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ORLANDO, Florida, June 30 (Reuters) - Britain has an inflation problem, but imagine how much worse it would be were it not for the strong pound? But of all the factors pushing up UK inflation, including some that are unique to Britain's economy, labor market and cost of doing business as a consequence of Brexit, a weak exchange rate is not one of them. Indeed, sterling's value on a real effective exchange rate (REER) basis is the highest it has been since the Brexit vote. "UK inflation would indeed be even higher if sterling had not appreciated," Novy said. All else being equal, and taking into account the notorious 'long and variable' lag between interest rate hikes and cooling price pressures, UK inflation could come down pretty quickly next year.

Persons: Liz Truss's, Dennis Novy, Novy, BoE, turvy, Alan Ruskin, Ruskin, Goldman Sachs, Jamie McGeever, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters, University of Warwick, Brexit, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, Britain, Ukraine

☆ Exclusive: How this under-the-radar VC landed a $27 million third fund and bets in some of the buzziest startups like Jasper and Motherduck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Essence VC has raised its third fund of $27 million from LPs like Cendana and Sapphire Ventures. The fund has bet on buzzy startups like generative AI darling Jasper and a16z-backed Motherduck. And now, his firm Essence VC has just raised its $27 million third fund. The latest fund, backed by VC firms and funds of funds including Cendana Capital, Vintage Investment Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Level Ventures, and Crossover, follows a $7 million and $1 million fund. However, the "first-mover advantage" for startups also holds true in the land of VC, Chen says.

Persons: Jasper, Tim Chen, you've, Liz O'Sullivan, Vera, Chen, Scott Shi, —, Chi Zhang, Tim, Zhang, funder Chen, Christos Kozyrakis, Michael Huang, They're, it's, Ben Van Roo, Van Roo, Chen wasn't Organizations: Sapphire Ventures, Cendana, Vintage Investment Partners, Level Ventures, Founders, Stanford, Cloudera, Google Locations: a16z

☆ G.O.P. Rivals See Trump’s Indictment as a Big Problem (for Them)
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jonathan Swan | Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Advisers working for Mr. Trump’s opponents are facing what some consider an infuriating task: trying to persuade Republican primary voters, who are inured to Mr. Trump’s years of controversies and deeply distrustful of the government, that being criminally charged for holding onto classified documents is a bad thing. In previous eras, the indictment of a presidential candidate would have been, at a minimum, a political gift for the other candidates, if not an event that spelled the end of the indicted rival’s run. Competitors would have thrilled at the prospect of the front-runner’s spending months tied up in court, with damaging new details steadily dripping out. And they still could be Mr. Trump’s undoing: If he does not end up convicted before November 2024, his latest arrest is not likely win him converts in the general election. But Mr. Trump’s competitors — counterintuitively, according to the old conventional political wisdom — are actually dreading what threatens to be an endless indictment news cycle that could swallow up the summer.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, rival’s, —, grumbled, Trump Organizations: Trump, Republican, Mr

☆ Singapore university unveils Asia’s largest timber building
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sprawling across 43,500 square meters (468,000 square feet), it is now Asia’s largest timber building, by floor area. Some countries now even allow for high-rises (or “plyscrapers”), like Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s 25-story Ascent, which at 284 feet, is the world’s tallest mass timber structure. Advocates for mass timber point to the relatively slow and predictable rate at which the material burns. Many of the purported benefits of mass timber are, however, environmental. If a tree is then turned into mass timber, this embodied carbon is sequestered, or “locked in,” rather than being returned to the atmosphere.

Persons: Lee Kuan Yew, sunlit, Gaia, Toyo Ito, “, ”, ” Ito, Ito, Ho Teck Hua, ’ Organizations: Singapore CNN —, Nanyang Technological University’s, Singapore, CNN, RSP, Nanyang Technological, NTU, Construction Authority, NTU Singapore Locations: Singapore, Singapore CNN — Singapore, ”, Nanyang, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Europe, NTU Singapore, Milwaukee, Asia

☆ Ford and GM can afford to put on a brave face
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Automakers General Motors(GM.N) and Ford Motor(F.N) reported operating profit well above Wall Street’s expectations in the first quarter. Their battery-powered makeovers carry risks, but 3.6 million missing car sales thanks to Covid-era shortages means their gas-guzzler cash cows can put on a brave face, thanks to plenty of unfulfilled demand. Ford and GM reported total operating profit 43% and 20% above analyst expectations this quarter, respectively, according to Refinitiv. Reuters GraphicsThis price ratchet added billions to operating profit in recent years. GM increased its expectations for full-year operating profit by $500 million, to a range of $11 billion to $13 billion.

☆ For some US banks, it’s still a wonderful life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Bank customers are still sitting on a pile of savings manufactured by pandemic-era government stimulus and curtailed consumption. Among all banks, deposit balances have fallen 5% year-on-year; to get back to their pre-Covid trend, they’d need to fall 20%. What of small banks that can’t match either advantage? Better placed within communities to soothe the nerves of mostly local customers, small banks can instill trust and loyalty while allaying fears. This edge for small banks should also insulate them from the worst effects of a deposit price war.

Following Thursday's trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 800 shares of EMR, increasing its weighting in the portfolio to 2.52% from 2.37%. We think this recent dip is a buying opportunity on Thursday, ahead of a potentially transformative moment for the company. Emerson in January launched a hostile takeover bid for National Instruments (NATI), valued at $53 per share. The one wrinkle to this story, of course, would be if Emerson ends up overpaying for National Instruments. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ A cross between domestic pigs and wild boars was intentionally bred in Canada. The resulting 'super pigs' escaped captivity and could be invading the US.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When the market collapsed, the "super pigs" escaped and have spread rapidly across the country. The environmentally destructive pigs may be invading the US, where feral pigs already pose problems in the South. Then the boar market peaked, collapsing in 2001, and many of the super pigs were simply let go. Others escaped, as the super pigs were stronger and more adept at getting under or over fencing. But the super pigs from Canada could easily survive the frigid winters of places like Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, or Minnesota.

☆ Capitalizing on market crashes is key to retiring on time. Many millennials are still looking for their first chance.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Stock market declines can create bargain-buying opportunities for investors looking to generate long-term wealth. Many millennials are looking for their first chance to participate, having lacked adequate savings during prior market downturns. That's because a falling stock market creates discounts and a chance to buy high-upside assets on the dip. The 28-year-old is among the TikTok financial influencers telling their young audiences not to miss out on the next stock market slump. Some have argued that overvalued markets, slowing population growth, and rising interest rates could weigh down US stock market returns for at least the next decade.

☆ The US Air Force's big plan to spread out and take on China may actually make things easier for Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For the Air Force, a key part of the plan is to spread jets and airmen across bases in the Pacific. The problem is that the Air Force would need a logistical system that could sustain numerous bases across a wide area. US, Australian, Japanese, and other militaries' aircraft taxi in formation at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in February 2022. Civil engineer airmen conduct rapid airfield damage repair on Northwest Field at Andersen Air Force Base in October 2019. Air Force officials have acknowledged the complexity of defending dispersed forces.

☆ Since When Are Double Breasted Blazers Cool and Casual?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Ashley Ogawa Clarke | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

COUNTERINTUITIVELY, sales are higher than ever—almost triple prepandemic levels, in fact—at J. Mueser, a trendy Manhattan tailoring firm founded in 2008, reports creative director Matthew Woodruff. But not because guys need a new suit for the boardroom. As once-strict office dress codes continue to unravel, and Wall Street types stock up on skinny chinos and fleece vests, it’s become cool, almost rebellious, to wear formal tailored pieces. “People aren’t buying tailoring because they have to now; it’s because they want to,” said Mr. Woodruff. “Guys are wearing them as a replacement for a chore coat,” said Mr. Woodruff.

The TGA is a liability on the Fed's balance sheet. This means that when the TGA goes down, reserves go up, effectively administering an injection of liquidity into the system. chartThis runs counter to the Fed's current stance of pursuing a tighter monetary policy, of which draining liquidity from the system via QT is a part. Mark Cabana, head of U.S. rates strategy at Bank of America, calculates that since the Fed's QT program got underway last May, the Fed's balance sheet has shrunk by $406 billion and the TGA has dropped $422 billion. "Fed QT to date has been largely absorbed by lower TGA," he and his team wrote in a recent note.

☆ The bold bullish case to be made for U.S. stocks — one that not many are voicing just yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

There's a bullish case on stocks that's not gained much traction yet. With another 4%-5% upside in the S & P 500 , the thesis would demand serious attention. A Fed pause? But this time, the S & P 500 had fallen 20% by the time the 10-to-2-year Treasury curve inverted, whereas in past cycles stocks were near a high. The S & P 500 probably needs to reach 4300 — up another 7.5% — to make a solid case for the bear market being over, says John Kolovos of Macro Risk Advisors.

☆ Here's why egg prices surged in 2022. Those elevated costs could last into the first quarter of 2023, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesThe surge in egg prices has stood out in a year when Americans saw their bills balloon across the grocery store. Bird flu is largely to blame for rising egg pricesAbout 40 million egg-laying hens — "layers," in industry shorthand — have died this year due to avian flu, Moscogiuri said. Egg prices jumped 2.3% just in the month of November, and by 10.1% in October, according to the CPI. watch nowElevated egg prices "could last into the first quarter of 2023," Lapp said. It's also due to record egg prices somewhat dampening demand, he said.

☆ Mark Cuban has 4 rules for making money—No. 4 is: 'Know your s--t better than anyone else in the room'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Cuban says anyone can become a millionaire by following his four rules of success. "Selling isn't about convincing, it's about helping," Cuban told the School of Hard Knocks in a TikTok. "When you walk into a room, you [need to] know your s--t better than anyone else in the room," he said. That lesson may be why Cuban seems confident enough in his four rules to stake his own livelihood on it. "I would get a job as a bartender at night, and a sales job during the day, and I would start working," Cuban said.

☆ Yes, electric vehicles are greener than gas cars — even when they use dirty power
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There's a persistent myth that electric vehicles are somehow worse for the planet than regular cars. But building an EV creates more planet-warming emissions than making a gas vehicle. But mining the necessary cobalt, refining the lithium, and packaging it all into little cells that fit neatly in a larger pack creates significant greenhouse gas emissions. But zooming in on specific regions reveals how vastly EV emissions vary across the country. Electric cars that hit American roads in 2030 could have a 76% greener lifespan than gas counterparts if the US builds an electrical grid in line with the Paris Agreement's goals, according to the ICCT.

☆ Whales help mitigate climate change by pooping carbon into the ocean and taking more with them when they die, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They act as carbon vaults by sinking to the bottom of the ocean when they die, scientists said. Though it may not be a solution to the climate crisis on its own, their ability to store carbon is another reason to encourage their numbers to rise in the oceans, the scientists said. Whales naturally store carbon by living their lifeWhales capture carbon mainly by pooping and dying. "You can think of whales as like big floating trees in the ocean," Pearson said. The whales can then feed on these new lifeforms, in huge quantities, locking that carbon in their body for many decades.

☆ Panera workers say people are stealing drinks by pretending to be members of the chain's subscription program
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mary Meisenzahl | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Six Panera workers across the US told Insider about stolen drinks at their stores. Workers told Insider the system is easy for non-members to exploit, by filling up cups without paying and letting workers assume that they're paying members. "The most stolen beverages by far are the caffeinated lemonades," a manager in Michigan told Insider. We are always innovating to optimize the entire guest and associate experience including our USC membership," the company told Insider in a statement. "We're told it's not that big of a deal, which I actually agree with," a West coast worker told Insider.

☆ The 'total return era' of investing might be over, the credit chief for a $6 billion firm told us. Here's what he's buying to lock in solid returns that will hold up in a recession.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He says the 'total return era' of high, stable returns across asset classes might be gone for good. Reddy explained his ideas about what to buy to get solid returns at smart levels of risk. But buying everything only works if all of those structural factors are sending demand and asset prices steadily higher, Reddy said. Younger workers tend to spend more and save less, which means greater demand and more inflation pressure, Reddy said. "If you have a higher inflation environment, you need to take some kind of risk."

☆ Bank of America forecasts exactly how many jobs will be lost as the US economy takes a downturn — and how quickly
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bank of America is projecting that the US economy will lose over 500,000 jobs in 2023. The bank expects the unemployment rate to reach 5.5%. If this does come to pass, the US economy could have thousands of fewer jobs, Bank of America told clients in a report last Friday. In March and April of 2020, the US lost 1,500 and 20,000 jobs, leading to an unemployment rate of nearly 15% — nearly three-times as high as what Bank of America is projecting this go-round. But perhaps counterintuitively, today's strong job market could actually be a bad sign for its health in the future, some experts say.

“It’s fascinating how people seek queerness — and where they seek queerness,” Fuller added. Murnau’s “Faust” and “Nosferatu,” such moments of levity keep viewers engaged while they’re soaking up early Hollywood’s rich queer history. “Whether you’re ideologically queer or sexually queer, you might relate to the monster’s narrative, because you, too, have felt ‘outsidered’ or villainized in some way.” Bryan fuller, 'queer for fear' executive producer“The Dracula costume kit is basically drag. So this, to me, is the experience of being a gay man.”As Alaska’s assessment demonstrates, “Queer for Fear” isn’t interested in just exploring how horror has provided a haven for queer creatives. Because of the Hays Code, LGBTQ creators and those, like Hitchcock, who wanted to include those themes had to do so through subtext, which counterintuitively gave birth to some of the most essential queer horror ever made.

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