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☆ Silicon Valley billionaires want to build a new city in rural California, but locals are skeptical of the project: 'Their secrecy has caused a lot of problems'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Janie Har | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Silicon Valley billionaires revealed plans to build a new city after buying $800 million in land. The land was quietly purchased in Solano County, a rural area near San Francisco and Sacramento. Most of the land purchased is in the southeastern portion of the county, with parcels stretching from Fairfield to Rio Vista. Billionaires want to build a new city in rural California, but they're encountering wavering support from locals and lawmakers. Solano County homes are among the most affordable in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a median sales price of $600,000 last month.

Persons: Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Flannery, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, Marc Andreeseen, Lauren Powell Jobs, Michael Moritz, Paul Chinn, Countess, Michael Kovac, Sramek, Mike Thompson, Terry Chea, Princess Washington, Thompson, they're, he's, John Garamendi, Hoffman, Andreessen, Ron Kott, Kott Organizations: Service, FRANCISCO, Flannery Associates, Silicon, LinkedIn, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Getty, Fair, Solano, US Air Force, FBI, of Treasury, AP, San Francisco Bay Area, Travis Air Force Base, US Locations: Solano County, San Francisco, Sacramento, Wall, Silicon, Northern California, Solano, Silicon Valley, California, Fairfield, Rio Vista, U.S, United Kingdom, Ireland, walkable, Terry Chea California, California's, San Francisco Bay, Princess, Suisun City, Travis

☆ A mayor told the investors who want to build a new city in her backyard to 'take their billions of dollars and go back down to Silicon Valley'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Moy told Bloomberg she would "do everything we can to stop" Flannery Associates' plans. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Moy told Bloomberg that "this is no way to go about any kind of development," adding: "We're going to do everything we can to stop this." The Silicon Valley elites have purchased about 52,000 acres of land around Travis Air Force Base since 2018, leaving "no part that isn't touched by Flannery," Moy told ABC 7 News. Speaking to CNBC about the Flannery plan, Moy said the Air Force base "can't function" with a settlement encroaching on it.

Persons: Catherine Moy, Moy, Flannery, John Garamendi, Solano County's, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs Organizations: Solano, Bloomberg, Service, Daily, Flannery Associates, New York Times, Travis Air Force Base, ABC, CNBC, Air Force Locations: Fairfield, Wall, Silicon, California, Solano County, San Francisco

☆ This is how the billionaires planning a new city near San Francisco imagine their utopia could look
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

California Forever posted CGIs of the "walkable community" on its website. California Forever, the parent company of Flannery Associates, launched its website and shared first images of what the city in Solano County could look like if it goes ahead. However, details of just how California Forever intends to go about creating its utopian city are sparse. It now has to gain approval from Solano County residents, 2,000 of which have already been surveyed, California Forever's website states. California Forever didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Flannery, who've, Catherine Moy, John Garamendi, didn't Organizations: California, Service, Flannery Associates, Residents, Silicon, NBC Bay Area, California Forever Locations: California, Wall, Silicon, Solano County, Solano, Solano Fairfield, Solano county

☆ A company that counts billionaires Marc Andreessen and Laurene Powell Jobs as investors says it's bought 50,000 acres of land to build a new 'walkable' city in northern California. Here's everything w
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

California Forever says it wants to build a "walkable" city with new jobs, surrounded by an agricultural greenbelt. The company, Flannery Associates, has been quiet until now, but its parent company California Forever just launched a new website detailing its master plan. Solano County sits between Sacramento, San Francisco, and Napa Valley, and has a population of around 450,000 across just over 900 square miles. Sramek founded California Forever in 2017 and recently bought a family home there. "Now that we're no longer limited by confidentiality, we are eager to begin a conversation about the future of Solano County," it says.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell Jobs, Flannery, Jan Sramek, he'd, Jan, Sramek, it's, Who's, Chris Dixon, John Doerr, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Reid Hoffman, Michael Moritz, Andreessen Horowitz, Patrick, John Collison Organizations: Goldman, Service, Flannery Associates, California Forever, Travis Air Force Base, California Forever's, California Delta, California Locations: San Francisco, California, Wall, Silicon, Solano County, Sacramento, Napa Valley, Solano, Fairfield, Rio Vista, walkable

☆ A century before Silicon Valley billionaires pitched a brand new city in this California county, wealthy businessmen tried — and failed — to do the same thing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A group of Silicon Valley investors are planning to build a city in Solano County. The project, Solano City, failed as money ran dry and investors couldn't attract enough buyers. "The Market is TWO HOURS AWAY," one advertisement read, pointing an arrow from San Francisco to Solano City. Solano Irrigated Farms was soon unable to keep up with bills, and "Solano City died almost overnight," according to the historical database. Remnants of Solano City in progress can be seen in the county, Paul said.

Persons: Flannery, Patrick Calhoun, John Calhoun, Bil Paul, Paul, Solano, They're Organizations: Service, Silicon, Sacramento —, Flannery Associates Locations: Silicon, Solano County, Solano City, Wall, Solano County —, San Francisco, Sacramento, Dixon, Washington, San Francisco Bay, California, Solano, Farms, City

What if you built a new city from the ground up? Mr. Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to make it in tech. He was a European immigrant smitten with the energy of local start-ups, but he preferred more walkable cities like Zurich. Soon, he began taking fishing trips to Solano County on the San Francisco Bay’s eastern edge. A rural corner of the county eventually became the centerpiece of a plan hatched by Mr. Sramek to build a city from scratch.

Persons: Jan Sramek, Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Flannery Organizations: San, San Francisco Bay Area, Flannery Associates Locations: San Francisco Bay, European, Zurich, Solano County, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

☆ It's doubtful that Silicon Valley billionaires could pull off building a new city from scratch in a remote California farmland anytime soon, developer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Silicon Valley billionaires buying up land in Solano County, California, could face big hurdles. In 2017, Flannery Associates pitched an idea to create a new, walkable city in Solano County. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. With the land purchased, the group's plot of land has started to encircle Travis Air Force Base nearby, according to The Wall Street Journal. AdvertisementAdvertisementThey're also not the first Silicon Valley billionaires using their extreme wealth to chase bold developing ambitions only to be met with grinding bureaucracy.

Persons: Flannery, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell Jobs —, Mark Friedman, It's, John Garamendi —, —, They're, Elon Musk Organizations: Flannery Associates, Service, Silicon, New York Times, Travis Air Force Base, Wall Street, Times, San Francisco, Democratic, FBI, Treasury Locations: Solano County , California, Solano County, Wall, Silicon, San Francisco , California, California, Sacramento

☆ Where Tech Investors Are Buying Up Land, Locals Are Worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Holly Secon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a rural slice of California’s Solano County, between the cities of the Bay Area and Sacramento, rumors have been swirling for years about “the Flanneries,” a mystery company buying up mostly undeveloped land. “There’s sheep farms, there’s cattle ranches, and guys that are doing hay and safflower farming,” said the employee, Ashley Morrill, 40. “That’s what they do. There’s livestock, and things to feed the livestock.”Solano County’s rural roots are still front and center in an area where a company backed by tech industry billionaires has been buying up land to create what they imagine to be a city of the future. That company, Flannery Associates, has committed roughly $900 million to secure thousands of acres of farmland, court documents show.

Persons: ”, Ashley Morrill, “, ” Solano, Flannery Organizations: Bay, Flannery Associates Locations: California’s Solano County, Bay Area, Sacramento, ”

☆ Mysterious new California city backed by some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of the city of San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge in California, October 28, 2021. Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, has been quietly working to build an urban utopia in California nestled near San Francisco and Silicon Valley. But just a few years after the mysterious project got underway, it is facing increasing scrutiny from local officials and residents. Local residents were unnerved by the company as it bought up more and more land, according to the report. Read more at The New York Times.

Persons: Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Sramek, Flannery, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Michael Moritz, Read Organizations: The New York Times, Flannery Associates, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Democratic, Times Locations: San Francisco, California, Silicon

☆ A mystery company backed by Silicon Valley billionaires has purchased tens of thousands of acres of land for more than $800 million to build a new city near San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A company called Flannery Associates has been purchasing land in a county near San Francisco. The company, Flannery Associates, has spent $800 million to purchase thousands of acres of farmland in Solano County, which sits northeast of San Francisco, court documents obtained by Insider show. But the spending price has since soared, with Flannery spending up to $15,000 per acre, lawyers for Flannery Associates said in court documents. Attorneys for Flannery Associates and the landowners did not respond to a request for comment outside of working hours. AdvertisementAdvertisementMusk recently purchased 3,500 acres of land outside of Austin, Texas, to build a town he intends to call "Snailbrook."

Persons: Flannery, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell Jobs, Catherine Moy, Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs, Powell Jobs, Michael Moritz of, Reid Hoffman, Moritz, Y, We're, Bill Gates, Elon Musk Organizations: Service, Silicon, The New York Times, Flannery Associates, Street Journal, Travis Air Force Base, Air Force Base Google, ABC, Times, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital, LinkedIn, Solano County Google, The Times, Tech Locations: San Francisco, Wall, Silicon, California, Solano County, Fairfield, Real, Austin , Texas, Colorado

☆ At American Apparel, a Sex-Positive Veneer Belied Abuse Underneath
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Estelle Tang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When she saw it again, “it had been sliced into pieces” so that the company could turn it into a mass-produced pattern. It was a fitting introduction to the company that would leach her useful qualities and mistreat the whole person. “Strip Tees” is devourable, rendered in efficient, colorful scenes. Flannery’s conversion from credulous retail recruit to company woman doesn’t trade in hyper-intellectual #MeToo-era analysis or retrospective scolding. “Shopgirls” appeared in the company’s advertisements, wearing hot shorts or ’70s-inspired tube socks and little else.

Persons: Kate Flannery, —, Flannery, baring velour romper, Dov Charney, “, ” Flannery, “ Shopgirls ” Locations: TEES, Los Angeles, kelly

"Patience should be rewarded," Morgan Stanley said about T-Mobile shares. Analyst Simon Flannery maintained his overweight rating on shares, while increasing his price target by $1 to $178. The company offers investors low leverage, strong FCF generation, a recurring revenue model, network leadership, growing market share and reasonable valuations," Flannery wrote in a Thursday note. Flannery noted temporary headwinds from wholesale traffic off-loading by DISH and Verizon are temporary headwinds to T-Mobile shares. The company's ability to outperform the sector may become harder as it gains more market share, he added.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Simon Flannery, Flannery, Michael Bloom Organizations: Mobile, Iridium, Verizon

"You're going to see every board member tell people to keep your money in multiple bank accounts," said Wesley Chan, cofounder and managing partner at FPV Ventures. "I'm not concerned about Bank of America," one business owner said as they left a Bank of America branch on Monday. Big banks can be less competitive, for example, on interest rates because of the security they offer. I think you'll see startups, in particular, questioning moving to the big banks given just how much more expensive it is," Matheson added. "The big banks are in very good shape, and so it probably is a stabilizing decision to move those deposits.

☆ Morgan Stanley's guide for tech investors playing the end of this bear market — and the start of the next bull
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tech (and media and telecom) investors should start preparing their buy lists now ahead of a bear market low, Morgan Stanley said. Given this, the strategist offered an investment guide for the period before, during and after the stock market trough. Netflix was among the names Morgan Stanley recommended for the period prior to the market bottom. Meanwhile, after the bear market low, Morgan Stanley said cyclicals, lower quality and value names have the most "impressive outperformance." Meanwhile, for investors trading through the trough and into the bull market, names such as Salesforce and Microsoft are buying opportunities, Morgan Stanley said.

☆ Morgan Stanley upgrades Verizon, cites favorable risk-reward outlook after stock's underperformance
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The risk-reward outlook for Verizon 's stock looks favorable after underperforming its telecom peers this year, according to Morgan Stanley. In a separate note to clients, he downgraded shares of AT & T to equal weight from overweight, citing the stock's strong performance in 2022. "Following significant underperformance in '22, VZ trades at a historically attractive valuation on an absolute and relative basis," Flannery wrote. Limited exposure to areas like pay TV should also enable Verizon to defend itself in a slowdown, he added. Meanwhile, AT & T's outperformance this year, and slowing growth in 2023, create a more balanced risk-reward for the stock going forward, according to Morgan Stanley.

☆ Laura Saunders — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Laura Saunders | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Laura SaundersLaura Saunders has long specialized in writing about taxes, first at Forbes and since 2009 for the Wall Street Journal. “Taxes sit squarely at the intersection of economics and politics, with consequences for everybody,” she says. When not writing about the code, she indulges her passion for literature and has published essays on Ralph Ellison, Flannery O’Connor, and Herman Melville. from Sewanee: the University of the South, and an M.A. She lives with her family in New York City.

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