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☆ To One Watchmaker, Gears and Pinions Are the Interesting Bits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( David Belcher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Some watch designers are inspired by the grand beauty and rich history of mechanical watches. But for Jiro Katayama, a Tokyo-based watch designer, it is all about the gears and pinions, elements of the industrial world where he began his career. That influence — from growing up in car-crazy Japan of the 1980s to the instruments he encountered in automotive design school and his jobs with Lexus and other Japanese automakers — helped Mr. Katayama create Otsuka Lotec watches in 2000 as part of a design business, pivoting to just watch production in 2012. During the next 10 years he made 400 watches by himself — the internal mechanisms, cases, hands and dials — but customers had to wait as long as two years for delivery.

Persons: Jiro Katayama, —, Katayama, Otsuka Organizations: Lexus Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ It's not just Mike Johnson: Porn-tracking software is actually pretty common on the religious right
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Speaker Johnson and his son use software that notifies one of them if the other watches porn. It's actually rather common in religious circles, and there are several different apps for it. There are several different apps — known as "accountability" software — that allow for this sort of monitoring, including Covenant Eyes, Accountable2You, and EverAccountable. Speaker Johnson uses Covenant Eyes, and says in the unearthed clip that he has an accountability partnership with his then-17-year-old son. According to WIRED, the accountability software industry has ballooned into a "multimillion-dollar ecosystem" and includes hundreds of thousands, if not millions of users around the country.

Persons: Johnson, It's, —, Mike Johnson, that's, Stone, Lamar Odom, — he's, it's, Jesus —, Christopher Johnson, who's, Christian, Johnson's, Michael Holm, Holm Organizations: Service, Twitter, Capitol, WIRED, NBA, Southern Baptist Church, Ohio State University, National Security Agency Locations: Louisiana, Washington, DC, Columbus

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans fleeing Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation are sleeping in the open, without proper shelter, food, drinking water and toilets once they cross the border to their homeland, aid agencies said Sunday. Pakistan set Oct.31 as a deadline to leave the country or else they'd be arrested as part of a new anti-migrant crackdown. Afghans leave Pakistan from two main border crossings, Torkham and Chaman. The Taliban say they have committees working “around the clock” to help Afghans by distributing food, water and blankets. Concerns have risen among the humanitarian community about the impoverished country being unable to support or integrate those currently forced to leave Pakistan.

Persons: Torkham, Kayal Mohammad, Hawa, ”, “, ” Thamindri Da Silva, Arshad Malik, ” Malik, Pope Francis Organizations: Associated Press, “ Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peshawar

The government’s October jobs report is expected to show Friday that companies and government agencies added 184,000 jobs, a solid showing, though down sharply from a blockbuster 336,000 gain in September. The Fed scrutinizes the monthly job data to assess whether employers are still hiring and raising pay aggressively as a result of labor shortages. The Fed's policymakers are trying to calibrate their key interest rate to simultaneously cool inflation, support job growth and ward off a recession. At the same time, inflationary pressures have been easing as the Fed has sharply raised borrowing costs. In the meantime, despite long-standing predictions by economists that the Fed's ever-higher interest rates would trigger a recession, the U.S. economy, the world’s largest, remains sturdy.

Persons: ’ ’, Nancy Vanden Houten, ’ Vanden Houten, Vanden Houten, Jerome Powell Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Federal Reserve, Oxford Economics, Federal, United Auto Workers, Detroit, Wage, Labor Department Locations: U.S, COVID

☆ Breakingviews: SBF’s guilty verdict will help crypto break free
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just over a year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried might have been counting his large stash of virtual coins. A Manhattan jury on Thursday convicted the FTX founder of seven counts related to crimes he committed at the helm of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. With some $8 billion in customer funds stolen, his misdeeds will go down as one of the biggest financial frauds on record. To be sure, the speculative bubble in crypto would probably have deflated even without Bankman-Fried. The bankrupt exchange is also negotiating with three bidders to help it relaunch trading services, Bloomberg reported last month.

Persons: Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman, Fried, Jane Rosenberg, FTX, John J, Ray III, Nicolas Roos, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Galaxy Digital, Three, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Video shows a US Navy drone boat firing off its own exploding drone in the Middle East, a first for the unmanned vessels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US Navy said its drone boats fired lethal weaponry for the first time in the Middle East. Footage of one of the engagements shows Navy personnel operating the drone boat in the open waters. The USV then fires one of the munitions, which includes a first-person view of its trajectory into the simulated target, causing it to detonate on impact. Navy officials said the exercise was designed to advance the lethality and combat potential of drone boats, and future events could broaden the arsenal of these unmanned systems. Beyond drone boats, the Pentagon has taken other measures in recent months to boost deterrence in the region like dispatching an assortment of fighter jets and warships to the area.

Persons: —, Ray USV, Devil Ray, NAVCENT, Brad Cooper, Cmdr, Dre Johnson, Jonathan Nye, Justin Stumberg Organizations: US Navy, Navy, Service, US Naval Forces Central Command, . Naval Forces Central Command’s, Digital, Missile System, U.S . Naval Forces Central Command’s, Mass, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Pentagon Locations: Arabian, U.S, Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Persian, Iran, American

☆ New TV show '007: Road To A Million' brings Bond-like tasks to screens
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Hanna Rantala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - From scaling mountains and cranes to coming face-to-face with crocodiles and snakes, contestants travel the world tackling James Bond-inspired challenges in new TV adventure series "007: Road To A Million" in the hope of winning 1 million pounds ($1.2 million). "The idea is really to put ordinary people into a James Bond adventure and we didn't quite know how that would work out," executive producer David Glover told Reuters. "It's thrilling because... they're really not James Bond but they have heart and they're lovely and... they're heroic in their own way." [1/3]An assistant poses with the James Bond 007 Special Issue 2020 UK Seven-Kilo Gold Proof Coin, the largest coin ever made by The Royal Mint, in London, Britain, March 2, 2020. I thought 'well maybe if I do this, it's probably the nearest I'll ever get to (being a Bond villain),'" Cox said.

Persons: James Bond, Brian Cox, David Glover, they're, Cox, haven't, Henry Nicholls, it's, James, Joey Bone, James Bone, Bond, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G, Wilson, Daniel Craig, Broccoli, Hanna Rantala, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, The Royal Mint, REUTERS, Scottish Highlands, Thomson Locations: Scottish, London, Britain

GENEVA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever put up for auction could sell for up to $50 million at a Christie's sale of rare jewels in Geneva on Nov. 7, the auctioneer said on Thursday. Known as "Bleu Royal," this vivid blue diamond - which is set in a ring - is among the rarest ever to be unearthed. "What makes Bleu Royal so rare and special is its size. In 2016, Christie's sold a rare, 14.6-carat blue diamond known as the "Oppenheimer Blue" for more than $57 million. Two years ago the watch, now valued at between 1 million and 2 million Swiss francs, sold at auction for $2 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million).

Persons: Rahul Kadakia, Christie's, Oppenheimer, Kadakia, we've, Carola Chiadini, Denis Balibouse, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Remi Guillemin, Guillemin, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Cécile, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Asia, Europe, Switzerland, Christie's

☆ What Today’s Fed Move Means for Savings Accounts and CDs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Steve Garmhausen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

By Steve GarmhausenThe Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday means your savings accounts will continue to enjoy decades-high yields of 5% or more. The question of how long interest rates will remain robust matters to those making decisions about how to save. Savings accounts are attractive because balances are readily available for emergencies or planned expenses like a home down payment—but their interest rates can change quickly in response to Fed actions. Savings accounts vs. CDsThe best savings accounts and CDs were paying around half a percentage point of annual interest before the Fed started raising rates last spring. Safe, liquid alternatives to bank accounts include Treasury bonds—the one-year T-bill was recently yielding 5.4%—and money-market mutual funds, which yield a hair less.

Persons: Steve Garmhausen, it’s, “, ”, James Thorne, Brooke May, Daniel Wilson, Adam Stockton ,, you’ll Organizations: Wellington, Altus Private Wealth, Fed, City Locations: Altus, Indianapolis, Ind, Auburndale

The central bank left interest rates unchanged from its September meeting, but its formal statement acknowledged that “economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter.” In its last statement in September, it referred to the economy’s “solid” pace. But the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell made sure that the lack of action Wednesday does not mean that rates could be raised should incoming data show the economy is remaining strong. And the Fed says it remains committed to bringing annual inflation down to its target level of 2%. “As of Oct 31, markets expect that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates above 4.5% through the end of 2024. But we think that interest rates could go much lower,” said BeiChen Lin, investment strategy analyst at Russell Investments.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, “, We’re, ” Powell, “ We’re, It’s, ”, Neel Mukherjee, Subadra Rajappa, BeiChen Lin Organizations: Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Fed, Societe Generale, Russell Investments Locations: TIAA, 10y

☆ Tropical Storm Pilar Kills at Least 2 in El Salvador
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Heavy rains linked to Tropical Storm Pilar have caused at least two deaths in El Salvador, officials said, as parts of Central America faced heavy flooding on Tuesday night. Its center was about 125 miles south of San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital, and 210 miles west of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on Tuesday night. Tropical storm watches are in effect for the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras. That means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 12 to 24 hours. The U.S. Hurricane Center said that the storm was drifting north and expected to begin moving west, farther into the Pacific Ocean, on Wednesday.

Persons: Storm Pilar, Pilar Organizations: Central America, Associated Press, National Hurricane Center of, U.S . Hurricane Center Locations: El Salvador, Central, United States, San Salvador, Salvadoran, Managua, Nicaragua, Pacific, Honduras, U.S

☆ Oil gains ahead of Fed meeting as Middle East conflict persists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices edged up in early Asian trade on Wednesday ahead of key global central bank meetings this week including the U.S. Federal Reserve, as the market also closely watches the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Brent January crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.38 a barrel by 0040 GMT, after falling $1.33 on Tuesday. Brent December futures settled 4 cents lower at $87.41 a barrel at the contract's expiry on Tuesday. Interest rate hikes aimed at taming inflation can slow economic growth and reduce oil demand, while rate cuts to spur spending could increase oil consumption. The Fed, which will end its meeting on Wednesday, is expected to hold rates steady, according to a poll by CME's Fedwatch tool.

Persons: Brent, Edward Moya, CME's, Goldman Sachs, Antony Blinken Organizations: Raffles, U.S . Federal Reserve, . West Texas, Treasury, Federal, Market, American Petroleum Institute, Central Bank, Bank of England, Israel Locations: Yantai, East China's Shandong province, Israel, ., Europe, East, Gaza, U.S

☆ New Apple Watch to detect blood pressure, sleep apnea; health coach service planned: Report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple plans to introduce a new paid health service alongside a blood pressure sensor and a system for detecting sleep apnea in the Apple Watch next year, according to a report from Bloomberg Wednesday. The paid health coaching service could provide a new area for Apple to develop recurring subscription revenues. Apple's blood pressure sensor will reportedly detect when a user's blood pressure is elevated, though it won't show their exact measurements. There's been speculation for years that Apple will eventually add blood pressure sensing to the Apple Watch. Healthcare companies like Omron also already offer watches that can monitor blood pressure.

Persons: There's, Omron Organizations: Apple Watch, Bloomberg, Apple, Samsung

☆ How Apple's thinking about AI spending and deployment differs from Big Tech rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

And, of course, we've been doing research across a wide range of AI technologies, including generative AI, for years," he said. The upgraded camera uses machine-learning AI to tell the difference between a person and an animal in the frame. Laura Martin, a tech analyst at Needham, is among those who say Apple is "far behind" its big tech rivals. The early edge in generative AI is paying off for rivals, as was evidenced by Microsoft's recent earnings report. "We believe they are on the cusp of what will be the introduction of an AI App Store over the next year," he said.

Persons: Brendan Burke, That's, Tim Cook, Cook, we've, Siri, Apple, it's, Laura Martin, Martin, I'm, Ives, that's, what's, OpenAI, Google's Bard, Burke, Claude Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Google, Vision Pro, Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg, Meta, Financial Times Locations: Cupertino, California, Seattle, Paris, Beijing, Anthropic

In a courtroom sketch, Judge Lewis Kaplan watches as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testifies earlier in his fraud trial. Photo: jane rosenberg/ReutersSam Bankman-Fried faced his biggest test in the legal hot seat Monday, grilled by a federal prosecutor who was intent on poking holes through the FTX founder’s claims that unfortunate management mistakes, not criminal activity, were to blame for the crypto exchange’s collapse. The fallen crypto star, testifying in his own defense in New York against fraud and other charges, began by confidently answering questions from his own lawyer, saying he had been honest with customers and investors and believed his business empire was in good financial shape. The trial proceedings shifted quickly after Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon began her cross-examination and sought to confront Bankman-Fried with a litany of his past public statements whose truthfulness she questioned.

Persons: Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman, Fried, jane rosenberg, Reuters Sam Bankman, Danielle Sassoon, Bankman Organizations: Reuters, U.S Locations: New York

☆ Opinion | The Patent Fight That Could Take Apple Watches Off the Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It has incorporated pulse oximetry into all of its smart watches since then, with the exception of the cheaper Apple Watch SE. case is only one front in the battle between Masimo and Apple. In 2020, Masimo sued Apple in Federal District Court in California, alleging theft of trade secrets. Last year, Apple sued Masimo in federal court in Delaware, charging that Masimo was the one doing the illegal copying and was trying to knock Apple out of the market to make way for its own watch. Masimo counter-claimed that Apple had infringed its patents, falsely advertised its watches’ capabilities and violated antitrust and fair competition laws.

Persons: Biden, Masimo, Apple, Kiani, it’s, ” Masimo Organizations: Apple, Federal Circuit, Federal, Court, Apple Watch, Food and Drug Administration Locations: U.S, Masimo, California, Delaware, Masimo’s

HIGH INFLATION FALLS SLOWLYConsumer price inflation hit 11.1% in October 2022, which was higher than in comparable economies, and it has fallen more slowly too. But service price inflation, which the BoE watches closely, rose. Economists expect a big fall in headline inflation in October as last year's energy price surge fades from the comparison. However, the BoE issued a forecast in August saying inflation would return to 2% only in the second quarter of 2025. Financial markets do not see a more than 50% chance of the BoE cutting Bank Rate until August 2024.

Persons: BoE, Andrew Bailey, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics BOE, Huw Pill, William Schomberg, Sumanta Sen, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters Graphics, HIT, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Financial, European Central Bank, Graphics, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a 65-year prison term imposed on a central Ohio woman who pleaded guilty to stealing jewelry and other valuables from several dozen elderly residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The trial court imposed consecutive sentences, saying "no single prison term" would be adequate given the serious offenses. Political Cartoons View All 1223 ImagesThe high court reversed that decision in 2019 and told the appeals court to reconsider. The state Supreme Court voted 4-3 in December to send the case back for reconsideration again. But in January — after control of the high court shifted parties — it voted 4-3 to reconsider its own decision.

Persons: Susan Gwynne, Gwynne Organizations: Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Reformatory, Women Locations: COLUMBUS , Ohio, Ohio, Delaware County, Franklin County, Fifth, Marysville

Inflation, as measured by an index closely followed by the Federal Reserve, dipped slightly in line with estimates in September, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Friday. The personal consumption price expenditures index rose 0.4% for the month, unchanged from August, while rising 3.4% on an annual basis, down from 3.5% a month earlier. The narrower core index, excluding food and energy costs, rose 0.3% for the month, in line with expectations but up from the 0.1% increase in August. For the year, the core index is running at 3.7%, an improvement from the 3.9% registered a month ago. The report showed that spending also increased, by 0.7%, while incomes rose by 0.3%,“Core Inflation: the three month annualized pace of core PCE slowed to 2.4% y/y.

Persons: Joseph Brusuelas, Mark Vitner, Joe Davis, Andrew Patterson, ” Organizations: Federal Reserve, Economic, PCE, RSM, Fed, Crescent Capital, Vanguard, Global, “ Locations: Europe

Taken as a whole, the figures the government issued Friday show a still-surprisingly resilient consumer, willing to spend briskly enough to power the economy even in the face of persistent inflation and high interest rates. Income growth slowed. Adjusted for inflation, income actually fell slightly. In Friday’s report on inflation, the government also said that consumer spending last month jumped a robust 0.7%. A solid job market has helped fuel consumer spending, with wages and salaries having outpaced inflation for most of this year.

Persons: ”, Michael Pearce, Friday's, Jerome Powell, — Organizations: WASHINGTON, Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Oxford Economics, Fed

☆ Apple responds to Masimo patent dispute over smart watches
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | 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 EmailApple responds to Masimo patent dispute over smart watchesApple puts out statement in response to a International Trade Commission ruling that claims it violated patent law concerning its smart watches.

Persons: Apple Organizations: International Trade Commission

☆ 'Grandpa Google': Search head testifies that young users see it as out of style
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As Google fights claims that it violated antitrust law to maintain its online search dominance, the company's search lead testified Thursday that young users mock Google as old-fashioned. Prabhakar Raghavan, a Google senior vice president responsible for for products including search, ads and commerce, said that some young users have referred to the search engine as "Grandpa Google." Raghavan testified that Yahoo's search dominance at one point seemed insurmountable. For example, Google has conducted research that's led to features that let it directly answer users' questions, understand voice queries and lens queries, where users search via a photo they take. "We don't see users carrying through these journeys entirely on Google," Raghavan testified.

Persons: Prabhakar Raghavan, Google, It's, Raghavan, Bing, that's Organizations: Google Inc, Google, Department of Justice, Yahoo, CNBC, YouTube Locations: San Francisco , California

[1/7] Khadjeh Chehadeh Abu Stateh, 84, left, a Palestinian refugee who fled the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and her daughter, Zahra Ahmed Abu Stateh, 51, sit at their residence in Bourj al-Barajneh Refugee Camp in Beirut, Lebanon, October 25, 2023. 'BATTLE OF THE WHOLE NATION'Many of the Palestinians who arrived in Lebanon and their descendants still live in 12 refugee camps around the country, which now hosts about 174,000 Palestinian refugees. The walls in Burj al-Barajneh, like other camps, are covered in graffiti backing Palestinian factions, which are effectively in control. Security and governance is in the hands of Popular Committees and Palestinian factions, the United Nations Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA says. Meanwhile, many in Gaza, a narrow strip of land just 40 km (25 miles) long where 2.3 million people live, most of them also Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, have been displaced again.

Persons: Abu Stateh, Zahra Ahmed Abu Stateh, Amr Alfiky, Gazans, Bidur Al Habet, Kayyal, Zahra Steitiyeh, Khadijeh Astateh, Riham Alkousaa, Edmund Blair, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Popular Committees, United Nations Palestinian, UNRWA, Israel, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Bourj, Beirut, Lebanon, Burj, BURJ, Gaza, British, Palestine, Israel, Acre, Palestinian, Asylos, Burj al, Lebanese, Al Aqsa, Jordan, Egypt, Safed

A new Apple Watch Ultra 2 is displayed during the 'Wonderlust' event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2023. Masimo's 2021 complaint said the 2020 Apple Watch Series 6, the first model with blood-oxygen monitoring capabilities, infringed its patents. Apple has since shifted some of its Apple Watch production to Vietnam. Irvine, California-based Masimo has accused Apple of stealing its technology and incorporating it into several Apple Watch models. Apple is also facing an Apple Watch import ban in a separate patent dispute with medical technology company AliveCor.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Joe Biden's, Masimo, Joe Kiani, Apple's wearables, AirPods earbuds, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Grant McCool, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Apple Watch, REUTERS, U.S . International Trade Commission, Apple, U.S ., Appeals, Federal Circuit, ITC, Thomson Locations: Cupertino , California, U.S, China, Vietnam, Irvine , California, California, Delaware, Washington

☆ Music streaming was 2022's top moneymaker for songwriters, composers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man watches the sunset while wearing a headphone and listening to music, in Colombo, Sri Lanka February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 26 (Reuters) - Streaming became the largest source of income for composers and songwriters in 2022 and helped boost their collections by more than a quarter to 10.83 billion euros ($11.44 billion), a report showed on Thursday. After a boom during the pandemic, streaming collections have doubled from their pre-COVID levels and account for 35% of total collections for music creators, surpassing TV and radio. "It may not affect the graph lines of creators' collections in 2023, but it will in years ahead. CISAC is a network of authors' societies, protecting rights and representing interests of over four million creators of music, audio-visual, drama, literature and visual arts.

Persons: Dinuka, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Ulvaeus, CISAC, Juby Babu, Devika Organizations: REUTERS, International Confederation of, Authors, Composers, Thomson Locations: Colombo, Sri Lanka, Bengaluru

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