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☆ Doritos' new AI software lets you crunch chips during calls without annoying your friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Doritos developed an AI to silence chewing sounds on calls, especially gaming sessions. AdvertisementGamers, remote workers, and others who annoy others with chewing Doritos during their calls have a new tool to silence the noise. Doritos Silent, made by the PepsiCo-owned chip brand, cancels the sound of chewing on voice calls. Smooth Technology, an engineering and design studio, worked with Doritos to create Doritos Silent, the chip brand said in a statement. AdvertisementCreating the software involved recording roughly 500 people eating Doritos, Dylan Fashbaugh, lead developer at Smooth Technology, told the Post.

Persons: Doritos, —, Mustafa Shamseldin, Fernando Kahane, Indra Nooyi, Dylan Fashbaugh, Fashbaugh Organizations: Service, PepsiCo, Washington, Technology, Smooth Technology

☆ Branding’s corporate titans face moment of truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Now for the first time this century, sales volumes at the big consumer goods manufacturers are falling. In the first nine months of the year, Kraft Heinz said the quantity of its sold items declined by nearly 6 percentage points year-on-year. That’s likely to allow Nestlé, Kraft Heinz and Unilever to see flat or modest increases in 2023 sales, LSEG data shows. Earlier this year, outgoing Kraft Heinz Chief Executive Miguel Patricio said the company lost market share to a branded competitor that spent more. Unilever, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz have all pointed to a slowing of price growth in the coming year.

Persons: Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, ’, Xavier Roger, Kraft, what’s, John Furner, Miguel Patricio, Mars, ”, François, EY, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Consumer, Kraft, Unilever, Danone, ’, United Nations, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Target, Reuters Graphics, Obesity, Mondelez, Walmart, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Europe, Australia, Norway, Chocolat, London

A BNY Mellon sign is seen on their headquarters in New York's financial district, January 19, 2011. "We're in a period when the Treasury market needs to be relied upon for its safety and liquidity," Nate Wuerffel, head of market structure at BNY Mellon, said in an interview. "And if on top of that you're trying to implement very rapidly a fundamental reassembly of the Treasury market, that's when you run the risk of having market functioning deteriorate." Liquidity crunches in recent years have raised regulatory concerns about the Treasury market's ability to function during times of stress. "Central clearing will strengthen the market’s core attributes of safety and liquidity in times of stress.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BNY Mellon, Treasuries, Nate Wuerffel, Wuerffel, Davide Barbuscia, Laura Matthews, Richard Chang, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Bank of New York Mellon, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Treasury, SEC, BNY, Federal Reserve, Federal, Thomson Locations: New

A BNY Mellon sign is seen on their headquarters in New York's financial district, January 19, 2011. "We're in a period when the Treasury market needs to be relied upon for its safety and liquidity," Nate Wuerffel, head of market structure at BNY Mellon, said in an interview. "And if on top of that you're trying to implement very rapidly a fundamental reassembly of the Treasury market, that's when you run the risk of having market functioning deteriorate." Notably, in March 2020 the market seized up as pandemic fears gripped investors, prompting the Federal Reserve to buy Treasuries to support the market. "An extended implementation timeline in the final rule could substantially lower the risk that the transition itself could worsen market functioning," Wuerffel said in a note on Wednesday.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BNY Mellon, Treasuries, Nate Wuerffel, Wuerffel, Davide Barbuscia, Laura Matthews, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Bank of New York Mellon, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Treasury, SEC, BNY, Federal Reserve, Federal, Thomson Locations: New

In September, WeWork said it would begin to renegotiate all its leases and exit certain locations. The company was renting nearly 20 million square feet of office space in June, more than any other company in the United States. Monday’s actions will not affect WeWork franchises outside the United States and Canada, the company said. WeWork’s demise is a blow for landlords who have leased a large proportion of their space to the company. It focused on leasing, rather than buying, office space and parceling it out to customers that included freelancers, small businesses and larger corporations.

Persons: WeWork, ” WeWork, Adam Neumann, Miguel McKelvey Locations: United States, Canada, WeWork, Lower Manhattan

For years, landlords around the world clamored to get WeWork into their office buildings, a love affair that made the co-working company the largest corporate tenant in New York and London. Now, WeWork is perhaps days away from a bankruptcy filing — and its demise could not come at a worse time for office landlords. With fewer employees going into the office since the pandemic, companies have slashed the amount of space they lease, causing one of the worst crunches in decades in commercial real estate. Many landlords have accepted lower rents from WeWork in recent years to keep it afloat, but its bankruptcy would be an enormous blow. Some landlords might quickly accept lower rents from WeWork as part of a bankruptcy reorganization and keep doing business with any new entity that emerges, but others might have to fight in court to get anything.

Locations: New York, London, WeWork

☆ Gas prices have fallen 9% from their peak this summer, in a good sign for inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The average price for a gallon of gas has fallen to about $3.50, according to data from GasBuddy. GasBuddy attributed the 9% decline in gasoline prices since early September to a seasonal drop in demand. This represents the fifth consecutive week that gas prices have fallen and comes even as oil prices jumped on growing tension in the Middle East, sparked by the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Falling gas prices are good news for the Federal Reserve in its ongoing fight against inflation. While gasoline prices make up only a small portion of the CPI inflation basket, they do play a big role in setting consumers' expectations for future inflation.

Persons: —, Patrick De Haan, De Haan Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve Locations: GasBuddy, Israel

☆ Tesla tumbles as Wall St raises doubt over growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. Overall, 10 analysts cut their price targets on the stock, pushing the median view to $260, according to LSEG data. Cash crunches at small EV startups and the ongoing strike at the Detroit Three automakers have also added to the optimism around Tesla. Tesla trades at about 59 times its 12-month forward earnings estimates, compared with 6.3 times for Ford and General Motors' 4.2. Reuters GraphicsReporting by Aditya Soni and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Tesla, Elon Musk, Canaccord, Chaim Siegel, Elazar, Cybertruck, Cash, Aditya Soni, Akash Sriram, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Tesla, REUTERS, Wall Street, EV, Reuters, Elazar Advisors, Detroit Three, Ford, General Motors, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Bengaluru

☆ Milan Fashion Week: Stars and style align at the Spring-Summer 2024 shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Marianna Cerini | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Milan CNN —Milan Fashion Week picked up where London left off last Wednesday, at least weather-wise. Both hit their strides with highly well received collections, as did a number of other familiar faces to Italy’s fashion capital. Overall, however, the festivities showed a consistency of form that continues to make the Italian city Paris’s greatest rival to the fashion scene throne. Cinematic sets and performative showsAlongside the clothes, many brands made their sets a main talking point at fashion week. Lodovico Colli di Felizzano/WWD/Getty ImagesRyan Gosling and Juila Roberts were among the star-studded crowd to pile into the Gucci show.

Persons: Milan, Gucci, Sabato de Sarno, Tom Ford’s, Peter Hawkings, Ford’s, Versace, Giulio Tanzini, Julia Roberts, Ryan Gosling, Gabrielle Union, Jessica Chastain, Paul Mescal, Jodie Comer, Emma Watson, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Prada, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Anna Wintour, Kim Jones, Karl Lagerfeld, Rome, Tom Ford, georgette, Brigitte Bardot, Priscilla Presley, Lorenzo Serafini, Max Mara, Ian Griffiths, Carlyne Cerf, Dudzeele, Katie Grand, Lucia Liu, Gabriella Karefa, Johnson, Franco, Jeremy Scott, Cerf, Lucia Liu’s, Donatella Versace, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Natalia Bryant, Precious Lee, Claudia Schiffer, lacy, Simone Bellotti, Francesca Murri, Matthieu Blazy, Blazy, Italy —, —, Paolo Fichera, Cavalli, Fendi, Shawn Kolodny, Pietro S, Beate Karlsson, Avavav, Sabato de Sarno's, Gregoire Avanel, Tom Ford's, Gaspar Ruiz, Pietro D'Aprano, Mattieu, Alfonso Catalano, Kim Jones nodded, Fendi Jones, Daniele Venturelli, Zakirova, Lodovico Colli di, Juila Roberts, Roberto Cavalli, Isidore Montag Organizations: Milan CNN — Milan, London, Bottega Veneta, Diesel, Prada, Britain’s Land Army, Dolce, Gabbana, Bally, Fondazione Prada, Accademia di Brera, Getty, Gucci Locations: British, Milan, Bottega, Hollywood, Fendi, organza, Los Angeles, Cannes, Bottega Veneta, Italy, French, Belgian, —, Missoni, Milan’s, Sunnei, Stockholm

☆ These 5 bearish arguments have yet to derail the stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are five major bearish arguments for an imminent recession and a falling stock market. Here's why each of the bearish arguments have yet to put a dent in the stock market rally. According to Wednesday note from market veteran Ed Yardeni, all of the bearish arguments supporting a stock market sell-off and eventual recession have fallen flat, and that means there could be more gains ahead. These are the five bearish arguments for the stock market, and why they haven't yet derailed the current rally, according to Yardeni. "This conclusion is confirmed by Fed data on the ownership of deposits plus money market funds by generation cohorts."

Persons: Ed Yardeni, Yardeni, LEI, That's Organizations: Service, Nasdaq, ATA, Fed Locations: Wall, Silicon, Yardeni

☆ One of the most accurate recession predictors is only half right. Here's what the yield curve is actually saying, according to a market veteran
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One of the most accurate recession predictors is only half right, market veteran Ed Yardeni told Insider. The yield curve has been inverted for more than a year, but it doesn't mean a recession is ahead. For years, he has been saying the inverted yield curve is an indicator for a process, not a recession. In 2019, he coauthored a paper titled "The Yield Curve: What Is It Really Predicting?" What does the inverted yield curve say?

Persons: Ed Yardeni, Yardeni Organizations: Service, Yardeni Research, Reserve, Silicon Valley Bank, Fed Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ UK is in danger of becoming the Nigeria of wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Britain is supposed to be the Saudi Arabia of wind power. Vattenfall’s decision on Thursday to halt the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas project is just the latest sign that Britain’s most appropriate fossil-fuel comparator may not be the biggest and most efficient producer. Vattenfall, a state-held Swedish power company, has gone cool for reasons that are well-discussed in the wind sector. The obvious move for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would be to allow developers to charge more for power, to make up for higher costs. Follow @gfhay on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVattenfall is stopping the development of its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas offshore wind project off the coast of Britain, the state-owned Swedish utility said on July 20.

Persons: Boris Johnson’s, Vattenfall, Rishi Sunak, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Siemens, UK, FTI, Norfolk, Thomson Locations: Britain, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Riyadh, Norfolk Boreas, Swedish, Norfolk, Orsted, Nigeria

☆ Big companies toughen banking partner screening after crisis - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Large companies are spreading out their counterparty risk and increasing screening of their banking partners in response to the recent banking crisis that has been a "wake-up call", according to an industry survey to be released on Thursday. Multinational companies and those with sales overseas use banks, or counterparties to the transactions, to trade foreign exchange and hedge currency risk. "All of a sudden there's a wake-up call," said Eric Huttman, CEO at MillTechFX, the specialist currency arm of Millennium Global. Huttman said his firm has added dozens of clients since the banking crisis and all of them have spent more time asking about its counterparty selection process. "The broad questions that companies are asking are, is my banking partner sound and will they be there when I need them," said Dhargalkar.

Persons: Eric Huttman, Huttman, Amol Dhargalkar, Banks, Laura Matthews, Megan Davies, Muralikumar Organizations: YORK, MillTechFX, Millennium, UBS, Credit Suisse, Chatham Financial, Thomson Locations: North America, Europe, Swiss

☆ Flight attendants’ secrets for surviving summer travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

Navigating air travel at this time of year can be fraught, but it doesn’t have to be – and if anyone’s got intel on smoothly and successfully surviving summer travel, it’s the flight attendants who’ve seen it all. But the flight attendants say the lost sleep is worth it in the long run. Andrew adds that this advice is especially crucial if you’re flying internationally, suggesting that whatever you consider a “normal” connection time, you should probably double if you’re flying long haul. Consider whether check-in luggage is necessaryThe flight attendants always travel with carry-on luggage only and generally speaking encourage others to do the same. Rich Henderson, flight attendantOften flight attendants are just as clueless as passengers.

Persons: anyone’s, who’ve, Rich Henderson, Andrew Henderson, Rich, Andrew, Essence Griffin, who’s, ”, Griffin, “, hasn’t, There’s, you’re, that’s, you’ve, “ They’ll, it’s, ” Rich, she’s, they’ve, ” Griffin, she’d, They’ve, there’s, Andrew’s, Ying Tang, we’ve, Andrew points, Rich haven’t, I’ve, “ I’m, They’re, ’, –, ” Rather, what’s, “ We’re, It’s, aren’t, ” Griffin’s, ” Andew Organizations: CNN, intel, ”, Netflix Locations: There’s, Europe, Duesseldorf, Germany

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said prices were mainly at the mercy of "the ever-changing expectations for interest rates". European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that stubbornly high inflation will require the bank to avoid declaring an end to rate hikes. Higher interest rates can weigh on economic activity and oil demand. But the upbeat data suggested the Federal Reserve will likely have to continue raising interest rates to slow demand in the overall economy. The U.S. central bank, which has raised its policy rate by 500 basis points since March 2022, signaled this month that two additional rate hikes were warranted this year.

Persons: Brent, Craig Erlam, Christine Lagarde, Phil Flynn, Wagner, PVM's Tamas Varga, Saudi Arabia's, Li Qiang, Stephanie Kelly, Shadia Nasralla, Trixie Yap, Jan Harvey, David Goodman, Ed Osmond, Deepa Babington, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Brent, . West Texas, European Central Bank, Price Futures, Reserve, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters, Saudi, Thomson Locations: contango, Europe, United States, U.S, Russia, China

SummarySummary Companies Oil price structure implies demand bulls are retreating2-mth Brent spread in contango, implying oversupply concernECB poised for further rate hikesLONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Tuesday ahead of data shedding light on U.S. appetite for fuel during the summer driving season, with the Brent benchmark's price structure indicating bulls are retreating. U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group is expected after 2000 GMT, followed by government data on Wednesday. For the two-month spread , the market is in shallow contango, the opposite price structure, indicating traders are factoring in a currently slightly oversupplied market. The oil market has shrugged off a clash between Moscow and Russian mercenary group Wagner which was averted on Saturday. Russian oil loadings have kept on schedule.

Persons: Brent, Craig Erlam, Christine Lagarde, Wagner, PVM's Tamas Varga, Saudi Arabia's, Premier Li Qiang, Trixie Yap, Jan Harvey, Louise Heavens Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, Central Bank, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters, Saudi, Premier, Thomson Locations: contango, U.S, Moscow, Russian, China

☆ How 5 private-credit players, from Apollo to Carlyle, are investing in sports, media, and entertainment as content costs soar and a writers' strike paralyzes Hollywood
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Reed Alexander | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Asset managers big and small, from Carlyle and Apollo to Serengeti and Shamrock, are pushing into the space. The entertainment industry's love affair with private credit is one of the hottest storylines in Hollywood right now. Credit lenders are saying "lights, camera, action" to the idea of deploying dollars into movies, TV, and live sports. Insider previously reported that analysts were warning of the risks that could mount across private credit as rates rise. Insider gathered details on asset managers' lending strategies in Hollywood, media, and sports.

Persons: Carlyle, Christopher Marinac, Janney Montgomery Scott, Blackstone, Moody's, Marinac, JPMorgan Chase Organizations: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Locations: Shamrock, Hollywood, Republic

The recent crypto platform bankruptcies trapped customer assets now worth around $34 billion, according to Xclaim, which allows creditors to trade such claims. To protect themselves, institutional crypto investors are switching to exchanges that offer stronger asset protection, boosting due diligence on trading partners, and executing trades in smaller chunks, among other new risk management measures, according to executives and industry data. European crypto asset manager CoinShares ramped up its counterparty due diligence after losing 26 million pounds ($32.65 million) in the collapse of FTX. Financial regulators like the SEC say many crypto companies flout applicable rules, meaning risk management still lags the traditional financial sector. "This is inevitably risk we're all carrying in crypto - we have uncomfortable concentration risk on one large exchange called Binance," said Nickel's Crachilov.

Persons: Samed Bouaynaya, Coinbase, Altana, Binance, Anatoly Crachilov, Martin Lee, Nansen, Stephen Richardson, CoinShares ramped, cybersecurity, Jean, Marie Mognetti, Changpeng Zhao, Nickel's Crachilov, Wes Hansen, Hansen, Elizabeth Howcroft, Michelle Price, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Voyager, London, Coinbase, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Asset Management, Arca, Thomson

☆ European equity investors hunt for big returns in small places
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The MSCI Europe SMID index of European small to mid-cap firms (.MIEU000D0PEU) is trading near 2008 lows versus the wider market in terms of valuations, including both price/earnings and price-to-book ratios. The bank's small cap basket is invested across sectors, or 'sector neutral', to make it "less prone to the ups and downs of cyclical acceleration and deceleration." But M&A remains a supportive theme, said Amundi's Matti, as big players seeking external growth can look to the small cap sector for niche expertise to add to their portfolios. "When people are trying to find alpha to add to their portfolio, small caps tend to be the place to look at," said Matti. "Ultimately, they (small caps) are a rich hunting ground for long-term investors."

Persons: Dash, Emmanuel Cau, Amundi, Cristina Matti, Amundi's Matti, Matti, Graham Secker, Morgan Stanley, ”, Bernie Ahkong, Morgan Stanley's Secker, Thomas McGarrity, Lucy Raitano, Susan Fenton Organizations: Barclays, Energy, Reuters Graphics, O’Connor, Alpha, UBS Asset Management, Data, RBC Wealth Management, Thomson Locations: Europe, Amundi

Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsInvestors and analysts took the Labor Department report on the whole as supporting the prospect that the Fed would pause its rate increases at the June 13-14 meeting. The PCE, which is the Fed's preferred gauge for its 2% inflation target, has been running at more than twice that level. Continued readings like the ones in April could weaken the case for pausing rate hikes. That's how increases in its policy rate influence economic activity. FEDSPEAK: OngoingThe Fed's internal communications rules set a "blackout" period around each policy meeting.

☆ Fed's Goolsbee: 'way too premature' to expect June rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"We know that credit conditions like the ones we are seeing now in the past have been correlated with recessions, credit crunches," Goolsbee told Fox News. "It's way too premature to know what to do with monetary policy." Goolsbee voted with all other Fed policymakers on Wednesday to raise the Fed's policy rate by a quarter point to 5.00%-5.25%. Goolsbee on Friday said he is paying particular attention to credit conditions, given the recent failure of First Republic Bank and the troubles of other regional banks. "It has to give you some pause" about raising rates, he said, because tighter credit conditions are likely to slow the economy.

☆ The NFL Draft’s Best Athlete Is Also Its Greatest Enigma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kent Lee Platte is a former Navy cryptologist who also happens to be one of the most useful people decoding one of the NFL draft’s biggest puzzles: Why a quarterback named Anthony Richardson, who had a completely forgettable college career, is one of the hottest prospects in the sport. When Platte applied his coding wizardry to football, he invented a metric that crunches a host of pre-draft testing data into a single number for every player. His formula takes information like how fast a player runs and how high he jumps and distills it into what he calls a Relative Athletic Score, a nifty grade that’s popular among draft pundits and helpful for quantifying someone’s traits compared with his peers.

Generative AI gobbles up reams of computing power, amplifying the urgency of Meta's capacity scramble, said five of the sources. Executives also that spring set about reorganizing Meta's AI units, naming two new heads of engineering in the process, including Janardhan, the author of the September memo. According to four of the sources, Meta did not prioritize building generative AI products until after the launch of ChatGPT in November. Zuckerberg announced a new top-level generative AI team in February that he said would "turbocharge" the company's work in the area. Carvill, the Meta spokesperson, said the company has been building generative AI products on different teams for more than a year.

☆ Inside Meta's scramble to catch up on A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

For more than a year, Meta has been engaged in a massive project to whip its AI infrastructure into shape. He declined to comment on whether Meta abandoned its AI chip. Generative AI gobbles up reams of computing power, amplifying the urgency of Meta's capacity scramble, said five of the sources. By 2021, that two-pronged approach proved slower and less efficient than one built around GPUs, which were also more flexible in running different types of models than Meta's chip, the two people said. Executives also that spring set about reorganizing Meta's AI units, naming two new heads of engineering in the process, including Janardhan, the author of the September memo.

Organizations: & & '

☆ Healthcare, college education, and childcare started getting worse decades ago. Now we're all finally feeling it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Americans are accruing billions in debt to pay for things like education and healthcare. But that would require shifting the idea of childcare, education, and healthcare and thinking of them as public goods — not businesses. That ultimately meant millions in funding for public childcare. "If the US health system was a country, it would be about the fourth-largest country in the world," Cooper said. There's much less government involvement in the US healthcare system than in other countries, Cooper said.

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