views and manipulative presentation on the IP (Israel-Palestine) topic and thus (is) highly unreliable.” + + The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler. And the fact that the ADL balances advocacy with research is not a new problem for the organization. + + But Wikipedia’s decision may reflect a changing landscape that the ADL needs to reckon with. The war in Gaza has deeply divided people of all backgrounds, including Jews. The war has added significant ambiguity and complications to the world’s view of the Israel-Palestine conflict. + + If Wikipedia’s editors are distancing themselves from the ADL, that could suggest media, academic and partnering advocacy organizations will think twice about how they approach ADL data in their own efforts to inform their audiences on antisemitism. + + “The challenge to the ADL is to separate the advocacy from the data when it comes to the overall message,” Loeffler said. “I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue. The staff there will continue to do rigorous work, but this will provide an opportunity for self-reflection.”",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Wikipedia’s editors declared that the Anti-Defamation League cannot be trusted to give reliable information on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and they overwhelmingly said the ADL is an unreliable source on antisemitism.', 'It’s a stunning rebuke to one of the world’s preeminent authorities on anti-Jewish hate and a significant advocate for the rights and causes of American Jews.', 'The editors, a group of volunteer moderators for one of the world’s most popular information websites, voted last week to label the ADL as a “generally unreliable” source on the Israel-Palestine conflict.', 'That means that the ADL should usually not be cited in Wikipedia articles on that topic except for extraordinary circumstances.', 'Other generally unreliable sources, according to Wikipedia editors, include Russian state media, Fox News’ political coverage and Amazon reviews.', 'The ADL also faces a vote from Wikipedia editors to potentially label the organization as unreliable on the topic of antisemitism.', 'The editors overwhelmingly support that label but continue to debate the decision, which could ultimately deal a blow to the credibility of the leading source of research and information on antisemitism.', 'The Wikipedia editors said in an online forum that the ADL’s dual role as an advocacy and research organization prevented it from providing unbiased accounts on Israel or antisemitism.', '“The ADL is heavily biased regarding Israel/Palestine to the point of often acting as a pro-Israel lobbying organization,” wrote an editor with the username Loki, who has edited more than 3,000 Wikipedia articles. “', 'This can and does compromise its ability to accurately report facts regarding people and organizations that disagree with it on this issue, especially non-Zionist or anti-Zionist Jews and Jewish organizations.”', 'A minority of editors disagreed, arguing the editors voting in favor failed to provide evidence that the ADL has made false claims because of its advocacy work.', 'The ADL strongly rebuked the decision.', '“It is deeply disturbing that the many editors who flagged the severe flaws and inaccuracies in both the reasoning and sources being used in this campaign to delegitimize ADL are being ignored,” an ADL spokesman said in a statement. “', 'They have provided point by point refutations, grounded in factual citations, to every claim made, but apparently facts no longer matter.”', 'Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism.', 'But the spokesman warned Wikipedia’s action would prevent information on antisemitism from reaching the public.', 'Prior to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, the ADL had been largely focused on educating about and advocating for action against the rise in antisemitism around the world.', 'That alarming trend included (and continues to include) a growing number of threats and anti-Jewish actions taken by White supremacist groups, and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt became a frequent guest on television news, such as CNN.', 'After the events of October 7 and the ongoing war that followed, the ADL produced numerous reports about rising antisemitic hate speech and incidents, particularly on college campuses.', 'It produced two report cards on universities’ actions to protect Jewish students, giving failing grades to more than a dozen colleges.', 'But the ADL faced some criticism for doubling down on what some detractors believed was an overly broad definition of antisemitism that included anti-Zionism and some anti-Israel speech and actions.', '“ADL’s leadership has taken a much more aggressive stance than most academic researchers in blurring the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” said James Loeffler, professor of modern Jewish history at John Hopkins University. “', 'It’s clear from reading the Wikipedia editors’ conversation that they are heavily influenced by the ADL leadership’s comments.”', 'Greenblatt and the ADL made clear that political opposition to Israel’s government and policies were acceptable and not antisemitic.', 'But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL.', '“Let’s make this very clear: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Greenblatt said at an ADL “State of Hate” event in March. “', 'Antizionism is a negation of Jewish history, a denial of Jewish humanity.”', 'That didn’t sit well with Wikipedia’s editors.', 'For example, one editor, with the username Sameboat, claimed the ADL leader’s advocacy “demonstrates its skewed views and manipulative presentation on the IP (Israel-Palestine) topic and thus (is) highly unreliable.”', 'The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler.', 'And the fact that the ADL balances advocacy with research is not a new problem for the organization.', 'But Wikipedia’s decision may reflect a changing landscape that the ADL needs to reckon with.', 'The war in Gaza has deeply divided people of all backgrounds, including Jews.', 'The war has added significant ambiguity and complications to the world’s view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.', 'If Wikipedia’s editors are distancing themselves from the ADL, that could suggest media, academic and partnering advocacy organizations will think twice about how they approach ADL data in their own efforts to inform their audiences on antisemitism.', '“The challenge to the ADL is to separate the advocacy from the data when it comes to the overall message,” Loeffler said. “', 'I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue.', 'The staff there will continue to do rigorous work, but this will provide an opportunity for self-reflection.”']",-0.1541562156482019,"But those who denied Jews had the right to self-determination and freedom in their homeland were antisemitic, according to the ADL.","Calling the decision “a sad development for research and education” and “devastating for the Jewish community and society,” the ADL said it would continue its work to fight antisemitism.",-0.7661631896215326,"The ADL has built an expertise in tracking antisemitic threats and hate groups and has done beneficial work in providing the world with information and data about antisemitism, particularly because so few organizations are doing that kind of research, noted Loeffler.",I think this is going to be a difficult blow to the credibility to the ADL in its role on this issue.,2024-06-19 +UK inflation hits target for first time in almost three years,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrrk8j7pwxo,2024-06-19T06:01:19.688Z,"Inflation has hit the Bank of England's target for the first time in almost three years. Prices rose at 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% the month before, official figures show. The economy is a key talking point in the run-up to the general election on 4 July, with all of the main parties battling over how they would keep the cost of living under control. The Conservatives said their ""difficult decisions"" were paying off, but Labour said pressures on family finances were ""still acute"". The drop in May's inflation figure was driven by a slight fall in prices for food and soft drinks, and slower price rises for recreation and culture and furniture and household goods. Prices for bread, cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam and chocolate all fell between April and May this year compared with a year ago. However, food prices overall are still 25% higher than at the beginning of 2022. Petrol prices also increased, rising by 0.7p per litre between April and May while diesel prices fell by 0.8p per litre. The inflation figure comes ahead of the Bank of England's latest decision on UK interest rates this Thursday. The Bank is expected to hold the rate at 5.25% - a 16-year high - for the seventh meeting in a row. Markets have now also cut bets that the Bank of England will slash rates at its next opportunity in August. That is because price rises in the services sector remain high at 5.7% in the 12 months to May. Inflation has fallen steadily since October 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused it to peak at 11.1% as food and fuel prices soared. But millions of households are still struggling with the cost of living. Even though inflation is falling, it does not mean the prices of goods and services overall are coming down, just that they are rising at a slower pace. The Bank of England has also put up interest rates to try to dampen down consumer demand, driving up mortgage rates and rents. Official figures on renting - also released on Wednesday - showed average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June. Meanwhile, even with the inflation rate falling, mortgage rates remain stubbornly high as lenders wait for the Bank of England’s next and subsequent moves on interest rates. Gary Wildman, the owner of John Wildman & Sons butchers, told the BBC he had seen price rises levelling out at the store he started with his dad 31 years ago in Rustington, West Sussex. ""Prices are probably 10 to 15% more than they were at the beginning of Covid, but they are level now, definitely,"" he told the BBC. However, he said some products such as pork were still going up while the shop's energy bills were higher than a few years ago. ""You do take a hit to your margins,"" he said. ""You can't pass all costs on to customers or the customers wouldn't come in."" May's inflation figure is the last big official economic statistic before the general election and has sparked significant debate among the main parties. The Conservatives claim the figures back up their story of an economic turnaround - although the question for them politically is whether they get any credit for the fall. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK's inflation rate was now lower than ""nearly all"" major economies. ""That would not have happened under Labour that refused to condemn the public sector pay strikes, that would have meant inflationary pay rises, inflation lasting longer,"" he added. But in a interview with the BBC later on Wednesday, Mr Hunt acknowledged the election campaign was ""tough"" and became the latest senior Conservative to publicly acknowledge his party could be on course for defeat. ""It's very important if Labour win, that they have an effective opposition in Parliament,"" he added. Labour continued to press concerns about the cost of living. Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, told the BBC: “Unlike Conservative ministers, I'm not going to tell people that everything's fine. ""I know that the cost of living crisis is still acute, that even though inflation is falling, it doesn't mean the prices are coming down, they're just rising at a less fast rate."" Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said millions of people would not be feeling any better off. ""Rishi Sunak's boasts will ring hollow to countless families seeing their mortgages skyrocket and agonising rises in shopping prices compared to just a few years ago."" Attempts by politicians to apportion blame for high inflation, or claim credit for it falling, should be treated with caution. The soaring cost of living was mainly driven by the Covid pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine which drove up global commodity prices. Meanwhile, falling inflation was largely due to declining wholesale energy and food prices, along with 14 rate hikes by the Bank of England. UK inflation is now rising at its slowest pace since July 2021. It is also lower than in the eurozone and the US, where rates were 2.6% and 3.3% in May respectively. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"[""Inflation has hit the Bank of England's target for the first time in almost three years."", 'Prices rose at 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% the month before, official figures show.', 'The economy is a key talking point in the run-up to the general election on 4 July, with all of the main parties battling over how they would keep the cost of living under control.', 'The Conservatives said their ""difficult decisions"" were paying off, but Labour said pressures on family finances were ""still acute"".', ""The drop in May's inflation figure was driven by a slight fall in prices for food and soft drinks, and slower price rises for recreation and culture and furniture and household goods."", 'Prices for bread, cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam and chocolate all fell between April and May this year compared with a year ago.', 'However, food prices overall are still 25% higher than at the beginning of 2022.', 'Petrol prices also increased, rising by 0.7p per litre between April and May while diesel prices fell by 0.8p per litre.', ""The inflation figure comes ahead of the Bank of England's latest decision on UK interest rates this Thursday."", 'The Bank is expected to hold the rate at 5.25% - a 16-year high - for the seventh meeting in a row.', 'Markets have now also cut bets that the Bank of England will slash rates at its next opportunity in August.', 'That is because price rises in the services sector remain high at 5.7% in the 12 months to May.', ""Inflation has fallen steadily since October 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused it to peak at 11.1% as food and fuel prices soared."", 'But millions of households are still struggling with the cost of living.', 'Even though inflation is falling, it does not mean the prices of goods and services overall are coming down, just that they are rising at a slower pace.', 'The Bank of England has also put up interest rates to try to dampen down consumer demand, driving up mortgage rates and rents.', 'Official figures on renting - also released on Wednesday - showed average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.', 'Meanwhile, even with the inflation rate falling, mortgage rates remain stubbornly high as lenders wait for the Bank of England’s next and subsequent moves on interest rates.', 'Gary Wildman, the owner of John Wildman & Sons butchers, told the BBC he had seen price rises levelling out at the store he started with his dad 31 years ago in Rustington, West Sussex. ""', 'Prices are probably 10 to 15% more than they were at the beginning of Covid, but they are level now, definitely,"" he told the BBC.', 'However, he said some products such as pork were still going up while the shop\'s energy bills were higher than a few years ago. ""', 'You do take a hit to your margins,"" he said. ""', 'You can\'t pass all costs on to customers or the customers wouldn\'t come in.""', ""May's inflation figure is the last big official economic statistic before the general election and has sparked significant debate among the main parties."", 'The Conservatives claim the figures back up their story of an economic turnaround - although the question for them politically is whether they get any credit for the fall.', 'Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK\'s inflation rate was now lower than ""nearly all"" major economies. ""', 'That would not have happened under Labour that refused to condemn the public sector pay strikes, that would have meant inflationary pay rises, inflation lasting longer,"" he added.', 'But in a interview with the BBC later on Wednesday, Mr Hunt acknowledged the election campaign was ""tough"" and became the latest senior Conservative to publicly acknowledge his party could be on course for defeat. ""', 'It\'s very important if Labour win, that they have an effective opposition in Parliament,"" he added.', 'Labour continued to press concerns about the cost of living.', 'Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, told the BBC: “Unlike Conservative ministers, I\'m not going to tell people that everything\'s fine. ""', 'I know that the cost of living crisis is still acute, that even though inflation is falling, it doesn\'t mean the prices are coming down, they\'re just rising at a less fast rate.""', 'Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said millions of people would not be feeling any better off. ""', 'Rishi Sunak\'s boasts will ring hollow to countless families seeing their mortgages skyrocket and agonising rises in shopping prices compared to just a few years ago.""', 'Attempts by politicians to apportion blame for high inflation, or claim credit for it falling, should be treated with caution.', ""The soaring cost of living was mainly driven by the Covid pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine which drove up global commodity prices."", 'Meanwhile, falling inflation was largely due to declining wholesale energy and food prices, along with 14 rate hikes by the Bank of England.', 'UK inflation is now rising at its slowest pace since July 2021.', 'It is also lower than in the eurozone and the US, where rates were 2.6% and 3.3% in May respectively.']",-0.0114220671228944,"It's very important if Labour win, that they have an effective opposition in Parliament,"" he added.","That would not have happened under Labour that refused to condemn the public sector pay strikes, that would have meant inflationary pay rises, inflation lasting longer,"" he added.",-0.0210897233337163,Official figures on renting - also released on Wednesday - showed average rents paid to private landlords in the UK rose by 8.7% in the year to June.,"Prices for bread, cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam and chocolate all fell between April and May this year compared with a year ago.",2024-06-19 +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.”",2024-06-19 +Elon Musk’s X lawsuit against Media Matters scheduled for trial in April,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/13/tech/elon-musk-x-lawsuit-media-matters/index.html," + Updated + 2:46 PM EDT, Thu June 13, 2024 + ","A lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s X against the nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters has been scheduled for a trial in April 2025, according to a court filing. + + Thursday’s order by the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas sets the date for a high-profile showdown over Media Matters’ research highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on the social media platform. + + In November, X sued Media Matters, alleging that the group went out of its way to misrepresent the likelihood that users may encounter hate speech on the platform. + + CNN has reached out to X for comment on Thursday’s order. Media Matters declined to comment. + + Media Matters President Angelo Carusone has previously called X’s suit “frivolous” and an attempt to silence Musk’s critics. + + The lawsuit claimed that Media Matters’ testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the group’s reports distorted the odds of a person seeing extremist material. + + Motions for summary judgment in the case are due in December, and a decision by the judge on those filings could decide the case prior to trial. + + Musk has suffered setbacks in similar cases. In March, a federal judge in California reprimanded X and tossed out a lawsuit it had filed against another watchdog group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate. In a blistering 52-page order, the judge blasted that case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights. + + “Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation,” wrote District Judge Charles Breyer, of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, in the order’s opening lines. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose.” + + “This case represents the latter circumstance,” Breyer continued. “This case is about punishing the Defendants for their speech.”",CNN,13/06/2024,"['A lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s X against the nonprofit watchdog group Media Mattershas been scheduled for a trial inApril 2025, according to acourt filing.', 'Thursday’s order by the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas sets the date for a high-profile showdown over Media Matters’ research highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on the social media platform.', 'In November, Xsued Media Matters, alleging that the group went out of its way to misrepresent the likelihood that users may encounter hate speech on the platform.', 'CNN has reached out to X for comment on Thursday’s order.', 'Media Matters declined to comment.', 'Media Matters President Angelo Carusonehas previously called X’s suit “frivolous” and an attempt to silence Musk’s critics.', 'The lawsuit claimed that Media Matters’ testing methodology was not representative of how real users experience the site and that the group’s reports distorted the odds of a person seeing extremist material.', 'Motions for summary judgment in the case are due in December, and a decision by the judge on those filings could decide the case prior to trial.', 'Musk has suffered setbacks in similar cases.', 'In March, a federal judge in California reprimanded X and tossed out a lawsuit it had filed against another watchdog group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate.', 'In a blistering 52-pageorder, the judge blasted that case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.', '“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation,” wrote District Judge Charles Breyer, of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, in the order’s opening lines. “', 'Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose.”', '“This case represents the latter circumstance,” Breyer continued. “', 'This case is about punishing the Defendants for their speech.”']",-0.2914456224742133,,"In March, a federal judge in California reprimanded X and tossed out a lawsuit it had filed against another watchdog group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate.",-0.8768993020057678,,Musk has suffered setbacks in similar cases.,2024-06-19 +UK Amazon workers to be balloted on union recognition,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11j9p9g0po,2024-06-19T05:09:17.991Z,"A ballot process that could see Amazon recognise a trade union in the UK for the first time is to begin. GMB union officials were due to enter the trading giant's Coventry fulfilment site for the first time on Wednesday, where they were set to hold meetings with the 3,000 workers to try to win their vote. Workers will ultimately vote on whether they want a union to represent them with GMB needing 40% of them to vote in their favour. Amazon said employees have always had the choice of joining a union and that it placed “enormous” value on engagement with its employees. If the union succeeds, it would mean the company will have to negotiate with the union on terms, pay and conditions for workers at the site. Amazon will also ask staff to attend meetings to hear the company's counter argument. Ballot papers will be sent out on 3 July with workplace voting starting on 8 July, lasting for six days. GMB said the result of the ballot would be announced on 15 July. The process will be overseen by the Government's Central Arbitration Committee. Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, said it was a historic moment. “They [Amazon] are a multi-billion-pound global company investing huge energy to resist efforts by working class people in Coventry to fight for a better life."" Workers had stood up to be counted and demanded the chance to vote for union recognition, she said. GMB first began its campaign for recognition 18 months ago and has been involved in a lengthy dispute with Amazon, which has seen more than 30 days of strike action. A spokesperson for Amazon said: “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have. “Across Amazon we place enormous value on having daily conversations and engagement with our employees. It’s a strong part of our work culture. We value that direct relationship and so do our employees.” It said minimum starting pay has gone up to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location. ""We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities,"" it added. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['A ballot process that could see Amazon recognise a trade union in the UK for the first time is to begin.', ""GMB union officials were due to enter the trading giant's Coventry fulfilment site for the first time on Wednesday, where they were set to hold meetings with the 3,000 workers to try to win their vote."", 'Workers will ultimately vote on whether they want a union to represent them with GMB needing 40% of them to vote in their favour.', 'Amazon said employees have always had the choice of joining a union and that it placed “enormous” value on engagement with its employees.', 'If the union succeeds, it would mean the company will have to negotiate with the union on terms, pay and conditions for workers at the site.', ""Amazon will also ask staff to attend meetings to hear the company's counter argument."", 'Ballot papers will be sent out on 3 July with workplace voting starting on 8 July, lasting for six days.', 'GMB said the result of the ballot would be announced on 15 July.', ""The process will be overseen by the Government's Central Arbitration Committee."", 'Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, said it was a historic moment. “', 'They [Amazon] are a multi-billion-pound global company investing huge energy to resist efforts by working class people in Coventry to fight for a better life.""', 'Workers had stood up to be counted and demanded the chance to vote for union recognition, she said.', 'GMB first began its campaign for recognition 18 months ago and has been involved in a lengthy dispute with Amazon, which has seen more than 30 days of strike action.', 'A spokesperson for Amazon said: “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union.', 'They always have. “', 'Across Amazon we place enormous value on having daily conversations and engagement with our employees.', 'It’s a strong part of our work culture.', 'We value that direct relationship and so do our employees.”', 'It said minimum starting pay has gone up to £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on location. ""', 'We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities,"" it added.', 'Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on Facebook, X and Instagram.', 'Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk']",0.2247617492238991,"We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities,"" it added.","GMB first began its campaign for recognition 18 months ago and has been involved in a lengthy dispute with Amazon, which has seen more than 30 days of strike action.",0.9723483224709828,"We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities,"" it added.",,2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +Chinese 'underground bankers' accused of aiding Mexican cartel,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw44mdkg0e9o,2024-06-19T13:47:20.183Z,"The US has accused a Chinese ""underground banking"" network of helping Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drugs cartel with money laundering and other crimes. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged 24 people with offences that also include distributing narcotics. Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills. The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side. The US accuses the Sinaloa cartel of helping to fuel a deadly epidemic by flooding the country with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The DoJ highlighted a ""conspiracy"" during which more than $50m in drug proceeds moved between the Sinaloa gang members and Chinese underground ""money exchanges"". It said these underground exchanges were being used by Sinaloa operatives to move their illegally acquired cash from the US to Mexico. These Chinese exchanges offer a ""ready market"" for US currency, the DoJ said, explaining that some Chinese nationals want ""informal alternatives"" to conventional banking because the Beijing government caps the amount of money they can take out of China. A statement from Beijing, quoted by the AFP news agency, appeared to confirm the rare close collaboration with the US, saying authorities there had arrested a money-laundering suspect. That person had been involved in running a US car dealership before switching to ""illegal foreign exchange trading"". Most of the 24 suspects named in the indictment will appear in a Los Angeles court ""in the coming weeks"", the DoJ added in its statement. The US has long accused China itself of flooding the country with deadly drugs like fentanyl - an allegation that China denies. In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history. ",BBC,19/06/2024,"['The US has accused a Chinese ""underground banking"" network of helping Mexico\'s powerful Sinaloa drugs cartel with money laundering and other crimes.', 'The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged 24 people with offences that also include distributing narcotics.', 'Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.', 'The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side.', 'The US accuses the Sinaloa cartel of helping to fuel a deadly epidemic by flooding the country with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin.', 'The DoJ highlighted a ""conspiracy"" during which more than $50m in drug proceeds moved between the Sinaloa gang members and Chinese underground ""money exchanges"".', 'It said these underground exchanges were being used by Sinaloa operatives to move their illegally acquired cash from the US to Mexico.', 'These Chinese exchanges offer a ""ready market"" for US currency, the DoJ said, explaining that some Chinese nationals want ""informal alternatives"" to conventional banking because the Beijing government caps the amount of money they can take out of China.', 'A statement from Beijing, quoted by the AFP news agency, appeared to confirm the rare close collaboration with the US, saying authorities there had arrested a money-laundering suspect.', 'That person had been involved in running a US car dealership before switching to ""illegal foreign exchange trading"".', 'Most of the 24 suspects named in the indictment will appear in a Los Angeles court ""in the coming weeks"", the DoJ added in its statement.', 'The US has long accused China itself of flooding the country with deadly drugs like fentanyl - an allegation that China denies.', ""In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.""]",-0.1530764445831638,"Law enforcement officers have seized about $5m (£4m) in proceeds, as well as guns and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.","In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.",0.0044366419315338,The DoJ touted the close co-operation with Mexican and Chinese law enforcement - a message that has been echoed on the Chinese side.,"In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses of the drug, and Washington says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country's history.",2024-06-19 +"Boeing committed ‘the deadliest corporate crime in US history’ and should be fined $24 billion, victims’ families say",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/business/boeing-families-lawsuit/index.html," + Updated + 2:20 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial. + + The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecution of Boeing. The Justice Department said last month that Boeing’s recent string of safety lapses and mishaps constituted a violation of its 2021 agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March 2019 that killed 346 people. + + The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote. + + “Because time is of the essence to avoid any statute of limitations from running (out), the Department should begin these prosecutions promptly,” they wrote in the 32-page letter, which was sent by Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families. + + The letter also asks the Justice Department for an independent corporate monitor to oversee Boeing’s safety measures and to direct it in its efforts to improve its quality. + + Boeing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. + + In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms of its 2021 agreement following a January incident in which a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff in January. + + The Justice Department said in its letter that it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing had the opportunity to respond to its breach of the agreement – and steps it has taken to remediate the situation – by last week. The DOJ said it will let the court know by July 7 how it will proceed. + + Boeing, in a previous statement, said it has upheld its end of the bargain. + + “We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement.” + + On Tuesday, current Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified before both Republican and Democratic senators. He apologized to families of victims of the two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO and admitted that Boeing is “far from perfect.” He also acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust. + + The 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that Boeing reached with the Justice Department was harshly criticized by the family members and some members of Congress at that time. Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion, but most of that money - $1.77 billion – was paid to the airlines that owned the grounded planes, money that Boeing had already agreed to pay. It also agreed to set up a $500 million fund to compensate family members, which it had also already agreed to do in the face of lawsuits, and it would have paid a $244 million fine to the federal government. The $24 billion, as significant as it would be, would still be less than the $31.9 billion in core operating losses it has reported since the second crash of the plane in 2019 resulted in a 20-month grounding of its best-selling jet. Boeing has identified more than $20 billion in direct costs from that grounding, and that doesn’t count the tens of billions in lost sales revenue and increased interest costs as its debt soared to cover its losses. Nor does it include the costs incurred since the January 5 Alaska Airlines incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max and the FAA put limits on its rate of production due to new questions about the safety and quality of its planes. + + –CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial.', 'The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecution of Boeing.', 'The Justice Department said last month that Boeing’s recent string of safety lapses and mishaps constituted a violation of its 2021 agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March 2019 that killed 346 people.', 'The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote.', '“Because time is of the essence to avoid any statute of limitations from running (out), the Department should begin these prosecutions promptly,” they wrote in the 32-page letter, which was sent by Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families.', 'The letter also asks the Justice Department for an independent corporate monitor to oversee Boeing’s safety measures and to direct it in its efforts to improve its quality.', 'Boeing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.', 'In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms ofits2021 agreement following a January incident in which adoor plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flightshortly after takeoff in January.', 'The Justice Department said in its letter that it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing had the opportunity to respond to its breach of the agreement – and steps it has taken to remediate the situation – by last week.', 'The DOJ said it will let the court know by July 7 how it will proceed.', 'Boeing, in a previous statement, said it has upheld its end of the bargain.', '“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “', 'As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement.”', 'On Tuesday, current Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified before both Republican and Democratic senators.', 'He apologized to families of victims of the two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO and admitted that Boeing is “far from perfect.”', 'He also acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust.', 'The 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that Boeing reached with the Justice Department was harshly criticized by the family members and some members of Congress at that time.', 'Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion, but most of that money - $1.77 billion – was paid to the airlines that owned the grounded planes, money that Boeing had already agreed to pay.', 'It also agreed to set up a $500 million fund to compensate family members, which it had also already agreed to do in the face of lawsuits, and it would have paid a $244 million fine to the federal government.', 'The $24 billion, as significant as it would be, would still be less than the $31.9 billion in core operating losses it has reported since the second crash of the plane in 2019 resulted in a 20-month grounding of its best-selling jet.', 'Boeing has identified more than $20 billion in direct costs from that grounding, and that doesn’t count the tens of billions in lost sales revenue and increased interest costs as its debt soared to cover its losses.', 'Nor does it include the costs incurred since the January 5 Alaska Airlines incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max and the FAA put limits on its rate of production due to new questions about the safety and quality of its planes.', '–CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.']",0.2220598325958888,"“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “","The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote.",-0.1234646981412714,"“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” the company said. “","In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms ofits2021 agreement following a January incident in which adoor plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flightshortly after takeoff in January.",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +New analysis reveals Donald Trump’s Truth Social media diet,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/media/donald-trumps-truth-social-media-diet/index.html," + Published + 7:34 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 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. + + Donald Trump can’t quit Fox News. + + The Republican presidential candidate may lash out in strong terms at the right-wing channel for supposedly not being sufficiently loyal to him, but a fresh analysis of the content posted on his Truth Social page shows that he promotes the outlet more than any other. + + In the month of May, Trump posted 56 videos from Fox News, dwarfing the volume of content he posted from any other outlet, according to the analysis conducted by The Righting, a website that monitors right-wing media. In addition to the 56 video clips, Trump posted an additional six articles linking to FoxNews.com, for a total of 62 pieces of content from the Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch-controlled media organization, according to the analysis, which was provided first to Reliable Sources. + + “This analysis shows that despite Mr. Trump’s hot and cold relationship with the Fox News Channel, it was clearly his number one choice in May to shower his followers with links to content that he obviously felt were aligned with his messages,” said Howard Polskin, president and founder of The Righting. + + Comparatively, Trump posted 26 video clips from the upstart internet streamer Right Side Broadcasting Network, 11 videos from the pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax, and 5 from the far-right Real America’s Voice. He posted eight links to Real America’s Voice, only three to Breitbart, and one to the New York Post. + + Polskin noted that his analysis indicated Trump has a “preference for fringe outlets like RSBN and Real America’s Voice over more established outlets like the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times.” + + The Righting analysis also found that, in addition to the content Trump posts from right-wing sources, he also links to mainstream news organizations when it fits his agenda. In May, he linked to the Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, POLITICO, NBC News, The New Yorker, and Reuters. + + “While Trump consistently disparages mainstream or progressive news outlets as ‘fake news,’ he’ll link to those sources if it shows the Biden campaign or Democrats in a poor light,” Polskin said. + + Indeed, Polskin’s analysis pulls back the curtain on how Trump works the media. While he has publicly bashed Murdoch and Fox News, in addition to waging an unrelenting war on the press, he continues to promote their content when it fits into the narrative that he is trying to sell his supporters. + + The warped feedback loop is yet another way in which he exploits the media for his own ends.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['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.', 'Donald Trumpcan’t quitFox News.', 'The Republican presidential candidate may lash out in strong terms at the right-wing channel for supposedly not being sufficiently loyal to him, but a fresh analysis of the content posted on hisTruth Socialpage shows that he promotes the outlet more than any other.', 'In the month of May, Trump posted 56 videos from Fox News, dwarfing the volume of content he posted from any other outlet, according to the analysis conducted byThe Righting, a website that monitors right-wing media.', 'In addition to the 56 video clips, Trump posted an additional six articles linking toFoxNews.com, for a total of 62 pieces of content from theRupert and Lachlan Murdoch-controlled media organization, according to the analysis, which was provided first toReliable Sources.', '“This analysis shows that despite Mr. Trump’s hot and cold relationship with the Fox News Channel, it was clearly his number one choice in May to shower his followers with links to content that he obviously felt were aligned with his messages,” saidHoward Polskin, president and founder of The Righting.', 'Comparatively, Trump posted 26 video clips from the upstart internet streamerRight Side Broadcasting Network, 11 videos from the pro-Trump cable channelNewsmax, and 5 from the far-rightReal America’s Voice.', 'He posted eight links to Real America’s Voice, only three toBreitbart, and one to theNew York Post.', 'Polskin noted that his analysis indicated Trump has a “preference for fringe outlets like RSBN and Real America’s Voice over more established outlets like theWashington Examinerand theWashington Times.”', 'The Righting analysis also found that, in addition to the content Trump posts from right-wing sources, he also links to mainstream news organizations when it fits his agenda.', 'In May, he linked to theAssociated Press,The New York Times,CNN,The Washington Post,POLITICO,NBC News,The New Yorker, andReuters.', '“While Trump consistently disparages mainstream or progressive news outlets as ‘fake news,’ he’ll link to those sources if it shows the Biden campaign or Democrats in a poor light,” Polskin said.', 'Indeed, Polskin’s analysis pulls back the curtain on how Trump works the media.', 'While he has publicly bashed Murdoch and Fox News, in addition to waging an unrelenting war on the press, he continues to promote their content when it fits into the narrative that he is trying to sell his supporters.', 'The warped feedback loop is yet another way in which he exploits the media for his own ends.']",0.0523170440657731,"The Republican presidential candidate may lash out in strong terms at the right-wing channel for supposedly not being sufficiently loyal to him, but a fresh analysis of the content posted on hisTruth Socialpage shows that he promotes the outlet more than any other.","“While Trump consistently disparages mainstream or progressive news outlets as ‘fake news,’ he’ll link to those sources if it shows the Biden campaign or Democrats in a poor light,” Polskin said.",-0.7344920635223389,,"In the month of May, Trump posted 56 videos from Fox News, dwarfing the volume of content he posted from any other outlet, according to the analysis conducted byThe Righting, a website that monitors right-wing media.",2024-06-19 +Wall Street is turning more bullish,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/investing/premarket-stocks-trading-bull/index.html," + Published + 7:36 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 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. + + It’s tough being a Wall Street bear these days. + + The S&P 500 index has climbed nearly 15% this year and clinched 30 record-high closes. Strong corporate earnings and the artificial intelligence helped drive stocks higher at the start of this year, despite a slew of hotter-than-expected inflation reports that fueled concerns the Federal Reserve would be slow to cut interest rates in 2024. + + Then, fresh data in May revealed last week that inflation is cooling again and getting closer to the Fed’s 2% target. The central bank at its June policy meeting held rates steady and penciled in one cut for 2024. After waffling over whether the Fed would ease monetary policy at all in 2024, traders are now betting on two to three cuts, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. + + The new backdrop of cooling inflation coupled with rate cuts on the horizon is prompting investors to up their bullish wagers. Goldman Sachs on Friday raised its year-end target for the benchmark index to 5,600 from 5,200, citing a strong outlook for corporate profits. That would be a 2.3% advance from Monday’s close. + + Evercore ISI raised its price target to 6,000 for the S&P 500, a reversal from its previous, more gloomy 4,750 target. That higher level would be a 9.6% jump from Monday’s close. + + “The backdrop of slowing inflation, a Fed intent on cutting rates and steady growth have supported Goldilocks,” wrote Julian Emanuel, a senior managing director at Evercore ISI, in a Sunday note. “The rally has room.” + + The market has also been distinguished by uncharacteristic calm. Stock sell-offs have been short and shallow. The S&P 500 has had its longest stretch of trading days without a 2% or more decline since February 2018, according to SoFi data as of June 12. + + While low volatility sounds like a positive, it’s not without danger. It suggests that investors are taking on more risk in their portfolios due to an overly optimistic view and could be caught flat-footed if the tide turns. + + There’s no shortage of risks that could unnerve markets in the coming months. Much of the S&P 500 index’s returns are tied to the mega-cap tech Magnificent Seven stocks, leaving the market dependent on just a handful of names to continue its monster run. + + Stocks could also wobble leading up to the US presidential election in November. Some investors warn that despite encouraging economic data, a recession could still be in the cards for 2024 or next year. + + Despite its more bullish baseline target, Goldman Sachs warned that the S&P 500 index could end the year at 4,800, a 12.3% drop from current levels, if economic growth data turns sour and markets price in higher odds of a recession. + + Shoppers in the meat aisle may have noticed something weird last month: Bacon prices are sizzling, but ham’s not so hot, reports my colleague Danielle Wiener-Bronner. + + Bacon is more expensive than it was a year ago, with prices up 6.9% from May 2023 to May of this year, according to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pork chops were up too, by 4.6%. But ham prices were lower, falling 5.4% overall and dropping 6.3% when you exclude canned varieties. + + What gives? + + Econ buffs may remember that prices are set according to supply and demand. You’d expect any supply issues — like too many hogs, or too few — to cause prices of each of the items to move up or down, all in the same direction. + + The discrepancy, then, must be caused by differences on the demand side. And it is: Demand for domestic pork has grown in recent years outside of the US. But rising demand, plus the same or reduced supply, should push prices up, not down. + + So again, what gives? + + To understand you have to zoom out, looking at long-term retail pricing strategy and food price trends. + + Read more here. + + After his employer implemented a return-to-office policy last year, Jin Bian decided to cut down his one-hour commute time by purchasing a house closer to the office in Tampa, Florida. Then, he was told the purchase might get him prison time, reports my colleague Samantha Delouya. + + “That was really shocking to me. It’s just purchasing property,” Bian, who is originally from Nanjing, China, said. “Once I learned that, I didn’t even bother to look anymore.” + + Bian, a 31-year-old software engineer who has lived in the US for 12 years, is a recipient of an H-1B visa, which allows companies to employ foreign workers. For nearly a year, however, it has been a crime for him to purchase a home in Florida after the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law restricting Chinese nationals without US green cards from purchasing property in the state. + + Bian and other Florida residents told CNN that the rules have fostered uneasiness and confusion among ethnic Chinese people living in the state. Some say the law has damaged their businesses, while others say they are considering abandoning Florida altogether. And the law underscores the heightened tensions between the two biggest economies in the world in a US presidential election year. + + Bian said that lately, he had begun reconsidering his life in Florida. He isn’t alone. Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state. Sellers and real estate agents can also be found liable under the law. + + Read more here.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['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.', 'It’s tough being a Wall Street bear these days.', 'The S&P 500 index has climbed nearly 15% this year and clinched 30 record-high closes.', 'Strong corporate earnings and the artificial intelligence helped drive stocks higher at the start of this year, despite a slew of hotter-than-expected inflation reports that fueled concerns the Federal Reserve would be slow to cut interest rates in 2024.', 'Then, fresh data in May revealed last week that inflation is cooling again and getting closer to the Fed’s 2% target.', 'The central bank at its June policy meeting held rates steady and penciled in one cut for 2024.', 'After waffling over whether the Fed would ease monetary policy at all in 2024, traders are now betting on two to three cuts, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.', 'The new backdrop of cooling inflation coupled with rate cuts on the horizon is prompting investors to up their bullish wagers.', 'Goldman Sachs on Friday raised its year-end target for the benchmark index to 5,600 from 5,200, citing a strong outlook for corporate profits.', 'That would be a 2.3% advance from Monday’s close.', 'Evercore ISI raised its price target to 6,000 for the S&P 500, a reversal from its previous, more gloomy 4,750 target.', 'That higher level would be a 9.6% jump from Monday’s close.', '“The backdrop of slowing inflation, a Fed intent on cutting rates and steady growth have supported Goldilocks,” wrote Julian Emanuel, a senior managing director at Evercore ISI, in a Sunday note. “', 'The rally has room.”', 'The market has also been distinguished by uncharacteristic calm.', 'Stock sell-offs have been short and shallow.', 'The S&P 500 has had its longest stretch of trading days without a 2% or more decline since February 2018, according to SoFi data as of June 12.', 'While low volatility sounds like a positive, it’s not without danger.', 'It suggests that investors are taking on more risk in their portfolios due to an overly optimistic view and could be caught flat-footed if the tide turns.', 'There’s no shortage of risks that could unnerve markets in the coming months.', 'Much of the S&P 500 index’s returns are tied to the mega-cap tech Magnificent Seven stocks, leaving the market dependent on just a handful of names to continue its monster run.', 'Stocks could also wobble leading up to the US presidential election in November.', 'Some investors warn that despite encouraging economic data, a recession could still be in the cards for 2024 or next year.', 'Despite its more bullish baseline target, Goldman Sachs warned that the S&P 500 index could end the year at 4,800, a 12.3% drop from current levels, if economic growth data turns sour and markets price in higher odds of a recession.', 'Shoppers in the meat aisle may have noticed something weird last month: Bacon prices are sizzling, but ham’s not so hot, reports my colleague Danielle Wiener-Bronner.', 'Bacon is more expensive than it was a year ago, with prices up 6.9% from May 2023 to May of this year, according to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.', 'Pork chops were up too, by 4.6%.', 'But ham prices were lower, falling 5.4% overall and dropping 6.3% when you exclude canned varieties.', 'What gives?', 'Econ buffs may remember that prices are set according to supply and demand.', 'You’d expect any supply issues — like too many hogs, or too few — to cause prices of each of the items to move up or down, all in the same direction.', 'The discrepancy, then, must be caused by differences on the demand side.', 'And it is: Demand for domestic pork has grown in recent years outside of the US.', 'But rising demand, plus the same or reduced supply, should push prices up, not down.', 'So again, what gives?', 'To understand you have to zoom out, looking at long-term retail pricing strategy and food price trends.', 'Read more here.', 'After his employer implemented a return-to-office policy last year, Jin Bian decided to cut down his one-hour commute time by purchasing a house closer to the office in Tampa, Florida.', 'Then, he was told the purchase might get him prison time, reports my colleague Samantha Delouya.', '“That was really shocking to me.', 'It’s just purchasing property,” Bian, who is originally from Nanjing, China, said. “', 'Once I learned that, I didn’t even bother to look anymore.”', 'Bian, a 31-year-old software engineer who has lived in the US for 12 years, is a recipient of an H-1B visa, which allows companies to employ foreign workers.', 'For nearly a year, however, it has been a crime for him to purchase a home in Florida after the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law restricting Chinese nationals without US green cards from purchasing property in the state.', 'Bian and other Florida residents told CNN that the rules have fostered uneasiness and confusion among ethnic Chinese people living in the state.', 'Some say the law has damaged their businesses, while others say they are considering abandoning Florida altogether.', 'And the law underscores the heightened tensions between the two biggest economies in the world in a US presidential election year.', 'Bian said that lately, he had begun reconsidering his life in Florida.', 'He isn’t alone.', 'Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.', 'Sellers and real estate agents can also be found liable under the law.', 'Read more here.']",-0.0870204719432962,"Strong corporate earnings and the artificial intelligence helped drive stocks higher at the start of this year, despite a slew of hotter-than-expected inflation reports that fueled concerns the Federal Reserve would be slow to cut interest rates in 2024.","Ever since Florida Senate Bill 264 went into effect on July 1, 2023, Chinese citizens without green cards face a felony charge and possible prison time if they purchase property in the state.",0.1381637334823608,"Pork chops were up too, by 4.6%.","Despite its more bullish baseline target, Goldman Sachs warned that the S&P 500 index could end the year at 4,800, a 12.3% drop from current levels, if economic growth data turns sour and markets price in higher odds of a recession.",2024-06-19 +What’s open and closed on Juneteenth 2024,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/business/juneteenth-open-closed/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, became the newest US federal holiday in 2021, though its storied history has held significance for many Black Americans for a long time. + + On June 19, 1865, Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming that enslaved African Americans were free. This was more than two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. + + Many African Americans have commemorated Juneteenth with parties, parades and gatherings. The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 moved Juneteenth to the forefront of national consciousness, and at least 28 states and Washington DC — along with the federal government — recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday. + + Now, many employees both at the public and private level enjoy the day off from work. Others use it as a day of public service to volunteer in the community or advocate for issues affecting the Black American community. This year, Juneteenth falls on Wednesday, June 19. Here’s what’s open and closed on Juneteenth 2024. + + Juneteenth is a holiday for the United States Postal Service, so it will not deliver mail. + + However, all UPS and FedEx services will be open and available. + + Markets will be closed, and Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange will not be trading on Wednesday. + + Juneteenth is also a banking holiday observed by the Federal Reserve. Major banks like Chase and Bank of America will be closed in observance of the holiday. TD Bank, which has remained open in previous years, will also be closed Wednesday. + + As always, online banking services and ATMs will be available for use. + + Federal offices will be closed on Juneteenth. Many schools will already be off for summer break. + + However, whether government or state employees in different places get a paid day off varies. In 2023, at least 28 states recognized Juneteenth as a public holiday for which state workers received a paid day off, according to a Pew Research analysis. Other states may hold a day of observance or other commemorations. + + Most major retailers and grocery stores will be open on Juneteenth. Walmart and Target, for example, will be open during normal hours. It’s best to check if your local businesses and restaurants are also operating during normal hours for the holiday. + + CNN’s Harmeet Kaur contributed to this report.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, became the newest US federal holiday in 2021, though its storied history has held significance for many Black Americans for a long time.', 'On June 19, 1865, Union Army Maj.', 'Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No.', '3 in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming that enslaved African Americans were free.', 'This was more than two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.', 'Many African Americans have commemorated Juneteenth with parties, parades and gatherings.', 'The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 moved Juneteenth to the forefront of national consciousness, and at least 28 states and Washington DC — along with the federal government — recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday.', 'Now, many employees both at the public and private level enjoy the day off from work.', 'Others use it as a day of public service to volunteer in the community or advocate for issues affecting the Black American community.', 'This year, Juneteenth falls on Wednesday, June 19.', 'Here’s what’s open and closed on Juneteenth 2024.', 'Juneteenth is a holiday for the United States Postal Service, so it will not deliver mail.', 'However, all UPS and FedEx services will be open and available.', 'Markets will be closed, and Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange will not be trading on Wednesday.', 'Juneteenth is also a banking holiday observed by the Federal Reserve.', 'Major banks like Chase and Bank of America will be closed in observance of the holiday.', 'TD Bank, which has remained open in previous years, will also be closed Wednesday.', 'As always, online banking services and ATMs will be available for use.', 'Federal offices will be closed on Juneteenth.', 'Many schools will already be off for summer break.', 'However, whether government or state employees in different places get a paid day off varies.', 'In 2023, at least 28 states recognized Juneteenth as a public holiday for which state workers received a paid day off, according to a Pew Researchanalysis.', 'Other states may hold a day of observance or other commemorations.', 'Most major retailers and grocery stores will be open on Juneteenth.', 'Walmart andTarget, for example, will be open during normal hours.', 'It’s best to check if your local businesses and restaurants are also operating during normal hours for the holiday.', 'CNN’s Harmeet Kaur contributed to this report.']",0.1582418156861655,It’s best to check if your local businesses and restaurants are also operating during normal hours for the holiday.,Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No.,0.6162193417549133,"The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 moved Juneteenth to the forefront of national consciousness, and at least 28 states and Washington DC — along with the federal government — recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday.",,2024-06-19 +Electric SUV maker Fisker files for bankruptcy,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/investing/electric-car-maker-fisker-bankruptcy/index.html," + Published + 6:59 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Fisker, a US electric vehicle startup, said Tuesday it had filed for bankruptcy. + + The company had already warned it was in trouble. When it published quarterly earnings in February, it said it might not have enough money to survive another year. Fisker added then that it was in discussions with an existing investor about possibly putting more money into the company. + + On Tuesday, a Fisker spokesperson said in a statement: “Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently.” + + While growth in global EV sales is slowing, Fisker has also grappled with its own problems. + + Its sole product is the Fisker Ocean electric SUV. Last year, around 10,000 of the SUVs were made but only about half had been delivered to customers, the company said in its earnings report in February. + + The Ocean was also the subject of a review that month by American YouTuber Marques Brownlee titled, “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed.” + + “Do not buy this version of the Fisker Ocean,” reads the video’s description. The video, which sent Fisker’s stock plunging after its release, has racked up 5.7 million views so far. + + In a recent interview with Automotive News, the company’s founder and CEO Henrik Fisker admitted that the Ocean had quality problems. He blamed the issues on software from different suppliers that worked poorly together and said they were being addressed through updates. + + Besides its own troubles, Fisker has had to deal with a jump in competition from established automakers since the company was established in 2016. Now, besides Tesla, heavyweights like Hyundai, Kia, Ford and General Motors offer electric SUVs that are similar to the Ocean but without the risks of dealing with an unknown startup. And China’s BYD has soared to challenge Tesla as the global market leader in EVs. + + Still, Fisker’s bankruptcy is another sign of the broader headwinds and speed bumps facing the burgeoning EV industry. Worldwide sales of plug-in vehicles could rise 21% this year, according to recent forecasts by the International Energy Agency. While significant, that’s a smaller rise than the 35% increase in 2023. + + In the United States and Europe, one barrier to faster adoption of electric cars is their higher average price compared with new conventional cars. Another is a lack of public charging infrastructure. + + Fisker filed for bankruptcy Monday, choosing the common Chapter 11 route, which allows companies to try to resolve their financial problems through reorganization. The startup said Tuesday that it was in “advanced discussions with financial stakeholders” about the sale of its assets. + + Fisker had also previously said it was in rescue talks with a major established automaker but that those talks had fallen apart without a deal.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Fisker, a US electric vehicle startup, said Tuesday it had filed for bankruptcy.', 'The company had already warned it was in trouble.', 'When it published quarterly earnings in February, it said it might not have enough money to survive another year.', 'Fisker added then that it was in discussions with an existing investor about possibly putting more money into the company.', 'On Tuesday, a Fisker spokesperson said in a statement: “Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently.”', 'While growth in global EV sales is slowing, Fisker has also grappled with its own problems.', 'Its sole product is the Fisker Ocean electric SUV.', 'Last year, around 10,000 of the SUVs were made but only about half had been delivered to customers, the company said in its earnings report in February.', 'The Ocean was also the subject of a review that month by American YouTuber Marques Brownlee titled, “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed.”', '“Do not buy this version of the Fisker Ocean,” reads the video’s description.', 'The video, which sent Fisker’s stock plunging after its release, has racked up 5.7 million views so far.', 'In a recentinterview with Automotive News,the company’s founder and CEO Henrik Fisker admitted that the Ocean had quality problems.', 'He blamed the issues on software from different suppliers that worked poorly together and said they were being addressed through updates.', 'Besides its own troubles, Fisker has had to deal with a jump in competition from established automakers since the company was established in 2016.', 'Now, besides Tesla, heavyweights like Hyundai, Kia, Ford and General Motors offer electric SUVs that are similar to the Ocean but without the risks of dealing with an unknown startup.', 'And China’s BYD has soared to challenge Tesla as the global market leader in EVs.', 'Still, Fisker’s bankruptcy is another sign of the broader headwinds and speed bumps facing the burgeoning EV industry.', 'Worldwide sales of plug-in vehicles could rise 21% this year, according to recent forecasts by the International Energy Agency.', 'While significant, that’s a smaller rise than the 35% increase in 2023.', 'In the United States and Europe, one barrier to faster adoption of electric cars is their higher average price compared with new conventional cars.', 'Another is a lack of public charging infrastructure.', 'Fisker filed for bankruptcy Monday, choosing the common Chapter 11 route, which allows companies to try to resolve their financial problems through reorganization.', 'The startup said Tuesday that it was in “advanced discussions with financial stakeholders” about the sale of its assets.', 'Fisker had also previously said it was in rescue talks with a major established automaker but that those talks had fallen apart without a deal.']",-0.0294581647360274,"On Tuesday, a Fisker spokesperson said in a statement: “Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently.”","The Ocean was also the subject of a review that month by American YouTuber Marques Brownlee titled, “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed.”",-0.2742415904998779,"Worldwide sales of plug-in vehicles could rise 21% this year, according to recent forecasts by the International Energy Agency.","While growth in global EV sales is slowing, Fisker has also grappled with its own problems.",2024-06-19 +"FAA was ‘too hands-off’ in watching troubled planemaker Boeing, agency head says",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/13/business/faa-boeing-oversight-too-hands-off/index.html," + Updated + 3:44 PM EDT, Thu June 13, 2024 + ","Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker said his agency is partly responsible for the safety problems at Boeing, admitting that it had been “too hands off” in its oversight of the troubled aircraft manufacturer. + + In testimony Thursday before the Senate Commerce Committee, Whitaker said that his agency now had far more inspectors on the ground at Boeing factories and the factory of its primary supplier, Spirit AeroSystems. He said it will continue to push Boeing to improve its safety culture in the wake of the January 5 incident in which a door plug blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737 Max. + + But he also said that the FAA was not blameless in that incident. + + “Let me also acknowledge the FAA should have had much better visibility into what was happening at Boeing before January 5,” he said in his opening remarks to the committee. + + “The FAA’s approach was too hands off, too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections. We have changed that approach over the last several months. And those changes are permanent,” he said. “We have now moved to a more active, comprehensive oversight model - the audit plus inspection approach.” + + Whitaker, who was confirmed to his job heading the nation’s primary aviation regulator in October, said he will be visiting Boeing’s South Carolina factory himself tomorrow, and its plant that makes the 737 Max in Renton, Washington in September. + + Whitaker said that the FAA previously had 24 inspectors at Boeing and Spirit and that the number was in the low 30s now. Its target is 55 inspectors, although he did not give a date for when that would be in place. And he said that number could change over time. + + “We can no longer afford to remain reactive,” he said. + + A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board has found that bolts necessary to keep the door plug on the Alaska Air plane in place were missing from the plane at the time it left the Boeing factory in Washington roughly two months before the flight. Under questions at Thursday’s hearing, Whitaker said the FAA did not have any inspectors in the factories at that time when the piece was put in. + + Instead the FAA staff was focused on paperwork audits instead of actual inspections. + + “We clearly did not have enough folks to see what was going on in that factory,” he said. + + But finding the inspectors could be a problem. Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Washington Democrat who is chair of the committee, questioned the backgrounds of some of the safety inspectors. + + “I’m definitely hearing ‘We don’t have enough aviation inspectors.’ And ‘We don’t even have enough qualified instructors at schools,’” she said. “One story I heard was that they said, ‘Yes, I have safety experience. But it’s in the dairy industry.’ We need an aviation inspector on the floor who has aviation experience, not just safety experience.” + + Whitaker responded that while the agency is having to provide some training for new hires, it is finding the experienced inspectors it needs for Boeing. + + “With respect to Boeing, we’re putting our most experienced and best people on this,” he said. “It’s certainly the most important issue we’re dealing with right now.” + + But for years the FAA has relied on employees of Boeing and other manufacturers to inspect their own companies, then report to the FAA, under what is known as “delegation of authority.” That structure is still in place, even with more FAA employees now on the floor at Boeing factories. + + That reliance on self-inspection and self-certification first started getting attention in 2019 after two fatal crashes of the 737 Max killed 346 people and led to a 20-month grounding of the plane. The fact that much of the certification of the Max, a relatively new aircraft, was done by Boeing employees, not FAA staff, raised questions in Congress and an outcry among families of some of the crash victims. + + In January, after the Alaska Air flight, Whitaker joined those who suggested the process needed to be changed. + + “It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” said Whitaker a week after the incident. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk.” + + In February the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to improve safety. And in late May when the plan was submitted, the FAA announced it was leaving a limit on production levels in place until safety improves. + + “There must be a fundamental shift in the company’s safety culture in order to holistically address its quality and safety challenges,” Whitaker said on Thursday. “This is about systemic change, and there’s a lot of work to be done.” + + But he said there has been a shift in tone in discussions between the FAA and Boeing executives since the January incident. + + “My focus has been on making it clear this is a very long-term journey. You don’t change the culture of an organization. We’ve seen an increasing recognition that this is a long journey ahead.” + + Boeing also said it has made significant changes since January. + + “We listened to our employees, engaged transparently with our regulator, welcomed the findings and recommendations from the FAA …. and invited scrutiny from customers and independent experts,” it said in a statement when asked for a comment on Thursday’s hearing. “We will work under the FAA’s oversight and uphold our responsibility to the flying public to continue delivering safe, high-quality airplanes.” + + This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.",CNN,13/06/2024,"['Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker said his agency is partly responsible for the safety problems at Boeing, admitting that it had been “too hands off” in its oversight of the troubled aircraft manufacturer.', 'In testimony Thursday before the Senate Commerce Committee, Whitaker said that his agency now had far more inspectors on the ground at Boeing factories and the factory of its primary supplier, Spirit AeroSystems.', 'He said it will continue to push Boeing to improve its safety culture in the wake of the January 5 incident in which a door plug blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737 Max.', 'But he also said that the FAA was not blameless in that incident.', '“Let me also acknowledge the FAA should have had much better visibility into what was happening at Boeing before January 5,” he said in his opening remarks to the committee.', '“The FAA’s approach was too hands off, too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections.', 'We have changed that approach over the last several months.', 'And those changes are permanent,” he said. “', 'We have now moved to a more active, comprehensive oversight model - the audit plus inspection approach.”', 'Whitaker, who was confirmed to his job heading the nation’s primary aviation regulator in October, said he will be visiting Boeing’s South Carolina factory himself tomorrow, and its plant that makes the 737 Max in Renton, Washington in September.', 'Whitaker said that the FAA previously had 24 inspectors at Boeing and Spirit and that the number was in the low 30s now.', 'Its target is 55 inspectors, although he did not give a date for when that would be in place.', 'And he said that number could change over time.', '“We can no longer afford to remain reactive,” he said.', 'A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board has found that bolts necessary to keep the door plug on the Alaska Air plane in place were missing from the plane at the time it left the Boeing factory in Washington roughly two months before the flight.', 'Under questions at Thursday’s hearing, Whitaker said the FAA did not have any inspectors in the factories at that time when the piece was put in.', 'Instead the FAA staff was focused on paperwork audits instead of actual inspections.', '“We clearly did not have enough folks to see what was going on in that factory,” he said.', 'But finding the inspectors could be a problem.', 'Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Washington Democrat who is chair of the committee, questioned the backgrounds of some of the safety inspectors.', '“I’m definitely hearing ‘We don’t have enough aviation inspectors.’', 'And ‘We don’t even have enough qualified instructors at schools,’” she said. “', 'One story I heard was that they said, ‘Yes, I have safety experience.', 'But it’s in the dairy industry.’', 'We need an aviation inspector on the floor who has aviation experience, not just safety experience.”', 'Whitaker responded that while the agency is having to provide some training for new hires, it is finding the experienced inspectors it needs for Boeing.', '“With respect to Boeing, we’re putting our most experienced and best people on this,” he said. “', 'It’s certainly the most important issue we’re dealing with right now.”', 'But for years the FAA has relied on employees of Boeing and other manufacturers to inspect their own companies, then report to the FAA, under what is known as “delegation of authority.”', 'That structure is still in place, even with more FAA employees now on the floor at Boeing factories.', 'That reliance on self-inspection and self-certification first started getting attention in 2019 after two fatal crashes of the 737 Max killed 346 people and led to a 20-month grounding of the plane.', 'The fact that much of the certification of the Max, a relatively new aircraft, was done by Boeing employees, not FAA staff, raised questions in Congress and an outcry among families of some of the crash victims.', 'In January, after the Alaska Air flight, Whitaker joined those who suggested the process needed to be changed.', '“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” said Whitaker a week after the incident. “', 'The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk.”', 'In February the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to improve safety.', 'And in late May when the plan was submitted, the FAA announced it was leaving a limit on production levels in place until safety improves.', '“There must be a fundamental shift in the company’s safety culture in order to holistically address its quality and safety challenges,” Whitaker said on Thursday. “', 'This is about systemic change, and there’s a lot of work to be done.”', 'But he said there has been a shift in tone in discussions between the FAA and Boeing executives since the January incident.', '“My focus has been on making it clear this is a very long-term journey.', 'You don’t change the culture of an organization.', 'We’ve seen an increasing recognition that this is a long journey ahead.”', 'Boeing also said it has made significant changes since January.', '“We listened to our employees, engaged transparently with our regulator, welcomed the findings and recommendations from the FAA ….', 'and invited scrutiny from customers and independent experts,” it said in a statement when asked for a comment on Thursday’s hearing. “', 'We will work under the FAA’s oversight and uphold our responsibility to the flying public to continue delivering safe, high-quality airplanes.”', 'This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.']",0.1334329882411716,"“With respect to Boeing, we’re putting our most experienced and best people on this,” he said. “",That reliance on self-inspection and self-certification first started getting attention in 2019 after two fatal crashes of the 737 Max killed 346 people and led to a 20-month grounding of the plane.,0.2195868400427011,We’ve seen an increasing recognition that this is a long journey ahead.”,"The fact that much of the certification of the Max, a relatively new aircraft, was done by Boeing employees, not FAA staff, raised questions in Congress and an outcry among families of some of the crash victims.",2024-06-19 +Mayor AI? OpenAI shuts down tools for two AI political candidates,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/tech/openai-shuts-down-ai-mayor/index.html," + Published + 7:00 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Victor Miller, 42, recently filed paperwork to run for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, but it wasn’t exactly for him: He listed the name of a customized AI chatbot to appear on the ballot. + + He argued that the chatbot, named VIC – for “virtual integrated citizen” – would use technology from artificial intelligence company OpenAI to make all political decisions and help govern the city. (VIC is not affiliated with a political party.) + + AI has “helped me in my life personally … such as helping me with my resume,” Miller told CNN. “I think it could add a layer to help a town. I really want to see that happen.” + + On Tuesday, however, OpenAI told CNN it shut down Miller’s access to the tool that was being used to interact with and persuade voters. Using ChatGPT in this way, according to the company, is against its policies. + + AI is making politics even more complicated as government regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to use AI tools responsibly, and the tech is advancing faster than social, legal and regulatory guardrails. + + “We’ve taken action against these uses of our technology for violating our policies against political campaigning,” an OpenAI spokesperson told CNN. + + On its website, OpenAI states it prohibits “engaging in political campaigning or lobbying, including generating campaign materials personalized to or targeted at specific demographics.” + + Miller said he was motivated to create VIC after he was denied access to city records about policies and procedures because he made his request anonymously. + + “If I was able to ask AI and interact with this new intelligence, it would have known the law and I would have gotten the records,” he said. + + The city did not respond to request for comment on the denial of records, but Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told CNN in a statement that he is “closely” monitoring Miller’s bid for mayor. + + “Wyoming law is clear that, to run for office, one must be a ‘qualified elector,’ which necessitates being a real person,” Gray said in the statement. “Therefore, an AI bot is not a qualified elector.” + + He also suggested the chatbot is essentially a fig leaf for a Miller candidacy. Gray said he wrote a letter to the Cheyenne municipal clerk raising his concerns about the bid. + + Although the public-facing version of VIC has been removed by OpenAI, Miller said it still works on his own ChatGPT account. He plans to bring it, along with a microphone, to a local Cheyenne library and give voters the opportunity to directly ask it questions via its voice-to-text feature. + + OpenAI told CNN it also took action against another candidate in the UK who was using its AI models to help campaign for Parliament. Steve Endacott, chairman of an AI company called Neural Voice, answers questions from voters via AI Steve, a chatbot, on his site. He is running as an independent. Endacott did not respond to a request for comment. + + His website offered a ChatGPT chatbot where voters were able to leave opinions and help create policies. If a voter asked the tool a question about AI Steve’s policies and it didn’t have an answer, it would conduct a search and create a policy suggestion. (While his website continues to operate, the tool is no longer powered by ChatGPT.) + + Although AI chatbots are getting smarter, some experts told CNN the technology should never substitute for human judgment in running any part of government. + + “When it comes to AI now and what it will be like in the future, it should never be used to make automated decisions,” said Jen Golbeck, a professor at the College of Information Sciences at the University of Maryland. + + “AI has always been designed for decision support – it gives some data to help a human make decisions but is not set up to make decisions by itself.” + + The emergence of AI political candidates also comes amid growing concerns about how the spread of misinformation could impact elections. Earlier this year, for example, a fake recording of a candidate in Slovakia saying he rigged the election went viral. + + Golbeck said, however, that there may be a place for AI in politics when it comes to helping with various tasks, such as answering forms from constituents or directing how to get problems solved. + + “You may be able to train a chatbot with all of the knowledge found in an office,” she said. “But the decision making should always be left to humans.” + + David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, agreed, noting the people behind an AI candidacy are leaning into “a cultural moment” and shouldn’t be taken seriously. + + “Gimmick is the right word for it,” Karpf told CNN. “ChatGPT is not qualified to run your government.” + + Karpf said he doesn’t believe lawmakers need to make formal legislation around AI chatbots running for office because “no one is going to vote for an AI chatbot to run a city.” + + Karpf believes that the timing of these cases is noteworthy, too. “We have a very serious election coming up, and I don’t mind levity in it,” he said. “And that’s what this is: We should laugh for a minute and get back to work.” + + But Miller said he hopes the attention around his efforts inspires more AI candidates in the months ahead. + + “I think this can expand beyond the mayor and Parliament, and [reach the whole] world,” he said.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Victor Miller, 42, recently filed paperwork to run for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, but it wasn’t exactly for him: He listed the name of a customized AI chatbot to appear on the ballot.', 'He argued that the chatbot, named VIC – for “virtual integrated citizen” – would use technology from artificial intelligence company OpenAI to make all political decisions and help govern the city. (', 'VIC is not affiliated with a political party.)', 'AI has “helped me in my life personally … such as helping me with my resume,” Miller told CNN. “', 'I think it could add a layer to help a town.', 'I really want to see that happen.”', 'On Tuesday, however, OpenAI told CNN it shut down Miller’s access to the tool that was being used to interact with and persuade voters.', 'Using ChatGPT in this way, according to the company, is against its policies.', 'AI is making politics even more complicated as government regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to use AI tools responsibly, and the tech is advancing faster than social, legal and regulatory guardrails.', '“We’ve taken action against these uses of our technology for violating our policies against political campaigning,” an OpenAI spokesperson told CNN.', 'On its website, OpenAI states it prohibits “engaging in political campaigning or lobbying, including generating campaign materials personalized to or targeted at specific demographics.”', 'Miller said he was motivated to create VIC after he was denied access to city records about policies and procedures because he made his request anonymously.', '“If I was able to ask AI and interact with this new intelligence, it would have known the law and I would have gotten the records,” he said.', 'The city did not respond to request for comment on the denial of records, but Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told CNN in a statement that he is “closely” monitoring Miller’s bid for mayor.', '“Wyoming law is clear that, to run for office, one must be a ‘qualified elector,’ which necessitates being a real person,” Gray said in the statement. “', 'Therefore, an AI bot is not a qualified elector.”', 'He also suggested the chatbot is essentially a fig leaf for a Miller candidacy.', 'Gray said he wrote a letter to the Cheyenne municipal clerk raising his concerns about the bid.', 'Although the public-facing version of VIC has been removed by OpenAI, Miller said it still works on his own ChatGPT account.', 'He plans to bring it, along with a microphone, to a local Cheyenne library and give voters the opportunity to directly ask it questions via its voice-to-text feature.', 'OpenAI told CNN it also took action against another candidate in the UK who was using its AI models to help campaign for Parliament.', 'Steve Endacott, chairman of an AI company called Neural Voice, answers questions from voters via AI Steve, a chatbot, on his site.', 'He is running as an independent.', 'Endacott did not respond to a request for comment.', 'His website offered a ChatGPT chatbot where voters were able to leave opinions and help create policies.', 'If a voter asked the tool a question about AI Steve’s policies and it didn’t have an answer, it would conduct a search and create a policy suggestion. (', 'While his website continues to operate, the tool is no longer powered by ChatGPT.)', 'Although AI chatbots are getting smarter, some experts told CNN the technology should never substitute for human judgment in running any part of government.', '“When it comes to AI now and what it will be like in the future, it should never be used to make automated decisions,” said Jen Golbeck, a professor at the College of Information Sciences at the University of Maryland.', '“AI has always been designed for decision support – it gives some data to help a human make decisions but is not set up to make decisions by itself.”', 'The emergence of AI political candidates also comes amid growing concerns about how the spread of misinformation could impact elections.', 'Earlier this year, for example, a fake recording of a candidate in Slovakia saying he rigged the election went viral.', 'Golbeck said, however, that there may be a place for AI in politics when it comes to helping with various tasks, such as answering forms from constituents or directing how to get problems solved.', '“You may be able to train a chatbot with all of the knowledge found in an office,” she said. “', 'But the decision making should always be left to humans.”', 'David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, agreed, noting the people behind an AI candidacy are leaning into “a cultural moment” and shouldn’t be taken seriously.', '“Gimmick is the right word for it,” Karpf told CNN. “', 'ChatGPT is not qualified to run your government.”', 'Karpf said he doesn’t believe lawmakers need to make formal legislation around AI chatbots running for office because “no one is going to vote for an AI chatbot to run a city.”', 'Karpf believes that the timing of these cases is noteworthy, too. “', 'We have a very serious election coming up, and I don’t mind levity in it,” he said. “', 'And that’s what this is: We should laugh for a minute and get back to work.”', 'But Miller said he hopes the attention around his efforts inspires more AI candidates in the months ahead.', '“I think this can expand beyond the mayor and Parliament, and [reach the whole] world,” he said.']",0.1374326118968142,But Miller said he hopes the attention around his efforts inspires more AI candidates in the months ahead.,"Earlier this year, for example, a fake recording of a candidate in Slovakia saying he rigged the election went viral.",0.2469479560852051,"AI is making politics even more complicated as government regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to use AI tools responsibly, and the tech is advancing faster than social, legal and regulatory guardrails.","On Tuesday, however, OpenAI told CNN it shut down Miller’s access to the tool that was being used to interact with and persuade voters.",2024-06-19 +Jeff Bezos is facing a dilemma as ethical questions surrounding The Washington Post publisher grow louder,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/media/jeff-bezos-washington-post-publisher-dilemma/index.html," + Published + 7:09 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 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. + + Jeff Bezos has a decision to make — and it is one that will determine the future course of one of the nation’s most prestigious news organizations. + + The Washington Post owner and Amazon billionaire can continue to stand by Will Lewis, the controversy plagued Fleet Street veteran he tapped as publisher and chief executive of the iconic national broadsheet. Or he can side with his Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom, which is repudiating their new leader in clear and unmistakable terms. + + But based on conversations with CNN on Monday with nearly a dozen staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of The Post, it appears increasingly unlikely that Bezos can have it both ways. Lewis, who continues to face heavy scrutiny over a series of troubling decisions both past and present, has unquestionably lost the room, alienating staffers and creating an untenable position in which it is difficult to see him effectively leading the respected army of reporters under his command. + + There may have been a moment in which the former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant could have turned the tide and quelled the uproar within The Post. That fury first saw life shortly after his decision to oust top editor Sally Buzbee. In the wake of her sudden exit, it was revealed that he tried to suppress stories at The Post and NPR about his role cleaning up the U.K. phone hacking scandal for Murdoch (which he denies wrongdoing in). + + Instead of deescalating the situation early on, Lewis lashed out, going so far as to criticize his own media reporters and launch an on-the-record attack aimed at the well-respected NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. And while Lewis later sent the newsroom an apologetic memo following the episodes, it did little to quell concerns, setting into motion a series of stories that have raised serious questions about his judgment and journalistic values, as well as those of his hand-picked future top editor, Robert Winnett. + + The New York Times reported over the weekend that, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records. And The Post reported Sunday that a “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Winnett. + + The stories landed like a one-two punch in The Post newsroom, raising even more alarm and upping the panic level at the newspaper to new heights. Incensed, anxious, and demoralized staffers stressed to CNN on Monday that they just want Bezos to bring this “shit show,” as one staffer put it, to an end. + + When Bezos first appointed Lewis, staffers at The Post understood that he needed to appoint a publisher and chief executive who would shake things up in the newsroom. They acknowledged to CNN that, under previous boss Fred Ryan, The Post had fallen behind outlets like The Times in the post-Donald Trump years, both from audience and financial standpoints. And so, when Lewis took the reins in January, the newsroom was more or less, cautiously optimistic about how he would transform the institution. They were willing to give him a chance. + + But they’re not willing to let him shred the newspaper’s reputation in the process. While the journalists continue to worry about the financial state of their newsroom and want a boss who can seriously address its business woes, they fiercely guard its editorial independence and integrity. And, with respect to that, they strongly believe Lewis and Winnett pose a significant danger. + + “We are losing audience and money and the top of the company is a clown show,” a staffer explained to CNN, adding, “All we have is our credibility and we’ve just taken a gun to that.” + + The newspaper’s credibility, of course, is inextricably linked to whether it can be a thriving business. Good luck getting people to subscribe to a newspaper that they believe has been ethically compromised. (I would love to see that sales pitch!) And, as one staffer at The Post noted to CNN, behaving in an ethical manner matters greatly when trying to convince a newsroom to reinvent itself. As the person said, “It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are if you have a no-confidence vote from your entire staff.” + + That said, what Bezos will decide to do as he assesses the situation at The Post remains a mystery. Questions to his spokesperson went unanswered on Monday. And an email sent directly to Bezos went unreturned. But certainly, the tech baron is aware of the rapidly deteriorating situation over on K Street. And, presumably, Bezos does not want his stewardship of The Post to be stained by an ugly chapter in which he allowed grave problems to fester and eat away at the institution as he sat idly by. + + Dismissing Lewis would bring with it some pain for Bezos, sure. It would require him to concede that he got it wrong with Lewis and restart the time-consuming process of finding another publisher. And it might cost him a nice chunk of change — though an irrelevant one for someone of Bezos’ wealth — to pay out Lewis’ contract. + + But keeping Lewis in the position could deliver an even greater level of pain and, with it, unflattering headlines over time. More stories about Lewis are sure to drop in the days and weeks ahead. Top talent may soon head for the exits (indeed, I’m told some staffers are already looking for work elsewhere). And at some point it becomes hard to see how Bezos justifies having a boss oversee a newspaper that is publishing A1 stories spotlighting his ethically-challenged decisions. + + The best advice in crisis public relations is to reach to the end result as quickly as possible, to avoid an unrelenting drip-drip of bad news. Bezos can surely do the math on this one, given it is not too complicated. And perhaps that is why his camp is not voicing public support for Lewis. + + Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the renowned professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos has a simple decision to make. Sonnenfeld, who has advised U.S. presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.” + + “This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['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.', 'Jeff Bezoshas a decision to make — and it is one that will determine the future course of one of the nation’s most prestigious news organizations.', 'TheWashington Postowner andAmazonbillionaire can continue to stand byWill Lewis, the controversy plaguedFleet Streetveteran he tapped as publisher and chief executive of the iconic national broadsheet.', 'Or he can side with hisPulitzer Prize-winning newsroom, which is repudiating their new leader in clear and unmistakable terms.', 'But based on conversations with CNN on Monday with nearly a dozen staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of The Post, it appears increasingly unlikely that Bezos can have it both ways.', 'Lewis, who continues to face heavy scrutiny over a series of troubling decisions both past and present, has unquestionably lost the room, alienating staffers and creating an untenable position in which it is difficult to see him effectively leading the respected army of reporters under his command.', 'There may have been a moment in which the formerRupert Murdochlieutenant could have turned the tide and quelled the uproar within The Post.', 'That fury first saw life shortly after his decision to oust top editorSally Buzbee.', 'In the wake of her sudden exit, it was revealed that he tried to suppress stories at The Post andNPRabout his role cleaning up theU.K. phone hacking scandal for Murdoch (which he denies wrongdoing in).', 'Instead of deescalating the situation early on, Lewis lashed out, going so far as to criticize his own media reporters and launch an on-the-record attack aimed at the well-respected NPR media correspondentDavid Folkenflik.', 'And while Lewis later sent the newsroom an apologetic memo following the episodes, it did little to quell concerns, setting into motion a series of stories that have raised serious questions about his judgment and journalistic values, as well as those of his hand-picked future top editor,Robert Winnett.', 'The New York Timesreported over the weekendthat, in his Fleet Street days, Lewis assigned an article that was based on stolen phone records.', 'And The Postreported Sunday thata “thief” who used deceptive tactics to obtain private material had ties with Winnett.', 'The stories landed like a one-two punch in The Post newsroom, raising even more alarm and upping the panic level at the newspaper to new heights.', 'Incensed, anxious, and demoralized staffers stressed to CNN on Monday that they just want Bezos to bring this “shit show,” as one staffer put it, to an end.', 'When Bezos first appointed Lewis, staffers at The Post understood that he needed to appoint a publisher and chief executive who would shake things up in the newsroom.', 'They acknowledged to CNN that, under previous bossFred Ryan, The Post had fallen behind outlets like The Times in the post-Donald Trumpyears, both from audience and financial standpoints.', 'And so, when Lewis took the reins in January, the newsroom was more or less, cautiously optimistic about how he would transform the institution.', 'They were willing to give him a chance.', 'But they’re not willing to let him shred the newspaper’s reputation in the process.', 'While the journalists continue to worry about the financial state of their newsroom and want a boss who can seriously address its business woes, they fiercely guard its editorial independence and integrity.', 'And, with respect to that, they strongly believe Lewis and Winnett pose a significant danger.', '“We are losing audience and money and the top of the company is a clown show,” a staffer explained to CNN, adding, “All we have is our credibility and we’ve just taken a gun to that.”', 'The newspaper’s credibility, of course, is inextricably linked to whether it can be a thriving business.', 'Good luck getting people to subscribe to a newspaper that they believe has been ethically compromised. (', 'I would love to see that sales pitch!)', 'And, as one staffer at The Post noted to CNN, behaving in an ethical manner matters greatly when trying to convince a newsroom to reinvent itself.', 'As the person said, “It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are if you have a no-confidence vote from your entire staff.”', 'That said, what Bezos will decide to do as he assesses the situation at The Post remains a mystery.', 'Questions to his spokesperson went unanswered on Monday.', 'And an email sent directly to Bezos went unreturned.', 'But certainly, the tech baron is aware of the rapidly deteriorating situation over onK Street.', 'And, presumably, Bezos does not want his stewardship of The Post to be stained by an ugly chapter in which he allowed grave problems to fester and eat away at the institution as he sat idly by.', 'Dismissing Lewis would bring with it some pain for Bezos, sure.', 'It would require him to concede that he got it wrong with Lewis and restart the time-consuming process of finding another publisher.', 'And it might cost him a nice chunk of change — though an irrelevant one for someone of Bezos’ wealth — to pay out Lewis’ contract.', 'But keeping Lewis in the position could deliver an even greater level of pain and, with it, unflattering headlines over time.', 'More stories about Lewis are sure to drop in the days and weeks ahead.', 'Top talent may soon head for the exits (indeed, I’m told some staffers are already looking for work elsewhere).', 'And at some point it becomes hard to see how Bezos justifies having a boss oversee a newspaper that is publishing A1 stories spotlighting his ethically-challenged decisions.', 'The best advice in crisis public relations is to reach to the end result as quickly as possible, to avoid an unrelenting drip-drip of bad news.', 'Bezos can surely do the math on this one, given it is not too complicated.', 'And perhaps that is why his camp is not voicing public support for Lewis.', 'Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the renowned professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at theYale School of Management, told CNN on Monday that Bezos has a simple decision to make.', 'Sonnenfeld, who has advised U.S. presidents and scores of corporate leaders, said that if he were advising Bezos, he would tell him Lewis has “lost legitimacy to lead” and it’s time to “clean the house.”', '“This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to theKatharine Graham,Ben Bradlee,Marty Baronlegacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “', 'Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”']",0.0141794582119497,"Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”","Incensed, anxious, and demoralized staffers stressed to CNN on Monday that they just want Bezos to bring this “shit show,” as one staffer put it, to an end.",-0.5545372143387794,"And so, when Lewis took the reins in January, the newsroom was more or less, cautiously optimistic about how he would transform the institution.","Lewis, who continues to face heavy scrutiny over a series of troubling decisions both past and present, has unquestionably lost the room, alienating staffers and creating an untenable position in which it is difficult to see him effectively leading the respected army of reporters under his command.",2024-06-19 +"A year after the Titan tragedy, a sub is planning to go back to the Titanic to make a point",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/titan-submersible-titanic-tourism/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy. + + The agonizing spectacle sent a chill through the small but growing community of deep-sea submersible enthusiasts. OceanGate, the controversial operator behind the ill-fated sub, folded shortly after officials revealed the vessel had imploded on its way down to the site of the Titanic. + + With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut. + + But rather than tanking the entire industry, the event created an opportunity for submersible operators to double-down on their messaging around safety, and cast OceanGate as a rogue startup. + + One leading sub operator, eager to demonstrate that the Titan sub failed to live up to the industry standards that can make trips to the ocean floor relatively safe, is already planning its own journey to the wreckage of the Titanic, where Titan was headed before it collapsed. + + “If there is any positive to draw from the situation, the legacy will be that there is further investment being made in deep ocean submersibles,” said industry leader Triton Submarines, in a statement. + + In fact, just days after OceanGate disaster, the real-estate billionaire Larry Connor was on the phone with Triton’s CEO, urging him to build a sub that would reassure the world that sub travel, even as deep as the Titanic’s wreckage, could be done safely, according to the Wall Street Journal. + + “I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ. + + Triton, through a spokesperson, told CNN that trip was in the early planning stages and that “we can’t share a timeline yet.” + + OceanGate, which shut down operations last July, had been a rising but controversial player in the tight-knit world of manned submersibles. + + But in its pursuit of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation,” OceanGate frequently skirted regulations and pushed back against industry standards. + + Notably, its founder Stockton Rush, who was one of the five people killed aboard Titan, insisted that his unconventional carbon fiber hull was safe even after experts warned him that it wasn’t as safe as the more-expensive titanium used by rivals. + + “At some point, safety just is pure waste,” Rush once told journalist David Pogue. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything.” + + With a brand name uncomfortably similar to that of the ill-fated sub, Triton Submarines has spent the past year trying to distinguish itself from OceanGate. + + Two of its main points:  1) OceanGate was a rogue operation that skirted regulations and ignored repeated warnings from the tight-knit community of deep sea explorers.  2) OceanGate’s sub designs were so experimental, no other commercial sub operation would ever replicate them. + + Triton — which counts billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and filmmaker James Cameron among its investors — is quick to tout the credentials that OceanGate sidestepped, such as submitting its crafts to testing by third parties like the American Bureau of Shipping. + + “The deep ocean is no place for compromise,” Triton said in its statement. “It should be very clear to everyone by now that the events in the North Atlantic, the manner in which the operation was run and the experimental nature of the craft, bears no relation whatsoever to a highly professional, safe and accomplished sector.” + + The technology needed to reach the Earth’s deepest nooks and crannies is still in its infancy. + + But if the broader adventure tourism industry offers any guidance, the specter of death will only fuel demand. + + Every year, about half the climbers who attempt to summit Mount Everest complete the journey, and at least a few of them die in the process. But, somewhat counterintuitively, the deadlier the season, the more interest tends to spike the following year. + + Permits for Everest increased significantly in the years after 1996, a season that ended the lives of 12 climbers and became the subject of international media attention. And last year was also an especially fatal season, with 17 climbers dying on the route. + + That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator. + + “There was again the effect of Everest getting more attention after this deadly season,” founder Lukas Furtenbach said in an interview. + + But he sees a change taking root from previous years when interest spiked. Lately, he says, “it looks like there’s more readiness from the client to pay a premium for higher safety margins. … The the statistics show very clearly that the less you pay for your Everest expedition, the higher the risk to die.” + + That trend toward extra precaution was echoed by Philippe Brown, founder of luxury adventure travel firm Brown and Hudson. + + In the immediate aftermath of the Titan’s demise, before OceanGate folded for good, Brown said his firm still had a long waitlist for its Titanic tours, and that business had even ticked up. + + “The interest will always be there for boundary-pushing things,” Brown said in an interview Monday. “But what has happened is that people are way more sensitized to risk, not just in this kind of thing, or summiting Everest, but across chart travel more generally.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy.', 'The agonizing spectacle sent a chill through the small but growing community of deep-sea submersible enthusiasts.', 'OceanGate, the controversial operator behind the ill-fated sub, folded shortly after officials revealed the vessel had imploded on its way down to the site of the Titanic.', 'With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut.', 'But rather than tanking the entire industry, the event created an opportunity for submersible operators to double-down on their messaging around safety, and cast OceanGate as a rogue startup.', 'One leading sub operator, eager to demonstrate that the Titan sub failed to live up to the industry standards that can make trips to the ocean floor relatively safe, is already planning its own journey to the wreckage of the Titanic, where Titan was headed before it collapsed.', '“If there is any positive to draw from the situation, the legacy will be that there is further investment being made in deep ocean submersibles,” said industry leader Triton Submarines, in a statement.', 'In fact, just days after OceanGate disaster, the real-estate billionaire Larry Connor was on the phone with Triton’s CEO, urging him to build a sub that would reassure the world that sub travel, even as deep as the Titanic’s wreckage, could be done safely, according to the Wall Street Journal.', '“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ.', 'Triton, through a spokesperson, told CNN that trip was in the early planning stages and that “we can’t share a timeline yet.”', 'OceanGate, which shut down operations last July, had been a rising but controversial player in the tight-knit world of manned submersibles.', 'But in its pursuit of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation,” OceanGate frequently skirted regulations and pushed back against industry standards.', 'Notably, its founder Stockton Rush, who was one of the five people killed aboard Titan, insisted that his unconventional carbon fiber hull was safe even after experts warned him that it wasn’t as safe as the more-expensive titanium used by rivals.', '“At some point, safety just is pure waste,” Rush oncetold journalist David Pogue. “', 'I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed.', 'Don’t get in your car.', 'Don’t do anything.”', 'With a brand name uncomfortably similar to that of the ill-fated sub, Triton Submarines has spent the past year trying to distinguish itself from OceanGate.', 'Two of its main points: 1) OceanGate was a rogue operation that skirted regulations and ignored repeated warnings from the tight-knit community of deep sea explorers.', '2) OceanGate’s sub designs were so experimental, no other commercial sub operation would ever replicate them.', 'Triton — which counts billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and filmmaker James Cameron among its investors — is quick to tout the credentials that OceanGate sidestepped, such as submitting its crafts to testing by third parties like the American Bureau of Shipping.', '“The deep ocean is no place for compromise,” Triton said in its statement. “', 'It should be very clear to everyone by now that the events in the North Atlantic, the manner in which the operation was run and the experimental nature of the craft, bears no relation whatsoever to a highly professional, safe and accomplished sector.”', 'The technology needed to reach the Earth’s deepest nooks and crannies is still in its infancy.', 'But if the broader adventure tourism industry offers any guidance, the specter of death will only fuel demand.', 'Every year, about half the climbers who attempt to summit Mount Everest complete the journey, and at least a few of them die in the process.', 'But, somewhat counterintuitively, the deadlier the season, the more interest tends to spike the following year.', 'Permits for Everest increased significantly in the years after 1996, a season that ended the lives of 12 climbers and became the subject of international media attention.', 'And last year was also an especially fatal season, with 17 climbers dying on the route.', 'That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator.', '“There was again the effect of Everest getting more attention after this deadly season,” founder Lukas Furtenbach said in an interview.', 'But he sees a change taking root from previous years when interest spiked.', 'Lately, he says, “it looks like there’s more readinessfrom the client to pay a premium for higher safety margins. …', 'The the statistics show very clearly that the less you pay for your Everest expedition, the higher the risk to die.”', 'That trend toward extra precaution was echoed by Philippe Brown, founder of luxury adventure travel firm Brown and Hudson.', 'In the immediate aftermath of the Titan’s demise, before OceanGate folded for good, Brown said his firm still had a long waitlist for its Titanic tours, and that business had even ticked up.', '“The interest will always be there for boundary-pushing things,” Brown said in an interview Monday. “', 'But what has happened is that people are way more sensitized to risk, not just in this kind of thing, or summiting Everest, but across chart travel more generally.”']",0.080972404441563,"“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the WSJ.","A year ago Tuesday, the world watched in horror as a multinational search began for a commercial sub and five passengers that, days later, would end in tragedy.",0.18618863507321,"That led to a 100% increase in business for Furtenbach Adventures, an Austria-based expedition operator.","With OceanGate closed for business, the market for Titanic sub tourism appeared to slam shut.",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +"Boeing’s CEO was supposed to take accountability. Instead, he said he’s proud of the company’s safety record",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/business/boeings-ceo-responsible/index.html," + Published + 6:00 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","For all the mistakes and safety problems Boeing has managed under CEO Dave Calhoun’s watch — resulting in a dozen corporate whistleblowers, multiple groundings and a chunk of a plane’s fuselage literally blowing off in midair — virtually no one has held him to account. + + Not Boeing’s board of directors, which has responded by lavishing him with a salary and stock options worth more than $20 million a year, plus a $45 million golden parachute when he retires later this year. + + Not its customers, aka airlines — and that’s by design. People often call Boeing and Airbus a duopoly, but that suggests there’s some kind of legit competition happening. Once an airline commits to a tribe, it can’t just switch if it decides the other one is making better planes, because that’d involve a ton of money and time retraining staff who tend to specialize in one or the other. + + And naturally, we the flying public can cry all we want and it won’t matter a lick to Boeing, because we have even less choice than the airlines to pick the aircraft we fly. + + Until recently, the government had also been largely snoozing. Calhoun was supposed to be overseeing efforts to reform a safety culture that was so broken, Boeing has acknowledged its lapses led to the deaths of 346 people in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019. It wasn’t until January 5 this year, when a Boeing jet’s door plug blew off shortly after takeoff, that regulators and lawmakers appeared to snap to attention. + + Tuesday marked the first time ever that Calhoun has had to testify before lawmakers. He faced an intense grilling, fielding one biting question after the next from both Republican and Democratic senators. + + Calhoun mostly said the right things: He apologized to families of victims of two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO. In the understatement of the century, he said Boeing is “far from perfect.” And he acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust. + + But when pressed on taking personal responsibility, Calhoun deflected, over and over. + + Republican Sen. Josh Hawley came in hot, pressing Calhoun about Boeing’s abysmal financial performance, the fact that he got a 45% raise just last year while Boeing’s machinists got 1% over eight years, and why he hasn’t just resigned already. (Calhoun, who announced in the spring that he would retire at the end of 2024, responded that he’s “sticking this through.” + + In one of the more head-scratching moments, Calhoun actually defended Boeing’s culture, saying he was proud of the company’s safety record. + + “I am proud of every action we have taken,” Calhoun said when pressed by Hawley on how he could possibly be proud of Boeing’s safety culture. + + Calhoun at one point said, “I believe strongly in accountability.” And yet he was repeatedly unable to provide Senators answers about company policies and actions, including how many whistleblowers it fired and whether the company held any individuals responsible for safety lapses. + + Near the end of the two-hour hearing, Hawley accused Calhoun of trying to shift blame to Boeing’s employees. + + “I don’t think the problem’s with the employees, actually, I think the problem’s with you. It’s the C-suite, it’s the management, it’s what you’ve done to this company,” Hawley said. “Your engineers, they’re probably the best in the world, your machinists, they’re outstanding. You’re the problem. And I just hope to God that you don’t destroy this company before it can be saved.” + + Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal didn’t hold back, either, calling the hearing “a moment of reckoning for Boeing.” + + “I think that you’ve certainly demonstrated that you can talk about these changes,” Blumenthal told Calhoun. “But making the changes may well require a different team.” + + Calhoun may not have been accepting personal responsibility Tuesday, but the government may get the last word, anyway: The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing Boeing’s recently submitted plans to fix its safety problems. And the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Jan. 5 incident. + + Tuesday’s hearing put some well deserved fire under Calhoun’s feet. But it seems unlikely that he’ll shoulder any real responsibility for the mess he’s made and the messes he failed to clean up. + + “I’m not sure what will change as a consequence of this,” Richard Aboulafia, managing partner for AeroDynamic Consultancy, an aerospace advisory firm, told my colleague Chris Isidore. “[Calhoun] needs to go.” Aboulafia said. “He has shown a strong desire to double down on what’s bad.”",CNN,19/06/2024,"['For all the mistakes and safety problems Boeing has managed under CEO Dave Calhoun’s watch — resulting in a dozen corporate whistleblowers, multiple groundings and a chunk of a plane’s fuselage literally blowing off in midair — virtually no one has held him to account.', 'Not Boeing’s board of directors, which has responded by lavishing him with a salary and stock options worth more than $20 million a year, plus a $45 million golden parachute when he retires later this year.', 'Not its customers, aka airlines — and that’s by design.', 'People often call Boeing and Airbus a duopoly, but that suggests there’s some kind of legit competition happening.', 'Once an airline commits to a tribe, it can’t just switch if it decides the other one is making better planes, because that’d involve a ton of money and time retraining staff who tend to specialize in one or the other.', 'And naturally, we the flying public can cry all we want and it won’t matter a lick to Boeing, because we have even less choice than the airlines to pick the aircraft we fly.', 'Until recently, the government had also been largely snoozing.', 'Calhoun was supposed to be overseeing efforts to reform a safety culture that was so broken, Boeing has acknowledged its lapses led to the deaths of 346 people in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019.', 'It wasn’t until January 5 this year, when a Boeing jet’s door plug blew off shortly after takeoff, that regulators and lawmakers appeared to snap to attention.', 'Tuesday marked the first time ever that Calhoun has had to testify before lawmakers.', 'He faced an intense grilling, fielding one biting question after the next from both Republican and Democratic senators.', 'Calhoun mostly said the right things: He apologized to families of victims of two 737 Max crashes that took place before he became CEO.', 'In the understatement of the century, he said Boeing is “far from perfect.”', 'And he acknowledged that the company has a lot of work to do to regain public trust.', 'But when pressed on taking personal responsibility, Calhoun deflected, over and over.', 'Republican Sen. Josh Hawley came in hot, pressing Calhoun about Boeing’s abysmal financial performance, the fact that he got a 45% raise just last year while Boeing’s machinists got 1% over eight years, and why he hasn’t just resigned already. (', 'Calhoun, who announced in the spring that he would retire at the end of 2024, responded that he’s “sticking this through.”', 'In one of the more head-scratching moments, Calhoun actually defended Boeing’s culture, saying he was proud of the company’s safety record.', '“I am proud of every action we have taken,” Calhoun said when pressed by Hawley on how he could possibly be proud of Boeing’s safety culture.', 'Calhoun at one point said, “I believe strongly in accountability.”', 'And yet he was repeatedly unable to provide Senators answers about company policies and actions, including how many whistleblowers it fired and whether the company held any individuals responsible for safety lapses.', 'Near the end of the two-hour hearing, Hawley accused Calhoun of trying to shift blame to Boeing’s employees.', '“I don’t think the problem’s with the employees, actually, I think the problem’s with you.', 'It’s the C-suite, it’s the management, it’s what you’ve done to this company,” Hawley said. “', 'Your engineers, they’re probably the best in the world, your machinists, they’re outstanding.', 'You’re the problem.', 'And I just hope to God that you don’t destroy this company before it can be saved.”', 'Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal didn’t hold back, either, calling the hearing “a moment of reckoning for Boeing.”', '“I think that you’ve certainly demonstrated that you can talk about these changes,” Blumenthal told Calhoun. “', 'But making the changes may well require a different team.”', 'Calhoun may not have been accepting personal responsibility Tuesday, but the government may get the last word, anyway: The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing Boeing’s recently submitted plans to fix its safety problems.', 'And the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Jan. 5 incident.', 'Tuesday’s hearing put some well deserved fire under Calhoun’s feet.', 'But it seems unlikely that he’ll shoulder any real responsibility for the mess he’s made and the messes he failed to clean up.', '“I’m not sure what will change as a consequence of this,” Richard Aboulafia, managing partner for AeroDynamic Consultancy, an aerospace advisory firm, told my colleague Chris Isidore. “[', 'Calhoun] needs to go.”', 'Aboulafia said. “', 'He has shown a strong desire to double down on what’s bad.”']",0.0759515029950198,"Your engineers, they’re probably the best in the world, your machinists, they’re outstanding.","“I don’t think the problem’s with the employees, actually, I think the problem’s with you.",0.1330711841583252,"Republican Sen. Josh Hawley came in hot, pressing Calhoun about Boeing’s abysmal financial performance, the fact that he got a 45% raise just last year while Boeing’s machinists got 1% over eight years, and why he hasn’t just resigned already. (","Calhoun was supposed to be overseeing efforts to reform a safety culture that was so broken, Boeing has acknowledged its lapses led to the deaths of 346 people in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019.",2024-06-19 +Nvidia surpasses Microsoft to become the largest public company in the world,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/markets/nvidia-largest-public-company/index.html," + Updated + 2:11 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","Nvidia, Wall Street’s artificial intelligence poster child, is now the most valuable company in the world, taking the crown from Microsoft. + + Nvidia’s market capitalization closed at roughly $3.34 trillion on Tuesday, edging past Microsoft’s $3.32 trillion value. Apple is the third most valuable company in the US with a $3.27 trillion market cap. + + Nvidia shares closed 3.5% higher on Tuesday. Microsoft shares fell 0.5% and Apple shares lost 1.1%. Nvidia earlier this month joined the tech giants in becoming the only US companies to cross a $3 trillion market cap. + + The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half. Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can create text, images and other media. + + Nvidia is the leader of the tech behemoth Magnificent Seven stocks that have driven much of the stock market’s returns since the artificial intelligence frenzy overtook Wall Street last year. The company’s stock is up roughly 174% for the year and was the S&P 500 index’s best performer in 2023. + + The Jensen Huang-led company’s dethroning of Microsoft comes as Wall Street’s most prominent tech companies battle for the coveted top spot. Apple on June 13 became the most valuable US company as announcements made at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, including generative AI features for the iPhone, sent the stock climbing. The iPhone maker’s market cap slid back below Microsoft’s just a day later. + + Nvidia completed a 10-for-1 stock split on June 7. The chipmaker last month posted yet another blockbuster quarter, noting a 262% increase in revenue and a 462% increase in profits year-over-year.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['Nvidia, Wall Street’s artificial intelligence poster child, is now the most valuable company in the world, taking the crown from Microsoft.', 'Nvidia’s market capitalization closed at roughly $3.34 trillion on Tuesday, edging past Microsoft’s $3.32 trillion value.', 'Apple is the third most valuable company in the US with a $3.27 trillion market cap.', 'Nvidia shares closed 3.5% higher on Tuesday.', 'Microsoft shares fell 0.5% and Apple shares lost 1.1%.', 'Nvidia earlier this month joined the tech giants in becoming the only US companies to cross a $3 trillion market cap.', 'The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half.', 'Nvidia’s chips are unmatched in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems, including for generative AI, the technology backing OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can create text, images and other media.', 'Nvidia is the leader of the tech behemoth Magnificent Seven stocks that have driven much of the stock market’s returns since the artificial intelligence frenzy overtook Wall Street last year.', 'The company’s stock is up roughly 174% for the year and was the S&P 500 index’s best performer in 2023.', 'The Jensen Huang-led company’s dethroning of Microsoft comes as Wall Street’s most prominent tech companies battle for the coveted top spot.', 'Apple on June 13 became the most valuable US company as announcements made at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, including generative AI features for the iPhone, sent the stock climbing.', 'The iPhone maker’s market cap slid back below Microsoft’s just a day later.', 'Nvidia completed a 10-for-1 stock split on June 7.', 'The chipmaker last month posted yet another blockbuster quarter, noting a 262% increase in revenue and a 462% increase in profits year-over-year.']",0.3829661556590906,"The chipmaker last month posted yet another blockbuster quarter, noting a 262% increase in revenue and a 462% increase in profits year-over-year.",,0.2611713138493625,The company’s stock is up roughly 174% for the year and was the S&P 500 index’s best performer in 2023.,The chipmaker’s stock has been on a tear for the last year and a half.,2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +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.,2024-06-19 +Paris loses stock market crown to London as political upheaval looms,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/investing/london-overtakes-paris-stock-index/index.html," + Updated + 11:30 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","London’s stock market has edged ahead of its rival in Paris as fears grow over the outcome of France’s looming parliamentary elections. + + All stocks listed in France are now worth about $3.13 trillion in total, compared with $3.18 trillion for all shares listed in the United Kingdom, Bloomberg reported Monday, based on the data it had compiled. + + On Tuesday, the CAC All-Share index in Paris was still marginally bigger than London’s FTSE equivalent, but the latter only accounts for 98% of the market value of UK-listed shares. + + London’s comeback as Europe’s biggest equity market is “mostly” the result of French President Emmanuel Macron calling snap elections for June 9 after his party was trounced by the French far right in a vote for European Union lawmakers, according to Axel Rudolph, a senior market analyst at trading platform IG Group. + + “Financial markets don’t like uncertainty, and the fact that you’ve had such a shift to the right in the French European elections has led people to worry (about what comes next),” he told CNN. + + Since June 9, the CAC 40 of leading French stocks has shed more than 5% of its value — equivalent to $160 billion — as investors ponder the prospect of the far-right National Rally playing a much bigger role in the parliament of Europe’s second-largest economy. + + The first round of the French elections is scheduled for June 30, followed by a second round on July 7. + + An opinion poll by research firm OpinionWay released Friday showed that 32% of respondents intended to vote for the National Rally in the first round, 25% for a coalition of left-wing parties, and 19% for Macron’s centrist party. + + French banking stocks have fared particularly badly since Macron called the elections. Shares in Société Générale have tumbled nearly 14%, while shares in BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole have fallen 10.6% and 11.2% respectively. + + Hubert de Barochez, a senior market economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said investors might be concerned that a parliament run by the National Rally would penalize banks. + + “Generally, quite populist governments attack banks and their proceeds… (There) might be fears about additional taxes on banks,” he told CNN. + + Another reason for the rout in French banking stocks is the fact that “banks own quite a lot of the country’s public debt,” he added. + + The prices of those government bonds have fallen since June 9, driving up their yields or interest rates demanded by investors as they see a higher risk in holding the debt. + + A parliament dominated by the far right could make it harder to reduce France’s huge government debt pile, equal to 110.6% of gross domestic product at the end of last year, and could even add to it. A bitterly divided assembly would also struggle to cut the budget deficit — the gap between government spending and tax receipts — which reached 5.5% of GDP last year. + + In contrast with the political and financial turmoil in France, UK financial markets are “relatively stable,” said Rudolph at IG Group. The UK is gearing up for its own general election on July 4, which the opposition Labour Party is predicted to win by a wide margin. + + In addition, now that uncertainty surrounding Brexit has subsided and Britain has come out of a short recession, investors are snapping up stocks in UK companies, attracted by their low valuations compared with US stocks, Rudolph added. + + Similarly, Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, an investment platform, wrote in a note Tuesday: “There are increasing signs that the UK is gaining some favor among overseas investors, given its mix of stable, cash-generative companies which are cheap by comparison (with French stocks) by historic standards.” + + On the other side of the English Channel, the National Rally has promised to raise public spending and slash VAT on electricity and fuel if it comes to power. + + Credit ratings agencies are already keeping a close eye on France, one of the EU’s three most-indebted countries. Last month, S&P downgraded the country’s long-term credit score and said it expected its budget deficit to narrow to 3.5% of GDP in 2027, well above the 2.9% targeted by the current government. + + Mohit Kumar, chief economist for Europe at Jefferies, an investment bank, wrote in a note Tuesday: “Our view on France remains that yes, we should be worried about the debt and deficit picture… We do not see French deficit coming below 3% over the next five-year horizon.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['London’s stock market has edged ahead of its rival in Paris as fears grow over the outcome of France’s looming parliamentary elections.', 'All stocks listed in France are now worth about $3.13 trillion in total, compared with $3.18 trillion for all shares listed in the United Kingdom,Bloomberg reported Monday, based on the data it had compiled.', 'On Tuesday, the CAC All-Share index in Paris was still marginally bigger than London’s FTSE equivalent, but the latter only accounts for 98% of the market value of UK-listed shares.', 'London’s comeback as Europe’s biggest equity market is “mostly” the result of French President Emmanuel Macron calling snap elections for June 9 after his party was trounced by the French far right in a vote for European Union lawmakers, according to Axel Rudolph, a senior market analyst at trading platform IG Group.', '“Financial markets don’t like uncertainty, and the fact that you’ve had such a shift to the right in the French European elections has led people to worry (about what comes next),” he told CNN.', 'Since June 9, the CAC 40 of leading French stocks has shed more than 5% of its value —equivalent to $160 billion —as investors ponder the prospect of the far-right National Rally playing a much bigger role in the parliament of Europe’s second-largest economy.', 'The first round of the French elections is scheduled for June 30, followed by a second round on July 7.', 'An opinion poll by research firm OpinionWay released Friday showed that 32% of respondents intended to vote for the National Rally in the first round, 25% for a coalition of left-wing parties, and 19% for Macron’s centrist party.', 'French banking stocks have fared particularly badly since Macron called the elections.', 'Shares in Société Générale have tumblednearly 14%, while shares in BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole have fallen 10.6% and 11.2% respectively.', 'Hubertde Barochez, a senior market economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said investors might be concerned that a parliament run by the National Rally would penalize banks.', '“Generally, quite populist governments attack banks and their proceeds… (There) might be fears about additional taxes on banks,” he told CNN.', 'Another reason for the rout in French banking stocks is the fact that “banks own quite a lot of the country’s public debt,” he added.', 'The prices of those government bonds have fallen since June 9, driving up their yields or interest rates demanded by investors as they see a higher risk in holding the debt.', 'A parliament dominated by the far right could make it harder to reduce France’s huge government debt pile, equal to 110.6% of gross domestic product at the end of last year, and could even add to it.', 'A bitterly divided assembly would also struggle to cut the budget deficit — the gap between government spending and tax receipts — whichreached 5.5%of GDP last year.', 'In contrast with the political and financial turmoil in France, UK financial markets are “relatively stable,” said Rudolph at IG Group.', 'The UK is gearing up for its own general election on July 4, which the opposition Labour Party is predicted to win by a wide margin.', 'In addition, now that uncertainty surrounding Brexit has subsided and Britain has come out of a short recession, investors are snapping up stocks in UK companies, attracted by their low valuations compared with US stocks, Rudolph added.', 'Similarly, Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, an investment platform, wrote in a note Tuesday: “There are increasing signs that the UK is gaining some favor among overseas investors, given its mix of stable, cash-generative companies which are cheap by comparison (with French stocks) by historic standards.”', 'On the other side of the English Channel, the National Rally has promised to raise public spending and slash VAT on electricity and fuel if it comes to power.', 'Credit ratings agencies are already keeping a close eye on France, one of the EU’s three most-indebted countries.', 'Last month, S&Pdowngradedthe country’s long-term credit score and said it expected its budget deficit to narrow to 3.5% of GDP in 2027, well above the 2.9% targeted by the currentgovernment.', 'Mohit Kumar, chief economist for Europe at Jefferies, an investment bank, wrote in a note Tuesday: “Our view on France remains that yes, we should be worried about the debt and deficit picture… We do not see French deficit coming below 3% over the next five-year horizon.”']",0.0281636027635692,"Similarly, Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, an investment platform, wrote in a note Tuesday: “There are increasing signs that the UK is gaining some favor among overseas investors, given its mix of stable, cash-generative companies which are cheap by comparison (with French stocks) by historic standards.”",A bitterly divided assembly would also struggle to cut the budget deficit — the gap between government spending and tax receipts — whichreached 5.5%of GDP last year.,-0.1872225309673108,"Similarly, Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, an investment platform, wrote in a note Tuesday: “There are increasing signs that the UK is gaining some favor among overseas investors, given its mix of stable, cash-generative companies which are cheap by comparison (with French stocks) by historic standards.”","Shares in Société Générale have tumblednearly 14%, while shares in BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole have fallen 10.6% and 11.2% respectively.",2024-06-19 +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?,2024-06-19 +Gas prices are cheaper than last summer and miles away from the nightmare of 2022,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/14/economy/gas-prices-down-since-last-summer/index.html," + Published + 6:30 AM EDT, Fri June 14, 2024 + ","Exactly two years ago Friday, gasoline prices peaked at a record of $5.02 a gallon nationally. + + The gas spike of 2022 crushed consumer confidence, spooked investors and put a hole in family budgets. It helped propel the national inflation rate to 9% for the first time since the early 1980s. + + “Five-dollar gas sent shockwaves through the system. No American outside of California had ever seen five-dollar gas before,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. + + Gas prices today are not cheap – but they are miles away from that point. + + The national average for regular gas stood at $3.46 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. Not only is that down $1.56 from the record set in June 2022, it’s down 13 cents from this point last year. + + “We’ve come a long way. We’re in a much healthier and balanced market than two years ago,” said De Haan. + + Of course, gas prices were cheaper during the Covid-19 pandemic because demand was severely low. Even in June 2021, the national average was a bit lower, at about $3.08 a gallon. + + Gas prices peaked this spring at $3.68 a gallon on April 19. The fact that prices have moved steadily lower since then has helped take pressure off cash-strapped consumers. + + Cooler gas prices have also played a central role in helping to drive down inflation. + + The Bureau of Labor Statistics said this week that monthly consumer prices were unchanged between April and May for the first time in nearly two years. One of the biggest catalysts was the fact that prices at the pump have become cheaper. + + Easing inflation has kept alive hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to start cutting interest rates at least once before the end of the year. That, in turn, would give borrowers a break from historically high rates on mortgages, credit cards and car loans. + + There could be political implications, too. In part because they are so visible, gas prices play a key psychological role in how people feel about the economy. + + It’s not clear if voters will — or even should — credit the White House for falling gas prices. However, a spike to $4 would likely have negative consequences for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, since it would feed concerns about the high cost of living and further dent relatively low consumer confidence. + + “Gas prices are so central to how people think about their financial situation. They are the single most important variable in terms of how people are doing — especially low-income households,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. + + Drivers in some states are paying much less than a year ago for gasoline, including Utah (69 cents), Washington (47 cents) and Idaho (38 cents). There are also significant 12-month price drops in some key battleground states such as Arizona (59 cents), Wisconsin (33 cents) and Nevada (24 cents), according to AAA. + + “As the summer driving season continues, Americans are seeing gas prices drop around the country,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández told CNN in a statement. “But there is more work to be done — the President remains committed to lowering prices at the pump for Americans and maintaining a stable and secure energy supply.” + + Many people may wish for the $2 gas prices of last decade. Of course, people are making more money than they were a decade ago, so it’s not a fair comparison. + + Yet, on an inflation-adjusted basis, gas prices are right in line with where they were before Covid. + + Real (inflation-adjusted) gas prices stood at $3.34 a gallon in June 2019 and $3.61 in June 2018, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The current national average of $3.46 is in the middle of that. + + Although the White House spokesperson noted “historic investments” in clean energy, he also acknowledged that “record domestic oil and gas production is helping to meet our immediate needs.” + + Indeed, even though the oil industry frequently battles with the White House over regulation, US oil output is off the charts. + + Powered by the shale oil boom, the United States produced 13.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in March, according to federal statistics. That’s just shy of the record 13.3 million in November. + + “Just think about where gasoline prices would be without US shale,” said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at energy investment firm Tortoise. + + Oil prices are higher than at this point last year, in part because OPEC+ continues to restrain production. That also reflects concerns about both the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza war. + + Gas prices, however, have been guided lower by improving stockpiles of gasoline. + + “It’s all about inventories,” Thummel said. “Inventories are likely headed back to normal levels, which will keep gasoline prices lower throughout the summer driving season. That’s good news for consumers.” + + GasBuddy’s De Haan noted that gas prices have been on the low end of what his firm was forecasting for June, in part because fewer people are driving. + + If a hurricane or oil price shock is avoided, De Haan said gas prices should remain subdued. (Experts have forecast a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season this year.) + + “It’s a good outcome — dare I say a better-than-expected outcome,” he said.",CNN,14/06/2024,"['Exactly two years ago Friday, gasoline prices peaked at a record of $5.02 a gallon nationally.', 'The gas spike of 2022 crushed consumer confidence, spooked investors and put a hole in family budgets.', 'It helped propel the national inflation rate to 9% for the first time since the early 1980s.', '“Five-dollar gas sent shockwaves through the system.', 'No American outside of California had ever seen five-dollar gas before,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.', 'Gas prices today are not cheap – but they are miles away from that point.', 'The national average for regular gas stood at $3.46 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA.', 'Not only is that down $1.56 from the record set in June 2022, it’s down 13 cents from this point last year.', '“We’ve come a long way.', 'We’re in a much healthier and balanced market than two years ago,” said De Haan.', 'Of course, gas prices were cheaper during the Covid-19 pandemic because demand was severely low.', 'Even in June 2021, the national average was a bit lower, at about $3.08 a gallon.', 'Gas prices peaked this spring at $3.68 a gallon on April 19.', 'The fact that prices have moved steadily lower since then has helped take pressure off cash-strapped consumers.', 'Cooler gas prices have also played a central role in helping to drive down inflation.', 'The Bureau of Labor Statistics said this week that monthly consumer prices were unchanged between April and May for the first time in nearly two years.', 'One of the biggest catalysts was the fact that prices at the pump have become cheaper.', 'Easing inflation has kept alive hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to start cutting interest rates at least once before the end of the year.', 'That, in turn, would give borrowers a break from historically high rates on mortgages, credit cards and car loans.', 'There could be political implications, too.', 'In part because they are so visible, gas prices play a key psychological role in how people feel about the economy.', 'It’s not clear if voters will — or even should — credit the White House for falling gas prices.', 'However, a spike to $4 would likely have negative consequences for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, since it would feed concerns about the high cost of living and further dent relatively low consumer confidence.', '“Gas prices are so central to how people think about their financial situation.', 'They are the single most important variable in terms of how people are doing — especially low-income households,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.', 'Drivers in some states are paying much less than a year ago for gasoline, including Utah (69 cents), Washington (47 cents) and Idaho (38 cents).', 'There are also significant 12-month price drops in some key battleground states such as Arizona (59 cents), Wisconsin (33 cents) and Nevada (24 cents), according to AAA.', '“As the summer driving season continues, Americans are seeing gas prices drop around the country,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández told CNN in a statement. “', 'But there is more work to be done — the President remains committed to lowering prices at the pump for Americans and maintaining a stable and secure energy supply.”', 'Many people may wish for the $2 gas prices of last decade.', 'Of course, people are making more money than they were a decade ago, so it’s not a fair comparison.', 'Yet, on an inflation-adjusted basis, gas prices are right in line with where they were before Covid.', 'Real (inflation-adjusted) gas prices stood at $3.34 a gallon in June 2019 and $3.61 in June 2018, according to the US Energy Information Administration.', 'The current national average of $3.46 is in the middle of that.', 'Although the White House spokesperson noted “historic investments” in clean energy, he also acknowledged that “record domestic oil and gas production is helping to meet our immediate needs.”', 'Indeed, even though the oil industry frequently battles with the White House over regulation, US oil output is off the charts.', 'Powered by the shale oil boom, the United States produced 13.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in March, according to federal statistics.', 'That’s just shy of the record 13.3 million in November.', '“Just think about where gasoline prices would be without US shale,” said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at energy investment firm Tortoise.', 'Oil prices are higher than at this point last year, in part because OPEC+ continues to restrain production.', 'That also reflects concerns about both the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza war.', 'Gas prices, however, have been guided lower by improving stockpiles of gasoline.', '“It’s all about inventories,” Thummel said. “', 'Inventories are likely headed back to normal levels, which will keep gasoline prices lower throughout the summer driving season.', 'That’s good news for consumers.”', 'GasBuddy’s De Haan noted that gas prices have been on the low end of what his firm was forecasting for June, in part because fewer people are driving.', 'If a hurricane or oil price shock is avoided, De Haan said gas prices should remain subdued. (', 'Experts have forecast a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season this year.)', '“It’s a good outcome — dare I say a better-than-expected outcome,” he said.']",-0.0172441582978024,Easing inflation has kept alive hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to start cutting interest rates at least once before the end of the year.,That also reflects concerns about both the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza war.,0.3638310879468918,"Although the White House spokesperson noted “historic investments” in clean energy, he also acknowledged that “record domestic oil and gas production is helping to meet our immediate needs.”","Not only is that down $1.56 from the record set in June 2022, it’s down 13 cents from this point last year.",2024-06-19 +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.,,2024-06-19 +Waymo recalls driverless cars to make them less likely to drive into poles,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/13/business/waymo-recalls-driverless-cars-poles/index.html," + Published + 2:46 PM EDT, Thu June 13, 2024 + ","Waymo issued a recall for its 672 driverless cars to make them less likely to drive into telephone poles. + + The recall follows a May 21 accident in Phoenix, Arizona, in which a Waymo driverless car hit a telephone pole that was installed in the roadway in an alley. The vehicle was pulling over to pick up a passenger when it struck the pole at low speed, according to Waymo. While the car was severely damaged, no one was hurt, according to documents Waymo filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. + + The recall applies only to the fleet of modified Jaguar I-Pace SUVs Waymo owns and operates itself. The recall involves a software update on all 672 of the vehicles. The recall was first reported by The Verge. + + “We have already deployed mapping and software updates across our entire fleet, and this does not impact our current operations,” a Waymo spokesperson said in an email. + + In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Administration, Waymo described the issue is as an “[i]nsufficient ability to avoid pole or pole-like permanent objects within the drivable surface [which] may result in an increased risk of a collision.” + + This became an issue in circumstances where there wasn’t a curb or clear road shoulder – such as in an alleyway where the road surface reaches from buildings on one side to buildings on the other – and there were poles installed within that roadway. In that case, the vehicle might not have recognized the actual degree of hazard a pole represented. + + To correct the problem, Waymo updated the software for its driverless vehicles to make them more likely to avoid things that appear to be poles in the road and, also, by improving their maps to better define the edges of roads, even where they might not be clear. + + Waymo is the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. It currently offers driverless taxi rides in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco.",CNN,13/06/2024,"['Waymo issued a recall for its 672 driverless cars to make them less likely to drive into telephone poles.', 'The recall follows a May 21 accident in Phoenix, Arizona, in which a Waymo driverless car hit a telephone pole that was installed in the roadway in an alley.', 'The vehicle was pulling over to pick up a passenger when it struck the pole at low speed, according to Waymo.', 'While the car was severely damaged, no one was hurt, according to documents Waymo filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.', 'The recall applies only to the fleet of modified Jaguar I-Pace SUVs Waymo owns and operates itself.', 'The recall involves a software update on all 672 of the vehicles.', 'The recall was first reported by The Verge.', '“We have already deployed mapping and software updates across our entire fleet, and this does not impact our current operations,” a Waymo spokesperson said in an email.', 'In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Administration, Waymo described the issue is as an “[i]nsufficient ability to avoid pole or pole-like permanent objects within the drivable surface [which] may result in an increased risk of a collision.”', 'This became an issue in circumstances where there wasn’t a curb or clear road shoulder – such as in an alleyway where the road surface reaches from buildings on one side to buildings on the other – and there were poles installed within that roadway.', 'In that case, the vehicle might not have recognized the actual degree of hazard a pole represented.', 'To correct the problem, Waymo updated the software for its driverless vehicles to make them more likely to avoid things that appear to be poles in the road and, also, by improving their maps to better define the edges of roads, even where they might not be clear.', 'Waymo is the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.', 'It currently offers driverless taxi rides in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco.']",-0.1070082192965977,This became an issue in circumstances where there wasn’t a curb or clear road shoulder – such as in an alleyway where the road surface reaches from buildings on one side to buildings on the other – and there were poles installed within that roadway.,"While the car was severely damaged, no one was hurt, according to documents Waymo filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.",-0.3208930095036824,"To correct the problem, Waymo updated the software for its driverless vehicles to make them more likely to avoid things that appear to be poles in the road and, also, by improving their maps to better define the edges of roads, even where they might not be clear.",Waymo issued a recall for its 672 driverless cars to make them less likely to drive into telephone poles.,2024-06-19 +"Netflix to open 2 massive venues with experiences, shops themed to its shows",https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/business/netflix-house-locations-experiential-venues/index.html," + Updated + 5:16 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Netflix is opening massive entertainment venues in two cities that it says will allow fans to immerse themselves in the worlds of their favorite shows. + + The “experiential” complexes, called Netflix Houses, will include elaborate events, themed gift shops and restaurants. In a repurposing of empty retail space, the houses will occupy former department store locations at Dallas Galleria and King of Prussia mall (near Philadelphia). Both will span more than 100,000 square feet and are set to open in 2025, according to the streaming giant. + + It’s Netflix’s TV tweak on a theme park. For fans of its “Squid Game” dark drama and related reality show, for example, Netflix promises to recreate the program’s Glass Bridge challenge. Competitors walk or jump across clear panels that shatter — and drop them — if they stand on the wrong one. + + It’s a risky move. Critics of the expansion note that attracting repeat business will be challenging. “One of the keys to success will be to keep the offer refreshed, so that it keeps people coming back to what’s new,” said Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData. + + Netflix has already had considerable success with elaborate touring productions and events tied to some of its higher-profile programming. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is currently hosting a tour of “Bridgerton” High Tea; Toronto has a “Knives Out” dinner party; and São Paulo, Brazil offers an immersive “Stranger Things” experience. + + All this is not a new idea, though. “Disney has monetized its content for years and has a very successful retail business through licensing, its own stores, and shop-in-shop concepts,” said Saunders. + + For Netflix, it’s just the latest move in a series of efforts to broaden its profile and income beyond standard streaming— even though the bulk of its profits have come from its core business. These new initiatives come at a time profits in the streaming industry are getting squeezed. + + So the company has cut back on creating original programming but has expanded its video game offerings, rolling out mobile-friendly games from the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise. In a brand extension, It also partnered with Williams Sonoma on a line of “Bridgerton”-themed dinnerware, paper goods, foods and linens. + + TikTok influencer, product reviewer and “Bridgerton” fan Carrie Berk, who has twice attended “The Queen’s Ball” said she thinks Netflix’s new venture will be met with success. (She was not compensated by Netflix or given tickets to the events.) “I think that it’s brilliant that Netflix is bringing that magic IRL!” she said. (IRL stands for “in real life.”) + + For years, “The Queen’s Ball” has been staged in various cities two or three times daily. Fans could enjoy dances and watch performances by violin players and acrobats dressed in historically accurate garb under chandelier lighting. In keeping with the show’s plot, the Queen named a “Diamond of the Season” at each performance. Social media influencers were invited to write a letter and make their case for why they should be chosen, illustrating Netflix’s keen interest in the social media world. + + Now, “Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings,” said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee, in a statement. “The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new ever-changing, and unexpected ways.” + + Berk agreed and told CNN of her experience, “It really made me feel like I stepped into the world of the show.”",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Netflix is opening massive entertainment venues in two cities that it says will allow fans to immerse themselves in the worlds of their favorite shows.', 'The “experiential” complexes, called Netflix Houses, will include elaborate events, themed gift shops and restaurants.', 'In a repurposing of empty retail space, the houses will occupy former department store locations at Dallas Galleria and King of Prussia mall (near Philadelphia).', 'Both will span more than 100,000 square feet and are set to open in 2025, according to the streaming giant.', 'It’s Netflix’s TV tweak on a theme park.', 'For fans of its “Squid Game” dark drama and related reality show, for example, Netflix promises to recreate the program’s Glass Bridge challenge.', 'Competitors walk or jump across clear panels that shatter — and drop them — if they stand on the wrong one.', 'It’s a risky move.', 'Critics of the expansion note that attracting repeat business will be challenging. “', 'One of the keys to success will be to keep the offer refreshed, so that it keeps people coming back to what’s new,” said Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData.', 'Netflix has already had considerable success with elaborate touring productions and events tied to some of its higher-profile programming.', 'Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is currently hosting a tour of “Bridgerton” High Tea; Toronto has a “Knives Out” dinner party; and São Paulo, Brazil offers an immersive “Stranger Things” experience.', 'All this is not a new idea, though. “', 'Disney has monetized its content for years and has a very successful retail business through licensing, its own stores, and shop-in-shop concepts,” said Saunders.', 'For Netflix, it’s just the latest move in a series of efforts to broaden its profile and income beyond standard streaming— even though the bulk of its profits have come from its core business.', 'These new initiatives come at a time profits in the streaming industry are getting squeezed.', 'So the company has cut back on creating original programming but has expanded its video game offerings, rolling out mobile-friendly games from the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise.', 'In a brand extension, It also partnered with Williams Sonoma on a line of “Bridgerton”-themed dinnerware, paper goods, foods and linens.', 'TikTok influencer, product reviewer and “Bridgerton” fan Carrie Berk, who has twice attended “The Queen’s Ball” said she thinks Netflix’s new venture will be met with success. (', 'She was not compensated by Netflix or given tickets to the events.) “', 'I think that it’s brilliant that Netflix is bringing that magic IRL!”', 'she said. (', 'IRL stands for “in real life.”)', 'For years, “The Queen’s Ball” has been staged in various cities two or three times daily.', 'Fans could enjoy dances and watch performances by violin players and acrobats dressed in historically accurate garb under chandelier lighting.', 'In keeping with the show’s plot, the Queen named a “Diamond of the Season” at each performance.', 'Social media influencers were invited to write a letter and make their case for why they should be chosen, illustrating Netflix’s keen interest in the social media world.', 'Now, “Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings,” said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee, in a statement. “', 'The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new ever-changing, and unexpected ways.”', 'Berk agreed and told CNN of her experience, “It really made me feel like I stepped into the world of the show.”']",0.3035734114349728,"So the company has cut back on creating original programming but has expanded its video game offerings, rolling out mobile-friendly games from the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise.",Competitors walk or jump across clear panels that shatter — and drop them — if they stand on the wrong one.,0.4353477413004095,"Disney has monetized its content for years and has a very successful retail business through licensing, its own stores, and shop-in-shop concepts,” said Saunders.",These new initiatives come at a time profits in the streaming industry are getting squeezed.,2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +"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.,2024-06-19 +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).",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +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.",2024-06-19 +New US sanctions force end of dollar and euro trading on Russia’s main exchange,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/13/investing/us-russia-sanctions-dollar-euro-trading/index.html," + Updated + 10:36 PM EDT, Thu June 13, 2024 + ","New US sanctions against Russia have caused an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on the country’s leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange. + + The exchange, also known as MOEX, and the Russian central bank rushed out statements Wednesday, a public holiday in Russia, within an hour of Washington announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of money and goods to sustain Moscow’s war in Ukraine. + + “Due to the introduction of restrictive measures by the United States against the Moscow Exchange Group, exchange trading and settlements of deliverable instruments in US dollars and euros are suspended,” the central bank said. + + The move means banks, companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either currency via a central exchange, which offers advantages such as better liquidity and oversight. + + Instead, they will have to trade over the counter, where deals are conducted directly between two parties. The central bank said it would use data from those trades to set official exchange rates. + + Many Russians hold savings in dollars or euros, mindful of periodic crises in recent decades when the ruble has crashed in value. The central bank reassured people these deposits were secure. + + “Companies and individuals can continue to buy and sell US dollars and euros through Russian banks. All funds in US dollars and euros in the accounts and deposits of citizens and companies remain safe,” it said. + + One person at a large, non-sanctioned Russian commodities exporter told Reuters: “We don’t care, we have yuan. Getting dollars and euros in Russia is practically impossible.” + + With Moscow pursuing closer trade and political ties with Beijing, China’s yuan has ousted the dollar to become MOEX’s most traded currency, accounting for 53.6% of all foreign currency traded in May. + + Dollar-ruble trading volume on MOEX tends to be around 1 billion rubles ($11 million) a day, while euro-ruble trading hovers at around 300 million rubles ($3 million) daily. For yuan-ruble trading, daily volumes now regularly top 8 billion rubles ($90 million). + + On the eve of the national holiday, the ruble closed at 89.10 to the dollar and at 95.62 against the euro. Following the sanctions news, some banks immediately jacked up their dollar rates. + + Norvik Bank said Wednesday that it was offering to buy dollars for just 50 rubles but sell for 200 rubles, though it later adjusted the rates to 88.20/97.80. Tsifra Bank was buying dollars at 89 rubles and selling at 120. + + The US Treasury said it was “targeting the architecture of Russia’s financial system, which has been reoriented to facilitate investment into its defense industry and acquisition of goods needed to further its aggression against Ukraine.” + + Russia’s central bank has been bracing for such sanctions for around two years. In July 2022, the bank said it was modeling various sanctions scenarios with foreign exchange market participants and infrastructure organizations. + + “This is bad but expected news,” Russian broker T-Investments said on Telegram. + + Forbes Russia had reported in 2022 that the central bank was discussing a mechanism for managing the ruble-dollar exchange rate should exchange trading be halted in the event of sanctions against MOEX and its National Clearing Centre, which was also hit by the new sanctions. + + MOEX said share trading and money market trades settled in dollars and euros would also cease. The money market comprises low-risk, short-term debt instruments like government bonds and commercial debt.",CNN,13/06/2024,"['NewUS sanctionsagainst Russia have caused an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on the country’s leading financial marketplace, theMoscow Exchange.', 'The exchange, also known as MOEX, and the Russian central bank rushed out statements Wednesday, a public holiday in Russia, within an hour of Washington announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of money and goods to sustain Moscow’s war in Ukraine.', '“Due to the introduction of restrictive measures by the United States against theMoscow ExchangeGroup, exchange trading and settlements of deliverable instruments in US dollars and euros are suspended,” the central bank said.', 'The move means banks, companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either currency via a central exchange, which offers advantages such as better liquidity and oversight.', 'Instead, they will have to trade over the counter, where deals are conducted directly between two parties.', 'The central bank said it would use data from those trades to set official exchange rates.', 'Many Russians hold savings in dollars or euros, mindful of periodic crises in recent decades when the ruble has crashed in value.', 'The central bank reassured people these deposits were secure.', '“Companies and individuals can continue to buy and sell US dollars and euros through Russian banks.', 'All funds in US dollars and euros in the accounts and deposits of citizens and companies remain safe,” it said.', 'One person at a large, non-sanctioned Russian commodities exporter told Reuters: “We don’t care, we have yuan.', 'Getting dollars and euros in Russia is practically impossible.”', 'With Moscow pursuing closer trade and political ties with Beijing, China’s yuan has ousted the dollar to become MOEX’s most traded currency, accounting for 53.6% of all foreign currency traded in May.', 'Dollar-ruble trading volume on MOEX tends to be around 1 billion rubles ($11 million) a day, while euro-ruble trading hovers at around 300 million rubles ($3 million) daily.', 'For yuan-ruble trading, daily volumes now regularly top 8 billion rubles ($90 million).', 'On the eve of the national holiday, the ruble closed at 89.10 to the dollarand at 95.62 against the euro.', 'Following the sanctions news, some banks immediately jacked up their dollar rates.', 'Norvik Bank said Wednesday that it was offering to buy dollars for just 50 rubles but sell for 200 rubles, though it later adjusted the rates to 88.20/97.80.', 'Tsifra Bank was buying dollars at 89 rubles and selling at 120.', 'The US Treasury said it was “targeting the architecture of Russia’s financial system, which has been reoriented to facilitate investment into its defense industry and acquisition of goods needed to further its aggression against Ukraine.”', 'Russia’s central bank has been bracing for such sanctions for around two years.', 'In July 2022, the bank said it was modeling various sanctions scenarios with foreign exchange market participants and infrastructure organizations.', '“This is bad but expected news,” Russian broker T-Investments said on Telegram.', 'Forbes Russia had reported in 2022 that the central bank was discussing a mechanism for managing the ruble-dollar exchange rate should exchange trading be halted in the event of sanctions against MOEX and its National Clearing Centre, which was also hit by the new sanctions.', 'MOEX said share trading and money market trades settled in dollars and euros would also cease.', 'The money market comprises low-risk, short-term debt instruments like government bonds and commercial debt.']",0.0863052869969159,The central bank reassured people these deposits were secure.,"The money market comprises low-risk, short-term debt instruments like government bonds and commercial debt.",0.122061808904012,The central bank reassured people these deposits were secure.,"NewUS sanctionsagainst Russia have caused an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on the country’s leading financial marketplace, theMoscow Exchange.",2024-06-19 +"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.",2024-06-19 +Subway is expanding its menu with more footlong snacks,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/18/food/subway-dippers-sidekick-expansion/index.html," + Published + 8:00 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2024 + ","Subway’s footlong cookies were so popular they had a shortage. Now, the chain is hoping to replicate that success with savory new companions. + + Beginning Tuesday, three new 12-inch long additions are arriving, called Dippers. They use Subway’s flatbread, rolled up with pepperoni and cheese, chicken and cheese or double cheese, and served hot. The $3 rollups are part of its Sidekicks menu, adding to its successful lineup of giant cookies, churros and soft pretzels. + + Value is a major factor in the expansion of Sidekicks. Many fast food chains are releasing new menu items and discounts to lure back cash-strapped consumers, especially low-income consumers who are dining out less often and spending less when they do. + + Sidekicks and Dippers were born out of the chain seeing younger customers’ preference for snacking, according to Douglas Fry, Subway’s North America president, who said they want “convenient, hand-held, grab-and-go” food at an affordable price. + + “We know that the economic climate has started to shift,” Fry told CNN. He observed that customers have “been sacrificing quantity and quality,” and that Subway offers a “great value proposition of great-tasting food that’s made fresh and is available for a variety of budgets.” + + Dippers are a cost-efficient addition for Subway, using existing ingredients like flatbread from its recently unveiled wraps lineup and the meats and cheeses already used in its sandwiches. + + Subway’s new Sidekicks lineup is a key part of its turnaround plans, which includes a number of other changes to its menus as part of its efforts to keep up with rivals. Since the January launch, Fry said the chain has sold more than 30 million snacks, priced from $2 to $5, and “probably would have sold more” if it wasn’t for the cookie shortage. + + The addition of Sidekicks “makes sense,” said David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic, previously telling CNN that Subway needs to increase revenue somewhere since fast food customers have begun pushing back on price increases amid overall inflation. + + “They’ve underperformed in the sandwich segment, so they need to shake things up a little bit and drive some incremental traffic,” Henkes said. Technomic data shows that Subway also lags in sales for sides and snacks compared to its competitors. + + In recent years, Subway has added customization to its menu, doubled down on pushing orders to its app, increased its international presence and introduced freshly sliced meats — a major shift from Subway’s previous method of delivering cold cuts pre-sliced. + + Another major hurdle for Subway is it its dwindling store count: The chain closed more than 400 restaurants in the US in 2023, finishing the year with its smallest number of US restaurants (20,133) since 2005. + + Owned by Roark Capital, a privately held company, Subway doesn’t regularly release financial figures. The private equity firm holds investments in a number of large restaurant chains, including Arby’s, Auntie Anne’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic.",CNN,18/06/2024,"['Subway’s footlong cookies were so popular they had a shortage.', 'Now, the chain is hoping to replicate that success with savory new companions.', 'Beginning Tuesday, three new 12-inch long additions are arriving, called Dippers.', 'They use Subway’s flatbread, rolled up with pepperoni and cheese, chicken and cheese or double cheese, and served hot.', 'The $3 rollups are part of its Sidekicks menu, adding to its successful lineup of giant cookies, churros and soft pretzels.', 'Value is a major factor in the expansion of Sidekicks.', 'Many fast food chains are releasing new menu items and discounts to lure back cash-strapped consumers, especiallylow-income consumers who are dining out less often andspending less when they do.', 'Sidekicks and Dippers were born out of the chain seeing younger customers’ preference for snacking, according to DouglasFry, Subway’s North America president, who said they want “convenient, hand-held, grab-and-go” food at an affordable price.', '“We know that the economic climate has started to shift,” Fry told CNN.', 'He observed that customers have “been sacrificing quantity and quality,” and that Subway offers a “great value proposition of great-tasting food that’s made fresh and is available for a variety of budgets.”', 'Dippers are a cost-efficient addition for Subway, using existing ingredients like flatbread from its recently unveiled wraps lineup and the meats and cheeses already used in its sandwiches.', 'Subway’snew Sidekicks lineup is a key part of its turnaround plans, which includes a number of other changes to its menus as part of its efforts to keep up with rivals.', 'Since the January launch, Fry said the chain has sold more than 30 million snacks, priced from $2 to $5, and “probably would have sold more” if it wasn’t for the cookie shortage.', 'The addition of Sidekicks “makes sense,” said David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic, previously telling CNN that Subway needs to increase revenue somewhere since fast food customers have begun pushing back on price increases amid overall inflation.', '“They’ve underperformed inthe sandwichsegment, so they need to shake things up a little bit and drive some incremental traffic,” Henkes said.', 'Technomic data shows that Subway also lags in sales for sides and snacks compared to its competitors.', 'In recent years, Subway has addedcustomization to its menu, doubled down on pushing orders to its app, increased itsinternational presenceand introducedfreshly sliced meats— a major shift from Subway’s previous method of delivering cold cuts pre-sliced.', 'Another major hurdle for Subway is it its dwindling store count: The chain closed more than 400 restaurants in the US in 2023, finishing the year with its smallest number of US restaurants (20,133) since 2005.', 'Owned by Roark Capital, a privately held company, Subway doesn’t regularly release financial figures.', 'The private equity firm holds investments in a number of large restaurant chains, including Arby’s, Auntie Anne’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic.']",0.1899132522211905,"He observed that customers have “been sacrificing quantity and quality,” and that Subway offers a “great value proposition of great-tasting food that’s made fresh and is available for a variety of budgets.”",Technomic data shows that Subway also lags in sales for sides and snacks compared to its competitors.,0.3420636653900146,"The addition of Sidekicks “makes sense,” said David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic, previously telling CNN that Subway needs to increase revenue somewhere since fast food customers have begun pushing back on price increases amid overall inflation.",Technomic data shows that Subway also lags in sales for sides and snacks compared to its competitors.,2024-06-19 +Car dealerships hit with massive computer system outage,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/tech/car-dealership-cdk-cyber-incident-outage/index.html," + Published + 4:06 PM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","A cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers, hampered operations Wednesday at US and Canada dealerships, the company said. + + “We are actively investigating a cyber incident,” CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN. “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible. + + CDK operates numerous different types of products car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service. Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but it’s been a problem for many. + + “We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland. + + To protect customer privacy, customer’s details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on the desk anymore. Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access. + + Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data. But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business. Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead. + + It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern. + + “We’re in the summer months,” he said. “This is where we need systems functioning.” + + Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems. + + “My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock. + + The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, he said. Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data. + + A statement shared by CDK later in the afternoon said some of the company’s system had been restored to operation but not all of them, yet.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['A cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers, hampered operations Wednesday at US and Canada dealerships, the company said.', '“We are actively investigating a cyber incident,” CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN. “', 'Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down most of our systems and are working diligently to get everything up and running as quickly as possible.', 'CDK operates numerous different types of products car dealers use to handle things like keeping records of negotiated deals to scheduling and communicating about service.', 'Not every dealer uses CDK’s products, and even those that do may not use them for everything, but it’s been a problem for many.', '“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.', 'To protect customer privacy, customer’s details aren’t written out on a piece of paper that’s just sitting on the desk anymore.', 'Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for his salespeople to access.', 'Ramsey said he understands, though, that CDK is doing what it feels it must to secure this sensitive data.', 'But it’s a major hassle in the meantime and could cost his dealerships some business.', 'Customers who are delayed in closing a sale at one of his dealerships could just find a dealer nearby that’s not having these issues and buy a new vehicle there, instead.', 'It’s car buying season, so it’s a real concern.', '“We’re in the summer months,” he said. “', 'This is where we need systems functioning.”', 'Ramsey and Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Long Island City, New York, both said they were continuing to do business and were selling cars in spite of the problems.', '“My selling team can hand-write a buyer’s order,” said Benstock.', 'The bigger hassles will be for the dealership’s accountants and businesspeople, he said.', 'Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.', 'A statement shared by CDK later in the afternoon said some of the company’s system had been restored to operation but not all of them, yet.']",0.0347400317788807,"“We are actively investigating a cyber incident,” CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement shared with CNN. “","Plenty of his employees have been in this business since before it became networked and computer dependent, he said, but it’s still a problem and he’s still worried about customer data.",-0.5569638609886169,"“We have customers coming in today who had deals saved in the system,” said Jeff Ramsey, an executive with Ourisman Auto Group, which is headquartered in Maryland.","A cyber incident at data provider CDK Global, whose software is used at 15,000 auto dealers, hampered operations Wednesday at US and Canada dealerships, the company said.",2024-06-19 +Inflation is finally back at 2% in the UK. Here’s why rate cuts are still ‘off the table’,https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/19/economy/uk-inflation-target-interest-rate-cuts/index.html," + Published + 6:40 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2024 + ","UK inflation slowed to 2% in May, falling to the Bank of England’s target for the first time in nearly three years as food price rises eased sharply. + + The consumer price data published Wednesday means the United Kingdom is now ahead of most other G7 economies in bringing inflation back to the level central bankers try to maintain to help households and businesses. + + But the figures also showed that the prices of services, such as haircuts, hotels and restaurants, are still rising too fast. + + That suggests the Bank of England won’t follow the European Central Bank in cutting interest rates when it meets Thursday. A rate cut in August, when UK policymakers meet next, is now also less likely. + + Services inflation, at 5.7% last month, down from 5.9% in April, is “still running too hot,” said Zara Noakes, global market analyst at JPMorgan Asset Management. + + “Today’s inflation news puts the final nail in the coffin for any hopes of a rate cut from the Bank of England tomorrow… If this stickiness in domestic price pressures continues, alongside ongoing resilience in economic activity, an August rate cut could well be off the table too,” she added. + + Other economists, including analysts at Nomura, thought an August rate cut was still possible if pay rises and the price of services cooled further. “For an August rate cut, we will need other economic news to play ball,” the analysts wrote in a note. + + Following a long-running campaign to tame soaring inflation, the Bank of England hiked benchmark borrowing costs to 5.25% last August — their highest level in 16 years and where they have stayed since. UK inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, driven to a 41-year high by surging food and energy costs. + + While it has been easing steadily since — and wages have now grown faster than prices for close to a year — many Brits are still struggling to pay their bills. Persistently high living costs are likely to be top of mind for voters when they elect a new government on July 4. + + “Workers now have more money in their pockets than they did last year… But the bad news is that most people are feeling poorer than when they voted in the last general election nearly five years ago,” said Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University in England. + + “For many workers the cost-of-living crisis is not over yet.” + + According to Jake Finney, an economist at PwC UK, consumer prices have risen by 20% since inflation was last at target in July 2021. He cautioned that headline inflation could pop back above the 2% target as soon as next month if prices continued to rise at their current pace. + + “It is not ‘job done’ yet,” he said. + + Similarly to the United Kingdom, inflation has also proven surprisingly stubborn in the United States and Europe, prompting traders to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts from major central banks. + + Although the European Central Bank cut rates earlier this month, it raised its inflation forecast for this year and said consumer prices in the 20 countries that use the euro were likely to stay above its 2% target well into next year.",CNN,19/06/2024,"['UK inflation slowed to 2% in May, falling to the Bank of England’s target for the first time in nearly three years as food price rises eased sharply.', 'The consumer price data published Wednesday means the United Kingdom is now ahead of most other G7 economies in bringing inflation back to the level central bankers try to maintain to help households and businesses.', 'But the figures also showed that the prices of services, such as haircuts, hotels and restaurants, are still rising too fast.', 'That suggests the Bank of England won’t follow the European Central Bank in cutting interest rates when it meets Thursday.', 'A rate cut in August, when UK policymakers meet next, is now also less likely.', 'Services inflation, at 5.7% last month, down from 5.9% in April, is “still running too hot,” said Zara Noakes, global market analyst at JPMorgan Asset Management.', '“Today’s inflation news puts the final nail in the coffin for any hopes of a rate cut from the Bank of England tomorrow… If this stickiness in domestic price pressures continues, alongside ongoing resilience in economic activity, an August rate cut could well be off the table too,” she added.', 'Other economists, including analysts at Nomura, thought an August rate cut was still possible if pay rises and the price of services cooled further. “', 'For an August rate cut, we will need other economic news to play ball,” the analysts wrote in a note.', 'Following a long-running campaign to tame soaring inflation, the Bank of England hiked benchmark borrowing costs to 5.25% last August — their highest level in 16 years and where they have stayed since.', 'UK inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, driven to a 41-year high by surging food and energy costs.', 'While it has been easing steadily since — and wages have now grown faster than prices for close to a year — many Brits are still struggling to pay their bills.', 'Persistently high living costs are likely to be top of mind for voters when they elect a new government on July 4.', '“Workers now have more money in their pockets than they did last year… But the bad news is that most people are feeling poorer than when they voted in the last general election nearly five years ago,” said Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University in England.', '“For many workers the cost-of-living crisis is not over yet.”', 'According to Jake Finney, an economist at PwC UK, consumer prices have risen by 20% since inflation was last at target in July 2021.', 'He cautioned that headline inflation could pop back above the 2% target as soon as next month if prices continued to rise at their current pace.', '“It is not ‘job done’ yet,” he said.', 'Similarly to the United Kingdom, inflation has also proven surprisingly stubborn in the United States and Europe, prompting traders to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts from major central banks.', 'Although the European Central Bank cut rates earlier this month, it raised its inflation forecast for this year and said consumer prices in the 20 countries that use the euro were likely to stay above its 2% target well into next year.']",0.0159081381106679,"Similarly to the United Kingdom, inflation has also proven surprisingly stubborn in the United States and Europe, prompting traders to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts from major central banks.","“Workers now have more money in their pockets than they did last year… But the bad news is that most people are feeling poorer than when they voted in the last general election nearly five years ago,” said Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University in England.",-0.3784225022091585,"According to Jake Finney, an economist at PwC UK, consumer prices have risen by 20% since inflation was last at target in July 2021.","Services inflation, at 5.7% last month, down from 5.9% in April, is “still running too hot,” said Zara Noakes, global market analyst at JPMorgan Asset Management.",2024-06-19