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☆ Heather Armstrong, mommy blogger also known as Dooce, dies at 47
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Heather Armstrong, an influential writer whose blog Dooce helped popularize mommy blogging, has died, her partner, Pete Ashdown, confirmed to CNN. “Heather B. Hamilton (Armstrong) was a brilliant, funny, compassionate writer who struggled with mental-health and alcoholism,” Ashdown said in a statement to CNN. In 2004, Dooce became the first personal website to start accepting a notable number of paid ads, the New York Times said. Toward the end of her life, Armstrong was characteristically frank with readers about her struggles with alcoholism. “Calling Dooce a mommy blogger was always an inadequate description of her breadth, her style and her early influence on blogging,” New York Times reporter Katie Rogers tweeted.

☆ Future-Proofing the Board of Directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

Governance structures and practices should position the board to provide objective judgment and active oversight supported by board leadership, which is separate from and independent of company management. The board should design governance structures and practices that support it in determining board priorities, agendas, and information needs. The board should create governance structures and practices that ensure that directors are competent, committed, and diverse and that board and committee composition align with the company’s changing needs. Developing and supporting a positive and ethical corporate culture (see Corporate and Board Culture below). Corporate and Board CultureA strong board and corporate culture is imperative for a company’s success.

☆ Researchers just created the largest-ever database of how we interact on Zoom. Here are their tips for making everyone like you on video chats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The result is the largest-ever database of one-on-one Zoom conversations. And while the average loudness of speakers didn't change across bad or good conversations, the "good" talkers varied their decibel levels more than the "bad" talkers did. The machine found that women rated as better Zoom conversationalists tended to be more intense. Good conversationalists are those who appear more engaged in what their partners are saying. Studying Zoom calls may help us have better conversations on Zoom.

☆ Science has finally figured out how fast and loud you should talk on Zoom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The result is the largest-ever database of one-on-one Zoom conversations. It may shed new light on what we talk about when we talk about talking today — the conversation of the future. And while the average loudness of speakers didn't change across bad or good conversations, the "good" talkers varied their decibel levels more than the "bad" talkers did. The machine found that women rated as better Zoom conversationalists tended to be more intense. Good conversationalists are those who appear more engaged in what their partners are saying.

☆ Quotes: Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The assertion in the introduction that the Fed should focus on large bank capital requirements is disconnected from the report's conclusions. AMERICAN BANK ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO ROB NICOLS"We take any bank failure seriously, and we will review the findings and proposed policy changes in these reports carefully, including where the conclusions may differ. JONATHAN MONDILLO, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN FIXED INCOME AT ABRDN"We're likely to see higher capital requirements. What that means for the overall markets is that the devil is in the details: how stringent those capital requirements will be. A potential First Republic Bank failure could similarly present a risk to the long-term investment strategy of high net-worth individuals."

☆ Stream These 6 Titles Before They Leave Netflix in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jason Bailey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This month’s mix of titles leaving Netflix in the United States include two coming-of-age comedy dramas, a twisty thriller throwback, a wrenching Holocaust documentary and two uproarious comedies (one of them smuggled into an animated family film). Give them a stream before they’re gone. (Dates reflect the last day a title is available.) (It was the early 2010s, so there is also a healthy dose of villainy for the health-care and pharmaceutical industries.) Stream it here.

☆ US Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Many commentators linked the lessons learned from the earlier crisis to the ongoing concerns about First Republic Bank. INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL BANKERS CEO BETH ZORC"The IIB commends the Federal Reserve's timeliness of producing its report on SVB. "There are similarities between SVB's situation and what is happening with First Republic Bank: both are affected by the rapid movement of very large sums of money." A potential First Republic Bank failure could similarly present a risk to the long-term investment strategy of high net-worth individuals." "It feels isolated, than the rest of the regional bank system, feels like it's in a different place than where FRC is."

☆ Hollywood writers: Tell us what you earn and how you budget as the WGA prepares to strike for more pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The shift to streaming media has resulted in a gush of new TV shows and movies, and content budgets at companies like Netflix and Disney have ballooned — but writers' pay hasn't kept up. Insider is asking film and TV writers to share what they make and show the challenges at the root of a potential WGA strike. Fully half of TV series writers were paid the basic minimum rate under the WGA contract, up from 33% in 2013-14, according to a WGA survey. With the WGA preparing to go on strike in May over pay and other issues regarding the structure of Hollywood writers' work, we want to hear from guild members about the challenges they face in making ends meet. For an idea of what this project will look like, see our earlier post on Hollywood salary diaries.

☆ Sam Altman is building his utopia, whether you want it or not
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

Altman told Insider, "We debate our approach frequently and carefully." "I don't think anyone can lose your dad young and wish he didn't have more time with him," Altman told Insider. Altman told Insider that his thinking had evolved since those posts. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ He's played chess with Peter Thiel, sparred with Elon Musk and once, supposedly, stopped a plane crash: Inside Sam Altman's world, where truth is stranger than fiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

But, "you do at some point need to start having contact with reality," he told Insider. The plan was still only a rough sketch, Blania told Insider, but that didn't seem to matter to his host. "He always wanted to understand everything at a very deep level," Thrun told Insider in an email. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ An olive oil startup founder apologized after accusing a rival brand on LinkedIn of copying his squeeze bottle. It's not his first public apology.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The CEO of olive oil startup Graza issued a public apology after a recent LinkedIn post garnered criticism. Andrew Benin accused Brightland, another food startup, of copying Graza's squeeze bottle design on Tuesday. "Andrew, with all due respect, you did not create the squeeze bottle," Alison Kayne, founder of Haven's Kitchen, commented on Benin's post. In an updated version of the post, Benin apologized to Iyer for the accusation, and called the post "out of character." The Graza CEO emailed thousands of customers during the company's first holiday season to apologize for issues like shipping delays and dented bottles.

☆ An Outsider Takes on Ireland, From Inside a Plastic Bag
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Rachel Connolly | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Issues like these are still relatively under-discussed in the Irish news media and society, and Chambers’s fans seem to welcome his candor. He gets “thousands and thousands” of social media messages about mental health, he said, but he could never deal with interactions like those in person. “If I didn’t have the bag,” Chambers said, “I’d stop talking about mental health‌.”On other episodes, Chambers talks frankly about an economic climate that he says has infantilized his generation. Chambers said the Irish news media continued to draw links between the party and terrorism. Several popular Instagram accounts attest to this growing interest in Northern Irish politics among young people in the Republic.

☆ Upfront's Mark Suster has become the star of LA's booming startup scene. Not everyone is a fan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

"I have worked with more than 50 VCs and nobody comes close to what it is like to work with Mark Suster," said a founder backed by Suster. "Mark and the Upfront Summit helped put LA tech and investing on the map," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the cofounder of DreamWorks and WndrCo. Several years ago, a founder whose startup Suster invested in was in a conference room rehearsing their presentation for the Upfront Summit. If you're going to put him on your board, you're letting the fox guard the henhouse. "If you're going to put him on your board, you're letting the fox guard the henhouse."

☆ Everyone needs a work spouse — even if some millennials don't think so
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A portion of millennials "disapprove" of having a work spouse, according to a new survey. My truth, as a Gen Xer, is: Work is often lonely and annoying, and everyone needs a work spouse. Everyone needs a work spouse. "Work spouse" is really just another name for "work best friend." The beauty of 'butt-kicking candor'Millennials might take exception to work spouses because they believe in a firm separation of work and home.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday: Stars of first quarter and Alphabet's AI risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

AI is a real problem for Club holding Alphabet (GOOGL), according to Piper Sandler, which lowers price target to $117 per share from $120. Raises price target to $75 per share from $72. Baird raises price target on Okta (OKTA) to $100 per share from $92. Morgan Stanley raises price target on e.l.f. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Under the agreement released on Wednesday between Ellis and Colorado attorney disciplinary officials, Ellis acknowledged making 10 "misrepresentations" about the 2020 election. The misrepresentations included saying Trump's legal team could "prove" the election was stolen and that the results were "fraudulent," according to the opinion by Judge Bryon Large, the state's presiding disciplinary judge. Ellis' attorney Michael Melito in a statement said that his client "remains a practicing attorney in good standing in the State of Colorado. The parties also agreed that Ellis "had a selfish motive" and had "engaged in a pattern of misconduct." Ellis was the subject of a bar complaint filed by The 65 Project, a group that has filed ethics complaints against lawyers who alleged fraud in the 2020 election without evidence.

☆ 4 great unexpected job interview questions—and how to answer them, says HR expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Canva fielded more than 220,000 job applications last year, ultimately hiring just over 1,000 of those applicants, Rogerson says. If you're a manager, take note: Unconventional interview questions help fend off trite, pre-written answers. This approach to interviewing is gaining steam, especially as more and more companies drop educational requirements for job openings. Here are four questions every manager should bring into rotation, Rogerson says — and how to start preparing for them. They're more about learning who the candidate is, how good they'd be at the job and whether they'd thrive in your workplace.

Labor shortagesAs the pandemic swooped in, air travel was among the industries most affected, as more than 90% of flights were grounded. Today, labor shortages exist throughout the economy, but the problem drags on in the air travel sector, where more extensive employee training is usually required. Steven Senne / APOutdated technology and infrastructureThere is near-universal agreement that the infrastructure underpinning segments of America's air travel system is outdated and vulnerable. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Montana, said the incident highlighted "a huge vulnerability in our air transportation system." Air travel should be predictable and consistent, and you shouldn’t have to wonder if air traffic control is going to be working today as you head to the airport.

☆ Nike faces 3 obstacles that could threaten its dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike. Top of mind with stock pickers: Nike needs to shed inventory and get sales growing more in China. Where is the next leg of growth going to come from? Before the December earnings report, Simeon Siegel, managing director for equity research at BMO Capital Markets, told Insider Nike appeared to be turning a corner in China. Analysts also think new Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden, who previously worked as CEO of Puma, could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike.

☆ The most honest man in real estate thinks the housing market isn't going to crash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Here's how Miller, who doesn't think the housing market is going to crash, became a beacon of trust. The call was from a journalist at an international paper asking for Miller's comment on the US housing market for a story. The 62-year-old founder of the real-estate-appraisal and data firm Miller Samuel is probably the most-quoted man in real estate, with some 2,469 news citations, according to the database LexisNexis. Today, Miller Samuel has replaced Scantrons with iPods, iPhones, and a CoreLogic appraisal software called A La Mode. Today, there's much more data than there was when he started Miller Samuel, but also a lot more "crap," Miller said.

☆ 3 things that should be worrying Nike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike. Top of mind with stock pickers: Nike needs to shed inventory and get sales growing more in China. Analysts are also wondering how much competition Nike will face from Adidas under its new CEO Bjørn Gulden. Before the December earnings report, Simeon Siegel, managing director for equity research at BMO Capital Markets, told Insider Nike appeared to be turning a corner in China. Analysts also think new Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden, who previously worked as CEO of Puma, could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike.

☆ She says she was fired in retaliation. Hearst Magazines says she was insubordinate. Here's how Delish's hit YouTube show 'Budget Eats' came crashing down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Steven Perlberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Produced by the Hearst-owned food brand Delish, "Budget Eats" was the kind of digital success story that traditional magazine giants crave. As Xie worked her day job developing recipes, "Budget Eats" was morphing from a pandemic experiment to a bonafide hit. A career recipe developer at work, the "Budget Eats" Xie doesn't even measure out ingredients. "It felt like she was afraid that putting 'Budget Eats' from her kitchen onto this cable network might dilute the honesty," Lennon-Simon said. As for "Budget Eats," Delish recently posted what is presumably the last episode.

☆ A college instructor explains her struggles with long COVID at work and why it's important to overcome the stigma of being sick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Renee Semarge has had long COVID symptoms for a year now, and it's making work much harder. Much of long COVID is a mystery to healthcare professionals — why it happens, how to treat it — but data shows that it has affected millions of Americans. Many other workers, however, may be hesitant to reveal that they have long COVID. Long COVID treatments "have eaten our savings"Semarge's candor about her condition at work is a departure from what her father always taught her. Long COVID treatments, she said, "have eaten our savings.

☆ Mitch McConnell could've tried to block a bill to protect same-sex marriage. He stayed silent about it instead.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mitch McConnell never publicly offered his position on a bill to protect same-sex marriage. Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina on amendments to the bill, told Insider. "You know, the leader has to look at his conference," Tillis told Insider, referencing his own time as the Speaker of the North Carolina House. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a conservative opponent of the bill, told Insider that "of course" he wished McConnell had taken a vocal position on the bill. As Sinema stood up to embrace the Iowa Republican, McConnell rose from his seat and voted no.

☆ Archegos' Bill Hwang says prosecutor misconduct justifies indictment's dismissal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Bill Hwang is seeking the dismissal of his U.S. fraud indictment over the collapse of his once-$36 billion Archegos Capital Management LP, saying prosecutors committed misconduct by sandbagging him when building their case. In a separate filing, Hwang and co-defendant Patrick Halligan, Archegos' former chief financial officer, said their indictment should be dismissed because Archegos' trading activity was "entirely lawful," using methods that are "clearly permitted by the existing regulatory structure." These discussions, the last occurring two days before Hwang's April 27 arrest, "revealed what has now become (as prosecutors doubtless knew it would) his defense strategy," Hwang's lawyers said. Hwang also wants U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversees the case, to hold a hearing to determine the extent of any taint. The case is U.S. v. Hwang et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

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