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☆ Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, creator of 'Moore's Law,' dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry whose "Moore's Law" predicted a steady rise in computing power for decades, died Friday at the age of 94, the company announced. Intel and Moore's family philanthropic foundation said he died surrounded by family at his home in Hawaii. Co-launching Intel in 1968, Moore was the rolled-up-sleeves engineer within a triumvirate of technology luminaries that eventually put "Intel Inside" processors in more than 80% of the world's personal computers. In recent years, Intel rivals such as Nvidia have contended that Moore's Law no longer holds as improvements in chip manufacturing have slowed down. But despite manufacturing stumbles that have caused Intel to lose market share in recent years, current Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger has said he believes Moore's Law still holds as the company invests billions of dollars in a turnaround effort.

☆ Dollar slips as Fed outlook shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That's a contrast to Europe where markets see another 50 bp or so to go, and the gap sent the euro surging. Dollar/yen fell 0.7% overnight and was edging lower in the Asian morning at 131.19. "From the foreign exchange perspective, we think that argues for further dollar weakness as the ceiling for the Fed cycle has clearly come down." The risk-sensitive Australian dollar recoiled sharply from a two-week high of $0.6759 to be back at $0.6707 on Thursday morning. The New Zealand dollar also gave up overnight gains, but was firm in morning trade at $0.6238.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck generative AI startup Sutro used to score $2.2 million in funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sutro helps non-technical users build apps, including their websites, mobile versions, and backends. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to raise $2.2 million in seed funding from Eniac. Sutro also offers low-code tools that help its non-technical users inspect code for issues. Sutro is currently in beta and is accessible through a waitlist, mainly serving non-technical startup founders and small businesses so far. Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck Sutro used to raise $2.2 million in seed funding from Eniac Ventures and angel investors:

☆ Nvidia stock rides the 'iPhone moment of AI' to add $87 billion in market cap through the banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Anil Varma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nvidia has breezed through the banking turmoil, and is the S&P 500's best performer with a 81% rise year-to-date. The chipmaker has added $87 billion in market value since Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by regulators. "We are at the iPhone moment of AI," CEO Jensen Huang said this week amid the ChatGPT buzz. At about $654 billion, Nvidia is valued almost six times as much as its longtime rival Intel. NVIDIA stock has significantly outperformed the US stock market.

☆ Don't let NASA fool you: The next astronauts on the moon will not be wearing black spacesuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA and Axiom Space revealed a new spacesuit for the Artemis moon missions last week. The spacesuit is black, but astronauts have to wear white when they're on the lunar surface. Axiom Space chief engineer Jim Stein shows off the prototype spacesuit in Houston on March 15, 2023. Astronauts can't wear black on the moonThe Apollo moon suits were white for a reason. Axiom's spacesuit prototype looks cool, but we're waiting for the version that will go to the moon.

☆ Snap launches enterprise division to help businesses build AR features
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 23 (Reuters) - Snap Inc (SNAP.N), owner of photo messaging app Snapchat, launched a new division on Thursday that will help other companies build augmented reality features for their websites or apps. The division called AR Enterprise Services (ARES) marks the first time Snap will sell to business customers its AR technology, which can enhance photos and videos of the real world with computerized images, said Jill Popelka, head of ARES, in an interview. Certain arrangements with clients could allow Snap to earn a cut of product sales driven by Snap's AR tools, she added. Artificial intelligence is also helping advance Snap's AR capabilities. The company is using AI to take a two-dimensional image and make it appear 3D without the need to first build a 3D model.

☆ China firm wins tender to redevelop Solomon Islands port
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces," Qaqara said. The Solomon Islands and China have denied the security pact would allow a naval base, however. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the government said in a statement. Writing in the Australian Foreign Affairs this month, Connolly noted that ADB infrastructure contracts in the Pacific islands had been dominated by Chinese state companies who offered the lowest bids.

☆ China firm wins Solomon Islands port project as Australia watches on
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Solomon Islands and China have consistently denied that their security pact would allow a naval base. The Solomon Islands Infrastructure Development Ministry has said that there will be no expansion of the port for dual use," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Wednesday evening. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the Solomon Islands government said in a statement. "It is not about bases it is about access," Connolly, a former military officer, said, referring to the security pact between Honiara and Beijing.

☆ Nvidia's 'dominant A.I. leadership' is clear after GTC developer conference, Wall Street analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

If there's one takeaway from Nvidia 's developer conference, it's the computing firm's dominant leadership in artificial intelligence, according to Wall Street analysts. Investors piled into Nvidia shares this year as they sought ways to play the growing AI trend. NVDA 1Y mountain Nvidia shares 1-year The event only added to their confidence in the stock. to a multi $Tn+ IT/Infrastructure as a service industry TAM from narrower chip-only industry opportunity," Arya wrote to clients on Tuesday. JPMorgan's Harlan Sur reiterated an overweight rating, saying Nvidia's "dominant AI leadership" is clear following the event.

☆ PIMCO lost $340 mln with Credit Suisse AT1 bonds write-off - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Davide Barbuscia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds in PIMCO’s mutual funds had been worth about $340 million on Friday, the source familiar with the matter said. PIMCO's current holdings of Credit Suisse bonds, excluding the AT1 debt, were worth over $4 billion, said the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity. Some Credit Suisse bonds rallied on Monday after the state-backed rescue of the embattled lender. AT1 bonds issued by other European banks, instead, fell sharply on Monday as the treatment of Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders highlighted the risks of investing in these securities. Meanwhile, law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan said it was talking to a number of Credit Suisse AT1 holders about possible legal action.

☆ Streaming boosts recorded music revenue, China market growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Among the trends highlighted by the IFPI, a trade body for the recorded music industry, were China nudging into the top five markets globally for the first time, and income from the use of recorded music in adverts, film, television and games, rising by 22.3%. Subscription audio streaming revenues rose 10.3% to $12.7 billion, IFPI said, adding there were 589 million users of paid subscription accounts by end-2022. Overall, streaming accounted for 67% of total recorded music revenues. Global music revenues enjoyed their eighth consecutive year of growth. Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" topped the 2022 IFPI Global Albums Chart while Britain's Harry Styles won the IFPI Global Single of the Year Award 2022 for hit "As It Was", the body said last month.

Zelenskiy posted footage of him greeting Kishida, whom the Ukrainian leader called "a truly powerful defender of the international order and a longtime friend of Ukraine". It is rare for a Japanese leader to make an unannounced foreign visit. [1/5] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits a site of a mass grave, in the town of Bucha, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine March 21, 2023. Zelenskiy, speaking at a joint briefing with Kishida, said he would join the Hiroshima summit via an online link. Prior to leaving for Poland en route to Ukraine, Kishida visited India, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Swiss authorities brokering Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) rescue merger with UBS (UBSG.S) have said 16 billion Swiss francs ($17 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt will be written down to zero. That puts holders of the AT1 bonds lower in priority than even investors who hold an equity stake in Credit Suisse and can expect to get 0.76 Swiss francs per share. The shock realisation reverberated through Asian markets on Monday as traders hurried to reprice bank debt, and pushed bank stocks down. Asian AT1 bonds were down 4-5 points, while European ones were down 10 points, he said. But you did enter this thing believing that you'd be senior to the equity holders, that's the thing that people are worried about."

☆ Oil falls more than $2 on banking concerns, likely Fed rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brent crude futures for May settlement fell $2.32, or 3.2%, to $70.65 a barrel at 0710 GMT. Last week, Brent fell nearly 12%, its biggest weekly fall since December. A slowdown in interest rate hikes could depress the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities like crude oil more affordable for holders of other currencies. "Volatility is likely to linger this week, with broader financial market concerns likely to remain at the forefront. Separately, Goldman Sachs cut its forecasts for Brent crude after prices plunged on banking and recession fears.

The slide in oil comes despite a historic deal which will see UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, buying the country's No. "The market focus is on current banking sector volatility and the potential for further rate hikes by the Fed," said Baden Moore, National Australia Bank's head of commodity research. A slowdown in interest rate hikes could depress the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities like crude oil more affordable for holders of other currencies. "The U.S. Fed will be most important institution to watch this week," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar in a note. Separately, Goldman Sachs cut its forecasts for Brent crude after prices plunged on banking and recession fears.

"Consequently, there is a risk that current and emerging impacts to cultural heritage are not being readily identified and/or appropriately managed," ERM said. The audit also found nearly half of Rio's assets lacked access to appropriately qualified and experienced cultural heritage expertise within the business. Cultural heritage management should not be contracted out because ownership of decisions should reside at Rio Tinto, ERM said. The global miner needed to improve and make more consistent its cultural heritage planning around water management and around closure of its operations, it added. The report followed an audit of 37 Rio Tinto assets.

☆ Oil hits lowest since 2021 on banking fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Noah Browning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brent and WTI earlier hit lows last registered in December 2021, with WTI sinking below $65 a barrel. After the deal was announced, The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and other major central banks pledged to enhance market liquidity and support other banks. "The market focus is on current banking sector volatility and the potential for further rate hikes by the Fed," said Baden Moore, National Australia Bank's head of commodity research. However, some executives are calling on the central bank to pause its monetary policy tightening for now but be ready to resume raising rates later. The group agreed in October to cut oil production targets by 2 million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

☆ Putin to welcome Xi to Moscow under shadow of Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China, in Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia June 5, 2019. Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool via ReutersMarch 20 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will expect Chinese President Xi Jinping to show solidarity against western hegemony when he arrives in Moscow on Monday, while Xi will present China as a global peacemaker intent on brokering an end to the Ukraine war. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has previously made clear he will accept nothing short of Russia's full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. We welcome China's willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis," Putin said. Ukrainian forces have held out in Bakhmut since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the year-long war.

☆ NCAA Tournament roundup: Fairleigh Dickinson makes history against Purdue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Kobe Johnson supplied 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while the Trojans' usual leading scorer, Boogie Ellis, was held to six points. Vermont (23-11) was led by Robin Duncan, Dylan Penn and Matt Veretto who each scored 11 points. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10, as the Panthers advanced to face No. Jordan Hawkins chipped in 13 points, Donovan Clingan posted 12 and Andre Jackson Jr. supplied 10. Adrian Baldwin Jr. paced the Rams (27-8) with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

☆ 10 stocks that are gaining market share for their disruptive innovations like AI, according to a portfolio manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AI can be placed under the broad category of disruptive technology, which refers to innovations that change consumers' habits and displace old markets. Then, you have public cloud infrastructure that connects it all together, such as Amazon Web Services or the Google Compute Engine which provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS). For this reason, instead of taking the approach of creating something as narrow as an AI ETF, the ETF is focused on anything that signals disruption to an entire industry and changes the status quo. They have a "tremendous" market share in AI applications, and companies are hungry for their products, he noted. Analog Devices (ADI) provides technology that can translate atmospheric information into digital data to mean something to the hardware.

☆ Morning Bid: Support for troubled banks calms markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asian stock markets clawed back 1.7% after after a 2.7% fall to more than three month lows since Monday. What seems to have changed is the guidance for rate hikes though many policymakers had suggested in recent weeks that sizeable increases were warranted. On Friday, final CPI data for the eurozone is due in a thin calendar for economic data releases. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg News reported that UBS Group and Credit Suisse are opposed to a forced merger. Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:Europe economic data: Eurozone final Feb CPI, Q4 labour costsU.S. economic data: University of Michigan surveyReporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vietnam plans tighter limits on stakes in banks in blow to foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Phuong Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Currently, the combined stake of foreign investors in a bank cannot exceed 30%, while the cap for stakes in companies in many other sectors is set at 49%. The central bank said its proposed changes would reduce risks of market manipulation. A Bangkok-based fund manager who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to media, said the lower cap would impact foreign investors more as their holdings were more often closer to the current maximum. Analysts said tighter caps on banks' stake holders and borrowing could exacerbate liquidity challenges in Vietnam, at a time when the country's property developers are under pressure. The central bank also cut interest rates this week to spur growth and reduce pressure on debtors.

☆ Morgan Stanley upgrades Nvidia, says A.I. narrative is 'too strong to remain on sidelines'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy shares of Nvidia as excitement around artificial intelligence shows no signs of waning, Morgan Stanley said. Analyst Joseph Moore upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight, saying in a Thursday note to clients AI developments outweigh persisting challenges in areas such as gaming. NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia shares so far this year After a difficult year, semiconductor stocks have rallied in 2023, with Nvidia shares up nearly 75% as of Thursday's close, following a 50% slump in 2022. "NVIDIA valuation is high, but not dramatically out of line with peers; and at the limit ,high investment in NVIDIA products is even bad for the rest of compute, as budget compression is met with high AI spending requirements," Moore said. Along with the upgrade, Moore lifted his price target on shares to $304 from $255 a share, implying 19% upside from Thursday's close.

[1/4] A combination of photographs shows people using automated teller machines (ATMs) at Australia's "Big Four" banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (bottom R), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (top R), National Australia Bank Ltd (bottom L) and Westpac Banking Corp (top L). REUTERS/StaffSYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - An A$300 billion ($201.21 billion) refinancing task for Australia's biggest banks is about to get harder, say analysts, as appetite for new debt shrinks across global markets roiled by concerns about bank stability and liquidity. "Now major banks don't have to hit markets everyday... but ultimately banks can't stay out of the market forever." Refinancing today would add extra 5 to 10 basis points to banks' costs versus a week and a half ago, he added. ($1 = 1.4910 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The world's third-biggest economy has struggled to make a solid post-COVID recovery, undermined by lacklustre household consumption and a global slowdown. Slowing shipments to China, which fell for a third straight month, have also shattered policymakers' hopes for a quick rebound from the pandemic doldrums. Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner fell 10.9% year-on-year in February, registering a second straight month of double-digit decline, as demand weakened for cars, auto parts and display-making equipment. Japan has now posted a trade deficit for 19 straight months. "Chances are 50-50 that Japan may slide into recession," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

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