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☆ 2 cicada broods are popping up together for the first time in 221 years — and they'll meet in Illinois
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Two broods of periodical cicadas are emerging simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. That's because two broods of periodical cicadas — Broods XIII and XIX — will emerge from their underground lairs simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. Brood XIX will predominantly appear in southern states, while Brood XIII will appear in a small section of the Midwest — mainly Illinois. Unlike annual cicadas, periodical cicadas spend years in their underground rooms like brooding teenagers (is that why they're called broods?) In the case of the next two emerging broods, Brood XIII emerges every 17 years, while Brood XIX emerges every 13 years.

Persons: —, Lewis, Clark, Thomas Jefferson, Hype, Instagram, Brood, Gene Kritsky, Jessee Smith, I've, Kritsky, they're, it's, cicada, you've Organizations: Service, Business, Joseph University, Southern Locations: Illinois, Chicago, Louisiana, Marbury, Madison, Lake, Mount St

☆ The No. 1 employer for happy and fulfilled workers is a truck stop and convenience store chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company where workers feel most happy, fulfilled and stress-free can be seen from any given highway coast to coast. Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, the truck stop and convenience store chain, was rated the No. 1 company for employee well-being, according to a new report from Indeed. Indeed based the awards on employee ratings focused on four aspects related to worker well-being: happiness, purpose, satisfaction and stress. While that looks a bit different at each company and in different industries, a high Work Well-being Score means employees feel appreciated, supported and generally satisfied at work."

Persons: Love's, Walt Disney Company Apple Love's, Jessee Rigney, Harris, Rigney, Priscilla Koranteng Organizations: Stores, Delta Air Lines Tata Consultancy Services Accenture IBM, Wipro Infosys Nike Vans, Cognizant Technology Solutions Hallmark Microsoft Northrop Grumman FedEx Freight Dutch, Coffee, Walt Disney Company Apple, CNBC, Employees Locations: Oklahoma City, New York, California

☆ We Tested an AI Chatbot Drive-Though. Here's How It Did on Three Challenges.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Musk vs. Zuckerberg vs. Everyone Else: The New Age of Big Tech Fights Twitter owner Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have agreed to a cage match. A physical fight might be a first but WSJ’s Joanna Stern breaks down—with the help of action figures—why this tech brawl is actually like past Silicon Valley beefs. Photo Illustration: Kenny Wassus, Preston Jessee

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Joanna Stern, Kenny Wassus, Preston Jessee Organizations: Zuckerberg, Big Tech, Twitter

☆ Carvana Strikes Deal to Avert Cash Crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ben Foldy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Carvana’s share price skyrocketed in 2021, but less than a year later it dropped by 95%. WSJ’s Ben Foldy explains the factors that helped drive the online car dealer’s growth and why investors are now questioning its future. Illustration: Preston JesseeOnline used-car dealer Carvana is taking a buy-now, pay-later approach to resolve a long-running standoff with its lenders and relieve a looming cash crisis. The company said Wednesday that it would exchange some of its outstanding bonds for new notes that would allow it to delay some of Carvana’s interest payments over the next two years. Unlike the old debt, the new notes will be secured by the company’s assets.

Persons: WSJ’s Ben Foldy, Carvana Organizations: Jessee

Not all financial advice turns out to be solid — and many claims about crypto haven't come to pass. That's also when financial writers like me started hearing (and reading) wild claims and advice surrounding crypto investing. So how can you know when financial claims like this one are not what they seem? And what should you look for when deciding which financial claims may actually come true one day? The same is true for all the self-proclaimed "crypto experts" that have been all over the media over the last few years.

Persons: —, cryptocurrency, That's, FTX, Taylor, CFP Mike Earl Organizations: Service, CFP Locations: Africa

☆ The Tech Behind How Concert LED Light Wristbands Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How This Construction Technique Prevents Skyscrapers From Sinking Super-tall skyscrapers are being built in cities around the world where they might normally sink. But a process called deep-soil mixing allows builders to give skyscrapers a stronger base. WSJ explains how the process changes the earth, and the risks it poses as cities expand. Illustration: Preston Jessee

Persons: Preston Jessee

☆ Disney Scrapping Florida Campus, Shuttering Hotel Amid DeSantis Feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bob Lee Murder: The Story of the Cash App Founder and His Alleged Killer The fatal stabbing of Bob Lee rocked Silicon Valley. WSJ’s Kirsten Grind reveals details about what brought the Cash App founder and his alleged killer together, and explains what prosecutors say happened the night of his death. Photo Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Stop Equating the Latest Bank Failures to the 2008 Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Josh Zumbrun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank in early May and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeThe failures this year of First Republic Bank , Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have been labeled the second-, third- and fourth-largest bank failures in U.S. history. By one measure, the three banks held more assets than all 25 banks that failed in 2008 during the global financial crisis. Wait a second: this wave of failures is as bad as the 2008 crisis?

☆ Donald Trump Found Liable for Sexually Abusing, Defaming E. Jean Carroll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Title 42: What Its End Means for Immigration and the Southern Border Title 42, which allowed U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds, is set to expire May 11. WSJ’s Alicia A. Caldwell explains what the policy is, the effect it has had on the border and what comes next. Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Robinhood to Launch 24-Hour Trading on Weekdays in Stocks and ETFs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Alexander Osipovich | Hannah Miao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robinhood was one of the most valuable startups in Silicon Valley before its IPO. But its share price has struggled since then. Illustration: Preston JesseeUsers of Robinhood Markets’ popular app will soon be able to trade Tesla shares in the middle of the night. Robinhood plans to announce Wednesday that it will offer 24-hour trading of selected stocks and exchange-traded funds, five days a week. The move is part of a growing push in parts of the financial industry to expand trading beyond traditional Wall Street operating hours.

☆ Can Inflation Fall Fast Enough for the Fed?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ’s Nick Timiraos explains how 2% became the central bank’s sweet spot, and what happens when the U.S. economy strays from it. Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeInflation is still too high. That probably won’t lead Federal Reserve policy makers to raise rates when they meet next month, but unless inflation comes down significantly in the months ahead, Fed policy makers will lace up their boots and start hiking all over again. Maybe it will.

☆ We May Be Getting Used to High Inflation, and That’s Bad News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Greg Ip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inflation is slowly easing, but it’s still far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. WSJ’s Nick Timiraos explains how 2% became the central bank’s sweet spot, and what happens when the U.S. economy strays too far from it. Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeLast fall, Americans were obsessed with inflation. One in five respondents called it the nation’s most important problem, according to Gallup. Just 9% of Gallup respondents now call inflation the most important problem, behind government leadership and the “economy in general” and just ahead of immigration and guns.

☆ Inflation Data to be Watched as Fed Contemplates Pausing Rate Hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Gabriel T. Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inflation is slowly easing, but it’s still far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. WSJ’s Nick Timiraos explains how 2% became the central bank’s sweet spot and what happens when the U.S. economy strays too far from it. Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeA closely watched April inflation reading Wednesday could influence the Federal Reserve’s strategy over whether to pause its interest-rate increases. Inflation has cooled from its recent peak but remains stubbornly elevated. The Fed aggressively raised rates for more than a year to try to tame inflation by slowing economic activity, and indicated last week that it might be done lifting them for now.

☆ Google Says Search Enters New Era With Conversational AI Features
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Miles Kruppa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Google’s new AI chatbot Bard is more restricted than OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing. Google’s Sissie Hsiao discusses it all with WSJ’s Joanna Stern. Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalGoogle unveiled conversational features for its search engine and made its chatbot Bard widely available for English speakers, a show of force as it races Microsoft and a growing number of startups to win over consumers with artificial-intelligence products. Calling the moment a new era in search, Google introduced a set of features—called Search Generative Experience—that use AI programs to provide lengthier summaries in response to a range of queries. The features invite follow-up questions, opening a new interface allowing users to hold conversations with the search engine.

☆ Betting Against Banks Brings Reward and Backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Matt Wirz | Ben Foldy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank in early May and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeShort selling is back in vogue on Wall Street, rewarding some who bet against banks while triggering a backlash. Short selling, or betting that securities prices will fall, surged over the past year as many investors braced for market turbulence. The approach helped hedge funds beat major stock indexes last year for the first time since 2008.

☆ Warren Buffett Has a History With Banks—as a Critic and Investor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ben Eisen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeWhen there is turmoil in the banking industry, there is an urge to point fingers. Warren Buffett weighed in Saturday: Blame the chief executives of recently failed banks. Blame the board of directors, too, for failing to hold the executives accountable.

☆ Carbon Markets Get Boost From Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Money is a sticking point in climate-change negotiations around the world. As economists warn that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will cost many more trillions than anticipated, WSJ looks at how the funds could be spent, and who would pay. Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThe booming market for carbon credits could go mainstream under a plan to make it easier for financial firms to create products such as exchange-traded funds. State Street will begin providing its back-office services to clients that want to invest in carbon credits. The giant custody bank and fund administrator says the move will make it easier for big investors to trade the products, a key step toward making them a mainstream investment accessible to individuals.

☆ Border Cities Strained by Migrant Surge Brace for Title 42 Expiration
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

First Republic Seized and Sold: Why It Happened and What Comes Next The FDIC seized First Republic Bank early Monday and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Banks Are in the Grips of Investor Crisis of Confidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what the bank’s crisis means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeFirst Republic Bank ’s seizure and sale to JPMorgan Chase was supposed to be a cathartic moment for American banks, the denouement of the financial system’s latest crisis of confidence. The relief lasted for barely a day. On Tuesday, shares of regional banks were plunging, with a handful of them dropping by double-digit percentages. At one point on Thursday, the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index was down by 15% from the prior week, though it rallied back on Friday to finish the week down 8%.

☆ Google Plans to Make Search More ‘Personal’ with AI Chat and Video Clips
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Miles Kruppa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Google’s new AI chatbot Bard is more restricted than OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing. Google’s Sissie Hsiao discusses it all with WSJ’s Joanna Stern in an exclusive interview. Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalGoogle is shifting the way it presents search results to incorporate conversations with artificial intelligence, along with more short video and social-media posts, a departure from the list of website results that has made it the dominant search engine for decades. The changes represent a response to big shifts in the way people access information on the internet, including the emergence of AI bots like ChatGPT. They would nudge the service further away from its traditional format, known informally as the “10 blue links,” according to company documents and people familiar with the matter.

☆ PacWest Stock Surges 80%, Regional Banks Recover After Selloff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Gina Heeb | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank early Monday and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeShares of under-fire regional banks surged to recover some of their lost ground on Friday, though many were still on track to end the week nursing hefty losses. Bankers and government officials hoped the sale of First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase on Monday would draw a line under upheaval from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March. But investors continued to hunt for weak links for much of the week, dumping shares of midsize and smaller banks.

☆ The Green Revolution Is Here. Which Big Miners Are Prepared?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Money is a sticking point in climate-change negotiations around the world. Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJA decade of underinvestment and a dense thicket of permits are challenges that the world’s top miners need to tackle head on. Over the last six months mining firms have begun jostling to acquire copper assets. One major reason: The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, essentially a massive green industry policy bill, which passed last August. Copper supply now looks likely to fall far short of demand over the next decade—unless big new greenfield projects are brought online.

☆ Slowing Jobs Juggernaut Gives Fed Breathing Room
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ’s Nick Timiraos explains how 2% became the central bank’s sweet spot, and what happens when the U.S. economy strays too far from it. Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeReally, the job market is cooling. Or, rather, getting a little less hot. The Labor Department on Friday reported that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs last month—more than the 180,000 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal were looking for—and that the unemployment slid to 3.4% from 3.5%, matching the multidecade low it ticked in January. Average hourly earnings rose more than expected, and were up 4.4% from a year earlier.

☆ Is the Fed Done Raising Rates?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Harriet Torry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inflation is slowly easing, but it is still far from the Fed’s 2% target. WSJ’s Nick Timiraos explains how 2% became the central bank’s sweet spot. Photo illustration: Preston JesseeFederal Reserve officials this past week raised interest rates to a 16-year high and signaled they might be done hiking them for now. But they didn’t say exactly how they will know when they have reached that point. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a Wednesday press conference that policy makers will base the decision “on the totality of incoming data and their implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation.”

☆ PacWest Stock Surges 82%, Regional Banks Recover After Selloff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Gina Heeb | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank early Monday and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeShares of under-fire regional banks surged to recover some of their lost ground on Friday, though many still ended the week nursing hefty losses. Bankers and government officials hoped the sale of First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase on Monday would draw a line under upheaval from the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March. But investors continued to hunt for weak links for much of the week, dumping shares of midsize and smaller banks.

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