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Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEuropean Central Bank policymaker Joachim Nagel said Wednesday that a rate cut for the institution looks increasingly likely for June, but added that certain parts of the incoming inflation data still look higher than desired. watch nowEarlier Wednesday, Mario Centeno, governor of Portugal's central bank, said it was "about time to change this monetary policy cycle." The ECB's June interest rate decision would be "very important," he said. Markets are widely pricing in the first rate cut from the ECB to take place in June. watch nowEarlier this week, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that unless there were any major shocks, the ECB was on track to cut interest rates soon.

Persons: Joachim Nagel, Alex Kraus, Central Bank policymaker Joachim Nagel, Germany's Bundesbank, Karen Tso, " Nagel, —, Mario Centeno, CNBC's Tso, Christine Lagarde, disinflation, CNBC's Sara Eisen, Robert Holzmann, Holzmann, wasn't Organizations: Deutsche Bundesbank, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg, Getty, Central Bank, ECB Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Washington ,, Europe, Portugal's, Austrian, East

☆ How AI could power the climate breakthrough the world needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The tool uses data on the climate, water and soil of a particular location to measure how viable the landscape will be for growing in the coming years. “The way we think about AI is it’s a time and effectiveness multiplier to the solutions for climate change,” Gupta told CNN. But for all of AI’s promise, the infrastructure that supports the technology — data centers filled with rows of powerful, energy-sucking computers — could itself be a strain on the environment. For now, the amount of energy used to power AI is relatively small compared to what’s consumed by transportation or buildings. Data center operators like Google are already thinking about how to reduce the resources needed to power the computing behind their AI models.

Persons: David Rind, ClimateAi, Himanshu Gupta, ” Gupta, ”, Fengqi, “, Kara Lamb, Aditya, Dan Keeler, ” Keeler, Anna Liljedahl, ” Liljedahl, Keeler, Daniel Leal, ClimateAi’s Gupta, Anna Robertson, ” Robertson, Alex de Vries, Alex Kraus, Adam Selipsky, —, Gupta Organizations: David Rind . New York CNN, Farmers, CNN, Cornell, Getty, Technology, Climate Research, Google, Bloomberg, Web Services, —, “ Regulators, ” Tech Locations: David Rind . New York, India, Maharashtra, Columbia, American, Ireland, Oregon, United States

☆ OpenAI Rivals Move to Exploit Leadership Turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Google and other companies in the generative AI space see an opportunity to win over customers following the turmoil at OpenAI. Photo: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg NewsOpenAI’s rivals this week raced to capitalize on the turmoil engulfing the artificial intelligence powerhouse, targeting its customers with incentives to switch to their platforms. Google said its sales team launched a campaign to persuade customers to switch from OpenAI. It is matching OpenAI’s pricing, providing cloud credits if customers use its AI software and offering assistance switching to its platform. Amazon said recent events underscore the value of its selected generative AI strategy, whereby customers can choose between many AI systems versus going all-in on OpenAI or a single vendor.

Persons: Alex Kraus Organizations: Google, Bloomberg Locations: OpenAI

☆ Chip Makers’ PC Boost Not Built to Last
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PCs have proved to be the saving grace for Intel and Advanced Micro Devices this earnings season. Photo: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg NewsIt’s a testament to how odd the chip market is right now that personal-computer demand is actually a source of strength. PC sales have been in a downspin since early last year, following two years of pandemic-induced growth. The downturn has been such that the 7.6% year-over-year decline in unit sales that market-research firm IDC reported for the third quarter actually counted as a notable improvement, as sales had been falling by double digits for the previous five periods. IDC projects PC shipments will total 252 million units globally this year—down 14% from last year and the lowest annual sales number the firm has reported in more than a decade.

Persons: Alex Kraus, It’s Organizations: Intel, Bloomberg, IDC

☆ Mercedes-Benz Q3 earnings take a hit on subdued sales, supply chain snags
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Preparations at the Mercedes-Benz booth with the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX automobile ahead of the Munich Motor Show (IAA) in Munich, Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) across the Mercedes-Benz Group fell 6.8% to 4.8 billion euros ($5.1 billion) with revenue down 1.4% at 37.2 billion euros. The cars division reported a 12.4% adjusted return on sales, at the lower end of the annual forecast. Mercedes-Benz Vans reported a stronger quarter with a 44% rise in EBIT to 715 million euros and an adjusted return on sales of 15%. Car revenue dipped 3.8% due to the fall in deliveries but the average selling price remained stable, the company said.

Persons: Alex Kraus, Tesla Organizations: Mercedes, Benz, Munich, Bloomberg, Getty Images Mercedes, Ford, Porsche, Benz Group, Benz Vans Locations: Munich, Germany, United States, China, stoke, EBIT

☆ Microsoft Earnings Growth Accelerates on Stronger-Than-Expected Cloud Demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Tom Dotan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft’s gaming unit is poised to become around 10% of the company’s overall business with the acquisition of Activision. Photo: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg NewsMicrosoft ’s sales growth accelerated last quarter as demand for its cloud computing services heated up amid growing enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. The company reported Tuesday that its revenue grew 13% to $56.5 billion for the quarter through September. That was above analysts’ expectations and a step up from growth of 11% during the year-earlier period.

Persons: Alex Kraus Organizations: Activision, Bloomberg, Microsoft

☆ DWS to pay $25 mln over US charges over ESG misstatements, other violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDeutsche Bank-controlled investment firm DWS will pay $25 million to settle charges over misstatements regarding its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and failures in policies designed to prevent money laundering, U.S. regulators said on Monday. DWS Investment Management Americas, a registered investment adviser, made "concerning" misstatements regarding its ESG investment process, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement. Representatives for DWS, which did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, did not respond to requests for comment. Separately, regulators found DWS failed to develop a mutual fund anti-money laundering program as required by law. The firm did not have systems in place that were "reasonably designed" to flag potential money laundering, the SEC said in a separate order.

Persons: Alex Kraus Organizations: Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, Getty Images Deutsche Bank, DWS Investment Management, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, DWS Locations: Frankfurt, Germany

☆ Deutsche Bank beats expectations despite 27% drop in profit, jump in costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Deutsche Bank AG branch in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday, May 6, 2022. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDeutsche Bank on Wednesday reported a net profit of 763 million euros ($842 million) for the second quarter of 2023, narrowly beating expectations despite a 27% year-on-year decline. related investing news Citi downgrades Goldman Sachs, says targets will take time to be reached We're selling some shares of this health-care company and changing our rating However, second-quarter non-interest expenses rose 15% year-on-year to 5.6 billion euros, with adjusted costs up 4% to 4.9 billion euros. Nonoperating costs includes 395 million euros in litigation charges and 260 million euros in "restructuring and severance related to execution of strategy." In its first-quarter report, the bank flagged job cuts for its non-client facing staff and reported a sharper-than-expected year-on-year fall in investment bank revenues.

Persons: Alex Kraus, Citi downgrades Goldman Sachs, James von Moltke, CNBC's Silvia Amaro, von Moltke, we've Organizations: Deutsche Bank AG, Bloomberg, Getty Images Deutsche Bank, Citi, Deutsche Bank, CNBC Locations: Frankfurt, Germany

☆ Deutsche Bank logs 11th straight quarterly profit, reveals job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A Deutsche Bank AG branch in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday, May 6, 2022. The Thursday report nevertheless showed deposits fell over the course of the quarter to 592 billion euros from 621.5 billion euros at the end of 2022. watch nowDeutsche's corporate bank net revenues came in at 2 billion for the quarter, up 35% year-on-year and the highest quarterly figure since the launch of its transformation program. However, the bank also flagged job cuts for non-client facing staff and reported a sharper-than-expected 19% year-on-year fall in investment bank revenues year-on-year. He suggested that, in scrutinizing Deutsche Bank, market participants saw a strong and profitable business model, stable balance sheet and deposit base, a "very moderate" and "well underwritten" commercial real estate book and "no near-term financing needs."

☆ Banking crisis forces ECB policymakers to rethink rate hikes, but focus still firmly on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A sign for the European Central Bank (ECB) outside the bank's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEuropean Central Bank policymakers are reconsidering the path of interest rate hikes in light of last month's banking turmoil, but remain committed to reining in core inflation. However core inflation — which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices — rose to an all-time high of 5.7%. But he said policymakers will be examining the data for signs that core inflation is coming down and the bank's medium-term inflation target of 2% is within sight. So yes we are worried about the core inflation not yet peaking," Scicluna said.

☆ Inside the fierce debate over clean hydrogen, with $100 billion in federal subsidies on the line
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

The impact of the tax credit on emissions reductions depends on how federal agencies implement it. On one side of the debate, some energy providers say that making the rules too strict could kill the clean hydrogen industry before it ever gets off the ground. CERAWeek returned in-person to Houston celebrating its 40th anniversary with the theme "Pace of Change: Energy, Climate, and Innovation." This hourly approach to energy accounting has been adopted by Google, which has been a forerunner in adopting clean energy, for example. In the long run, Garabedian says, his stance is about protecting his company, the industry's reputation, and the tax credit.

☆ BASF CFO Faces Wild Swings in Energy Prices as Company Looks to Budget for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

There are roughly 15,000 people working for Mr. Engel, including in the company’s digital, finance and global shared-service teams. Mr. Engel declined to comment on the financial impact of the cut in production. However, the company expects it will become more difficult to pass on higher costs to customers, Mr. Engel said. Cash flows from operating activities came in at €1.2 billion in the second quarter, down €1.3 billion from the prior-year period. The company is slowing down its hiring and reducing its marketing budget, Mr. Engel said, adding that it hasn’t started cutting jobs.

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