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☆ There's still 'headroom' for us to grow in our international markets, says Tata Communications
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | 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 EmailThere's still 'headroom' for us to grow in our international markets, says Tata CommunicationsAmur Lakshminarayanan, CEO of the company, says it is a "very small part of what other incumbents do, so we're going to be taking more market share from others."

[1/2] A man charges an electric vehicle (EV) at the charging hub of Indian ride-hailing BluSmart Electric Mobility in Gurugram, India, December 9, 2022. SCALING UPIndia's ride-hailing market is currently worth $13.4 billion - a tenth of China's - and penetration is just 7%, according to Statista, making the country of 1.4 billion a lucrative opportunity. BluSmart, which operates in just two cities with 5,000 vehicles, says it commands 9% market share of Delhi's ride-hailing market. In February, Uber's India chief Singh dismissed concerns about BluSmart, saying Uber still offered more diverse ride options, including scooters and autorickshaws. "In a way it (BluSmart) has forced Uber to reimagine how it wants to play in India," WEF's Khurana said.

☆ Everyone was wrong about how the pandemic would change shopping — here's how experts are betting on e-commerce now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea that e-commerce will keep growing forever, and betting on it will lead to an almost inevitable rising tide, didn't survive the pandemic. Public flame-outs of entire categories of startups, like ultra-fast deliveries and Amazon seller aggregators, have further demonstrated the boom-and-bust nature of pandemic e-commerce investing. Apple's recent moves to give consumers more online privacy has had ripples through the e-commerce ecosystem, leading investors to take a beat. E-commerce logistics — fulfillment and last-mile delivery — said Sloane is fairly well-saturated at this point, he said. For many retailers, the pandemic offered a harsh lesson in how integrated their stores and their websites weren't, she said.

☆ From black to green: How an oil-and-gas company pivoted to embrace wind energy — and is now raking in billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Like Sykes, it made a transition from black to green — and in doing so, it demonstrated it's possible for big energy companies to pivot to clean energy. To limit the influence of climate change, those emissions need to rapidly decrease — which means that big energy companies need to change their operations. A 2022 study found that 51% of the world's biggest publicly listed energy companies had not set out a strategy to reduce their emissions. Shell, for example, says it has about 50 gigawatts of renewable energy in operation, under construction, or in development. "If we could do the energy transition without them, I wouldn't be doing this," van Baal added.

☆ Ted Cruz is fundraising off his bill limiting senators to two terms in office while running for his third term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ted Cruz is fundraising off two-term limits for senators while he's running for his third. The contributions benefit Ted Cruz for Senate and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "I want to know what YOU think about my Constitutional Amendment to impose TERM LIMITS on Senators and House Members." "Term limits will bring ACCOUNTABILITY that is LONG overdue in Washington, and I'm fighting for the American people to get this done," he wrote. "I've long said that I don't support unilateral term limits – just one person or one side unilaterally restricting themselves when the rules don't apply across the board," he said.

☆ A frozen IPO market signals two positive things for stocks, CNBC's Jim Cramer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A dry IPO market may be exacerbated by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and that signals two things that are "very positive for the stock market," CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Monday. Second, because there is no new competition for existing companies, that also means there will be no new competition for their stocks, Cramer said. "McDonald's is the ultimate example of the incumbent winning," Cramer said. Other established names that may see a benefit for their stocks include Amazon , Alphabet or Meta Platforms , according to Cramer. When there's no new competitors, no new stock and no new money, to the incumbent goes the spoils," Cramer said.

"We think the company should spin off 7-Eleven and that this could help close the valuation discount," Artisan Partners Associate Portfolio Manager Ben Herrick, told Reuters. Investors, including Artisan Partners, ValueAct and a domestic institutional investor contacted by Reuters that is not permitted to discuss its views publicly, are blaming Seven & i's stagnant share price on management's attachment to a conglomerate structure. SPIN-OFF PROPOSALThree months ago, ValueAct proposed a tax free spin-off of 7-Eleven, via a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in roughly one year. One investor said 7-Eleven, the company's crown jewel, will stop shining brightly unless it is spun off. A source said Seven & i president Ryuichi Isaka is one of the board members ValueAct wants to replace.

☆ Exclusive: How generative AI startup Treat scored $8.5 million in funding from Greylock to help companies create personalized product photos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Treat uses generative AI technology to create personalized product images based on customer data. The startup recently raised $8.5 million in seed funding from Greylock Partners. Their startup Treat, which leverages generative AI to create personalized product photos, recently landed $8.5 million in seed funding from Greylock Partners. A number of other up-and-coming generative AI startups, like Flair AI, have emerged to tackle the issue of creating branded product photos quickly. With its new seed funding, Treat is planning to hire more machine learning, sales, and operations talent.

☆ Tesla shares slip as margin worries overshadow record deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares fell 5% on Monday, dragged down by growing worries about the electric-vehicle maker's profit margins after aggressive price cuts led to only a modest increase in quarterly deliveries. After slashing prices on its vehicles by as much as 20% in January, Tesla posted record deliveries of 422,875 vehicles in the first quarter but they were up just 4% on the prior quarter. Bernstein analysts said Tesla "will need to further lower prices this year and/or next year to achieve its volume targets, incrementally pressuring margins." "We maintain that price cuts have and will undermine industry profitability (including Tesla's), but that incumbents are deep pocketed and not likely to back down," they added. Tesla shares were trading at $197, having gained 9% last week in the run-up to the deliveries report.

☆ Leaders like Elon Musk want to pause AI development, but the power of the free market means it's impossible to stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk and other business leaders signed a letter urging a six-month pause in AI development. From the moment the public was allowed to start testing OpenAI's GPT-3 in November, there was no stopping the bullet train of generative AI development. And the power of market forces means that there's no stopping the pace of AI development, even if companies like OpenAI wanted to. The train has left the station, and there's no going backSince November, and arguably even before, generative AI has been the technology on everyone's lips. Even if we wanted to pause AI development, there's not a clear way to enforce itThere's also the problem of enforcement.

☆ Tesla shares drop after deliveries report raises investor concern that more price cuts are coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla shares fell more than 7% on Monday after the company's quarterly deliveries report led some investors to worry that more price cuts will be needed to drive sales, eating into margins. The record numbers represented 4% growth in deliveries from the prior period and followed repeated price cuts in the U.S., China and Europe. Sacconaghi said, "The key question for investors is what might margins be, amid significant price cuts but improving commodity costs?" According to FactSet, analyst were expecting Tesla to report deliveries of around 432,000 vehicles for the quarter. He wrote that "incremental price cuts likely needed," especially as the company ramps up production at new factories in Austin, Texas, and outside of Berlin.

☆ Pharmacy startups are losing their battle with giants like CVS and Walgreens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Pharmacy startups like Capsule and Truepill are crumbling in the fight against pharmacy giants. But in the past year, the pharmacy startups have begun to crumble. Plus, each chain has thousands of stores across the country, providing the convenience that the pharmacy startups seek to replicate with tech. The digital-pharmacy shakeoutAnalysts suggested that healthcare startups with pharmacy components, rather than pure-play pharmacy startups, are best positioned to succeed. Truepill CEO Sid Viswanathan TruepillBut the pharmacy startups that have attempted to offer additional services have largely shelved those efforts in recent months.

☆ New data shows who's winning and losing as companies like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon battle for fewer e-commerce packages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

New data from Pitney Bowes shows Amazon was the only major carrier that didn't see a drop in 2022. In 2022, delivery companies shipped 21.2 billion packages — 2.2% less than in 2021 but more than 37% higher than 2019. When retailers have less package volume to spread around, the big guys get persuasive with their discounts, Ramachandran said. But in terms of package volume, it was the only major carrier to hold its 2021 package volume in 2022. Like UPS and FedEx, Amazon may also strategically choose not to grow package volume, but not by turning down customers.

☆ Republicans are seeking wealthy, self-funding candidates to help the party win a Senate majority in 2024, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

GOP leaders are seeking out wealthy Senate candidates to counter Democratic fundraising successes. In recent cycles, some GOP candidates have used outside spending to mitigate spending disparities. Last year, Democratic Senate nominees in the six most competitive races outraised their GOP counterparts by $288 million, per Politico. The well-known doctor poured $26.8 million of his own funds into his unsuccessful Senate campaign, according to OpenSecrets. Dolan, who put more than $10.5 million into his 2022 Senate bid, could face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

☆ Inclusive Capital's Ubben named to Vistry board as homebuilder looks to leverage recent acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As a pioneering activist ESG investor (AESG), Inclusive seeks long-term shareholder value through active partnership with companies whose core businesses contribute solutions to this pursuit. Their primary focus is on environmental and social value creation, which leads to shareholder value creation. They build communities that are mixed tenure, placing affordable housing among open market homes, retail stores, etc. This model has the benefits of a secular shift to affordable housing and is capex light since they do not have to acquire the land. But, in this case the community benefits align so perfectly with the company growth prospects – topline company growth means more affordable housing.

☆ Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google Bard, the search firm's answer to ChatGPT, has underwhelmed early testers. Users in the US and UK trying out the AI chatbot find it pales in comparison to OpenAI's tech. The makers of the Twofer Goofer word puzzle found ChatGPT was much better at solving the brainteasers than Google's Bard. It's possible that the company does have a super impressive AI tool up its sleeve. Insider's Hugh Langley reported earlier in March that Google employees are testing a more intelligent version of Bard, nicknamed "Big Bard."

☆ These 8 execs are leading teams at Stripe, Apple Pay, Visa, and other top payment players to stay ahead of the competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Payments are off to a red-hot start in 2023, with action from big banks, Big Tech, and fintech. Insider identified the people helping established payments firms stay ahead of the innovation curve. With competition bubbling up in the payments sphere and downward macro pressure on fintechs and tech companies broadly, the rat race to come out on top has begun. For the well-established payments players looking to defend their turf, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Here are the people at the bleeding edge of innovation at eight top payments companies.

☆ Here are the 5 best ways to take advantage of a comeback rally for foreign stocks, according to 5 market-beating international fund managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Here are five ways to invest to take advantage of a long-term rally for foreign stocks. Yahoo FinanceEuropean stocks spark an unexpected rallyThe turnaround for foreign stocks was fueled by a sudden reversal for European equities. "So foreign, value stocks over growth stocks, commodities should do OK — and all else held constant — you should see some downward pressure on the US dollar as well." Those modest expectations are reflected in the cheap valuations of international stocks, especially those in Europe, Hill said. 5 ways to invest while international stocks reboundNelson's strategy in running the EuroPac International Value Fund is very similar to that of the Tweedy, Browne International Value Fund, which Insider profiled in December.

Rather, it must come up with ideas" to mitigate the costs and help sustain stimulus, Uchida told an upper house confirmation hearing. The remarks follow those of incoming BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda on Monday suggesting his preference to spend "plenty of time" if the central bank were to conduct a review of its policy framework. While stressing that it was premature to discuss an exit strategy from ultra-loose monetary policy, Uchida said any exit would involve adjustments in the BOJ's interest rate targets and the level of its balance sheet. "In what order and at what timing the BOJ will make these adjustments will depend on economic and financial developments at the time," Uchida said. The BOJ can tap its experience conducting ultra-loose policy and dealing with market forces, to ensure it can steer a smooth exit regardless of economic conditions at the time, he said.

☆ The battle over abortion access could return to the ballot box in four states in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Millions of Americans lost legal access to abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The GOP used state ballot initiatives banning same-sex marriage to juice turnout, including in the critical state of Ohio. "The majority of Arizonans support safe, legal abortion, and we need to roll back many of the restrictions that are in place now." Two abortion rights groups are teaming up to put the question before voters in 2024. The ballot box might also be abortion rights advocates' best hope as the unicameral legislature appears to be on the verge of breaking a filibuster to pass a 6-week abortion ban.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin's decision to run for Senate gives her party a top recruit as it looks to defend a key seat in that chamber next fall. But the move also leaves the party forced to compete in an open House seat instead of leaning on one of their top incumbents — all in one of the nation's most evenly divided districts. After redistricting created new congressional lines for the 2022 election, Slotkin won her seat over Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett by more than 5%. That's one main reason why the race drew about $37 million in ad spending, more than every House race in the country except one, per the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And despite the virtually even political divide in Michigan's 7th, at least according to 2020 presidential numbers, Slotkin was able to defeat Barrett by that 5-point margin.

☆ In the Whirl of ChatGPT, Startups See an Opening for Their AI Chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Generative AI and large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT require massive amounts of computing power to run, and typically rely on chips like Nvidia’s graphics-processing units, or GPUs, that are specialized for these types of calculations. Graphcore sells primarily to AI startups looking to build and train models at lower cost, he said, and the company is benefiting from the proliferation of those startups. Shane Rau, who leads International Data Corp.’s semiconductor research, said chip startups are increasingly pivoting to focus their products on supporting large language models. Still, he added, “you’re going to see a combination of real adaptation and marketing.”“There will be the pressure to say: ‘Hey, we’re already relevant, our AI chip technology’s already relevant to generative AI’,” said Mr. Rau. Some chip makers say they expect yet another surge in demand once businesses more widely adopt generative AI.

☆ Netflix plunges after the streaming giant launches a wave of price cuts in 100 countries in the face of stiff competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The price cuts come as Netflix faces a surge in competition from various streaming platforms. Netflix's price cuts buck its recent trend of hiking subscription prices in the US and Europe. Additionally, some price cuts will amount to a 50% reduction, depending on the streaming tier. Some countries that are impacted by the lower Netflix prices include Yemen, Libya, Kenya, Croatia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, among others. None of the price cuts are taking place in the US or Europe.

☆ British supermarkets confront their German discounting demons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And the discounters' supermarket sweep still has a long way to run, industry executives say, with Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley pledging Britain's lowest prices "no matter what". "Over the Christmas period alone shoppers switched 58 million pounds ($70 million)(of purchases) to Lidl from Tesco and Sainsbury's," Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell told Reuters. Tesco and Sainsbury's are now matching Aldi prices on hundreds of key items and using customer loyalty schemes, while they have accepted a profit hit to keep prices down. Sector executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the further rise of Aldi and Lidl is inexorable. "Nobody's going to take Tesco out but at some point somebody might take Sainsbury's out," the sector veteran said.

☆ Intesa staff to test new digital business from March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) has told staff they can sign up to test from March 1 the app for the new digital lender it is setting up with British fintech Thought Machine, an internal document showed. Intesa last year unveiled plans to invest 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in technology under its 2022-2025 strategy, of which 650 million is destined to create its new digital arm called Isybank. Intesa has struck a five year partnership with Thought Machine, founder and CEO Paul Taylor told Reuters, making the Italian bank one of the biggest customers of the UK firm. Thought Machine will provide Isybank with the cloud infrastructure to serve 4 million customers under 40 who Intesa intends to migrate to online and mobile banking services. The trial phase would subsequently be expanded to include a wider group beyond staff members, the document reviewed by Reuters said.

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