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☆ ‘SmartLess’ podcast is going to SiriusXM for $100 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | Elizabeth Wagmeister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes are ditching Amazon and taking their popular podcast “SmartLess” to SiriusXM, the satellite radio network said Monday. SiriusXM gained exclusive rights to the hit podcast as part of a larger deal with SmartLess Media, according to an announcement Monday. The deal keeps the podcast widely available, but brings perks to SiriusXM subscribers – and could possibly encourage more to join. SiriusXM has about 34 million subscribers, according to its October 2023 earnings report. The “SmartLess” podcast is among the top listened to in the country.

Persons: Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, SiriusXM, ”, Will, O’Brien’s, Conan, Joe Biden, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Greta Gerwig, Idris Elba, Pedro Pascal, Selena Gomez, ” Scott Greenstein, ‘, CNN’s Sergio Padilla Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, SmartLess Media, Sirius, Bloomberg, Amazon, “, Spotify Locations: New York, SiriusXM

☆ ChatGPT, Oppenheimer and Indian entertainment top the most-viewed Wikipedia pages in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Given its massive surge in popularity, the page about OpenAI’s virtual chatbot ChatGPT was the most viewed page on Wikipedia this year, amassing more than 49.4 million page views. The Wikipedia entry about the series drew more than 38 million page views. Virat Kohli of India bats during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 Final between India and Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Ahmedabad, India. The page for the league itself received more than 32 million views and the 2023 season receiving more than 20 million views. Chris Pizzello/APThe Oppenheimer film received more than 28 million page views, the page about real-life physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer himself received 25.6 million views while the Barbie film received 18 million.

Persons: New York CNN —, ChatGPT, ”, Anusha Alikhan, Alikhan, It’s, “ Oppenheimer, Virat Kohli, Narendra Modi, Gareth Copley, Jawan, Pathaan ”, Barbie ”, ” Barbie, Oppenheimer, Chris Pizzello, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, Lionel Messi, Andrew Tate, misogynist influencer, Tate, Barbie, Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthew Perry, Lisa Marie Presley Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York CNN — Wikipedia’s, Wikimedia Foundation, CNN, Indian Premier League, Cricket, ”, United Nations, Internet, Mobile Association of India, eventual, Australia, ICC Men's Cricket, Narendra, Getty, Men’s Cricket, Warner Bros, Los Feliz Theatre, Major League Soccer, Inter Miami, Premier League Locations: New York, ” India, India, United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia, Ahmedabad, Wikipedia’s, Los Angeles, Gaza, Ukraine, Hamas, Israel, Romania, ChatGPT, Water

☆ While Black Friday and Cyber Monday did good, Giving Tuesday lagged
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Americans seemed more willing to spend money on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but less willing to donate money on Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday’s decline in participation is not an isolated incident, but rather, as its organization acknowledges, part of larger trends philanthropic organizations are experiencing. According to a report by Giving USA from this past June, Americans are giving the lowest percentage of their disposable income since 1995. Americans gave just 1.7% of their disposable income in 2022, with charitable giving declining from 2021 by 3.4% to $499.3 billion, which represents an even larger decline of 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. “I think the numbers are very interesting in terms of Black Friday and Cyber Monday but they don’t tell you the whole picture,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

Persons: “, ”, Asha Curran, Ebenezer Scrooge, Neil Saunders, ” Saunders, CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn, Elisabeth Buchwald Organizations: New, New York CNN, Black, CNN, GivingTuesday, United Nations Foundation, National Retail Federation, Adobe, Federal, GlobalData, Adobe Analytics, Charities Aid Locations: New York, New York City

☆ A record number of $50 bills were printed last year. It’s not why you think
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Unless you’re an avid currency collector, an employee of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or work at the Federal Reserve, you likely didn’t know that last year a record number of $50 bills were printed. Last year, the government printed 756,096,000 of those bills — the highest total of the denomination printed in one year in more than 40 years. In 2019, only 3.5% of all US bills printed were $50s. To understand why so many $50 bills were printed, it’s important to know how the system of printing money works. But, more likely, and more realistically, people tend to avoid using $50 bills due to them being confused with $5 or $20 bills and many stores not accepting bills larger than $20.

Persons: Ken Cedeno, Ulysses S, Grant, wasn’t, Patrick McHenry, Ronald Reagan, Bugsy Siegel Organizations: New, New York CNN, Engraving, Federal Reserve, Yum Brands, Inc, Eccles Federal, Washington DC, Fed, San Francisco Fed, US, North Carolina Republican, Centers for Disease Control Locations: New York, Washington, North Carolina, Vegas, United States

☆ Snapchat users can now buy Amazon products without leaving the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Amazon will now run shopping ads for select products on popular photo messaging app Snapchat, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to CNN. Unlike prompts to get a user to open their phone’s web browser, Amazon’s shopping ads will allow them to shop and check out without having to exit the Snapchat app. “For the first time, customers will be able to shop Amazon’s Snapchat ads and check out with Amazon without leaving the social media app,” the Amazon spokesperson said in an email to CNN. “Customers in the U.S. will see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details on select Amazon product ads in Snapchat as part of the new experience. The Amazon partnership could put Snapchat one step closer to competing with the robust in-app shopping experiences of rivals like Instagram.

Persons: ’ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Amazon, CNN, “, Instagram, Meta’s Facebook Locations: New York, U.S, Snapchat

☆ Crocs unveils McDonalds-inspired footwear line
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Paul Glader | Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald’s confirmed Monday that it is collaborating with Crocs for one of its rare ventures into the footwear industry. The collaboration features shoes, socks and “Jibbitz” (the little charms that go inside the holes of Crocs) of McDonald’s advertising characters, as well as its red and yellow branding. Though not a partnership, Crocs also made shoes for the Wild West, with Croc cowboy boots on sale for $120. Video Ad Feedback McDonald's goes viral with "Grimace" shake 00:38 - Source: CNNFrom Crocs’ point of view, Saunders said that collaborations and quirky partnerships keep the Crocs brand in mind for consumers. McDonald’s early CEO, the late Raymond “Ray” Kroc, is of no known relation to the Crocs shoe brand.

Persons: McDonald’s, Crocs, Jibbitz ”, Lightning McQueen, “, ”, Neil Saunders, Saunders, Raymond “ Ray ” Kroc Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wild, CNN Locations: New York, Crocs

☆ Regional banks hurt by higher interest rates, saving for depositor defaults after Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Following the bank closings, many other regional banks have had to pay higher interest rates on deposits in order to prevent customers from heading towards the exit. Comerica saw declines in both provisions and net interest income and a 28% decline in net income compared to last year. Zions Bancorp had a dramatic decline as well, seeing yearly declines in net interest income and provisions. Going forward, if demand for loans dries up, that gets rid of a key source of income for regional banks. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF, a benchmark for judging the performance of shares of regional banks, was down 2.9% over five days as of midday trading on Friday.

Persons: “, ” Nathan Stovall, Stovall, ” Stovall, Huntington Bancshares, ”, Jerome Powell, JPMorgan Chase Organizations: CNN, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Federal, P Global Market Intelligence, US Bancorp, Financial Corp, T Bank Corp, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc, Commerce, Comerica, Zions Bancorp, Keycorp, Zions, T Bank, PNC, Regional Banking, Fed, Citi Group, Wells, JPMorgan Locations: Ohio, Dallas, Salt, Huntington, Commerce, Keycorp, Regions, Gaza, Wells Fargo

☆ AMC shares jump after Taylor Swift concert film grosses $100 million in advance ticket sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Sergio Padilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of AMC (AMC) surged 11.5% in Friday afternoon trading after the movie theater chain announced that “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film had grossed over $100 million in advance ticket sales. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” already the most profitable concert film in history, opens on Friday, October 13. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” also broke an AMC record for advance first-day ticket sales at $26 million. AMC Theaters Distribution, along with sub-distribution partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex, have reached deals with operators to show the film in over 8,500 theaters across 100 countries. The company said in a news release that ticket sales for the Eras Tour film were “setting domestic presale records.”For AMC, the rebound has come after sharp declines over two years.

Persons: Taylor, “ Taylor Swift, ”, Swift, AMC’s, Beyonce ” Organizations: CNN, AMC Entertainment, AMC, ” AMC, North, Trafalgar, Cinemark Holdings Locations: United States

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