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☆ Reasons Plane Travel, Airline Customer Service, Airports Are so Terrible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Bartie Scott | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's almost impossible to imagine a time when air travel was pleasant, much less enjoyable. Lost baggage, overbooked flights, outdated equipment, hidden fees, and disorganized staffing have fliers at their wits' end; consumer complaints about airline service have risen by 300% from pre-pandemic levels. Many of these measures had been put in place to improve safety following some rattling accidents in the early days of commercial air travel. So in 1978, at the urging of the economist and "inflation czar" Alfred Kahn, President Jimmy Carter enacted the Airline Deregulation Act. He added that "airline service, by any standard, has become unacceptable."

☆ Inside the self-proclaimed first generative AI conference, executives explain why the hot new technology behind ChatGPT is 'not just hype, but something real'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AI startup Jasper hosted what it claims was the first conference dedicated to generative AI. The mood was reminiscent of the hype around crypto, but attendees say generative AI is here to stay. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderInsiders say generative AI is not just a fadGenerative AI has already run into some road bumps. Anthropic's Amodei said that consumers, businesses, and developers alike are moving at "record speeds" to adopt generative AI. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderWhat's different with generative AI is that large language models have been quietly in development for some time, , executives said.

☆ CRV partner Anna Khan shares the 5 key elements of a successful startup pitch and the one mistake founders should avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for CRV general partner Anna Khan, pitches boil down to five key elements and one to avoid. Here's Insider's exclusive chat with the investor about what she looks for in a startup pitch. The CRV general partner recently tweeted about a founder who thanked her for being engaged during his startup pitch, saying, "Most people just stare at me for 30 minutes and then pass a week later." The investor shared with Insider what she considers the five elements of a successful startup pitch — and one popular rule of thumb that founders should avoid. Interestingly enough, having a large legacy competitor isn't necessarily a bad thing for vertical-software startups, Khan said.

☆ These 8 execs at payment powerhouses like PayPal, Stripe, and Visa are leading innovative teams and projects to stave off competition from banks and startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | 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.

Ueda, a 71-year-old former Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy board member, will succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second, five-year term ends on April 8, according to documents presented to parliament on Tuesday. Analysts expect Ueda, who had warned of the dangers of premature interest rate hikes in the past, to hold off on tightening monetary policy. "Ueda is likely to focus on theory and empirical analysis in guiding monetary policy," said Naomi Muguruma, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Upon parliament's approval, Ueda will chair his first BOJ policy meeting on April 27-28. A soft-spoken academic with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ueda is seen as a pragmatist who can adjust his views on monetary policy flexibly.

[1/2] Kazuo Ueda, a former member of the BOJ's policy board, is seen at the headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Japan May 25, 2022, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Ueda, a 71-year-old former Bank of Japan policy board member and an academic at Kyoritsu Women's University, will succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second, five-year term ends on April 8. The governor and deputy governor nominees will testify at confirmation hearings to be held on Feb. 24 for the lower house, and Feb. 27 for the upper chamber. International markets have been closely watching Kishida's choice of next BOJ governor for clues on how soon the bank could phase out its yield curve control (YCC) policy. With markets creaking under the BOJ's heavy-handed intervention, many investors are betting the central bank will start hiking rates under Kuroda's successor.

☆ See the 12-slide presentation that a health-insurance startup used to land $58 million after its public competitors tumbled
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Angle Health wants to use tech to transform health insurance where other upstarts have failed. Angle Health raised $58 million to disrupt employer-sponsored health benefits using this pitch deck. Companies like Oscar Health, Clover Health, and Bright Health raked in investor cash on the promise that they could transform health plans with tech, and each went public in 2021 at a lofty valuation. Angle Health provided Insider with the pitch deck it used to raise $58 million in Series A funding from Portage and other investors. Here's the pitch deck Angle Health used to land a $58 million Series A.

☆ Most analysts are sticking with AMD even after 'partly cloudy' fourth-quarter earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

AMD shares popped about 3%. On Wall Street, several analysts reiterated AMD shares as a buy despite the continued overhangs in the chipmaking industry, and project upside for the stock. Goldman Sachs also maintained a buy rating on AMD, saying that despite broader market challenges, the company is on track towards a positive market share trajectory. 'Partly cloudy' results Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore reiterated a hold rating on the stock, citing its "partially cloudy" fourth-quarter results. AMD shares have benefited from January's market and tech shares rally, jumping 16.03% since the start of 2023.

☆ The market crash could finally break Big Tech's addiction to subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With another recession looming, experts say usage-based models will become standard. Now, a decade and a half later, the subscription model is the hallmark of the cloud-computing era. As the name suggests, the usage-based model sees customers only billed for what they use — no more, and no less. Usage-based pricing has drawbacks, but can ultimately pay offThe one drawback of usage-based models for the companies that offer them is a lack of predictability. That, in turn, leaves usage-based companies more susceptible to a downturn, since it's a relatively easy for customers to cut spending.

☆ Inclusive Capital takes a stake in Bayer — 3 ways it may build value with a sustainable focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Activist Commentary: Inclusive Capital Partners is a San Francisco-based investment firm focused on increasing shareholder value and promoting sound environmental, social and governance practices. As a pioneering active ESG ("AESG") investor, Inclusive seeks long-term shareholder value through active partnership with companies whose core businesses contribute solutions to this pursuit. Bayer's crop science division accounts for approximately 25% of global crop farming. There are several ways to create this shareholder value. Bayer currently trades at approximately 7x earnings while its pure-play crop science peer, Corteva, trades at closer to 20x earnings.

☆ Alphabet finally makes the tough call to lay off workers. Here's how its cut of 12,000 jobs compares to the rest of Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Despite seemingly all of its internet peers announcing job cuts, Google likely hired another 6K employees in 4Q22," Schilsky wrote. The 12,000 figure shared by Pichai on Friday suggests Alphabet layoffs are roughly in line with most of its peers. Meta's layoffs of more than 11,000 employees — announced in November — work out to around 13% of the company's overall workforce. According to filings, 98% of Meta's revenue currently comes from ads, and 87% of Alphabet's revenue comes from advertising. This wouldn't be a problem, he suggests, if Meta's revenue per employee hadn't fallen over the last 12 months $1.6 million per employee to $1.4 million.

☆ Italy set to appoint veteran economist Barbieri as new Treasury head
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Barbieri to replace Rivera, who failed to win over MeloniPrevious Treasury chiefs include former PM DraghiBureaucrats in Italy get substantial say in policy-makingROME, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Italy's government is set to appoint veteran economist Riccardo Barbieri as director general of the Treasury, replacing Alessandro Rivera in the influential position, the economy ministry said on Thursday. The move marks a victory for newly installed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was looking to remove Rivera and put her stamp on key positions. "A cosmopolitan former banker and chief economist, Barbieri is one of the Treasury senior officials who liaises more frequently with Brussels," said Francesco Galietti, head of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar. MPS is 64%-owned by the Treasury following a 2017 bailout that cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros ($5.8 billion). Rivera spent much of his career within the economy ministry, specialised in the handling of banking and financial crises.

☆ This payment stock can surge 25% as a potential recession means less competition, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Global Payments are set to surge as competition falls to the wayside, according to Morgan Stanley. Less competition good for shares The changing competitive landscape should favor incumbents such as Global Payments, according to Faucette. In addition, Global Payments is top of the list in the category due to its strategic outlook, including a focus on mergers and acquisitions. Merchant exposure Global Payments also has high merchant exposure, which might not be as much of a detriment in a recession as feared, according to the note. "With this type of backdrop, we would expect GPN Merchant revenue growth to remain solidly mid- to high single digits."

☆ Piper Sandler sees a rally ahead in this unusual tech play on customer service automation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NICE Systems , which provides customer experience and anti-fraud and risk management software, is poised to rally in the coming year, according to Piper Sandler. The upgrade comes as Piper Sandler sees NICE gaining new clients and building revenue in the coming year as its main competitors struggle. Piper Sandler also sees the second half of 2023 as a potential recurring revenue inflection point. Nice win rates NICE is well-positioned to win seats in the contact center as a service space. NICE also offers a full suite of products that customers want, according to Piper Sandler.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Roblox, Alibaba and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs — Shares of the Wall Street investment bank shed more than 7% after it reported its worst earnings miss in a decade. Morgan Stanley — The bank stock jumped 6% after the firm reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations. CEO James Gorman said he's more confident on the markets than the rest of Wall Street, seeing a return of deal-making as soon as the Federal Reserve stops hiking interest rates. Global Payments – Shares rose 3.2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to buy, saying that the upcoming environment will favor incumbents and help shares gain. Citizens Financial Group — The bank stock slipped 2.3% despite posting solid quarterly that met Wall Street's expectations.

☆ JPMorgan's acquisition strategy is coming under fire. Here are the 15 fintech and consumer-focused deals done by the bank since 2020.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Carter Johnson | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

NutmegDeal details: JPMorgan announced the acquisition in June 2021, paying approximately $1 billion. cxLoyaltyDeal details: JPMorgan said it would buy cxLoyalty's global loyalty division in December 2020. ProxymityDeal details: JPMorgan, Citi, HSBC, and other firms together invested $20.5 million in Proxymity in May 2020. Viva WalletDeal details: JPMorgan said it would acquire 49% of Viva Wallet in January 2022, pending regulatory approval. Christian Petersen-Clausen/Getty ImagesRenovite TechnologiesDeal details: JPMorgan announced on September 12 it plans to acquire Renovite.

☆ Biden urges Congress to pass bipartisan tech legislation in WSJ op-ed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —President Joe Biden called on members of Congress Wednesday to set aside partisan differences and pass groundbreaking legislation to rein in Big Tech, focusing on digital privacy, antitrust and the industry’s liability shield, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Biden said that despite making some progress on increasing tech industry oversight, the US government has run up against the limits of its statutory authority. “We need bipartisan action from Congress to hold Big Tech accountable,” Biden wrote. Democrats have said tech companies should face more liability for failing to remove enough problematic content; Republicans argue tech platforms should face more liability for removing too much. Some policy experts have said that efforts to craft bipartisan privacy legislation have the strongest odds of passage in the new Congress, but it remains a long way from becoming law.

☆ 2 years after the Jan. 6 insurrection, election deniers are still in the building — and holding the speakership hostage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of 20 ultra-conservative Republicans continues to stonewall his leadership ambitions. More than half denied the 2020 election result and a handful are mentioned in the now-dissolved January 6 committee's report. But several of the political personalities at the heart of that attack are the same ones now holding the speakership hostage. All three lawmakers denied allegations that they were involved in planning the event. Meanwhile, the FBI seized the phone of Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania in August of last year.

☆ Wall Street analyst calls on Thursday including Tesla & Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Barclays names Starbucks a top 2023 pick Barclays said the coffee giant is a "best-in-class" stock for 2023. UBS names Chipotle a top 2023 pick UBS said the Mexican chain restaurant is defensive in a "tough macro." Bank of America downgrades PNC to underperform from neutral Bank of America said shares of PNC are trading at a premium. Bank of America downgrades Ally Financial to underperform from buy Bank of America said Ally is most exposed to auto loans. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said Amazon layoffs are "not a positive signal, but good for sentiment."

In the third round of voting on Tuesday, all 20 of the lawmakers defying Mr. McCarthy voted for Jim Jordan of Ohio instead. Mr. Jordan, who himself voted for Mr. McCarthy, is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus and has repeatedly cast doubt on the 2020 election. Nineteen Republicans did not support Mr. McCarthy on the first two votes, casting their ballots for others, including Mr. Biggs and Mr. Jordan. 1st Zeldin Jordan Jordan Luna , Fla. 13th Fla. 13th Jordan Jordan Jordan Miller , Ill. 15th Ill. 15th Jordan Jordan Jordan Norman , S.C. 5th S.C. 5th Biggs Jordan Jordan Ogles , Tenn. 5th Tenn. 5th Jordan Jordan Jordan Perry , Pa. 10th Pa. 10th Biggs Jordan Jordan Rosendale , Mont. 2nd Biggs Jordan Jordan Roy , Texas 21st Texas 21st Donalds Jordan Jordan Self , Texas 3rd Texas 3rd Jordan Jordan JordanLee Zeldin, a former representative from New York, received one vote (from Andy Harris of Maryland) on the first ballot.

☆ With its advertising business in crisis, Twitter eases ban on political ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Political advertising has never been a significant source of revenue for the company — it made less than $3 million from political ads in 2018, the year before the ban took effect. But advertising has historically made up nearly all of Twitter’s revenue, and replacing it could take a long time. Welcoming paid issue advocacy and political advertising to the platform once more could ease some of the effects of the advertiser revolt. “Internet political ads present entirely new challenges to civic discourse: machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes. Until now, Twitter’s approach to political advertising diverged from that of Facebook, which has attracted widespread criticism for its policy exempting political ads from fact-checking — effectively allowing politicians to lie in ads.

☆ Democrats will be defending a slim Senate majority in 2024. Here's an early look at the states that will likely be in play for both political parties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 2024 Senate elections — which will run concurrent with the presidential race — are approaching. In 2024, 34 senators will be up for reelection: 20 Democrats, 11 Republicans, and three Independents. But Sinema's election itself is another matter; she has not yet announced whether she will run for reelection in 2024. He has not yet decided if he will run in 2024, but Republicans have been eyeing his seat for years. But he has done it before, winning in 2018 despite Republicans going all-out to defeat him.

☆ Opinion | Vaccines, Inflation, Abortion: 2022 in Charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Steven Rattner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

By the end of 2022, 23 percent of American women resided in states with effective bans on abortion. June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Sept. 2022 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate 6% 5 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Unemployment 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run G.D.P. Growth 4% 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Core Inflation 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Sept. 2022 June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate G.D.P. Growth 4% 6% 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Longer run Core Inflation Unemployment 5% 5% 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Source: Federal Open Market CommitteeThe sustained period of high inflation left the Fed playing catch-up, as it had initially believed that the surge would prove transitory. 150 100 Xi Jinping addresses in 2017 & 2022 50 1982-2012 Economy Military Market Technology Reform Security Source: Capital EconomicsThen there was China: Our biggest source of imported goods became ever more clearly our biggest strategic adversary.

☆ The fintech reckoning is upon us. Here’s what to expect next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Many fintech companies — particularly those dealing directly with retail borrowers — will be forced to shut down or sell themselves next year as startups run out of funding, according to investors, founders and investment bankers. Other private companies with a reasonable path to profitability will typically get funding from existing investors. The frenzy peaked in 2021, when fintech companies raised more than $130 billion and minted more than 100 new unicorns, or companies with at least $1 billion in valuation. "20% of all VC dollars went into fintech in 2021," said Stuart Sopp, founder and CEO of digital bank Current. "The competitive landscape shifts the most during periods of fear, uncertainty and doubt," said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a trading venue for private company stock.

☆ 15 leaders at TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms shaping their music strategies in a rapidly changing market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here are 15 power players who are using social to shape the music industry in 2022. 2022 was a massive year for music on social media, as short-video apps like TikTok became the dominant platforms for fans to discover new songs. "Every short-format platform's got music on it now," Ted Suh, global head of music partnerships at Snap Inc., told Insider. The marriage of short-form video and music has become so pervasive that it's become a focus for tech incumbents including YouTube, which has 80 million paying subscribers across its YouTube Music and Premium services. The process has been both democratizing and exhausting for performers who often have to maintain active accounts across social media to succeed.

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