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☆ Hundreds of thousands of fish died in a single reservoir in Vietnam, another sign of how climate change is strangling the economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A prolonged drought in southeast Asia contributed to massive fish deaths in southern Vietnam. The climate crisis and human development threaten the Mekong Delta, a key global agricultural center. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In Vietnam, the maze of wetlands that comprise the Mekong Delta is called the country's "rice bowl" because of the vast agriculture it supports. Related storiesMeanwhile, in southern Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of fish died in a reservoir last month as temperatures peaked over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and no rain fell for weeks, the AFP reported.

Persons: —, El Niño, they're, Ksor Phung, VnExpress Organizations: Service, Mekong Delta, country's Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, World Bank, AFP, Residents, Business, Getty, Commission Locations: Asia, Vietnam, Delta, El, Mekong

☆ Travis Kalanick's $15 billion food tech company cuts employees globally in profitability push
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewSix months after layoffs at food technology company City Storage Systems, another round of cuts hit teams globally, per leaked audio obtained by Business Insider. More than 80 US employees were cut at Otter, the company's restaurant tech arm, said a source familiar with the people laid off. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. In fall 2021, CEO Travis Kalanick raised $850 million for CSS from investors including Microsoft, at a $15 billion valuation.

Persons: —, Guido Gabrielli, Otter, Travis Kalanick, Kalanick, Uber, Gabrielli Organizations: Service, Storage Systems, Business, CSS, Microsoft, BI Locations: Canada, Latin America

☆ Japan just spent billions to boost the flailing yen — and the US may get involved too
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Japan is reportedly using its dollar reserves to prop up the falling yen. The US may step in to assist Japan, but the problem lies with the strong dollar. 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 . This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, greenback, Business Locations: Japan

☆ Musk's visit to China was a much-needed win for both sides — and a snub to India
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And Musk notably skipped a recent visit to India, underscoring how important China is for Tesla. AdvertisementElon Musk's two-day trip to Beijing looks like a mutually-beneficial win for Tesla and for China — and a snub for India. AdvertisementMusk needs China — but China also needs Musk, as a sign that the country is open for business with high-profile US companies. Musk's visit was going to include an announcement about Tesla entering India, Reuters reported. AdvertisementMusk's India visit would have been a win for Modi, who is seeking to boost India's status as a manufacturing hub, especially as businesses leave China.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon Musk's, China —, Premier Li Qiang, That's, Tesla, Dan Ives, Ives, India Musk, Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken, Musk, crackdowns, Bain —, Narendra Modi, Musk's, Modi Organizations: Tesla, Service, India, Premier, Baidu, Reuters, EV, FSD, Financial Times, China, Communist Party, Gucci, Apple Locations: China, Beijing, India, Shanghai

☆ China's big factories had a terrible March, even as automakers roar to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese manufacturers' profits fell last month, while carmakers reported a significant gain in the first quarter. 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 . AdvertisementBig Chinese manufacturers' profits fell last month, but carmakers posted a significant gain in the first quarter — one of the sectors worrying US officials. The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Saturday that large-scale manufacturers' profits dipped 3.5% in March, compared with a year earlier.

Persons: carmakers, outpacing Tesla, — Organizations: Service, National Bureau of Statistics, Business Locations: China

☆ Your latte could get even more expensive, thanks to a drought in Vietnam that's strangling coffee bean production
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robusta coffee futures hit a 16-year high because of a prolonged drought in Vietnam. The robusta coffee variety is the basis for both espresso and instant coffee. A long, El Niño-induced drought in Vietnam pushed up the price of robusta futures on Wednesday to the highest in at least 16 years, Bloomberg reported. This year's drought in Vietnam could continue the low-supply cycle, hurting next year's production. Vietnam is increasingly importing cheaper robusta from Brazil to satisfy soaring local demand from coffee drinkers, Bloomberg reported in March.

Persons: —, El Niño, Tran, Lan Anh Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, US Department of Agriculture, Co, International Coffee Organization Locations: Vietnam, Brazil, Asia, Europe, mocha

☆ McKinsey advised drug companies on how to 'turbocharge' opioid sales. Now it's under criminal investigation.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice is investigating McKinsey for advising opioid producers on boosting sales. The firm previously paid nearly $1 billion to resolve lawsuits related to its opioid work. The investigation is also looking at potential obstruction of justice by McKinsey and its employees. News of the investigation underscores how McKinsey's opioid work — which the firm said it stopped in 2019 — continues to plague the consultancy. In a 2018 email, for example, a since-fired McKinsey executive wrote to another senior executive about the firm's legal risk.

Persons: —, Endo, Martin Elling Organizations: Justice, McKinsey, Service, McKinsey & Company, US Department of Justice, Street, Purdue Pharma, DOJ, of, Purdue Locations: Virginia, Western, of Virginia, of Massachusetts, Seattle

☆ Gucci's owner is having a terrible year. The company's profit and stock have slumped as Asia sales dry up.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Kering predicts a 45% drop in its first half-year operating income because of Asia's consumer slowdown. Gucci, Kering's largest brand, suffered an 18% revenue decline, with a sharp drop in Asia. 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 . In earnings on Tuesday, the company warned that recurring operating income for the first half of the year will decline up to 45%, compared to the first half of 2023.

Persons: Kering's, —, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent Organizations: Kering's, Service, Business Locations: Asia, China

☆ Private equity is getting into the special education business. It's not all going smoothly.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

BI just published an investigation into special education-focused schools owned by PE firms. 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 . AdvertisementMy colleague Meghan Morris just published an investigation into what happened to a chain of special education-focused private schools when a private equity firm took over. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Meghan Morris Organizations: PE, Service, Business

☆ Special Education, Inc.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

AdvertisementNate Smallwood for BITo some, private equity's business model appears antithetical to special education. (The average public school district in Pennsylvania, where New Story operates the most schools, spends about $23,000 per child across all types of public education. "Private equity has no place in education — especially special education," Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio told BI. For instance, two Pennsylvania education directors left in spring 2023, according to records obtained by BI — one after just months in the role. AdvertisementNickie Coomer, a Colorado College education professor who has written about the privatization of special education, told BI that this data gap is a major regulatory hole, one that private-equity companies are happy to exploit.

Persons: Emily, Sarah, Nate Smallwood, Sarah didn't, —, Mergermarket, Shanon Taylor, Taylor, Sen, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Casey, Paul Volosov, Volosov, Jim Grinnen, Rachel Wisniewski, Christina Spielbauer, Spielbauer, Nathaniel Garnick, Garnick, sully, Craig Richards, He's, Richards, they're, " Richards, Judith McKinney, Grinnen, Donnell McLean, McLean, Natalie Stoup, Blackstone, haven't, Biden, of Education spokespeople, Nickie, …, that's, didn't, Hill, Amy Hall Kostoff, Kostoff, Green, she'd Organizations: Business, State College ,, New, BI, Audax Group, Kentucky, Pennsylvania State Employees, Schools, Audax, Rock Academy, University of Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Rock, Reading School District, River Rock Academy, Virginia's Department of Education, Green Tree, Pay, Tree, Autism, Forbes, NBC News, Federal Trade Commission, of Education, Colorado College, Tree School, Pennsylvania's Department of Education, Pennsylvania, In State College Locations: State College , Pennsylvania, Boston, Pennsylvania, Reno, —, Ohio, New Story's, Rock, Virginia, , Ohio, New Jersey , Pennsylvania, New Story's New Cumberland , Pennsylvania, CARD's Virginia, Philadelphia, Rochelle Park , New Jersey

☆ Google fired 28 employees for staging in-office protests against the company's contract with Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ana Altchek | Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nine Google employees were arrested after protesting the company's contract with Israel. AdvertisementA small group of Alphabet employees' long-simmering protests against the Google parent company's work with Israel ended with more than two dozen terminations on Wednesday. Google fired 28 employees who participated in office protests in New York and California on Tuesday, the company said on Wednesday. Last month, a Google employee protesting the contract was fired for disrupting a talk in New York by the company's head of Israel. Related storiesMore than 100 people, including Google workers, protested the project outside the company's New York office in 2022.

Persons: —, Israel, Santa Clara County, Chris Rackow, Nimbus, Dzanh Le, Speaks Le, Le, Hasan Ibraheem, Ibraheem Organizations: Google, Israel, Service, Amazon, New York . Police, New York Police Department, Tech, Apartheid, Hamas, BI, Sunnyvale Police, Bloomberg Locations: California, New York, Sunnyvale , California, New York City, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Israel, York, Google's New York City

☆ Spain is about to make it much harder for wealthy foreigners to buy their way into residency
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spain plans to end "golden visas" for non-EU citizens investing €500,000 in real estate. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementSpain will no longer hand out "golden visas" to foreigners willing to pay big bucks for them. AdvertisementIn the last year, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Greece have all shut down or tightened their golden visa programs for similar reasons. In 2018, New Zealand banned foreigners from buying existing homes following a housing affordability crisis, similar to Spain and Portugal's current situation.

Persons: —, Pedro Sánchez, Sánchez, it's, Peter Thiel, Meghan Morris Organizations: EU, Service, European Union, Associated Press, OECD, Investment, Henley & Partners Locations: Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Europe, New Zealand

☆ The big challenge for Wall Street CEOs this spring: keeping both of their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewA trio of top Wall Street bosses is facing investor agitation this spring over their jobs. The attempts to add more independent oversight to the firms' boards of directors is a public rebuke to those CEOs. Last week, top proxy firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended Goldman and BofA separate their CEO-chair jobs. AdvertisementA cyclical history of splitting CEO and chairman rolesThese proposals cycle in and out of fashion, and Wall Street has seen plenty of similar ballot questions, from shareholders large and small. Large companies — like the trio of Wall Street firms now — were targeted much more often for shareholder proposals to split the jobs than the small companies.

Persons: —, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Larry Fink, Brian Moynihan, Glass Lewis, Goldman, BofA, Moynihan Organizations: Service, Goldman, BlackRock, Bank of America, Business, Institutional, Exxon, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford, Wall Street

☆ Apple cut more than 600 California employees after retreating from its car and screen projects
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Apple has cut over 600 employees in California as it pulls back from two major projects. The layoffs follow struggles with cost overruns and delays in Apple's electric car and screen projects. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAs Apple retreats from two ambitious projects, the tech giant has cut more than 600 employees in California, per filings with the state. Related storiesIn late February, Apple told the 2,000 employees working on its electric car that the project would wind down, Bloomberg first reported.

Persons: —, Apple Organizations: Apple, Service, Santa, Bloomberg, EV, Apple Watch, Business Insider Locations: California

☆ Goldman's CEO is under fire from an influential investor advisor after a string of personnel and business missteps
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon faces a challenge from a big investor advisor. The advisor recommended separating the CEO and chairman roles for more independent oversight. The annual meeting vote comes amid scrutiny of Goldman's consumer business and personnel issues. AdvertisementGoldman Sachs' CEO is facing a fresh challenge to his leadership from an advisor to some of the bank's biggest investors. Proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, wants Goldman to separate the CEO and chairman roles.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, —, Goldman Organizations: Service, Services, Reuters, ISS, Business

☆ Boeing just pulled a classic corporate America move and promoted a woman to clean up its mess
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Boeing named Stephanie Pope the new CEO of its commercial airlines division on Monday. 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 . AdvertisementStephanie Pope knows Boeing well: a third-generation employee, she joined the company in 1994. Pope did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Stephanie Pope, —, Pope, Stan Deal, Michelle Ryan, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino, Carly Fiorina, Marissa Mayer, Sue Gove, Calhoun Organizations: Boeing, Service, BCA, Boeing Global Services, Twitter, HP, Yahoo, Bed, Business Insider

☆ Garbage AI posts like Shrimp Jesus are destroying Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Related storiesLast week, a duo from Stanford University and Georgetown University published a paper — not yet peer-reviewed — about AI images on Facebook, after studying 120 Facebook pages through early March. It's been covered by other media outlets well before last week's study; 404 Media wrote about it in December. Meta's president of global affairs said in February that the company is working on generative AI labels it will roll out later this year. Notably, this comes in an election year that's already been marred by generative AI issues, online and off. But I don't want to see labeled generative AI content in my feed — I don't want any generative AI pictures at all.

Persons: —, I, Joseph, Jesus, I'm, Mark Zuckerberg, Matthew, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, Stanford University, Georgetown University, Media Locations: Indiana, mmorris, insider.com

☆ A new Netflix show featuring a woman who turns into a chicken nugget shows just how much we love the bird
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe year of the chicken nugget (2017) and the chicken sandwich wars (2019) might have paved the way for fried chicken's latest role: star of a Netflix show. Next month, the streaming giant is releasing a bizarrely fun-looking comedy based on a Korean web cartoon called, fittingly, "Chicken Nugget." 🐣 Premiering March 15 pic.twitter.com/syGYVrzZS7 — Netflix (@netflix) February 15, 2024The premise of "Chicken Nugget" is silly, of course — but the show underscores the bird's soaring global popularity. And in the early 1960s, a renowned Cornell University professor engineered one of the Ivy League's greatest contributions to humanity: the frozen chicken nugget. It's unclear if the young woman in the forthcoming Netflix series turns into a particular flavor of chicken nugget.

Persons: —, ike, ince, ounger,, oung Organizations: Service, Netflix, Business, ust, EO Locations: oman

☆ This chart shows people who got phones earlier in life report more mental distress as adults. Isn't that sadly obvious by now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A study recirculating this week shows a depressing relationship between the age a kid first got a smartphone and mental health. Women who used smartphones earlier in life reported far worse mental health as adults. 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 . This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: AIM, Service, Business

☆ Reddit Warns That Meme Stock Investors Could Come for Its Own Stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

As Reddit prepares to go public, the social-media company issued an unusual warning to investors. AdvertisementGameStop, AMC, and other companies saw huge swings in their stock prices starting in 2021, thanks to chatter on social-media platform Reddit. In lawyerly language, Reddit wrote that individual ("retail") investors may home in on the company's stock. AdvertisementReddit S-1 cautions that retail investors could make the stock volatile Reddit S-1 screenshotReddit is offering its most frequent users a chance to buy into the IPO alongside institutional investors. Reddit users, meanwhile, gather on WallStreetBets (mentioned five times in the S-1) and other subreddits, where many posters are bearish about the company's upcoming IPO.

Persons: Reddit, Redditors, — Organizations: GameStop, Service, AMC, Securities and Exchange Commission

☆ Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens loses its chief financial officer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The chief financial officer of City Storage Systems, the umbrella company of Travis Kalanick's foodtech juggernaut, left last month, two employees told Business Insider. Before City Storage Systems, Curran spent more than a dozen years at Amazon, where he was most recently the vice president of finance and chief financial officer for the international consumer business, per his LinkedIn. His social-media profile lists a January end date for his latest role, the chief financial officer of "stealth startup." City Storage Systems is a multifaceted effort to reinvent food production, just as Kalanick aimed to upend the taxi industry by founding Uber. Tech and real-estate businesses such as City Storage Systems face challenges, including inflation and higher interest rates.

Persons: Travis Kalanick's, John Curran, Curran, Uber, Kalanick Organizations: Storage Systems, Business, City Storage Systems, Uber, LinkedIn, Otter, Tech, Systems

☆ After job cuts at Travis Kalanick's food tech startup, an exec discusses challenges and rallies staff with bullish comments on Future Foods
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A particular focus was an Otter business called Future Foods. But now, Future Foods is generating healthy revenue, relative to the cost of customer acquisition. He did not disclose revenue for Future Foods or other businesses on the call. 'Healthy tension'Gabrielli did admit there's a "healthy tension" with the Future Foods team, saying that they "tend to sandbag a little bit their capabilities." Future Foods also asks would-be customers if they maintain at least a four-star rating on one delivery app.

Persons: Travis Kalanick, Uber, Otter, Guido Gabrielli, Gabrielli, it's Organizations: Storage Systems, CSS, Otter, Tech, Foods, Future Foods

☆ Travis Kalanick's $15 billion ghost kitchen company lays off staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Travis Kalanick's ghost kitchen company laid staff off on Wednesday. In 2021, Kalanick raised $850 million at a $15 billion valuation for the company. The cuts come as tech and real estate companies rethink staffing needs in a more difficult market. Travis Kalanick's ghost kitchen company cut jobs on Wednesday, two employees told Insider. It wasn't immediately clear how many CSS employees were affected.

Persons: Travis, Kalanick Organizations: Storage Systems, Staff

On Monday, WeWork's stock trading was halted ahead of the opening bell. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementEmbattled real estate giant WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. WeWork's bankruptcy comes amidst a years-long reorientation for the office industry. Offices globally emptied, and the once-stable commercial real estate sector was thrown into unprecedented chaos, from which it has not fully recovered.

Persons: WeWork, —, David Tolley, Adam Neumann —, SoftBank, Regus, wasn't WeWork, I've, Masayoshi Son, Adam Neumann, Jackal Pan, Sandeep Mathrani, Neumann, Marcelo Claure Organizations: Service, WeWork, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Visual China, Getty, CNBC Locations: Canada, WeWork, York

☆ Startups are hitting a road block when selling their AI to big companies. Investors and founders explain how to get around it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The procurement team, responsible for sourcing and pricing the services the company buys, can introduce significant barriers to enterprise startups. Sellers must navigate a thicket of data concerns and increasing price sensitivities, among other issues, with procurement teams that may have little familiarity with AI. Enterprise software deals are taking longer to close compared with last year, per a September survey from New York-based SAAS financing startup Capchase. "That's leading procurement teams to ask sellers 'what works here, tell me where I could have unanticipated outcomes?'" Nemeth said procurement teams want to be educated and help see deals through.

Persons: Samir Kumar, Kumar, Barack Obama, Obama, Reuters Kumar, Obama's, Miguel Fernandez Larrea, Fernandez Larrea, Tola, Sheila Gulati, Charles Cotugno Gulati, Rachael Nemeth, Nemeth Organizations: Microsoft, Qualcomm, Touring Capital, Companies, White House, Reuters, Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Locations: United States, New York

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