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☆ Having zero positioning in China is not warranted anymore: Strategist
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHaving zero positioning in China is 'not warranted anymore' as we see market upside aheadSunil Garg of Lighthouse Canton suggests looking at "domestic consumer plays" such as electric vehicles for investors looking to get back into the Chinese market.

Persons: Sunil Garg Locations: China, Lighthouse Canton

☆ Women can exercise less often than men and still see greater health benefits, new study shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Women may see greater health benefits from exercising regularly than men do, according to a recent study. DON'T MISS: Exercise 2-4x more than the HHS recommends to achieve maximum benefit, says new studyResearchers also found that women were able to see greater health benefits with less exercise than their male counterparts. Men who engaged in about five hours of moderate to vigorous exercise each week lowered their chances of dying by 18% in comparison to men who didn't. The reason why women may have stronger benefits from regular exercise than men isn't clear, though it's possible it boils down to differences in anatomy, the study's researchers told CBS News. Exercising regularly is great for heart health in general"I think the big message is physical activity helps to reduce cardiovascular mortality, period," Garg tells CNBC Make It.

Persons: Beteal, wasn't, Nadish, Garg Organizations: American College of Cardiology, HHS, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, CBS News, Hermann, CNBC, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services Locations: UHealth, Houston

☆ OpenAI sets rules to combat election misinformation. It’s been tried before
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Under its policies, OpenAI said in a blog post, users may not create chatbots posing as political candidates or government agencies and officials, such as the secretaries of state who administer US elections. But even social media firms that are much bigger than OpenAI, and that dedicate massive teams to election integrity and content moderation, have often shown that they struggle to enforce their own rules. OpenAI is likely to be no different — and a lack of federal regulation is forcing the public to simply take the companies at their word. Meta said last year it would bar political campaigns from using generative AI tools in their advertising and require politicians to disclose the use of any AI in their ads. In Congress, some lawmakers have proposed a national ban on the deceptive use of AI in all political campaigns, but that legislation has not advanced.

Persons: OpenAI, Meta, “, Chuck Schumer, deepfakes, Joe Biden’s, Arpit Garg, Biden Organizations: CNN, Big Tech, YouTube, Commission

☆ Biden campaign prepares legal fight against election deepfakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In recent months, the campaign has spun up the internal task force, dubbed the “Social Media, AI, Mis/Disinformation (SAID) Legal Advisory Group,” part of a broader effort across the campaign to counter all forms of disinformation, TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, told CNN. It aims to have enough prepared to be able to run a campaign-wide tabletop exercise in the first half of 2024. Existing US election law prohibits campaigns from “fraudulently misrepresenting other candidates or political parties,” but whether this prohibition extends to AI-generated content is an open question. Any political advertiser that uses deepfakes in ads on Facebook or Instagram will need to disclose that fact, it said. The Meta report details how some social media platforms are grappling with how to handle deceptive uses of AI.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, ”, Arpit Garg, TJ Ducklo, Garg, Maury Riggan, “, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Hany Farid, —, Meta, Darren Linvill Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland, Social Media, European Union, Digital Services, Republicans, Federal, Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Facebook, Clemson University’s, RNC Locations: European, Florida, Berkeley, United States

☆ India set to miss divestment targets by more than half this year - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Nikunj Ohri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The government may fall short of its divestment goal by 300 billion rupees ($3.60 billion) in 2023/24, two government sources told Reuters. New Delhi had targeted 510 billion rupees from divestment proceeds for the current fiscal year that ends March, 2024. So far this year, the government has received 80 billion rupees through stake sales, according to government data. The government expects to surpass its 430 billion rupees dividend target and has so far received 203 billion rupees from state-run firms. "As long as the government is meeting its fiscal targets and there isn't a shortfall, missing divestment targets is fine," said Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Barclays Investment Bank.

Persons: Niharika Kulkarni, Narendra Modi's, Subhash Chandra Garg, Rahul Bajoria, Nikunj Ohri, Sam Holmes Organizations: IDBI, REUTERS, Reuters, IDBI Bank, NMDC Steel, Reserve Bank of India, NMDC, Barclays Investment Bank, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh

Oil and gas companies, as well as other people and organizations connected to fossil fuels, often attend the meeting, drawing criticism from environmentalists and climate experts. “Oil and gas producers need to make profound decisions about their future place in the global energy sector." Political Cartoons View All 1265 ImagesThe energy sector is responsible for over two-thirds of all human activity-related greenhouse gas emissions, and oil and gas is responsible for about half of those, according to the IEA. It found that if countries deliver on all climate pledges, demand for oil and gas will be 45% lower than today’s level by 2050. Earlier this year, another IEA report found that the world’s oil, gas and coal demand will likely peak by the end of this decade.

Persons: ”, Fatih Birol, Vibhuti Organizations: International Energy Agency, United Nations, IEA, “, Associated Press, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, IEA ., Institute for Energy Economics, Twitter, AP Locations: United, COP28, Dubai, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi

☆ The relationship between Sam Altman and the OpenAI board is 'already broken': Professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe relationship between Sam Altman and the OpenAI board is 'already broken': ProfessorSam Garg, professor of management at ESSEC Business School, discusses the board composition of OpenAI and Sam Altman's ouster.

Persons: Sam Altman, Sam Garg, Sam Altman's Organizations: ESSEC Business School

☆ Billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin says remote working makes it easier for companies to fire people
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ken Griffin said that remote working was weakening the "social contract" of companies. Major US firms are pushing back against remote working and telling workers to return to the office. AdvertisementKen Griffin has warned that working from home will make it easier for companies to fire people. Griffin also warned that remote working was having a negative impact on corporate culture, pointing to the stories of so-called "Zoom firings" that became notorious during the pandemic. "We have all read about companies that are firing thousands of people on Zoom calls," Griffin said.

Persons: Ken Griffin, —, Griffin, Vishal Garg, Garg, Jane Organizations: Citadel, Bloomberg, Major, Service, Meta, TechCrunch Locations: America

☆ SPAC shell games will keep hiding the ball
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

It’s more or less how another 216 companies backed into public markets in 2021, according to SPAC Research. They’re on track to miss the mark by more than 40%, delivering only about $55 billion, according to recent forecasts compiled by LSEG. The electric-vehicle industry, for one, was a serial SPAC user whose exuberance sputtered badly. Dressing them up as acquisitions of private firms by listed shell companies enables the participants to play by looser rules. SPAC investors buy shares in the empty vessel before its sponsor and takeover target agree on a valuation.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Better’s, Breakingviews, SPACs, ”, Joel Rubinstein, Donald Trump’s, Spruce, Woodruff Sawyer, Gary Gensler, Ellis, Gensler, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, & Finance, Research, LSEG, Polestar Automotive, White, The Securities, Exchange Commission, XL Fleet, SEC, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Case, Kirkland, U.S . Securities, Financial Services, Thomson

☆ First the bubbly, then the layoffs. Inside Better's latest round of job cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

(Excluding Aurora's stock price, shares of the Nasdaq-listed Better Home & Finance are down more than 59% from the opening day.) In an emailed statement, Schaefer said that the company plans to replace at least some of the laid-off employees. Employees were given 30 days of pay, and up to three months of company-provided COBRA coverage, according to two laid-off employees. The mortgage industry has been hit hard by rising rates, leading to revenue declines and layoffs across the industry. Both former employees told Insider that they were optimistic that the cash infusion might offer some relief after a year of what felt like constant layoffs.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Kevin Ryan, Jessica Schaefer, Schaefer, Jay Powell, Garg, Slack Organizations: Staff, Aurora Acquisition Corp, Aurora, Nasdaq, Finance, Employees Locations: India

☆ Fact Check-Indian space rover didn’t permanently mark lunar surface with state logo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The image shows both emblems running between what appears to be tire marks printed diagonally across a grey surface. The image is not authentic, however, and was created as artwork prior to the rover making landfall on Aug. 24 (here). No such image can be seen when searching through the ISRO website or social media feeds (www.isro.gov.in/), (www.instagram.com/isro.dos/). A copyright symbol can be seen at the bottom left corner of the image alongside a name, Krishanshu Garg. The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the image stems from Garg’s Instagram account posted on the day the rover landed on the lunar surface (here).

Persons: “ I’m, I’ve, ”, Read Organizations: Indian Space Research Organisation, Tyres, Twitter, ISRO, Reuters Locations: India, Chandrayaan

☆ India allows exports of non-basmati white rice trapped at ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Mayank Bhardwaj | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On July 20, India surprised buyers by banning exports of widely consumed non-basmati white rice to control rising domestic prices. The export ban trapped thousands of tonnes of non-basmati white rice at ports, leaving traders facing losses. Before the July ban on non-basmati white rice exports, overseas shipments of the grade would attract a 20% tax. After the DGFT order, around 150,000 tonnes of non-basmati white rice cargoes would be shipped out of various ports, said Prem Garg, president of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation. After banning non-basmati white rice exports, India on Friday imposed a 20% tax on parboiled rice shipments and introduced a floor price for overseas sales of basmati rice, as part of efforts to keep a lid on local prices.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Prem Garg, Garg, Mayank Bhardwaj, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Foreign Trade, Rice, Federation, West, Thomson Locations: Navi Mumbai, India, Africa, Asia . New Delhi, African

☆ Shares of Better.com — whose CEO fired 900 workers on a Zoom call — slumped as much as 95% on their first day of trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of online mortgage lender Better.com slumped as much as 95% after its Nasdaq debut. They fell so quickly that trading was halted four times in the first 30 minutes. Better.com CEO Vishal Garg brutally laid off 900 employees via a Zoom call in 2021. Shares of the Softbank-backed online mortgage lender — which had merged with blank-check company Aurora Acquisition Corp. — plunged at the opening bell. Better.com's disastrous debut on the Nasdaq followed dramatic turns at the digital mortgage company since December 2021 when CEO Vishal Garg brutally laid off 900 employees on a Zoom call.

Persons: Better.com, Vishal Garg, Insider's Alex Nicoll, Better.com's, Fortune Organizations: Nasdaq, Service, & Finance, Aurora Acquisition Corp, —, Aurora Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ The CEO best known for firing 900 staff on a Zoom call now says he's 'worked really, really hard' to be 'more empathetic' and to treat people with 'kindness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg is known for firing hundreds of staff on a Zoom call in 2021. Garg now says he has "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss. AdvertisementAdvertisementBetter.com CEO Vishal Garg says he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss after firing over 900 people on a Zoom call. Garg is best known for laying off hundreds of Better.com staff via a brutal Zoom call in 2021. "I think I was very mission-centric, customer centric, and really, really focused on what it took to drive growth," Garg added.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, he's, I've, TechCrunch, Better.com Organizations: Morning, Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp

The company hit the headlines in December 2021 after it laid off 900 employees via Zoom, and has since seen its profit dented by high mortgage rates that have dampened demand for home loans. "Here is an example of the exact wrong company at the wrong time - SPACs are hated and anything related to mortgage lending is hated at the moment," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital. U.S. mortgage rates have extended their surge as government bond yields rally. The popular 30-year fixed rate hit its highest level since 2000 last week, causing mortgage applications to hit a 28-year low. Amid ultra-low interest rates, the SPAC market exploded in 2021, but has since sputtered amid rising interest rates, high redemption rates and increased regulatory scrutiny.

Persons: SoftBank, Vishal Garg, Thomas Hayes, Bansari Mayur, Hannah Lang, Sriraj Kalluvila, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Home, Finance, Aurora, Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Great, Thomson Locations: Great Hill, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ SPACs can't be killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO of Social Capital, presents during the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2018. Although SPACs raised just $13 billion last year, this week produced a deal that looks like it could have happened during the heyday. From U.S. presidential hopefuls’ forays to a continued SPAC king’s virality, SPACs’ reach is a reminder that they are hard to kill. This week, one of those SPACs bought Better.com, a mortgage lender led by Vishal Garg and backed by SoftBank Group (9984.T). They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Chamath Palihapitiya, Brendan McDermid, SPACs, Vishal Garg, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, lister Chamath Palihapitiya, Anita Ramaswamy, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Social Capital, Investment, REUTERS, Reuters, SoftBank Group, Securities and Exchange Commission, X, KKR, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ The CEO who brutally fired hundreds of the people on Zoom is taking his startup public in a move that could make or break him
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Vishal Garg is taking Better, a mortgage startup, public through a long-delayed SPAC deal. Read what he said about making strategic acquisitions and the millions in company loans that stand to be forgiven. But CEO Vishal Garg, known for brutally laying off hundreds of employees via Zoom, insists he has a plan. One former employee told Insider that the move seems like a "Hail Mary," both for Garg personally and for the business more broadly. Here is what Garg said about his vision for the company and how he will spend the money Better receives from the IPO.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, SPACs, Mary, refinancings, it's, SoftBank, indemnifying, —, It'll Organizations: & Finance, Aurora Acquisition Corp, Nasdaq, World Trade Center, Federal Reserve, Silicon, Better, Mortgage, SEC, Scotsman, Aurora, Insider Locations: Garg, refinancings, Queens , NY

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Shares in online mortgage lender Better's (BETR.O) new public listing plummeted on Thursday as investors fretted over record-high mortgage rates. In the interim, roughly 95% of Aurora shareholders redeemed their holdings, leaving the trust account with just about $24 million at the end of June from about $283 million. Aurora went public in March 2021. Better is going public as U.S. mortgage rates continue to surge, with the popular 30-year fixed rate last week hitting the highest level since December 2000, helping drive mortgage applications to a 28-year low, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Reporting by Hannah Lang and Lance Tupper in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aurora, Vishal Garg, Hannah Lang, Lance Tupper, Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Aurora, refinancings, Mortgage Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: SoftBank, Washington

☆ Better.com CEO Vishal Garg on going public: We're disrupting the U.S. housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBetter.com CEO Vishal Garg on going public: We're disrupting the U.S. housing marketVishal Garg, Better.com founder & CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company going public on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp., the mortgage lender's rough road to debut amidst layoffs, losses and SEC probe, the mortgage business at large, and more.

Persons: Vishal Garg Organizations: Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp, SEC

The Nasdaq logo is displayed at the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square in New York City, U.S., December 3, 2021. U.S. home builder confidence weakened in August, as mortgage rates and stubbornly high housing prices discouraged prospective buyers. Better enjoyed huge growth during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when mortgage rates cratered, notching more than $850 million in revenue in 2020, filings show. When interest rates fall, Better expects huge demand for cash-out refinancings, which it says it will be able to deliver in one day. Earlier this year, Better.com launched a one-day mortgage product, allowing customers to get pre-approved, lock in a rate and get a mortgage commitment letter within 24 hours.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, Better.com, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Mark Potter Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Federal, refinancings, Aurora Acquisition Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Better, Zoom, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, SoftBank, Aurora, Washington

☆ India basmati rice exporters get requests for early shipments
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters) - Indian rice exporters have been receiving requests from buyers to advance shipments of basmati rice after New Delhi banned exports of non-basmati white rice to dampen local prices, industry officials told Reuters. "Buyers are requesting early shipments because they fear that the government might put restrictions on exports of basmati rice as well," said Atul Garg, managing director at GRM Overseas (GRMO.NS), a leading exporter of basmati rice. Non-basmati white rice, which India has banned for export, is mainly purchased by Senegal, Benin, Togo, Bangladesh, and Cote d'Ivoire. India never banned exports of basmati rice in the past but did impose export taxes in 2008. But basmati rice growing areas have increased in 2023 and production is likely to be higher than last year, said Vijay Setia, an exporter.

Persons: Atul Garg, Vijay Setia, Setia, Rajendra Jadhav, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, GRM Overseas, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Delhi, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, United States, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, New, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh

"High level, we want this to become something like your personal AI friend," said developer Div Garg, whose company MultiOn is beta-testing an AI agent. The race towards increasingly autonomous AI agents has been supercharged by the March release of GPT-4 by developer OpenAI, a powerful upgrade of the model behind ChatGPT - the chatbot that became a sensation when released last November. GPT-4 facilitates the type of strategic and adaptable thinking required to navigate the unpredictable real world, said Vivian Cheng, an investor at venture capital firm CRV who has a focus on AI agents. OpenAI itself is very interested in AI agent technology, according to four people briefed on its plans. There are at least 100 serious projects working to commercialize agents, said Matt Schlicht, who writes a newsletter on AI.

Persons: Siri, Alexa, Tony Stark's, Kanjun Qiu, Reid Hoffman, Mustafa Suleyman, Qiu, OpenAI, Vivian Cheng, CRV, Aravind Srinivas, Jarvis, Yoshua Bengio, Satya Nadella, Apple's Siri, it's, Google, Edward Grefenstette, Jason Franklin, WVV Capital, Hesam Motlagh, Matt Schlicht, Anna Tong, Jeffrey Dastin, Kenneth Li Organizations: Microsoft, Google, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Reuters, FTC, OpenAI's, Financial Times, Amazon, Alexa, Investors, WVV, Google Ventures, Entrepreneurs, Thomson Locations: Silicon, Jarvis, GPT, Cognosys, San Francisco, Palo Alto

☆ Thousands of Brides in India Are Abandoned by Husbands Overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Sameer Yasir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The situation, they said, often plays out like this: Parents arrange to marry their daughter off to a returning Indian. They pay a dowry, a practice long banned in India but still common. The husband flies out, and the wife waits for a visa while living with her in-laws. In a number of cases, men have used dowry money to pay immigration agents to land in wealthy countries like Canada, where Sikhs make up about 2 percent of the population. “The boys come, they enjoy, and leave with the dowry money,” Mr. Garg said.

Persons: Kaur, ”, Rakesh Kumar Garg, ” Mr, Garg Locations: India, Canada, Punjab

☆ How TikTok is shaking up the entertainment business and changing power dynamics, according to dozens of authors, comedians, dancers, music-industry professionals, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Dan Whateley | Shriya Bhattacharya | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok has become a de facto audition stage for musicians, dancers, comedians, and even authors. "TikTok has to find that balance with not pissing off the major labels," a music marketer told Insider. Launching a writing career via the app is real if an author can get enough attention on their videos, writers told Insider. Author Alex Aster used TikTok to post about her book idea and ultimately scored a publishing deal that ended up being worth $460,000. "That's the power of TikTok," she told Insider.

☆ 3 ways TikTok comedy creators are making money as the app opens up new ways for comedians to build careers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Comedy creators are using the app to collaborate with brands like Bud Light and Dell, for example. Here are three ways comedians on TikTok make money through the social-media platform. Here are three ways comedy creators make money, based on interviews with 20 entertainment and TikTok insiders, including a dozen comedians:1. Comedy creators are inking sponsorship deals with brandsThumb-stopping and "relatable," comedy creators are in high demand by brands, said Dani Jacobson, a talent agent at A3 Artists Agency. Jacobson said one of the comedy creators she represents is hoping to land a creative director role with a brand.

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