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☆ Masayoshi Son is the $100 billion gambler who went from dirt track to tech titan — and he isn't done betting yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has spent his life putting bold bets on the future of technology. SoftBank, the media-technology conglomerate Son founded two decades prior, was riding high on the glory it attained in the dot-com boom. He was told he was special," Barber told BI. "He wants to be seen as the great modernizer transforming this petrostate into a truly modern economy where technology is at the forefront," Barber told BI. But as previous cycles in Son's life dictate, the flurry of enthusiasm is typically followed by failure.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Lionel Barber, —, Son, Bill Gates, Masa —, Uber, Barber, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, — he's, Jack Ma's Alibaba, Wang, he's, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor of, Microsoft's Gates, Jordan Strauss, Mitsunori, SoftBank, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, Jack Welch, Steve Jobs, Masayoshi, Justin Sullivan, Rajeev Misra, Nikesh Arora, Phil McCarten, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi, Michael Moritz, Kim Jong, Adam Neumann, Donald Trump, Wirecard, Jesus, NurPhoto, He's, Allen Lane Organizations: Service, Financial Times, Kremlin, Yahoo, Popular Electronics, Vision, Deutsche Bank, Google, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Vision Fund, Valley's, Sequoia Capital, Greensill, Nvidia, Signal Publishers Locations: Tokyo's Roppongi, Japan, Masayoshi, Washington, Wayne, Emperor of China, Kyushu, United States, Riyadh, Berkeley, Las Vegas

☆ Turbulent skies of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ may align with a scientific theory
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The dappled starlight and swirling clouds of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” are thought to reflect the artist’s tumultuous state of mind when he painted the work in 1889. Now, a new analysis by physicists based in China and France suggests the artist had a deep, intuitive understanding of the mathematical structure of turbulent flow. Batchelor’s scaling mathematically represents how small particles, such as drifting algae in the ocean or pieces of dust in the wind, are passively mixed around by turbulent flow. “I think this physical relationship must be embedded in his mind so that’s why when he made this famous ‘Starry Night’ painting, it mimics the real flow,” Huang said. “What I take away from studies like this is that (van Gogh) captured some of this universality in the beautiful (‘Starry Night’),” Beattie added.

Persons: Vincent van Gogh’s, ”, Yongxiang Huang, Van Gogh, mutilating, van Gogh's, Huang, Andrey Kolmogorov, John Constable, De Agostini, James Beattie, Beattie wasn’t, van Gogh, ” Huang, Beattie, “, Van Gogh’s, Yinxiang, Gogh, ” Beattie Organizations: CNN, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science & College of Ocean, Sciences, Xiamen University, Princeton University, NASA's, NASA Goddard Space, NASA’s, Museum of Modern Art Locations: China, France, Saint, Provence, Soviet, Brighton, British, New Jersey, New York

☆ Midea's listing is a good sign for Chinese companies going global
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMidea's Hong Kong listing is a good sign for Chinese companies going global, investment firm saysWilliam Ma, CIO of Grow Investment Group, says "green shoots [are] coming back" in the Chinese market despite struggling macroeconomic data.

Persons: William Ma Organizations: Grow Investment Locations: Kong

☆ Chinese scientists claim Star Wars-like laser submarines can blast US satellites
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewChinese scientists claim that it's possible to destroy satellites — including SpaceX's Starlink system — using lasers mounted on submarines. Chinese researchers envision the solution as flotillas of mass-produced laser subs that could be dispatched to oceans around the world. They would wait for tracking data from other non-submarine platforms to determine when a target satellite is overhead. In addition to destroying satellites, these subs could also blast aircraft or land targets such as radars and oil refineries. Laser subs could also shield China's ballistic missile submarines from detection.

Persons: —, Chris Carlson, Carlson, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, navy's Submarine Academy, Business, China Morning, US Navy, Defense Intelligence Agency, Communications, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: China, Hong, Russia, Ukraine, Forbes

☆ Janice Y.K. Lee Was Thrilled to Help Adapt Her Novel for Streaming
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What books are on your night stand? “Everything/Nothing/Someone” by Alice Carrière, “Everything’s Fine” by Cecilia Rabess, “The Drama of the Gifted Child” by Alice Miller, “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan, “Severance” by Ling Ma, “The Future” by Naomi Alderman. What books are you embarrassed to admit you’ve never read? I’m all about emotion and beauty of the language over intellect. I want to weep, not take notes.

Persons: Alice Carrière, Cecilia Rabess, Alice Miller, “, Claire Keegan, “ Severance, Ling Ma, Naomi Alderman, What’s, Sting ”, Paul Murray, Read, you’ve, ”, Ulysses

☆ Betting on a market pullback with a bearish options trade on a stock showing signs of stalling
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Nishant Pant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Finding a stock to trade "A rising tide lifts all boats" and vice-versa is my mantra here. The trade set-up With a bearish directional bias in place, all I need to do is find a suitable options structure to take a bearish trade. The trade structure I am using here is called a "bear put spread" also known as a "put debit spread". Most trading platforms will offer a bear put spread (or long put spread) as a trade type and automatically construct the trade for you. Since the width of our spread is $255 – $250 = $5, I can buy the spread for $2.50.

Persons: XLF, Nishant Pant Organizations: Visa, Mastercard

☆ Reaction to Alibaba's scrapping of cloud unit spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Alibaba Cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. Alibaba said its decision to shelve the spin-off was due to uncertainties fuelled by U.S. curbs on exports to China of chips used in artificial intelligence applications. Following are what people are saying about the decision:LI CHENGDONG, BEIJING-BASED TECH AND E-COMMERCE ANALYST:"I believe scrapping the cloud unit's IPO reflects a new development strategy implemented by the new leadership. In short, I think prior decisions to restructure and IPO certain business units will have to be reassessed based on prevailing market conditions. The international business is one of the few Alibaba units that’s growing fast, which puts it in a better position to explore external funding."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Alibaba, LI, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, BRIAN WONG, CHARLIE CHAI, Eddie Wu, SERN LING, Casey, Josh Ye, Yelin, Anne Marie Roantree, Muralikumar Anantharaman Organizations: REUTERS, China's, HK, Cloud Intelligence, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, BEIJING, AliCloud, Alibaba, Shanghai, Yelin Mo, Beijing

☆ Political violence in polarized U.S. at its worst since 1970s
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +26 min

Three academics who reviewed the cases say they add to growing evidence that America is grappling with the biggest and most sustained increase in political violence since the 1970s. Political violence surged for nearly a decade starting in the late-1960s – 1970 alone saw more than 450 cases, LaFree said. In contrast, much of today’s political violence is aimed at people – and most of the deadly outbursts tracked by Reuters have come from the right. “Political warfare”There’s no official tally of how many Americans die each year from political violence. Most of the fatal political violence identified by Reuters was carried out by people who embraced far-right views.

Persons: Kristen King’s, King, “, Austin Combs, ”, “ He’s, wailed, Anthony King, Donald Trump, Gary LaFree, LaFree, Rachel Kleinfeld, Carnegie’s Kleinfeld, Trump, Christopher Wray’s, Combs, Let’s, Joe Biden, Dave Spurrier, ” Combs, Wayne Staton, gaunt, Bri Smith, “ honk, Bubba, Ross, Cody Lee Harbaum, ” Harbaum, Edgar, Floyd Rockwell, Terry B’s, “ Hillary, Kim Jenkins, Patti Betz, “ Austin, Betz, Miss Patti, ‘, ” Betz, Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, Paul, Nancy Pelosi’s, Katie Pridemore, Shawn Popp, Popp, Donald Henry, Henry, ’, Craig Greenberg, Quintez Brown, Greenberg, Brown, ” Brown, Robert Telles, Telles, Benjamin Smith, Dajah Beck, Beck, Smith, Allie Bradley, “ You’re, Bradley, Kristine Christenson, Ben Smiths, rightwing hecklers, ” Bradley, Knightly’s, Katherine Knapp, King’s, Kristen, Pridemore Organizations: Democrat, Reuters, U.S . Capitol, University of Maryland criminologist, Oklahoma, Federal Bureau of, Carnegie Endowment, International, Democratic, Trump, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Republican, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Miss, . House, San, U.S, Capitol, Media, Attorney’s Office, Judicial, Las, Veterans, Pridemore Locations: OKEANA, Ohio, Okeana, America, Florida, Portland, Buffalo, Washington, Butler County, Brandon, Butler, Hamilton, San Francisco, Wisconsin, New Mexico, U.S, Louisville , Kentucky, China, Taiwan, California, Clark County , Nevada, Las Vegas, Normandale, Portland , Oregon, ”

China's central bank said that financial regulators would fine Ant and its subsidiaries a total of 7.12 billion yuan, require it to stop operations of its crowdfunded medical aid service Xianghubao and compensate users. Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jack Ma, Jeffrey Towson, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Lens Consulting, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), a new government body under the State Council, is now the primary regulator to grant Ant the license, they added. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jeffrey Towson, Jack Ma, China's, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Tenpay, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Lens Consulting, Communist Party, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), a new government body under the State Council, is now the primary regulator to grant Ant the license, said the sources. PENALTY FOLLOWS MA'S RETURN TO CHINAThe final amount of the fine has been revised to at least 8 billion yuan, the sources said. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they had in mind initially. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations. ($1 = 7.2439 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Julie Zhu and Jane Xu; Additional reporting by Jason Xue; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alibaba, Rukim Kuang, Jack Ma, Ant, China's, Pan Gongsheng, Didi Global, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Muralikumar Organizations: Alibaba Honk, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Alibaba, HK, Lens Consulting, Communist Party, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Ant's, Beijing, CHINA, China

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court rewrites American society once again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Opinion Cnn Contributors | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +25 min

But learning the facts - that affirmative action is critical for fostering equal access and opportunity in our academic institutions -cemented my belief that affirmative action is necessary if we want to create an equitable nation. The court’s decision Thursday is consistent with its view that race-based preferences should and would have a limited shelf life. Jon Wang, who revealed himself as a plaintiff in this Supreme Court case, was rejected by Harvard but was accepted at and is now attending Georgia Tech. Affirmative action enabled my ability to experience different ways of thinking and to form the lasting friendships I have made. Affirmative action has been a tool used by many countries to ensure underrepresented communities are included in areas they normally are not.

Persons: who’d, Tan, ”, Ana Fernandez, Richard Kahlenberg, Peniel Joseph, Peniel Joseph Kelvin Ma, Kelvin Ma, retrenchment, Bakke, Shelby, Holder, John F, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Peniel, Joseph, Barbara Jordan, “, ” Lanhee Chen, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Lanhee Chen Lanhee J . Chen, J, Chen, David, Diane Steffy, Romney, Ryan, Roxanne Jones, Andrew Johnson, Jones, WURD, Richard Sander, –, Richard Sander Fiona Harrison, Jeff Yang, Ed Blum’s, Jon Wang, Michael Wang, Williams, Jian Li, Bruce, Hudson Yang, Natasha Warikoo, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Natasha Warikoo Alonso Nichols, John Roberts, Brayden Rothe, Biden, can’t, Joe Biden, Brayden Rothe Patrick O'Leary, Pell Organizations: CNN, Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard, Harvard College, Cuban, American Council, Education, Wellesley College, Renaissance Studies, Black, Tufts University, Blacks, Ivy League, Federalist Society, John Birch Society, Trump, Democratic Party, GOP, Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Racial Justice, University of North, University of North Carolina Chapel, Public Policy, Hoover Institution, California State, Republican, Democratic, White, Fair, Supreme, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The University of California, UCLA, University of California, UC, Georgia Tech, Department of Education, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Princeton University, Institute for, Digital Intelligence, Harvard University, College, Social Sciences, of Sociology, Equity, University of Minnesota Locations: today’s, Philippines, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Portland, White, American, United States, West Linn , Oregon, Cuban American, Miami, Havana, Cuba, Miami , Florida, America, Austin, University of North Carolina, California, lockstep, Berkeley, Asian America, Florida, Texas

Qiao Ling speaks up to correct him. Instead of apologizing, Thomas laughs it off and asks Qiao Ling if she has a nickname because her real name is "too hard to remember." Many people think of allyship as a two-way relationship between the ally ("I saw it") and the affected person ("It happened to me"). Step 2: Help the affected person as they want to be helped. Rather than treating the affected person as you would wish to be treated, help them as they would wish to be helped.

☆ Taiwan, China must do 'everything possible' to avoid war- former president Ma
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou meets the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Song Tao, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in handout picture released March 30, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou's Office/Handout via REUTERSTAIPEI, March 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China must do everything possible to avoid war and it is the responsibility of both sides' leaders to ensure peace, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou told a senior Chinese official on Thursday. Ma arrived in China on Monday, the first time a former or sitting Taiwanese president has visited the country since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. "The two sides must maintain exchanges, cooperate together, and do everything possible to avoid war and conflict." Ma, who was in office from 2008-2016, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late in 2015 shortly before current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was elected.

☆ Exclusive: China set to fine Ant Group over $1 billion, signalling revamp nears end-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Julie Zhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank has been in informal communication with Ant about the fine over the past few months, said three of the sources. It plans to hold more discussions with other regulators about Ant's revamp later this year and announce the fine as soon as the second quarter of next year, said a source. Ant's fine would be the largest regulatory penalty imposed on a Chinese internet company since ride-hailing major Didi Global was fined $1.2 billion by China's cybersecurity regulator in July. The fintech firm's affiliate, e-commerce titan Alibaba Group (9988.HK), last year received a record fine of 18 billion yuan ($2.51 billion) for antitrust violations. The PBOC, however, is unlikely to formally disclose the application till Ant wraps up its revamp, added the sources.

Weike WangJoan, the hero of this novel, is a 36-year-old attending physician in an I.C.U. on the Upper West Side of New York. Pressures from her family, H.R. and her neighbor throw her in a rage that Wang leaves bubbling beneath the surface. “Wang has given us a character so unusual and unapologetically herself that you can’t help wanting to hang out with her, knowing full well that she wants nothing more than to be left alone,” our reviewer wrote.

☆ China's super-rich see fortunes plunge as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - China's super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing's zero-COVID measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummelled fortunes, an annual rich list said on Tuesday. The Hurun Rich list, which ranks China's wealthiest people with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($692 million), said only 1,305 people made the mark this year, down 11% from last year. "This year has seen the biggest fall in the Hurun China Rich List of the last 24 years," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of research firm Hurun Report which compiles the list. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance's valuation. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list.

☆ Alibaba’s Jack Ma and China’s super-rich see billions wiped off fortunes as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

China’s super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummeled fortunes, according to an annual rich list. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth amid sliding tech stock prices. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance’s valuation. Tencent (TCEHY) founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list. Alibaba (BABA) founder Jack Ma and his family tumbled four places to be ranked No.

☆ Drag performer, 25, dies mid-performance at Philadelphia bar
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Alexander Kacala | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A Philadelphia drag performer beloved by the local LGBTQ community died Monday night during a performance at a popular gay bar. Valencia Prime, 25, was performing at Tabu Lounge and Sports bar, in the heart of Philadelphia's Gayborhood, when she collapsed on stage, bar owner Jeffrey Sotland said. "We say goodbye to Valencia Prime but we will not forget the light you brought to the stage." Valencia Prime. According to Prime's Facebook page, she graduated from Delran High School in 2015 and later attended Rowan College at Burlington County in New Jersey and Temple University in Philadelphia.

☆ Yo-Yo Ma and the Meaning of Life
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-23 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +20 min

“People need each other for support beyond the immediate staples of life,” Ma says. “They need music.”Do you think music is fundamentally good? Think about language, think about agriculture, think about navigation, think about engineering. I’m using culture.” It doesn’t need to be defined as “I’m going to play for you this piece of music.” It’s not that. I’m going to figure out what I can do with the cello.” He says, “I’m going to learn everything about the instrument.” He writes the first suite, second, third suites.

Persons: Bráulio Amado, Ma, ”, Kathryn Stott, ” Ma, I’ve, You’re, don’t, you’ve, David, Newton, you’re, It’s, ” It’s, “, who’s, Tell, I’m, Teddy, Oliver, It’ll, Ted Thai, we’ve, Bach, “ I’m, Clive Barda, Seiji Ozawa, ” — Anthony McGill, He’s, Manny Ax, Jeff Vespa Organizations: YouTube, Carnegie Hall, Getty, English, Orchestra, Boston Symphony Locations: London, United States, United States of America, Europe

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