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☆ AI is disrupting Hollywood, and one investor sees huge potential in startups harnessing data to identify valuable IP for TV and film
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A private credit investor explains why Wall Street sees the potential for big returns from the tech. "What we're interested in right now are companies that are creating a more automated way of identifying valuable IP," Aria Vossoughi of Serengeti Asset Management told Insider. To be sure, Hollywood has been taking steps toward fusing data, algorithms, and creative content for years. Michael Blank, head of consumer investing at CAA, previously told Insider that investments in this arena are "blowing up right now." It supplements it more than replacing it," he told Insider of AI tech.

Piper Sandler said several positive catalysts are in sight for Biogen over the next several quarters. The firm named the foremost catalyst for Biogen as Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi , which it co-developed with Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai. Specifically, while share today is minimal (0.7% of patients), docs project this share to almost quadruple within 6 months," Raymond wrote in a Monday note. Aduhelm is the controversial Alzheimer's treatment developed by Biogen and Eisai, whose sales fell below Wall Street's expectations as its efficacy was called into question. "For our part, we think Leqembi has set a high bar – especially with regard to safety," said Raymond.

☆ Spotlighting Lady Macbeth’s Anguish: Can What’s Done Be Undone?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Oussama Zahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Macduff, the chorus, Macbeth’s big Act IV aria — all scrapped. In typical stagings, Lady Macbeth comes across as an unsubtle, unrepentant harridan whose abrupt crisis of conscience in the opera’s final act stretches credulity. Heartbeat starts with Lady Macbeth’s breakdown as the essential truth of her character and then molds the narrative to fit it. The show begins with Lady Macbeth in bed, sobbing uncontrollably, full of remorse for all the blood she has helped to shed. In Heartbeat’s telling, Lady Macbeth, no longer the scapegoat for her husband’s foul behavior, is the one who is led astray by an avaricious spouse.

If a nuclear attack were headed toward the US, residents would have fewer than 30 minutes to prepare. Russian Presidential Press Service/APA nuclear attack remains highly unlikely, but it's not out of the question, experts say. Redlener said the best way to learn of an impending nuclear attack would probably be TV or radio. Survivors of a nuclear attack would have about 15 minutes before sandlike radioactive particles, known as nuclear fallout, reached the ground. A sign for a nuclear fallout shelter on a residential block in Brooklyn.

☆ Eli Lilly says experimental Alzheimer's drug reduces brain plaque in early study
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Eli Lilly 's experimental Alzheimer's drug lowered levels of brain plaque in patients who are in the earliest stages of the devastating disease, initial data shows. Researchers have argued that accumulation of amyloid plaque is a crucial first step toward the cognitive decline observed in Alzheimer's disease. The early data comes as Eli Lilly continues its decades-long bid to bring an Alzheimer's drug to the market. Eli Lilly found the drug caused a "rapid and robust" clearance of amyloid plaque, the presentation said. But Tewari said it's unclear if clearing amyloid plaque will lead to clinical benefits like a reduction in cognitive decline.

☆ Lilly says experimental Alzheimer's drug reduces amyloid in small study
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Deena Beasley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The higher the dose of the antibody drug, which was given by subcutaneous injection, the larger the effect, Lilly said. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker is launching a Phase III study of the experimental antibody, remternetug, but declined to comment on which doses will be selected for larger, later-stage trials. Lilly, at a medical conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, presented interim data from 41 study participants. Trial results published last year showed that, in patients with early Alzheimer's, Leqembi reduced the rate of cognitive decline by 27% compared with a placebo. Brooks said that sharing its early remternetug data "reinforces Lilly's commitment and investment in the Alzheimer's disease space ...

☆ Is AI coming for Hollywood? A Wall Street investor breaks down why he's bullish about a growing class of startups harnessing data to identify the next big blockbuster.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Why big investors like Carlyle and Ares are zeroing in on Hollywood and sports deals — and driving private credit in media to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

And Ares raised $3.7 billion for a fund last fall geared specifically toward sports, media, and entertainment investments across private debt and private equity. Unlike private equity investing, where managers take stakes in companies or buy them, private credit investors lend to businesses and make money on interest payments. (Private investment firm KKR's media, entertainment, and sports portfolio includes Insider parent company Axel Springer.) Carlyle's $146 billion credit arm has also provided capital to Clair, a media tech company that specializes in live production services and audio products. The strategists said driving that uptick are private credit defaults that include so-called softer forms of default, like breaching a loan's terms and conditions, along with private credit portfolio companies having generally lower ratings and less diversified businesses.

☆ Even as Bank of Canada moves to sidelines, consumers not ready to splurge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Molly Cone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TORONTO, March 22 (Reuters) - When the Bank of Canada became the first major global central bank this month to pause raising interest rates after its most aggressive tightening campaign in history, indebted consumers heaved a sigh of relief. Consumers' reluctance to spend could challenge an economy facing headwinds from a record pace of interest rate hikes as retail spending accounts for about 5% of Canada's Gross Domestic Product. The Royal Bank of Canada's consumer spending tracker released on March 9 showed discretionary spending "held up" in February, driven by air travel demand. While it is unclear what part of that has been deployed, that kitty will help Canada to avoid a deep recession, she noted. "They're trying to lock in these interest rates," Porter said.

☆ Everything you need to know about UBS's historic $3 billion deal to rescue rival bank Credit Suisse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

UBS agreed to buy its longtime rival Credit Suisse for $3 billion on Sunday. There's one big winner — and lots of losers — from the Credit Suisse rescue deal. The deal announced Sunday afternoon valued Credit Suisse shares at just 0.76 Swiss francs, one-fifth of the price the Saudi National Bank paid. Lastly, the merger between UBS and Credit Suisse could be bad news for the Fed. Here's how the Credit Suisse rescue deal impacts the central bank.

☆ The stock market is going to be trading flat as long as risk-free assets offer much more yield
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Meanwhile, markets are still reeling from the SVB fiasco, but there's a simpler reason why the stock market is going to be trading flat for the foreseeable future. Banking turmoil aside, the stock market doesn't have much momentum as long as investors are getting much higher yields on risk-free assets. Even before Silicon Valley Bank crashed, investors were feeling the pain of a volatile stock market. What's your prediction for the stock market through the first half of this year? Zurich-listed shares of Credit Suisse are down more than 58% early Monday.

☆ Investors who lost $9,000 on their first flip before building a 7-figure company share 3 mistakes that will cost you in the flipping business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Real estate investors Aria Khosravi and Alan Blue did their first home flip in 2009. While flipping homes can be a lucrative business, it's far from guaranteed money. Friends and business partners Aria Khosravi and Alan Blue have paid their dues in the industry. We've made a lot of mistakes along the way and they cost money. Now, they know exactly what to expect and what to look for — and their business is booming thanks to their experience.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's failure might just spark a faster housing rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now let's see how the fast-moving banking turbulence impacts the highly sensitive US housing market. "It seems that home sales activity has bottomed out, and 2023 will be the turning point for the housing market," she said. While her long-term outlook on a housing rebound hasn't changed, mortgage rates look set to fall faster than previously expected, which could allow more Americans to enter the housing market. And looking ahead to the Fed's meeting next week, Evangelou expects policymakers to moderate their aggressive policy. In other news:The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at a branch office in Bern, Switzerland October 28, 2020.

☆ Real estate investors who flipped 15 properties that profited $1.2 million in 2022 share 4 keys to successful flipping
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Since executing that deal in 2009, the investors have done 91 flips mostly in the Denver area, they said. They did 15 in 2022 alone and turned $1.2 million in gross profits, according to a profit-and-loss statement of their LLC viewed by Insider. "You're going to want to look at the age of the furnace. Because if you feel kind of strange when you're looking at it, so will the potential buyers." But now that we've been doing it for a long time, we know what to expect and we know what to look for."

☆ 'We didn't come from rich families': How 2 friends bought their first home as college students and then built a 7-figure real estate flipping business in Denver
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

They experimented with other ventures, including a hookah lounge, before focusing on real estate. Along the way, the entrepreneurs opened a hookah lounge and a bar before committing to real estate full-time in 2019. While they had a real estate agent showing them homes, Khosravi and Blue found their first property on their own. "I was visiting some friends at ASU and there was a hookah lounge there. At the time, "we were making $35,000 a year, if that, from the hookah lounge," added Khosravi.

[1/5] Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. Rail workers, on strike since March 2, have extended their walkout until Friday. "We could have been there, we could have been on that same train," Aria Laska, 23, told Reuters. Three more railway workers were detained and accused of disrupting public transport leading to deaths, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported. "We are together in this trial," Mitsotakis said, adding that young people and their parents had "every right to be angry".

☆ Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it's safe to return
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Aria Bendix | David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. For days, authorities have been telling residents of the area around East Palestine, Ohio, that it is safe to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams as of Wednesday. For some people who live near the derailment site, the reports continue to spur fear that they and their animals might be exposed to chemicals through the air, water and soil. The Ohio Department of Agriculture said the risk to livestock remains low.

They have soared in popularity over the last year, in part from social media attention and billionaires like Elon Musk touting the drugs’ weight loss effects. Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, but doctors sometimes prescribe it off-label for that purpose. Harper took Ozempic off-label for weight loss from May until November (she paused while moving to Washington state but plans to start again). For Yazeed, weight loss was not the reason she went on Ozempic, nor was it a goal. He hasn't experienced side effects or weight loss from Ozempic, he said, but he recognizes that isn't true for everyone.

"Everybody has a different amount of fibroglandular tissue and a different pattern," Freer said, referring to dense breast tissue. In individual interviews as part of Gunn's survey, six out of 61 women said dense breasts contributed to breast cancer risk. There are two reasons dense breasts are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. To lower one's risk of breast cancer overall, doctors recommend limiting alcohol intake, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet. The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium offers an online tool to help people gauge their breast cancer risk based on multiple factors, including breast density.

Autism rates tripled among children in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area from 2000 to 2016, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Pediatrics. Although there is no medical test for autism, the CDC has established a network of 17 sites across the country that estimate autism rates based on a combination of formal medical diagnoses and records from schools and health care providers. Nationally, the rise in autism rates has been similar to the trend in New York and New Jersey, according to a 2021 CDC report. But there’s probably more to the story: Genetic factors, and perhaps some environmental ones, too, might also be contributing to the trend. Beyond the improvements in diagnostics, genetic factors could be driving up autism cases on their own, experts said.

The study didn't look at real people, however: The researchers exposed cells derived from humans and mice to UV light from nail dryers. Previous studies have linked only a few instances of skin cancer to gel manicures. Scientists will need to study the effects of UV nail dryers in actual humans before they can make definitive conclusions about cancer risk, she added. Even so, Curtis and Zhivagui said that in their own lives, they don't ever get manicures that require UV nail dryers. Davis said some people may decide that exposure to UV radiation from gel manicures just isn't worth the gamble, given how much we still don't know.

☆ CDC is talking to airlines about wastewater testing in planes. New reports support that strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. has been monitoring for the coronavirus in wastewater since the CDC launched its National Wastewater Surveillance System in September 2020. But that testing mainly involves wastewater from households or buildings, not samples from airports or planes. Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool, and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," CDC press officer Scott Pauley told NBC News. Politico first reported that the agency is considering airplane wastewater testing. As of October, more than 1,250 sites were conducting wastewater testing across the U.S.

If you bought a period underwear product made by Thinx, you may now be entitled to a refund thanks to a class-action lawsuit settlement announced in November. Plaintiffs in the suit accused Thinx of using — and not telling customers about — potentially harmful chemicals known as PFAS in the underwear. The company has agreed to provide up to an additional $1 million if needed to cover valid claims. As part of the settlement, Thinx denied all the allegations leveled by the plaintiffs, and asserted that the settlement is not an admission of guilt. Thinx customers may receive a $7 refund for each purchase of up to three pairs of Thinx Period Underwear reflected in Thinx’s records, or for which they provide a valid proof of purchase.

That’s consistent with the long-standing and well-understood rule that eating fewer calories contributes to weight loss. She also noted that the average person gains 1 or 2 pounds per year, which can amount to significant weight gain over time. Eating fewer large meals and more small meals, then, could "prevent that slow creep of weight gain," Bennett said. Consuming too much highly processed food like hot dogs, chips or soda can contribute to weight gain, whereas diets that rely on vegetables and whole grains may assist with weight loss. "Some of our best data in humans suggests probably diet quality matters more than meal timing," Peterson said.

The U.S. teen birth rate hit a record low in 2019, the NCHS report shows, with fewer than 1.7 births per 100 teen girls ages 15 to 19. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. declined from 2015 to 2020, additional NCHS data shows, reaching a low of fewer than 6 births per 100 women ages 15 to 44. Guzzo said birth rates never fully recovered after the Great Recession, likely due to factors such as student loan debt, high housing prices and a shortage of full-time jobs. Fertility rates vary by region, though: States in the central U.S. have higher rates than in other parts of the country. "It could be that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will act against the continued decline in birth rate," he said.

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