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☆ I love Quarter Pounders. But I don’t get why people enjoy chicken
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Saira Mueller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

I’ve never really understood why people enjoy eating chicken. Like the frenzy of people crowding Chick-fil-A or Popeyes when a limited-edition chicken sandwich goes on sale, as if it were the latest iPhone release. Or the fact that there’s something called the “chicken sandwich wars,” which could return in 2024 — thanks in part to the recent limited release of two new McDonald’s crispy chicken sandwiches. Compared to the aroma of freshly baked bread or the sizzle of bacon — scents that beckon me closer — the fried chicken smell is like an unwelcome intrusion. Why exactly do you enjoy eating chicken?

Persons: CNN —, I’d, ”, Shannon Stapleton, chow, Homer Simpson, I’ve, Michael Nagle, ” I’m, I’m Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Louisiana, New York City, New York, South Africa

☆ I grew up always wanting to drive my own car. But I'm from the world's most expensive city to live in, and now I know I never will.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

AdvertisementFor car buyers, the COE is an extra cost that can easily eclipse the actual price of a car. These BMW family cars cost around $103,000 in 2017. COE prices went up to $67,000 that year for lower-end cars, despite more than 13,000 certificates being made available. On Thursday, COE prices for lower-end cars fell to about $48,000, a steep drop that shocked the market. Meanwhile, while unpopular, Singapore's COE prices are working for now.

Persons: —, Mikel Bilbao, Edgar Su, Reuters They've, EDGAR SU, Walter Theseira, Theseira, Singapore's, We've, ROSLAN RAHMAN, we've, Aditya Irawan, it's, they're, Benjamin Loo Organizations: Service, Volvo, Volkswagen, Hyundai, VW, Getty, COE, BMW, Reuters, Toyota Corolla, Singapore University of Social Sciences, ROSLAN RAHMAN Singapore, Yokohama JR Line, The New York Times, Uber, Temasek Holdings, CarTimes, Straits Times Locations: Singapore, European, New York City, Tokyo, Yokohama, New York, Asia, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur

☆ How Do the Pros Create Holiday Magic? (Yes, You Can Try This at Home.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Tim Mckeough | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s that time of year again. The Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, and the December holidays beckon. Yes, it’s time to decorate. Whether that means running wild with ribbon and lights, breaking out the family heirlooms or bringing in greenery and flowering bulbs, there are few firm dos and don’ts. But the goal is always the same: creating a festive environment that makes you happy, whichever holidays traditions you observe.

Persons: Jung Lee, Elizabeth Roberts, Peter Pennoyer, Katie Ridder, — Locations: beckon

☆ Cramer: This market has put investors in a box. This is how we break out of it
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

How can you not keep the federal funds rate higher for longer when you get a U.S. GDP number that surpasses the real GDP of China. He sees the three Oreos taken out of the bag and the higher price nonetheless. The average person hurt by higher rates is collateral damage to the greater anti-inflation mission. All the market has to do is reach a price level that is too darned compelling. And who says we won't see higher rates until the horizon is at last upon us?

Persons: aren't, Estee Lauder, Jerome Powell, Powell, it's, He's, calvary, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Squawk, Virginia Sherwood Organizations: Treasury, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, First, Bank, Federal Reserve, Disney, Fed, Costco, Homes, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC Locations: U.S, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia

☆ Gold skids, but holds above $1,900 as Israel-Hamas war rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A worker handles an Argor-Heraeus SA one kilogram gold bar at Solar Capital Gold Zrt. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,919.21 per ounce by 0423 GMT and U.S. gold futures dropped 0.5% to $1,932.70. Given the surge in prices, gold will likely remain in focus for traders seeking to buy dips, which makes $1,920 and $1,900 of area of interest. But if tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, shorting gold may not end too well for bears over the near-term. Data on Friday showed that COMEX gold speculators increased net short position by 11,784 contracts to 14,788 in week ended Oct. 10.

Persons: Hungary Gold, Matt Simpson, Wang Tao, Joe Biden, Jerome Powell's Organizations: Heraeus SA, Solar, Hamas, Investors, Federal Locations: Budapest, Hungary, Israel

☆ See inside this chic, 1970s Santa Barbara houseboat named Thomas Jefferson that can be yours for $4.9 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The home's seller, Jeff Wapner, purchased the houseboat so he could be closer to the ocean. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. "After moving back to Santa Barbara, I wanted to live as close as possible to the ocean. After living on the Thomas Jefferson for about a year, Wapner realized there were a few issues. The slip in Santa Barbara Harbor is included in its listing price, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Persons: Jeff Wapner, Wapner, —, Thomas Jefferson —, I've, Thomas Jefferson, CJ Paone, Louisa Kimble, Santa Barbara Harbor Organizations: Service, Wall Street Journal Locations: Wall, Silicon, Santa Barbara , California, Santa Barbara

☆ The West’s ‘see no evil’ approach to Serbia’s Vucic is destabilizing the Balkans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The result is that, despite Serbia’s professed hopes to join the EU, Vucic has continued to walk a tightrope between Moscow and western powers. A Pristina government official told CNN that they did not want to “surrender” official government buildings to protesters. A decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes to fester over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. After such episodes, Joseph told CNN that the “see no evil” approach to Vucic’s regime may be starting to crack. “The situation is clear who the bully of the Balkans still is,” Meliza Haradinaj, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, told CNN.

Persons: Moscow’s, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Mihailescu, ” Jasmin Mujanovic, Vucic, “, Mujanovic, Alicia Kearns, ”, –, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Serbia’s, you’ll, Kearns, wouldn’t, Putin, Viktor, Orban, ” Majda, you’re, Quint, ” Kurti, Kurti, Edward Joseph, Laura Hasani, He’s, Shqiprim Arifi, Arifi, Ben Kilb, ” Dusan, Milorad Dodik, Oliver Bunic, Boris Grdanoski, ” Joseph, Viktor Oban, Joseph, Biden, Aleksandar Vulin, ” “ He’s, ‘ we’re, ’ He’s, I’ve, ” Vucic, Meliza Organizations: CNN, European Union, Putin, Belgrade, Getty, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, NATO, National Security, United Nations, Kosovo's, EU, Anadolu Agency, Gazprom, Serbian, European Council, Foreign Relations, ”, US, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo’s, Johns Hopkins University, …, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, British, Kosovo, Kosovar Business Alliance, Kosovar, Serbs, “ Association of, Bloomberg, ASM, Russian, AP, Serbia ”, KFOR, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Red Star, Red Star Belgrade soccer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Serbia, Europe, Belgrade, West, Kosovo, Kosovo’s, Kosovar, AFP, Russian, Balkan, Western Balkans, British, United, EU, Brussels, Belgium, Moscow, ” Kosovo, Serbs, France, Germany, Italy, Balkans, Pristina, … Serbia, Zvecan, Serbian, Presevo, Albanian, Leposavic, Republika Srpska, ” Republika Srpska, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dayton, Banja Luka, Kurti, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, appeasing Serbia

☆ Aspen for Cheapskates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over an $8.50 pint of craft beer from Aspen Brewing Company, which is comparable to what I pay at home in Chicago, I realized that Aspen, Colo., is not expensive by big-city standards. The Economic Research Institute, which compiles financial data for public and private organizations, pegs the cost of living in Aspen at 51 percent higher than the average in the United States, a little less than a city like Seattle. As a professionally penny-pinching traveler, I try to avoid paying urban prices in the mountains. In the summer in Aspen, apart from my weakness for microbrews, I didn’t have to. Cycling, if you can avoid expensive rentals, is a bargain.

Persons: Parks Organizations: Aspen Brewing Company, Aspen, Economic Research Institute, Prada, Parks beckon Locations: Chicago, Colo, Aspen, United States, Seattle

☆ Opinion | Will Translation Apps Make Learning Foreign Languages Obsolete?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( John Mcwhorter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

To polyglots, foreign languages are Mount Everests daring us to climb them — a metaphor used by Hofstadter in his article. After all, despite the sincere and admirable efforts of foreign language teachers nationwide, fewer than one in 100 American students become proficient in a language they learned in school. Immersion programs, if begun early, can actually imprint a foreign language into a child’s brain. I know: A foreign language is a window into a new way of processing the world. With an iPhone handy and an appropriate app downloaded, foreign languages will no longer present most people with the barrier or challenge they once did.

Persons: Hofstadter, John McWhorter, ”, “ Organizations: Columbia University Locations: Rome

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 21 (Reuters) - Investors are putting aside geopolitical tensions to pile in to Taiwan stocks, with foreign inflows the biggest in years, thanks to soaring artificial intelligence and chipmaking stocks. Rather, investors say it's all the more sturdy as the bogged-down conflict deters Chinese action and risks can be managed by keeping positions liquid with one eye on a possibly quick exit. "A potential escalation of events in the Taiwan Strait down the line is less relevant for these investors," he said. "So that makes Taiwan’s AI supply chain very attractive for foreign investors, and we believe their fund inflows will continue to be strong throughout the year." Investors say Taiwan's market is uniquely positioned to benefit because it is exposed to the sector's growth from applications to components, where demand is rebounding.

Persons: Carlos Casanova, Warren Buffett, we've, Frank Benzimra, Hai, Andrew Swan, Goldman Sachs, Clarence Chan, Summer Zhen, Kim Coghill Organizations: Nasdaq, Union Bancaire, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Societe Generale ., Accton Technology, Hai Precision Industry, Wistron Corp, Alchip Technologies, Ark Investment Management, Vanguard, PineBridge Investments, Mellon Investment Management, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, TAIPEI, Taiwan, Asia, Ukraine, Taiwan Strait, China, Taipei, Japan, PineBridge Investments Asia, Alchip, Asia Pacific, Hong Kong

☆ Disney pulling back on making Marvel, Star Wars content, Iger says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Disney is slowing down when it comes to making movies and TV series for its Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm franchises, CEO Bob Iger said on CNBC Thursday. Spending less on what we make, and making less," Iger said Thursday. Iger said Thursday that a lot of decisions were made to prop up the company's flagship streaming service, Disney+, and beckon more customers. It had not been in the television business at any significant level, and not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of TV series," said Iger. Disney acquired Marvel for more than $4 billion in 2009, and the franchise has since grossed billions of dollars at the global box office for the company.

Persons: Bob Iger, Iger, Marvel Organizations: Disney, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, CNBC, Marvel

Banks typically sold these perpetual bonds - known as AT1 bonds - with five years before an option to repay was triggered. In the past, investors got their money back, and banks replaced the bonds with new ones, but some are changing tack. The banks' actions show how the wipeout of billions of dollars of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds still reverberates around this market, which is estimated at roughly $275 billion. "The AT1 market is splitting," said Alessandro Cameroni, a portfolio manager at asset manager Lemanik. SHOCK ABSORBERThe AT1 bonds were designed to help banks absorb losses, and they count towards their capital buffers.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Banks, Alessandro Cameroni, Lemanik, Peter Harvey, Federated Hermes, Italy's, Morgan Stanley, Karsten Junius, J . Safra Sarasin, Chiara Elisei, Carlo Giovanni Boffa, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Suisse, Raiffeisen Bank, Reuters, Deutsche, Aareal Bank, Credit Suisse, Investors, Federated, Lloyds, Societe Generale, UBS, Santander, J ., Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine, Swiss, Schroders, Russia

☆ Sony's faith-based streaming service merges with Hallmark rival Great American Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sony Pictures Entertainment and its streaming service Pure Flix are making room on the cable TV dial. The company's streaming service, known for faith-based content, is merging with Great American Media, a recent upstart cable rival to the Hallmark Channel. It will also beef up the slate for Great American's TV networks Great American Family and Great American Living. As part of the deal, which has yet to close, content from both Pure Flix and Great American Media will cross each other's platforms. Great American Media and its two cable TV networks were launched in 2021 by Bill Abbott, former CEO of Crown Media, the parent of the Hallmark Channel.

Persons: Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Abbott Organizations: Los Angeles, Hilton Los Angeles, Universal City, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Great American Media, Hallmark Channel, Sony, Crown Media, Hallmark Locations: Universal City , California, U.S, Canada

☆ Marilyn Minter's 'Elder Sex' depicts radical images of intimacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“There’s so much contempt for elder sex. Marilyn Minter/Courtesy Marilyn Minter & LGDRA handful of the ensuing images were originally published in the New York Times Magazine, accompanying a candid editorial feature about seniors’ sex lives. Minter is now publishing the series in full in the forthcoming book “Elder Sex,” and exhibiting them at New York gallery LGDR. Marilyn Minter/Courtesy of JBE Books & LGDR“We wanted to (include) all races, all types of sex,” Minter explained. What?”Minter hopes "Elder Sex" will serve as a radical body of work and will help normalize sex at older ages.

☆ Cheeseburgers and steaks could be about to get a lot more expensive after US beef cow numbers slumped
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US cow population fell 3% last year while beef cows decreased to their lowest level since 1962, according to the Department of Agriculture. The total cow population in the country fell 3% to 89.3 million in 2022, according to a Department of Agriculture cattle inventory report published Tuesday. The number of milk cows rose slightly but beef cows plunged 4% to just under 29 million – the lowest total since records started in 1962. The fall in US cow numbers will likely be felt in diners and kitchens, with lower beef supplies encouraging farmers to raise prices and those then being passed on to Americans buying burgers or steaks. "What Tuesday's report solidifies is that not only do we have 'fewer' beef cows in the industry than compared to years past, but also that we have the fewest beef cows ever recorded," DTN livestock analyst ShayLe Stewart said.

☆ Morning Bid: Breathe in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom WestbrookMarkets are holding their breath for a week where central banks may start to take divergent paths. read moreWall Street's "fear index" - the VIX volatility index - on Friday fell below 18.0 for the first time in over a year, and perhaps a little under the radar, U.S. bond market volatility is now its lowest since last June. In Asia, markets slipped slightly, U.S. futures fell 0.4% and currency trade was eerily calm. The Nikkei newspaper reported Renault (RENA.PA) was to lower its share holding in Nissan (7201.T) to 15%, while the latter would invest in Renault's EV business. Things have not gone well for investors in other firms Hindenburg has targeted.

☆ Festivity on hold for stocks as rate hikes beckon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 1% in early trade and the yen , which rose about 0.5% to 136.00 per dollar, was the biggest mover in quiet currency trade. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.4%. The yen has been the worst-performing G10 currency this year, with a 15% loss against the dollar, driven mainly by the gap between rising U.S. rates and anchored Japanese rates. U.S. rates were steady last week, despite the Fed projecting further hikes ahead, as traders fret that interest rates are already high enough to start hurting economic growth. It is down 20% for the year and has failed in several attempts at sustainably trading above its 200-day moving average.

☆ Christmas vacations: 15 of the best places to go
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The Bath Christmas Market has a multitude of wooden chalets selling distinctively British handmade crafts in a quaint Georgian setting. Bogotá, ColombiaA woman dressed as Santa Claus sits next to a Christmas tree and a Christmas star at Bolivar Square in Bogota. Salzburg and Oberndorf, AustriaThe Christmas Market and associated festivities in Salzburg are really something to sing about. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg claims to be the oldest Christmas market in France and one of the oldest in Europe. damianalmua/Adobe StockThe traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white take on an entirely new meaning in New Zealand.

Persons: CNN —, Santa Claus, Claus, ”, Allan Baxter, Jesus, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Centre –, Austen, Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, Roy Rochlin, Bergdorf Goodman, Wangari Maathai, Fernando Vergara, “ Ruta, John’s, Miguel de Allende, Mary, Joseph, “ posada ”, Mozart, White Organizations: CNN, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, The, Royal, Catholic, Rockefeller, Getty Images Rockefeller, New York, Radio City, Columbus Circle, Fashion’s, Saks Fifth, Macy’s Herald Square, Kenyan, Park, Nuremberg, Toy Museum, Bolivar, Downtown, Malta Toy Museum, Quebec City, Adobe, Nord Expe, Mexico Piñatas, UNESCO, ”, Santa Locations: England, Philippines, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Santa, Bethlehem , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York City, Bethlehem, Moravian, Bath, “, Fernando , Philippines, Asia, San Fernando, Catholic Philippines, Manila, of Bethlehem, Barcelona, Spain, Santa Eulalia, New York City New York, Central Park, Macy’s, Nairobi, Kenya, Nuremberg, Germany, German, Bogotá, Colombia, Bogota, Christmastime, Malta, Downtown Valletta, Quebec City, Canada, Petit Champlain, Quebec, Old Quebec, Sentier, Nord, Miguel, Mexico, posadas, ponche, Piñatas, Salzburg, Oberndorf, Austria, ” Salzburg, Bavaria, Strasbourg, France, Europe, Queenstown , New Zealand, New Zealand, Queenstown, Wakatipu

☆ Jim Cramer: Our allies — and enemies — hold the keys to unlocking this market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

What is confounding us has more to do with the actions of our allies and — just call it as we see it — our enemies. It's incredible how irrational it has all gone and how isolated China really turns out to be. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ A major hedge fund fears 'hyperinflation' in some developing nations. This is why it could still affect America.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are fears that some nations could be struck by hyperinflation, or uncontrolled price rises. The consequences could be disastrous for emerging economies — and have ramifications for the US. While hyperinflation is not about to strike the US, it could affect the American economy nonetheless. Another consequence of that policy was to send money out of emerging economies and back to the US. While Gallagher said hyperinflation wasn't happening yet, the frameworks in place to protect emerging economies from hyperinflation and a debt default were breaking down, leaving countries to fend for themselves.

☆ Home Depot posts better-than-expected quarter despite inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A customer wearing a protective mask loads lumber onto a cart at a Home Depot store in Pleasanton, California, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Home Depot reported Tuesday its third-quarter revenue increased nearly 6% to $38.9 billion, beating analyst expectations, as the retailer continued to beckon customers despite rising costs and macroeconomic pressures. The company posted a profit of $4.3 billion, or $4.24 per diluted share, up from $4.1 billion, or $3.92 billion, from the same quarter last year. The company also expects comparable store sales to grow about 3% and an operating margin of approximately 15%. Home Depot said that while its customer transactions were down slightly more than 4%, its average ticket prices rose about 9% to $89.67.

The S&P is 10.6% above its Oct. 12 closing low for 2022, though still down 17% for the year. "If you're sitting in cash and the market rallies, you might think you were greedy waiting for a bigger discount." Institutional investors' exposure to stocks was low going into Thursday's inflation report. Last month's fund manager survey from BofA Global Research showed investors' cash levels at their highest since April 2001. Lewis said he had not seen so-called real money – a term for mutual funds, pension funds and other non-leveraged market investors – participating in Thursday's rally, though he saw no evidence of selling from that cohort, either.

☆ What Cramer is watching Monday — midterm election, Apple in China, cloud collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

What I am looking at Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 U.S. stock futures bounced after breaking multiweek weekly winning streaks. Club holding Apple (AAPL) issues with Covid restrictions slowing down iPhone production in China is supply not demand. Club holding Coterra Energy (CTRA) upgraded by Wolfe Research to peer perform from underperform (hold from sell). Club holding Wells Fargo (WFC) still cheapest and putting worst behind it. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

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