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☆ Microsoft announces new AI tools to help ease workload for doctors and nurses
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The tools aim to help health-care organizations build AI applications quicker and save clinicians time on administrative tasks, a major cause of industry burnout. The new tools are the latest example of Microsoft's efforts to establish itself as a leader in health-care AI. Courtesy of MicrosoftMicrosoft also announced a new way for health systems to build AI agents. AI agents vary in complexity, but they can help users answer questions, automate processes and perform specific tasks. For example, a health-care organization could build an AI agent to help doctors identify relevant clinical trials for a patient.

Persons: Mary Varghese Presti, we're, Sara Vaezy, Hadas Bitran Organizations: Microsoft, Microsoft Health, Life Sciences, Health, Providence Health & Services, CNBC, AI, Microsoft Microsoft, Microsoft Copilot Locations: Providence

☆ Why investors shouldn’t sweat this inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The latest inflation report came in slightly hotter than expected, knocking stock prices lower. But the odds of a quarter-point Fed rate cut in November actually rose after the report came out. "CPI Inflation data was slightly on the hotter side, with commodity prices (outside) energy rising more than expected. The good news is that shelter inflation is pulling back and that's going to pull inflation lower. Investors received fresh labor market data Thursday as well, with initial jobless claims jumping by 33,000 to 258,000.

Persons: Dow Jones, Sonu Varghese, Goldman Sachs, Whitney Watson, Ian Lyngen, Stephen Tusa Organizations: CPI, Reserve, Carson, Investors, BMO Capital Markets, JPMorgan, Honeywell

☆ Rate cuts were supposed to push mortgage rates lower. The opposite has happened.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fed easing hasn't led to lower mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed rate actually rising since the first rate cut. Mortgage rates are closely linked to the 10-year US Treasury yield, which have also risen over the period. AdvertisementThe Federal Reserve's jumbo interest-rate cut in mid-September was welcome news to prospective homebuyers, with the expectation that a lower fed funds rate would help push mortgage rates lower. According to data from Mortgage News Daily, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has jumped about 47 basis points since the Fed rate cut, to 6.62% from 6.15%. Whether that will manifest itself in lower mortgage rates is up in the air.

Persons: —, Jerome Powell, Sonu Varghese, it's Organizations: Treasury, Service, Mortgage News, Carson, CME

☆ Interpreting the jobs data: No more half-point rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Fred Imbert | Kavitha Shastry | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs in September, nearly 100,000 more than economists expected. The unemployment rate, which was expected to hold steady at 4.2%, slipped to 4.1%. Wages also rose more than expected month over month. To be sure, the new data also has traders pricing a smaller quarter percentage point interest rate reduction at the central bank's November meeting. "Fed cuts should be slower and I continue to think (and the data supports it) that the current neutral rate is well above 3% (economy chugging along on 5% yields for over a year)," said Tchir.

Persons: Sonu Varghese, Glen Smith, Lindsay Rosner, Ian Lyngen, Peter Tchir Organizations: Stock, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Federal, Carson Group, GDS Wealth, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, BMO Capital Markets, Academy Securities Locations: U.S

☆ Stock market today: Dow notches record high after strong jobs report eases slowdown worries
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US stocks rose 1% and the Dow hit a record as the jobs report alleviated slowdown worries. AdvertisementUS stocks surged about 1% on Friday after the September jobs report soothed fears of an economic slowdown. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, odds of a 50-basis point cut dropped to 0% from 53% last week. Consensus now expects two 25-basis point rate cuts from the Fed at their next two FOMC meetings before year-end. ING's chief economist, James Knightley, said the jobs report was "unambiguously strong."

Persons: —, Dow, Sonu Varghese, Jeffrey Roach, James Knightley, Knightley Organizations: Dow, Service, Federal, Fed, Financial Locations: Here's

☆ Stock market today: US indexes gain after soft inflation report supports more rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks rose after cool inflation data suggested more room for Federal Reserve rate cuts. The personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.1% in August, matching estimates. AdvertisementUS stocks rose on Friday after cool inflation data suggested that the Federal Reserve has more room to cut interest rates. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which is considered the Fed's preferred inflation measure, increased 0.1% in August, in-line with economist estimates. On a year-over-year basis, the PCE Index rose 2.2%, slightly below economist estimates of 2.3%.

Persons: —, Clark Bellin, Bellin, Sonu Varghese, that's, Varghese Organizations: Federal, Service, Federal Reserve, Bellwether Wealth, Business, Carson Group, Here's

☆ One number shows why the economy might not get the immediate relief many hope for
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield, a key lending benchmark for everything from mortgages to corporate debt. "The reaction within Treasury markets was most telling yesterday," Reinking said. AdvertisementHowever, it also means the 10-year Treasury is moving higher since the decision. The 10-year Treasury yield is a lending benchmark for everything from home loans to corporate debt. "That's positive for the economy, and in that case yields should be higher.

Persons: —, Michael Reinking, Reinking, Freddie Mac, Inki Cho, Sonu Varghese, Carson, Jerome Powell's, Varghese Organizations: Service, Federal, Treasury, Business, New York Stock Exchange, Fed

☆ The stock market risks keeping Wall Street's biggest bulls up at night
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The bulls on Wall Street have been largely right about the stock market over the past two years. Business Insider asked three bullish stock strategists what they consider the biggest risks. Yet, those economists have been largely wrong about what could sink the stock market and economy. "In May/June, when you had a lot of bears or those that had been late to jump on the bull parade all of a sudden switch their forecasts and kind of chase markets up, which is pretty, I mean pretty, pretty, pretty classic," Belski told Business Insider. The second risk is, similar to Belski's concern, a 1990's type melt-up in the stock market.

Persons: —, Brian Belski, Belski, Yardeni Research's Eric Wallerstein Eric Wallerstein, Wallerstein, that's, Carson, Sonu Varghese Sonu Varghese, Varghese Organizations: Business, Service, BMO, Nvidia, Yardeni Research, Carson Group, Federal Locations: Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan

The scenes were decidedly Russian. Flags with the country’s signature three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. In the Russian town of Sverdlikovo, a Ukrainian soldier climbed onto another’s shoulders, broke off the wooden post anchored to a town council building and threw the Russian flag to the ground. In Daryino, a town five miles to the west, other soldiers also grabbed a Russian flag. “Just throw it away,” a Ukrainian soldier said, grinning, as another flexed his muscles.

Persons: ” Organizations: Gazprom, The New York Times Locations: Russian, Sverdlikovo, Ukrainian

Moreover, the partnership will enable Rivian to cut operating costs by leveraging volumes of supplies including chips and components, he said. It will also help Rivian, known for its flagship R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, turn cashflow positive. Volkswagen will immediately invest $1 billion in Rivian through a note that will convert to stock on Dec. 1, subject to regulatory approvals. The German automaker will also invest $2 billion in Rivian stock - $1 billion each in 2025 and 2026 - subject to the startup hitting certain milestones, and provide a $1 billion loan in 2026. Rivian stock has halved so far this year.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, RJ Scaringe, Vitaly Golomb, Herbert Diess, Diess, Rivian, Scaringe, Sam Fiorani, Mavka Capital's Golomb, VW's Cariad, Abhirup Roy, Ben Klayman, Noel Randewich, Christina Amann, Harshita Varghese, Sayantani Ghosh, Rod Nickel, Matthew Lewis, Leslie Adler Organizations: Volkswagen, REUTERS, Reuters, JV, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Volkswagen Group, Mavka, VW, AutoForecast Solutions, Traders, S3 Partners, Rivian, Thomson Locations: Reze, Nantes, France, Europe, Asia, North America, U.S, German, South Carolina, San Francisco, Detroit, Oakland , California, Berlin, Bengaluru

A Massacre Threatens Darfur — AgainDarfur SUDAN El FasherA civil war is ripping apart Sudan, one of Africa’s largest countries. Yet a New York Times examination of satellite imagery and video from El Fasher make one thing clear:The assault is intensifying. DARFUR R.S.F. Whole neighborhoods were razed, similar to the destruction in parts of southern and eastern El Fasher in recent months. “The videos from El Fasher could become critical evidence in future trials for crimes in Darfur.”

Persons: Sudan’s, Al Salam, Abu Shoak, El Fasher Al Salam, Abu, Mohamed Zakaria, Thomas van Linge, —, Mellit, El Fasher, ”, El, El Geneina, Janjaweed, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ali Yagoub Gibril, Al Zeer Salem, Fasher, Matthew Gillett, “, ” Mr, Gillett Organizations: Fighters, Rapid Support Forces, . Security, New York, El, Sudanese, Al Salam Camp, Camp, Reuters Fighters, Yale, Research, —, Times, Centre, Information Resilience, Mellit El, Support Forces, Google, ”, Islamic Relief, United Nations, The Times, U.S . Treasury, Broadcasting, University of Essex Locations: Darfur, SUDAN El Fasher, Sudan, El, DARFUR, El Fasher, East Darfur, Sudan’s, Chad, El Geneina, American, Spain, Central Darfur

☆ Here’s where the jobs are for May 2024 — in one chart
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The three sectors, respectively, added 68,000, 43,000 and 42,000 jobs, similar to trends seen over the past year. The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs for the month , coming out significantly higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 190,000. Job growth in May was surprisingly strong, pushing back on lingering fears of a broader economic slowdown and likely slowing the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting timeline. On the other hand, social assistance employment trended higher as it added 15,000 last month, below the sector's average of 22,000 jobs per month seen over the last year. Investors walked away from the report discouraged that the Federal Reserve would cut rates in June, noting that the increase in job growth and above-average wage growth paints a picture of a fairly strong consumer.

Persons: Dow Jones, That's, Sonu Varghese Organizations: U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Investors, Federal Reserve, Carson Group Locations: U.S

☆ Stock market today: Stocks jump on cooler April inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks rose as traders took in slightly cooler inflation figures. Consumer prices rose 3.4% year-per-year in April, down from the prior month's 3.5% increase. Still, investors have muted expectations for Fed rate cuts by the end of the year. AdvertisementUS stocks jumped on Wednesday as traders took in the latest inflation report, which showed prices cooled slightly in April. Falling inflation has fueled some hope the Fed is set to issue several interest rate cuts this year, which is bullish for stocks.

Persons: —, Seema Shah, Sonu Varghese Organizations: Service, Treasury, Asset Management, Traders, Carson Group

☆ 5 indicators that show the US economy is still firing on all cylinders despite slowing GDP
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US economy is still firing on all cylinders despite slowing GDP growth in the first quarter. "The workhorse of the US economy remains the consumer, and there's really not much sign of a slowdown," Varghese said. AdvertisementThe US economy is firing on all cylinders despite a slowdown in first-quarter GDP growth, according to Carson Group global macro strategist Sonu Varghese. These are the five indicators that give Varghese confidence that the US consumer, and therefore the US economy, remains on solid footing. Income growth is outpacing inflationDespite elevated inflation, wage growth continues to outpace inflation growth, and that's ultimately a boon for consumers.

Persons: Sonu Varghese, there's, Varghese, that's, That's, " Varghese, here's Organizations: Carson, Carson Group

☆ Stock futures rise after Apple reports, traders look to April payrolls data: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 212 points, or 0.55%. S&P 500 futures rose nearly 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced about 0.5%. In extended trading, Apple advanced more than 6% after it announced a $110 billion share repurchase and a top -and bottom-line beat. The S&P 500 popped 0.91%, while the Dow gained 0.85%. The S&P 500 is off by 0.7% week to date, while the Nasdaq is down nearly 0.6%.

Persons: Cloudflare, Dow, Jerome Powell, Sonu Varghese, payrolls, Dow Jones Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Stock, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Apple, Biotech Amgen, Dow, Carson Group Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ Where investors might hide out if inflation continues to reaccelerate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

To guard against stubborn inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates, investors should focus on quality companies with high pricing power and adjust their duration risk in bonds, according to Wall Street strategists and portfolio managers. Pricing power Companies with high pricing power tend to outperform when inflation is elevated because they have the ability to defend their profit margins by passing along higher costs to their end market customers. "In equities, you should prefer companies that have pricing power, i.e. "When inflation is the predominant risk in markets, correlations between stocks and traditional bonds tend to be high. BlackRock's iShares strategy team recently argued that investors should take advantage of spikes in bond yields while they can and reinvest their cash.

Persons: Stocks, Brad Conger, Sonu Varghese, Jason Pride, Pride, Rick Rieder Organizations: Dow Jones, Treasury, Street, Callaghan, Co, Big Tech, Carson Group, Securities, U.S ., Glenmede Trust Locations: Hirtle, BlackRock

☆ The March inflation data lowered rate cut expectations. Here's why stocks could take that in stride
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors had lately been hoping the Fed might start easing back on policy starting in June, with three rate cuts penciled in for the year. But a robust labor market, as reflected in last week's March payrolls, and this latest consumer inflation data have pushed back that view. Markets now anticipate the first cut might come in September, with just two quarter-point reductions for the whole year. Even so, investors anticipate that markets may be able to take fewer rate cuts in stride so long as the Fed isn't actually forced to raise rates. Varghese still leans toward equities, expecting as many as three rate cuts this year, though he anticipates the first cut might not come until July now.

Persons: Federal Reserve doesn't, Stocks, isn't, Ayako Yoshioka, Yoshioka, Wolfe, Rob Ginsberg, Ginsberg, Sonu Varghese, Varghese, Powell, they're Organizations: Federal Reserve, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Carson Group, CPI

☆ Stock futures fall ahead of big tech earnings and Fed meeting decision: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Dow Jones and S&P both hit all time highs with the Dow Jones closing over 38,000 points for the first time ever as stocks continue to rise. U.S. stock futures fell across the board Sunday night as Wall Street looked toward several mega-cap tech earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's rate policy decision. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 86 points, or 0.2%. This week marks the busiest week of the earnings season, with 19% of the S&P 500 reporting earnings. Traders in the fed funds futures market assigned an almost 97% probability the Fed will not cut rates at the upcoming meeting, according to the CME Group.

Persons: Dow Jones, Tesla, Sonu Varghese Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Dow, Boeing, Merck, Federal, Traders, CME, Carson Group Locations: New York City, . U.S

☆ We’ve Officially Hit Peak Chore Jacket—Here’s What to Wear Instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Daniel Varghese | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Originally created for 19th-century French laborers, a chore coat is a boxy jacket-slash-overshirt that works in settings “where a tailored jacket might feel too formal, but going jacketless would feel too casual,” said Peter Middleton, founder of New York menswear brand Wythe. Its simple, elegant appearance appeals to 21st-century office drones like me.

Persons: ”, Peter Middleton Organizations: New, Wythe Locations: New York

☆ Amazon to use Falcon 9 rockets of SpaceX for Project Kuiper
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 2 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) has signed an agreement with SpaceX to launch three of Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rockets to support deployment plans for its Project Kuiper, the ecommerce giant said on Friday. Kuiper is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite broadband network designed to accommodate multiple launch providers and vehicles. The company announced the project in 2019, the year SpaceX began deploying its first operational Starlink spacecraft. It aims to build Kuiper as a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 launches are targeted to lift off beginning mid-2025, Amazon said.

Persons: Joe Skipper, Elon, Amazon, Harshita Mary Varghese, Arsheeya, Arun Koyyur Organizations: SpaceX, International Space, Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS, Elon Musk's Falcon, Thomson Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S

☆ ChatGPT one year on: From viral AI bot to OpenAI's boardroom battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 30 (Reuters) - We asked ChatGPT, OpenAI's viral chatbot, how it felt on its first birthday. The generative AI craze has disrupted several industries from cloud computing and customer service to movie editing and screenplay writing. Reuters GraphicsCHATGPT APP DOWNLOADSSix months after ChatGPT's website launch, OpenAI introduced the chatbot application to Apple's (AAPL.O) iOS in May and later on Android in July. With these applications running mostly on the cloud, vendors of cloud computing services, including Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, have also seen their shares surge. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) have invested billions to improve their cloud computing capabilities and take on more AI workloads as businesses embrace such tools.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, chatbots, Bard, Anthropic's Claude, Character.AI, Microsoft's, OpenAI, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jonathan Franzen, Akash Sriram, Harshita Mary Varghese, Zaheer Kachwala, Jaspreet Singh, Sweta Singh, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Reuters, Android, Nvidia, Nasdaq, TECH, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ US compels Saudi fund to exit Altman-backed AI chip startup - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has forced a Saudi Aramco venture capital firm to sell its shares in a Silicon Valley AI chip startup backed by OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Altman-backed Rain Neuromorphics, a startup designing chips that mimic the way the brain works and aims to serve companies using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, raised $25 million in 2022. The agency, the primary U.S. watchdog for deals with national security implications, instructed the Saudi fund to unwind that deal sometime over the past year, the report said. Altman and the U.S. Treasury, which oversees the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) process, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The US has taken action that could block AI development in the Middle East.

Persons: Biden, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Aramco's, Harshita Mary Varghese, Chris Sanders, Arun Koyyur, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Deepa Babington Organizations: Bloomberg, Foreign Investment, Saudi, U.S . Treasury, Department of Treasury, US, Nvidia, Devices, Thomson Locations: Saudi Aramco, United States, U.S

☆ Dell misses quarterly revenue estimates on slow PC market recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Harshita Mary Varghese | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company's client solutions group, which includes its consumer and enterprise personal computer business, posted revenue of $12.28 billion for the third quarter, a near 11% fall compared to a year earlier. However, Dell has more impact than its competitors due to the weakness in the business PC market, which is a core market (for the company)," said Mikako Kitagawa, analyst at Gartner. Dell's servers and networking business revenue was up 9% from the second quarter, fueled by customer interest in generative artificial intelligence, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said. Revenue for the third quarter came in at $22.25 billion for Dell, missing estimates of $23 billion, according to LSEG data. The PC market is expected to bank on demand from AI boost, according to research firm Canalys, as it projects adoption of AI-capable PCs to accelerate from 2025 onward, with such devices accounting for around 60% of all PCs shipped in 2027.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, lockdowns, Dell, Mikako Kitagawa, Jeff Clarke, Harshita Mary Varghese, Maju Samuel Organizations: Dell, Dell Inc, REUTERS, UNITED STATES, Dell Technologies, Gartner, Nvidia, Revenue, Intel, AMD, Thomson Locations: New York

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Synopsys (SNPS.O) on Wednesday forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption boosted demand for the company's chip designing software. Synopsys forecast current-quarter revenue between $1.63 billion and $1.66 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $1.60 billion. The rise in custom chip design efforts by firms like Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has also boosted demand. "You need a very specific silicon in order to power that (AI) training," Sassine Ghazi, the company's president and chief operating officer, said of the boom in AI chips in an interview. Ghazi told Reuters that increased use of Synopsys AI services helped boost the value of some of its contracts by 20% at renewal time.

Persons: Sassine Ghazi, Ghazi, Aart de Geus, Synopsys, Harshita Mary Varghese, Shailesh Kuber, Deepa Babington Organizations: Design, Microsoft, Intel, Mercedes, Benz, Reuters, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Sunnyvale , California

☆ NetApp lifts annual profit forecast on upbeat cloud service demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 28 (Reuters) - NetApp (NTAP.O) raised its annual profit forecast on resilient demand for its cloud-based data solutions as companies push on digital transformation projects, sending its shares up 10% after the bell on Thursday. Rise of artificial intelligence applications has also boosted spending on cloud computing, including storage solutions like the ones provided by NetApp. The company expects full-year adjusted profit per share between $6.05 and $6.25 compared with $5.65 to $5.85 it had previously projected. NetApp forecast net revenue for the third quarter to be between $1.51 billion and $1.67 billion, the mid-point of which was above analysts' estimate of $1.56 billion. It expects adjusted profit between $1.64 and $1.74 per share, above market expectation of $1.53.

Persons: George Kurian, Harshita Mary Varghese, Arun Koyyur Organizations: NetApp, Web Services, Google, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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