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☆ AI startup Cohere in talks to raise funding at $6 bln plus valuation -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Generative AI aims to make human-like creations through computer code that has processed vast amounts of data. FOCUS ON NLPFocusing on training natural language processing (NLP) models, Cohere competes with a group of foundation model providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Gomez said the company differentiates itself by focusing on serving enterprise users, and Cohere has been talking to companies from marketing, consulting and tech to help them incorporate generative AI. Cohere is powering some consumer applications including Hyperwrite, which helps people write faster and generate articles using AI. Other foundation model providers such as Anthropic is also in talks to raise funding at multi-billion valuations, investor sources said.

☆ This is why some members of Congress have been seen wearing lapel pins resembling miniature AR-15 rifles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some GOP lawmakers have been seen wearing lapel pins in the shape of miniature AR-15 rifles. One Democratic congressman said that wearing the pins "isn't the flex you think it is." download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyRecently, Republican members of Congress, Rep. George Santos and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna have been spotted wearing lapel pins resembling miniature AR-15 rifles. The mystery of the lapel pins has now been solved. Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde from Georgia owns a gun store and has now taken responsibility for handing them out.

☆ Rapid hiring has bad and worse consequences
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Exceptionally fast U.S. hiring has worrying consequences. With unemployment dipping to a 54-year low last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve will probably keep hiking interest rates well into 2023. The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The sum nearly doubled the previous month’s gain and showed the economy on much stronger footing than anticipated. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Data could help save crypto’s image
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cryptocurrency could use a reputational boost right now. So it’s problematic that those who could help legitimize the business aren’t going gangbusters. But a string of bankruptcies in the business has clients cutting back on spending – and some disappearing completely. While Chainalysis, backed by GIC, says it plans to grow overall headcount in 2023, the cuts are the wrong sign for those who use its services. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Mexico players snubbed Davis Cup tie over lack of advance notice
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Angelica Medina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In this case it was no exception and after several years of trying we decided to unite to seek a change." Sanchez, 32, who last played for the Mexico Davis Cup team in 2011, added that in addition to the lack of advance warning about the tie, players' opinions were not taken into account. "It's not ideal to play at 2,800 metres above sea level, (Ernesto) Escobedo didn't want to debut for the same reason, it's not easy to play a Davis Cup (tie) like that ... that's why we wondered why they chose this place," the 39-year-old added. The veteran player added that lack of dialogue had been a constant problem for the last 10 years. Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bottling U.S. inflation could cost workers dearly
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Given the vagaries of inflation psychology, it’s not clear the Fed is justified in being so single-minded. By the officials’ own forecasts, the inflation fight will hurt hundreds of thousands of workers. Projections published after the Fed’s December meeting suggest the view that by the time inflation returns to 2% in 2025, unemployment will have risen to 4%, from 3.5% in December. And Americans routinely overestimate how high inflation will run in the next year, according to the New York Fed, typically expecting around 3%. Projections published by the central bank at the December meeting showed inflation returning to 2% in 2025.

☆ Breakingviews: Bottling U.S. inflation could cost workers dearly
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Federal Reserve is being relentless in its quest to bring inflation down to 2%, from its latest reading of 5%. Given the vagaries of inflation psychology, it’s not clear the Fed is justified in being so single-minded. By the officials’ own forecasts, the inflation fight will hurt hundreds of thousands of workers. And Americans routinely overestimate how high inflation will run in the next year, according to the New York Fed, typically expecting around 3%. Projections published by the central bank at the December meeting showed inflation returning to 2% in 2025.

☆ John Malone prepares for a victory lap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Now the cable cowboy’s Liberty Media (FWONA.O) empire is trotting out its trademark financial razzle-dazzle to try and wring additional value out of its assets. Malone, Liberty Media’s chairman, is as renowned for his dizzying array of specialized equity issues, spinoffs and splits as he is for the telecom and entertainment companies that have been subjected to the intricate machinations. It excludes broadcaster Discovery, spun off from Liberty Media in 2005, and international broadband provider Liberty Global (LBTYA.O), hived off a year earlier. A more logical starting point would be 2001, when Malone carved Liberty Media out of telecom giant AT&T (T.N). Likewise, Liberty Media’s accompanying shakeup of its tracking stocks stands to further spotlight the value of Formula One.

But Mr. Musk’s Twitter feed is often an echo chamber. 48 hours of Elon Musk’s tweets Circles representing Musk’s tweets are sized by the total retweets, likes, replies and quote tweets in response to what he posted. A chart of Mr. Musk’s original tweets, replies and quote tweets over a two-day period in November. A website tracking Mr. Musk’s private jet movement suggested that he traveled away from San Francisco around that time. Shareholders are now also seeking billions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit after Mr. Musk’s takeover proposal never materialized.

☆ McDonald’s finds inflationary happy place
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - McDonald’s (MCD.N) is having a good time at the bottom of the price food chain. The Chicago-based burger purveyor on Tuesday said that same-store sales rose 12% year-over-year in the last three months of 2022. That has helped restaurants grow, but McDonald’s is particularly benefitting. That’s despite McDonald’s touting the benefit of “strategic menu price increases” this quarter; the company previously said its U.S. prices should be up over 10% for the full year. How long this can continue probably depends on other options staying pricier – but for now, the nugget-maker has found its happy place.

☆ House Democrats just launched a 'Dads Caucus' to push for parental leave, the child tax credit, and universal childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of House Democrats just established the "Dads Caucus" to push for reforms. They want to expand parental leave, the child tax credit, and childcare funding to help working families. Last Thursday, House Democrats launched the Congressional Dads Caucus, a group that says it will advocate for legislation that includes guaranteed paid parental leave, the expansion of the child tax credit, and universal childcare. The US is the only industrialized country that doesn't require employers to offer paid parental leave, and only 25% of workers have access to it, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The expanded child tax credit passed in the American Rescue Plan, which offered monthly payments to parents between March and December of 2021, helped reduce the child poverty rate to historic lows.

☆ Breakingviews: TikTok’s trust-me tour will need at least 50 stops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The social media company run by Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will appear in front of a U.S. House of Representatives committee in March. But Chew, a Harvard University alumnus, will have to travel far beyond Washington to make America comfortable. But late last year, Chinese parent company ByteDance found that some employees had improperly accessed it to snoop on journalists. That’s likely to take up considerable airtime when Chew faces the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. But the short-video app also faces the prospect of death by 50 cuts, as individual states weigh their own approaches.

☆ TikTok’s trust-me tour will need at least 50 stops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A group of House Democrats announced Thursday they were forming the Congressional Dads Caucus to focus on family issues. "Why am I, a father, getting praised for doing what mothers do every single day, which is care for their children?" The lawmaker dads were joined at the news conference by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a member of the Moms in the House Caucus. Another member of the Congressional Dads Caucus, Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said all those issues became more real to him when he became a father. Other members of the caucus include Reps. Dan Goldman and Jamaal Bowman of New York, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Joaquin Castro of Texas.

“We spoke with a clear voice in November,” Whitmer said in her annual State of the State speech, which she delivered in person for the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Whitmer, who was on President Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president, is seen as a rising national star. “I know we might have different perspectives here, but I sure hope we can all get around supporting 4-year-olds across Michigan,” she said. “But the truth is that she set a record during her first term for vetoing bills, many which Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass.”In several policy areas, Whitmer spoke more defiantly or struck more partisan tones. I’m looking at you, Ohio and Indiana.”Those remarks drew a rebuke on social media from the Michigan Republican Party, which during the speech tweeted: “No.

☆ Economic data tells half-truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The best measure for tracking how much value an entire economy puts out, arguably, is gross domestic product. But for those trying to parse through Thursday’s U.S. GDP reading, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the devil is in the details. The trouble is that economic growth was largely fueled by companies, not people, which reflects the real heartbeat of the economy. Strip out that and other inconsistent segments, and the U.S. economy grew at just a 0.2% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, the smallest jump since early 2020. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A new private company will take over power generation units owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of generating energy on the U.S. territory. The power generation equipment in Puerto Rico, plagued by ongoing blackouts and decaying infrastructure, is on average about 45 years old — twice the age of those on the U.S. mainland. The company and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) are currently undergoing a transition process set to last 100 days. Officials in Puerto Rico have been taking steps toward privatizing power generation for some time. Power customers in Puerto Rico have seen seven electric rate increases last year, even though people in Puerto Rico already pay about twice as much as mainland U.S. customers for unreliable service.

☆ AT&T’s fiber diet should help mitigate M&A bloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - AT&T (T.N) boss John Stankey is getting the telecom titan back in its lane. The $145 billion company on Wednesday disclosed a $25 billion non-cash impairment charge partly related to its landline business. AT&T benefited in other ways, adding 656,000 net new mobile subscribers who pay monthly in the fourth quarter, far better than what Verizon Communications (VZ.N) managed. In the fourth quarter, AT&T’s average revenue per user for its fiber product was approaching $65, $10 higher than what its non-fiber service fetches. At least it’s a venture in AT&T’s wheelhouse, and a higher fiber diet should help mitigate the M&A bloat.

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☆ Tesla’s price war can only go so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The $450 billion car company’s industry-leading profit margins give it plenty of ammo. Tesla’s fat margins mean it likely accounts for most of the profit made in the electric car industry. Either he could let demand fall further short of supply, potentially leaving Tesla’s rapidly expanding - and expensive - factories running idle. Recent reductions to Tesla's prices will help cheaper models qualify for federal tax credits, making them even more attractive. Zeroing out that profit could reduce Tesla’s implied global average selling price from $51,421 now to $38,949.

☆ Amazon creates bazaar for U.S. banking wannabes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The e-commerce goliath recently added to its growing pile of debt with an $8 billion loan. After first tapping the market’s biggest bookrunners, Amazon enlisted Canada’s TD Securities to shop the lesser-traveled byways around Wall Street for the follow-up deal. It’s easy to understand why the wannabes would jump at the chance to work with Amazon. Others such as BBVA, which offloaded its American subsidiary but kept its broker-dealer business, are keen to expand in U.S. investment banking. For Amazon, spreading the wealth is a chance to trial new banking relationships before potentially hiring them for more complicated matters.

☆ Crime, inflation hammer support for Chile's Boric in tough first year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I wanted to give a chance to a young person, without the problems of the older politicians," she said. Recent pardons of 12 protesters convicted for crimes such as looting and robbery during 2019 riots went down badly amid rising crime statistics. The president's spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment, but Boric has repeatedly acknowledged that his administration has made mistakes. During a news conference announcing the justice minister's resignation, Boric said the government was determined to "strengthen political management." "Sometimes it seems that he is ruling just so that the right does not get angry," said 46-year-old designer and Boric voter Gaston Gomez.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of energy generation on the island, approved a contract that brings the U.S. territory one step closer to privatizing power generation. Less than 4% of Puerto Rico’s power generation currently comes from renewable energy. Power generation units in Puerto Rico are on average about 45 years old, twice those of the U.S. mainland. As part of the ongoing privatization process, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority relinquished the island’s power transmission and distribution system to Luma Energy. It’s unclear whether privatizing power generation would have any impact on such efforts.

☆ TikTok’s best U.S. charm offensive involves an IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But even if proposed fixes get past federal officials – no sure thing – it still must contend with activist state leaders. That’s problematic, given that trust between Chinese and American government officials is at a low. To make matters worse, ByteDance said late last year that some employees had improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists. More than 40% of American states, including Wisconsin and Texas, have banned the app on government-owned devices. But if an IPO helps TikTok to keep operating in the United States, it’s worth a try.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The government of Puerto Rico is a step closer to privatizing power generation on the island despite widespread skepticism among consumers, who crave a reliable source of electricity after decades of random power outages. The contract needs to be approved by the governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and signed by Gov. Power generation units in Puerto Rico are on average about 45 years old, twice those of the U.S. mainland. The system was previously managed by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The privatization process follows ongoing issues around Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's bankruptcy.

CLEVELAND — Matt Dolan, who lost a raucous Republican Senate primary in Ohio last year, will run again in 2024, this time seeking to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Dolan will announce his candidacy this week, he told an Ohio GOP official in a voicemail Sunday that the official shared with NBC News on the condition of anonymity. Dolan, a state senator whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, would likely be the first candidate on the GOP side to officially declare. Other Republicans closely looking at the race include Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Bernie Moreno, a businessman who briefly was a Senate candidate in 2022. Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks in Cleveland, on April 28, 2022.

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