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☆ Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, US officials warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Unlike traditional banks, nonbank mortgage companies like Rocket Mortgage are heavily exposed to swings in the mortgage market, depend on funding that can dry up during times of stress and don’t have stable deposits to rely on as a safety net. Despite the wonky term, nonbank mortgage companies have become vital players that make most home mortgages in the United States today. As of 2022, nonbank mortgage companies originated about two-thirds of US mortgages and owned the servicing rights on 54% of mortgage balances, according to FSOC. “Nonbank mortgage firms are thinly capitalized, which makes them vulnerable to failure if they lose financing or mortgage defaults spike,” said McCoy, a former mortgage regulator. “Starting in early 2007, we saw a tsunami of nonbank mortgage firms fail precisely for these reasons.”

Persons: Janet Yellen, FSOC, Cooper, ” FSOC, Ginnie Mae, Bob Broeksmit, Patricia McCoy, ”, McCoy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Rocket, Mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association, ABA, Boston College Law School, “ Locations: New York, United States

☆ Record ratings for NFL’s Super Bowl LVIII at a staggering 123.4 million viewers, TV’s biggest audience since the moon landing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched television broadcast in a generation. Sunday’s overtime thriller, which featured the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the San Francisco 49ers, averaged 123.4 million viewers, CBS said Monday, breaking Super Bowl viewership records. The audience for Super Bowl LVIII was so large that it approached the all-time most watched television broadcast set in 1969, when an estimated 125 to 150 million viewers watched the Apollo 11 moon landing. The Super Bowl was no different. That makes the NFL and the Super Bowl all the more valuable to advertisers trying to reach a mass market.

Persons: Gregory Bull, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, ” Bob Bakish, “ She’s, Swift, Kelce Organizations: CNN, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, CBS, Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Paramount, Univision, Nickelodeon, NFL, Allegiant, NFC, Fox, AFC, Paramount Global, Bloomberg, Super Bowl, Companies Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Special Counsel Report ‘Went Off the Rails,’ Biden’s Lawyer Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

White House officials and Democrats fanned out to defend President Biden’s mental fitness on Sunday, reflecting the rising anxiety in the president’s administration over a special counsel report that fueled concern about his age. “This is a report that went off the rails,” Bob Bauer, Mr. Biden’s personal lawyer, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “A shabby work product.”The report, released on Thursday, cleared Mr. Biden of criminal wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency. But the special counsel in the case, Robert K. Hur, characterized Mr. Biden, 81, as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who had “diminished faculties in advancing age.”Democrats have gone on the offensive to discredit what they say is a partisan hit that potentially violated Justice Department policy, specifically taking issue with the descriptions questioning Mr. Biden’s memory.

Persons: Bob Bauer, ”, Biden, Robert K, Hur, Mr Organizations: White, Mr, Democrats, Department

(AP) — President Joe Biden's personal attorney said Sunday he went to both the special counsel and the attorney general to register concerns over what he viewed to be pejorative and unnecessary digs at the president's memory. “This is a report that went off the rails,” Bob Bauer said on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday. “It’s evident that he had committed to make the report public the way that the special counsel had written it,” said Bauer. He said the special counsel made a decision “to cherry pick in a very misleading way” what references made it in and what didn't. The Justice Department has not commented on the criticism.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Bob Bauer, “, Robert Hur, General Merrick Garland, Mr, Biden, Beau, Beau Biden, Jill Biden, Bauer, Anita Dunn, Hur, Garland, ”, Rod Rosenstein, that’s, he'd, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Hur, ” Bauer Organizations: Sunday, CBS, Democrats, White, Department, Former Trump, CNN, “, Union, of Justice, Justice Department, U.S . Capitol, Republican, Trump, The Locations: WILMINGTON, Del, Israel, U.S

The CEOs' expectation of economic decline has dropped to 45% from a record-high 73% last year, and fewer saw their company as highly exposed to the risk of geopolitical conflict, according to the PwC Global CEO Survey. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThe executives, meanwhile, felt worse about the prospects for their companies' ability to weather big changes. Similar to AI, the PwC survey shows that the climate transition is both an opportunity and a risk. An increasing number of CEOs — nearly a third — say climate change was expected to shift how they do things over the next three years. The PwC survey of 4,702 CEOs in 105 countries and territories was conducted from Oct. 2 to Nov. 10.

Persons: Yemen’s Houthi, ” Bob Moritz, ” PwC, Edelman, Richard Edelman, —, ___ Masha Macpherson, David Keyton Organizations: —, PwC, PwC Global, Survey, Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Associated Press Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine, Red

☆ Isolationism Makes a Perilous Moment More So
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Paul A. Gigot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Images: Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark KellyI recently looked back at what my predecessor and mentor, Robert Bartley , said in 2002 upon his retirement. He surveyed his 30 years as Journal editor and the progress that had been made. America had won the Cold War, vanquished the stagflation of the 1970s, and quieted the social convulsions of the 1960s and ’70s. “What I think I’ve learned over 30 years,” Bob wrote, “is that in this society, rationality wins out, progress happens, and problems have solutions. This, I like to think, is what happens when a society incorporates the editorial credo of my newspaper, free markets and free people.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mark Kelly, Robert Bartley, ” Bob, “, ” Organizations: America

CNN —The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to a team of scientists who created a ground-breaking technique using lasers to understand the extremely rapid movements of electrons, which were previously thought impossible to follow. “An attosecond is to one second as one second is to the age of the universe,” the committee explained. Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier shared this year's physics prize. Rapid movements blur together, making extremely short events impossible to observe. Electrons’ movements in atoms and molecules are so rapid that they are measured in attoseconds.

Persons: Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, Anne L’Huillier “, “, Bob Rosner, ”, Rosner, Anne L'Huillier, Max Planck, ” L’Huillier, Hans Ellegren, L’Huillier, Olle Eriksson, —, Michael Moloney, ” Moloney Organizations: CNN, American Physical Society, University of Chicago, Ohio State University, Max, Quantum Optics, National Academy of Sciences, Lund University, Max Planck, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Uppsala University, American Institute of Physics Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Germany

Storm clouds are growing over the U.S. economy as the third quarter winds down this week. There is the ongoing strike by United Auto Workers members against the major car manufacturers. There is the rising price of oil with the international benchmark Brent crude now sitting above $93 a barrel. Aiding the economy’s escape from a downturn has been an unusual set of circumstances that include falling inflation, rising wages and some leftover stimulus from the COVID pandemic. “Such a shutdown could leave a visible mark on the economy,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY Parthenon, said last week.

Persons: Bob Doll, ” Gregory Daco, ” Daco, ” Wells Organizations: United Auto Workers, Brent, Crossmark Advisors, Federal Reserve, ”, Fed Locations: U.S

☆ Disney and Charter Reach Agreement, Ending Cable Standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Disney and Charter said Monday that they had reached a deal to resolve their programming dispute, ending a skirmish that raised questions about the future of cable television. The two sides said their new deal meant that Charter’s nearly 15 million cable TV subscribers would be able to watch programming from Disney’s channels, which include FX and ESPN. The agreement was reached hours before the kickoff of Monday Night Football, one of the most popular telecasts in the United States. For more than a week, Disney and Charter, one of the biggest cable companies in the United States, had been locked in a high-stakes struggle over the terms of their distribution agreement. The two sides couldn’t reach a deal, and Disney’s shows were pulled off Charter’s cable service before Labor Day, when many Americans were expecting to tune into college football and the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Persons: Bob Iger, Chris Winfrey Organizations: Disney, Charter, FX, ESPN, Labor, U.S Locations: United States

☆ Flowers and Fake Marble: How TV Production Designers Create the Past
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Alexis Soloski | More About Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I always say that if there were a marble Olympics, our team would definitely take the gold,” Bob Shaw bragged. The scenic artists of “The Gilded Age” can paint a half-dozen distinct marble varieties. To pause at nearly any frame of the show is to marvel at the meticulous mix of authentic materials and brilliant fakes. Look closely at the candelabras, for example: They are fitted with fire-safe LEDs hooked to wavering filaments that substitute for open flame. Though production design is often seen as a mere backdrop to the action, the scenery, furnishings, finishes and props have their own stories to tell.

Persons: “, Bob Shaw, Shaw, ”, Amy Maguire, Cat Smith, Drew Boughton, John Wick Organizations: HBO, New York Times, Buccaneers Locations: “

☆ Cedar Key: Hurricane Idalia turned a 'haven for artists' into a flooded wreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Thomas Simonetti/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesA view of the flooding in Cedar Key, Florida, on August 30, 2023. Julio Cesar Chavez/ReutersPhotos on the Cedar Key Fire Rescue Facebook account showing some of the early destruction. And unlike Key West, Cedar Key has avoided high-end commercial development along its shores and remains a low-key spot. What Idalia did to Cedar KeyA vehicle was partially submerged after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key on Wednesday. “Everything is flooded,” Shely Boivin, the manager of a beachfront motel in Cedar Key, told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Idalia, ” Michael Bobbitt, CNN’s John Berman, Thomas Simonetti, Julio Cesar Chavez, Bobbitt, “, John Muir, ” Muir, Leslie Sturmer, Julio, Cesar Chavez, Reuters Levy, Mayor Heath Davis, “ We’re, ” Bobbitt, ” Heather Greenwood, CNN’s Carlos Suarez, Sean Rayford, Cheney Orr, Reuters Jewell Baggett, Cristobal Herrera, Ulashkevich, EFE, Jack Lemburg, Richard Burkhart, Douglas R, Clifford, Zuma Press Donnye Franklin, Joe Raedle, Rebecca Blackwell, Ron DeSantis, Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo, Ken Kruse, Hurricane Idalia, Eva Marie Uzcategui, Christian Monterrosa, Stephen M, Dowell, Reagan Ortagus, Tyler, Bob Self, NOAA Ana Iris Aguiar, Alexandre Meneghini, Marco Bello, Adrees Latif, Samson, Victor Cassano's, Chris O'Meara, Yamil Lage, Sharon Walsh, Doug Engle, Christine Willis, Andrew West, Shely Boivin, ” Boivin, ‘, John MacDonald Organizations: CNN, Rescue, Washington Post, Key, USA’s, University of Florida Institute of Food, Agricultural Sciences, WUFT, Reuters, Mayor, Tampa Bay Times, ZUMA Press, Press, Angels Episcopal Church, Savannah Morning, USA, Network Rescue, Zuma Press, AP Florida Gov, Savannah, Bloomberg, Getty, Duke, Orlando Sentinel, Florida Times, Union, AP, Reuters Pike Electric, Idalia, Southwest Airlines, Tampa International Airport, Reuters Home Depot, Reuters Fort Myers, Emergency Locations: Key , Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Cedar, Mexico, Dock, Horseshoe Beach , Florida, Bend, Tampa, Perry , Florida, Keaton Beach , Florida, Horseshoe Beach, Madison , Florida, Steinhatchee , Florida, Samarra, St, Savannah , Georgia, Savannah, Steinhatchee, Crystal River , Florida, Perry, Crystal, Tarpon Springs , Florida, Mayo , Florida, Tarpon Springs, Myers, Hurricane, Gainesville , Florida, Sumterville , Florida, Johns County , Florida, Florida, NOAA, La Coloma, Cuba, Clearwater , Florida, Playa Majana, Suwannee , Florida, Batabanó, AFP, Guanimar, Ocala , Florida, USA, Reuters Fort Myers Beach, Levy

☆ Sneak peek at NASA aircraft that could transform air travel by the 2030s
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The US aerospace behemoths want to build, test and fly an emission-reducing, single-aisle aircraft before the decade is out. We’re trying to validate technology.”The first test flight of this full-scale demonstrator is set to take place in 2028. NASA hopes that one day the technology should serve about half of the commercial market through short- to medium-haul single-aisle aircraft. Airlines largely rely on single-aisle aircraft, which account for nearly half of aviation emissions worldwide, according to NASA. Boeing estimates that the demand for the new single-aisle aircraft will increase by 40,000 planes between 2035 and 2050.

Persons: CNN —, they’ll, “, Bill Nelson, It’s, Bob Pearce, Nelson, CNN’s Ashley Strickland Organizations: CNN, NASA, Boeing, EAA, Aeronautics Research Mission, GE Aerospace, Saab, AeroTEC Locations: Oshkosh, “, United States

Trouble in TinseltownIt’s happening: America’s $134 billion movie and TV industry has ground to a halt after the Hollywood actors’ union voted to strike, joining screenwriters and shutting down virtually all productions. The move reflects the growing aggressiveness of the American labor movement, which has been battling against Starbucks, Amazon, UPS and others. The actors’ union blasted studios for refusing to bend on key issues, including higher payouts from streaming titles and clear limits on the use of artificial intelligence. Shame on them!”The studios argue that the unions’ demands are unrealistic, given the challenges the entertainment industry faces, from streaming to fallout from the pandemic. “This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Bob Iger, Disney’s C.E.O., said on CNBC yesterday.

Persons: ’, ” Fran Drescher, Bob Iger, Disney’s Organizations: Hollywood, Starbucks, SAG, CNBC Locations: Amazon, —

☆ Oil market is in 'believe it when I see it mode,' Bob McNally says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOil market is in 'believe it when I see it mode,' Bob McNally saysThe oil market is in a “believe it when I see it mode,” Bob McNally of Rapidan Energy Group tells CNBC’s Dan Murphy at OPEC’s two-day symposium in Vienna.

Persons: Bob McNally, CNBC’s Dan Murphy Organizations: Email, Bob McNally of Rapidan Energy Locations: OPEC’s, Vienna

☆ Pence announces 2024 presidential campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Veronica Stracqualursi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Former Vice President Mike Pence announced he’s running for president on Wednesday, setting up a battle for the Republican nomination with his former boss, Donald Trump. In a launch video released ahead of his campaign kickoff later in the day in Iowa, Pence casts himself as a Reagan Republican seeking to return America to conservative principles. Though a loyal second-in-command to Trump, Pence broke with him by refusing to overturn the 2020 election results and presiding over Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021. An evangelical Christian, Pence was picked to be Trump’s running mate in the 2016 election in hopes of bolstering his standing among Christian conservatives. And although some Trump supporters have spurned Pence, other Republicans have applauded Pence for his actions on January 6.

Persons: Mike Pence, Donald Trump, Pence, that’s, ”, I’m, Joe Biden’s, Trump, –, “, Lincoln, ” Pence, He’ll, who’s, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Bob Vander Plaats, Vander Plaats, Iowans, Mike Pence’s, ” Vander Plaats Organizations: CNN, Republican, Reagan Republican, Trump, Federal, Florida Gov, Former South Carolina Gov, UN, Former New Jersey Gov, Ukraine, GOP Locations: Iowa, America, United States, Former, Indiana, New Hampshire

☆ Bryan brothers: How 'twin energy' fueled tennis' greatest ever double act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Bob (left) and Mike Bryan won their first grand slam title together at the 2003 French Open. “At the time, you think it’s a one-shot deal and you never know if you’ll get there again,” says Mike, reflecting on the 2003 French Open campaign. Bob (left) and Mike Bryan hold their Wimbledon doubles trophies in 2011. The Jensen brothers, coincidentally, won their only grand slam title at the 1993 French Open, 10 years before the Bryans captured their first. Bob plays keyboard, Mike guitar and drums; together, they have performed at bars, clubs and even tennis tournaments as part of the Bryan Brothers Band.

☆ My grandfather hid the emotional toll of World War II from his family for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Chloe Melas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —For decades after returning home from World War II, my grandfather did not talk about his wartime experiences. Frank Murphy, the grandfather of CNN's Chloe Melas, after he was captured and taken a prisoner of war by the Nazis in 1943. Everyone could see the physical toll of war on his body, but we didn’t know about his invisible wounds. After World War I, it was “shell shock”; post-World War II it was known as “combat fatigue,” and after Vietnam it was called “post-Vietnam syndrome.” In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association officially recognized it as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. “When your grandfather and my grandfather served in World War II, they didn’t talk about it,” Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told me.

☆ Disney’s Robert Iger May Find Second Time Isn’t Quite the Charm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robert Iger just got a $12 billion vote of confidence. He will need all of it. That is how much Disney ’s market value jumped Monday morning on the surprise news that Mr. Iger is returning to the Magic Kingdom’s throne. In a statement Sunday night, the company’s board said he will take back the chief executive officer role for two years “to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term.” Bob Chapek , Mr. Iger’s handpicked successor, was unceremoniously escorted from the stage without so much as a quote in the press release.

☆ The Happy Meal inventor says McDonald’s didn’t want it at first
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But four decades ago, when the first Happy Meal debuted, the company didn’t quite get it. They didn’t immediately embrace it,” Bob Bernstein, an advertising executive who created the Happy Meal in the late 1970s, said in a video interview from his Kansas City office, which is decked out with Happy Meal memorabilia and original art. The meal’s name was an offshoot of a 1960s McDonald’s jingle, in which it called itself the “happy place.” “It’s such a happy place / Hap, hap, hap, happy place,” it went. For some reason, the company’s corporate offices outside Chicago were reluctant to roll out the Happy Meal nationally. Mario Anzuoni/ReutersIn the 1990s, Beanie Babies, Transformers and Power Rangers Happy Meal toys were massive hits for McDonald’s.

☆ It’s not just you. Tommy Bahama beach chairs are everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-03 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“You see them all over most major coastal beaches during the summertime.”A Tommy Bahama beach chair in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Tommy Bahama doesn’t make its chairs and beach goods. Instead, Tommy Bahama licenses its name and design for the beach goods and receives royalties from sales at retailers. So they came up with “‘Tommy Bahama’ because I liked the resonation of the two words together.”The founders had recently left the company, and the country was suffering through the Great Recession, which dragged down Tommy Bahama sales. Correction: Tommy Bahama CEO Doug Wood said the company sells up to two million of its beach chairs a year and 700,000 umbrellas annually.

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