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☆ Struggling US downtowns could take a cue from a small town in England that gave businesses rent-free space
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK is experimenting with offering small businesses free rent to revitalize downtown districts. Several small towns in the UK have experimented with giving small businesses rent-free shop space over the last few years. Now it's vibrant, upbeat, colourful," Hope Dean, the owner of a plant shop that was one of the 10 businesses given free rent, told The Guardian. Some US cities have pursued similar downtown revitalization initiatives. Denver offered free rent and services valued at $20,000 to businesses willing to use empty space in the city's downtown, and San Francisco has offered free rent and grant money to pop-up businesses in its downtown.

Persons: Hope Dean, We're, Matt Soffair Organizations: Service, Legal, General Investment Management, Guardian, Times, Westminster City Council, Oxford, BBC, Denver Locations: Poole, Wall, Silicon, American, Westminster, London, San Francisco

☆ Hmong cuisine and culture are having a moment in the US. We spoke with the restaurateurs and farmers driving innovation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

It marks a renaissance of sorts for the Hmong community, which has historically been insular. He also recently appeared on "Iron Chef" and was the first to serve Hmong food at the Minnesota State Fair. Though for decades, Xiong said Hmong businesses struggled to market outside the Hmong community. La Vang-Herr also opened her Hmong business in an area with few Hmong residents. Sean LeschMortchee's, a Hmong eatery in a former Wausau, Wisconsin, ice-cream stand, has also been a lifeline for the local Hmong community since opening earlier this year.

Persons: Yia Vang, Vang, James Beard, Kao Kalia Yang, Sunisa Lee, Lee Pao Xiong, Paul, Xiong, Peng Her, They're, We've, Diane Moua, Moua, Gemma Weston, Mai Vang, Pom, La, Herr, Sean Lesch Mortchee's, Sa Sor Lee, there's, Lee, Toua Xiong, we've, Pheng, we're Organizations: Service, Union Hmong, Minnesota, Fair, Google, Center, Hmong Studies, Concordia University, St, Pew Research Center, Hmong Institute, Twin Cities, Twin, American Farmers Association Locations: Wall, Silicon, Vang, Minneapolis, Oakland , California, Vietnam, Madison , Wisconsin, Minnesota, Twin, Siskiyou County, California, New York, Montague, Oregon, Portland , Oregon, Wausau , Wisconsin, Twin Cities, St

☆ My brother and I make 7 figures in revenue from our AI newsletter. Here's how ChatGPT helped us grow and bring in more money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Ellen Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Zain Kahn and his brother, Awais, are the cofounders of the AI newsletter Superhuman. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zain Kahn, the 29-year-old cofounder of an AI newsletter based in Pakistan. As cofounders of the AI newsletter Superhuman, my brother, Awais, and I lead a team of eight, which consists of six full-time and two part-time employees. I first tested the newsletter content in Twitter-thread format, where I have a following of more than 400,000, and it went from there. When I launched a course last December, I saw more conversions from my 5,000 newsletter subscribers than I did from my 500,000 online followers.

Persons: Zain Kahn, Awais, I've, We've, we've, I'm Organizations: Flair, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Pakistan, Canada, Dubai

☆ I was fired by a client for using AI. I'm not going to stop because it's doubled my output, but I'm more clear about how I use it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Tina Sendin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tina Sendin used the AI writing tool Jasper.ai to write articles for a project on a tight deadline. Since I couldn't clone myself, I tried what I thought would be the next best thing: I used AI. I was using AI to clone myself as a writerI essentially used Jasper.ai as an extension of myself. I draft the article first, then use an AI tool to enhance it and ensure I've maintained the client's tone of voice. I'll learn about AI, so I'll know how to use it to improve my workflow and optimize my everyday work.

Persons: Tina Sendin, Sendin, I'd, Jasper, I've, Ryan Reynolds, ChatGPT, it's Organizations: Morning, Google, Facebook Locations: ChatGPT, Jasper

☆ Diageo's long-time boss Ivan Menezes dies after brief illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Diageo (DGE.L) on Wednesday said long-time boss Ivan Menezes, who held the CEO role at the world's biggest spirits company for 10 years, had died after a brief illness. The 63-year-old, who was set to retire at the end of this month, was in hospital receiving treatment for conditions including a stomach ulcer, the Johnnie Walker whisky maker announced this week. British-American national Menezes, born in the Indian city of Pune, joined Diageo after its formation through the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The executive, who was behind the "Keep Walking" campaign for Johnnie Walker when he was marketing head, previously held roles at Whirlpool and Nestle. Menezes, who was awarded a knighthood this year, is survived by his wife and two children.

Persons: Ivan Menezes, Johnnie Walker, Debra, Menezes, Ivan, Javier Ferrán, Julio, Arvind Subramanian, Subramanian, Menzes, Eva Mathews, Sinchita Mitra, Dhanya Skariachan, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, David Evans Organizations: Diageo, American, Guinness, Grand Metropolitan, Whirlpool, Nestle, Government of, Indian Institute of Management, Thomson Locations: Indian, Pune, Government of India, Ahmedabad, India, Bengaluru

June 6 (Reuters) - Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) CEO Marc Benioff has shuffled the top management, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, a move that follows after the software company reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since 2010. Miguel Milano has been appointed as the chief revenue officer, the source said, adding that Ariel Kelman will take over as Salesforce's chief marketing officer. After a previous tenure of nearly a decade at Salesforce, Milano will make a return from his recent position at software company Celonis. Kendall Collins, who will step into the role of chief of staff for Benioff, had worked as CMO at Okta and Cisco's AppDynamics. Salesforce President and Chief Operating Officer Brian Millham would be assuming new duties such as marketing, employee success and business technology, the source said.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Miguel Milano, Ariel Kelman, Milano, Celonis, Kelman, Kendall Collins, Brian Millham, Salesforce, Benioff, Kanjyik Ghosh, Akriti Sharma, Anirudh, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Salesforce, Reuters, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, Inclusive, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Thomson Locations: Salesforce, Okta, Bengaluru

☆ Crypto Firms Start Looking Abroad as U.S. Cracks Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( David Yaffe-Bellany | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, has opened a business in Bermuda. After years of trying to shape federal regulation in the United States, a growing number of American crypto companies — particularly the exchanges where customers buy and sell digital tokens — are exploring plans to build their businesses abroad. The moves are a response to a growing law enforcement crackdown that has made the United States one of the strictest regulators of crypto in the world. On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a long-anticipated lawsuit against Coinbase, arguing that the exchange was marketing securities without the proper registration. sued the international crypto exchange Binance, seeking to bar its founder from the U.S. securities market.

Persons: Coinbase Organizations: Gemini, United, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: United States, Bermuda, New York, United Arab Emirates, Seattle

☆ Online College Classes Are Making the Student Debt Crisis Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

She applied and was accepted to the online program in 2020. In exchange for expanding course offerings and recruiting students, OPMs receive a big chunk of the tuition revenue from the online programs, which usually cost the same as in-person schooling. While it's not always the case, many experts and grads told me that OPMs were offering online students a worse education for a sky-high price. A third-party provider to those schools, 2U signs a contract to offer services such as recruiting and technology to boost online enrollment. OPMs have helped fuel the student debt crisis, saddling may students with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt and an uncertain future.

Persons: Iola Favell, Favell, Rossier, Zavareei, USC Rossier, OPMs, it's, grads, Eric Rothschild, John Katzman, Katzman, Clare McCann, McCann, —, Aaron Ament, Barack Obama, That's, STEFANI REYNOLDS, Helen Drinan, Cabrini University —, Drinan, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Pearson, Rosa DeLauro, Virginia Foxx, Ament Organizations: University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, USC, Student Defense, Zavareei LLP, US, Education Department upended, Education Department, Arnold Ventures, OPM, Office, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street, Canyon University, Grand Canyon, Century Foundation, Getty, Cabrini University, Simmons University, Democratic, GAO, Republican, GOP, Universities, Protection, Consumer Financial, Bureau Locations: California, Georgetown, —, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts

☆ Matt Onofrio made $35 million helping everyday people invest in real estate. Then he was indicted. Was it all a scam?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

The MMA fighter Michael Chandler, pictured with his wife, Brie Willett, bought a $16 million property from Matt Onofrio in 2021. Then, in November 2022, federal prosecutors indicted Onofrio on charges involving three deals he'd arranged in Minnesota the year before. The federal complaint doesn't involve the property Onofrio sold to Chandler. Unbeknownst to Hermann, Onofrio had already tied up the warehouse in contract for $4.75 million. "Matt was finding a deal for $4 million and selling it for $5 million," Stageberg said.

Persons: Matt Onofrio, anesthetist, who'd, Onofrio, Michael Chandler, Chandler, Brie Willett, Rick Diamond, Michael didn't, Matt, Brendan Johnson, he'd, fraudster, who's, Matthew Hermann, Hermann, he's, —, Anthony Vicino, unburden, Hermann countersued, Let's, Nick Stageberg, Stageberg, Vicino, couldn't, wasn't, Zacari Pennington, Brandon Turner, David Greene, Pennington, Brad Lea's, Ryan Pineda's, Alec McElhinny, Onofrio's, Greene, Ed Mylett, Mylett, Lily Ro Onofrio, Lea, Brittany Arnason, BiggerPockets, Cameron Cropsey, Scott Trench, Nicholas Perrone, Wild Organizations: Onofrio, CMT, Chandler, Wild Moose Ventures, Finance & Commerce, Mayo Clinic, Moose Ventures, Wild, Ventures Locations: Wisconsin, California, Sauk Rapids , Minnesota, Minnesota, Onofrio, Minneapolis, Mexico City, Mayo, Denver, Nashville, Church, Golden Valley , Minnesota, Macon , Georgia, Pennington

☆ Online College Class Providers Screwing Over Students, Adding to Debt Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

She applied and was accepted to the online program in 2020. In exchange for expanding course offerings and recruiting students, OPMs receive a big chunk of the tuition revenue from the online programs, which usually cost the same as in-person schooling. While it's not always the case, many experts and grads told me that OPMs were offering online students a worse education for a sky-high price. A third-party provider to those schools, 2U signs a contract to offer services such as recruiting and technology to boost online enrollment. But beyond scandals, the everyday business of OPMs is leaving many online students with exorbitant bills, despite how cheap it is to administer the courses.

Persons: Iola Favell, Favell, Rossier, USC Rossier, OPMs, it's, grads, Eric Rothschild, John Katzman, Katzman, Clare McCann, McCann, —, Aaron Ament, Barack Obama, That's, STEFANI REYNOLDS, Helen Drinan, Cabrini University —, Drinan, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Pearson, Rosa DeLauro, Virginia Foxx, Ament Organizations: University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, USC, Student Defense, US, Education Department upended, Education Department, Arnold Ventures, OPM, Office, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street, Canyon University, Grand Canyon, Century Foundation, Getty, Cabrini University, Simmons University, Democratic, GAO, Republican, GOP, Universities, Protection, Consumer Financial, Bureau Locations: California, Georgetown, —, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts

☆ Fintech firm Klarna halves net loss in first quarter as it races toward profitability
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later fintech company, halved its net loss in the first quarter, recording a significant improvement in its bottom line after a major cost-cutting drive. The company posted a net loss of 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($120.7 million), down 50% from the 2.6 billion krona loss in the same period a year ago. Klarna reported total net operating income of 5 billion Swedish krona, up 22% year-over-year. The results show how Klarna is making "significant strides" toward profitability on a monthly basis, the firm said. Buy now, pay later firms, which allow shoppers to defer payments to a later date or pay over installments, have been particularly impacted by souring investor sentiment on technology, amid a worsening macroeconomic environment.

☆ Target is being held hostage by an anti-LGBTQ campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —During every Pride Month in June for the past decade, Target has sold merchandise for LGBTQ customers, employees and allies. But this year, Target faced an anti-LGBTQ campaign that went viral on social media. Fueled by far-right personalities and on social media platforms, the anti-trans campaign spread misleading information about the company’s Pride Month products and its business practices. It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain.”The campaign became hostile, with threats levied against Target employees and instances of damaged products and displays in stores. Meeting demandTarget became the focus of the anti-LGBTQ campaign’s ire for its Pride Month merchandise, but the campaign misrepresented Target’s ambitions.

Persons: ”, Matt Walsh, Kelley Robinson, Bud Light, Yoram, “ It’s, Brian Cornell, Fortune, Erik Carnell, ” Target, Gavin Newsom, Sarah Kate Ellis, Tim Calkins, Ron DeSantis, “, Paul Argenti Organizations: New, New York CNN, Target, Twitter, Human Rights, Pride, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Gallup, ”, Wall Street Journal, GLAAD, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Companies, Nike, Disney, Florida Gov, Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger, Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business Locations: New York, California, statehouses

☆ JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon just sounded off on what it takes to be a good CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has a take that might surprise you. Succession plans for the unofficial face of Wall Street have long been speculated on. One of the biggest issues we see on Wall Street, or in business more broadly, is an executive not knowing when to cut ties. Want to know what a Wall Street hiring raid looks like? Here's Wall Street's plan if the US defaults on its debt.

First-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net income, reached $4.96 billion, up from $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 and above expectations of $4.3 billion in a company-provided survey of analysts. The profit reflects "an exceptional gas marketing and trading result, a lower level of refinery turnaround activity and a very strong oil trading result", BP said, noting the partial offset from lower oil and gas prices and refining margins. BP had reported a $6.25 billion profit in the first quarter of 2022. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and 7% from the fourth-quarter. BP's profit hit a record $28 billion in 2022 on soaring energy prices and market volatility which benefited its large trading business.

SummarySummary Companies Profit lifted by strong tradingBP to purchase $1.75 bln of sharesLONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) made a $5 billion profit in the first quarter of 2023, up from the previous three months on the back of strong oil and gas trading as the company pared back a share buyback programme. The profit reflects "an exceptional gas marketing and trading result, a lower level of refinery turnaround activity and a very strong oil trading result", BP said, noting the partial offset from lower oil and gas prices and refining margins. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in the first three months of the year, down 16% from a year earlier and 7% from the fourth-quarter. BP's profit hit a record $28 billion in 2022 on soaring energy prices and market volatility which benefited its large trading business. The company had said in February it would repurchase $2.75 billion worth of shares over the next three months after buying $11.7 billion in 2022.

☆ BP shares slide as first-quarter profit dips
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Shares of BP fell more than 5% Tuesday after the energy giant said it would return less cash to investors following a drop in first-quarter profit. BP (BP) reported underlying profit of $5 billion for the first three months of the year. BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies (TOT) handed more than $100 billion to their investors in 2022 via share buybacks and dividend payments. Looking ahead, BP said it expects oil prices to “remain elevated,” following supply cuts by OPEC+ and strengthening demand from China. Gas prices in Europe and Asia would be supported by recovering Chinese demand, restocking of European storage capacity and coal-to-gas switching, it added.

☆ General Motors raises 2023 guidance as first-quarter earnings beat expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The new range is between $8.4 billion and $9.9 billion, down from $8.7 billion to $10.1 billion. DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday raised key guidance for 2023 after reporting first-quarter results that topped Wall Street's top- and bottom-line forecasts. Its net income during the first quarter, however, was down by roughly 18% to $2.3 billion compared to a year earlier. CFO Paul Jacobson said the company felt confident in raising its adjusted earnings guidance after first-quarter results came in above the company's internal expectations, including continued demand for high-end models. GM's first-quarter results included adjusted earnings of $3.8 billion, down 6% from a year earlier.

Reviews from these members often appear as an "Amazon Vine Review" or a "Vine Voice." Amazon said it prohibits review abuse, including offering incentives like gift cards to write positive reviews. The rise of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots could make it easier for bad actors to generate fraudulent reviews. Third-party sellers on Amazon are already using the tool to help write product listings and catchy titles, as well as marketing copy. WATCH: Many of the reviews on Amazon are fake, here's how to spot them

☆ From one of Britain's most popular toys to the target of police raids: how a children's doll became a symbol of racism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A police raid on a bar just outside of London renewed a debate over racist dolls. But despite the long history of the racist trope, the debate over the doll's place in British culture continues. Revellers take part in the Children's Parade at Notting Hill Carnival in London, Britain, August 28, 2022. But it does appear that there is some gradual shift in public opinion happening with the dolls. Nevertheless, the enduring popularity of the blackface doll creates the impression "that we live in a post-racial society," Scott said.

☆ Here's the 13-page pitch deck Stratyfy, a fintech using AI to help lenders work with the underbanked, used to raise $10 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Stratyfy uses AI to help lenders extend more credit to underbanked communities. Here's the 13-page pitch deck Stratyfy used to raise its so-called "institutional seed." Stratyfy works to help lenders eliminate biasStratyfy uses machine-learning algorithms to help lenders remove sharp cutoffs — like those based on credit history lengths or current income — that are often used in their credit decisioning. The core engine uses a lender's traditional credit data, in addition to alternative data, to offer a breakdown of factors in a given borrower's profile. Here's the pitch deck Stratyfy used to raise $10 million.

☆ Adobe releases tools for generating product images from 3D models
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) on Tuesday rolled out a tool aimed at helping marketing departments at e-commerce stores generate product images without having to pay for as many photo shoots. It is designed to allowing marketing professionals to come up with the images they need for web pages and marketing emails. The product straddles San Jose, California-based Adobe's longtime business of generating and editing images and its newer business of supplying technology tools for marketing and e-commerce. "Big e-commerce websites, they have hundreds of people" manually creating 3D renderings, Cottin said. In the case of a shoe, for example, an artist might create a 3D model of the basic model of the shoe.

☆ Google begins opening access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Starting in the U.S. and UK, consumers can join a waiting list for English-language access to Bard, a program previously open to approved testers only. Google describes Bard as an experiment allowing collaboration with generative AI, technology that relies on past data to create rather than identify content. Asked whether competitive dynamics were behind Bard's rollout, Jack Krawczyk, a senior product director, said Google was focused on users. Unlike ChatGPT, Bard is not proficient in generating computer code, Google said on its website. "Bard will not always get it right," a Google pop-up notice warned during the demo.

☆ Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Shopify sellers feel the squeeze of higher fees. Now they must get creative to stay profitable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Etsy, eBay, Amazon, and Shopify have all raised fees for sellers in recent months. Amazon has also steadily raised fees for its Fulfillment by Amazon service since 2020. But he says things have gotten progressively more difficult in the last year as sales and traffic declined, inflation has squeezed his margins, and eBay has raised fees. Courtesy of Elizabeth MorganElizabeth Morgan, who sells handmade earrings on Etsy, said that she raised her prices by about 5% after Etsy raised fees last year. The Etsy fee hike has been more impactful, however.

Such efforts to attract foreign investment come as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions push companies to diversify their supply chains away from China. The Commerce Ministry said Thursday that for the first time, it would launch events for an "Invest in China Year." Apple later said the Zhengzhou factory disruptions would delay deliveries of some iPhone 14 models. He also noted "serious challenges" to attracting foreign investment. Those include unfair competition with local players in China due to industrial policies, lack of legal protection for foreign business in China and geopolitical risks, Wang said.

☆ Alibaba shares rally 6% after massive earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alibaba reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter that smashed expectations, sending U.S.-listed shares soaring 6% higher at 7:07 a.m. EST. Net income: 46.82 billion yuan vs 34.02 billion yuan, up 69% year-on-year. During the December quarter, China abruptly ended its strict Covid controls such as lockdowns. Revenue from Alibaba's biggest business, the China commerce division, which includes its popular marketplace Taobao, totaled 169.99 billion yuan, down by 1% year-on-year. International commerce revenue grew 18% year-on-year to 19.47 billion Chinese yuan.

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