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☆ Exclusive: Fractal, a New York venture studio, is laying off staff and will stop creating new startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The venture studio Fractal Software will no longer start new companies, Insider has learned. Fractal Software, a venture studio that creates startups by hatching its own ideas and hiring founders to execute, has laid off staff and will stop starting new companies, Insider has learned. At least 28 employees, about 25% of staff, have left Fractal in the past six months, according to LinkedIn. Fractal confirmed layoffs occurred starting in December, but would not specify the number of employees affected. Fractal has a few more startups in the pipeline, with a goal of launching 145 companies, two people familiar with the company's strategy said.

Persons: Omri Bloch, That's, Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Bienville, Melia Russell, Stephanie Palazzolo Organizations: New, Software, Investors, Tiger Global, Bienville Capital, Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter Locations: New York, 8VC, Bienville

☆ These are the top 10 holdings of Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio as of March 31. With various portfolio changes in the first quarter of the year, Berkshire Hathaway's top 10 holdings of US stocks has shifted, though Apple still represents a near 50% of the portfolio. In fact, the top 10 positions in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio make up a massive 90.2% of its entire portfolio. These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion US stock portfolio as of March 31. American ExpressCredit cards fill a display at American Express headquarters John Moore/Getty ImagesTicker: AXPPosition: $25.0 billionPercent of portfolio: 7.7%2.

☆ High-stakes game of keeping secrets on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Citadel Securities' trading strategies? Look no further than a recently filed lawsuit by Citadel Securities against two former employees, per Bloomberg. The suit, which you can read here, alleges the former employees were building a competing high-frequency trading firm while still employed and used trade secrets gained while at Citadel Securities. Portofino told Bloomberg that the Citadel Securities lawsuit was "corporate bullying" and that it would defend itself. On the one hand, trading firms invest a lot of money — check out some salary ranges here — in developing these strategies.

[1/3] Packaged food for sale is seen on shelves at a Dollar Tree in Islandia, New York, U.S., May 12, 2023. Razor manufacturer Edgewell Personal Care Co (EPC.N) and Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) have overhauled or built new teams dedicated to working with the biggest U.S. dollar stores like Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O) and Dollar General Corp (DG.N) in the last year. Makers of food and household staples are pushing deeper into dollar stores because the low-cost retailers are opening thousands of locations each year. Griffin added that dollar stores are also introducing more "premium" private label brands, like Dollar General's Nature's Menu for pets. Kraft-Heinz also created a new team of five people late last year to identify and develop products for dollar stores, a spokesman said.

☆ These European companies cut jobs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TECH* ERICSSON (ERICb.ST): the telecom equipment maker will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo seen by Reuters said. * NOKIA (NOKIA.HE): the Finnish telecom equipment maker said on May 3 it plans to cut up to 208 jobs in Finland. * PHILIPS (PHG.AS): the Dutch medical equipment maker on Jan. 30 said it would cut 6,000 jobs to counter falling sales and after a massive recall of its respiratory machines. * SAP (SAPG.DE): the German software company said on Jan. 26 it planned to shed 3,000 jobs, 2.5% of its global workforce, to cut costs and focus on its cloud business. * EVONIK (EVKn.DE): the German specialty chemicals producer said on April 3 it would cut 200 jobs as part of restructuring of its pet food unit.

☆ Prebiotic soda Olipop approaches $200 million in annual sales — and CEO says Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have already come knocking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Prebiotic soda maker Olipop is set to cross $200 million in annual sales this year, just five years after it arrived on grocery store shelves. Olipop had raised $55.4 million as of Jan. 2, at a reported valuation of $199.8 million, according to Pitchbook data. Consumers are also increasingly interested in "gut health," one of the latest wellness trends. Both Olipop and Poppi have leaned into influencer marketing on TikTok, where gut health became a trending topic last year. But Olipop's Goodwin is confident that consumers are willing to pay more for the drinks he formulates.

☆ Warren Buffett eats McDonald's for breakfast, drinks 5 Cokes a day, and devours cookies and ice cream. Here are the investor's 11 best quotes about his iconic diet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO counts burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream among his favorite foods. He munches on McDonald's for breakfast, guzzles five cans of Coke every day, and demolishes cookies and chocolates. If a three-year-old doesn't eat it, I don't eat it." If I'd been eating broccoli and Brussels sprouts all my life, I don't think I'd live as long. "I don't eat any Chinese food.

Cloetta AB, (CLOEb.ST) a Swedish confectioner which makes Lakerol lozenges that use gum arabic, has "ample" stock of the ingredient, a spokesperson said in an email. Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to source gum arabic. It accounts for the livelihoods of thousands of people and the more expensive variety can cost about $3,000 a tonne, according to Gum Sudan. There is a poorer quality, cheaper gum from outside of Sudan, but the preferred ingredient is only found in acacia trees in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, Alnoor said.

☆ A 'Diet Coke break' is the latest example of Gen Zs and Millennials insisting on work-life balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea of "sharing a Coke," or taking a Diet Coke break, is also prominent in the soda brand's advertising history. Seninger says she's always been a "Diet Coke break girl" — even before she started posting about it on TikTok last year. A Diet Coke break helps me to romanticize that part of my day and take a break," Seninger said. In another TikTok, a creator captioned her Diet Coke break video: "Studies show Diet Coke breaks significantly improve one's mental health." In the past, he's said he drinks a minimum of five cans of Diet Coke or Cherry Coke a day.

☆ Coca-Cola earnings beat estimates, fueled by price hikes and higher demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Coca-Cola on Monday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations, fueled by price hikes and higher demand for its drinks. Shares of the company rose 1% in premarket trading. Excluding items, the beverage giant earned 68 cents per share. Organic revenue, which strips out the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, climbed 12% in the quarter. It is projecting comparable revenue growth of 3% to 5% and comparable earnings per share growth of 4% to 5% for 2023.

☆ Opinion | Is There Still Free Will in Addiction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Maia Szalavitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When I was arrested and charged with possession with intent to sell cocaine in 1986, I was addicted to both coke and heroin. I knew that doing this further jeopardized my life prospects and my relationships with everyone I cared about. Was my brain hijacked by drugs — or was I willfully choosing to risk it all for a few hours of selfish pleasure? What makes people continue taking drugs like street fentanyl, which put them at daily risk of death? These questions are at the heart of drug policy and the way we view and treat addiction.

☆ Inside the Wild World of Celebrity Keynote Speakers: Drugs, Alcohol
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

"I never saw myself as a speaker, let alone a motivational speaker," Leonard tells me while his assistant irons his jeans. 'When I ramble," Hunter told me, "hit me in the leg!" Every plane had been grounded, including the one stuck on the tarmac with an increasingly inebriated Hunter Thompson trapped inside. But by far the most all-consuming task was booking gigs for Hunter Thompson. Just before a debate with G. Gordon Liddy at Brown University, Hunter demanded that Betsy Berg, whom I now worked alongside at GTN, score him some crystal meth.

☆ How PepsiCo is trying to get Doritos and Cheetos bags into compost bins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But more chip bags and snack containers being sold also means more waste from plastic and other packaging materials, something PepsiCo is aiming to take on. "Two years ago, if you think about our multipack packages, there was one plastic [packaging] outside, and each multipack serving," he said. McDonald's recently agreed under pressure from activist shareholders to produce a report on reusable packaging in exchange for having a shareholder vote on the issue rescinded. As far back as 2019, both Coke and Pepsi had already cut ties with a plastics industry association, and issued previous goals related to recyclable, compostable and reusable packaging. Taking what it learned from creating the Off The Eaten Path's packaging, Frito-Lay has introduced other packaging made from 85% renewable plant materials that produce roughly 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional snack bags.

☆ Analysis: Twitter's advertising business seen facing slow recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), earlier this week told the BBC that most of Twitter's advertisers are returning to the platform and the business was "roughly breaking even." Research firm Insider Intelligence this week slashed its forecast for Twitter's global ad revenue this year by 37% to $2.98 billion. That would represent a 28% decline from Twitter's 2022 ad revenue of $4.14 billion. 33 among Twitter's top advertisers before Musk's acquisition, according to Sensor Tower. Twitter's ad business is "eroding" and its subscription product Twitter Blue is seeing only moderate success, Similarweb said in a blog post.

☆ Warren Buffett: I'd give up a year of my life to eat what I like
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Warren Buffett said he's happiest when eating dessert and drinking Coke — and would give up a year of his life to keep doing so. "I always tell people: I found everything I like to eat by the time I was six," Buffett said in an interview with Becky Quick on CNBC's "Squawk Box" in Tokyo. "I know all these people eat all these green things and everything," he said. Buffett said he's gotten to his age with the habits of a six-year-old, and has been lucky to mostly be in good health. "I'm happier when I'm eating hot fudge sundaes or drinking Coke."

☆ Warren Buffett: I’d give up a year of my life to eat what I like
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWarren Buffett: I’d give up a year of my life to eat what I likeWarren Buffett joins CNBC's "Squawk Box" for an exclusive interview. He said he’s happiest when eating dessert and drinking Coke — and would give up a year of his life to keep doing so. “I always tell people: I found everything I like to eat by the time I was six,” Buffett said Wednesday in an interview with Becky Quick on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in Tokyo. “I mean, why should I fool around with all these other foods?”

☆ Warren Buffett, who famously loves McDonald's, is willing to give up a year of his life to eat whatever he wants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Warren Buffett says he'd give up an extra year of his life to be able to eat anything he wants. Famously a fan of junk food, the 92-year-old has said he drinks 5 cans of Coke a day and eats McDonald's daily. "I always tell people: I found everything I like to eat by the time I was six," he told CNBC. He's said before that he drinks five cans of Coke a day and told Fortune in 2015 that he's "one-quarter Coca-Cola." "I always tell people: I found everything I like to eat by the time I was six," Buffett told CNBC.

☆ Kyiv denies Wagner Bakhmut claim, Russia says forces advancing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The claim by Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner mercenary group had seized more than 80% of Bakhmut was untrue, it said. And Russian forces, it said, had struck Ukrainian army reserves trying to break through. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, dismissed Prigozhin's latest 80% claim in a comment to Reuters. Analyst Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy in Poland, said his calculations bore out the Russian claim of 80%. Russian forces, it said, had tried unsuccessfully to move on two villages to the northwest.

☆ 12 discontinued snacks and beverages that you can never buy again, from Tab to Snackwell's
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

TabRamin Talaie/Getty ImagesTab became one of the first diet sodas to hit the market in 1963. That gave it a niche audience that few other soft drinks could match until Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi came along in the early 1980s, Fast Company reported in 2020. Finally, in 2020, Coke said it would discontinue the soda at the end of that year as part of a broader culling of underperforming brands. But even until its demise, Tab had its fans. One woman Insider interviewed in 2020 even ran a website to help Tab drinkers find the soda for sale as its distribution dwindled.

☆ The eating habits of tech executives: From Mark Zuckerberg's 'kill what you eat' routine to Elon Musk's Diet Coke obsession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Grace Kay | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Some of the richest people in tech have some pretty bizarre eating habits. Elon Musk Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC ImagesJust because billionaires have the money to pay for pricey personal chefs or high-end healthy foods doesn't mean they're adhering to diets that are good for them. While some experiment with the latest health fads —like the Paleo diet and veganism — there are other tech billionaires who enjoy eating chocolate for breakfast or skip eating altogether for days at a time. So when it comes to wealth, you may want to follow the lead of these techies, but think twice when it comes to health.

☆ From McDonald's $200 million Arch Deluxe to Colgate's frozen lasagna: Here are 5 of the biggest food 'failures'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

For every massive hit like the Popeye's chicken sandwich, the food industry produces countless duds. At the museum, visitors can see failed products ranging from the once-promising 3D TVs to the infamous MoviePass. "What I really appreciate with the food and beverage industry is that they have this sort of evolutionary approach," West says. "If we don't accept the failures, we can't have the good stuff," West says. These are five of the biggest culinary duds at the Museum of Failure.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway faces a brutal mix of economic headwinds. It will capitalize on the chaos, 8 experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Berkshire Hathaway faces high inflation, rising rates, and a potential recession and credit crunch. Warren Buffett's company will weather the storm and scoop up the bargains that emerge, experts say. Experts say Berkshire's ample cash reserves, strong brands, and prudent management will enable it to comfortably navigate a harsh economic environment. "Shareholders who plan on holding Berkshire for years into the future should hope for a near-term bear market in stocks. Brian Gongol, longtime Buffett follower and Berkshire shareholder:"It's better to be in Berkshire's shoes during challenging times than during a boom.

☆ Factbox: Virgin Orbit bankruptcy echoes Branson's past troubled ventures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 4 (Reuters) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings (VORB.O) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday after the satellite launch company failed to secure long-term funding following a January rocket failure. VIRGIN AUSTRALIAAustralia's second largest airline filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 also battered by the pandemic before exiting voluntary administration in November that year. VIRGIN ACTIVEThe health club firm, in which Branson is still a shareholder, was forced to restructure in the UK after the pandemic hurt the business. VIRGIN CARSStarted in 2000, the Virgin brand's only foray into the online auto retail business lasted five years. VIRGIN VODKAAfter a high-profile launch in the early 1990s, Virgin Vodka was discontinued and Virgin Drinks closed in 2007.

HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela, April 4 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports rose in March to the highest monthly average since August, boosted by a resumption of loadings after an export freeze and by rising cargoes assigned to Chevron Corp (CVX.N), according to documents and shipping data. State oil company PDVSA has reinstated two export contracts after a January freeze by new boss Pedro Tellechea: a medium-term contract with Hangzhou Energy, and another with Portugal-based Adinius Sociedade de Servicios, the documents showed. Oil swap deals with Chevron, Cuba's state company Cubametales and Iran's Naftiran Intertrade Co (NICO) - and most exports of oil byproducts - have continued flowing without interruption during the freeze. Chevron received and exported about 115,000 bpd of Venezuelan heavy crude to the U.S., an increase from about 80,000 bpd in February. Oil exports averaged 774,420 bpd in March, the highest since August, as state company PDVSA reinstated supply contracts that allowed it to ship more crude and fuel in supertankers.

Trump arrived via motorcade at 100 Centre Street, a towering, 1940s-era building faced in limestone, granite, and decades of grime. It's the DA investigators who "book" Trump, a process that begins with the former president emptying his pockets. Prints are run on anyone arrested in New York, and Trump will be no different. No one will check if Trump fibsThe DA investigators will also take Trump's pedigree information — name, date of birth, address, phone number, that sort of thing. "There's a cell in the processing area in the DA investigators' offices," she said.

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