DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Microplastics discovered in human penises for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Scientists have found microplastics in human penises for the first time, as concerns over the tiny particles’ proliferation and potential health effects mount. Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer). Ramasamy said he wasn’t surprised to find microplastics in the penis, as it is a “very vascular organ,” like the heart. Seven different types of microplastics were detected, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) the most prevalent, according to the study. “We need to identify whether microplastics are linked to ED and if there is a level beyond which it causes pathology and what types of microplastics are pathologic,” he said.

Persons: Ranjith Ramasamy, Ramasamy, wasn’t, ”, ” Ramasamy, Toxicologist Matthew J, Campen, ” Campen, Leonardo Trasande, don’t, Trasande Organizations: CNN —, University of Miami, CNN, University of New, “ Plastics, NYU Langone Health, American Academy of Pediatrics Locations: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

☆ High interest rates could pressure companies to cut dividends. These names may be at risk, Wolfe Research says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Dividend-paying companies might feel compelled to cut their dividends if they're grappling with a lot of debt, as higher rates raise the cost of leverage for companies. He added dividend cuts can also serve as a "clearing event" for a stock, ironically spurring a period of outperformance. See below for a few of the potential contenders for dividend cuts. The stock is down more than 15% in 2024, and it offers a dividend yield of nearly 5%. Shares are up about 17% in 2024, and the stock has a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Chris Senyek, Wolfe, Matthew Boss, Vail, Goldman Sachs, Christine Cho, Nordstrom Organizations: Wolfe Research, Federal, Vail Resorts, JPMorgan, Vail, Nordstrom, Whirlpool, Owl Locations: Wednesday's

Analyst Stephen Grambling reiterated his overweight rating on shares, which he thinks should move higher based on potential earnings upside. Analyst Christopher Horvers upgraded the big-box retailer to overweight and hiked his price target by $15 to $81, which suggests 25.4% potential upside. Analyst Tom O'Malley's price target is now $145 per share, which implies 19.9% potential upside from Friday's close. Ramsey also attributed his new price target to the firm's latest data center modeling which estimates a software-based revenue breakout for Nvidia. He raised his price target to $150, which implies 40.8% upside from Friday's close.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Stephen Grambling, Grambling, — Pia Singh, Christopher Horvers, Horvers, Tom, O'Malley, TD Cowen, Matthew Ramsey, Ramsey, Rajat Gupta, Gupta, CVNA, Joseph Moore, Moore, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Monday, JPMorgan, North America Gaming, Illinois Senate, Walmart, Nvidia, Barclays Barclays, Sovereign, Broadcom, AMD Locations: Illinois, North, IL

☆ Top Wall Street analysts are optimistic on the outlook for these 3 stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

At the same time, Wall Street analysts continue to focus on picking individual stocks that can thrive even in the face of short-term pressures and deliver attractive, long-term returns. Here are three stocks favored by the Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Burlington StoresOff-price retailer Burlington Stores (BURL) is this week's first pick. Tarlowe noted that the expansion in Burlington Stores' gross and operating margins helped drive better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter. (See Burlington Stores Stock Charts on TipRanks)AmazonE-commerce and cloud computing company Amazon (AMZN) is also a top pick.

Persons: Jefferies, Corey Tarlowe, BURL, Tarlowe, TipRanks, Ivan Feinseth, there's PagerDuty, Matthew Hedberg, Hedberg Organizations: Burlington Stores Inc, Federal Reserve, Wall Street, Burlington, Burlington Stores, Amazon Web Services, AWS, RBC Capital, Department of Veteran Affairs Locations: Burlington, New York, U.S, Jersey, billings .

☆ Tiny plastic shards found in human testicles, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Human testicles contain microplastics and nanoplastics at levels three times higher than animal testes and human placentas, a new small study found. “They look like little shards, tiny broken bits from very, very old plastics,” said Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Researchers expected to find more plastic shards in the testicles of older men in the study, but that wasn’t the case, Campen said. “In testes, the levels of plastic was three times as much as we saw in placentas,” Campen said. In studies of pregnant mice, researchers have found plastic chemicals in the brain, heart, liver, kidney and lungs of the developing fetus 24 hours after the pregnant mother ingested or breathed in plastic particles.

Persons: ”, Matthew Campen, Campen, ” Campen, “ We’re, Adrienne Bresnahan, Kimberly Wise White, Leonardo Trasande, don’t, Trasande Organizations: CNN, micron, Sciences, University of New, Endocrine Society, Getty, American Chemistry Council, placentas, American Academy of Pediatrics, NYU Langone Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, Invest Locations: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States, placentas, Beijing

☆ These stocks are set to gain the most over the next month, according to an AI model
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

One of those programs is iFi Ai, an investment information firm powered by IBM's Watsonx. IFi AI takes in a wide range of market signals and data to make projections about where individual stocks will go next. One of the outputs from the iFi AI model is a 30-day projected price return. The iFi AI model sees a gain of 23%. The iFi AI model is not the only entity bullish on Schwab.

Persons: Ai, IBM's Watsonx, Ron Insana, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, iFi, Piper Sandler, Matthew Clark, Charles Schwab, Schwab Organizations: CNBC, Paramount Global, Paramount, Sony, Skydance Media, Western Alliance

Analyst Laura Champine also lowered her price target to $80 from $85, implying a 6% increase for the stock. "New York City office is one of the few REIT subsectors seeing improved demand," the analyst wrote. The bank double-upgraded the e-commerce platform to overweight from underweight and hiked its price target to $62 from $35. Feather added that eBay stock is currently trading at a discount versus peers, with Etsy trading around 35% higher. "JetBlue's DNA aligns with our broader preference for loyalty, premium, and international exposure ... albeit with less vigor than the Big 3," the analyst wrote.

Persons: TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Needham, Laura Martin, Andy, Martin, — Jesse Pound, Laura Champine, Champine, — Lisa Kailai Han, Tesla, Emmanuel Rosner, Elon Musk, Rosner, Fred Imbert, John Kim, Kim, SLG, KeyBanc, Eric Heath, Heath, Nathan Feather, Feather, James West's, West, Jamie Baker, Baker, Lisa Kailai Han, Matthew Ramsay, Ramsay Organizations: CNBC, Nvidia, Amazon, Wholesale, BJ's Wholesale, Deutsche Bank, Tesla, Reuters, BMO Capital Markets, Green Realty, New York City, SL Green Realty, SL Green, SL, KeyBanc, eBay, EBAY, GE, ISI, GE Vernova, General Electric, JPMorgan, JetBlue JPMorgan, JetBlue, Jetblue, Technology, NVIDIA, Match Group Locations: China, Manhattan, York City, Wednesday's, York

A major U.S. bank and a legacy tech name were the focus of some of Tuesday's biggest analyst calls. The firm upgraded the apparel stock to overweight from neutral, and raised its price target to $31 per share from $26. The firm resumed coverage of the legacy tech company with an overweight rating and a $58 per share price target. He reiterated his $64 price target on the stock, implying upside of 10.7%. Additionally, he sees "greater risk to the achievement of our price target as the Fed rate cutting cycle begin."

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Matthew Boss, — Brian Evans, Goldman Sachs, Molson Coors Goldman Sachs, Molson, Molson Coors, Bonnie Herzog, Bud Light, Brian Evans, Goldman, Mark Delaney, Cisco, Morgan Stanley's, David Rochester, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Cisco Systems, JPMorgan, Eagle Outfitters JPMorgan, American Eagle Outfitters, Eagle Outfitters, Molson Coors, Molson, TAP, Tesla, Cisco, Wells Locations: U.S, Wells, Americas, EVs, Wells Fargo, 2H24, Rochester

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ Dollar General's brand is showing some cracks and may be a warning sign ahead of earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In collecting this data, the firm saw a deterioration in the Dollar General brand last year. As of Monday's close, Dollar General's stock is up more than 57% from a 52-week low of $101.09 reached in mid-October. Their research found that consumers felt the cleanliness of Dollar General's stores, a top five driver of satisfaction, lagged key peers Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, and fell 2% further in February. Until November, shoppers rated Family Dollar and Dollar General's product offerings more or less on a par with each other. In addition to Dollar General's own challenges, all dollar stores are likely being hurt by weaker spending among low income consumers.

Persons: Vasos, what's, Todd Vasos, Jeff Owen, Gordon Haskett, Chuck Grom, Grom, bode, Piper Sandler, Peter Keith, Keith, Morgan Stanley, Simeon Gutman, Gutman, Michael Lasser, Lasser, Matthew Boss, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Dollar, DG, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, SNAP, UBS, JPMorgan

☆ Victoria's Secret shares plunge as shrinking demand hits sales forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Victoria's Secret & Co. at the New York Stock Exchange, September 7, 2021. Victoria's Secret shares plunged about 29% premarket on Thursday after the lingerie brand forecast weaker annual sales following a sluggish start to the year as shoppers in its key North America market switch to cheaper options. It expects first-quarter net sales to decline in the mid-single-digit range, compared with analysts' expectation of a 2.5% fall. Victoria's sports bras were priced between $45 and $88, while Lululemon's were between $29 and $78, their websites showed. In 2024, Victoria's Secret plans to open about 15 new stores in North America, mostly in off-mall locations, despite slow demand, and close 35 stores mainly due to consolidation of co-located Victoria's Secret and PINK stores.

Persons: Dana Telsey, Matthew Boss Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Telsey Advisory Locations: North America

☆ White lsland: Court orders millions in compensation for survivors of New Zealand’s deadly volcanic eruption
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Survivors scarred by severe burns testified against various companies – including Whakaari Management Ltd, which owned the island – accusing them of failing to warn them about the risks. On Friday, Judge Evangelos Thomas found both Whakaari Management Ltd and the tour operators had failed to conduct adequate risk assessment, breaking health and safety laws with devastating consequences. The owner of the island, meanwhile, failed to make sure the operators had examined the risks properly, the judge added. An image provided by visitor Michael Schade shows White Island (Whakaari) volcano, as it erupts, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, 09 December 2019. American Matthew Urey is seen in the witness box at the Whakaari or White Island, eruption trial at the Auckland Environment Court, in Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

Persons: WorkSafe, Judge Evangelos Thomas, Michael Schade, Shutterstock, Andrew, Peter, James Buttle, Thomas, “, ”, Annie Lu, Matthew Urey, Jason Oxenham Organizations: CNN, NZ, Whakaari Management, Shutterstock Whakaari Management, country’s, White, Tours, Safaris Ltd, Aerius, Kahu, Ltd, Auckland Environment Court Locations: Zealand, Auckland, WorkSafe ,, White, New, Plenty , New Zealand, Australia, United States, Malaysia, Auckland , New Zealand

However, the company also said it sees single-digit revenue growth for fiscal 2025. UBS reiterated a neutral rating alongside its $310 per share price target on Salesforce, or more than 3% upside ahead. Product revenue growth of 33% year over year in the fourth-quarter was also below Wall Street estimates. Murphy noted there's a disconnect between what Barrick has accomplished in the past five years and its stock price. "We see asset disposals and cost improvements as likely to reverse share price weakness as the market recognizes the strength of the asset portfolio."

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Snowflake, Jefferies, TD Cowen downgrades Macy's TD Cowen, Oliver Chen, Macy's, — Brian Evans, Brad Sills, Brian Evans, AutoNation Morgan Stanley, AutoNation, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Manley, Adam Jonas, Salesforce, Amy Weaver, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Bank of America's Brad Sills, Morgan Stanley downgrades Snowflake, Snowflake's, Frank Slootman, Keith Weiss, Matthew Murphy, Murphy, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Barrick, Mining, Bank of America, of America, TAM, Bank of America's, UBS, StreetAccount, Jefferies, Barrick Gold, Newmont, Newcrest Locations: Africa, East

Loop Capital initiated Dell Technologies with a buy rating and a price target that implies more than 35% upside. Analyst Stephen Grambling hiked his price target by $9 to $49, while keeping his rating at overweight. Salesforce has popped nearly 14% in 2024, extending gains after the stock price came close to doubling in 2023 alone. Roseka's price target of $27.10 shows the potential for just 3.6% in upside compared with Tuesday's ending price. Analyst Ananda Baruah initiated coverage of the technology stock with a buy rating and a $125 price target.

Persons: Stifel, Smucker, Raymond James, Rick Patel, Patel, — Alex Harring, Kenneth Worthington, Worthington, Alex Harring, Morgan Stanley, Stephen Grambling, DKNG's, Grambling, DraftKings, Jackpocket, Morgan, Wednesday's premarket, Goldman, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Rangan, Bernstein, Daniel Roeska, Stellantis, Roseka, KeyBanc, Sophie Karp, CEG, Karp, Matthew Smith, Smith, Fred Imbert, Dell, Ananda Baruah, DELL, Baruah Organizations: CNBC, Dell Technologies, FactSet, Apollo Global Management, JPMorgan, APO, Grambling, Constellation Energy, Constellation, Dell, Capital, DELL Locations: Tuesday's, Wednesday's premarket, Grambling, Wednesday's, Salesforce, Netherlands, U.S, Europe

☆ Wall Street analysts come out very bullish on this recent sporting goods IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Roach is even more bullish than many on Wall Street with a price target of $21 per share. Like many peers on the Street, she sees the company getting a boost from market share growth and an expansion of direct-to-consumer. Multiple analysts deemed Arc'teryx the "crown jewel' of Amer's portfolio. Though Arc'teryx provides a key reason for bullishness, analysts also have their eyes on other well-known brands in the portfolio. "But, the business faces an uncertain 1H24 wholesale backdrop, & comes with single-segment growth & profitability expansion reliance, multi-brand portfolio volatility risk, & high relative leverage levels."

Persons: Wilson, Arc'teryx, FactSet, Goldman Sachs, Brooke Roach, Roach, She's, Amer, Lorraine Hutchinson, Matthew Boss, Paul Lejuez, Salomon, Baird, Jonathan Komp, Amer's, Jay Sole, Morgan Stanley, Alex Straton, Straton Organizations: Amer, New York Stock Exchange, DTC, Bank of America, Amer Sports, Citi, UBS Locations: China

☆ These stocks about to report earnings typically beat expectations and gain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company has historically outperformed Wall Street EPS estimates 98% of the time, and its stock has typically gained nearly 3% following quarterly results. RingCentral stock has slipped about 2% from the start of the year. RNG YTD mountain RingCentral stock. About half of analysts polled by FactSet rate RingCentral stock as a buy, and their average price targets imply more than 22% upside moving forward. The Trade Desk will report quarterly results on Thursday, while analysts polled by FactSet estimate fourth-quarter earnings per share of 41 cents per share on $582 million in revenue.

Persons: Stocks, RingCentral, Vlad Shmunis, Morgan Stanley, Matthew Cost Organizations: CNBC Pro, Digital, Trade, FactSet, Amazon, Reliance

☆ The video game industry is in trouble. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewEven if you don't play video games, you probably know that video games are a really big business. And if you pay attention to the media business, you may also know that by some measures, the video game industry dwarfs Hollywood in terms of revenue . Which leads to layoffs: The games industry shed 8,500 jobs in 2022 and a record 10,500 in 2023, Ball reports. And that also affects the mobile games business, since game-makers use mobile ads to distribute their apps, and to advertise to players once they've downloaded the apps. Now, mobile game ads are more expensive and less precise, which makes it harder to find new customers and harder to make money from the customers they do have.

Persons: —, Matthew Ball, It's, We're, Ball Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, PlayStation

☆ Wall Street has adjusted its expectations for when the Fed starts cutting rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Traders have moved out the probability of a March easing from around 90% in recent weeks to a coin-flip in the days leading up to this week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting to about a 1-in-3 chance Thursday. That's not to say the market still doesn't think the committee will cut rates sharply this year, but any dialing back now probably won't come quite as soon as expected. For the most part, Wall Street commentary showed an expectation that the Fed will cut at least four times this year, likely beginning in either May or June. "As inflation falls, real rates become more restrictive, and we think gaining consensus to cut will be easier." Most of Wall Street expects the FOMC to skip November, as the meeting falls the same week as the U.S. presidential election.

Persons: Jerome Powell, That's, Matthew Luzzetti, FOMC, Morgan Stanley, Ellen Zentner, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Powell, David Mericle, Michael Gapen, Marc Giannoni, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Traders, Deutsche Bank, Dow Jones, Fed, Wall, U.S, Bank of America, Barclays

Some of the biggest analyst calls on Monday focused on a dollar store stock and a major U.S. airline. She assigned a $235 price target, which suggests shares could climb about 23.5%. The analyst maintained his buy rating and raised his price target by $30 to $455, which implies 15.4% potential upside from Friday's close. His $175 price target — down from $185 — implies 25.3% downside for the stock from Friday's close. The bank upgraded the airline to buy from neutral, raising its price target to $20 from $14.

Persons: Bernstein, Hershey, Alexia Howard, Howard, —, — Pia Singh, Jefferies, Brent Thill, Morgan Stanley, Norfolk, Ravi Shanker, Shanker, Raymond James Raymond James, Olivia Tong, Tong, Matthew Boss, Said, ̇, Boss, Stephen Trent, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, JPMorgan, Citi, American Airlines, Hershey, Meta, Norfolk, Colgate, Palmolive, CL, American Airlines American Airlines Locations: U.S, Norfolk Southern

☆ Wall Street is bullish on Royal Caribbean’s new ‘record-busting spectacle’ of a ship
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

There's another reason to be bullish on Royal Caribbean , according to several Wall Street analysts. Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo called Icon of the Seas a "record-busting spectacle of superlatives," and believes it will be a big driver of profits. That implies a 50% yield premium to the broader Royal Caribbean fleet, Rollo wrote in a note Monday. Morgan Stanley has an equal weight rating on Royal Caribbean. RCL 1Y mountain Royal Caribbean's one-year performance It is also another step by Royal Caribbean to tap into the ongoing trend of multigenerational travel.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Jamie Rollo, Rollo, James Hardiman, it's, Matthew Boss, Robin Farley, Farley, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Royal, cabanas, Royal Caribbean, Citi, JPMorgan, UBS, Royal Beach Club Locations: Hideaway, Royal Caribbean, Bahamas

☆ It's getting harder than ever to become a self-made billionaire. But inheritances are still going strong.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Billionaires minted through inheritance outpaced self-made billionaires last year for the first time in a decade. Related storiesIn recent years, rates of economic opportunity have begun to fall again. Rates of economic opportunity have declined steadily since 1940, Opportunity Insights data shows. He says that's why there are fewer self-made billionaires today than there were in the past. "I think there's much work to be done to try to restore rates of economic opportunity to those observed several decades ago," he said.

Persons: —, Max Kunkel, Matthew Staiger, Staiger, Forbes, heiresses, Kunkel Organizations: Service, UBS, Harvard, Insights, Business, Economic

☆ US refiner Phillips 66 retains big-name advisers for Elliott duel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. oil company Phillips 66 headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S., September 27, 2020. REUTERS/Gary McWilliams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 30 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) has retained two top financial and legal advisers for its duel with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, according to a person familiar with the matter. Elliott wants two board seats to be filled by executives with refining experience and faster action on restructuring the fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner to improve its lagging financial performance, the New York activist said on Wednesday. Phillips 66 is relying on financial and legal advice from Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the person familiar with the matter said. A Phillips 66 spokesman declined to comment on the advisers or whether it has new meetings scheduled with the activist.

Persons: Gary McWilliams, refiner Phillips, Elliott, Phillips, Goldman Sachs, Lipton, Katz, Tudor Pickering Holt, Matthew Blair, Blair, David French, Chizu Organizations: Phillips, REUTERS, Elliott Investment Management, New, Wachtell, Rosen, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, New York, Houston, CPChem

☆ Micron sees first-quarter operating expenses above forecast, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 28 (Reuters) - Micron Technology (MU.O) expects first-quarter operating expenses to be higher than its prior estimates, sending the memory chipmaker's shares down 3%, even as the company projected revenue to trend towards the upper-limit of its forecast. The company on Tuesday estimated adjusted operating expenses of about $990 million in the quarter ending Nov. 30, higher that its prior expectation of $900 million, plus or minus $15 million. The higher expenses are driven by the timing of R&D costs as well as asset sales, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said at the UBS Global Technology Conference on Tuesday. Micron said it now expects revenue to approach $4.7 billion, compared with its previous estimate of $4.4 billion, plus or minus $200 million. It previously forecast loss of $1.07 per share, plus or minus 7 cents.

Persons: Aly, Sanjay Mehrotra, Matthew Bryson, Chavi Mehta, Krishna Chandra Eluri Organizations: Micron, REUTERS, Micron Technology, UBS Global Technology Conference, Wedbush Securities, Samsung Electronics, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Bengaluru

☆ Washington's secret weapon is a beloved Gen Z energy drink with more caffeine than God
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Lauren Vespoli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Celsius, the suddenly-ubiquitous energy drink, is a favorite of Gen Z — and Capitol Hill. "I love to take meetings in front of the Celsius vending machine," he told Business Insider. "It's a way better alternative to coffee, honestly," Robertson told Business Insider. "Capitol Hill is full of young, energetic career-oriented people who by and large care about fitness," he told Business Insider. Stanford said these young workers are part of a new consumer group that's helping drive the overall growth of the energy drink market.

Persons: Z, —, Matthew Hoekstra, Gen Z, Brent Robertson, Roger Marshall, Victoria Knight, Knight, she's, Robertson, Hoekstra —, Matthew Hoekstra Florida, Anna Paulina Luna, w3O2gsMYXP —, Eric Garcia, Rayburn, Dirksen, — Doug Andres, @DougAndres, curt, Duane Stanford, Stanford, Hoekstra, John Parra, Garcia Organizations: Capitol, Service, Republican Kansas, Capitol Press Corps, PepsiCo, Vibe, Caucus, The Independent, Republican House, Cannon, Beverage, Essential Energy, Republicans Locations: Washington, Rayburn

☆ Deepmind's new AI could help forecast extreme weather faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Deepmind's GraphCast AI can produce an accurate 10-day weather forecast in under a minute. The Google-owned company's AI model is the first that can outperform conventional forecasters. AdvertisementNew research has shown that an AI model developed by Google-owned Deepmind has outperformed traditional weather forecasters for the first time. The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Science, said that Deepmind's GraphCast AI model "significantly outperformed" the conventional system for predicting the weather, which is run by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast. The AI model can produce an accurate 10-day forecast in under a minute and represents "a turning point in weather forecasting," according to the paper.

Persons: —, Deepmind, Pushmeet Kohli, Deepmind's, GraphCast, Lee, Matthew Chantry Organizations: Google, Service, European Centre, Financial Times

Search resuls for: "St Matthew"

25 mentions found