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☆ Employees at the $2 billion e-commerce startup Rokt once saw a photo of a colleague in blackface during a company Zoom meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jack Newsham | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An employee at e-commerce firm Rokt shared a photo of a colleague in blackface, shocking colleagues. An employee shared the photo, from an event in 2012, that appeared to show another employee in blackface and dressed as Michael Jackson. recalled one of more than a half-dozen former employees who told Insider they saw the photo. Rokt said that both employees completed a session of unconscious bias training with an expert facilitator, who also held a session for the whole company. Rokt"We were all, in America, like, 'We don't need to learn about blackface from you,'" the second former employee said.

☆ U.S. SEC delays vote on private investment reporting rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator said on Tuesday it had postponed a planned vote on a proposed rule to help protect the stability of the financial system by detecting risk in the $20 trillion private asset management sector. However, an SEC spokesperson said on Tuesday that officials had decided the text of the proposal wasn't quite ready for adoption and so had removed it from the scheduled public meeting's agenda. The volume of assets under private management has more than doubled in the decade since the SEC began collecting such data, prompting fears that financial risk could build up undetected. The financial system shuddered last week with the near-collapse of the Swiss lender Credit Suisse, a bank that in 2021 lost billions that had been held by the now-defunct family office Archegos Capital Management. Reporting by Douglas Gillison; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A source with knowledge of the matter said that Swiss regulators are encouraging UBS and Credit Suisse to merge, but that both banks do not want to do so. Credit Suisse shares jumped 9% in after-market trading following the FT report. Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment on the report. "Credit Suisse is a very special case," said Frédérique Carrier, head of investment strategy at RBC Wealth Management. The supervisors were told deposits were stable across the euro zone and exposure to Credit Suisse was immaterial, a source familiar with the meeting's content told Reuters.

Credit Suisse declined to comment on the banks' actions. MARKET TROUBLES LINGERBanking stocks globally have been battered since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, raising questions about other weaknesses in the wider financial system. A view of the Park Avenue location of the First Republic Bank, in New York City, U.S., March 10, 2023. The supervisors were told deposits were stable across the euro zone and exposure to Credit Suisse was immaterial, a source familiar with the meeting's content told Reuters. "Japan's financial system remains stable as a whole," Kishida told a news briefing.

March 17 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse and First Republic Bank shares came under renewed pressure on Friday despite multibillion-dollar support deals, while a source said European Central Bank supervisors see no contagion for euro zone banks from the turmoil. With investor confidence far from restored, analysts, investors and bankers think the loan facility has only bought Credit Suisse some time to work out what to do next. Meanwhile, U.S. regional bank shares, including PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O), also opened sharply lower, with First Republic down around 25%. But the supervisors were told deposits were stable across the euro zone and exposure to Credit Suisse was immaterial, a source familiar with the meeting's content told Reuters. The ECB pressed forward with a 50 basis-point rate hike, arguing that euro zone banks were in good shape and that if anything, higher rates should bolster their margins.

☆ Blackface, booze, and blurred lines at the $2 billion tech firm Rokt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

A cropped version of an image shared with Rokt employees at the 2020 meeting. Buchanan told Insider. "We think it's important that we stand up and fight it," he told Insider when asked about that message. In an email, Viles told Insider that he hasn't had any day-to-day involvement with Rokt since 2020, when he did some contract work. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesOne employee told Insider they were encouraged to post the photos and proclaim 2023 to be Rokt's "best year yet."

☆ Forget ChatGPT, the AI Revolution Is Coming to Fix Your Email Inbox
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Like any tech, AI tools can run into bugs. On many occasions, Shortwave's summary tool refused to produce more than a sentence or two, leaving it no more useful than the subject line. A more-pressing concern for me, however, is what the presence of AI in email would mean for privacy. Because tech like ChatGPT collects and processes far more data than previous AI tools, Conitzer expects it to be regulated for not only privacy but also systemic biases. And if Shortwave's AI tool is any indication, I'm convinced it's our future.

☆ Volkswagen board discusses two new North America plants at meeting - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Volkswagen AG FollowHAMBURG, March 3 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) supervisory board will on Friday discuss plans for two new factories in North America, one production plant and one battery cell factory, two people familiar with the matter said. While the committee is expected to approve a site for its Scout brand in the United States, discussions around a gigafactory are open-ended, the sources said. Separately, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume in December said the carmaker had begun searching for a site for a battery cell factory in North America, adding Canada was "one logical option" due to its raw material resources. "We are still working hard to find a suitable location for our first gigafactory in North America and are in good, constructive talks," a Volkswagen spokesperson said on Friday, adding no decision has been made yet. Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Christoph Steitz, Editing bz Miranda Murray and Matthias WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/6] German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and French Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire hold a joint news conference in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023. "It's a process, and in a process you go step by step," Le Maire told reporters. After meetings with Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House officials, Habeck and Le Maire emerged with few specifics other than pledges to be clear about their competing green subsidies. Noting the agreement on both sides on the need for transparency on subsidies, Habeck said, "We will (create) a technical group to make this transparency work." But Commerce said she applauded the TTC's work to promote transparency for U.S. and EU semiconductor subsidies and support supply chains.

☆ Even with inflation cooling down, there's still a 'risk of recession' since the Fed keeps hiking interest rates, Janet Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again this week. Janet Yellen said given the continued hikes, the "risk of recession" persists. That's why estimates suggest the Fed will slow its interest rate hikes again in February. "Further interest rate hikes will only make it more expensive for small businesses to fund their operations. Millions of American jobs are at risk with the Fed's extreme rate hikes," Warren wrote on Twitter earlier this month.

☆ Supernormal, a generative AI startup that automates meeting notes, just raised $10 million. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck it used to bag the seed round.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Supernormal, a startup in the red-hot generative AI sector, just raised $10 million. The startup uses AI to take notes from meetings in real time and sends them instantly afterward. We got an exclusive look at the 17-slide pitch deck Supernormal used to raise the cash. Supernormal, a startup in the red-hot generative AI sector, has raised $10 million in a seed round led by Revolut and Citymapper investor Balderton. The company, which uses AI to automate meeting notes, was founded in 2020 by former Meta and Klarna product manager Colin Treseler and ex-Github design lead Fabian Perez.

☆ Davos 2023: CEOs buzz about ChatGPT-style AI at World Economic Forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Business titans trudging through Alpine snow can't stop talking about a chatbot from San Francisco. Businesses including CarMax Inc (KMX.N) have already used Microsoft and OpenAI's tech, such as to generate thousands of customer review summaries when marketing used vehicles. Such buzz carried through gatherings at Davos, like talk about a slide-generating bot dubbed ChatBCG after the management consulting firm. loadingGenerative AI is "a game-changer that society and industry need to be ready for," stated an article on the World Economic Forum's website. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Davos, Switzerland; Editing by Kenneth Li and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chile, Colombia call for extraordinary OAS meeting after Brazil riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Chilean President Gabriel Boric called for an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Monday to address riots in Brazil where supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed top government buildings. Boric, speaking alongside Colombia President Gustavo Petro outside La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, called Sunday's riots "unacceptable" and also condemned "complicit silence." Petro, a former rebel and Colombia's first leftist president, compared the attack to the 1973 Chilean coup against Salvador Allende. "We just saw it in Brazil, but it's not just in Brazil," Petro said. Reporting by Alexander Villegas in Santiago and Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uniper boss tells investors to back German bailout or risk all
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Germany's Uniper (UN01.DE) called on shareholders to approve a bailout and nationalisation that will cost the government more than 50 billion euros ($53 billion), warning that it will otherwise have to consider filing for insolvency. Gazprom (GAZP.MM) was once its biggest supplier, but a big drop in deliveries after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced Uniper to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to meet its contracts. "In the Management Board's view, a possible insolvency could lead to a complete loss for shareholders." If the bailout is approved, the German government will end up owning just below 99% of Uniper, Germany's largest gas trader, following two share issues. Germany's Finance Ministry will be responsible for the stake, Uniper said on Monday.

☆ Maldives minister: COP27 negotiators have reached a deal on a climate fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Negotiators say they have struck a potential breakthrough deal on the thorniest issue of United Nations climate talks, creation of a fund for compensating poor nations that are victims of extreme weather worsened by rich nations' carbon pollution. "There is an agreement on loss and damage," which is what negotiators call the concept, Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna told The Associated Press Saturday. A second overarching document from the climate talks leadership ignores India's call to phase down oil and natural gas, in addition to last year's agreement to wean the world from "unabated" coal. The EU made a surprise proposal days earlier tying a fund for climate disasters to emissions cuts that go beyond what the 2015 Paris climate agreement calls for. "We're now, I must say, very close to getting a loss and damage fund," Adow said.

☆ How former Amazon execs built their own successful startups by adopting famous aspects of the retailer's culture, from writing super-short pitches to measuring meeting costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Below are three Amazon business tactics former execs used — from writing press releases for products that haven't been built yet to tallying the cost of meetings — that helped them launch their own successful companies. Ko Umeno, founder and CEO, Globalive, said he used these types of documents to win adtech clients including ID5, Browsi, and Acorn-i. Umeno said the process for writing Amazon-style documents requires rigorous research, and Umeno's clients thought his Amazon-style pitch was unique and packed with information. "I was quite happy that I worked at Amazon and learned how to write this stuff," he said. Walker used the strategy to determine what challenges clients have with Amazon, which guides what services the firm offers.

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) and GPS (Global Positioning System) logos are seen in this illustration taken, September 25, 2022. In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive for self-reliance, India has over the years expanded the use of its regional navigation satellite system called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation). Global Positioning System (GPS), and says NavIC provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit the economy. India's IT ministry and the space agency ISRO that are both involved in the project also did not respond. India would not be the first country to push smartphone makers to add support for a native navigation system.

☆ 'Bring the pain': Major banks raise forecasts for rate hikes after Fed's stern actions
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman Sachs The call : A 75 basis point move in November, 50 basis points in December and 25 basis points in February, for a peak of 4.5%-4.75%, up half a percentage point from the previous expectation. Citigroup The call : November to see 75 basis points, followed by 50 in December and 25 in February, adding a cumulative 25 basis points for a terminal rate of 4.5%-4.75%. Both calls were 25 basis points higher than previous. One more 25 basis point hike in February, followed by a 50 basis point cut "in the latter portion of the year." UBS The call : 75 basis points in November, another 50 in December, with three 25 basis point cuts later in 2023.

☆ U.S. FDA panel votes against Spectrum's lung cancer drug
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoSept 22 (Reuters) - Advisers to the U.S Food and Drug Administration on Thursday voted against recommending Spectrum Pharmaceuticals' (SPPI.O) experimental drug for the treatment of patients with a form of non-small cell lung cancer. The FDA panel voted 9 to 4 against the oral drug, poziotinib, citing marginal efficacy, high level of toxicities, and lack of dose optimization. Poziotinib is intended to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a rare genetic mutation that affects 2-4% of total patients with NSCLC. There is no prior FDA-approved treatment for the rare lung cancer, and the patients suffering from the disease are given treatments similar to those with non-small cell lung cancer without the mutation.

☆ Here's everything the Federal Reserve is expected to do today
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Construction workers outside the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Building, photographed on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesThere's not a lot of mystery surrounding Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting, with markets widely expecting the central bank to approve its third consecutive three-quarter point interest rate hike. That's the highest the fed funds rate has been since early 2008. Economic outlook: Part of this week's meeting will see Fed officials issue a quarterly update of their interest rate and economic outlook. Powell presser: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold his usual news conference following the conclusion of the two-day meeting.

☆ Fed raises rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point, pledges more hikes to fight inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised benchmark interest rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point and indicated it will keep hiking well above the current level. Along with the massive rate increases, Fed officials signaled the intention of continuing to hike until the funds level hits a "terminal rate," or end point, of 4.6% in 2023. Traders had fully priced in the 0.75 percentage point move and even had assigned an 18% chance of a full percentage point move, according to CME Group data. Futures contracts just prior to Wednesday's meeting implied a 4.545% funds rate by April 2023. Along with the rate increases, the Fed has been reducing the amount of bond holdings it has accumulated over the years.

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