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☆ Klarna says its AI assistant is doing the work of 700 people after putting the brakes on hiring
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Klarna says its AI assistant is doing the equivalent work of 700 people. Not everyone's impressed, but the assistant is another sign of the company's enthusiasm for AI. AdvertisementKlarna says its AI assistant is doing "the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents." One user, Gergely Orosz, a software engineer and author of The Pragmatic Engineer newsletter, said he was skeptical of the news after trying out Klarna's AI assistant. Advertisement"There will be a shrinking of the company," Siemiatkowski said in December.

Persons: Klarna, Swedish fintech, everyone's, —, Gergely, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, We're Organizations: Service, Business, Telegraph Locations: Swedish

☆ Uber's smooth operator Dara Khosrowshahi has done something Travis Kalanick never could: turn a profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewWho knows what kind of fate would have awaited Uber had Travis Kalanick decided not to relinquish his power in 2017. But instead of crashing, Uber has seemingly defied the odds thanks to Kalanick's successor, Dara Khosrowshahi. Net profit for the year hit $1.9 billion versus an enormous $9.1 billion loss in 2022, which had been inflated by revaluations of Uber's equity investments. Former Uber boss Travis Kalanick. But having been at the helm of online travel business company Expedia for 12 years before moving to Uber, Dara's success appears to come from his pedigree as an operator.

Persons: —, Uber, Travis Kalanick, Dara Khosrowshahi, Khosrowshashi, Eric Piermont, Khosrowshahi, SoftBank, Didi Chuxing Organizations: Service, Business, AFP Dara's Locations: Silicon, San Francisco, China

☆ Corporate America's loyalty problem is on display in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In today's big story, we're looking at how there's no more loyalty in corporate America between employers and their workers. Business Insider's Aki Ito, who has covered workplace trends better than anyone, dove into the deterioration of loyalty in corporate America. The best example of the deterioration of loyalty in corporate America these days is in Big Tech. AdvertisementOne year later, Big Tech's layoffs are back and could become the new normal, Business Insider's Peter Kafka writes. However, the best representation of the growing employee-employer chasm in Big Tech is at Google.

Persons: —, hustleharder, Insider's Aki Ito, they're, Insider's Peter Kafka, Kali Hays, BI's Eugene Kim, Ashley Stewart, Long, Sundar Pichai, BI's Hasan Chowdhury, Brian Moynihan, Moynihan, Laura Labovich, Asher, Emerson, Bill O'Leary, there's, Frederic J . Brown, haven't, Christian Dior, Dan DeFrancesco, Diamond Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb Organizations: Service, Big, Workers, Amazon MGM Studios, Big Tech, Google, OsakaWayne, Investment, New, Bank of America's, Fed, Washington, Getty, Meta, OpenAI Mafia, Shoppers, Spotify, Couture, United Airlines, The, Business Locations: America, Big Tech, Big, Bethesda, That's, Paris, New York, San Diego, London

☆ Googlers are realizing layoffs are 'just business' — and they're starting to fight back
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) 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. Pushing back against Google leadersIn response to the most recent wave of cuts this week, Google software engineer Diane Hirsh Theriault took to LinkedIn to vent about Google's leadership. "We're continuing to support any impacted employees as they look for new roles here at Google and beyond," Google said. Though he acknowledged one director followed up with him after the news, he has "harbored a lot of anger and frustration at Google's leadership" over the way layoffs have been handled since January 2023. AdvertisementThat's probably a pretty tough thing to accept for Google workers aggrieved by the layoffs.

Persons: —, Larry Page, Sundar Pichai, Googlers, Diane Hirsh Theriault, RSVP, hiZPDomas5, Stephen McMurtry, Kenneth Smith, Gergely Orosz, Smith, Orosz Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Big Tech, LinkedIn, Alphabet Workers, Alphabet Workers Union Locations: Mountain View, New York

☆ Why constant job cuts could be the new normal for Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) 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. A shorter, plain-English version might look like this: "We're a really big company that makes a lot of money and Wall Street wants us to make more. And if that's happening at Google — a company worth close to two trillion dollars — you can expect to see it at other Big Tech companies, too. All of the biggest tech companies would like to have something shiny and new to show off to investors — another growth story. But in any case: Absent a truly breakthrough product, Big Tech is going to look like any other big, established industry — one that periodically lays off workers.

Persons: —, What's, Sundar Pichai, it's, Meta, that's, they're Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Wall, Big Tech, Tech

☆ A popular female coding Instagram account that said men 'suffer from biases equally to women' was created by a man, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The person behind a female coder's Instagram account is a man, 404 Media reports. The page, called coding_unicorn, has 115,000 followers and claims to be run by a woman called Julia. AdvertisementA popular Instagram account fronted by a woman named Julia Kirsina is run by a man, according to a 404 Media investigation. But in reality, the person running the account is a male software developer called Eduards Sizovs, according to a 404 Media report. Advertisement404 Media dug into Sizovs' IP logs and old YouTube videos, and said it found that he had access to an email account called coding_unicorn.

Persons: Julia, —, Julia Kirsina, Kirsina, coding_unicorn, Sizovs, Ayodeji, Satya Nadella, Gergely Orosz, Anna Boyko, Alina Prokhoda, Kristine Howard, Julia Kirsina —, Scott Hanselman Organizations: Service, Business, Sizovs, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg

☆ Microsoft and Amazon Web Services executives are bailing on this tech conference after the organizer was accused of using fake female panelists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A tech conference organizer was accused of listing fake female panelists on his event website. AdvertisementAn online software development conference has come under fire after its organizers were accused of listing fake female panelists on its website. The DevTernity Conference was slated to run from 7 to 8 December, and featured speakers from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. He also explained the origins of the three fake female profiles. According to Sizovs, he secured the participation of two female panelists, but both eventually withdrew their participation.

Persons: Eduards Sizovs, —, Gergely Orosz, you've, Anna Boyle, Orosz, Sizovs, Kristine Howard, Scott Hanselman, he's Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Amazon Web, Bloomberg, Amazon Web Services, Sizovs, DevTernity Conference, Business Insider

☆ Why Amazon's $4 billion AI startup bet has 'predator moves' against Microsoft and Google written all over it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon plans to invest $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic, the firm announced Monday. The move gives Amazon a stake in a foundational AI company to compete with Microsoft and Google. Conor Grennan, dean of students and head of generative AI at NYU Stern, wrote in a LinkedIn post that "this Anthropic deal has predator moves against Microsoft and Google written all over it." Google invested $300M months ago & Anthrophic should have used GCP as their preferred cloud provider. Instead:"Anthropic selects AWS as its primary cloud provider."

Persons: Anthropic, Claude, —, OpenAI, Conor Grennan, Grennan, Gergely Orosz, GCP, NYU Stern's Grennan Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Service, NYU Stern, Nvidia, Alexa, GCP, NYU, AWS Locations: Anthropic, OpenAI

☆ Budapest: The beautiful city with the darkest of pasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Richard Quest | Joe Minihane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Carved through and framed by the mighty River Danube, Budapest and its beautiful skyline make it one of Europe’s finest and most compelling cities. The Ruin Bar District has seen its success spread too, with other bars appearing in ruined buildings across the city. CNNIt’s a sobering fact that, just 35 years ago, Budapest had a much different feel compared with its current vibrant air. That’s not to say, however, that the country, and Budapest in particular, does not have a strong independent streak. If Bakancsos Piac is imbued with the spirit of Budapest, then so too is the game of button football.

Persons: Katinka Orosz, ”, Fuge, Andrassy, Imre Horvath, Bakancsos Piac, He’s, Horvath, Mark Pataki, “ Organizations: CNN, Bars, Bar, Nazi, Soviet, Eastern Bloc, Park, Button, CNN Today’s, European Union, NATO, brac, Football, Budapest Pinball Locations: Budapest, Buda, Pest, Austro, Hungarian, VII, Hungary, Soviet, Soviet Union, CNN Today’s Hungary

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.158 billion euros ($1.28 billion). That compared with profit of 1.060 billion euros a year earlier, and was better than analysts' expectations for a profit drop to around 977 million euros. "We have worked hard to achieve this stability," Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing told employees in a memo. Revenue at the investment bank unit fell 19% to 2.7 billion euros in the first quarter from a year earlier. The investment bank's revenue decrease was countered by gains at the corporate bank and retail bank, which saw 35% and 10% increases.

☆ Deutsche Bank plans to cut jobs, shrink board
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The headquarters of Germany's Deutsche Bank are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File PhotoBERLIN, April 20 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) plans to reduce its executive board to nine members from 10 and to cut some jobs in infrastructure and in its private banking business to save costs, a source close to the bank told Reuters on Thursday. Germany's largest bank, which is due to present first-quarter results on April 27, declined to comment on the plans. Deutsche Chief Executive Christian Sewing said in February that he could not rule out job cuts. The bank completed its transformation phase at the end of 2022 with an improved cost-to-income ratio, but Sewing still needs to reduce costs.

"It cannot be that financial institutions are doing well because they treat their customers badly," Chan-Jae Yoo, a BaFin official, said in an interview. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella organisation that lobbies for German finance, said German banks are "extremely stable and robust" and confidence remains "high" and "unaffected" by recent turmoil stemming from the collapse of lenders in the United States and Switzerland. "The mere fact that consumers are increasingly asking us and seeking our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions," he said. Protections and rights for customers of financial institutions have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the German courts. "We want services to establish themselves in the marketplace that meet consumer needs, not feed the financial industry," he said.

☆ German regulator allows SVB to conduct lending business through local branch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bridge Bank (SVB) (SIVBV.UL) has been granted permission to conduct its lending business through its SVB Germany branch, German financial regulator BaFin said on Monday. BaFin had imposed a moratorium on the German branch of SVB in the wake of the U.S. lender's demise and noted the branch had "no systemic relevance". SVB Germany worked with German companies such as HelloFresh (HFGG.DE) and Lilium (5KD.F). Its total assets stood at 789.2 million euros ($846.26 million) at the end of 2022, according to BaFin. SVB Financial filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, about a week after Silicon Valley Bank was shut down in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

☆ Deutsche Bank CEO paid 8.9 million euros in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, March 17 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) paid Chief Executive Christian Sewing 8.9 million euros ($9.49 million) in 2022, up slightly from 8.8 million euros a year earlier, the bank disclosed on Friday, rewarding him for a third consecutive year of profit and hitting key milestones in the lender's restructuring. The bonus pool for the entire bank was 2.1 billion euros, basically flat from a year earlier. Sewing led the bank through a 9-billion-euro, four-year turnaround plan for what is one of the world's most systemically important banks after years of losses. For 2023, the bank forecast a slight increase in revenues to between 28 billion euros and 29 billion euros, according to its annual report on Friday. At the investment bank, revenues will be flat, it forecast.

[1/2] The Credit Suisse logo adorns a sign at the entrance to their campus in Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S., March 15, 2023. In its statement early Thursday, Credit Suisse said it is exercising its option to borrow from the Swiss National Bank up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion). They said the bank could access liquidity from the central bank if needed. Credit Suisse said it welcomed the statement of support from the Swiss National Bank and FINMA. The U.S. Treasury also said it is monitoring the situation around Credit Suisse and is in touch with global counterparts, a Treasury spokesperson said.

☆ German corporate treasurers urged not to underestimate the current situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, March 16 (Reuters) - German corporate treasuers were urged by an industry association on Thursday not to "underestimate the current situation" as cracks in the global banking system emerge. The warning came in a blog post on Thursday from the Association of German Treasurers entitled "SVB collapse not without consequences for treasurers" asking whether this was a "Lehman 2.0" moment. "Nevertheless, treasurers should not underestimate the current situation, even if they themselves are not directly or indirectly affected by the collapse of the three U.S. banks," the association wrote. It cited a reserch report from the bank LBBW saying that a flight to quality could weaken smaller and medium-sized banks. Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 15 (Reuters) - Swiss regulators pledged a liquidity lifeline to Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in an unprecedented move by a central bank after the flagship Swiss lender's shares tumbled as much as 30% on Wednesday. They said the bank could access liquidity from the central bank if needed. Credit Suisse said it welcomed the statement of support from the Swiss National Bank and FINMA. Hoping to quell concerns, FINMA and the Swiss central bank said there were no indications of a direct risk of contagion for Swiss institutions from U.S. banking market turmoil. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022.

March 15 (Reuters) - Swiss regulators said Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) can access liquidity from the central bank if needed, racing to assuage fears around the lender after it led a rout in European bank shares on Wednesday. The U.S. Treasury is monitoring the situation around Credit Suisse and is in touch with global counterparts about it, a Treasury spokesperson said. They slid again as a crisis of confidence gripped Credit Suisse on Wednesday after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said market turmoil has steered more money its way.

Two supervisory sources told Reuters that the European Central Bank (ECB) had contacted banks on its watch to quiz them about their exposures to Credit Suisse. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Switzerland's second-largest bank, after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints. Credit Suisse had appealed to the Swiss National Bank and Swiss financial watchdog FINMA for a public show of support, the Financial Times reported. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said market turmoil has steered more money its way.

The drop in Credit Suisse shares led a 7% fall in the European banking index (.SX7P), while five-year credit default swaps (CDS) for the flagship Swiss bank hit a new record high, highlighting increasing investor concerns. We move from the problems of American banks to those of European banks, first of all Credit Suisse," said Carlo Franchini, head of institutional clients at Banca Ifigest in Milan. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Switzerland's second-largest bank, after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constrains. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said it has benefited from market turmoil and seen money inflows.

☆ Germany imposes moratorium on German SVB branch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, March 13 (Reuters) - Germany's financial regulator BaFin on Monday said it was imposing a moratorium on the German branch of Silicon Valley Bank in the wake of its demise and noted the branch has "no systemic relevance". The bank opened a small branch in 2018 after it won a license to lend. SVB's Frankfurt branch had assets of 789 million euros ($841.86 million) at the end of last year, according to BaFin. Officials at SVB in Frankfurt have not responded to requests for comment. ($1 = 0.9372 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany's Commerzbank makes DAX comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) rejoined the DAX index on Monday, marking a comeback for Germany's No. "We have come to stay," Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof said before ringing the opening bell at the Frankfurt stock exchange. "The return of Commerzbank is a good signal for the German banking market." Following Wirecard's demise, Deutsche Boerse AG, which compiles the DAX index, revamped it to include 40 companies, rather than the previous 30, and made membership criteria tougher. Other members include Siemens AG, Volkswagen AG, and Allianz SE.

The bank said it would aim for a 2023 result that is "well above" 2022, helped by higher interest rates, despite "another demanding year in view of the challenging environment". Reuters GraphicsNet profit of 472 million euros ($505.3 million) in the quarter was higher than 421 million euros a year earlier. It was well above average analyst expectations of 350 million euros, according to a consensus forecast published by Commerzbank. For the full year, Commerzbank generated net profit of 1.435 billion euros, up from 430 million euros a year earlier, and better than expectations for around 1.359 billion. Commerzbank forecast net interest income "well above" 6.5 billion euros for 2023, "with clear additional upside potential".

☆ Deutsche Bank Q4 surges in 3rd year of annual profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) fourth-quarter profit surged, exceeding expectations and contributing to a third consecutive year of profit that was helped by higher interest rates and buoyant trading but damped by a slump in dealmaking that has shaken the industry. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.803 billion euros ($1.99 billion) in the three months ending Dec. 31, figures published on Thursday showed. That compares with a profit of 145 million euros a year earlier, and it is better than analyst expectations for a profit of around 951 million euros. ($1 = 0.9074 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Perella Weinberg puts employee in insider trading probe on leave -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP.O) has placed an employee who is being investigated as part of an insider trading probe in Germany on leave, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. On Thursday, German authorities said they were investigating five suspects, including one who was in custody, for allegedly profiting on upcoming M&A transactions between 2017 and 2021. Perella said in a statement: "The firm is assisting in an investigation by German law enforcement authorities. The firm is not the subject of the investigation, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the firm." The Perella employee is based in London, the two people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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