DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ No 'immediate path forward': CFTC is talking to Binance after launching legal action, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Commodity Futures Trading Commission official said Tuesday that she hopes to find a "path forward" in the regulator's legal battle with crypto exchange Binance, noting that no decision has been taken yet on whether to settle the case or take it to court. Kristin N. Johnson, commissioner at the CFTC, said that the regulator has been in conversations with Binance to address its concerns about the company's conduct. And I want to say that typically, in the context of any litigation, we are always ready to have conversations and typically even ahead of the litigation," Johnson said in an interview with CNBC's Arjun Kharpal Tuesday. "As of the moment, we can conclude that there is not an immediate path forward," she added. Her comments mark a rare statement on the Binance suit to media since the CFTC first announced it was suing the company on Mar.

☆ Corporate Tech Leaders Get Back to Basics
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“It’s all about balancing priorities across both keeping the lights on, as well as new innovations, in order to support business needs,” said Sharmeelee Bala, Chief Information Officer at JCPenney. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg NewsThe era of the unicorn chief information officer is over, executive recruiters say. Many companies are now looking for IT chiefs who can deliver on the basics—including uptime, security and cost optimization—rather than tremendous innovators who can push boundaries and drive major change. To blame are tighter budgets, lower appetite for risk and a realization that some companies haven’t done a great job of keeping their foundational IT investments in order in the first place, recruiters said. The shift is a natural symptom of the economic cycle, they said.

☆ FDA approves over-the-counter sales of lifesaving opioid overdose treatment Narcan nasal spray
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved sales without a prescription of the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, a decision that promises to significantly expand access to the lifesaving treatment. The FDA's decision means people will be able to buy the 4 milligram nasal spray in supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, vending machines and online. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, in a statement, said the agency is encouraging the company to make the nasal spray available as soon as possible at an affordable price. The nasal spray must be administered as soon as an overdose is suspected. Two nasal spray devices typically come in a single package.

☆ Here's how to spot a good growth stock, according to one fund manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Growth stocks have been enjoying a rebound after a miserable 2022. And the tech sector in particular — a favorite among investors seeking exposure to growth stocks — has been a bright spot amid the banking turmoil. "As a growth manager … one of the things we're trying to think about is, how do you identify good growth businesses?" He said one of the biggest risks of growth investing is paying too much today for future growth. Future growth is very difficult to predict, he said, adding that historical growth isn't particularly indicative of future growth.

☆ Is Nvidia's high valuation justified? A cautious fund manager gives two reasons to own the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

NVDA 1Y line Nvidia's business model centers around selling high-performance graphics processing units that are essential for running the algorithms behind artificial intelligence technologies. While Mortimer acknowledged that Nvidia is currently his most expensive holding in the $580 million Guinness Global Innovators Fund, he expects data center and cloud computing sales to continue rising. The fund manager also pointed toward Nvidia's profitability advantage relative to its peers as a reason to own the stock. According to Mortimer, this rare feature gives it an edge over competitors who may struggle with balancing these two factors. Mortimer joined Guinness Global Investors in 2006 and also manages the $3.8 billion Guinness Global Equity Income.

☆ Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel defends fivefold price hike of Covid vaccine during Senate grilling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Moderna plans to raise the list price of its vaccine 400% to $130 when the shots are sold on the private market as early as this fall. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Wednesday defended the company's plans to hike the price of its Covid shots fivefold, deflecting pressure at a Senate hearing to abandon the increase while taking barbs over his compensation. Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., questions Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing titled Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine? He told the committee that the Covid vaccine market is changing substantially as the U.S. government stops buying and distributing the shots for the entire country. The Covid vaccine remains Moderna's only product on the market at the moment.

☆ Watch live: Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel testifies before Senate on Covid vaccine price hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Moderna's CEO, Stephane Bancel, is testifying Wednesday before the Senate health committee on pricing of the company's Covid-19 vaccine. The Boston biotech company plans to charge $130 per dose once the vaccination program moves to the private market as early as this fall. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chair of the health committee, slammed Moderna in a letter to Bancel in January, calling the price hike "outrageous." Learn more and register today: http://bit.ly/3DUNbRoAfter Sanders sent the letter, Moderna said it will create an assistance program to keep the vaccine free for people who are uninsured or underinsured. People who have Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance should still receive the shot at no cost, but Sanders said the price increase "will cost taxpayers billions of dollars."

☆ Potentially deadly fungus Candida auris is spreading at an 'alarming rate,' CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A fungus that is often resistant to drugs has spread at an "alarming rate" through health-care facilities in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Candida auris is an emerging fungus that is serious and potentially fatal for hospitalized patients, particularly those with multiple medical problems. California, the mid-Atlantic region, the Midwest, Texas and Florida had growing transmission during that time, according to the CDC. The fungus has spread most in long-term care hospitals for people who have serious medical conditions and need ongoing treatment, according to the CDC. A 2021 CDC report found that mortality in two outbreaks of the fungus that was resistant to echinocandins was 30% over 30 days.

☆ Abortion pill mifepristone ruling in Texas case could hinge on 1873 Comstock Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A federal judge in Texas may try to invoke an obscure 19th-century law called the Comstock Act to roll back mail delivery of the abortion pill mifepristone. His rationale could hinge in part on the Comstock Act. The anti-abortion group's attorneys argued that the Comstock Act and other laws ban mail delivery of mifepristone. The Comstock Act has not been enforced in decades, said Rachel Rebouche, an expert on reproductive health law at Temple University. Congress passed the Comstock Act in 1873 after an anti-vice crusader named Anthony Comstock successfully lobbied lawmakers to declare "obscene" materials as not mailable.

☆ CNBC Pro Talks: Dividends or growth stocks? Fund manager Ian Mortimer has strategies for both
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fund manager Ian Mortimer will explain how he selects high-yielding companies and identifies growth stocks while avoiding the hype. He joined Guinness Global Investors in 2006 and manages the Guinness Global Equity Income Fund and the Guinness Global Innovators Fund. Join CNBC Pro Talks on Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 a.m. GMT / 2:30 p.m. SGT / 2:30 a.m. He joined Guinness Global Investors in 2006 and manages the Guinness Global Equity Income Fund and the Guinness Global Innovators Fund. Join CNBC Pro Talks on Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 a.m. GMT / 2:30 p.m. SGT / 2:30 a.m.

☆ Biden signs legislation to declassify certain intelligence on Covid pandemic origins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information on any possible links between a lab in China and the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines now has 90 days to declassify all information on possible links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of Covid. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also concluded that the pandemic likely began with a lab incident in Wuhan, China, the agency's director Christopher Wray told Fox News. The pandemic began three years ago in Wuhan, China, though it's still unknown how Covid spread to people. The intelligence community was divided in a 2021 report ordered by Biden that reviewed information on the pandemic's origins.

☆ These 74 stocks across 5 categories of AI are the top picks from the sector's leading fund managers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

These 74 stocks are picked by AI ETF managers. What she believes is unique about her fund is its heavy focus on quantum computing technology, making up 41.22% of the fund. While big data is used for different technologies, it enables AI to work with massive data sets in its machine-learning process. TipRanks, a financial technology website that uses AI to analyze financial data, created a stock list for what they deem are the best AI stocks based on popularity. TipRanks' list of nine of the best AI stocks have large market caps and are likely to remain relevant for a long time.

☆ Snoop Dogg launches new coffee line INDOxyz inspired by trip to Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg is expanding his business empire yet again, this time branching out into a line of premium coffee products with beans sourced locally from Indonesia. “My relationship with coffee goes way back,” Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said in the statement. “The many long nights in the studio making hit after hit, coffee provided the fuel which kept us going. Snoop’s coffee beans will be sourced from Gayo, a region in Aceh on the island of Sumatra. In addition to releasing more than a dozen studio albums and receiving multiple Grammy nominations as a rapper, Snoop Dogg has been expanding his business empire.

☆ U.S. judge in Texas will soon rule on the abortion pill mifepristone. Here's what could happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine wants Judge Kacsmaryk to nullify the FDA's medical approval of mifepristone, which would effectively ban the abortion pill across the US. Senate Judiciary Committee | YouTubeA Texas judge will soon issue a pivotal ruling in a closely watched case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. It's also possible that Kacsmaryk could order the agency to impose tighter restrictions on access to mifepristone but stop short of completely halting sales. Abortion rights groups and legal experts expect the judge will rule against the FDA in some form. Possible injunctionIf Kacsmaryk issues an order to withdraw mifepristone from the market, there are several ways such a ruling could be drafted.

☆ Larry Fink: BlackRock is not the 'environmental police'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Laurence "Larry" Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., pauses as he speaks during the BlackRock Asia Media Forum in Hong Kong, China. Justin Chin | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAsset managers like BlackRock are not "the environmental police," Larry Fink said in his annual chairman's letter to investors, which was published on Wednesday. In fact, it's hard to find a part of our ecology – or our economy – that's not affected," Fink wrote. Blackrock has customers who want to invest in the energy transition and others who do not, Fink said, and Blackrock serves both types. BlackRock is investing in natural gas pipelines, with efforts made to mitigate methane emissions from those natural gas pipelines, Fink said.

☆ Senate Democrats urge Walmart, Costco, Albertsons and Kroger to sell abortion pill mifepristone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Erin Hooley | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesSenate Democrats called on Walmart , Costco , Albertsons and Kroger to sell the prescription abortion pill mifepristone and clearly let customers know how to get it at their pharmacies. The companies have not publicly stated yet whether they plan to sell mifepristone at their pharmacies. The 17 senators told Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran and Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen that they are frustrated the companies have not yet publicly indicated whether they will sell mifepristone. Major retailers in the U.S. have been thrust in the middle of the nation's deep divisions over abortion as they weigh whether to sell mifepristone. Walgreens has come under fire after it told the GOP attorneys general that it would not sell mifepristone in their states.

☆ Citing 'death threats,' Texas judge asked attorneys to keep news of hearing on legality of abortion pill quiet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine wants Judge Kacsmaryk to nullify the FDA's medical approval of mifepristone, which would effectively ban the abortion pill across the US. But Kacsmaryk asked the attorneys to not to publicize the hearing, citing security concerns. Those present at the Friday conference call included lawyers from the Justice Department, the abortion pill maker Danco Laboratories, and a group that opposes abortion called the Alliance Defending Freedom. A group of physicians who oppose abortion called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine asked Kacsmaryk in November to order the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The abortion pill has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade last June.

In the short-term, regulators have found a solution for Silicon Valley Bank depositors and, we hope, calmed the fears of a wider run on regional banks. The much admired U.S. system for producing innovation has just received a body blow, and the turmoil that led to the death of Silicon Valley Bank isn't over. Silicon Valley Bank, founded in 1983, was born in a time when Silicon Valley was a synonym for "tech" and "innovation." SVB was the crown jewel of banks and the venture capital industry, not just in Silicon Valley, but globally. It's easy to picture these as large firms, and a tiny handful of famous venture firms have hundreds of employees.

TORONTO, March 13 (Reuters) - Last week's sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) could choke funding for Canada's technology start-ups and place them in the hands of domestic lenders who may be more selective in financing new ventures, financiers told Reuters. Companies including Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) were examples of Canada's tech success story, which helped pull more investments into the sector. Benjamin Bergen, president at Council of Canadian Innovators, a lobby group for Canadian technology companies, agreed. "Before SVB went down, accessing capital was increasingly becoming tighter and tighter for Canadians for startups for scale ups," he said. Aside from the banks, the federal government also has a Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative program that invests in promising Canadian technology companies.

☆ Judge shares date of abortion pill hearing after media outlets criticize him for secrecy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A federal judge in Texas publicly disclosed that he scheduled a hearing in a case seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, after media outlets criticized him for attempting to keep the proceedings secret until the last minute. The hearing will take place in Amarillo, Texas. Media outlets filed a letter on Monday urging Kacsmaryk to disclose the date of the hearing immediately. The outlets included NBCUniversal News Group, of which CNBC is a part, The Washington Post, ProPublica, the Texas Press Association and Gannett, among others. They argued that the way the FDA approved mifepristone violated federal law.

☆ Companies Are Laying Off Middle Managers, That's a Huge Mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But in recent weeks, as companies brace for tougher times ahead, the assault on middle managers has picked up new steam. At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg is eliminating layers of middle management, demoting many supervisors to the ranks of the supervised. Zuckerberg offered a telling explanation for his decision: He doesn't want to have "managers managing managers, managing managers, managing managers, managing the people who are doing the work." In the UKG survey, 42% of middle managers said they were often or always stressed — a higher share than either frontline workers or C-suite executives. The businesses most likely to weather the current economic turmoil, Harter says, are those that unlock the hidden value of middle managers.

☆ Veterans' Health will cover Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi for some patients
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Alzheimer's drug Leqembi is seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on January 20, 2023. The Veterans' Health Administration will cover Eisai and Biogen 's Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi for some patients, the companies announced on Monday. In a statement, Eisai said veterans in the early stages of the disease who meet VHA criteria are eligible for coverage of Leqembi. The VHA is the largest health system in the country, providing care for veterans at nearly 1,300 facilities nationwide. Nearly 168,000 veterans had Alzheimer's disease in 2022, according to federal estimates.

☆ Meta exploring plans for Twitter rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring plans to launch a new social media app in its bid to displace Twitter as the world's "digital town square". "We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. A Twitter-like app would allow Meta to take advantage of the current chaos at the Elon Musk-led company, where cost-cutting has been rampant. Twitter has been struggling to hold on to its advertising base since Musk's takeover of the platform late last year. "They're just trying everything... at least with a mini blogging site like Twitter, there's some expectation that it could start to make money out of much quicker timeline than the metaverse investment."

☆ North Carolina lawmakers intervene to defend abortion pill restrictions in case testing FDA power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

North Carolina has divided government. Stein told North Carolina lawmakers the FDA determined that restrictions like those in North Carolina unduly burden patients' access to a safe and effective drug. A federal judge on Friday allowed North Carolina lawmakers to defend restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, after the state attorney general declined to do so. The abortion pill has become the central flashpoint in the battle over abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Democratic attorneys general have asked a federal judge in Washington state to declare the remaining FDA restrictions on mifepristone unconstitutional.

☆ California will not renew $54 million contract with Walgreens over abortion pill policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

California will not renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens over the drug store chain's decision not to sell the abortion pill in some states due to legal restrictions. Walgreens said it will sell the abortion pill, mifepristone, in any state where it is "legally permissible to do so." Republican attorneys general in 21 states warned Walgreens in February that selling or distributing the abortion pill in their states would violate local laws. Walgreens is also not selling the abortion pill in states like Alaska, Kansas or Montana where abortion is protected as a right under the states' constitutions. The drug store will also not sell mifepristone in Iowa, where the state Supreme Court last year overturned state constitutional protections for abortion.

Search resuls for: "Innovators"

25 mentions found