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☆ Goodbye Shein, Hello Temu. US shoppers are reportedly spending 20% more at the Chinese dollar store than at the hot fast-fashion retailer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spending on bargain Chinese shopping app Temu surpassed Shein in May, according to Bloomberg data. Consumer spending on Chinese apps is still only a fraction of spending on Amazon. Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu are going head-to-head in a race to become America's most-beloved online shopping destination. Just in May, US spending on Temu was 20% higher than on Shein, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. According to data from Bloomberg Second Measure, which analyzes credit and debit transactions data, spending on Shein and Temu is still just a fraction of Amazon.

Persons: Temu, Shein Organizations: Bloomberg, US, China Economic, Security Locations: Shein

☆ A baby born the day 'Avatar' was released will be able to legally drink in the US by the time the final movie comes out, as Disney delays the sequels yet again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Assuming no further delays, the last movie won't come out until 2031 — 22 years after the original. Disney announced a slew of delays on Tuesday including in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Did you think the delays were over for the "Avatar" franchise? Disney announced a slew of delays on Tuesday that stretched from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Pandora. Variety reported that while some Marvel delays were due to production issues around the Hollywood labor disputes, the "Avatar" delays were to "allow the post-production and visual effects department to continue expanding, developing and refining the different ecosystems across the vast world of Pandora."

Persons: James Cameron, Jason Guerrasio, Cameron, Guerrasio, Jon Landau Organizations: Disney, Marvel, Variety Locations: Hollywood

☆ London crypto move is a sign of desperate times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is eager to bring some Silicon Valley glitz to London. Now venture capital investor Andreessen Horowitz is setting up its first non-US office in the British capital, to focus on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The then-finance minister in 2021 declared as “fantastic” the decision by Deliveroo (ROO.L) to list its shares in London. Despite Sunak’s call for the UK to “embrace new innovations” like the blockchain, Britain’s appetite for crypto remains uncertain. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Andreessen Horowitz, Binance, Sunak, Deliveroo, “ gosh, Bobby Kotick, Anita Ramaswamy, Karen Kwok, Stellantis, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Coinbase, Stanford University, Chips, Activision Blizzard, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Teck, China

Playing in a Champions League is the pinnacle for any player in club soccer and when asked what this moment would mean to his grandfather, Lukaku is almost unable to answer. He was my biggest fan.”As a child growing up in Belgium, Lukaku missed 10 years of watching the Champions League. “I couldn’t watch (the Champions League final), but now, by the grace of God, I can play one,” he adds. Manchester City has swept all before it in a light blue wave this season and sits on the cusp of a ‘treble,’ fresh from winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup. “Man City is a well-drilled team…Guardiola is such a good coach because every game is a different game plan,” Lukaku observes.

Persons: “, ” Lukaku, Darren Lewis, ”, Lukaku, …, Erling Haaland, Lexy Ilsley, Messi, Ronaldo, … Guardiola, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Belgian, Anderlecht, Chelsea, Serie, Inter Milan, Champions League, League, ’, FC Milan, Coppa Italia, ” Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Porto, Benfica, AC Milan, Manchester City, Premier League, FA Locations: Belgium, Barcelona, Manchester

☆ 'It's a no-brainer': U.S. beats UK investment scene, says British MP, calling for radical overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rachel Reeves, Britain's shadow Finance Minister, has said that the current U.K. business landscape pales in comparison to that of the U.S.Britain's shadow finance minister on Tuesday lambasted the country's business environment under the current Conservative government, saying that companies currently deciding whether to invest in the U.K. or in the U.S. faced "a no-brainer" decision. "Businesses say to me: if we've got a choice between investing in the U.S. or investing in the U.K., I'm afraid, at the moment, it's a no-brainer," Reeves said at a conference hosted by the Chartered Management Institute. "The deeper capital markets, as well as the government support for those growing industries, means investment in the U.S. makes sense in a way that it does not in the U.K.," she said. Reeves said that under Labour leadership, Britain would implement a "modern industrial strategy" encouraging the government and businesses to work in partnership. "At a time of huge change, we've got to have a business and government partnership to seize some of these big opportunities that are out there for the taking," she said.

☆ The stock market has flipped from 'sell the rip' to 'buy the dip,' and that should help push the S&P 500 above a key resistance level
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The stock market has exited the "sell the rip" regime in favor of "buying the dip," according to Fundstrat's Tom Lee. That sets the S&P 500 up for a potential breakout above its 4,200 resistance level as investors worry about the debt ceiling. The bullish switch means the S&P 500 has a good chance of breaking above its key resistance level of 4,200 even as investors worry about the upcoming debt ceiling deadline. The return of "buy the dip" adds to Lee's confidence that the S&P 500 will rise above its closely watched resistance level of 4,200. Lee reiterated his S&P 500 year-end price target of 4,750, which represents potential upside of about 14% from current levels.

☆ I quit Goldman Sachs after only a year. Here's how I knew leaving for a tech startup was the right career move.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chris Hladczuk | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Chris Hladczuk leads growth at Meow, a fintech startup, after quitting Goldman Sachs. I picked a weird day to quit — it was my 24th birthday and I called my boss to tell her I was leaving Goldman Sachs. The power of Goldman SachsI love Goldman because it taught me how to win. With my future career in mind, is my pace of learning higher at Goldman in investment banking or at an early-stage startup? Chris Hladczuk currently leads growth at fintech startup Meow.

☆ Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller says the debt-ceiling crisis pales in comparison to the 'horror movie' of reckless spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"The fiscal recklessness of the last decade has been like watching a horror movie unfold." That's according to billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who has been raising the alarm about US deficits for several years. "The fiscal recklessness of the last decade has been like watching a horror movie unfold," he said in a Monday speech at the University of Southern California, according to Bloomberg. To Druckenmiller, spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will have to be cut in the future, if not today. Druckenmiller also laid responsibility on the Federal Reserve, as its easy-money policies encouraged market and spending recklessness for over a decade.

☆ Some airlines effectively charge parents to sit with their kids. Biden is shaming the industry into changing that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Consumer groups and President Joe Biden are aghast that carriers have effectively charged families more to sit together. No airline explicitly imposes a "family seating fee," but consumer advocates have complained for years about how that's exactly what's happening. Airlines for America, an industry lobbying arm that counts the big four, America, Delta, Southwest, and United, among its members, previously pointed out that none of its members explicitly charge a family seating fee. This is a March 24, 2023 screenshot of the Department of Transportation's dashboard of airline family seating policies. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is working with a trio of other Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on separate legislation on just family seating.

☆ A Supreme Court justice resigned 54 years ago over conduct that may 'pale in comparison' to Clarence Thomas' — but Thomas is almost certain to get off scot-free thanks in part to the 'Trump effect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned in 1969 over accusations of financial misconduct. But unlike Fortas, Thomas is unlikely to experience severe consequences in the post-Trump era. Like Fortas, Thomas has been accused of financial misconduct. Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into Thomas, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has said it will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. "He will forever be remembered as the second Abe Fortas," Kalir said.

☆ An emboldened NATO provides a bittersweet moment for war-torn Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Congratulating Finland, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Finland now has a "reliable guarantee of safety – a collective guarantee." At the heart of NATO is the tenet that an attack on one member is an attack on all members. Finland and Sweden both applied to join NATO last May, prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and their membership bids were fast-tracked. To do so would have triggered NATO members' commitment to protect one another and Moscow would have faced the collective might of the alliance's armed forces. That's not to say that NATO didn't see the war coming in Ukraine in the run up to the invasion.

☆ The CEO of the world's biggest record company just got a new contract with stock options worth as much as $100 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Universal Music's CEO could receive stock options worth up to $100 million under a new contract. He took a annual pay cut to $5 million in the new contract that runs to 2028. Half of the $100 million equity option will be paid out in installments if the share price hits the targets of 26.50 euros, 30 euros, and 38 euros. The stock closed Friday at 23.30 euros in Amsterdam, valuing the company at just over 42 billion euros ($45 billion). Apple CEO Tim Cook collected almost $100 million last year alone, making about $83 million in stock awards, $12 million in incentives and salary of $3 million, CNBC reported.

Fitbit Versa 4 The Fitbit Versa 4 disappoints as a fourth-generation smartwatch as it lacks third-party app support, has issues with fitness tracking, and doesn’t allow for music storage. Fitbit Sense 2 vs. Fitbit Versa 4: Smartwatch performanceOne of the main nitpicks we have with these watches is their disappointing lack of smartwatch capability. Fitbit Sense 2 vs. Fitbit Versa 4: Health and fitness trackingRick Stella/InsiderThe biggest difference between the Versa 4 and the Sense 2 comes down to their individual health and fitness tracking performance. Fitbit Sense 2 vs. Fitbit Versa 4: Battery lifePerhaps the best feature native to both the Sense 2 and the Versa 4 is their battery life, which lasts roughly six days depending on how it's used. However, due to the Versa 4's shortcomings in both smarts and fitness tracking, it pales in comparison to the Sense 2.

☆ SVB customers tried to withdraw nearly all the bank’s deposits over two days, Fed's Barr testifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The run on Silicon Valley Bank's deposits this month went far deeper than was initially known. Regulators shuttered SVB on March 10 in the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The combined withdrawal figure of $142 billion represents a staggering 81% of SVB's $175 billion in deposits as of the end of last year. Lawmakers summoned top U.S. banking regulators to Washington to explain why Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed earlier this month. In fact, Fed supervisors began warning SVB management about the risk that higher interest rates posed to the bank's balance sheet in November 2021, Barr testified.

☆ Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google Bard, the search firm's answer to ChatGPT, has underwhelmed early testers. Users in the US and UK trying out the AI chatbot find it pales in comparison to OpenAI's tech. The makers of the Twofer Goofer word puzzle found ChatGPT was much better at solving the brainteasers than Google's Bard. It's possible that the company does have a super impressive AI tool up its sleeve. Insider's Hugh Langley reported earlier in March that Google employees are testing a more intelligent version of Bard, nicknamed "Big Bard."

An Insider review found that his company has sold to foreign governments, including a $228 million dollar contract. What Mills didn't advertise was Pacem's munitions contracts with foreign governments. The company's chief legal officer Joseph Schmitz said all of Pacem's foreign munitions sales are approved by the Department of State. Mills's influence over American military spending while having ties to a munitions company poses the potential for conflicts of interest, an ethics watchdog said. In Congress, Mills sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, which oversee military spending and foreign weapons sales.

☆ Google wasted its pandemic opportunity. Now, it's scrambling to catch up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This Amazon worker similarly enjoys office life. The company is currently also lagging in the AI space (thanks to the buzzy AI chatbot ChatGPT). Now, the company is going all in on AI instead. Check out his experiences with the AI tools here. It remains the only Big Tech company to avoid widespread layoffs.

☆ Cocaine production is taking root in a new region
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Gavin Voss | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The countries are still not major cocaine producers, but the seizures reflect the crop's hardiness. Honduras, on the other hand, has shown minimal cocaine production capabilities, with rudimentary labs capable of producing small amounts of cocaine. While they have limited cocaine production ability, increasing coca cultivation in traditionally non-producing countries could be a sign of bigger things to come. For anti-narcotics authorities around the region, the danger posed by up-and-coming coca producers is palpable. The US State Department has recognized this in its latest report, dubbing coca production in Honduras and Venezuela "troublesome."

☆ How healthy imitation crab is compared to other seafood, and what surimi sticks are actually made of
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While imitation crab is more affordable than real crab, it doesn't have as much nutritional value. Once imitation crab hit the markets in the late '70s, it became wildly popular as an affordable alternative to crab meat. Yet while real crab packs a major protein punch, imitation crab doesn't have quite as much nutritional value. Imitation crab contains little or no real crab. Brian Vander Brug / Contributor / Getty ImagesThe rising costs of crab have made imitation crab a more appealing option for many shoppers.

And it's little surprise the International Monetary Fund forecast Britain would be the only economy of the G7 to contract this year. But certainly the potential for improved trade relations with the UK's biggest trading partner is clear. Unicredit this month cited estimates that the UK economy would underperform by 5-7% over 10 years if it remains outside the EU single market and customs union. It may even have been a key spur to this week's breakthrough given the frayed geopolitical backdrop. President Joe Biden has long insisted there would be no progress on a U.S. deal with Britain until the Northern Irish conundrum was resolved.

Here's an update on technology-related holdings in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use at the CNBC Investing Club. Jim ran through the 35 stocks during the Club's inaugural Annual Meeting, an in-person event Saturday in New York City. Big picture, we think AMD shares will continue to increase in value as its leadership over Intel is further cemented. But sentiment is improving, with AMD shares climbing around 21% year to date. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ 2 former Barclays bankers just netted a 700% profit selling Bored Ape NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Anderson and Ovie Faruq offloaded their collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs this week. The 72 NFTs sold for $9.25 million, according to OpenSea data cited by Bloomberg. The former Barclays junk bond traders reportedly netted a 700% profit for the deal. The two traders' 700% profit still pales in comparison to what they could have made at the height of the crypto boom, according to Bloomberg. The publication estimated that Anderson and Faruq's Bored Ape collection was worth $30 million at the start of May 2022 – which would have netted them profits of just under 3,000%.

☆ Over 100,000 workers walked out in 2022, showing that Americans' demands for better conditions aren't going away
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

About 120,000 workers walked out of the job in 2022 — roughly 40,000 more than in 2021. Per new Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the number of major work stoppages that began in 2022 was higher than in 2021. Other data suggests that work stoppages of all sizes soared in 2022. All told, even BLS's official accounting of major stoppages shows an increased appetite for walking out. However, it still pales in comparison to previous highs; in 1952, the year with the highest recorded number of major stoppages, there were 470 walkouts.

☆ FTSE100 stocks have been shunned for years. Now investors love them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Both US indexes have recovered slightly following last year’s big falls, but one of the biggest drags on their performance — high interest rates — is likely to stick around. That’s because, when interest rates are low, the yields on government bonds are also low. That boosts investors’ appetite for riskier investments, such as the stocks of small or highly indebted tech companies that could make blockbuster returns years down the line. BP (BP) and Shell (SHLX), both FTSE companies, more than doubled their annual profits last year to a combined $68 billion. But the lack of tech companies may come back to haunt the FTSE, once inflation and interest rates fall back.

☆ Charlie Munger says BYD is so far ahead of Tesla in China it's almost ridiculous
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Charlie Munger said Wednesday that Tesla pales in comparison to BYD in China, calling the Chinese electric vehicle maker his favorite stock ever. Berkshire initial investment is now "worth about $8 billion or maybe $9 [billion]. Berkshire has actually been trimming its BYD stake in the past year as the stock has become increasingly pricey. "At the current price of BYD stock, little BYD is worth more than the entire Mercedes corporation. It's not a cheap stock, but on the other hand, it's a very remarkable company," Munger said.

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