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The American right’s growing embrace of Orbán builds upon millions of dollars that his government has spent on lobbying in the US, and new connections between Hungarian and American conservative think tanks. “Make America great again, make Europe great again!” Orbán declared in English, before continuing in Hungarian: “Go Donald Trump! Conservatives from around the US, Europe and beyond traveled to Budapest for the two-day event, which was organized by a Hungarian government-funded think tank. Two American nonprofits that are actively planning policies for a second Trump term have shown an interest in Hungary and Orbán’s model. But some of the American conservatives who flew into the country for CPAC seemed more focused on the optics of Budapest than on democratic rights.

Persons: crackdowns, “, Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Donald Trump’s, ” Orbán, Donald Trump !, ” Trump, ”, Trump, Steve Bannon, President Trump, Gladden Pappin, Szilard Koszticsak, White, ” Pappin, “ saviors, Bannon, Kari Lake, Mark Meadows, Andy Harris, Zoltan Mathe, Paul Gosar, Christopher Rufo, István, Ron DeSantis, Trumpists, Kim Lane Scheppele, Orbán’s, Zsuzsanna Szelényi, ” Szelényi, Márton Gulyás, influencers strode, Joey Mannarino, ” Kyung Lah, Anna, Maja Rappard, Casey Tolan, Curt Devine Organizations: Hungary CNN —, Republican, Conservative, Trump, European Union, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Conservative Political, “ Conservative, White House, ”, Republican Arizona, CNN, Department of Justice, Southern Poverty Law, Heritage Foundation, America, Policy Institute, Institute, Florida Gov, Princeton Locations: Budapest, Hungary, American, Europe, Lago, Dallas, America, Hungarian, Arizona, United States, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Florida, “ Hungary, marveled, New York, Washington

☆ TV’s Saviors Are Here, and They’re Wearing Spandex
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

First it was the streamers: the seismic arrival of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and the rest, offering television’s previously captive viewers the chance to watch seemingly whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Then TikTok joined YouTube in conclusively shattering what was once a unified small-screen audience into a billion individual fragments. On both sides of the Atlantic, ratings plummeted. Viewers drifted away. Now, in Britain, a group of bodybuilders, personal trainers and sundry gym rats have stepped unto the breach.

Persons: TikTok, —, Gladiators ” Organizations: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple, YouTube, Gladiators, BBC Locations: Britain

☆ The Baltimore bridge collapse raised questions about key safety features — experts say better ones may not have helped
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Francis Key Bridge collapse has ignited debates about the safety of America's infrastructure. AdvertisementThe 984-foot container ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse has raised questions about whether the structure could have been saved. AdvertisementAs the city grapples with the fallout, discussions have started to grow around the bridge collapse. A bridge engineering expert also pointed them out to the Sydney Morning Herald in an article discussing whether a similar bridge collapse could happen in Australia. Gao said that more robust protections "could have potentially prevented the bridge collapse."

Persons: Francis Key, —, Francis Scott Key, Dali, Donna Deegan, Colin Caprani, Mimi Gao, Donald O, Francis Scott Bridge, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Wes Moore, Pete Buttigieg, Gao, Tim Broyd, Broyd Organizations: Service, Dolphins, Jacksonville, Dame, Sydney Morning Herald, Sunshine, Singapore Chamber of, Ships, New York Times, Getty, Maritime, Port Authority, Maryland Gov, University College London, UK's, of Civil Engineers, Engineers Locations: Singapore, Port, Baltimore, Florida, Australia, Port of Baltimore, AFP

☆ Consumers fended off a recession — but keep spending like there's no tomorrow
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewAmerican consumers have staved off a recession by relentlessly spending despite soaring inflation, surging interest rates, multi-industry turmoil, and wider economic jitters. AdvertisementBurry predicted that dwindling savings and ballooning debts would choke consumer spending, eroding corporate earnings and sparking a wider recession. That's going to lead to a retrenchment in consumer spending as we get into the new year." That "brings us just a little closer to the consumer recession that nobody believes is going to happen," he added. "With those sources of funding largely exhausted, consumer spending will no doubt grow more slowly than after-tax incomes in future years."

Persons: —, Here's, Michael Burry, Elon, Elon Musk, Spencer Platt, Carl Weinberg, David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch, Rosenberg, Gary Shilling, Merrill Lynch's, who's, Shilling Organizations: Service, Business, Twitter, Scion Asset Management, Elon Musk, Getty, Rosenberg Research, North Locations: North American

☆ Kara Swisher witnessed the tech revolution. Now she wants to burn the industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Zachary Wolf | Analysis Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

That’s the message in a fascinating new memoir, “Burn Book,” by the tech journalist Kara Swisher, who hosts a multitude of podcasts and is a CNN contributor. I don’t think they read. In the entire time that you’ve been covering tech I don’t think there’s been a single major regulatory law. So it’s a real racket if you really think about it. And I do think there’s a human impulse even though you have this lizard brain that likes to stare at the phone.

Persons: “, Kara Swisher, SWISHER, Will, I’ve, it’s, Steve Jobs, I’m, Don’t, What’s, there’s, they’ve, They’ve, Guess, Mark Zuckerberg, He’s, Joe, Biden, There’s, Sam Altman, Tony Blinken, It’s, that’s, you’re, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Communications, Alaska Airlines, United Arab, State, Facebook, Times Locations: It’s, America, Alaska, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Europe, New York, There’s

☆ 'You are now living through Tech Bubble 2.0': A 32-year market vet warns stocks are doomed to suffer substantial losses with valuations at historic highs and the economy on the verge of recession
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"For those of you younger than us who did not live through the Tech Bubble of the late 1990s, you are now living through Tech Bubble 2.0. As a reminder, the NASDAQ fell about 80% when that bubble burst in the mild recession of the early 2000s," Wolfenbarger said. AdvertisementThere is evidence that backs up Wolfenbarger's bubble claims, starting with fairly standard valuation measures like the Shiller cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio. While it's not as high as it was during the dot-com bubble, it's higher than it was in 1929 — and is at one of its most elevated levels in history. Bank of AmericaAs for what will finally deflate the bubble, Wolfenbarger is expecting a recession to hit the US economy.

Persons: —, Microsoft —, Jon Wolfenbarger, Merrill Lynch, Wolfenbarger, it's, America's Michael Hartnett, Louis Fed Wolfenbarger, Jeremy Grantham, Adam Karr, Orbis Investment Management Karr, It's Organizations: Service, Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Business, JPMorgan, ClearBridge, Tech, NASDAQ, ClearBridge Investments Bank, America's, Bank of America, Bank of America's Global, Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing, Orbis Investment Management, Global Fund, Federal Reserve Locations: Japan

☆ ‘Pal Joey’ Review: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildering
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Jesse Green | More About Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It’s not often that the standout star of a show is its music supervisor, arranger or orchestrator, but in the gala presentation of “Pal Joey” at New York City Center through Sunday, all three are one man, Daryl Waters. That the rest of the revival (really a new creature, made from spare parts) is more suggestive than convincing is no crime; there has never been a satisfactory “Pal Joey.” Though the 1940 original featured some soon-to-be standards by Rodgers and Hart — “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” chief among them — its book by John O’Hara, based on his epistolary novel and New Yorker stories, didn’t match them in tone or dramatic serviceability. Back then, the problem was thought to be the nature of Joey himself, a greasy heel trying to scheme his way from itinerant crooner to supper club smoothie. Along the way he picked up and discarded an innocent named Linda English, traded sex for financial support with a socialite named Vera Simpson and generally ruined everything he touched with his grifty hands. The problem faced by the various would-be saviors of “Pal Joey” — there were Broadway revivals in 1952, 1963, 1976 and 2008 — is rather what new throughline to impose and how to make the best use of its songs.

Persons: It’s, “ Pal Joey ”, Daryl Waters, Waters, ’, ”, Pal Joey, Rodgers, Hart —, John O’Hara, Joey himself, Linda English, Vera Simpson, Brooks Atkinson, J, Pierrepont Finch, Sweeney Todd, Evan Hansen, “ Pal Joey ” — Organizations: New York City Center, “, New York Times Locations: New, ’ Da, York , New York

☆ How the U.S. Economy Is Taming Inflation Without a Recession - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But standard measures of underlying inflation are now under 3 percent and falling. Fancier statistical models maintained by the New York Fed tell the same story, and say that underlying inflation has fallen by half since its peak last year. And given noisy data, there may be a few bad inflation numbers in our future. Nonetheless, the dramatic fall in underlying inflation this year is clearly real, and corroborated by many sources, notably business surveys. Voters, especially Republicans, may believe or claim to believe that inflation is still rising, but while this belief may be politically important, it’s just wrong.

Organizations: New, Fed

☆ Isabel Crook, 107, Dies; Her Life in China Spanned a Century of Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Clay Risen | More About Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Her son Carl Crook said the cause of death, in a hospital, was pneumonia. Mrs. Crook was among the last of a generation of Westerners born to missionaries in China in the decades before the Japanese invasion, World War II and the subsequent Communist revolution. But others, including Mrs. Crook, perceived the Communists as saviors who were lifting the country out of colonial squalor. (Still others, like the American diplomat John Paton Davies, made famous as a target of McCarthy-era attacks, fell somewhere in between.) As an anthropologist, Mrs. Crook saw herself as an observer of social change; as a Communist, she saw herself as an agent of it.

Persons: Isabel Crook, Carl Crook, Crook, Henry Luce, . Crook, saviors, John Paton Davies, McCarthy Organizations: Communists, Communist Locations: China, Communist, Beijing, American

☆ The Armed Is One of Punk’s Biggest, Oddest Mysteries. That’s Changing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Mike Isaac | More About Mike Isaac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There are bands that are challenging to get into, and then there is the Armed. Its self-produced, highly weird music videos have a “Jackass”-meets-David Lynch aesthetic, with surprisingly advanced production values for an obscure Midwestern hardcore group. The Armed considers itself more of a collective or an art project than a band, with dozens of rotating members. Now, the Armed has a grand opportunity to capitalize on its years of toiling in relative obscurity. Harder acts like Scowl, Gel and Zulu are thriving, and Turnstile, the Baltimore-based hardcore group, has found a way to bridge hardcore to the mainstream.

Persons: David Lynch Organizations: Porsche Locations: Detroit, Baltimore, ”

☆ Travel news: When to book airline flights and why you shouldn’t check your bag
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Read tips on how you can make your next trip greener and then check out the rest of the news from the world of travel this week. Lost bags are partly why luggage trackers have become the hottest travel accessory of 2023. If it’s the largest mirror-covered building in the world you’re looking for, though, the place to head is Saudi Arabia. If you’re a camping novice, our explainer tells you everything you need to know before you set out.

Persons: Read, Keen, Barry Sherry, “, ”, Scott Keyes, we’re, There’ll, They’ve, Bon, New Englanders, Le Bec Sucre Organizations: CNN, Discovery Channel, Warner Bros, San Locations: Europe, That’s, California, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, Saudi Arabia, Rhode Island, France, New, San Francisco, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Tokyo

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Persons: you'll, Charlotte Tilbury, we've, Kiehl's Creme, Bobbi Brown, it’s, Charlotte, Jo Malone, Jo Malone London’s, Suede, Wood, Kate Somerville, Dyson, Augustinus Bader, Mascara Organizations: Nordstrom, skincare, nab, Triple, Oil

☆ 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' could be struggling movie theaters' last chance to make money this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They could also be the struggling theater industry's last chance to make money this summer. Struggling movie theaters might see "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" – which both come out July 21 – as their last chance to make money this summer. Forecasters think "Barbie" will be the highest-grossing film in the US this summer with earnings between $215 million and $319 million, the data shows. Sandwiching the two movies on Box Office Pro's leaderboard is Tom Cruise's latest "Mission Impossible" flick. AMC has lost money for 15 consecutive quarters, while Cineworld – which owns Regal Cinemas – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

Persons: Greta Gerwig's, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Tom Cruise's, Meg, Mario, Indiana Jones Organizations: AMC, Alamo, Mario Bros

☆ 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.

☆ Premarket stocks: CEOs are tired of being held responsible for gun regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling semi-automatic, assault-style rifles at stores and Citigroup put new restrictions on gun sales by business customers after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. But Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a vocal advocate of corporate social responsibility who has a direct line to major CEOs around the globe, said that top executives are forlorn. Before the Bell: CEOs have been quiet about gun reform since the latest mass school shooting in Nashville, have you heard anything about plans to speak out? Enough already on saying ‘what are the CEOs doing?’ Social capital is as valuable as financial capital. But don’t these CEOs hold the purse strings in terms of donating to powerful politicians?

☆ Crypto group DCG seeks new partners for portfolio firms amid SVB collapse - CoinDesk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) is looking to find new banking partners for portfolio companies following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O), Signature Bank (SBNY.O) and Silvergate (SI.N), CoinDesk reported on Tuesday, citing messages viewed by the outlet. Santander (SAN.MC), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) are still willing to connect with crypto firms, CoinDesk said, after recent banking failures in the United States left crypto firms and tech startups stranded and hunting for new banking partners. DCG has also reached out to BlackRock (BLK.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N), the report added. Banks may restrict some services for crypto firms, such as brokerage and money market services and the ability to wire money to third parties, according to the messages seen by CoinDesk. Traditional banks may set up banking accounts for crypto firms, but would place restrictions based on the level of crypto exposure, the report added.

☆ Shares of US regional banks attempt recovery after SVB-fueled rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. regional banks rose on Tuesday after suffering double-digit losses over the past few days following the biggest bank collapse since the 2008 global financial crisis. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) sent shockwaves through global markets, despite assurances from U.S. President Joe Biden and other policymakers that banks and deposits were safe. First Republic Bank (FRC.N) rose 57% before trading was halted for volatility, a day after hitting an intraday record low of $17.53. The S&P 1500 regional banks sub-industry index (.SPCOMBNKS) advanced 7.7% after shedding 20% in the past three sessions. Big banks rose with JPMorgan up 1.6%, Wells Fargo (WFC.N) 6.6% and Bank of America (BAC.N) 4.2%.

☆ Crypto group DCG looking for new partners following SVB collapse - CoinDesk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Possible outcomes for under-pressure regional banks could see a stronger rival take over a weaker, or cash infusions from investors such as private equity, the industry sources said. Reuters GraphicsUNDER PRESSUREInvestors voted with their feet on Monday, putting bank stocks under pressure around the world. So investors think it’s a relative gamble staying around owning regional banks before knowing what will change in regulation," said Brian Levitt, global market strategist for Invesco. Regional bank stocks are "an incredible bargain now," billionaire investor Bill Ackman said on Twitter on Monday. "There’s value in these banks, they are not all alike," said Michael Farr, chief executive of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller & Washington who owns banks stocks including PNC and Truist.

☆ Hundreds of startups face a crippling cash crunch and an 'extinction-level event' if no one buys Silicon Valley Bank by Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse has left hundreds of startups facing a cash crunch and payroll crisis. It leaves hundreds of startups that deposited their cash with the bank in turmoil, as they try to continue operating while millions in funds are locked up. Startups scramble for cashThe need for startups to make payroll is one being echoed across the VC ecosystem. In a tweet, founder Nikita Bier said: "The number of growth stage companies that had their cash at SVB is huge. Even startups that didn't bank directly with SVB have been hit by its collapse.

☆ A husband-wife duo turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting, but some say they run their company like a dysfunctional 'surveillance state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Karp and Montée Karp built the hype into a parenting-media empire that put out three books and two instructional films in 10 years. Karp and Montée Karp met at a Hollywood party in the early '90s. Karp and Montée Karp promised her independence and flexibility to accommodate her two young children's day-care schedules and a 90-minute commute. Karp and Montée Karp insisted on being involved in minutiae that most top executives hand off. Karp and Montée Karp turned the Snoo into an award-winning holy grail of parenthood in just a few years.

☆ Nina Montée Karp and Dr. Harvey Karp turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting. But some say they overhyped the crib's abilities and created a nightmarish corporate culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

☆ Blame the CEO for Tech Layoffs at Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

CEOs made mistakes, workers bear the bruntIn their layoff announcements, pretty much every tech company placed the blame for the cuts on the economy. While they may protect the CEO's reputation or placate investors, layoffs are immensely damaging for workers, even well-paid tech employees. With great power comes no responsibilityThe blame-shifting of these tech companies and their CEOs is not unprecedented, or even that uncommon. CEO pay skyrocketed by 1,460% from 1978 to 2021, and the ratio of average-worker pay to CEO pay ballooned from 20-to-1 in 1965 to 399-to-1 in 2021. Instead, tech CEOs have passed the pain off to people who in many cases were performing well in their roles.

☆ Opinion: No one is coming to save the crypto industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Emily Parker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old CEO of crypto exchange FTX, helped bail out distressed crypto companies like BlockFi and Voyager. In an industry with a reputation that has been marred by scammers, hackers and sheer greed, Bankman-Fried seemed like a relatively nice guy. The whole point of crypto is that it is supposed to be decentralized and transparent. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance, publicly announced that the exchange would liquidate its FTX holdings. Join us on Twitter and FacebookFor the crypto industry, the lesson here is to stop looking for saviors.

☆ The FTX fiasco could spark an industry meltdown - and slash bitcoin's price by 25% to $13,000, JPMorgan strategists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX's financial woes are likely to transform the crypto industry, JPMorgan strategists said. Bitcoin could plunge 25% to $13,000, and crypto firms might act more carefully in future, they said. "The number of entities with stronger balance sheets able to rescue those with low capital and high leverage is shrinking within the crypto ecosystem," the JPMorgan strategists said. "With the crypto market cap standing at just above $1tr before the FTX/Alameda Research collapse, our guess is that the crypto market will find a floor above $500bn in the current deleveraging phase," they added. Commentators have warned about dangerous amounts of debt and excessive risk-taking in the crypto industry before.

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