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☆ ChatGPT could turn out to be hero for humanity or just a 'horrible product'. Here's what Elon Musk, Bill Gates and 10 heavyweights have to say on the red-hot AI.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Paul Krugman have all weighed in on the hottest topic this year – ChatGPT. From prominent names such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Wall Street banks like Morgan Stanley, everyone's got something to say. "It's both positive or negative and has great, great promise, great capability," Musk further said of AI, adding that "with that comes great danger." But a few quarters from now, if ChatGPT really starts to bring in significant subscriber fees, then we'll see what happens," O'Leary told Insider's Phil Rosen. Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO"I think it's exciting, what's possible with generative AI," Jassy said about generative AI and ChatGPT.

☆ Morning Bid: War and PCE
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanWith world headlines focussed on first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the inflationary consequences that pounded world markets last year still smoulder. Curiously, the initial energy shock from the Ukraine war is already less of a problem than the change in pricing behaviour that it seeded - especially in services still distorted by the pandemic, in corporate margin building and rising wage settlements. But it's the pickup and stickiness in underlying "core" prices, excluding energy and food, that is irking the central banks and the Federal Reserve most of all. Alongside another tight U.S. weekly jobs report, markets got another glimpse of those price pressures on Thursday. And increasingly buoyed by the still intense geopolitical fallout from a year of the war in Ukraine, the dollar pushed higher yet again.

☆ Finally! Savings Rates Could Soon Beat Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Why savings rates could rise in 2023Fortunately, many experts predict the situation will reverse, with inflation on a downward trend even as the Fed continues nudging up interest rates. Since the most generous banks have increased their rates in tandem with the Fed, they would likely increase savings rates as well. Bottenfield doesn’t see savings account interest rates surpassing the rate of inflation before 2024. “The difference between an online savings account and the average brick and mortar account is huge right now,” says Tumin. If you think interest rates will fall, you can lock in mid-4% rates long-term with a five-year CD.

☆ ChatGPT will keep 'hallucinating' wrong answers for years to come and won't take off until its on your cellphone, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

ChatGPT will keep giving occasional wrong answers for a couple of years, according to Morgan Stanley. The AI bot sometimes "hallucinates," meaning it generates responses that are seemingly convincing, but are actually wrong, according to the bank. "Accuracy will continue to be a challenge for the next couple of years," Morgan Stanley's Kim said about ChatGPT. At the same time, tools like ChatGPT could significantly improve via edge computing, according to the bank. Edge computing is a model in which processing power is placed closer to where the data is being created in the physical world.

☆ Ukrainian forces are training on fast and well-armed Leopard tanks in Spain, prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian forces are training on Leopard tanks in Spain, according to the Spanish Prime Minister. Leopard tanks are notable for their firepower, armor, and speed on various terrains. Sanchez revealed that the arrival of Leopard tanks in Ukraine would correspond with the return of trained soldiers. Spain is one of several countries to pledge to send tanks to Ukraine. The British are presently training Ukrainian forces on Challenger tanks in southwestern England, and last month, US Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that the US military was training Ukrainian troops in Germany, the Associated Press reported.

☆ Why a small-business owner is waging an expensive battle for its name against Oura, the $2.5 billion health-tech company
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Oura Inc. and Oura Health are in a legal battle over their names. Last March, Oura Health filed a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel Oura Inc.'s trademark, claiming that the trademark could dilute Oura Health's brand and confuse consumers. If Oura Health prevails, Oura Inc. could lose its federal trademark, which would make it difficult to continue running the business without changing its name. Oura Health told Insider that both companies operate in the health and wellness industry, thus creating confusion. A representative for Oura Health said in a statement: "We first used our Oura mark long before Oura Inc. or Ouragin, Inc. were formed.

☆ Fact Check-Suramin is not a proven cure for autism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Examples of users sharing the claim that suramin is a “relatively cheap” autism “cure” can be seen (here) and (here)Some posts refer to the treatment having caused “non-verbal” children with autism to start speaking within hours, but without citing the source of that alleged result. NO CURE FOR ASDThe U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) websites say that there is no cure for ASD, and caution against using any non-approved medication to treat ASD (here), (here). Other drugs may improve ASD symptoms, according to the NIH (here). The study found small, temporary improvements in scores on a diagnostic assessment for autism known as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) examination (here). Suramin is not a proven cure or treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but preliminary research suggests it might have promise to improve symptoms associated with ASD.

They are demanding steep spending cuts to tame the deficit at a time when the United States is pumping billions of dollars in military and other aid into Ukraine. For now, Republican leaders in Congress, who fiercely oppose Biden on most issues, support aid for Ukraine's defense, even calling for Washington to send more powerful weapons, more quickly. "Americans' support for Ukraine is reflected in strong bipartisan support Ukraine assistance has received in both houses of Congress," Watson said. A global Ipsos poll late last year found that majorities in NATO members including Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Poland back continued military support to Ukraine. Only in Hungary and Italy did more oppose than support it, and those countries' leaders have fallen in line with European initiatives to support Ukraine.

☆ Mark Cuban says 'Shark Tank' CEO’s coffee business is a ‘brilliant idea’: ‘You’re worth more’ than $7 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

To Mark Cuban, coffee could be worth millions — if it's served with a compelling backstory. Take Kahawa 1893, a San Francisco-based coffee company that Cuban called a "brilliant idea" on a recent episode of ABC's "Shark Tank." In total, Kahawa 1893 and its patrons have given at least $20,000 to women farmers since launching in 2017, Nyamumbo said. The following year, she launched Kahawa 1893 — named after the Swahili word for coffee, and the year coffee was commercialized in Kenya. After O'Leary backed out of negotiations, guest Shark Emma Grede — who admitted she didn't even drink coffee — jumped in, offering $350,000 for 12.5% of Kahawa 1893.

☆ EU carbon price hits record high nearing 100 euros/tonne
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Susanna Twidale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The benchmark European carbon contract hit a record high approaching 100 euros a tonne on Monday, with cooler weather forecasts and expectations of lower wind power output driving up demand. The benchmark EU Allowance (EUA) December 2023 contract closed at 98.30 euros a tonne, up 2.1% since Friday's close and having earlier touched a record high of 99.99 euros tonne. “Temperatures in Northern Europe are actually now forecasted to go below seasonal averages next week, which might instigate utilities to increase their hedging activities,” said Gregory Idil, a senior carbon emissions trader at Vertis. The benchmark contract has risen almost 20% since the beginning of the year, partly on expectations that Europe's economies could start to improve as energy prices fall from record highs. Although the carbon contract failed to break the 100 euro mark on Monday, traders and analysts said this level could soon be breached.

☆ Virgin wins $160 mln in trademark dispute with Alaska Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Virgin units Virgin Aviation TM Ltd and Virgin Enterprises Ltd argued Alaska is liable to pay a roughly $8 million “minimum royalty” payment every year until 2039. Virgin granted a trademark licence to Virgin America to use its brand in connection with the operation of a U.S. domestic airline before Alaska Air Group Inc. completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of Virgin America. Alaska merged its operations with Virgin America in 2018 and stopped using the Virgin brand the following year. Virgin told London’s High Court in October that Alaska, as the legal successor to Virgin America Inc, is obliged to make the annual payment. The judge added that the terms of the agreement “must be approached from the perspective of Virgin and Virgin America ... and not from the perspective of Alaska”.

☆ Markets are kicking off a make-or-break stretch with inflation, jobs, and more Fed policy looming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned — once again — last week that rates may eventually end up higher than markets anticipate as the fight against inflation remains far from over. Now, ahead of the CPI report, let's check in with the outlook for stocks. To Bernstein strategist Matthew Palazzolo, today's inflation reading will kick off a momentous five-week stretch for equities. The jobs report on March 3, the next inflation report on March 14, and the Fed meeting on March 22 will shape the rest of the year for stocks, he explained to my colleague George Glover. Your best bet for where the stock market's going this year can be found in the two-year Treasury yield, according to Mohamed El-Erian.

☆ Mark Cuban: Internet misinformation will only ‘get worse’ as ChatGPT and its competitors grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Cuban may be entertained by chatbots like Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and Google's upcoming Bard — but he isn't ready to trust them. Right now, misinformation tends to spread through social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter — and that's with some semblance of human guardrails in place, Cuban said. But so far, the technology isn't showing itself to be smarter than the average human. That's a problem, especially for large swaths of people who don't always fact check claims they see on the internet, Cuban said. Microsoft, for its part, acknowledges that the technology behind ChatGPT isn't perfect — even as it plans to incorporate it into an upcoming version of its search engine, Bing.

☆ Retail CEO crisis: With recent shakeups at Kohl's, Adidas, Dollar General, and more, the industry's top job is suddenly the hardest to fill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Matthew Kish | Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It's the surest sign yet of a crisis facing the retail industry. Supply chains got snarled, shoppers stopped visiting stores, and stimulus payments spiked demand, each making it difficult to measure how business was doing. Then stimulus payments sent demand for everything from sneakers to home goods spiking while supply chains snarled. And just when supply chains started to sort themselves out, inflation hit, and shoppers started to scale back spending. Retail CEOs need 'peripheral vision'Workers at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses across the country have pushed to unionize, with many calling out the pay disparity between front-line workers and top executives.

☆ Steve Wozniak's warning: No matter how 'useful' ChatGPT is, it can 'make horrible mistakes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, the Apple co-founder made an impromptu appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" to talk about the increasingly popular artificial intelligence chatbot. Wozniak said he finds ChatGPT "pretty impressive" and "useful to humans," despite his usual aversion to tech that claims to mimic real-life brains. Wozniak pointed to self-driving cars as a technological development with similar concerns, noting that artificial intelligence can't currently replace human drivers. By multiple measures, ChatGPT's artificial intelligence is impressive. The Webb telescope did take photographs of such planets, called exoplanets, in September.

☆ Shares of Japan's Nintendo, SoftBank and Sharp tumble after earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Nintendo dropped 6% after the maker of the Switch video game console reported lower sales and profit and cut its full-year outlook. Nintendo shares were on track for their biggest one-day loss since November. SoftBank shares fell 6.2% after it reported a quarterly loss, hit by its massive Vision Fund investment unit, which fell into the red for the fourth straight quarter. Nintendo is struggling with softer sales for the ageing Switch, while SoftBank has seen valuations weaken for its sprawling tech portfolio. "The Nintendo Switch is now a six-year-old console and demand is now exhausted," analyst Mark Chadwick said on Smartkarma.

☆ Shares of Nintendo, SoftBank tumble after earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Nintendo dropped 7.6% after the maker of the Switch video game console reported lower sales and profit and cut its full-year outlook. Nintendo shares were on track for their biggest one-day loss since late 2021. SoftBank shares fell 6.6% after it reported a quarterly loss, hit by its massive Vision Fund investment unit, which fell into the red for the fourth straight quarter. Nintendo is struggling with softer sales for the ageing Switch, while SoftBank has seen valuations weaken for its sprawling tech portfolio. "The Nintendo Switch is now a six-year-old console and demand is now exhausted," analyst Mark Chadwick said on Smartkarma.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is appealing the judge's decision to reveal the identities of 2 people who helped secure his $250 million bail package
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Besides his parents, two as-yet-unidentified people cosigned the $250 million bail bond to get the FTX founder released from jail. Bankman-Fried's attorneys argued the potential of physical threats were reasons to keep their identities sealed. Attorneys for the FTX founder appealed a judge's decision to reveal the two non-parental cosigners of his $250 million bail bond, according to a court filing on Tuesday. "Mr. Bankman-Fried stands accused of perpetrating one of the largest financial frauds in history." "In recent weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried's parents have become the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats," Cohen said last month.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten bail, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. Bankman-Fried would have also withdrawn his objection to a bail condition preventing him from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets. They cited the cases' substantial overlap, and the risk Bankman-Fried could gather evidence in the civil cases to help his criminal defense.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on Bankman-Fried's bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten his bail conditions, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. The proposed conditions would prevent Bankman-Fried from talking with most employees of FTX or his Alameda Research hedge fund without lawyers present, or using encrypted messaging apps such as Signal. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Brooklyn Nets Trade Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Robert O'Connell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After four seasons in which Kyrie Irving was often absent, occasionally brilliant, and always mercurial, the Brooklyn Nets have traded the embattled All-Star guard to the Dallas Mavericks, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed. The deal comes days before Thursday’s trade deadline and days after Irving reportedly requested a trade away from Brooklyn. The Nets, who are also trading forward Markieff Morris, will receive no All-Star in return; Dallas is sending back forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Spencer Dinwiddie, along with one first-round draft pick and multiple second-rounders. The trade was first reported by the Athletic and ESPN.

☆ Factbox: Renault, Nissan detail joint projects to revive alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LATIN AMERICAThe four projects to be considered in Latin America include:A new half-ton pick-up, developed by Renault Group and shared with Nissan in Argentina. Renault Group would produce the pick‑ups in Cordoba (Argentina) for both Renault and Nissan. In Mexico, Nissan would produce a new model for Renault Group, making it the first Renault vehicle to be produced there in 20 years. INDIAFor India and export, Renault Group and Nissan would collaborate on several new vehicle projects including new SUVs shared by both Renault Group and Nissan, and a New Nissan car derived from the Renault Triber. Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure: Renault Group and Nissan are considering jointly deploying charging infrastructure in Europe at both Renault Group and Nissan dealerships.

☆ Recent college graduates create a $500 'human dog bed' going viral on TikTok for taking napping to the next level
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Since going viral on social media, the company has generated over $1 million in revenue, according to ABC7. Videos on Plufl's official TikTok account have garnered several million views and comments from users who are intrigued by the human-sized dog bed. I'll just get an actual dog bed," one user wrote. Plufl met the skepticism with their reasons for the pricing, noting the product is more than just a large dog bed. Amid the online success, Silverman and Kinoshita appeared on "Shark Tank" in October 2022 where they secured a $200,000 deal from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner.

☆ Mark Cuban and Amazon Are Shaking Up Generic Drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( David Wainer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Americans tremble at the idea of losing their health coverage, but bypassing giant insurers saves some people serious money on prescriptions in a topsy-turvy system. Consider the story of Ohio pharmacist Nate Hux. Since 2016, his Pickerington Pharmacy has accepted many types of insurance. But, due to his frustration with the way middlemen, known as pharmacy-benefit managers, pocket large profits through opaque pricing methods, he decided to open another pharmacy right next door that takes no insurance. It sells generic drugs for their cost plus a markup, sometimes saving customers hundreds of dollars.

☆ Why Mark Cuban avoids Silicon Valley: 'Tech bros’ are ‘pretentious’ and overrated
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That doesn't mean he worships Silicon Valley. But Cuban said he also can't stand the culture of Silicon Valley's "tech bros.""[It's] pretentious as f—k. Cuban, who has a $6.25 billion net worth according to Bloomberg, built his own tech fortune in Texas. Rather, he considers the allure of Silicon Valley — and the attitude that comes with it — overrated. "But when you're starting fresh and new, if you start with a model in this perspective, then I don't think you'll replicate the old one we had in Silicon Valley."

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