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☆ Trump’s playboy past is in the spotlight. His allies are readying a new fight against pornography
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Steve Contorno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

A movement to rein in online pornography is rapidly intensifying, fueled by conservative outrage and growing unease over the accessibility of sexual content online, especially for children. Pornography is mentioned on the first page; banning pornography and locking up those who produce it are proposed on Page 5. He was an occasional guest at Hugh Hefner’s famed Playboy Mansion and made cameos in soft-core pornographic films produced by the company – though not in any scenes depicting sexual content or nudity. ‘Sex is the canary in the coal mine’The Supreme Court has deemed previous attempts to curb online pornography unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. They were designed to protect adults from accessing adult content, which, of course, is their stated aim.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, “, ”, Terry Schilling, Hugh Hefner’s, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal –, McDougal, Daniels, Kevin Roberts, ” Roberts, ” Roberts hasn’t, Ben Carson, Charlie Kirk, Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, President Trump, LaCivita, Wiles, Mike Stabile, ” Pornhub, –, Robert Winterton, Pornhub, Solomon Friedman, It’s, ” Schilling, Paul Dans, Stabile, ” Stabile, Schilling, “ It’s, Stuart Brotman, Brotman –, Playboy’s Hefner –, Roberts, ” Brotman, Ben Bull, ” Bull Organizations: CNN, Trump, Heritage Foundation, Playboy, Heritage, Housing, Urban, Free Speech Coalition, US, Apple, Google, Facebook, ”, National Center, Media, Ethical Capital Partners, Republicans, US Department of Justice, University of Tennessee, GOP Locations: Manhattan, Washington, DC, Lake Tahoe, Texas, – Virginia, Montana , North Carolina , Arkansas , Utah , Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Knoxville

☆ Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the 2024 Election: 12 Women Discuss - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Patrick Healy | Kristen Soltis Anderson | Mr. Healy Is The Deputy Opinion Editor. Ms. Soltis Anderson Is A Pollster. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When you think about Donald Trump, what’s the first word that comes to mind? When you think about Donald Trump, what’s the first word that comes to mind? But all of them said they wished someone other than Mr. Biden would be the Democratic presidential nominee this year. This focus group is a companion to that Biden group: We spoke with 12 women who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 to discuss how they saw him now. But disdain for Mr. Trump’s personality was exceeded by frustration with Mr. Biden on policy and competence.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Trump, Trump’s, Mr, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, “ Organizations: Democratic, Biden, Mr, Trump Locations: Arizona

☆ Apple looks kind of ridiculous right now
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Apple, though, has kept pretty quiet about its own AI ambitions so far — and it's increasingly obvious. "The buzz around AI, and specifically GenAI, has been so deafening that Apple is noticeable by omission," Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, told Business Insider. Still, if the rumors about OpenAI or Gemini iPhone integration are true, this week's "strong announcements actually would bode well for Apple," William Kerwin, an analyst at Morningstar, said. AdvertisementThe analyst told BI that the new iPad rollout is simply an "appetizer to the real meat and potatoes" of Apple's AI strategy, expected to be announced at the WWDC in June.

Persons: —, Sam Altman's, Google's, Dipanjan Chatterjee, Forrester, Chatterjee, Gene Munster, it'd, Apple's, bode, William Kerwin, Siri, Dan Ives Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Business, Apple, Conference, Google, Deepwater Asset Management, Morningstar, Microsoft

☆ Who is Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Fico, 59, has played a pivotal role in Slovakian politics in the years since it gained independence in 1993 and has served as prime minister longer than any other leader. The country gained independence amid the so-called Velvet Revolution, a series of popular and nonviolent protests against the Communist Party in what was at that time still Czechoslovakia. Mr. Fico, who had been a Communist Party member while it was in power, founded the Smer party in the late 1990s and began the first of his three terms as prime minister in 2006. The Smer party, which started out on the political left but has increasingly embraced right-wing views on immigration and cultural issues, has always governed as part of a coalition. Much of the international focus on Mr. Fico’s leadership in recent years has focused on his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Vladimir Putin of, Viktor Orban of Hungary Organizations: Communist Party Locations: Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Vladimir Putin of Russia

☆ Copper futures hit record high as data center build-up, EV growth fuels demand
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Copper futures hit a record high on Wednesday as demand for the base metal stays strong amid a rush to build data centers and the continued electrification of the global economy. It is integral to manufacturing electric vehicles, power grids and wind turbines, especially as the global economy electrifies. The International Energy Agency is expecting power demand from data centers to more than double to over 1000 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2026 from 460 TWh in 2022. Copper production growth forecast for 2024 has been cut to 0.5% compared with a 3.7% growth estimated by ICSG last October 2023. Anglo American, a major producer, said it would cut copper output in 2024 and 2025 as it seeks to cut costs.

Persons: ICSG Organizations: Aurubis, Bank of America, International Energy Agency, Study, Quantum Minerals, Citi, London Metals Exchange Locations: Hamburg, Germany

☆ Analysis: Cohen gets a breather after bruising cross-examination as Trump looks on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Blanche took Cohen through a long list of the insults he’s unleashed at Trump since becoming estranged from his former mentor, highlighting his penchant for serial lying. He drew jurors’ attention to a social media post in which Cohen wore a T-shirt that depicted Trump in jail, as he spun a narrative of bias and obsession. A key legal conundrum is whether prosecutors have so far succeeded in validating the legal theory behind the case. That foreboding realization was exacerbated by a new posse of Trump supporters at the courthouse on Tuesday, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. While Cohen’s reluctance to offer yes-and-no answers came across at times as flippant and confrontational, he did not appear to say or do anything to torpedo the prosecution case.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, don’t, Cohen, ”, Todd Blanche, president’s, didn’t, he’s, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Blanche, ” Cohen, he’d, ” Blanche, douchebag, ” Michael Moore, “, Moore, Juan Merchan, Will Trump’s, ” Shira Scheindlin, CNN’s Jake Tapper, ” Scheindlin, “ Cohen, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Andrew McCabe, Cohen’s, ” Moore, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, reimbursements, ’ ” Cohen Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, Middle, Middle District of, Louisiana Republican, Defense, FBI Locations: Ohio, Kentucky, Middle District, Middle District of Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Blanche, Manhattan

☆ Opinion | ‘There Are Layers of Mistrust and Fear’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jyoti Thottam | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The editorial board and our colleagues in Times Opinion met on Monday with Dr. Mandy Cohen, who became the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year. Dr. Cohen was the top public health official in North Carolina during the Covid pandemic, winning praise for working with Gov. to be prepared for the next big public health challenge “in a disease-agnostic way,” rather than focusing on a specific threat, like avian flu, dengue or an as yet unknown pathogen. ?” The first is to be ready to respond no matter the health threat — that might be something like avian flu or it might be something like drowning. We are really planning as one team in a disease-agnostic way.

Persons: Mandy Cohen, Cohen, Roy Cooper Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Gov Locations: North Carolina, C.D.C

☆ Ethnic ‘Balancer’ for Government Jobs Becomes Focus of Ethnic Division
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After drawing up a plan for 20 hires this year by the city administration, the head of the municipal personnel department plugged it into the Balancer — a website run by the government of the Balkan nation of North Macedonia. Seconds later, he received a chart giving the mandatory ethnic breakdown of the people to fill the jobs: 16 ethnic Albanians, three ethnic Macedonians and one Roma. The computer-generated quotas, which match the size of different communities in the heavily ethnic Albanian city of Tetovo, in the country’s northwest, are part of one of the world’s most comprehensive and rigidly mathematical government programs aimed at enforcing ethnic diversity through affirmative action. Critics say it puts ethnicity above merit, while supporters credit it with helping to pull the country back from ethnic civil war. Both sides agree the program has become riddled with fraud, especially as ethnic-based political parties try to game the system, and that it and other efforts to promote diversity have contributed to the proliferation of unnecessary state sector jobs.

Locations: Balkan, North Macedonia, Albanian, Tetovo

☆ Bank loan loss reserves are high. What that means for the economy and earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Loan loss reserves have perked back up in recent quarters and are at roughly 1.75% of loans outstanding, according to MRB Partners. If the economy only modestly slows, as many economists expect, new loan loss reserves could be smaller in the future. This situation comes as bank earnings were generally better than expected for the first quarter. Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist and economist at New York Life Investments, agreed that a potential slowing or reversal of loan loss reserves would be positive for bank earnings but said she is cautious about bank profitability more broadly. To be sure, banks may need to increase their loan loss reserves if the economic outlook gets worse.

Persons: Banks, Bob Elliott, Salvatore Ruscitti, Ruscitti, Lauren Goodwin, Goodwin, they're, Unlimited's Elliott Organizations: MRB Partners, Funds, Bank, P Bank ETF, New York Life Investments Locations: Bridgewater, MRB

☆ News publishers sound alarm on Google’s new AI-infused search, warn of ‘catastrophic’ impacts
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In other words, users will soon no longer have to click on the links displayed in search results to find the information they are seeking. Why spend time clicking on a link when Google has already scoured the internet and harvested the relevant information with its A.I.? Coffey, whose organization represents more than 2,000 news publishers and has taken an aggressive posture toward A.I. This time with a product that directly competes with our content, using our content to fuel it. Most recently, it drew scorn after temporarily blocking some California news outlets from search results in response to a bill that would force it to pay publishers.

Persons: —, ” Danielle Coffey, Coffey, newsrooms, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Mark Zuckerberg, “, we’ll, ” Marc McCollum Organizations: New York CNN, Google, News / Media Alliance, Big Tech, The New York Times Locations: New York, California

☆ Peloton's demise is another in a long line of failed fitness fads
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Peloton isn't going under imminently, but let's be real here: No fitness fad lasts forever. While there was a lot that went wrong, the long and short of it is that Peloton failed to read the room on its pandemic popularity. "It's not that Peloton isn't a good business model; it's that it simply isn't a mass product but more of a niche, luxe one," she said. Investors have soured on the company, and Peloton's once $50 billion market cap has fallen to under $2 billion. It also has to contend with the gym, which has all sorts of classes and fitness equipment that let people mix things up, including, in many cases, Pelotons or other connected-fitness devices.

Persons: I've, Tae, monthslong, Rina Raphael, Simeon Siegel, It's, That's, Siegel, Paul Golding, it's, Golding, there's, Raphael, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Emily Stewart Organizations: Private, BMO Capital Markets, Macquarie Capital, Google, YouTube, New School, Facebook, Business Locations: COVID, unsubscribing, Barre, America

☆ A look inside Hawaii's Merrie Monarch Festival, an energetic celebration of native art, dance, and music
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Syndi Texeira | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Merrie Monarch is an annual festival in Hilo, Hawaii. This time, they were saying goodbye to Merrie Monarch, an annual weeklong festival for honoring native Hawaiian traditions such as hula and craft making. At the Merrie Monarch Royal Parade, I was enchanted as horseback riders floated by wearing colorful leis and long pāʻū skirts. "It feels like the entire state gets excited for Merrie Monarch, and the absolute best of our culture is on display." Take a look inside this year's Merrie Monarch Festival.

Persons: —, Edith Kanakaʻole, reverberating, Monarch, Dillon Ancheta Organizations: Service, Monarch Locations: Hilo , Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaiian

☆ Oil prices rise on U.S. inventories drawdown expectations, CPI focus
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. crude oil inventories fell 3.104 million barrels in the week ended May 10, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.269 million barrels and distillates rose by 673,000 barrels. "Expectations of another drawdown in U.S. oil inventories should support oil prices," ANZ Research said in a note. Oil prices also found support from a softer U.S. dollar and stimulus measures from China, said independent market analyst Tina Teng, with a weaker greenback making dollar-denominated oil cheaper for investors holding other currencies. "The U.S. CPI and China's economic data are key to driving oil prices for the rest of the week," she added.

Persons: David Knox, Petra Nova, Brent, Tina Teng, Teng Organizations: NGR Energy, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation, WA Parish, U.S, . West Texas, American Petroleum Institute, ANZ Research, Federal, CPI Locations: NGR, Bend County, Petra, WA, China, Fort McMurray

☆ The Billionaire Frank McCourt Mounts Bid to Buy TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Frank McCourt has put up his hand. Mr. McCourt said Wednesday he was working to put together a group of bidders to buy the social media app. His goal in doing so is to rethink how TikTok, and the internet overall, use data and consider privacy. “This seemed like a great opportunity to actually create the alternative to the current internet, which has been colonized by large platforms and including TikTok,” Mr. McCourt said in an interview. He said the deal could help users “control their identity, own and control their data.”

Persons: Frank McCourt, McCourt, Jonathan Haidt, Mr, ” Organizations: Los Angeles Dodgers, Facebook, Liberty

☆ 'This is what you live for': How to handle GameStop's jaw-dropping swings as meme stocks make a comeback, according to a momentum-obsessed technical strategist
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He believes the stock market is rational — even when it doesn't appear to be. Related stories"The market is ruthlessly efficient, both long term and short term," Lundgren said. The strategist added: "The market doesn't care one iota about fundamentals in the short term. Like any market, stock exchanges determine prices based on what buyers and sellers will pay and sell for. Just because it's taking place in a mall doesn't make that mall an insane asylum."

Persons: —, Tuesday's, Redditors, David Lundgren, Lundgren, who's, that's, It's, Benjamin Graham, Mark Minervini Organizations: Service, GameStop, Business, Street, MOTR Capital Management & Research, Little Harbor Advisors, AMC

☆ Jamie Dimon urges the U.S. to deal with its deficit sooner rather than later
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday urged the U.S. to reduce its fiscal deficit sooner rather than later, warning the issue will likely become "far more uncomfortable" if it continues to be overlooked. That's a lot, but obviously that drives growth," Dimon said in an interview with Sky News. So, I think America should be quite aware that we have got to focus on our fiscal deficit issues a little bit more, and that is important for the world," he added. The federal government has so far spent $855 billion more than it has collected in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, resulting in a national deficit. Dimon said he hoped the U.S. government "really focuses" on reducing the deficit while still enjoying a period of robust economic growth.

Persons: Jamie, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Joe Biden Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, U.S . Senate Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Wall, Capitol, Washington , D.C, JPMorgan, Wednesday, Sky News, U.S . Treasury Department, . Locations: Washington ,, America, U.S

Six Flags stock has ticked up nearly 7% in 2024. The analyst reiterated an overweight rating on the stock as well as a $1,200 per share price target, implying more than 31% upside from Tuesday's close. The analyst has a buy rating on Nvidia with a $1,150 per share price target, or about 26% upside ahead. He also raised his price target on U.S.-listed shares to $5.40 per share from $4.80, though the new forecast calls for a 6% decline over the next year. NIO YTD mountain NIO YTD Lai had downgraded Nio to underweight in February due to slowing sales momentum.

Persons: Chris Woronka, Woronka, Brian Evans, John Vinh doesn't, NVDA, Vinh, Timothy Arcuri, Arcuri, — Brian Evans, Goldman Sachs, Alphabet's, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Oppenheimer, Jason Helfstein, GOOG, Helfstein, Brent Thill, Jefferies, Nick Lai, YTD Lai, Fred Imbert, ~$ ( ~$) Organizations: CNBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank downgrades, Flags Entertainment, Deutsche Bank, Fair, Nvidia, Blackwell, UBS, Google, Gemini

☆ Brands aren't hurt by advertising on hard news, a new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Leila Jordan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. A new report, "The Future of News: Ad Adjacency Study," challenges this conventional wisdom and indicates the focus on brand safety in news advertising might be misguided. The report also sought to measure how large an audience advertisers might be missing out on by advertising alongside only certain topics. "Brand safety — or at least when it comes to news advertising — really doesn't promote desirable social goals because it defunds the ability to report news." Penn told BI he was hopeful the report would help create a more productive relationship between media publishers and advertisers.

Persons: —, Mark Penn, Stagwell, Axel Springer, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Penn, Gen, Biden, Trump, Maggie Milnamow Organizations: Service, Business, Politico, The New York Times, Street Journal, Washington, Harvard, Harris, Republicans

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Nasdaq at record high; Google boosts AI ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Meme craze coolsShares of GameStop and AMC rose on Tuesday, extending Monday's gains after "Roaring Kitty" made a reappearance. Shares, however, gave up some of their earlier gains, suggesting enthusiasm for the so-called meme stocks was fading. Powell: Inflation falling slowlyFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation was not slowing as quickly as anticipated, requiring the central bank to maintain its current interest rates for longer.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Australia's, CNBC's Yun Li Organizations: Google Gemini, CNBC, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Treasury, GameStop, AMC, Biden, Sony, China's CSI, AMC Entertainment Locations: Brussels, Belgium, China, Amsterdam, Asia, Pacific, Hong Kong, South Korea

☆ Opinion | ‘The Seeds Had Been Planted. Trump Didn’t Do It Himself.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Replying by email to my inquiry, Hetherington wrote:In 1992, those whites scoring at the top of the authoritarianism scale split their two-party vote almost evenly between Bush and Clinton (51-49). By 2012, those high authoritarianism white voters went 68-32 for Romney over Obama. In both Trump elections it was 80-20 among those voters. So from 50 Republican-50 Democrat to 80 Republican-20 Democrat in the space of 24 years. The two authors analyzed data from seven studies conducted by the World Values Survey in 76 countries between 1981 and 2022.

Persons: Marc Hetherington, ”, Hetherington, Clinton, Romney, Obama, Joshua Conrad Jackson, Dan Medvedev, Jackson, Medvedev Organizations: University of North, Chapel Hill, Trump, Republican, University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business Locations: United States, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, University of North Carolina, Bush

☆ A sports betting VC has raised a new $25 million fund to invest in sports, gambling, and entertainment startups
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Tiara White | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewVenture-capital firm Sharp Alpha Advisors has closed a new $25 million fund to invest in early-stage sports, gambling, and entertainment startups. "And we think that at the intersection of sports, gaming, and entertainment is where this type of engagement is most reliably found." AdvertisementSharp Alpha's new fund intends to invest $1 to $2 million in target ventures — an increase from the average $250,000 offered by its initial fund, Danzig said. Danzig said C15 is a great example of the type of companies Sharp Alpha is looking to invest in. Though the process was difficult, Danzig said he is "very fortunate to have our investors from fund one excitedly and enthusiastically re-upping into fund two."

Persons: —, Lloyd Danzig, Danzig, Freevee, Sharp Organizations: Service, Sharp Alpha Advisors, Media, Business, Pluto, Sharp Alpha

☆ Here's everything to expect from Wednesday's key report on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I expect that inflation will move back down on a monthly basis to levels that were more like the lower readings we were having last year," he told attendees at a banking conference. So we're just going to have to see where the inflation data fall out." The index, a proxy for wholesale prices, accelerated 2.2% on an annual basis, the highest reading in a year. "This will be the most important read of the month [excluding nonfarm payrolls] as inflation continues to defy expectations," said Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade North America. Even if the report comes in around consensus expectations, it will be "inadequate progress for the Fed to consider a cut until September," he added.

Persons: Frederic J, Brown, Dow Jones, Jerome Powell, we're, Dan North Organizations: AFP, Getty, Federal Reserve, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Allianz Trade North, Fed Locations: Rosemead , California, Amsterdam, Allianz Trade North America

☆ Jimmy Carter: Grandson says former president is ‘coming to the end’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Michelle Shen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Jimmy Carter’s grandson said Tuesday that the former president is “coming to the end” in a brief update about the 39th president’s health. “(My grandfather) is doing OK,” Jason Carter said at a mental health forum named in honor of his grandmother, the late former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at the Carter Center. “My grandmother’s passing was a difficult moment for all of us, including my grandfather,” Jason Carter said Tuesday. In 1977, Carter made it her signature cause, notably through the creation of the President’s Commission on Mental Health. Her efforts resulted in increased research funding, broader treatment access and innovative approaches to mental health care.

Persons: Jimmy Carter’s, Jason Carter, Rosalynn Carter, I’ve, there’s, Jimmy Carter, George H.W, Bush, “, ” Jason Carter, ” Rosalynn Carter, America’s, Carter, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin Organizations: CNN, Carter, Mental Health, Atlanta Braves, CBS, Accords, Israeli, Democrat Locations: Georgia, Pa, United States

writes about economics with a particular focus on stories involving data. He has covered the economy for nearly 20 years, and his recent work has focused on how trends in labor, politics, technology and demographics have shaped the way we live and work.

☆ Kapital: 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Small businesses dominate the global economy, and yet few banks focus on lending credit to this underserved demographic. According to the World Bank, small and medium-sized businesses make up 90% of global companies but only get 10.5% of total bank credit available. Even those that do get bank credit often don't have the kind of robust business management platform that large enterprises have. It gives businesses access to capital through revolving credit lines and business credit cards, while its business management platform provides real-time visibility into operations, cash flows, management of loans, payroll, benefits and invoicing. "That's what we're fixing — we give them visibility of their finances," Rene Saul, who co-founded Kapital with Fernando Sandoval in 2020, told TechCrunch.

Persons: Rene Saul, Fernando Sandoval Organizations: World Bank

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