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☆ Marc Benioff praises Elon Musk's vision, bemoans not buying Twitter, and rings the recession alarm in a new interview. Here are the Salesforce CEO's 9 best quotes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Benioff praised Elon Musk, hailed AI's potential, and warned of an impending US recession. The Salesforce CEO said he regretted not buying Twitter years ago, and has always loved the company. Benioff hinted Bob Iger and Howard Schultz felt obligated to return as CEOs of Disney and Starbucks. Benioff spoke during the Upfront Summit this month, in an interview aired during a recent episode of the "On With Kara Swisher" podcast. (Benioff was discussing the recent return of Bob Iger and Howard Schultz as CEOs of Disney and Starbucks respectively.)

☆ White House will not interfere with Fed, but hopes people will 'take a breath'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The White House isn't going to interfere with the Fed's management," the official said, reiterating the independence of the U.S. central bank. The White House is reliant on Powell, a moderate Republican, to steer the economy to a soft landing as Democratic President Joe Biden gears up for a second presidential campaign that will focus on job creation and new investment. Tuesday's hearing highlighted the gap between the Fed's focus on achieving its 2% inflation target and the White House and progressive Democrats' push for more, better-paying jobs. "The Fed is independent and we do not comment on their policy," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, when asked about Powell's remarks Tuesday. White House economists see recent moderation in inflation and strong jobs data as "evidence that the president's economic plan is working," she said.

☆ White House will not interfere with Fed, but hopes it will 'take a breath'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The White House isn't going to interfere with the Fed's management," the official said. "But we're dealing with one month of data and people need to sit back and take a breath." "The Fed is independent and we do not comment on their policy," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Powell's remarks Tuesday. She said President Joe Biden "believes that it's important to give the Fed the space needed to make decisions on monetary policy." White House economists believe recent strong jobs data is "evidence that the president's economic plan is working," she said.

The biggest question in world finance right now is whether the eye-watering rebound in borrowing rates we've seen over the past month is just another overshoot - or the new reality. G7 2-year yields soarFed, ECB and BoE 'terminal rates' riseWorld economy surprising in 2023LOSING THE PLOTSince the middle of last year, futures markets have consistently priced peak Fed rates below where Fed officials themselves were guiding. But for at least six of the past nine months, futures markets priced a lower terminal rate than the central Fed view. Five-year equivalents have risen sharply too, while long-term euro zone inflation swaps are pricing the highest rates in more than a decade. The outcome is "strongly bimodal", they said, and either a recession hits and rates are cut, or it doesn't and rates go to 6.5%.

☆ Warren Buffett blasted earnings manipulation as 'disgusting' in his annual letter. Here's what he meant, and how GE legend Jack Welch ties into it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Warren Buffett blasted earnings manipulation as "disgusting" and "one of the shames of capitalism." Former GE CEO Jack Welch specialized in using legal but creative accounting to beat forecasts. Look no further than Jack Welch, the late CEO of General Electric, for insights into the legal but controversial practice. He made it his mission to beat Wall Street's forecasts, and deliver slow, steady growth that would secure a higher valuation for GE stock. Welch's obsession with GE hitting its numbers each quarter spurred him to ruthlessly cut costs and fire workers as needed.

☆ Utah's Republican governor hits back at MTG's call to break up the United States: 'This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Republican governor hit back at Marjorie Taylor Greene's call for a "national divorce" in the US. Spencer Cox called Greene's rhetoric "destructive" and "evil." This isn't the first time Greene has called for the break up of the US. Utah's Republican governor called the rhetoric "destructive and wrong and — honestly — evil." On Monday, Marjorie Taylor Greene had suggested that there should be a "national divorce" – the separation of the US into red and blue states.

☆ George Santos's elaborate lies has seen the Congressman compared with a 19th-century huckster. History bears that out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Allegra Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

My obsession is summed up pretty well by a tweet from @blagojevism: "George Santos is essentially a 19th-century character. Media depicting these characters found inspiration from real life: in a time before digital records and facial recognition, opportunity was everywhere. George Santos's brand of full-throated scammery is particularly American, something that belongs to this country as much as Abraham Lincoln and apple pie. The phrase "and if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" comes from his legendary real-life method. But Santos, so far, has avoided jail time, giving him at least one leg up over the Yellow Kid.

☆ House Democrat says it's 'absurd' that his party isn't promoting challengers to aging Joe Biden in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He would be 82 at the start of his second term. Rep. Dean Phillips is one of the elected Democrats who's publicly called for Biden not to run again. "Considering his age, it's absurd we're not promoting competition," Phillips said of Biden. He would be 82 at the beginning of a second term in 2024 — by far the oldest president in American history. Nikki Haley — is hoping to capitalize on the age of both Biden and former President Donald Trump, age 76.

☆ Republican FTC Commissioner Wilson announces resignation, saying Chair Khan has a 'disregard for the rule of law'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Christine Wilson, nominee to serve on the Federal Trade Commission, testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in Hart Building on February 14, 2018. Christine Wilson, the sole remaining Republican on the Federal Trade Commission, announced Tuesday she plans to resign, citing what she said was Democratic Chair Lina Khan's "disregard for the rule of law and due process." Wilson announced her resignation, which she said will come "soon," in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Throughout Khan's tenure at the helm of the commission, Wilson has frequently bemoaned her approach in remarks at public meetings and in speeches. Former Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips, a Republican, resigned in October, but without the kind of broad critique that Wilson wrote.

☆ Ex-Gazprom official says decades of the Russian gas giant's work has been 'flushed down the toilet', with export revenues expected to halve this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gazprom's years of work on exporting Russian gas have been "flushed down the toilet," an ex-official said. An ex-manager at the gas giant bemoaned the impact of the Ukraine war to Reuters after gas prices fell close to two-year lows. "The work of hundreds of people, who for decades built the exporting system, now has been flushed down the toilet," he told Reuters. Russia's gas exports to Europe have fallen significantly thanks in part to sanctions imposed on Moscow after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in late February last year. Energy prices are dipping after a milder winter than expected for Europe, which has successfully built up stocks of oil and gas.

NATO has just completed an extraordinary survey of the remaining munition stocks, a NATO official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Those NATO (munitions targets) that we set, and each ally has a specific target, those were not being met for the most part (before the Ukraine war)," the official said. "I would be absolutely gobsmacked if the targets…were not increased," said the NATO official. After the Cold War, the production of ammunition had turned "quite artisanal", said the NATO official. "I don't necessarily think that within the next year our stockpile levels will increase massively," the NATO official said.

☆ Italy's TIM suffers internet connection problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) (TIM) customers across Italy complained of internet outages and glitches on Sunday which the company blamed on problems with an international link. Users from the northern city of Milan to the Sicilian capital Palermo reported problems, with the issue mainly focused on fixed-line internet services. Analyses are underway to resolve the problem," a TIM spokesperson said. There was no indication that the problems were caused by hackers, Italy's ANSA news agency reported. Reporting by Keith Weir and Elvira Pollina; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Heartbreaking', Woodbridge bemoans Wimbledon doubles decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nine-times Wimbledon men's doubles champion Todd Woodbridge said on Thursday it was "heartbreaking" to hear the All England Club had made the decision to cut the event to best-of-three sets rather than five from this year. "Five sets lets the best team win generally in that situation." Woodbridge won six Wimbledon men's doubles titles with compatriot Mark Woodforde in the duo known as the "Woodies" before teaming up with Swede Bjorkman for another three. American Mike Bryan, who with sibling Bob formed the most successful professional doubles team of all time, also bemoaned the decision. The 2022 Wimbledon men's doubles final took more than four hours to complete with Australian duo Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beating Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic over five sets.

Donald Trump told the GOP to leave Medicare and Social Security cuts out of debt ceiling negotiations. But former President Donald Trump is warning the GOP to keep social spending programs out of it. "Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security," Trump said in the video. However, in the lead-up to Trump's 2020 run, the former president embraced abandoning a payroll tax that helps fund Social Security. Republicans and Democrats have sparred over Medicare and Social Security for years, with Republicans routinely looking to cut benefits for both programs.

☆ On King’s holiday, daughter calls for bold action over words
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Bernice King, who leads The King Center in Atlanta, said leaders — especially politicians — too often cheapen her father’s legacy into a “comfortable and convenient King” offering easy platitudes. The service, organized by the center and held at Ebenezer annually, headlined observances of the 38th federal King holiday. ... A prophetic word calls for an inconvenience because it challenges us to change our hearts, our minds and our behavior,” Bernice King said. At Ebenezer, Warnock, who has led the congregation for 17 years, hailed his predecessor’s role in securing ballot access for Black Americans. But, like Bernice King, the senator warned against a reductive understanding of King.

☆ Starbucks orders corporate employees to return to office 3 days a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Corporate workers at Starbucks must return to the office at least three days a week by the end of January, interim CEO Howard Schultz announced in a Wednesday memo, as another corporate giant clamps down on remote work. Employees of regional offices must report to the office three days a week, though the memo didn’t name the days or specify what counts as commuting distance. When Starbucks (SBUX) embarked on hybrid work last year, Schultz said, corporate workers “made a promise” to be in the office between one to two days a week. The announcement comes a few days after Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger ordered workers to return to the office four days a week starting March 1. Apple (AAPL), for example, has called for its corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week.

The debate centers on the precise form and function of the new fighting vehicles — but it misses the point. (The guns on the Bradley and Marder are smaller-caliber, while the AMX is wheeled rather than tracked.) And despite the downsides of providing these more sophisticated vehicles, armored vehicles can help capture ground whereas artillery, even if more lethal and at least as important, by itself can’t. A Marder infantry fighting vehicle of the German armed forces participates in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on Oct. 26, 2022, in Pabrade, Lithuania. Nonetheless, supplying new, tougher armored vehicles will improve Ukraine’s ability to liberate territory.

☆ During a leaked all-hands meeting meant to discuss Salesforce layoffs, CEO Marc Benioff bemoaned leaks. Employees say they've been left without answers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The day after Salesforce began informing thousands of employees that it was terminating their jobs in what will be weeks of rolling layoffs, some 47,000 employees tuned into a virtual all-hands meeting. "I have a thick skin after doing this for 24 years and I don't care what people say about me. Some days earlier, Benioff had also bemoaned leaks to the press in a company-wide internal Slack message viewed by Insider. "I hope you will agree it is also disappointing that our private conversations here were almost immediately given to the public media," Benioff wrote. "We are going to operate as a team and with integrity and transparency and open honesty going forward," Benioff said during the all-hands.

☆ Inside the turmoil at Cheddar News, where an editorial 'identity crisis' and misfired social media strategy divided the newsroom and drove staffers to the exits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Reed Alexander | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

16 insiders described unrest and discord partly fueled by the site's revamped social media strategy. Malaspina's plan was for Cheddar to look and feel like a social media platform and to position its stars as influencers. Concerns inside Cheddar intensified when Malaspina, a newcomer to journalism, refocused its coverage on social media content. Multiple segments and even an entire show — "Trending" at 7 p.m. — centered on social media trends and TikTok challenges. It's very troubling to think that news professionals would inflate or distort their social media followings.

☆ Twitter alternatives like Mastadon see downloads plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Long before Elon Musk came along, Twitter users bemoaned the service yet remained addicted to it. It is a text-based social platform, or "microblogging" site, home to independent servers, or "instances." In early November, the hashtag TwitterMigration was trending on Mastodon for several days as Twitter users set up accounts amid Musk's chaotic takeover. Daily users have held steady though, at 1.4 million, a major increase from its usage prior to Musk's takeover of Twitter, which typically hovered around 20,000 daily users. Downloads of the iOS app have grown 290,000% to 1.5 million since Oct. 24, with daily users up 660,000% to 321,000, according to Apptopia data.

At the heart of Harry and Meghan's narrative is that Britain's sensationalist popular press is a "devil" that members of the royal family have colluded with to protect or enhance their own reputations. The royal family have been here before, though. "That said, you could argue it only reinforces the victim narrative from Harry and Meghan in America," the former aide said. "The one thing the royal family has on its side is time. So it can play the long game - which Harry and Meghan maybe can't, in that they have to be telling their story now."

Some airlines, including Southwest, no longer have automatic agreements in place that allow for rebooking on another airline free of charge, she said. He and his family spent Christmas in Austin, Texas, and intended to fly home to Raleigh, North Carolina, on Dec. 26 via Southwest. “What are you going to do if the airline can’t save you?” Bangs said. Sallyann Koontz got stuck in Austin after her Southwest Airlines flight home to Charleston, South Carolina, was canceled. "It has served the public with affordable flights and possibly allowed travel for less affluent families for decades," Koontz said of the airline.

☆ Netanyahu set to retake power at head of far-right government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Israeli designate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. Fending off criticism, Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to promote tolerance and pursue peace. "We will establish a stable government for a full term that will take care of all Israel's citizens," Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Israel's longest serving leader, he was prime minister for three years in the 1990s and then from 2009-2021, albeit at times heading a caretaker government ahead of elections. Violence in the West Bank has surged this year.

☆ Starbucks will charge rewards members more stars for free items next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Starbucks is making changes to its rewards program, requiring members to spend more to earn some popular freebies. Program members earn stars when they make purchases. In the three months ending on October 2, the number of active Starbucks rewards members jumped to 28.7 million, up 16% year-over-year. In October, the coffee chain started partnering with Delta (DAL) to let rewards members earn airline miles. While rewards members may be enthusiastic about benefits, they’re also quick to criticize companies for making changes.

Here are 12 of the weirdest and most fascinating animal behaviors scientists spotted in 2022. Here are 12 bizarre and amazing things animals were spotted doing, some of which had never been seen before. It turned out that at least 12 species of primates had been reported doing so, a review published in the Journal of Zoology in October found. A dolphin swallowed 8 venomous sea snakesA sea snake (indicated with pink arrow), moments before it is captured and eaten by a Navy dolphin. Though animals have often been spotted using tools, these usually are used to give the animal a clear survival advantage.

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