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☆ Amor Towles Sees Dead People
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The novelist Amor Towles, whose best-selling books include “Rules of Civility,” “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “The Lincoln Highway,” contributed an essay to the Book Review recently in which he discussed the evolving role the cadaver has played in detective fiction and what it says about the genre’s writers and readers. Towles visits the podcast this week to chat with the host Gilbert Cruz about that essay, as well as his path to becoming a novelist after an early career in finance. “I remember finishing ‘Rules of Civility’ and feeling like … I don’t know if it’s going to be popular, I don’t know if it’s going to sell, but this is what I wanted to do,” Towles tells Cruz. “It was a great sort of renewal of confidence that I had as a younger person of, yeah, I can do this. And I would have gone on and on and on, I would have written books that nobody read, you know, until I died, I think quite happily.

Persons: Amor Towles, ”, Towles, Gilbert Cruz, Cruz, Sarah Lyall, Richard E, Grant Organizations: The Times Locations: Moscow ”, Lincoln

☆ Will AI be an economic blessing or curse? History offers clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Backers of AI predict a productivity leap that will generate wealth and improve living standards. The productivity gains it was once lauded for have slowed across many economies. In a globalised economy, there are other reasons to doubt whether the potential gains of AI will be felt evenly. That is just one of several factors that will help determine how AI shapes our economic lives - from antitrust policies that ensure healthy competition among AI suppliers through to re-training of workforces. "The question is: will AI exacerbate existing inequalities or could it actually help us get back to something much fairer?"

Persons: Richard Erkhov, Yiannis, Simon Johnson, Johnson, Daron Acemoglu, jenny, Natixis, Stefano Scarpetta, MIT's Johnson, Mary Towers, Eva Mathews, Mark John, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, MIT Sloan School of Management, McKinsey, Hollywood, Reuters, Labour, Social Affairs, Economic Cooperation, Development, UN, POWER, Britain's Trades Union, OECD, Thomson Locations: Pascal, Nicosia, Cyprus, U.S, American, Paris, Bengaluru

☆ Richard E. Grant Fights Grief With ‘A Pocketful of Happiness’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Amy Bloom | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One is Joan Washington, whom we get to know as passionate and commanding, a great teacher, a wonderful mother, a smartass and a woman who understood and loved her husband, deeply. To be clear, I make no complaints about her, and neither Grant nor I criticize anything she does in this book. It is not her fault that Richard E. Grant has adored her since he wrote her a fan letter when he was 14. I could have done without all of that, because, like Richard E. Grant, I just wanted more of the feisty, unvarnished, irritable, generous, wise, unimpressed Joan Washington. Amy Bloom’s most recent books are “Flower Girl” and “In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss.”A POCKETFUL OF HAPPINESS | By Richard E. Grant | 336 pp.

Persons: Joan Washington, ” Olivia, Grant, Barbra Streisand, Richard E, ”, —, Amy Bloom’s, Simon Organizations: Schuster

☆ In ‘The Lesson,’ It’s a Bad Writer Who Steals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Carlos Aguilar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In “The Lesson,” an amusingly taut British thriller playing now in American movie theaters, two novels result from the same events at an opulent country estate. This chamber piece — a debut feature from both the director Alice Troughton, a regular of episodic television, and the comedian turned screenwriter Alex MacKeith — asks, both tacitly and explicitly: Can any creative endeavor be honestly attributed to a single source? One of the film’s writers, J.M. Sinclair (a ferocious Richard E. Grant) is a consummate literary star, who hasn’t published a novel since his firstborn son’s suicide. The unscrupulous Sinclair, however, is about to write the final chapter in a new novel, “Rose Tree,” while staying true to his favorite aphorism, “Great writers steal.”

Persons: Alice Troughton, Alex MacKeith —, Sinclair, Richard E, Grant, hasn’t, ”

☆ The inside man who shook the Kremlin: Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, and what's next for him?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Richard Engel | Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. A St. Petersburg native like Putin, Prigozhin, 62, has one of the most varied biographies among the Kremlin elite. With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Prigozhin was able and eager to again prove his value to Putin. As the Russian army came up against surprisingly strong resistance, Wagner's mercenaries came in handy in the bloodiest of battles. The standoff then exploded and Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion on Friday after alleging that the Russian army fired at his mercenaries.

Persons: Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, —, Wagner, Michael A, Horowitz, what's, Prigohzin, Prigozhin, Putin, Read, Bashar al, Assad, Sergei Shoigu Organizations: Wagner Group, Southern Military, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Le Beck, NBC News, Putin, Kremlin, Prigozhin, NBC, U.S, Internet Research Agency, Central African, Defense Ministry Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, St, Petersburg, Europe, East, Africa, Crimean, Kyiv, Russian, Ukraine, Syria, Central African Republic, Bakhmut, U.S

☆ Opinion | Creating a Path for More Black Economists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“If this is what economics is teaching, who wants to be part of that?”Myers is an interesting person. Myers told me about the economists, both Black and white, who lent a hand to him and others early on. One was his father, Samuel L. Myers, a path breaker who earned a doctorate in economics from Harvard in 1949. “I’m happy and content that I’m unapologetically Black,” he said. He added: “The summer program is producing deep thinkers.”

Persons: “, I’m, ”, ” Myers, Roy Wilkins, Wilkins, Myers, Samuel L, Marcus Alexis, Andrew Brimmer, Clifton Wharton, Phyllis Wallace, Bernard Anderson, Paul Samuelson, Robert Solow, Michael Piore, Richard Eckaus, Duncan Foley, Charles Kindleberger, Kindleberger “, Kindleberger, they’re Organizations: Morgan State University, Harvard, Caucus of Black, Federal, Michigan State University, Rockefeller Foundation, Yale, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, M.I.T Locations: Baltimore, Minnesota, American

☆ Gen Z is upending the purchase funnel, according to a new Edelman Trust Barometer report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Julia Hood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gen Z consumers behave differently towards brands than other demographics, according to a new Edelman Trust Barometer study. The purchase is often the starting point for the brand relationship, not the final step, running counter to the traditional "purchase funnel" model. What appeals to Gen Z might alienate more traditional consumers, so it's important for brand and reputation leaders to partner. Gen Z might just be kill the the old-school purchase funnel for good according to a new study from the Edelman Trust Barometer,That's because Gen Z's true relationship with brands often begins at purchase, and is "too dynamic for a linear funnel," the report states. "In fact, 78% [of Gen Z survey respondents] are uncovering and discovering things about a brand after they make a product purchase."

Persons: Gen, Jackie Cooper, Viktor Chebanenko, Cooper, You've, Edelman, Bud, Richard Edelman, — Organizations: Edelman, Morning, Gen, Edelman's Locations: Germany, Brazil, Japan

☆ Richard E. Snyder, 93, Dies; Drove Simon & Schuster to New Heights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sam Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When a friend went for an interview at Doubleday in Manhattan, Mr. Snyder tagged along, and before long was hired as a trainee. “He could rub the material of a jacket between his thumb and forefinger,” Mr. Snyder said in The Times Magazine profile, “and in no more than a second, proclaim, ‘$3.34 a yard.’ He would be right to the penny. I had that gift of feel when it came to books.”In a climate that Mr. Snyder helped create, he billed himself as a businessman rather than as a man of letters. In addition to his son Matthew, from his marriage to Ms. Freund, he is survived by a daughter from that marriage, Jackie; two other sons, Richard Elliott Snyder Jr. and Coleman Yorke, from his marriage to Ms. Yorke; and two grandchildren. Mr. Snyder thrived under Simon & Schuster’s ownership by Gulf and Western Industries, which bought the company in 1975.

Persons: Snyder, Mr, Korda, Dick, ” Mr, Snyder’s, Ruth Freund, Laura Yorke, Terresa Liu, Matthew, Ms, Freund, Jackie, Richard Elliott Snyder Jr, Coleman Yorke, Yorke, Simon, Charles G, Bludhorn, Martin Davis, Davis Organizations: Doubleday, The Times Magazine, Western Industries, Paramount Pictures Locations: Manhattan, Gulf, Western

☆ Freddie Mercury’s handwritten lyrics suggest he considered ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’ song title
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

(CNN) — Never-before-seen draft lyrics of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” suggest that Freddie Mercury considered giving his mock-opera anthem a somewhat different title: “Mongolian Rhapsody.”The discovery was made following the emergence of a 15-page folio of lyrics, vocal lines and harmonies handwritten by the singer as he composed his 1975 hit. Queen recorded “Bohemian Rhapsody” the next year. Sotheby's auction house said the handwritten lyrics present "untold insights into other possible directions the song could have taken." Queen pictured in 1977, two years after releasing "Bohemian Rhapsody." Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images“What is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ about?

Persons: —, Queen’s, Freddie Mercury, there’s, I’ve, “ Galileo, ”, Belladona ”, Mercury’s, Mary Austin, “, ” —, Brian May, Freddie, Richard E, Aaron, Redferns, Sotheby’s, ” Austin Organizations: CNN, British Midland Airways, Tiffany, Mercury Locations: Sotheby’s, London

☆ Travel news: Summer flights, best beaches and tourist-deterring fences
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —In travel news this week, why this summer could be a record-breaking one for air travel, America’s best beaches and Asian-American fusion cuisine – plus an Austrian village takes an unusual approach to combating unwelcome tourist behavior. Celebrating Asian American heritageGrowing up in North Carolina in the 1980s and ’90s, Kevin Lambert always felt different from his White peers. The United States has long been described as a “melting pot,” and it sure is delicious. 1 beach in the United States, which is on the Gulf of Mexico, has miles of pristine sand. nobleIMAGES/Alamy Stock Photo The best beaches in the United States in 2023 Prev NextHalf of the top 10 beaches in the United States for 2023 are in Florida and Hawaii, according to the latest annual report from coastal scientist “Dr.

CNN —President Joe Biden will nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, who currently leads the National Cancer Institute, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health, the White House announced on Monday. Biden called Bertagnolli “a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people,” in a statement Monday. She would lead the country’s medical research agency, overseeing 27 research institutes and centers focused on different areas of medical research, such as cancer, the human genome, as well as allergy and infectious diseases. The nomination to lead NIH marks a fast ascent within the Biden administration for Bertagnolli. In this August 2022 photo, Monica Bertagnolli, newly appointed director of the National Cancer Institute, stands for recognition during remarks by President Joe Biden.

Prince William honored his father with a few words during Sunday night's concert - the first ever to be staged at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for almost 1,000 years. Royals dance the night awaySeveral members of the royal family got their groove on throughout the concert. Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesMesmerizing drone displayA fabulous drone display lit up the sky over the coronation concert, earning audible gasps from the crowd below. Crowds watch illuminated drones creating a light display above Windsor Castle. But when Miss Piggy, dressed in a cerise pink evening dress and glittering necklace, recognized “Downton Abbey” star Bonneville she had other things in mind, thinking he was a real lord.

☆ Before Fox News, Tucker Carlson worked at CNN. The show he co-hosted was canceled after a tense on-air exchange where Jon Stewart called him a 'dick.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tucker Carlson worked at CNN before he helmed the top-rated show at Fox News. Jon Stewart once called Carlson a "dick" on the show Carlson hosted on CNN, "Crossfire." The political debate-styled program was canceled in 2004 after a tense on-air exchange where comedian Jon Stewart called Carlson a "dick." Carlson later told Stewart, "I thought you were going to be funny. After CNN, Carlson worked at PBS and MSNBC.

☆ Hello AInstein! Robot with ChatGPT shakes up Cyprus classrooms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Yiannis Kourtoglou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] High school students Konstantinos Timinis and Vladimir Baranov work on "Alnstein", a robot powered by ChatGPT, in Pascal school in Nicosia, Cyprus, March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis KourtoglouApril 4 (Reuters) - High school students and their tutors in Cyprus have developed a prototype robot powered with ChatGPT artificial intelligence technology to harness and improve teaching experiences in the classroom. Named AInstein, the squat robot created by three Pascal Schools in Cyprus stands roughly the size of a small adult and looks like a sculpted version of the Michelin Man. It is powered with ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by U.S. firm OpenAI and backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). Their experience with AInstein showed that AI is not anything to fear, project members said.

☆ We're in a long-term business because 'health is forever,' says traditional Chinese medicine company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | 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 EmailWe're in a long-term business because 'health is forever,' says traditional Chinese medicine companyRichard Eu, chairman of traditional Chinese medicine business Eu Yan Sang, speaks to CNBC's Christine Tan about its goals and priorities.

☆ A company newsletter is more trusted than the media, says Edelman CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | 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 EmailA company newsletter is more trusted than the media, says Edelman CEORichard Edelman, CEO of PR firm Edelman, discusses the future of public relations, what drives people to trust a company and the essential duties of a CEO.

☆ 'Sex Education' co-stars Wood and Mackey among BAFTA Rising Star nominees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Emma Mackey and Aimee Lou Wood, who rose to fame on hit Netflix show "Sex Education", and historical epic "The Woman King" actor Sheila Atim are among the nominees in the rising star category in the BAFTA Film Awards. Mackey and Wood play close friends in the Netflix comedy drama about teenagers trying to figure out their love lives. Wood, who has previously won a BAFTA TV award for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for "Sex Education", was recognised on Tuesday for her role in drama "Living". Mackey was nominated for her portrayal of "Wurthering Heights" novelist Emily Bronte in biographical drama "Emily". The EE Rising Star Award is the only category voted for by the public at the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts Film Awards, which this year will take place on Feb. 19 in London.

☆ Just 40% of people say their lives will be 'better off' in the next 5 years, a new global survey finds, with trust in business growing and trust in government falling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Reed Alexander | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Just 40% of respondents in a new global survey believe they'll be "better off" in the next five years. The annual Edelman Trust Barometer also found growing trust in business versus the public sector. Just four in 10 respondents who participated in the Edelman Trust Barometer for 2023 predicted that they and their families will be "better off" in five years — a dramatic 10-point reduction from last year. Edelman published its 2023 Trust Barometer this weekend, coinciding with a constellation of other warning signs that further economic pain may be on the way. The Edelman Trust Barometer, which this year polled more than 32,000 respondents in 28 countries, found that trust is tilting away from the public sector.

☆ Household wealth optimism collapses, global survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Barely two in five people believe their families will be better off in the future, according to a regular global survey that also identified growing levels of distrust in institutions among low-income households. It further confirmed how societies have been divided by the impacts of the pandemic and inflation. Higher-income households still broadly trust institutions such as government, business, media and NGOs. Globally, only 40% agreed with the statement "my family and I will be better off in five years" compared to 50% a year before, with advanced economies most downbeat: the United States (36%), Britain (23%), Germany (15%) and Japan (9%). While Edelman's longstanding Trust Index registered an average 63% trust level in key institutions among high-income U.S. respondents, that figure fell to just 40% among low-income groups.

☆ Union Pacific pauses use of controversial freight rail embargoes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In a letter addressed to STB chairman Martin Oberman and sent to the STB on Friday by Fritz, the Union Pacific CEO stated, "We are taking a hard look at our use of congestion-related embargoes. Union Pacific carries nearly 27% of freight served by rail and nearly 11% of all long-distance freight volume. Unions have said that even as major freight rail companies add workers, the data supplied to STB on hiring is masking a longer-term trend of labor attrition. According to a Union Pacific spokesperson, total craft hiring was 27,753 in October 2022 compared to 32,315 in October 2019. Union membership data shows employment on all of the Class I rails, including Union Pacific, is down from just before the start of the pandemic and even down between October 2021 and October 2022.

☆ Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Even 2 1/2 years later, most city downtowns aren't back to where they were prepandemic. Without more-robust policies to address failing downtowns, cities are going to start hurting. The increased cancellations of office leases have cratered the office real-estate market. Since 2016, only 112 commercial office spaces in the US have been converted, while 85 projects are underway or have been announced, according to CBRE's data. The birth of the central social districtTo avoid a commercial real-estate apocalypse, cities will need to streamline conversions.

Christine McVie, the English musician whose smoky vocals and romantic lyrics helped catapult the rock group Fleetwood Mac to international success, has died, the band announced on Twitter. "There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie," the group said in a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. From left, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood in 1977. McVie was once married to Fleetwood Mac bass guitarist John McVie. Christine McVie penned some of the most cherished lines in the Fleetwood Mac songbook, writing the lyrics to global hits like "Everywhere," "Little Lies" and "Don't Stop" — a track that became synonymous with Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign.

☆ Bob Iger signals support for LGBTQ rights on company call. Here's why that's so important for Disney's future.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On a company call Monday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said inclusion is a "core value." Iger told employees that inclusion and acceptance are among the "core values" at the company, according to CNBC. Florida lawmakers voted to rescind the special tax status of Disney World in Orlando. Disney/PixarMost Americans support LGBTQ rightsFor Disney's leadership, losing the company's special tax status in the state carries financial repercussions. He's also bold and wildly empathetic," Don Hall, director of "Strange World," told Variety, speaking about the film's openly gay main character.

☆ Bob Iger has a lot to get right as he returns to Disney. One big challenge is repairing LGBTQ relations.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney's newly reappointed CEO, Bob Iger, could face further backlash against LGBTQ content. Iger needs to support LGBTQ rights or risk upsetting employees and millions of Americans. Florida lawmakers voted to rescind the special tax status of Disney World in Orlando. Disney/PixarIger needs to understand that most Americans support LGBTQ rightsFor Disney's leadership, losing the company's special tax status in the state carries financial repercussions. There is a slice of American conservatives who are against LGBTQ rights.

☆ Goldman Sachs upgrades this new shoe stock, predicts 65% upside as more on Wall Street get on board
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of On Holding can surge more than 65% as more people on Wall Street get on board with the Swiss footwear sneaker company, according to Goldman Sachs. Shares of On made their public debut just last year on the New York Stock Exchange. Regardless, the analyst expects that On will continue to grow from here, pointing to the company's recent quarterly results. The company showed strong sales growth, and raised its 2022 full-year guidance. The analyst's 12-month price target of $28, dropped from $37, implies shares can surge 65.3% from Friday's close of $16.93.

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