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☆ What slowdown? Fresh off earnings beat, Cisco CEO sees a lot of opportunity right now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

And I think that they're going to continue to spend as much as they can," Robbins told Jim Cramer in an interview. Shares of Cisco rose about 4% in extended trading Robbins emphasized that the trajectory of tech development also plays in favor of Cisco's top line. "And then you look at 43% of our business coming from recurring [customers]," Robbins said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, speaking at the 2019 WEF in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23rd, 2019.

☆ Andreessen Horowitz bets millions on emerging startup MotherDuck to build data analytics tech for companies that don't need all the oomph pushed by cloud giants
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Matthew Lynley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CEO Jordan Tigani says it won't replace Snowflake but can carve its own niche in the data market. DuckDB, an open source database and analytics technology, was launched by the DuckDB foundation in 2019 to tackle this problem. It's designed for work with smaller chunks of data, which is the size most companies are actually typically analyzing, Tigani said. The round comes at a $175 million valuation with combined a $35 million series A funding round led by Andreessen-Horowitz and a $12.5 million seed funding round led by Redpoint. It could also be compared to the emerging Snowflake-endorsed data technology Iceberg (3,600 stars).

☆ Businesses can achieve sustainability without sacrificing profit. This company is proving it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Ibm With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

By going carbon neutral, Bosch is making a significant contribution to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A Bosch washing machine Courtesy of BoschSustainability without sacrificing performanceBosch is committed to energy-efficient operations by enabling even greater sustainability across its business. By moving its SAP solutions to IBM Power10 servers, Bosch is developing IoT solutions while slashing data center energy usage by 20% — taking its green strategy to the next level. The company's global SAP solutions are crucial to underpinning these efforts — and transitioning the SAP solution infrastructure to Power10 is an essential part of its long-term IT strategy. "From the moment we onboarded our first customer to the IBM Power E1080, we saw processing performance gains and improvements of roughly 50% in response times."

☆ People Googled excuses to skip work over 2 million times this year amid return-to-office mandates, a nearly 1900% increase from 2020
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google searches for excuses to miss work hit over 2.2 million in 2022, up from just 112,400 in 2020. Some of the top search terms in 2022 were "calling in sick" and "best excuses to miss work." In 2022, there were 2,230,240 Google searches in the US for excuses to miss work, according to data analyzed by recruitment company Frank Recruitment Group. That's a massive 1884% spike from just two years ago in 2020, which saw 112,400 Google searches for excuses to miss work. In 2018, the researchers saw 305,590 searches, with "good excuses to miss work" as the top search term.

☆ AMD misses but still ekes out 29% revenue growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

AMD has been preparing for the PC market to be lackluster in the fisacl fourth quarter, AMD CEO Lisa Su said on a conference call with analysts. AMD said its Data Center segment generated $1.61 billion in revenue in the fiscal third quarter, up 45% and slightly below the StreetAccount consensus of $1.64 billion. AMD plans to launch Epyc data center chips on Nov. 10. During the quarter AMD announced Ryzen 7000 desktop PC chips, and AMD pointed to positive reviews of the products. All four of the segments delivered slightly more revenue than AMD had said to expect in its October warning.

For years, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians around the country have been sounding the alarm about working conditions and understaffing, which they say increases the potential for mistakes in filling customer prescriptions. It invested more than $190 million in pharmacy staff this year, and plans to invest even more in 2023, according to a press release. Its move to no longer evaluate pharmacy workers on “task-based metrics” builds on that investment, the company said. The pandemic — and the issues it presented — prompted a number of state pharmacy boards to take action to improve working conditions. Last year, California passed a bill co-sponsored by its pharmacy board that “prohibited the practice of imposing quotas intended to increase corporate profit margins on the backs of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,” according to the state board.

☆ Analysts are still bullish on Microsoft's long-term prospects but see more near-term headwinds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Still, most analysts covering Microsoft remained bullish on the company in the long-term. While a number of firms covering the tech company lowered their 12-month price targets, buy ratings for the tech giant remained intact. The firm reiterated its buy rating but cut its price target to $315 from $330 to reflect slower growth ahead. Lenschow maintained his overweight rating but lowered his price target to $296 per share from $310. The bank has a buy rating on Microsoft and a price target of $282 per share.

☆ Overwhelming workloads, back-to-office complaints, and frustrations over pay: Why Merrill Lynch's support staff is leaving
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Less visible, though just as much the lifeblood of the firm, are Merrill's client associates. But we're not treated that way, and we're not stupid," an associate who recently left the firm said. "Our client associates are essential to the fabric of the firm, how we serve clients and grow," a company representative said. Yagyaev said client associates were "grossly underpaid" across the industry and their base should really be in the area of $80,000 to $90,000. An advisor who recently left Merrill and worked with CAs said some were leaving for raises of about $30,000 to work at other banks.

☆ Microsoft's drop on a weaker guide doesn't reflect the long-term potential of the stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Despite strong headline results, shares fell roughly 6.5% in extended trading on lighter Azure cloud growth and weaker forward guidance. Note: Constant currency growth rates, which is what we will cite in this report, help strip out fluctuations in foreign currency, namely a strong U.S. dollar, to provide a clearer financial picture. Xbox Content and Services revenue ticked up 1% in constant currency, while Xbox hardware sales jumped 19% in constant currency. Management expects Azure revenue growth to be lower sequentially by roughly five percentage points on a constant currency basis. Despite coming up a bit short versus estimates, Microsoft is still generating a ton of cash.

☆ Edge Computing Helps Feed Taco Bell’s Digital Business
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kim S. Nash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Taco Bell is making aggressive use of edge computing to support the many digital ways customers can place orders, the fast-food chain’s head of technology said. PREVIEW“We took [on] our most critical workloads in order processing and menu data,” Mr. Parizher said. General Electric Co. and Siemens AG , for example, are using edge computing to optimize factory machines in real time. The Wall Street Journal's Steven Rosenbush, left, talks with Vadim Parizher, Taco Bell's vice president of technology, at an online event Thursday. With edge-computing foundations in place, he said, Taco Bell can experiment with connected robotic equipment that can fry food, warm up tortillas or pour drinks.

Apple just announced its upgraded 2022 iPad Pro model. The 2022 iPad Pro features the same M2 processor used in Mac laptopsThe new iPad Pros run on Apple's M2 processor compared to the M1 processor in the 2021 iPad Pros. Apple claims the M2 processor in the new 2022 iPad Pros offer a 15% performance bump over the previous generation. With the M2 processor, the new 2022 iPad Pros are able to capture, edit, and publish videos in Apple's professional ProRes video format. Faster Wi-FiApple upgraded the 2022 iPad Pros with the latest and fastest Wi-Fi 6E standard for downloads up to 2.4 gigabits-per-second (Gbps), which is twice as fast as the 2021 iPad Pros.

☆ 'It's a disastrous situation': Women leaders are leaving companies at the highest rate ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate ever, and the gap between women and men in senior roles quitting their jobs is the largest it's ever been, according to new data from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company, which started tracking these numbers in 2015. Women are still struggling to climb the corporate ladderMore than half (58%) of women under 30 say career advancement has become more important to them over the past two years, compared to 31% of women leaders. What's more, women leaders are twice as likely as men leaders to be mistaken for someone more junior — and 37% of women leaders have had a co-worker receive credit for their idea, compared to 27% of men leaders. "It's a disastrous situation … you're not promoting enough women into the leadership ranks, and now you have more women leaving leadership roles," Thomas says. "In a world where women remain dramatically underrepresented in senior leadership, those two problems together create a pretty awful one-two punch for companies trying to hold on to women leaders."

☆ Eurowings pilots begin strike over workload
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Pilots at Lufthansa's (LHAG.DE) Eurowings began a three-day strike on Monday over working hours, their union said, confirming action that could affect thousands of the budget airline's passengers. And so far there is no new offer," sais a spokesperson for the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union. The union wants the carrier to ease pilot workloads through measures such as increased rest periods, but Eurowings warned over the weekend that the demands put jobs at risk. It expects to cancel a similar number of flights on Tuesday and Wednesday. The walkout is due to end at 11.59 pm local time (2159 GMT) on Wednesday.

☆ Tens of thousands of passengers affected by first day of Eurowings strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Pilots at Lufthansa's (LHAG.DE) Eurowings began a three-day strike over working hours, their union said, affecting tens of thousands of the budget airline's passengers on Monday. And so far there is no new offer," said a spokesperson for the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA view of a time table showing cancelled flights as Eurowings pilots go on a three-day strike, in Cologne, Germany, October, 17, 2022. REUTERS/Thilo SchmuelgenThe airline said about 240 out of 488 flights have been cancelled at airports in Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and Stuttgart, affecting about 25,000 passengers on the strike's first day. Eurowings pilots had held a one-day strike for improved working conditions at the start of October, affecting about 30,000 passengers and the cancellation of about 250 flights.

☆ Eurowings warns pilot demands threaten jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An aircraft stands on the airfield as pilots at Lufthansa's budget airline Eurowings go on a one-day strike at Cologne-Bonn airport, Germany, October, 6, 2022. REUTERS/Benjamin WesthoffFRANKFURT, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Lufthansa's (LHAG.DE) budget division Eurowings warned on Saturday that pilots' demands to ease their workloads is putting jobs at the airline at risk. The union wants Eurowings to lighten pilots' workloads by, for example, increasing their rest periods. "The union's position eats away at the prospects of Eurowings Germany," the airline said. A one-day strike earlier this month saw Eurowings operate at half capacity, affecting around 30,000 passengers.

☆ Microsoft cloud leader Scott Guthrie says companies aren't holding off on cloud spending as inflation mounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of cloud and enterprise at Microsoft Corp., speaks during the Microsoft Developers Build Conference in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Monday, May 7, 2018. But Guthrie said that doesn't seem to be the case with Azure, Microsoft's cloud infrastructure service. "I've not seen the current situation cause people to pause cloud," said Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft's cloud and artificial-intelligence group, in an interview with CNBC. Guthrie said he hasn't heard companies saying they would slow their use of cloud computing because of the higher energy costs. That's been a discussion topic among executives at Paris-based health care company Sanofi , which uses cloud services from Amazon , Google and Microsoft.

The second Amazon Prime Day of the year, known as the Prime Early Access Sale, is drawing to a close — the big sales event ends tonight. MacBook AirThe 2020 MacBook Air running on Apple M1 processor is at an all-time low of $800, which is $200 off its usual $1,000 price. It's an older model, but the M1 processor gives it long legs. The MacBook Pro models running on Apple's M1 Pro or M1 Ultra processors are better suited for intensive workloads than the MacBook Air models. The 16-inch version of the 2021 MacBook Pro is also available for the lowest price ever.

Like many stay-at-home moms I know, I work a side hustle that brings in income. But for most SAHMs, our paid work goes unacknowledged since it's not our family's main source of cash. Stay-at-home moms are known for cooking, cleaning, caring for kids, and an endless stream of other minutiae we call "homemaking." Thankfully, my family's financial well-being doesn't depend on my income; it depends on my husband's steady, 9-5 corporate finance gig. SAHMs contribute to their family's financial welfare by eliminating numerous household expenses through uncompensated labor.

☆ 30 million US workers think their workplace is toxic. Here are the 3 main factors causing toxic work cultures, according to research.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bad leadership, toxic social norms, and unclear job roles are driving toxic work cultures, per the research. According to his research, three main factors can create these toxic cultures within organizations — bad leadership, toxic social norms, and poorly designed job roles. Workplace social norms are often established and maintained by leaders or managers. "Social norms can persist even if the leaders who originally started them are long gone," he said. Poorly designed jobsWhen an employee's job role is badly designed it can lead to excessive workloads.

☆ Meet a Gen Z remote worker who told her boss she was quiet quitting for the sake of her health: 'I need to do my role as defined, but also not apologize for who I am'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That's why she's quiet quitting, doing only her job as described and no more. Cobb told Insider her autoimmune illness and a concurrent ADHD diagnosis made her a completely different type of employee. "It was the cycle of getting up, working evenings, working weekends, and that combined stress with the fatigue that I was feeling. And I found ways to make sure I'm logging off at 5 pm, making sure I'm doing those quiet quitting things. I need to do my role as defined, but also not apologize for who I am."

Many companies that have shifted enterprise-technology tools into the cloud in recent years, in part as a cost-saving measure, say those investments have yet to pay off. Rather than run software and systems in their own hardware, commercial cloud users tap computing capabilities from providers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. They are also turning to multiple cloud providers, rather than relying on one cloud, for different systems and applications for different business areas. “Many first movers expected significant IT cost efficiency from their cloud investments,” said Barry Brunsman, a principal in KPMG’s CIO Advisory group. “You really do need to not just take it for granted that cloud is where you should head,” she said.

☆ At a Google all-hands meeting, employees questioned executives about Project Nimbus, a controversial $1.2 billion contract with Israel's government. Management's answers left staff skeptical.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Tom Dotan | Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Google spokesperson said the contract is for Israeli government ministries like healthcare. Google executives recently tried to assure employees that its controversial $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with Israel's government will not provide support to the country's sensitive military work. "The Nimbus contract is for workloads running on our commercial platform by Israeli government ministries," Fox-Martin said at the meeting on Tuesday. Some employees who attended Tuesday's meeting said the assurances from Google executives about Project Nimbus contradict what the company has said elsewhere. They pointed to earlier statements that a Google spokesperson made to WIRED acknowledging the contract will provide Israel's military access to Google technology.

☆ Gone are the days of chunky bonuses and salary increases. Wall Street's top brass are ready to trim their workforces as annual staff cuts return.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's a shift from this time last year, when junior bankers scored significant pay bumps, dealmaking reached record-breaking highs, and investment bankers prepared themselves for some of the chunkiest bonuses they'd ever received. Per this story from Bloomberg, however, the layoffs should not be as severe as what Wall Street experienced after market crashes in 1987 and 2008. For many, the return of staff cuts is kind of a return to normalcy. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images2. Credit Suisse is planning on splitting its investment bank into three parts, according to the Financial Times. The US Securities and Exchange Commission will let Wall Street keep payment-for-order flow, per Bloomberg.

☆ Leaked Microsoft documents show where and how the tech titan's new moonshot team is placing its bets, from quantum computing to government cloud services
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team formed to manage Microsoft's biggest moonshots just released its first growth strategy, according to internal documents viewed by Insider. Microsoft expects the total addressable market through the company's 2025 fiscal year for Microsoft Federal to reach $105 billion, and $149 billion for the Microsoft Communications unit. Azure Quantum, led by CVP Zulfi Alam: "Azure Quantum team is engineering the quantum machine to solve for a better future." Azure for Operators, led by CVP Martin Lund "is accelerating the Cloud transformation of mission critical communication networks for Core and Edge services." Mission Engineering, led by Zach Kramer: "Mission engineering is delivering the innovation and technology that creates the ecosystem that transform mission."

☆ Late-night emails, ruined weekends, and crazy workloads: Toxic managers are creating a burnout crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Burnout almost always grows out of a poor work-life balance, but understanding that balance — much less recalibrating it — is difficult to do. No amount of free time can fix a work-life balance ruined by a poorly managed company or department. Readjusting work-life balance and ending burnout requires companies and managers to allow employees to mentally disconnect from their work. Beyond vacations, creating a positive work-life balance requires companies to create a culture that prioritizes people recharging. It also means that management must take the responsibility of maintaining a healthy work-life balance away from their employees and put it on themselves.

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