DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

rules in governments’ sightsPresident Biden is set to issue an executive order on artificial intelligence on Monday, in his first effort to regulate how U.S. companies develop it and how regulators oversee the technology. The order will create standards for American companies and public agencies. Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act, which lets the president mobilize U.S. industry to support national defense. The order will require companies developing A.I. that “poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety” to notify the government when training their systems.

Persons: Biden

Meanwhile, Meta has struggled with applying its content policies fairly across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, according to The Wall Street Journal. Experts say companies often find themselves out of their depth in talking about the knotty topic and that sometimes there’s little benefit to rushing out a statement. Some companies, especially those without operations in the Middle East, have chosen not to speak. In related news: How diplomats from the U.S., Qatar and elsewhere helped free two Americans taken hostage by Hamas. The two were far apart earlier this month on issues including streaming payouts and the use of artificial intelligence.

Persons: Dave Chappelle sparred, driller, Hess Organizations: U.S, Social, Israel, Meta, Facebook, Wall Street, ” Employers, Corporate, Web, Creative Artists Agency, Hamas, Exxon Mobil’s, Natural Resources, Republicans, SAG, . Tax, Big Tech Four, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Nasdaq Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, Qatar, Ukraine, Chevron’s, Guyana, Texas, New Mexico

Worries are growing about how much the turmoil could cost the global economy. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, hit a three-week high this on Fridayfears that a military escalation could disrupt already tight supplies. In a speech largely focused on inflation, interest rates and economic growth, Jay Powell, the central bank’s chair, warned on Thursday that “geopolitical tensions are highly elevated and pose important risks to global economic activity.”The Middle East is becoming a wild card for the global economy. That would probably sap growth but might also slow the economy enough to negate the need for an additional interest-rate increase. The measures were announced days after the U.S. imposed tighter restrictions on sales of more advanced semiconductors to China.

Persons: Biden, —, Brent, Jay Powell, Powell, ” Powell, Kamala Harris, Jay Monahan, David Zaslav, Jim Jordan, Patrick McHenry, Jordan, there’s, Fran Drescher, George Clooney, ” Drescher, Sidney Powell, Donald Trump’s Organizations: Gaza, Israel, U.S . Navy, Intel, Siemens, European Commission, Digital Services, PGA, Warner Bros, Hollywood, SAG, Trump Locations: Mideast, Israel, Ukraine, Lebanon, U.S, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lisbon, Ohio, Trump . China, Beijing, China

Investors turn to the Fed amid Israel-Hamas turmoilThe Middle East crisis has put markets on edge, pushing up oil prices and driving demand for safe havens, like gold. A key update comes Thursday at noon Eastern, with Jay Powell, the Fed chair, set to speak at the Economic Club of New York. In recent months, inflation has begun to ease, but the path has been bumpy as hiring remains robust and consumers continue to spend. That’s fueled fears in the bond markets that Fed policymakers will keep their prime lending rate at around 5 percent well into next year. The conviction has prompted a mammoth sell-off in Treasuries in recent weeks, pushing the yield on the 10-year T-bill to a 16-year high.

Persons: Jay Powell Organizations: Economic, of New Locations: Israel, of New York, Treasuries

Biden’s diplomatic task gets harderPresident Biden landed in Israel on Wednesday for a high-wire diplomatic mission that is facing new challenges by the minute. All that threatens to become what investors have feared: a rapid escalation of violence that could roil markets, upsetting a fragile global economy. Before departing for Israel, Biden said he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the blast at Ahli Arab Hospital. Palestinians blamed an Israeli airstrike, and Israelis cited an errant rocket fired by an armed Palestinian faction. Israeli forces are clashing with Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces based in southern Lebanon.

Persons: Biden, Jordan, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Organizations: of Islamic Cooperation, Israel, Arab Hospital Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iran, Palestinian, Lebanon

Some executives are worried about the optics, pointing to an initial statement from Riyadh about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that appeared to blame Israel. The diplomatic normalization talks with Israel appear to be on hold, and the crown prince has reportedly begun talks with the Iranian government about preventing the conflict from metastasizing. Meanwhile, Riyadh has been cool to U.S. efforts to restore calm and preserve progress made in the Saudi-Israeli talks. Prince Mohammed reportedly made Secretary of State Antony Blinken wait hours before meeting, and then called for a halt in the “current escalation” of the conflict. Some have suggested that attending would help encourage Saudi Arabia in its modernization push.

Persons: Israel, Prince Mohammed, Antony Blinken, ” Ayham Kamel, DealBook, Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Reuters Locations: Riyadh, U.S, Saudi, Eurasia, East, North Africa, Israel, Saudi Arabia

Biden and Trump bid for blue collar votesIn an extraordinary show of support, President Biden plans to join striking autoworkers on the picket line in Michigan on Tuesday. It comes a day before Donald Trump is expected to speak to union members in Detroit instead of participating in the second Republican primary debate. The competing visits come as the two home in on battleground states ahead of next year’s election. But their appearances also reveal a political battle to become the voice of blue collar workers at a time when both candidates are struggling to win over mainstream voters and even some within their own parties. is somewhat troublesome for him: It includes incentives for automakers to make more electric vehicles, which labor leaders say will depend on non-union jobs and require fewer workers.

Persons: Biden, Trump, Donald Trump Organizations: Republican Locations: Michigan, Detroit

The work stoppage isn’t officially over yet, and actors remain on strike. attained suggest that as organized labor enjoys a surge in popularity across a variety of industries, its muscle-flexing is achieving results. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional,” the W.G.A. News reports suggest the deal includes provisions for residual payments from streaming, minimum staffing of shows and limits on the use of artificial intelligence. Until then, writers are still on strike, though they’re not actively picketing.

Persons: isn’t, they’re Organizations: Guild of America, Hollywood

Looking beyond the Fed’s rate decisionThe markets on Tuesday are betting that the Fed will stand pat on interest rates on Wednesday. The higher-for-longer policy would probably deal a blow to prospective home buyers and businesses, and could undermine President Biden’s message of economic growth heading into an election year. Investors will focus on the Fed’s quarterly economic projections. With Brent crude hitting a 10-month high of more than $95 a barrel on Tuesday morning, however, fears on inflation still loom large. Investors on both sides of the Atlantic dumped bonds on Monday, with yields on a 10-year inflation-adjusted Treasury note hitting a 14-year high on fears that the Fed would stay hawkish on interest rates.

Persons: Biden’s, Brent Organizations: Fed, Investors

Other unions are digging in as well. The Writers Guild of America is in the fourth month of its strike against major Hollywood studios, while the actors’ union, known as SAG-AFTRA, is in its second. A Gallup poll published in August found that 67 percent of Americans approve of unions, the fifth straight year such support has exceeded the long-term polling average of 62 percent. Time is running out for Congress to reach a compromise to keep the government running past Oct. 1. The confab is part of an effort to lay groundwork for a meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.

Persons: Drew Barrymore, Biden, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, Xi Jinping Organizations: Guild of America, Hollywood, SAG, Labor Department, Gallup, Republican, Biden, U.S Locations: U.S, California, Malta, Ukraine, Taiwan, San Francisco

Autoworkers put down their toolsThousands of autoworkers walked off the job on Friday morning at three Midwest plants in an unprecedented strike, as the United Automobile Workers and Detroit’s three big carmakers remained miles apart on contract talks. A lengthy strike could dent the Big Three’s profits, analysts say, at a time when the companies are investing heavily in electric vehicles to catch up to Tesla and Chinese rivals. Mary Barra, G.M.’s chief, warned that meeting all or most of the union’s demands could hobble the company’s prospects. “Make no mistake: If we don’t continue to invest, we will lose ground, and it will happen fast,” she said. “Nobody wins in a strike.”

Persons: Autoworkers, autoworkers, Biden, Ford, Mary Barra, ’, “, ” Organizations: United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Dodge, Chrysler Locations: Stellantis, Amsterdam, G.M

The company priced its shares on Wendesday at $51 each, the top end of its range, valuing it at about $54.5 billion. Arm’s I.P.O. SoftBank had initially wished the company would be valued at as much as $70 billion. And it had pitched Arm as a major player in designing chips for artificial intelligence applications, a tech sector that investors have flocked to. But valuations of privately held companies have fallen sharply over the past year, and investors were reportedly concerned about Arm’s so-so financial performance of late.

Persons: SoftBank Organizations: Nasdaq, Wendesday

Artificial intelligence is again in focus this week in Washington, as leading tech executives — including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella and Sam Altman — as well as labor leaders and civil society groups meet on Wednesday with lawmakers behind closed doors. The gathering is the first of a series of Schumer’s listening sessions before lawmakers start writing rules. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Congress—we need AI experts, ethicists, labor leaders, civil rights groups, the world of academia, defense and beyond helping us with the work ahead,” he wrote Tuesday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Two separate Senate hearings devoted to A.I. It includes an independent office to oversee A.I., licensing and safety standards, and making executives liable for their tech.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman —, Chuck Schumer, ”, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley Organizations: Elon, Democratic, Twitter Locations: Washington, New York, Connecticut, Republican, Missouri

game (and the injury-shortened debut of Aaron Rodgers as the New York Jets quarterback) live at home. The early verdict: Disney gave up less than expected — but made concessions that could eventually remake the pay-TV business. Disney will gain more reach for its streaming services, which the company views as a vital part of its future. Charter also agreed to provide ESPN+ (largely a companion to its cable-channel sibling) as part of its sports-focused bundle. More important, when Disney finally introduces a direct-to-consumer version of ESPN that includes streaming of big sports events, the broadband provider can also offer that to its consumers.

Persons: ”, Aaron Rodgers Organizations: Disney, Charter Communications, New York Jets, ESPN

That’s far less than what Instacart fetched in a fund-raising round two years ago. But like Arm, the SoftBank-owned chip designer set to price its own stock offering on Wednesday, Instacart’s shift reflects investor caution as Wall Street slowly warms up to I.P.O.s again. In 2021, the company was valued at a heady $39 billion, as venture capitalists poured money into start-ups, especially those that benefited from stay-at-home pandemic restrictions. But investors had expected it to pursue a valuation as high as $70 billion. (The projected appraisal is higher than the $32 billion that SoftBank paid for Arm in 2016.)

Persons: I.P.O.s Instacart, I.P.O.s Organizations: U.S Locations: I.P.O.s, what’s

☆ An A.I. Leader Urges Regulation and a Rethink
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Ravi Mattu | More About Ravi Mattu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Suleyman wants governments to regulate A.I. and appoint cabinet-level tech ministers, and says the United States should use its dominance in advanced chips to enforce global standards. He has also called for the creation of a governance regime modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to make the work of private companies in A.I. Such arguments may be difficult to achieve at a time of growing global tensions, but they are timely as lawmakers unveil proposals about how A.I. Chuck Schumer, the Senate leader, will meet top tech executives, including Elon Musk and Satya Nadella, the C.E.O.

Persons: Suleyman, Chuck Schumer, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, DealBook, ” Organizations: Elon, Microsoft Locations: United States, A.I

Some deal makers wonder whether tennis, which has already confirmed initial talks with Saudi Arabia, will be the fund’s next target. “Of all the important sports around the world, I think tennis is clearly the one with the greatest opportunity for financial growth and the most unrealized value,” Maria Sharapova, the retired tennis star, told DealBook. Despite the popularity of tennis, the sport brings in only 1.3 percent of earnings from global media sports rights. That’s partly because tennis is made up of myriad entities — including the Women’s Tennis Association; the U.S. Tennis Association; and independent tournaments. The independently operated organizations make scheduling tournaments difficult and diminish bargaining power for sponsorship and media deals.

Persons: Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, ” Maria Sharapova, DealBook Organizations: U.S, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Women’s Tennis Association, U.S . Tennis Association Locations: Saudi Arabia, U.S

Apple’s China conundrumShares in Apple, the world’s most valuable public company, suffered their biggest single-day fall in a month on Wednesday following a report that China would extend a ban on iPhones for government workers. China may be making things tougher for Apple. (Some Western governments, including the United States, already bar public employees from using TikTok, the Chinese-owned video platform, and devices made by China’s Huawei.) Apple manufactures most of its hardware in China, and the country accounted for about a fifth of total revenue last year. Apple doesn’t break out iPhone sales in the country, but TechInsights, a market research firm, estimates that in terms of second-quarter shipments, China was a bigger market than the United States.

Persons: China’s Organizations: Apple, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, China’s Huawei Locations: China, United States

For the Biden administration, “the only thing they can pretty much do to counteract Saudi cuts is to bring more oil into the market from other countries,” León said. “Iran and Venezuela are the best candidates,” he added, even if it’s politically unpalatable to fully reopen talks with them. Domestic producers of oil from shale won’t fill the void in the short term. The SPAC buying Donald Trump’s social network gets more time for its deal. Shareholders in Digital World Acquisition Corporation voted to give the firm 12 more months to close its merger with Truth Social.

Persons: Biden, ” León, León, ’, Margrethe Vestager, Didier Reynders, Vestager, Donald Trump’s Organizations: European Investment Bank, European Commission, Truth Locations: Iran, Venezuela, States, Washington

The strong labor market is propping up U.S. households. “Real disposable income looks set to reaccelerate in 2024 on the back of continued solid job growth and rising real wages,” Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist, wrote in a client note. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that wage gains had cooled in August, but real wages, adjusted for inflation, are trending higher. In March, the bank raised its recession odds to 35 percent in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and worries that contagion could hurt other lenders. Poll numbers released on Monday by The Wall Street Journal showed that President Biden’s popularity is still sagging, partly because of his track record on the economy.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, ” Jan Hatzius, Goldman Organizations: Labor Department, Bloomberg, Wall Street Locations: United States, U.S, Bidenomics

But it was justified in Musk’s mind because of his conviction that Twitter’s management had misled him. At 4:12 p.m. Pacific time, once they had confirmation that the money had transferred, Musk pulled the trigger to close the deal. But when his Twitter email was cut off, it took him a few minutes to get the document into a Gmail message. Hybrid work is winningChief executives aren’t letting up on their push to get workers back to the office. And even Zoom, a symbol of remote work, has ordered some of its employees to work in the office.

Persons: Twitter Elon Musk’s, Wall, Walter Isaacson, Isaacson, “, ”, Musk, Agrawal, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s, “ It’s, Organizations: Elon, Twitter Elon, Twitter, Wall Street, Mr, Meta, Labor Locations: ”

The magic of “badwill”When UBS agreed to buy its archrival, Credit Suisse, for a little over $3 billion this spring at the Swiss government’s behest, analysts and investors said that price represented a steep discount. UBS’s latest financial results reflect just how much of a steal it was. Today, the bank reported a $29 billion profit — yes, you read that right — for the second quarter, the biggest quarterly profit in banking history. But that paper gain belies the challenges that UBS faces as it moves to complete the largest takeover of a bank since the 2008 financial crisis. (It’s also known as “negative goodwill.”) UBS reported that its underlying profit for the quarter was just $1.1 billion.

Persons: “, It’s Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse

As valuations for National Basketball Association and National Football League teams have leaped beyond the reach of even some billionaires, pickleball offers, by comparison, a more affordable opportunity. Valuations of pickleball teams reportedly range anywhere from $1 million to $10 million. Pickleball proponents say the sport will eventually develop its own celebrity players. He pointed out that while pingpong has long been played by millions of people in multiple countries, it hasn’t become a commercial success. “I think that pickleball is going to confront some of the same issues,” he said.

Persons: pickleball, ”, Patrick Rishe, St . Louis, it’s, David Levy, Levy, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, ” Andrew Zimbalist, DealBook, pingpong, hasn’t, “ Organizations: National Basketball Association and National Football League, Washington, Washington University, Turner, Horizon, ESPN, Smith College Locations: St .

Just a month ago, Wall Street was hailing the so-called “magnificent seven” for driving the gains this year in the S&P 500. As MarketWatch notes, four of the seven (Apple, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft) have fallen at least 10 percent from their highs in July. Tesla, the worst of the bunch, has tumbled more than 25 percent in that period, putting it in bear territory. On Thursday, alarm bells sounded on both sides of the Atlantic as investors sold government bonds en masse, sending yields to multiyear highs. Adding to the jitters, the renminbi hit a 16-year low against the dollar on Friday, prompting emergency moves to prop up the currency.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, SpaceX, Elon Musk’s, Nomura Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China

One area looks safe from the dreaded “R” word: the housing market. Goldman predicts home prices will rise even more next year, in part because housing supply is so constrained. Forecasts of a prolonged housing market slump haven’t materialized. Those moves have helped push mortgage rates to a 22-year high. “Home buyers have demonstrated behavior that, in our view, reflects unsustainable adaptations to elevated mortgage rates,” the Goldman Sachs strategists Roger Ashworth and Vinay Viswanathan wrote in a research note.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Bankrate, Roger Ashworth, Vinay Viswanathan Organizations: Fed Locations: U.S

Search resuls for: "More About Ravi Mattu"

25 mentions found