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☆ A New Yorker is suing Twitter for $5 million over a data leak that researchers say exposed the information of more than 200 million users
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Twitter user is suing the company for $5 million over a data leak which exposed users' personal information. According to cybersecurity researchers, the leak impacted over 200 million users. Twitter has denied that the data leak was caused by hackers exploiting a flaw in its systems. In early January, cybercrime intelligence company Hudson Rock suggested that hackers had stolen over 200 million Twitter users' information and published them onto a publicly available online hacking forum. "In response to recent media reports of Twitter users' data being sold online, we conducted a thorough investigation and there is no evidence that data recently being sold was obtained by exploiting a vulnerability of Twitter systems," the post said.

☆ Google's cookie crumbles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google's cookie concept crumbles. Google's been testing a bunch of cookie-less proposals since 2020. Unfortunately, the web standards body W3C rejected Google's Topics API proposal, saying it maintains "the status quo of inappropriate surveillance on the web." In other news:A Tesla car dealership in Maplewood, Minnesota. The coolest electric cars hitting the streets this year.

☆ One of Google's big plans to replace third-party cookies just hit a huge setback that it might not recover from
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google's plan to replace third-party tracking cookies with new tech has hit another snag. A W3C group has rejected Google's Topics API proposal, saying it won't adequately preserve user privacy. The W3C rebuke marks the latest in a series of snags in Google's effort to kill off third-party cookies. However, other browsers like Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox already block third-party cookies as privacy features. The company has its own commercial priorities and the commitment to the CMA that it can't remove third-party cookies until new features provide an adequate replacement.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.29, or 3.1%, to settle at $77.41. Global equities were up on hopes that U.S. inflation and earnings figures due on Thursday will indicate a resilient economy and result in a slower pace of interest rate hikes. Oil demand is coming back and expectations are high that China’s demand is about to skyrocket," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 2.2 million-barrel decline in crude stocks, and industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showing a 14.9 million-barrel build. ,EIA this week forecast U.S. crude production will reach all-time highs in 2023 and 2024.

☆ Oil slips as U.S. crude, fuel inventories reignite demand concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Crude oil storage tanks at the Juaymah Tank Farm in Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia, in 2018. Oil prices fell on Wednesday, erasing the previous session's gains, after industry data showed an unexpected build in crude and fuel inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil user, which reignited worries about fuel demand. Analysts polled by Reuters expected crude stocks to fall by 2.2 million barrels and distillate stocks to drop by 500,000 barrels. The big focus this week is on U.S. inflation data, due on Thursday. A weaker dollar can boost oil demand as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

☆ Oil edges higher as petroleum demand set to touch record next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ETHOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged slightly higher on Tuesday as the U.S. government forecast record global petroleum consumption next year and as the dollar hovered at seven-month lows. A weaker dollar can boost demand for oil, as greenback-denominated commodities become cheaper for holders of other currencies. But analysts said a revival of Chinese demand may only give oil prices limited support under downward pressure from the global economy. Goldman Sachs expects that the growing ability of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise prices without hurting demand too much will limit downside risks to its bullish oil forecast for 2023. Separately, U.S. stockpiles of crude oil and distillates were expected to have fallen last week, a Reuters poll showed.

☆ Oil rises 1% as petroleum demand set to touch record next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ETHOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed marginally on Tuesday as the U.S. government forecast record global petroleum consumption next year and as the dollar hovered at seven-month lows. Thursday's data "could easily clarify the direction of the financial and oil markets for weeks to come", said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. A weaker dollar can boost demand for oil, as greenback-denominated commodities become cheaper for holders of other currencies. But analysts said a revival of Chinese demand may only give oil prices limited support under downward pressure from the global economy. Separately, U.S. stockpiles of crude oil and distillates were expected to have fallen last week, a Reuters poll showed.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ Hackers stole over 200 million email addresses from Twitter users and published them on an online forum, cybersecurity firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hackers have stolen email addresses from over 200 million Twitter users, a cybersecurity firm said. Gal warned in an additional LinkedIn post that hackers will take advantage of the database to hack "high profile accounts," "crypto Twitter accounts," and "political accounts." Bleeping Computer reported that it was able to confirm the validity of many of the email addresses listed in Wednesday's leak. Gal had first reported that hackers had stolen the data of 400 million Twitter users in December. Hunt said in a tweet that he had discovered around 211 million unique email addresses linked to the Twitter leak.

New York City's Department of Education announced a ban on the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT — which some have warned could inspire more student cheating — from its schools’ devices and networks. It was not immediately clear if the ban applied to the City University of New York system. In New York public schools, ChatGPT can still be made available upon request to classes studying artificial intelligence. In an email statement responding to the New York City public schools ban, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company "doesn't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else." We’ve always called for transparency around the use of AI-generated text," the spokesperson said.

[1/2] An aerial view shows a storage facility owned by Lukoil company at the Arctic port of Varandei October 22, 2013. Arctic crude exports to India have steadily increased since May, with a record 6.67 million barrels loaded in November and 4.1 million barrels in December, Refinitiv data showed. At least three oil tankers that loaded Arctic crude in Murmansk port are now heading to China, Refinitiv data showed. Refinitiv listed the grades carried by these ships as Arco crude although one Chinese trader said there could be Varandey crude onboard. Oil tankers, carrying Russian Arctic crude, are passing Europe and the Middle East to head to China and IndiaReporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Muyu Xu and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oil settles lower in light trading on China demand concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China has said it will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from Jan. 8, a major step towards relaxing stringent curbs on its borders. Market participants noted that trading volumes this week are expected to be lighter than usual as the end of the year approaches, creating more volatility in oil prices. "My sense is the general risk-off mood has weighed on the oil prices, in a market with thin liquidity," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "Next year brings immense uncertainty and plenty of potential upside risk for prices from the China reopening to lower Russian output and further OPEC+ cuts," Erlam said. U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week while gasoline and distillate stocks rose surprisingly, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

☆ Amazon bulked up its advertising behemoth in 2022 — and its becoming an even bigger threat to Meta
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Amazon's digital ad business is only behind Google's and Meta's — and it's already stolen budget from Meta. Today, that advertising business is no longer simply a way to drive product sales on Amazon. Amazon's ad business, which generated $9.5 billion during the third quarter of 2022, dwarfed Microsoft and Snap and ranked third behind Google and Facebook parent, Meta. There are now nearly 600 advertising partners in Amazon's advertising ecosystem, according to Amazon's directory of companies in the space. As part of its ambitions to grow advertising, Amazon also pitches a data clean room called Amazon Marketing Cloud.

☆ Meet the little-known Google exec steering the company's $209 billion ad business through an uncertain economy and the minefield of privacy concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Jerry Dischler is steering Google's $209 billion ads business through major challenges. It falls to him to reinvent digital advertising to keep its $209 billion ad business going. At the same time, he has to keep growing Google's ad business amid increasingly dour spend forecasts. He went on to search ads in 2008, and by 2009, he was overseeing Google's team that developed new ad formats. Even when some parts of Google's ad business slows, as YouTube and Google network ads did last quarter, it gains strength in other areas, such as search.

☆ Oil prices up as U.S. crude stocks seen falling, dollar eases
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies API shows U.S. crude stocks down, fuel inventories up -sourcesU.S. dollar easesSurging COVID-19 cases in China limit gainsDec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. crude stocks were seen falling last week, while the dollar weakened, making oil less expensive for non-American buyers. Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $80.07 per barrel by 0126 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 6 cents to $76.29. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by about 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 16, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Oil prices, which came close to the all-time high of $147 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, have unwound most of their 2022 gains.

The firm's "years-long" fraud didn't just extend to playing with customer money, according to the SEC. Unlike those other market makers or power users, Alameda had a set of powerful tools at its disposal. The kind of high-frequency trading that FTX users engaged in made that invaluable. Alameda secured its loans from Voyager and BlockFi with FTT tokens, which FTX minted itself. Major Alameda lenders, like Voyager, declared bankruptcy.

☆ Japan may build 2 huge warships to counter the growing missile threat from North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

That has led Japan to examine its missile defense, which relies on specially designed warships. The launches have forced Japan to examine its unique ballistic-missile defense system, which relies heavily on specially equipped warships to intercept incoming missiles. US Missile Defense Agency/Heather CavaliereJapan began developing its current BMD system in 2004. US Navy/MCS3 Quinton A. LeeThe Aegis-equipped BMD ships are the most important part of Japan's BMD system. US Navy/MCS Seaman Aleksandr FreutelThere are advantages to relying on maritime-based platforms for missile defense.

☆ Core holding Honeywell is a recession-resilient industrial for 2023, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Club holding Honeywell (HON) is a diversified industrial giant that's well-positioned to weather a potential recession in the U.S. next year, according to Bank of America. Bank of America on Monday chose Honeywell as one of 7 top industrial picks for 2023, calling the conglomerate a "top-tier operator." "The company has strong pricing power... and has offset supply chain shortages and Russia-related headwinds," BofA analysts wrote in a research note. We also see its product volume improving as supply chain disruptions ease. An aircraft engine is being tested at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix.

☆ JPMorgan is continuing its push into fintech with a deal to partner with buzzy treasury startup Trovata
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trovata, a cash management fintech startup, has partnered with JPMorgan Asset Management. JPMorgan has continued its push into fintech with a partnership with US cash management startup Trovata. California-based Trovata, which was founded in 2016, has been repeatedly backed by JPMorgan and has raised $57.6 million from investors to date. The startup offers cash management services to companies through an API. The tie-up will see Trovata host Morgan Money, JPMorgan's trading and risk management infrastructure, on its platform.

☆ This startup enables companies to host video content on their own platforms. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck api.video used to raise $12 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bordeaux-based api.video enables developers to incorporate videos on companies' own platforms. A French startup that provides developers with the tools to embed video content on companies' native apps and websites has raised $12 million. Api.video has created a cloud-based platform that allows developers to integrate video content on companies' platforms. The startup makes its money "based on customers' usage of the platform," Montet told Insider. Tony Nysten, principal at OpenOcean, said that the rise of video as a preferred method for consumers to gain information has meant that "video infrastructure has become a critical part of modern data infrastructure."

[1/3] A natural gas flare on an oil well pad burns as the sun sets outside Watford City, North Dakota January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Major energy companies are not doing enough to prevent the worst effects climate change despite public promises to fight the problem, a U.S. House panel said about documents released on Friday that it got in a probe. Shell's Smith said the House panel's probe failed to uncover evidence of a climate disinformation campaign. "Today's new evidence makes clear that these companies know their climate pledges are inadequate, but are prioritizing Big Oil’s record profits over the human costs of climate change." The House panel previously released a memo on Sept. 14 showing that oil majors "greenwashed" their record on climate change "through deceptive advertising and climate pledges - without meaningfully reducing emissions."

☆ Big Oil has engaged in a long-running climate disinformation campaign while raking in record profits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( René Marsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Big Oil companies have engaged in a “long-running greenwashing campaign” while raking in “record profits at the expense of American consumers,” the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee has found after a year-long investigation into climate disinformation from the fossil fuel industry. The committee found the fossil fuel industry is “posturing on climate issues while avoiding real commitments” to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lawmakers said it has sought to portray itself as part of the climate solution, even as internal industry documents reveal how companies have avoided making real commitments. Many of their requests for internal documents were heavily redacted by the companies, which did not specify reasons for withholding the information. “These companies know their climate pledges are inadequate but are prioritizing Big Oil’s record profits over the human costs of climate change,” Maloney said.

☆ Oil steady as China revival hopes offset Russia uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Trixie Sher Li Yap | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Brent crude futures edged up 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $79.38 a barrel by 0717 GMT, after they fell below $80 for the second time in 2022 during the previous trading session. U.S. crude futures mostly traded sideways, and were down 9 cents or 0.12% to $74.16 a barrel. "China has (been) rapidly eased COVID-19 restrictions, which may boost demand," markets analyst Leon Li at CMC Markets said in a note. The reopening could see a 1% boost to global oil demand, ANZ said in a client note. Oil prices have dropped by more than 1% for three straight sessions, giving up most of their gains for the year.

SINGAPORE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Oil futures edged slightly higher on Wednesday on hopes for improved Chinese demand while uncertainty about how a Western cap on Russian oil prices would play out kept markets on edge after a sharp fall the previous session. U.S. crude futures clawed back earlier losses and were steady from the previous close at $74.25 a barrel. "China has (been) rapidly eased COVID-19 restrictions, which may boost demand," markets analyst Leon Li at CMC Markets said in a note. However, uncertainty on how the price cap on Russian oil would play out on supply contributed to volatility. Oil prices have dropped by more than 1% for three straight sessions, giving up most of their gains for the year.

☆ What is ChatGPT? The AI chatbot dominating social media with its frighteningly good essays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

OpenAI last week opened up access to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that interacts with users in an eerily convincing and conversational way. On Monday, Open AI’s co-founder Sam Altman, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, said on Twitter that ChatGPT crossed one million users. It comes from the same company behind DALL-E, which generates a seemingly limitless range of images in response to prompts from users. If you plan to be outside, you should wear a light jacket or sweater, long pants, and closed-toe shoes,” ChatGPT responded. Possible issuesWhile ChatGPT successfully fielded a variety of questions submitted by CNN, some responses were noticeably off.

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