DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ America's Plastic Catastrophe: Most Waste Can't Be Recycled
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

It's an urgent question — what do we do with the 40 million tons of plastic waste we produce annually? One year of plastic waste is roughly enough to smother the entirety of Manhattan a meter deep, and it has to go somewhere. For decades, America sent its plastic waste to countries like China and Indonesia. Unlike aluminum or glass, the plastic that can be recycled rarely results in replacing one recycled water bottle with another. By downcycling a tiny portion of plastic waste, companies can genuinely reuse a relatively small share of plastic, while convincing consumers that the industry has created a circular economy of infinitely recycled plastic.

Persons: Kartik Byma, they're, Tim Miller, Susan Freinkel, Nestlé, Lea Suzuki, Larry Thomas, what's, Taylor Dorrell, Biden, that's, Taylor, Miller, Kelley Sayre, Vicky Abou, it's, Mike Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Espen Barth Eide, Norway's, Abou, It's Organizations: Getty, America, Chevron, Exxon, Paper Stock, Plastics Industry Association, Organization for Economic Co, San Francisco, NPR, International Energy Agency, ExxonMobil, Alterra Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Royal Paper Stock, Akron, Buckeye Environmental, Business, Eastman Chemical Co, American Chemistry Council, New, Beyond Plastics, UN, Buckeye Environmental Network Locations: America, Manhattan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, AFP, Ohio, American, San Francisco, Akron, Taylor Dorrell Akron , Ohio, United States, Oregon, New York City

☆ Stability AI: Cofounder Sues Startup Behind Stable Diffusion for up to $300 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tayab Waseem claims that he was a cofounder in Stability AI and that the company has reneged on its promise of a 10% stake in the London-based AI startup. Stability AI rose to prominence in 2022 when users flooded its Stable Diffusion program, generating images of everything from hyperrealistic portraits to fantasy landscapes. Stability AI raised an undisclosed amount from Intel in October 2023. Waseem joined Stability AI when the cofounders, Mostaque and Hodes, were launching a project called CAIAC, which used AI to combat COVID-19, Waseem told BI. AdvertisementAccording to the filing, Stability AI had not paid him a formal salary due to cash flow problems, instead promising him 10% in equity interest.

Persons: —, Tayab Waseem, Emad Mostaque, Cyrus Hodes, Mostaque, Mike Bloomberg, Waseem Organizations: Service, Business, Intel, Getty Images, Bloomberg, Court, Eastern, of Locations: London

☆ Democratic strategist accused of sexually assaulting woman while working for Mike Bloomberg's campaign days after 9/11
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Baughman filed his own lawsuit against her in June, saying she's run "a 20+ year smear campaign" against him. Making their way through the city's streets, many of which were still shut down, they took a long time to arrive at Bloomberg's campaign office, the suit says. Another one of Bloomberg's campaign staffers offered Beter a cup of coffee at the office, the lawsuit says. A photo of the World Trade Center collapse taken by Petra Beter on September 11, 2001. Neither Petra nor Josee Beter has filed a formal response to Baughman's lawsuit in the Massachusetts court, though Petra Beter's lawsuit says it's "retaliation" for her claims.

Persons: Duane Baughman, Mike Bloomber's, Baughman, —, Petra C, Beter —, Michael Bloomberg, Beter, Ian Bryson, Josee Beter, Katie Merrill, Petra, Douglas Schoen, Edward Skyler —, Schoen, Duane, Defendant SCHOEN, Schoen didn't, Skyler, Mr, Petra Beter, Hillary Clinton's, Tom Steyer's, Merrill, Barbara Lee's, Beters, Mike Bloomberg, Petra's, Petra Beter's, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Josee, Bryson Organizations: Service, Baughman, ASA, Bloomberg, Citigroup, World Trade, REUTERS, HB, Democratic, Rep, Senate, New York, Prosecutors Locations: Manhattan, York City, New York, Massachusetts, California, New, Baughman's

Donations purchased by a Brooklyn synagogue community to aid military and humanitarian relief efforts in Israel are seen being loaded into a car in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. October 10, 2023. Some 5.8 million Jews live in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. While there is no sign that Israel is short on basic supplies like granola bars, the donations underscore the concern and connection Jews in the United States feel toward Israel. Elan Kornblum, the Brooklyn-based head of Great Kosher Restaurants Foodies, has turned his company's Facebook page of 91,000 members - who usually discuss favorite kosher restaurants - into a forum for coordinating Israel aid efforts. Legacy aid organizations have also leapt to raise money for lifesaving support in Israel and the Palestinian territories in the wake of the attack.

Persons: Rabbi Jonathan Leener, Jonathan Leener, Leener, Yuri Milner, Mike Bloomberg, Magen David Adom, Elan Kornblum, Kornblum, Chayal el, Mordy Botnick, Botnick, el Chayal, Gabriella Borter, Paul Thomasch, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Israel Defense Forces, Pew Research Center, Billionaire, Jewish Agency for, Facebook, Newark Liberty International, IDF, Palestine Children's Relief, International Committee, Thomson Locations: Brooklyn, Israel, Brooklyn , New York, U.S, Handout, United States, Jewish Agency for Israel, New York City, Palestine, Gaza, Washington

The meeting was scheduled for hours after Zelenskiy addressed the United Nations Security Council about Russia's invasion and its consequences. Ukraine has tried to lock in financial support from business leaders to help rebuild the country. A spokesperson for Zelenskiy and Ukraine's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since the start of the war, Ackman's foundation has donated roughly $24 million to support Ukraine, a person familiar with the numbers said. Before the meeting in New York, the White House appealed to Congress to approve billions of additional dollars of support for Ukraine.

Persons: Ken Griffin, Mike Blake, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, JPMorgan Chase, Bill Ackman, Jonathan Gray, Robert Kraft, Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Mike Bloomberg, Barry Sternlicht, Mary Callahan Erdoes, Vince LaPadula, Whitney Tilson, Griffin, Howard Buffett, Warren, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Lananh Nguyen, Andrea Shalal, Michelle Nichols, Megan Davies, Grant McCool Organizations: Citadel, Milken, Global Conference, REUTERS, United Nations Security Council, JPMorgan, Blackstone Group, New England Patriots football team, United, State, Google, United Nations, Griffin's Citadel, Ackman's Pershing, Capital Management, Ukraine, Fox News, Svea, Thomson Locations: Beverly Hills , California, U.S, New York, Ukraine, United States

☆ Zelensky huddled with Wall Street CEOs and business leaders Wednesday night to discuss rebuilding Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Wednesday evening in Manhattan with Wall Street CEOs and business power players to discuss efforts to rebuild his war-torn country and its economy, a person familiar with the matter tells CNN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Wednesday evening with Wall Street CEOs and business power players to discuss efforts to rebuild his war-torn country and its economy, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Zelensky is scheduled to visit the White House on Thursday for a meeting with US President Joe Biden. The meeting on Thursday evening was hosted by Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management, Workplace CEO Vince LaPadula and JPMorgan alternative investments boss Anton Pil. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was not present at the meeting as he was traveling, the source said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, JPMorgan Chase, Eric Schmidt, Mike Bloomberg, Robert Kraft, Bill Ackman, Henry Kissinger, Barry Sternlicht, Joe Biden, it’s, Mary Callahan Erdoes, Vince LaPadula, Anton Pil, Jamie Dimon Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, JPMorgan, New England Patriots, White, Fox Business, JPMorgan Asset, Wealth Management Locations: Manhattan, midtown Manhattan, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ 'The scholar, the pragmatist, and the rainmaker:' How three Bloomberg Beta VCs bet on AI before it became a buzzword
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Bahat brings this same radical directness to Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage venture capital fund housed within the larger Bloomberg empire that he's run for the past decade. And Bloomberg Beta was making investments in generative AI as far back as 2015, before the term "generative AI" even existed. "It felt like we were just waiting for the right moment," said Cham, Bloomberg Beta partner and de-facto chief technologist, "where the rest of the world would see it." Bloomberg Beta made the decision early on to publish its entire operating manual on GitHub, including sensitive information about average check size and investment criteria. Kieran Snyder, the founder of generative AI startup Textio which Bloomberg Beta invested in in 2015, has a shorthand for describing the role of Beta's three partners.

Persons: Roy Bahat's, Bahat, James Cham, Karin Klein, Shivon Zillis, Elon Musk's, Cham, ChatGPT, VCs, Bloomberg Beta, Dan Doctoroff, Mike Bloomberg, Doctoroff, Bahat's chutzpah, Bloomberg —, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Tade Oyerinde, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel's Founder's, Roy didn't, Oyerinde, Kieran Snyder, who's, Apple Lisa, Klein, Karen, Snyder, Roy, Zilis Organizations: Port Authority, World Trade Center, IGN, Bloomberg Beta, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Elon, Beta, Apple, New Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, East, California

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined New York politicians and mourners at a 9/11 memorial ceremony at ground zero Monday. The bipartisan group of politicians was not scheduled to speak at the ceremony, marking the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. The solemn ceremony in lower Manhattan was instead focused on the hourslong reading of the names of the dead. Along with Harris were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Ron DeSantis, Rudy Giuliani, Harris, Kathy Hochul, Chuck Schumer, New York Sen, Kirsten Gillibrand, Eric Adams, Mike Bloomberg, Giuliani, ”, Donald Trump's, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden Organizations: —, Republican, Florida Gov, New, New York City, New York, New York Democratic Gov, “, Democrats, Yorker Locations: New York, Manhattan, U.S, New York City, Anchorage , Alaska, Washington, India, Vietnam

Envisioned two decades ago to add vibrancy and draw people to a place of devastation and mourning, the Perelman Performing Arts Center is finally arriving at a very different ground zero. Still, organizers believe the arts space, also called “PAC NYC,” has an important role to play in one of the most sensitive, historic spaces in the United States. “The performing arts center is kind of an amenity for a luxury neighborhood that they built,” said Todd Fine, who runs a advocacy business for historical preservation in lower Manhattan. Early on, the arts center was to house three established groups — two theaters and a visual arts museum — plus a new museum celebrating freedom. Then he came to see it as a step forward for the trade center and on a personal level, an embrace of living life fully.

Persons: It's, ”, Khady Kamara, “, Bill Rauch, Joshua Ramus, Mike Bloomberg, Ronald Perelman, “ There’s, ” Bloomberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jenna Bush Hager, Barbara Pierce Bush, ” Rauch, Kamara, Todd Fine, Rauch, Perelman, Craig Peterson, James Giaccone, Joseph Giaccone, ” Giaccone Organizations: Trade, Perelman Performing Arts Center, “ PAC, Performing Arts Center, Pentagon, Manhattan Cultural Council, Tuesday's Locations: United States, Pennsylvania, Afghanistan, Manhattan

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried donated millions to 'weed out anti-crypto' politicians, new evidence says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried donated $100 million to politicians using FTX funds. Messages from Ryan Salame quoted in a court filing say SBF wanted "to weed out anti-crypto" politicians. Although prosecutors have put that number as high as $100 million because they say Bankman-Fried funneled millions more through FTX executives. Prosecutors' evidence includes messages from Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian affiliate company, who prosecutors say is "a co-conspirator in the defendant's illegal campaign finance scheme." Salame's message added it was likely Bankman-Fried would "route money through me to weed out that republican side," according to the filing.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Ryan Salame, SBF, George Soros, Mike Bloomberg, hasn't, Salame Organizations: Morning, Washington D.C, Prosecutors, Republicans, FTX's Bahamian, Republican Locations: Washington, The Bahamas

☆ Biden bets DeSantis’ ‘Florida blueprint’ will help him flip the Sunshine State and win reelection
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Shevrin Jones, a Florida state senator and member of the Biden campaign’s advisory board of elected officials, said he’s eager to tell the country the story of what he’s seen under DeSantis’ leadership. Biden and DeSantis and their wives walk to meet with local residents affected by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 5, 2022. The voter registration advantage Florida Democrats had when President Barack Obama narrowly won the state in 2012 has flipped to Republicans. An adviser to the former New York City mayor told CNN that so far, there has been no outreach to Bloomberg’s operation from either the Biden campaign or the DNC. There was also a fleeting belief that they could push Biden over the top in Florida – though Trump ended up carrying the state by 3 points.

☆ Bloomberg insiders can't be sure if Mike Bloomberg will choose an internal successor because he 'believes in stability, and then change,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sources told the FT that Bloomberg may decide to shun internal frontrunners and bring in an outsider. Bloomberg, who turned 81 in February, is worth nearly $95 billion, according to Forbes. "Only two people" run the company – Zammitt and Kliatchko – a former senior Bloomberg executive told the FT. He gave $1.7 billion to the organization last year, bringing his lifetime charitable donations to more than $14 billion, according to the site. Bloomberg didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

☆ AI image generators' latest challenge? Depicting unicycles.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The latest thorn in AI art generation's side? It turned out the image was made using the AI text-to-image program Midjourney, ringing the alarm bells surrounding the growing capabilities of AI image generators and the resulting possibility for the spread of misinformation. But while AI art generators can depict a very true-to-life Pope, they still struggle with other images — including, it seems, unicycles. Stable Diffusion 2The technology not only seemed to have trouble depicting unicycles themselves, but also humans' interactions with them. Human hands had previously given AI image generators trouble.

☆ Bloomberg LP is hiring 1,000 people while other media, finance, and tech companies slash staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg LP plans to hire 1,000 people this year as other media and finance companies slash staff. Bloomberg LP is on a hiring tear while other media, finance, and tech companies slash staff amid the softening economy. Mike Bloomberg's software, data, and media company is known for hiring in downturns, an advantage of being a privately held company. Bloomberg also announced it's creating a new team of product and tech workers under news-side exec Chris Collins as chief product and technology officer. The goal is to improve the user experience and discoverability of news on the Bloomberg Terminal, Bloomberg editor in chief John Micklethwait wrote in a staff memo.

☆ SEC fines Bloomberg $5 million for disclosure violations on fixed-income prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Bloomberg Finance LP $5 million to settle civil charges accusing the company of misleading customers on how it calculated the prices of certain securities, the agency said Monday. The action could have affected the price at which securities are offered or traded on the platform, the SEC said. Former New York mayor and one-time presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg owns parent company Bloomberg LP, a data and media company. The SEC said Bloomberg's customers, including mutual fund companies, used its prices to calculate valuations of their own holdings. The disclosure issue affected the prices of some government bonds, agency securities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds as well as securitized products, the SEC said.

☆ Why the George Santos fiasco points to Democrats’ political malpractice
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Arick Wierson | Arick Wierson Is A Six-Time Emmy Award-Winning Television Producer | A Former Senior Aide To Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He Advises Political | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

And in the case of Santos, it appears that Democrats failed to look into not one but an entire range of allegedly dubious claims made by the congressman-elect. Even more astonishing — and indeed puzzling for Democrats — is the fact that this wasn’t Santos’ first rodeo. Moreover, what does all this say about Democrats’ overall political operation not only in New York state but nationwide? It appears that Democrats, at least in this case, have been asleep at the wheel for some time. This Santos case should force some real self-examination on the part of Democrat’s political operations.

And the House Democrats’ campaign arm last week deployed hundreds of thousands of dollars to save its chairman in a Biden district north of New York City. “And I think that right there explains why this red wave is going to be so big.”The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for House Democrats, said it isn't throwing in the towel. “Nearly a week from Election Day, House Democrats are well positioned to retain the majority despite a Republican gerrymandered map and MAGA Republicans’ dark money-fueled campaigns. Connecticut’s 5th District: Democrats have already spent $4.5 million to re-elect Hayes in a district that backed Biden 54.6% to Trump's 43.9% in the last election. Between now and Election Day, Democrats said they plan to spend an additional $1.5 million in ads to combat comparable spending by Republicans.

☆ Meet Allan Maman: The 21-year-old whose cold emails to Andrew Yang and Mike Bloomberg led to him making memes for their political campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-02 | by ( Dominic-Madori Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Allan Maman, a 21-year-old who didn't go to college, is the brainchild behind many of the memes used by the presidential campaigns of Andrew Yang and Mike Bloomberg. "Even people that were anti-Bloomberg or anti-or pro-Trump were tweeting, 'Oh this is actually a funny meme,'" Maman said. 'I think it's really cool that we kind of started political memes.' Allan MamanAnd as for his political meme career, Maman isn't so sure he will ever go back to it after the November election. "I think it's really cool that we kind of started political memes," he said.

Search resuls for: "Mike Bloomberg"

18 mentions found