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☆ The new power figures in hedge funds do not manage money
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . On the agenda:But first: Why Wall Street is so happy to see the job market slowing down. New data from Vanguard shows a two-tier job market: one divided between a blue-collar boom and a white-collar recession. Also read:AdvertisementiStock; Rebecca Zisser/BIThe portfolio-manager whisperersThe new power figures in hedge funds do not manage money.

Persons: —, it's, Brian Rose, It's, Christie Hemm, Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, Alyssa Powell, Stefano Spicca, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Rebecca Zisser, whisperers, Gates Organizations: Business, Service, Federal Reserve, Fed, UBS Global Wealth Management, Big, Silicon, California, Vanguard, Microsoft, Big Tech Locations: Austrian, Solano County, Napa, Sacramento, California, Silicon Valley, New York City

☆ Man Behind California Forever, Silicon Valley's City of the Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Hugh Langley | Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

He sees California Forever. And if he can't undo the damage, there may never be a California Forever. California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. But here's the thing: California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. Places like California Forever aren't being opposed by the people who are desperate for a place to live.

Persons: Jan Sramek's, Goldman Sachs, Sramek, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen —, They've, Christie Hemm, Peter Thiel, Jan Sramek, Jan, Thiel, Goldman, CheatSheet, Sramek's, hadn't, Jonas Rave, who's, —, Guy Saidenberg, Evernote, Marc Andreessen, Jane Jacobs, He's, he'd, Robert Moses, growth.y Christie Hemm, Flannery, Bronson Johnson, David George, Andreessen Horowitz, Marilyn Farley, Farley, Solano County's, Kathleen Threlfall, Bill Mortimore, California Forever's, Jessica Christian, he's, Lyle Lanley, Solano, Sam Houston, weren't, Gabriel Metcalf, You've, John Garamendi, Garamendi, isn't, they'll, latte, Christie, Travis, I've, aren't, They're Organizations: Silicon, California, BI Development, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Party, Rising Star, Facebook, York, Sramek's, BI Sramek, Google, American, Planners, Sacramento -, Travis Air Force Base, Area, titans, Farmers, councilwoman, California Forever, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Air Force, Flannery Associates, Disney, San Francisco, Vallejo Naval, Historical Museum, Rep, BI, Solano, Sierra, Goldman Locations: San Francisco, It's, Sramek, California, Rio Vista, Solano County, Napa, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, America, London, Zurich, England, Czech Republic, Dřevohostice, York, British, Eastern Europe, Cambridge, Bay Area, Hayes Valley, America's cutest, Atlanta, Phoenix, Copenhagen, Barcelona, New York, Sacramento - San Joaquin, San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, Toledo , Ohio, Silicon, Google's, Toronto, Big Tech, China, Calif, Springfield, Vallejo, He's, Atherton, Foreverville, Fairfield, Austin, Solano, Valley, Europe

On Tuesday, industry leaders reassembled with a bipartisan group of Kentucky leaders to toast the bourbon sector's record growth. Kentucky's bourbon industry pumps $9 billion into the Bluegrass State's economy each year, creating more jobs and attracting more tourists than ever before, according to a study released Tuesday. Kentucky distillers produce 95% of the global bourbon supply, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. Producers had a record inventory of 12.6 million bourbon barrels aging in warehouses at the start of 2023, it said. Bourbon tourism has flourished, with attendance surpassing 2.5 million visitors last year along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which showcases smaller distilleries.

Persons: Andy Beshear, Bill Samuels Jr, Maker's Mark, Samuels, “, ”, David Osborne, Eric Gregory, ” Samuels Organizations: Kentucky Capitol, Democratic, Kentucky distillers, Kentucky Distillers ' Association, Maker's, statehouse, distillers, Producers, Bourbon, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Distillers, Republican, Bluegrass State, Capitol, Ivy League Locations: FRANKFORT, Ky, Kentucky

CHANNELVIEW, Texas — For nearly 20 years, Texas environmental regulators have kept a disturbing secret. AdvertisementTexas Community Health News; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality"Any exposure to a carcinogen increases your risk of developing cancer. AdvertisementTim Doty, a former TCEQ mobile air monitoring expert, at the industrial edge of River Terrace Park in Channelview, Texas. In fact, the agency rarely fines companies that violate Texas air pollution laws. Mark FelixHoneycutt's toxicology division soon took an even more dramatic step to weaken Texas' benzene guidelines.

Persons: Loren Hopkins, Hopkins, Mark Felix, TCEQ, AirToxScreen, AirToxScreen Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, Menefee, Tim Doty, Doty, Solv, He'd, Glenn Shankle, Kelly Keel, Todd Riddle, Riddle, Lopez, Joe Lopez, Dora, Joel Lopez, Randy Lopez, It's, Joel, Felix Benzene, wildcatters, Houston —, Forbes, Lorenzo de Zavala, Alison Cohen, Cohen, Tim Doty's, Houston Mayor Bill White, Shankle, Michael Honeycutt, Valerie Meyers, Meyers, Mark Felix Meyers, Richard Hyde, John Sadlier, Ryder, Hyde, hadn't, Russell Allen, Matt Baker, Jacintoport, Cloelle Danforth, Public Health Watch —, Danforth, Mark Felix Honeycutt's, Eric Schaeffer, Schaeffer, Honeycutt, Jim Tarr, polluters, upended, Mark Felix Fracking, Barnett, Glenn Shankle —, —, Rick Perry, Perry, Sadlier, David Bower, misstep, Baker, Bower, Michael Burgess, Greg Abbott, Abbott, Mark Felix Meanwhile, Randy, That's, Carolyn Stone, Stone, Carolyn Stone's, Mark Felix The, Cynthia Benson, Benson, Mark Felix Tim Doty, Mark Felix K, Jordan Gass Organizations: Public Health Watch, Texas Commission, Environmental, American Petroleum Institute, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, U.S . Navy, Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, General, Health, Public Health, Rice University, Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Community Health, AirToxScreen Harris County Attorney, polluters, Mark Felix Public Health, TCEQ, Solv, Mark Felix Public Health Watch, myelodysplasia, Houston, Oil, Gas Watch, Texas, Houston Ship, University of California, Houston Mayor, ., . Texas Community Health, NASA, Exxon Mobil, Public, Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, Management, Civil, Air Alliance Houston, Republican, Fort, United, Texas toxicologist, EPA, Texas Tribune, Google, Land Office, . Geological Survey, National Oceanic, Firefighters, U.S . Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Channelview, Improvement Coalition, Health Watch, San Jacinto, K, Texas Legislature, Solv Group, Services Locations: , Texas, Texas, Houston, Channelview's Jacintoport, San Jacinto, California, Jacintoport, Channelview , Texas, AirToxScreen Harris County, Channelview, Harris County, United States, North Channelview, Gulf, Terrace, Joel's, Houston , Texas, Spindletop, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Port of Houston, San Francisco, . Texas, That's, polluters, lacquers, Dallas, Fort Worth, Fort Worth City, Austin, Round, Minnesota, Galveston, U.S

☆ From black gold to green power: Texas, weirdly, is leading America's clean energy future
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

John DavisDeals like Davis' have made Texas — America's oil capital for more than a century — the top producer of renewable energy in the US. The state has long generated the most wind power and is second only to California as a solar-energy producer. The high-stakes battle for Texas' energy future is a microcosm of how tricky America's green transition is shaping up to be, especially when politics are involved. Slowing down renewable energy could cost Texas in the long term, both economically and socially. The coalition seems to be growing stronger, even as Texas politicians shift further to the right on issues beyond renewable energy.

Persons: John Davis, Davis, Greg Abbott, Critics aren't, there's, George W, Bush, Rick Perry, Abbott, Winter Storm Uri, hasn't, it's, It's, Judd Messer, Madeline Gould Laughlin, Michael Looney, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce Brent Bennett, Bennett, Messer, That's, Enel's Laughlin, Enel, Sandhya Ganapathy, Catherine Boudreau Organizations: Menard, RES, Texas, Republican, Texans, Power Alliance, John Davis Texans, University of Texas, Winter Storm, ERCOT, Bloomberg, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Energy Fund, Advance Power Alliance, San, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce, ExxonMobil, Chevron, West Texas Chamber of Commerce, Lone Star, EV Locations: North Dakota, Texas, America, Nowhere, Menard , Texas, Concho County , Texas, California, Menard, Austin, San Angelo, Midland , Texas

☆ The Social Gospel movement is changing our politics and reshaping our perspectives
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Fain’s sermonette underscores a trend that has largely gone unnoticed: The Social Gospel movement is making a comeback. Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesIt might sound like hyperbole to say that this resurgent form of the Social Gospel is changing our politics. He reached deep into the Social Gospel throughout the UAW strike, routinely deploying what one commentator called “strikingly Christian rhetoric.”Christopher H. Evans, author of “The Social Gospel in American Religion: A History,” said he heard the Social Gospel in Fain’s UAW speeches. “It (The Social Gospel) won’t have the institutional muscle it had before, but you could still have these voices and followers.”The climate in contemporary America seems ripe for the Social Gospel message. And the soaring optimism of old Social Gospel reformers may now seem as outdated as wobbly black-and-white silent films.

Persons: CNN —, Shawn Fain, Fain, ” Fain, Matthew, Jesus, ”, Moses, Paul, Stellantis, Fain’s sermonette, don’t, Frederic J . Brown, John D, Rockefeller, “, pulpits, didn’t, Charles Sheldon, Fain’s, that’s, Democratic Sen, Raphael Warnock, Cornel West, William Barber II, Liz Theoharis, Matthew Desmond, Martin Luther King, William Barber, Jemal Countess, ” Christopher H, Evans, Heath W, Carter, Luke, Sen, Warnock, Barber, Desmond, Amir Levy, it’s, ” It’s, you’re, ” Evans, Dom Helder Camara, Rebecca Cook, Reuters “ There’s, won’t, —, John Blake Organizations: CNN, Big Three, United Auto Workers, UAW, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Writers Guild of America, UPS Teamsters, UPS, Getty, Democratic, US, Big Tech, Boston University, ” Mining, Library, “, Princeton Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School‘s Center, Public Theology, Ivy League, The New York Times, Social, Reuters, Teamsters, Screen Actors Guild Locations: Jerusalem, America, Los Angeles, AFP, Washington, Kingston , Pennsylvania, Chicago, ”, American City, American, Lower Manhattan, New York City, Brazilian, Detroit

☆ Ron Baron's firm has had 31 different stocks deliver 1,000% returns over the last 40 years. He shares why he's now placing massive bets on 2 companies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Baron, who founded Baron Funds in 1982, says he's found success over the years by taking a long-only approach and refusing to sell shares of companies he believes in. And over the last 10 years, both the Baron Partners Fund (BPTRX) and the Baron Focused Growth Fund (BFGFX) have beaten 99% of similar funds, according to Morningstar. Baron co-manages both funds, with his son Michael co-managing the Partners Fund and his son David co-managing the Focused Growth Fund. SpaceX is not publicly traded, but funds like the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) and the two Baron funds mentioned above offer exposure to it. For SpaceX, Baron told CNBC he believes the company will go public around 2027, and that it will double in price many times over.

Persons: Ron Baron, it's, Baron, he's, Morningstar, Michael, David, Tesla, Michael Baron, That's, Elon Musk Organizations: Funds, Baron Partners Fund, Partners Fund, Baron Investment Conference, SpaceX, Innovation, Partners, Elon Musk, Intel, Microsoft, GM, Ford, Barons, CNBC Locations: New York, Nevada

☆ Trump is wooing oil and gas tycoons to financially support his 2024 campaign, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former President Trump is working to ramp up his support among energy executives, WaPo reported. Support from oil and gas executives would be crucial to his 2024 reelection campaign. Harold Hamm, the billionaire founder and chairman of Continental Resources, for instance, told Trump during a phone conversation earlier this year that he should end his presidential bid, per The Financial Times. "Trump was good on energy, and I think energy policy under Trump would be fine," Eberhart, the DeSantis supporter, told The Post. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe extent of Trump's pitches to energy executives is not a shock to environmental groups, as they battled with the administration over regulations throughout his entire time in the White House.

Persons: Trump, WaPo, —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Harold Hamm, Hamm, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Dan Eberhart, DeSantis, Kenny Troutt, Rick Bowmer, Barack Obama, Biden, bonafides, Tiernan Sittenfeld, Steven Cheung Organizations: Service, The Washington Post, Trump, Continental Resources, Gov, Post, White, Canary LLC, AP, Keystone XL, Wildlife, Green New, League of Conservation Voters, Big Locations: Trump, Florida, South Carolina, Trump's, Lago, Texas, Helper , Utah, Paris, Alaska, United States, ANWR

☆ A Glamorous Resort for the 1%—and How to Get Its Posh, Tropical Look at Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Christina Poletto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In My Favorite Room, an interior designer or architect singles out a historic room they admire, which we deconstruct and, with the design pro’s guidance, translate into advice on emulating the look. IN THE LATE 1950s, Canadian tycoon, investor and philanthropist E.P. Taylor set out to conjure a resort from the mangrove swamps and dirt roads along the coast of New Providence island in the Bahamas. His vision: an exclusive island playground where well-heeled elites could swing irons, yacht-hop and hobnob the night away. The plan worked.

Persons: E.P, Taylor, Henry Ford II, Sean Connery Locations: New Providence, Bahamas

Those summaries appear on the top of the Google search homepage, with links to “dig deeper,” according to Google’s overview of SGE. Most significantly, publishers want to be compensated for the content on which Google and other AI companies train their AI tools – a major sticking point around AI. In late September Google announced a new tool, called Google-Extended, that gives publishers the option to block their content from being used by Google to train its AI models. Publishers want clicks to secure advertisers, and showing up in Google search is key to their business. When given the option, websites are blocking their content from being used for AI if doing so doesn’t impact search, according to exclusive data from AI content detector Originality.ai.

Persons: Annegret, Jon Fosse ”, –, Japan –, ”, Danielle Coffey, Forrester, Nikhil Lai, “, Helen Coster, Kenneth Li, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Google, Arena, REUTERS, NPR, The New York Times, Reuters, News Media Alliance, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, United States, India, Japan, Paris, SGE

☆ Lina Khan vs. Amazon - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Cory Doctorow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Trade Commission’s chair, Lina Khan, has brought her long-awaited, audacious case against Amazon, signaling the Biden administration’s determination to restore an approach to competition law that has been in decline since the Carter administration. But Amazon is precisely the kind of company that Congress had in mind in enacting America’s many antitrust laws. The robber barons of that era hijacked the economy and politics, but they also faced the constraints of empires grounded in physical goods. Today’s tech barons at huge platforms like Amazon, Google and Meta can deploy anticompetitive, deceptive and unfair tactics with the agility and speed of a digital system. And Amazon is the apex predator of our platform era.

Persons: Lina Khan, Carter Organizations: Federal Trade, Google, Amazon

☆ Elon Musk was upset Bezos did not invite him to visit Blue Origin's factory, after Bezos toured SpaceX in 2004, a new book says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk's SpaceX and Bezos' Blue Origin have been one-upping each other in a billionaire space race. A new biography of Musk says he was upset with Bezos for not receiving a reciprocal invite to tour Blue Origin's factory after Bezos toured SpaceX. After that, Bezos sent Musk an invite, and the pair shared a dinner that seemingly did not go over well. In 2020, SpaceX completed its first manned spaceflight, while Blue Origin did the same — with Jeff Bezos on board — in 2021. After the tour, Musk sent a "curt" email to Bezos about his annoyance over not having been reciprocally invited to see Blue Origin's factory, per Isaacson.

Persons: Musk, Bezos, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk's, Walter Isaacson, curt, Isaacson, MacKenzie Scott, Justine Musk, Jeff Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Amazon, Bloomberg, NASA, Financial Times Locations: Wall, Silicon

A lawsuit claims Rudy Giuliani was paid $300,000 while pitching investors on an anti-Biden film. Giuliani allegedly said it would be a "kill shot" that would sink Joe Biden's campaign. By then, Giuliani was hard at work trying to dig up election-year dirt on Joe Biden in his capacity as President Trump's personal attorney. Giuliani, the lawsuit alleges, asked for the farmers' help finance efforts to make sure Trump was elected to a second term. The aborted Giuliani film project also forms part of a whistleblower disclosure from Johnathan Buma, an FBI special agent whose allegations were first reported by Insider.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Biden, Giuliani, Joe Biden's, Joe Biden, Hunter, Baldev, Kewel Munger, Tim Yale, Trump, George Dickson III, Hunter Biden, Dickson, Michael Moore's, Noelle Dunphy, John Doe, Mother Jones, Munger, Johnathan Buma, Bob Hawk Organizations: Service, Republican, Yale, Republicans, FBI, Munger Bros Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, California, New York City, Munger, Georgia, Washington

☆ Private equity bites off mostly what it can chew
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private equity firms notched nearly $300 billion of acquisitions worldwide through Aug. 15, according to Dealogic data. Deals in the $1 billion to $5 billion range are running closest to the same pace as 2022. STG, for example, secured a loan to value of more than 40% from private lenders. With capital tighter, it’s easy to understand why buyout firms are pursuing humbler deals more likely to exceed the minimum returns investors expect. GTCR’s plan to buy 55% of Worldpay at a $17.5 billion valuation requires an equity check equivalent to 15% of the buyout firm’s assets.

Persons: Simon & Schuster, STG, Clayton, Rice, Banks, Ares Capital’s, hasn’t, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: KKR, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Avid Technology, GTCR, TPG, Francisco Partners, Bain Consulting, Thomson, & $ Locations: New York, U.S, can’t, Dubilier

☆ Buyout barons feast on excesses of last boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That opens up plenty of potential loopholes which could allow borrowers to keep their old loans even after a deal. Lenders explicitly allow a company’s so-called “permitted holders” - typically its management or long-time investors - to assume responsibility for the debt. For example, one definition of a change of control is where the majority of board seats change hands. That means the company’s debt can stay put, news service 9fin reported. Interest rates for loans provided by private lenders have risen from 6.2% to 11.6% over a similar time frame.

Persons: Clayton, Rice, Breakingviews, 9fin, Cooper’s, Blackstone, Datacenters, Murray, dealmakers, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Partners, P, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Cornerstone, Focus Financial, Stone, Point, Smart, Securities, Exchange, NRG Energy, QTS Realty Trust, Foresight Energy, American Consolidated Natural Resources, Foresight, P Global Market Intelligence, Thomson, & $ Locations: Dubilier, Delaware

☆ Private equity gears up for a deal fest Down Under
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

So it’s fitting that one of the country’s most hotly contested deals involving overseas private equity firms is for Rugby Australia. It’s also a teaser for the deal fest buyout shops are gearing up for Down Under. Another veteran, Blackstone (BX.N), has doubled its private equity headcount over the past couple of years. Reuters GraphicsWith $676 billion of private equity dry powder in the Asia-Pacific region, according to consultancy Bain & Co, regularly capturing a two-fifths share implies up to $270 billion of capital could be heading Down Under in the coming years. Australia, he said, was too small and too competitive for private equity firms to make money.

Persons: It’s, Blackstone, EQT, they’re, it’ll, there’s, Brian Hong, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, Rugby Australia, CVC Capital Partners, Australian Financial, Down, Brookfield Asset Management, CVC, Nine Entertainment, AusNet Services, MidOcean Energy, Origin Energy, Retirement Trust, Consumer, Sydney Airport, Bain & Co, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S . Federal Reserve, Macquarie Capital, Thomson Locations: Asia, Australia, China, People’s Republic, Asia Pacific, Pacific

☆ Interest rates have broken the global wealth pump
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Rising inflation and higher interest rates would appear to make matters even worse. In the United States, immigration and the offshoring of manufacturing has undercut the power of labour. Ultra-low interest rates proved the greatest wealth pump ever devised, loading the dice in favour of the financial elite. Since the turn of the century, when the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan reduced interest rates to a new post-war low, wealth has consistently grown faster than GDP. That’s where higher interest rates come in.

Persons: Leonard Cohen, Peter Turchin, “ cliodynamics ”, Clio, Turchin, Hong Xiuquan, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, ”, Donald Trump, ” Turchin, Alan Greenspan, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Times, Elites, Steel, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Wall Street, Federal Reserve, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey, Thomson Locations: United States, France, China, Taiping, Japan

☆ Private equity risks gorging on its secret sauce
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Investors prefer pedestrian but steady management fees over the lumpy share of fund profit that is the industry’s special sauce. Private equity firms with a public listing funnel some of the carry to employees and some to shareholders. TPG (TPG.O) last year went public with a similar strategy of paying around two-thirds of performance-related revenue to employees. Assuming the general idea is to keep overall earnings steady, then higher fee-based income for shareholders must be matched by lower cash compensation for employees. It suggests that for KKR, TPG and the rest, there is a limit to just how much of their own secret sauce employees can eat.

Persons: Steve Schwarzman, Carlyle, Blackstone’s, Schwarzman, Henry Kravis, George Roberts, EQT, Blackstone, Harvey Schwartz, Rowe Price, Thoma Bravo, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, JPMorgan, Reuters Graphics, TPG, Apollo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Alpha, Bain Capital, Thoma, Ares Management, Thomson Locations: BlackRock

☆ A Negro Leagues Star Is Still Sharing His Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Louie Lazar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The older pastor, wearing a long purple robe, ascended the steps to the pulpit. “God has always had a plan and a purpose for each of our lives,” the Rev. In his dark, silent study down the hall at Bethel Baptist, on a shelf stuffed with old theological books, is a photograph of the 1948 pennant celebration of the Birmingham Black Barons of baseball’s Negro leagues. Greason, 98, is one of baseball’s “forgotten heroes,” according to the Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Seventy-five years ago, he shut down the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League’s championship series and then earned the Black Barons’ only win in the final Negro World Series, which the Black Barons lost to the Homestead Grays.

Persons: William H, Greason, ’, Long, “, Barons ’ Organizations: Bethel Baptist Church, Bethel Baptist, Birmingham Black Barons, baseball’s Negro, Center for Negro League Baseball Research, Kansas City Monarchs, Negro American, Barons, Black Barons, Grays Locations: Birmingham, Ala, Bethel, baseball’s

☆ Deep in the Amazon, scientists race to find unknown bat viruses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Some scientific studies have found that deforestation causes stress in bats, and stressed bats carry more viruses and shed more germs in their saliva, urine and feces. It spiked following the highway’s construction, making the Amazon in the early 1980s a rallying cry for the global environmental movement. When examining spillover risk, scientists use the number of bat species in a given area as a key variable. When humans encroach on their habitat, and bat species commingle, the viral cocktail intensifies. “Odds of it being documented are very slim,” said Caio Graco Zeppelini, an ecologist and bat researcher at the Federal University of Bahia.

☆ The ‘Gilded Age’ Myth, Then and Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Phil Gramm | Amity Shlaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Today the roles have reversed, with Democrats refusing to negotiate, preferring to smear the 'MAGA Republican' opposition as 'extreme.' Images: Zuma Press/AFP via Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyEverything old is new again, and blaming the rich for America’s woes is no exception. That era has been damned with a pejorative label: the Gilded Age. That thinking has re-emerged in the Democratic Party today, though this time it has its sights set on our economy’s tech giants. The wealth created by industrialization, modern finance and communication has reduced poverty, elevated material well-being and promoted general prosperity.

☆ Elon Musk once praised a rocket CEO who didn't go to college for beating Jeff Bezos to orbit, new book reveals: 'Bezos has spent a shitload of money, and he hasn't made it'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new book reveals Elon Musk once praised a rival New Zealand rocket CEO in a 2018 phone call. Musk said it was "impressive" that Rocket Lab launched a rocket into orbit before Blue Origin, per the book. Like SpaceX, Rocket Lab has been able to launch rockets into orbit — something Bezos' Blue Origin company has not yet achieved. In March, Rocket Lab launched its 35th Electron rocket just a week after launching its 34th Electron rocket. Neither Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, nor Musk responded to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Edward H. Meyer, Who Built an Advertising Empire, Dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Edward H. Meyer, an empire-building chief executive who, using an iron-willed management style and a laser focus on even the smallest details, transformed a midsize New York advertising agency into the global power known as Grey Group, died on Tuesday at his apartment in Manhattan. Mr. Meyer joined Grey Advertising, as it was then known, as an account-services executive in 1956, when the agency was billing about $34 million a year. He was named president in 1968 and assumed the reins as chairman and chief executive in 1970. As a manager, Mr. Meyer was anything but passive. Demanding performance at all levels, he had an uncompromising drive that inspired comparisons to corporate barons like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone.

The seafront used to be lined with Atafona’s grandest houses, the summer residences of wealthy sugar cane barons. They were the first to go, said Joca Delbons, one of the few real-estate agents who has stuck it out in Atafona. He said there is still demand farther inland, either from those who were evicted by the sea or by investors hoping to buy cheap and sell for a big profit if there is ever a solution to halt the waters.

☆ Why Blackouts, Power Outages Are Becoming More Common
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Power outages have increased 64% from the early 2000s, and weather-related outages — many driven by the worsening climate crisis — have increased 78%. A record-breaking blizzard in Buffalo, New York, this winter caused power outages throughout the city, resulting in the deaths of 47 residents. In 2021, a heat wave led to power outages and the deaths of hundreds in the Pacific Northwest. While regional organizations might use fees to penalize companies for power outages, it's now much harder to pinpoint and hold a person or entity responsible. In the meantime, the climate crisis will continue to wreak havoc on an aging grid system that puts profits over reliability.

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