DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Israel’s Strike Was Smaller Than Expected, and So Was Iran’s Reaction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The relatively limited scope of Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran, and a subdued response from Iranian officials, may have lowered the chances of an immediate escalation in fighting between the two countries, analysts said Friday. For days, there have been fears that a forceful Israeli response to Iran’s attack on southern Israel last weekend could prompt an even more aggressive riposte from Iran, potentially turning a tit-for-tat confrontation into a wider war. But when it finally came early on Friday, Israel’s strike appeared less damaging than expected, allowing Iranian officials and state-run news outlets to downplay its significance, at least at first. By sunrise, Iranian state-run news outlets were projecting a swift return to normality, broadcasting footage of calm street scenes, while officials publicly dismissed the impact of the attack. But the initial Iranian reaction suggested that Iran’s leaders would not rush to respond, despite warning in recent days that they would react forcefully and swiftly to any Israeli strike.

Persons: Israel, Israel’s, Iran — Organizations: Iran’s Locations: Iran, Israel, Isfahan

☆ Why Nora Turato is taking on the wellness industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Victoria Woodcock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

stop lying!” — a solo show at Sprüth Magers’ Los Angeles gallery, and a riposte to the wellness industry. Robert Wedemeyer/Courtesy Sprüth MagersAt the latter in 2022, she performed her one-woman “pool 5” monologue live more than 20 times over a two-week period. Born in Zagreb, Turato refers to her home country as “very in-between — not really eastern Europe; not really west,” she said. Robert Wedemeyer/Courtesy Sprüth MagersFor Sprüth Magers co-founder Philomene Magers, “Nora’s work puts people in front of a mirror,” she said. Tellingly, Turato’s self-optimization journey has ended in digital detox.

Persons: Nora Turato, “, ”, Zoom, Robert Wedemeyer, Barbara Kruger, —, Magers, Philomene Magers, it’s, haha, Turato, Julie Adams, It’s, — “, You’ve, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Museum of Modern Art, Hollywood, Systems, “ Locations: Croatian, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, New York, Zagreb, Croatia, Arnhem, Netherlands, Turato, Europe, ”, LA

☆ Here's why Apple stock is still worth holding despite Wall Street's shortsightedness
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Asked a double-edged question: "What can you do to make my Apple stock go up." On Friday, we had so many storylines going it is hard to get your head around Apple's Vision Pro launch and its import. Most of all, however, the customer satisfaction level allows him to experiment with something really radical: the Vision Pro. No one is buzzing about how Apple can't meet demand for the Vision Pro. People walk in an Apple store on the day the Vision Pro headset goes on sale in Los Angeles, Feb. 2, 2024.

Persons: Apple's, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Matt Horween, Tim Cook, Cook, AirPods, Goldman Sachs, Apple, Ray, that's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Mike Blake Organizations: Costco, Apple, Meta, Apple's Vision, Web Services, Reality Labs, Dow Jones Transportation, Federal Reserve, Huawei, Vision, Major League Soccer, CNBC Locations: China, Republic of China, Los Angeles

☆ Climate Change Activists Aim Soup at 'Mona Lisa' in Paris Louvre
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS (Reuters) - Two climate change activists hurled soup at the protective glass in front of the world-famous "Mona Lisa" painting in Paris' Louvre museum on Sunday. Video footage showed two women flinging red soup at Leonard da Vinci's masterpiece, to gasps from onlookers. They had ducked under a security barrier to get as close as they could to the painting and were led away by Louvre security guards. In recent years, many activists have targeted art to raise awareness about climate change. The glass in front of the "Mona Lisa" was smothered in cream in a protest in May 2022.

Persons: Mona Lisa, Leonard da, Vincent Van, Goya, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Manuel Ausloos, Barbara Lewis Organizations: PARIS Locations: Paris, Madrid's Prado

PARIS (AP) — Two climate activists hurled soup Sunday at the glass protecting the “Mona Lisa” at the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system. “Art, or right to a healthy and sustainable food?”“Our farming system is sick. The Louvre employees could then be seen putting black panels in front of the Mona Lisa and asking visitors to evacuate the room. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesParis police said that two people were arrested following the incident. They also dumped stinky agricultural waste at the gates of government offices.

Persons: Mona Lisa ”, Leonardo da, “, ”, Mona Lisa Organizations: PARIS, Louvre Museum, Paris Locations: Paris, France

French farmers are putting pressure on the government to respond to their demands for better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin held a security meeting Sunday before potential road blockades around Paris, his office said in a statement. Earlier Sunday, two climate activists hurled soup Sunday at the glass protecting the “Mona Lisa” and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system. The Louvre employees could then be seen putting black panels in front of the Mona Lisa and asking visitors to evacuate the room. Angry French farmers have been using their tractors for days to set up road blockades and slow traffic across France.

Persons: Mona Lisa ”, Gerald Darmanin, Darmanin, Leonardo da, “, ”, Mona Lisa, Gabriel Attal, ” Attal Organizations: PARIS, Sunday, Louvre Museum, French, Farmers, Rural Coordination Locations: Paris, Garonne, ”, France, Indre

☆ Protesters hurl soup at the Mona Lisa painting in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Halasz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Protesters hurled soup at the Mona Lisa painting in Paris on Sunday, but did not seem hit directly as it is protected by a clear casing. An environmental group has said two protesters involved with their campaign were behind the vandalism. The enigmatic portrait is no stranger to both vandalism and thievery. In 2009, a woman angrily threw a ceramic cup at the painting, breaking the cup but leaving the painting unharmed. Then in 2022, a visitor smeared frosting all over the Renaissance-era painting’s protective glass.

Persons: Mona Lisa, Riposte, ”, Mona Lisa ’, ” Leonardo da, Jacqui Palumbo Organizations: CNN, Protesters, Louvre Museum, Louvre Locations: Paris

☆ In Paris, Stars Going Shopping
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ms. Qualley has the Grammys, with her musician-husband Jack Antonoff, looming on her calendar next month. Still, even off the red carpet, couture is having something of a movie moment. Both series focus on the idea of the couture as a riposte to the horrors and deprivation of the war; a clarion call of humanity. Given what is going on in the world, you can understand why filmmakers — and the designers who love them — might think it was a good time to revisit this particular period. In any case, it’s all starting to seem a lot like life imitating art imitating life.

Persons: Virginie Viard, Margaret Qualley, Qualley, Jack Antonoff, Glenn Close, Juliette Binoche, Chanel, Binoche, Coco Chanel, Carmel Snow, ”, Dior, — Organizations: Apple, Disney Locations: Spanish, Europe, United States

☆ The day Congress went back to fourth grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The 118th Congress, which took an initial step to punt funding deadlines to the winter, looked more like a fourth grade class on a day that will further erode trust in government ahead of next year’s elections. Across Capitol Hill in the world’s so-called greatest deliberative body, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin was spoiling for a prize fight. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, however, suggested that policing the Capitol was beyond even his wily capacity to enforce discipline within his conference. And only in the malfunctioning Congress would a speaker try to prevent one government shutdown by laying the possible path for two others. Israel and Ukraine have nothing to thank Congress forThe most glaring example of Congress’ failure to fulfill its duty on Tuesday came at a pro-Israel demonstration on the National Mall.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Xi Jinping, Kevin McCarthy –, –, Tim Burchett, CNN’s Manu Raju, McCarthy, Oklahoma Republican Sen, Markwayne Mullin, Sean O’Brien, Mullin, O’Brien, ” Mullin, “, ” O’Brien, Vermont Sen, Bernie Sanders, let’s, ” Sanders, ”, Jared Moskowitz, James Comer, Comer, leafing, Moskowitz couldn’t, Gargamel, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia –, Darrell Issa, Alejandro Mayorkas, Greene, Donald Trump, ” McCarthy, Dakota Sen, John Thune –, Mitch McConnell, who’s, Mike Johnson’s, Johnson, ” Rep, Patrick McHenry, Tom Cole, Trump, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Iowa GOP Sen, Joni Ernst, Biden, Vladimir Putin, hasn’t, he’d, ” Connecticut Democratic Sen, Chris Murphy Organizations: CNN, 118th, Republican, GOP, Tennessean, Oklahoma Republican, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Health, Education, Labor, Pensions, Sooner, Martial Arts, Democratic, Biden, Florida Democrat, Capitol, Georgia Republican, Homeland, Capitol ., Congressional, Senate Republican, Capitol Police, Kentucky Republican, Republicans, ”, CNBC, “, Congress, House Democratic, Iowa GOP, Internal Revenue Service, Senate, White, ” Connecticut Democratic Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Washington, China, Oklahoma, Vermont, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, California, Capitol . Congress, Dakota, Gaza, Iowa, “ Ukraine, ” Connecticut

☆ Stocks waver, short-end U.S. yields rise after hawkish Fed statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"They're talking about higher rates for longer, but it's really the economy that matters. MSCI's U.S.-centric gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) fell 0.25% as stocks on Wall Street mostly slid. "Right now the message is we're going to leave rates higher for longer to make sure we slay the inflation dragon. Sterling came under pressure after data showed Britain's high inflation rate fell unexpectedly in August, prompting speculation that the Bank of England could pause its historic run of interest rate hikes as soon as Thursday. The dollar index rose 0.076%, with the euro down 0.02% to $1.0675.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Powell, Gennadiy Goldberg, it's, Anthony Saglimbene, Sterling, Brent, Herbert Lash, Dhara Ranasinghe, Samuel Indyk, Tom Westbrook, Toby Chopra, Chizu Nomiyama, Sharon Singleton, Aurora Ellis Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Global, Federal Reserve, Market, Fed, TD Securities, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of England, Bank of, U.S, West Texas, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New York, MSCI's U.S, Troy , Michigan, Europe, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Britain, London, Singapore

Yet in Europe, sterling came under pressure after data showed Britain's high inflation rate fell unexpectedly in August, prompting speculation that the Bank of England could pause its historic run of interest rate hikes as soon as Thursday. Two-year Treasury yields were down 3.5 basis points in London trade at 5.07%, having risen sharply on Tuesday, when five- and 10-year Treasury yields reached 16-year highs. World stock markets were edging higher ahead of the Fed rate decision. UK gilt yields fell sharply as investors slashed bets for a rate hike on Thursday, with two-year yields last down over 14 bps at 4.85% . "Combined with their recent dovish commentary, we now expect the MPC to keep Bank Rate unchanged tomorrow and lower our forecast for the terminal policy rate to 5.25%," Stehn and co. added.

Persons: DAX, Kai Pfaffenbach, Jerome Powell, Lee Hardman, Sterling underperformed, Goldman Sachs, Sven Jari Stehn, Stehn, Masato Kanda, Eugene Low, Dhara Ranasinghe, Samuel Indyk, Tom Westbrook, Toby Chopra, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Sterling, U.S, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Brent, Federal, Fed, Japan's Nikkei, MPC, Monetary, Bank of, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S, London, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Britain, Japan, Asia, Pacific, Hong Kong, China, Singapore

☆ Stocks stalled as oil surge sets stage for longer US rate peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But at $93.52 a barrel, prices remain up 30% in three months as Saudi Arabia and Russia reduce output. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields had hit their highest since 2007 at 4.371% overnight and were last at 4.36%. The yen is down 11% on the dollar this year as expectations firm for U.S. rates to stay high and Japanese rates to stay low. The yen hit a 10-month trough of 147.95 to the dollar late last week and it traded at 147.85 on Wednesday. Rising yields have kept a lid on gold prices, with spot gold last trading at $1,929 an ounce.

Persons: Brent, Stocks, Jerome, Sam Rines, Powell presser, Masato Kanda, Eugene Low, Miral Fahmy, Jamie Freed Organizations: Federal Reserve, Brent, FTSE, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Texas, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Britain, U.S, Singapore, Australia, Argentina

☆ Stocks struggle as oil surge sets stage for hawkish Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Higher energy costs led to a bigger-than-expected spike in Canadian inflation, overnight data showed, lifting the loonie and triggering selling in the Treasury market. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest since 2007 at 4.371% overnight and were last at 4.36%. The Fed meeting leads a week jammed with central bank meetings and data over the next few days. British inflation figures are due on Wednesday, followed by central bank meetings in Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Britain and Japan on Thursday. Rising yields have kept a lid on gold prices, with spot gold last trading at $1,929 an ounce.

Persons: Brent, presser, Jerome Powell's, Sam Rines, Powell presser, Masato Kanda, Kristina Clifton, Miral Organizations: Treasury, Federal Reserve, Brent, Nikkei, U.S, STERLING, OF CPI, Bank of, New Zealand, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: presser China, SINGAPORE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Texas, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Britain, U.S, China, Australia, Argentina

☆ How a single hard-charging CEO helped the US dollar take over the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Henry Farrell | Abraham Newman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Wriston's financial innovations helped create the modern Eurodollar market — a vast offshore realm of financial transactions in US dollars happening outside of US borders. As he explained in 1979, the "current banking network, with its Euromarkets and its automated payments system" seemed dull and technical, but it had immense political consequences. Wriston helped rebuild this clanking machine into an engine of transformation, welding disjointed national markets into a true world economy. It began to develop a new kind of sanction, which used its control of "dollar clearing" to force international banks to implement US policy outside its borders. Instead of the stateless, government-less world that Wriston envisioned, the internationalization of the US dollar became the precedent for a massive transformation of America's financial power.

Persons: Walter Wriston, Wriston, Friedrich Hayek's, Banks, Eric Sepkes, Eric Helleiner, Henry Holt, Helleiner, Henry Farrell, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Friedrich Schiedel, Abraham Newman Organizations: Citibank, Staff, of, Technology, Bankers, JPMorgan, Warburg, Federal Reserve, buccaneers, US Department of, Treasury, SWIFT, Society, Worldwide Interbank, Johns Hopkins, Politics, The Washington Post, School of Foreign Service, Government Department, Georgetown University, Henry Holt and Company Locations: London, of London, Europe, Argentina, New York, United States, Eurodollars, Italy, Japan, Soviet Union, America, Iran, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Vivek Ramaswamy's 'anti-woke' investment firm now manages assets worth more than $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is the cofounder of an "anti-woke" ETF firm. The company was set up last year and now manages assets worth more than $1 billion. Ramaswamy's firm is a riposte to the ESG-centric policies of some big investment firms. Last month he said the "big three" investment firms – BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard – represented "arguably the most powerful cartel in human history." Ramaswamy is vying with Florida governor Ron DeSantis for second place in opinion polls, but both lag some distance behind former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Eric Balchunas, Anson Frericks, It's, Vanguard –, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Organizations: Service, GOP, Bloomberg Intelligence, US Energy ETF, Energy ETF, Bloomberg, – BlackRock, Vanguard, Republican Locations: Wall, Silicon, BlackRock, ESG, Florida

☆ The Secrets of Debate Swag
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And before you can say “in my prime” or “too honest,” it will end up on a T-shirt in a candidate’s store. At a point in the electoral cycle when candidates are desperate to distinguish themselves and have only minutes onstage to do so, being able to deliver a zinger that will play on via swag is a key advantage. Ever since the inauguration of George Washington, voters have been participating in the electoral process by means of merch. Back then, it was fancy commemorative buttons that were sewn onto clothes (and were, largely, accessible only to the well-off). Now, almost as soon as presidential contenders declare their candidacy and their websites go live, the shops go live with them.

Persons: George Washington Organizations: Republican Locations: swag

☆ West African bloc seeks solution to Niger coup as deadline nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Thousands of anti-sanctions protestors gather in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Mahamadou HamidouNIAMEY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - West African defence chiefs were set to wrap up discussions about possible intervention in Niger on Friday, as mediators from the regional bloc push coup leaders in Niamey to restore constitutional order before an approaching deadline. The military junta in Niger is locked in a standoff with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has taken its hardest stance yet on last week's ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum - the seventh coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. Niger's self-declared leader Abdourahamane Tiani has rejected the sanctions and said the junta will not back down against any threats. Later on Friday, the region's defence chiefs will officially end a multi-day meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja about a possible military response that they have said would be a last resort.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Abdourahamane Tiani, Tiani, Alessandra Prentice, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Niamey, Niger, Mahamadou, NIAMEY, West, Central Africa, France, juntas, Mali, Burkina Faso, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Nigerien, Nigerian, Abuja

☆ Ukraine’s Offensive Meets Strong Russian Riposte
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraines-offensive-meets-strong-russian-riposte-4d588bdf

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Review: In ‘Days of Wine and Roses,’ Two Souls Lost in an Ocean of Booze
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Laura Collins-Hughes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If not for the unbridled drinking, it might easily have been a screwball comedy. Just look at them: Kirsten, blondly beautiful with a tolerant smile and a quick riposte; Joe, curly-haired cute but too arrogant to grasp that he’ll have to up his game to win this woman. It can’t be me; you don’t know me.”This is the addiction-canon classic “Days of Wine and Roses,” though, so some of us already know them. In Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel’s jazzy, aching musical based on the teleplay and the film, Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James are an awfully glamorous Kirsten and Joe — O’Hara, in exquisite voice, singing 14 of the show’s 18 numbers, seven of them solos. Directed in its world premiere by Michael Greif for Atlantic Theater Company, this “Days of Wine and Roses” fills the old Gothic Revival parish house that is the Linda Gross Theater with glorious sound.

Persons: Kirsten, blondly, “, ”, Miller’s, Piper Laurie, Cliff Robertson, Lee Remick, Jack Lemmon, Joe, Craig Lucas, Adam Guettel’s, Kelli O’Hara, Brian d’Arcy James, Joe — O’Hara, Michael Greif, Linda Gross Organizations: Atlantic Theater Company Locations: New York City, Miller’s

☆ Napoli’s Serie A title win: From Maradona and financial bankruptcy to Scudetto
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Diego Maradona battles dribbles against Ruud Gullit of AC Milan in the Serie A in 1988. With Maradona’s arrival came a level of success Napoli had previously never seen, culminating in a 1987 title victory; the club’s first ever Scudetto. When Napoli won its first Serie A title in 1987, the Gentleman Ultra website notes: “In the city, mock funerals were held for Juventus. The dark yearsA year after the 1990 title success, the Napoli team began to unwind with players departing, leading to a drop in performances. Napoli fans celebrate the team's Serie A title victory on the streets of Naples.

☆ The coming commercial real estate crash that may never happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

"There's a lot of headaches about calamity in commercial real estate," said Kevin Fagan, director of commercial real estate analysis at Moody's Analytics. But credit in commercial real estate has performed well until now, and it's far from clear that U.S. credit issues spreading outward from real estate is likely. Analysts raised concerns that developers might default on a big chunk of $3.1 trillion of U.S. commercial real estate loans Goldman Sachs says are outstanding. "We're well aware of the concentrations people have in commercial real estate," Powell said at a March22 press conference. But there are reasons to believe lending issues in commercial real estate will be contained, Fagan said.

☆ Adani Group reels after report from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It says it holds short positions in Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. JAN. 26* Adani Group says it is evaluating "remedial and punitive action" against Hindenburg under U.S. and Indian laws. JAN 28* Index provider MSCI says it is seeking feedback on Adani Group and associated securities and is aware of the Hindenburg report. JAN 30* Adani Group issues a detailed riposte to the Hindenburg report, saying it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures. * Index provider MSCI says it will cut weightings of four Adani Group companies, including Adani Enterprises, in its indexes after reassessing the number of freely traded shares.

☆ Egypt's Sisi seeks to tamp down media clash with Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Hatem Maher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia along with other energy-rich Gulf states has long provided crucial funding to Egypt, upping support after Sisi took power nearly a decade ago, and as an acute financial crisis took hold last year. "The mean, the scoundrels and the nouveau-riche have no right to insult their masters," he wrote, drawing on derogatory stereotypes and claims of historical superiority. Another well-known Saudi commentator, Ali Shihabi, later tweeted: "Egypt is a black hole that will never close unless the govt is able to make material structural reforms." Tawfik's article has been removed from Al Gomhuria's website and replaced by an editorial lauding Egyptian-Saudi relations as "historic and eternal". Additional reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Aziz El Yaakoubi, Writing by Aidan LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Google opens Bard chatbot to test users, plans more AI for search
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

In a blog post on Monday, Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said the company is opening a conversational AI service called Bard to test users for feedback, followed by a public release in the coming weeks. Powering Bard is LaMDA, Google's AI that can generate prose so human-like that a company engineer last year called it sentient, a claim the technology giant and scientists widely dismissed. Google also plans to add AI-powered features to its search engine that synthesize information to answer complex queries, like whether a guitar or the piano is easier to learn to play, Pichai said. And Google will give tools, first powered by LaMDA and later by other AI technology, to web developers, creators and enterprises starting next month, he said. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Green subsidy race may be what the world needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Elsewhere carbon taxes are low and patchy, as in China, or virtually non-existent, as in the United States. RACE TO THE TOPThat said, the prospects for combating climate change are much better now that America is throwing money at green technologies. Competition between China, the United States and the EU to supply this kit will also benefit consumers in other parts of the world. The United States could align its green subsidies with its “friendshoring” plan, which aims to build up supply chains in friendly countries. Even with such supporting policies, a global green subsidy race will remain a second-best option.

Search resuls for: "Riposte"

25 mentions found