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I love giving and getting gift cards for the holidays, even though some people say they're impersonal. They offer the gift of timeNot only are you gifting store credit to their favorite places to shop, but gift cards also offer the gift of time. Plus, I can purchase gift cards online, or go to a store that offers a wall of different gift cards from other retailers to choose from. I've also scooped up discounts on gift cards during special promos, like 10% off gift cards up to a certain amount. Picking out gift cards to folks on my gift list have long been my go-to for the holidays, and as a gift card devotee, that's not going to change.

☆ Who will be Wall Street’s un-American idol?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Europeans have been losing the battle against Wall Street’s cozy club for a decade. Deutsche Bank has done the former. BNP has made smaller steps, buying Bank of America’s prime broking business in 2008, then Deutsche Bank’s in 2019. Even with the best intentions, European banks must contend with their own regulators, which affects their ability to take risk elsewhere. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs together took the top five slots for debt capital markets and merger advisory, as they also did in 2021.

☆ Qatar has got what it wanted from the World Cup: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Gulf state has taken more flak than it would have done had it not staged the soccer tournament, which ends on Sunday. Yet in this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how Qatar’s largely successful event also aids a strategy to make itself globally visible. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterEditing by Sharon LamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Market overhaul pits perfect against good-enough
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At present, more than 90% of individual investors’ trades are sold to a small group of market-makers, according to the agency. The profit that middlemen make from handling retail stock trades suggests Gensler has a point. The trouble is that retail investors have, in some ways, never had it so good. The changes reflect the largest overhaul of market rules since the agency introduced the Regulation National Market System framework in 2005. The proposals range from new disclosures on execution quality to an auction system for individual investors’ stock trades.

☆ Rent prices conceal better U.S. inflation picture
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. battle against inflation is faring even better than its own data suggest. The country’s Consumer Price Index rose just 0.1% in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday. Yet a lag between market trends and CPI data means that true inflation is lower than the government’s reading. According to the government’s measure, shelter prices rose 0.7% last month, but Zillow’s (ZG.O)gauge of nationwide rent prices fell for a second consecutive month in November, by 0.4%. Once CPI catches up, the inflation picture is going to look much more encouraging.

☆ King Dollar is not ready to abdicate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dollar bears have come out of hibernation. An 11-year upswing has made the bill featuring George Washington the world’s most overvalued currency, according to research from Deutsche Bank. Plus, other risk factors that have sent investors fleeing to the dollar – the war in Ukraine, China’s Covid-19 struggles and fear of a deep recession in the United States – are abating. Traders moved to place bets against the dollar for the first time in 16 months in November, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Net flows into fixed-income funds in the United States reached $1.3 trillion over the past 12 months, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.

☆ China scraps tracking app as it relaxes strict 'zero-Covid' rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-Covid” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction. It’s part of a package of apps that includes the health code, which has yet to be disabled. Facing a surge in Covid-19 cases, China is setting up more intensive care facilities and trying to strengthen hospitals’ ability to deal with severe cases. At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded. Many believed Covid-19 restrictions may have impeded rescue efforts.

☆ Amgen’s $28 bln deal is a reasonable gamble
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Biotechnology deals are always a gamble, and, on the face of it, Amgen’s (AMGN.O) $28 billion purchase of Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP.O) looks both risky and pricey. Investors in the $150 billion drug buyer should give it the benefit of the doubt. Amgen is largely buying Horizon for a drug named Tepezza, which helps a thyroid disease that affects eyesight. Sales in Alexion’s drug this year should be $7 billion, a 16% jump from where they were when AstraZeneca bought it. If Amgen similarly helps Horizon, its deal will look like a reasonable wager.

☆ Deutsche Bank upgrades chipmaker Lam Research, sees a memory demand rebound in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

While 2023 will be more difficult than previously anticipated for Lam Research , 2024 should be better, Deutsche Bank said. Before the upgrade, Ho expected the stock to fall to $400. "Looking beyond the near term, memory WFE is poised to rebound in CY24, as we believe CY23 memory WFE spend is at unsustainably low levels." Another area of spending within the memory space focused on what industry insiders call "foundry" or "logic" is not expected to rebound in 2024 and decline further. But that would be favorable to Lam as its exposure is skewed toward other types of memory technology.

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Netflix, Disney, Microsoft, Robinhood, Gap & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Stifel names Microsoft a top 2023 pick Stifel said it likes Microsoft's "strong product portfolio" for 2023. Goldman Sachs downgrades Ulta to neutral from buy Goldman said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees difficult comps. Evercore ISI names Netflix a top idea for 2023 Evercore said it sees "robust revenue growth" for Netflix in 2023. " Goldman Sachs upgrades Gap to buy from neutral Goldman said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees accelerated earnings growth. Cowen names Take-Two a top 2023 pick Cowen said the video game maker has a great "long-term track record."

☆ Tech firm says “you’re welcome” with $8 bln LBO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Coupa Software (COUP.O) wants its investors to know one thing: Business is terrible. The developer of corporate expenditure-tracking software released a presentation Monday after announcing an $8 billion deal to be sold to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Once the domain of hockey-stick growth charts and wild-eyed optimism, the humbling of the software industry promises a new era of real-talk. Coupa’s Thoma agreement comes after near-5% shareholder HMI Capital Management warned management about selling on the cheap. So Coupa came prepared with a bevy of charts showing growth stalling and management expectations below even analyst estimates.

It’s quite remarkable.”In his first five-year term on the Standing Committee, Wang ran the party's secretariat, an organ responsible for day-to-day affairs. In Xi's third leadership term, Wang is on track to be in charge of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body. "All the major slogans, from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, seem to have come from Wang Huning," Lam said. 'AMERICA VS. AMERICA'Where most Standing Committee members have experience such as running a major city or province, Wang is an academic. During 1989's pro-democracy student protests, Wang told Xia not to stand with the students, a warning Xia did not heed.

☆ Tech jobs: Recent grads send in hundreds of apps in unfamiliar, shrinking market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Now, though, they’re applying for tech jobs at possibly the worst time in years, as nearly every part of the sector from streaming services to robotics has laid off people or frozen hiring. He graduated with a computer science degree in December 2021, a time he now sees as “the beginning of the end” for the most recent tech boom. “My biggest chances of getting a job in the U.S. kind of tanked,” he said, because of the recent layoffs. At colleges and universities, interest in computer science soared during the most recent tech boom. Lam, who’s scheduled to graduate in December 2023, said he originally thought the layoffs in tech would hurt junior-level people the most.

☆ U.S. labor market softens, slowly
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Federal Reserve is getting what it wants, but probably more slowly than it wants. That marked the highest count for so-called continuing jobless claims since early February. While bad for the claimants themselves, this is positive for the economy, because it means labor demand is finally cooling off. Wage growth was twice what economists had forecast in November, and continuing jobless claims remain below the average from before the coronavirus hit the United States. The Fed will need to see a much softer labor market before it brings rates back to earth.

☆ Blackstone gets a slap from efficient markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private markets seemed, for a while, the perfect antidote to the weirdness of public markets. Those models typically move much more slowly than the rapidly changing prices served up by public markets. These charms became much more potent during the stresses of Covid-19, when it became clear that public markets are not always a ruthlessly efficient price-discovery mechanism. RESILIENCE OR INTRANSIGENCECovid briefly scrambled the world, but bigger changes are coming that may scramble the calculus for private markets. During Covid, public markets seemed backward-looking, overreacting to the present moment while private markets were able to focus on the future.

☆ Here's how to use Lensa, the chart-topping app that uses AI to transform your selfies into digital avatars
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sofia Pitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Lensa AI image. Your friends are turning themselves into digital art with the help of an artificial intelligence-generated app called Lensa. Lensa AI is currently the top free app in Apple App Store, though you'll have to pay to use the AI artwork feature. Lensa avatar of Sofia Pitt in iridescent. Download Lensa AI for iPhone or Android.

☆ Sunny Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes' right-hand man at Theranos, has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former president and COO of now-defunct blood-testing startup Theranos, has been sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison and 3 years of probation. His sentencing comes weeks after his former business partner and ex-girlfriend, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. The 58-year-old former Theranos president and COO was Holmes' right-hand man at the company for years. Before joining the company, Balwani had a stint at Microsoft and was president of a software development company that was ultimately acquired for $225 million. Elizabeth Holmes, Balwani.

☆ Andreessen Horowitz just led a $43 million round into real estate financing startup Setpoint after seeing this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Setpoint, a property tech startup that provides financing for real estate, has raised $43 million. The Series A round was led by US investing giant Andreessen Horowitz. Setpoint provides access to financing for single-family residences (SFR), fractional ownership, and rent-to-own housing and works with property tech companies like Flyhomes. Setpoint's Series A funding round was led by Andreeseen Horowitz with participation from Stonecroft, 75andSunny, Fifth Wall, 645 Ventures, NextView Ventures, LiveOak Venture Partners, Vesta Ventures, and ATX Venture Partners. "Venture investors are certainly being more cautious, but in our experience, companies that have found great product-market-fit are getting funding," Wall added.

☆ Lensa, the AI portrait app, has soared in popularity. But many artists question the ethics of AI art.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Social media has been flooded with Lensa AI portraits, from photorealistic paintings to more abstract illustrations. In a lengthy Twitter thread posted Tuesday morning, Prisma addressed concerns of AI art replacing art by actual artists. For some artists, AI models are a creative tool. While the value of art is subjective, the crux of the AI art controversy is the right to privacy. Without decades of examples to learn from, he said, the AI images that looked just like his illustrations would never exist.

☆ Disney’s board needs some magic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bob Iger has a knack for head-faking his way out the door. Iger served as chief executive of the $175 billion media giant from 2005 until 2020. That stands in contrast to Netflix’s board, where more than half of the directors come from the entertainment sector including former Disney executive Anne Sweeney. Follow @jennifersaba on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSWalt Disney on Nov. 20 said Bob Iger is returning as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Iger, 71, served as chief executive from 2005 until 2020.

☆ Twitter has the most to lose against news mob
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is taking a bold stand against a new piece of legislation, yet it’s Elon Musk’s Twitter that looks most exposed. The U.S. Congress is considering adding the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” to a defense bill that has a high likelihood of passing, according to Reuters. The Facebook operator is threatening to pull news off its feed if it is passed, spokesperson Andy Stone tweeted. Twitter meanwhile reaches about a quarter of the American adult population. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Circle’s SPAC flop does the public market a favor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The firm run by Jeremy Allaire planned to go public through a marriage with a special-purpose acquisition company, valuing it at $9 billion. USD Coin is regulated by a New York financial watchdog, unlike rival Tether, but lacks the secure trust-company structure of peers Gemini and Paxos. Concord, a listed special-purpose acquisition company chaired by former Barclays chief Bob Diamond, agreed to buy Circle in July 2021. The circulating supply of USD Coin was $43 billion on Dec. 5, according to CoinMarketCap, compared with $53 billion in February. At that time, Circle estimated there would be $110 billion of USD Coin in circulation by the end of 2022.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried Chucks the Crisis Communications Playbook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Nat Ives | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The interviews could be a case study in what not to do in a crisis, some communications executives said. “He’s basically breaking every rule that somebody in the crisis communications field would advise,” said Andrew Gilman, president and chief executive at CommCore Consulting Group, a public relations and communications firm. Asked at the DealBook conference whether his lawyers thought it was wise for him to be speaking, Mr. Bankman-Fried said no. If Mr. Bankman-Fried is determined to say something now, Mr. Gilman said he would have advised putting a statement online and declining to take questions yet. But Mr. Sitrick said he couldn’t fully gauge the results of the mini-media tour because he didn’t know Mr. Bankman-Fried’s goals.

☆ Blackstone’s BREIT slump looks nasty but not fatal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investors knocked around $8 billion off Blackstone’s (BX.N) market capitalization on Thursday after it said investors were fleeing a flagship real estate fund. But it’s a nasty black eye for the $125 billion Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust, one of the private-equity giant’s star earners. The real-estate fund only allows withdrawals of 5% of its net asset value - which stood at $69 billion in November- per quarter. So based on some simple math, the erasure of $8 billion of Blackstone’s market value suggests investors think perhaps half of BREIT’s profit might go up in smoke. BREIT’s terms allow for investor redemptions equivalent to 2% of its net asset value a month, or 5% per quarter.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Wasn’t Even Trying’ to Manage Risk at FTX, He Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

“I wasn’t even trying, like, I wasn’t spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX,” Mr. Bankman-Fried said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that was broadcast Thursday on “Good Morning America.”“I don’t know what to say,” he said. A lawyer for Mr. Bankman-Fried didn’t respond to a request for comment. Risk issues weren’t seen as a “core business driver” at FTX, Mr. Bankman-Fried said in Thursday’s interview, adding that he did a “pretty incomplete job” at oversight. Mr. Stephanopoulos questioned Mr. Bankman-Fried about speculation that he might ultimately spend time in prison in connection with the problems at FTX and Alameda. Mr. Bankman-Fried said that a lot of things worry him right now, but that he would let regulatory and legal processes play out.

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