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☆ US stocks fall after new inflation data boosts outlook the Fed will stay aggressive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks slid on Friday after key inflation data came in hotter than expected. Core PCE, the central bank's preferred inflation measure, rose 0.6% in January, higher than economists' estimates. Core Personal Consumption Expenditure data, the central bank's preferred inflation measure, increased 0.6% from a month earlier, higher than economists' estimates and the most since June. Treasury yields jumped, with the two-year yield hitting 4.79%, its highest level since 2007. Tesla boss Elon Musk reiterated his view that the central bank's tightening could crush the value of the entire stock market.

☆ Baidu beats fourth-quarter revenue estimates, flags chatbot launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at 33.08 billion yuan ($4.80 billion), inching past analysts' estimates of 32.01 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue from Baidu Core, which includes search-based ad sales, cloud offerings and its autonomous driving initiatives, fell 1% to 25.7 billion yuan. While non-online marketing revenue rose 11% to 7.6 billion yuan, driven by AI and cloud businesses, strict pandemic-related controls in China caused the company's online marketing revenue to drop 6% to 18.1 billion yuan in the reported quarter. A logo of Baidu is seen during the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, November 23, 2020. ($1 = 6.8963 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Shounak Dasgupta and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Baidu beats fourth-quarter revenue estimates, announces $5 bln share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) beat revenue estimates for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, bolstered by strength in its advertising, cloud and artificial intelligence businesses, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 7% in premarket trading. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at 33.08 billion yuan ($4.80 billion), inching past analysts' estimates of 32.01 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue from Baidu Core, which includes search-based ad sales, cloud offerings and its autonomous driving initiatives, fell 1% to 25.7 billion yuan. While non-online marketing revenue rose 11% to 7.6 billion yuan, driven by AI and cloud businesses, strict pandemic-related controls in China caused the company's online marketing revenue to drop 6% to 18.1 billion yuan in the reported quarter. Baidu stands as the best example of the long-term growth of China's AI market and is advancing at the forefront of this new wave," Li said.

☆ Senior US diplomat underwhelmed by Russia's new offensive in Ukraine: 'If this is it, it is very pathetic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's new offensive in Ukraine so far appears to be "pathetic," a senior US diplomat said. Victoria Nuland said that Russia has made little progress and was underestimating Ukraine. Both sides are still "grinding," and Ukraine hasn't started its fightback yet, she said. It's likely that Russia will increase its efforts, throwing more troops and weapons at Ukraine. Nuland, who said Ukraine is planning its own counteroffensive for later on, attributed Russia's poor performance to President Vladimir Putin underestimating Ukraine and how much the West would support it.

☆ India's Akasa to place large plane order in 2023, eyes international growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - India's Akasa Air will place a "substantially" large order for new narrowbody jets this year, as the start-up budget airline looks to capitalise on booming demand at home and begin international flights, its chief executive told Reuters. The 200-day-old airline has taken delivery of 17 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX planes out of a total order of 72 jets to be delivered by March 2027. The new order will be for narrowbody planes, said Akasa's founder, a former chief executive of now-grounded, bankrupt full-service carrier Jet Airways (JET.NS). Indian airlines are forecast to order 1,500 to 1,700 planes over the next couple of years, according to consultancy CAPA India, including a likely 500 plane order from Akasa rival IndiGo (INGL.NS), the country's biggest airline. "The demand in India as a whole is going to continue to grow and grow and grow."

☆ Ukraine war: major developments since Russia's invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Following are some of the major developments in Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two. Russian forces made slow, steady gains in a phase of the conflict that inflicted a heavy toll on both sides. UKRAINE COUNTER-ATTACKSAs the war churned on, the United States and Europe began giving Ukraine increasingly powerful and longer-range weaponry and used sanctions to try to hamper Russia's military machine. In early September, Ukrainian forces reeled off surprising gains in the northeastern Kharkiv region, wresting back the sole rail hub supplying Russia's regional front line. Joyous residents feted the return of Ukrainian forces, though the city remains subject to Russian shelling.

☆ ‘Young people are going to teach us to die better’: How ‘human composting,' already legal in 6 states, could help the planet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The 31-year-old is a client of Return Home, a Seattle-area human composting facility. The first five people to sign up for Return Home's pre-planning services were under age 35, according to CEO Micah Truman. Human composting is legal in six states and countingOn a rapidly warming planet, the somewhat fringe concept is inching toward the mainstream. Human composting, also called "natural organic reduction," is now legal in six states and counting. Detractors are increasingly voicing their concernsNina Schoen first learned about Recompose in 2017, two years before human composting was even legal in Washington.

☆ Analysis: U.S. stock rally faces uphill climb after mixed inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 27, 2023. Tuesday's closely watched inflation report on U.S. consumer prices showed the smallest annual price increase since late 2021. But the data did little to dispel expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to continue raising rates higher and keep them elevated for longer to drive inflation lower. The CPI data continues the trend of moderating annual inflation rates that have helped propel this year's rally in risk assets. Some have also expressed concern about investor positioning, which has grown stretched in recent weeks as market participants piled into the stock rally.

☆ Cryptoverse: Punk apes and a resurrection of NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The NFT market is twitching out of its torpor, defying reports of its demise. Over the past 30 days, though, OpenSea remains top with volumes of $443.98 million, versus $366 million for Blur. BITCOIN JOINS NFT PARTYIn another non-fungible development, the novel use of the bitcoin blockchain for minting an NFT collection has caused a stir among crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin Punks is a series of monkey-themed NFTs and a derivative of the wildly popular CryptoPunks collection. Some media reports have indicated Bitcoin Punk NFT being sold for as much as 9.5 bitcoin, worth in the region of $205,000.

☆ Digital health's funding slump isn't a death sentence. Here's what startups are doing to stand out to investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's getting harder for digital-health startups to get investor attention. Fewer digital-health startups are fundraising, and the ones that are will be held to higher standards than before, investors told Insider. This year, a smaller group of digital-health startups is beginning to stand out. "It's been amazing to watch what this business has accomplished," she told Insider. Quantum is already earning enough to fund itself, Zane Burke, the CEO of Quantum, told Insider.

☆ Analysis: Kremlin moves to rein in Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"The position of the (Kremlin) political bloc is not to let him into politics. Prigozhin told a Russian interviewer on Friday that he had "zero" political ambitions. Markov, who described Prigozhin as extremely confrontational, said he believed Putin had told Prigozhin to halt public criticism of the top brass at a St Petersburg meeting around Jan. 14. It advised recipients to stop mentioning Prigozhin or Wagner and suggested generic phrases to describe his forces instead. After years of denials, Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows in September to admit he had founded Wagner in 2014.

Mortgage rates have increased slightly this week but are still relatively low compared to the highs we experienced in the second half of 2022. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage Refinance Rates TodayMortgage type Average rate today This information has been provided by Zillow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's interest rates will affect your monthly payments. 30-Year Fixed Mortgage RatesThe current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.09%, according to Freddie Mac. 15-Year Fixed Mortgage RatesThe average 15-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.14%, a slight decrease from the prior week, according to Freddie Mac data.

☆ Citi's high deposit betas to squeeze interest margins - Moody's
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) may see more net interest margin (NIM) pressure than the other four big U.S. banks this year due to its high deposit betas, or the percentage of changes in interest rates that banks pass on to consumers, a Moody's report showed. That would make it harder for Citi to catch up with rivals on profitability as a higher deposit rate increases a bank's interest expense. Wall Street banks have enjoyed healthy NIMs so far as the Federal Reserve pumped up interest rates to rein in inflation, but deposit betas have also leapt and are now threatening to erode margin expansions. Reuters GraphicsIn a further sign of NIM pressure ahead, Citigroup's cost of interest-bearing deposits swelled to 2.10% from 0.28% during the period, a company presentation showed. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Dan Suzuki and Barry Bannister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Dan Suzuki and Barry BannisterDan Suzuki, deputy CIO at Richard Bernstein Advisors, and Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, join 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss their thoughts on a recession, the dollar index inching higher, and more.

☆ The 60/40 investing strategy posted one of its best months ever after a nightmare 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

After the worst yearly performance ever in 2022 , the standard portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds had a solid rebound in the first month of the new year. The gain was just below the 6.3% total return of the S & P 500 in the same timeframe, recouping losses from December. "We view the rally as sentiment-driven, given how bearish consensus was on 1H23 heading into this year," said Subramanian. .SPX YTD mountain spx ytd Rebound rally The sharp rebound in January was led by the worst-performing sectors in 2022. That's a drastic difference from last year, when both stocks and bonds fell, slamming investors who used the assets to balance their portfolios.

☆ Biden says the House GOP campaigned on inflation but their bills to weaken or even abolish the IRS wouldn't fix it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden called out House Republicans for introducing plans that he said would worsen inflation. One GOP plan to strip funding from the IRS would add $114 billion to the deficit over ten years, the CBO found. "They campaigned on inflation," Biden said. Republicans are targeting income taxes because "that's the only way that millionaires and billionaires have to pay any taxes," Biden said. Upon winning the House majority, GOP lawmakers put forward legislation to rescind $80 billion earmarked for the IRS in an attempt to cut spending.

☆ You can bounce back after a job loss — here's how
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Catherine Henderson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And recovering from a job loss takes time, effort, and self-awareness. He said that while it's common to experience feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and shame after a job loss, "You have to remember: A layoff is something that's beyond your control." Still, recovering from a job loss takes time, effort, and self-awareness. Take a breatherIn the immediate aftermath of a job loss, Pohl recommended taking a little time off. That's why it's important to make sure that throughout your search, you're getting plenty of rest, exercise, and fresh air.

☆ TurboTax has lobbied against a free tax filing system for decades. Its head says the US' path toward one is 'unquestionably a conflict of interest.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer allots funds to explore a free federal tax filing service. The head of TurboTax's parent company says that a government-run tax filing service would be unethical. Intuit, a global financial technology platform, owns TurboTax, one of the leading paid tax filing services. In the US, tax filing services like TurboTax and H&R Block spend millions of dollars lobbying against free tax filing services. Commercial providers such as TurboTax and Tax Act offer their own free services for those earning under a certain amount.

☆ European shares edge up on pharma boost, UK's FTSE 100 nears record-high
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Bansari Mayur Kamdar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) gained 0.1% in early trading, boosted by a 0.8% rise in healthcare stocks (.SXDP). UK's FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.1% to 7,852.84, inching closer to a record 7,903.50. "Investors appear to have fallen back in love with UK assets, after a difficult period when FTSE 100 was the wallflower among global indices," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Weakness in luxury heavyweights such as LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes International (HRMS.PA) weighed on Europe's STOXX 600 on Monday. German arms maker Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) gained 2.9% on acquiring a stake in Dutch IT hardware specialist Incooling B.V.

☆ Stock sentiment is positive despite lousy headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —It’s only early January, but so far in 2023 the pendulum on Wall Street has swung (to paraphrase Billy Joel) from sadness to euphoria. But why is there such optimism on Wall Street all of a sudden? But it also showed the pace of job growth is slowing — and that could be a precursor to an eventual recession. But Wall Street is a funny place: Good news is often viewed as a bad sign, and vice versa. As long as the Fed can get inflation under control, investors might not be too concerned by a recession anyway.

☆ These 6 Club stocks look reasonably priced as Wall Street shuns high flyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

We're focusing on forward price-to-earnings ratios, calculated by dividing share price by estimated earnings-per-share over the next 12 months. In this high-level hypothetical, start with the multiple you want to pay and multiply that by forward earnings estimates. But now growth is less certain and interest rates are going up, so you think paying 10x forward earnings is too risky. Instead, you think paying 8x forward earnings is more appropriate, meaning you're only willing to pay $40 per share. Oilfield services provider Halliburton (HAL) trades at roughly 13x forward earnings, a valuation that we find very reasonable.

☆ Here's why investors can expect returns in the S&P 500 this year after 2022's stock market bloodbath.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This time last year, the S&P 500 was coming off its all-time closing high, which had arrived on 2022's first day of trading. It's only happened four times, but when the S&P 500 sees back-to-back losing years, the second is always worse. Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 2, 2020. And if you look at Bank of America's Sell Side Indicator, a year in the green for the S&P 500 seems to be in the cards. Morgan Stanley just revamped a nine-stock list that's beaten the S&P 500 by 18% over time.

Speaking ahead of his flight, Marcos said he looked forward to meeting President Xi Jinping and that "the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as the Philippines and China". Last week, a Philippine foreign ministry official said talks with Xi would include China's actions in the South China Sea. While the Philippines is a defence ally of the United States, under Duterte it set aside a territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese investment. Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operations. But while De Castro expects the South China Sea issue to be brought up, he does not expect Beijing to alter its position.

☆ 'The Fed has to do the dirty work' and induce a US recession that's deeper than Europe's as the economy is clearly overheating, BofA says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As a result, the US will face a deeper recession than Europe, where the labor market is already much weaker. "By contrast, the Fed has to do the dirty work of bringing labor demand down and in line with labor supply. Adding to the challenge is the fact that pent-up demand for labor in the US is making it very hard to cool off the labor market. So the Fed has to deal with both the risk of second-round effects and the first-round effect of an overheating labor market." BofA analysts said the US economy is "clearly overheating," particularly the labor market, as robust wage growth shows few signs of easing.

☆ Chatty AI and Protein-Predicting Algorithm Defined the Year in Emerging Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

They also built supercomputers designed to handle the growing influx of data needed for evermore complex AI applications. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Using an AI algorithm called AlphaFold, the London-based lab said it had expanded its database of predicted protein structures to 214 million, up from 1 million as of December 2021, representing all proteins known to science, including proteins found in animals, plants, bacteria and other organisms. Though researchers say the commercial application of nuclear fusion likely remains years and perhaps decades away, the technology might one day help fight climate change. In March, Sandbox AQ, a software startup developing quantum-computing and artificial-intelligence tools for commercial use, officially spun off from Alphabet’s Google to become a stand-alone company.

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