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☆ Instacart’s mixed bag has valuation opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

If it doesn’t push valuation too hard, a public listing could be seamless. Instacart booked net income in 2022, a rarity for a growth company hitting the public market. That brings Instacart’s enterprise value to roughly $17 billion, less than half of what it was worth in 2021 but still higher than the internal valuation it inked last year. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on XCONTEXT NEWSGrocery-delivery business Instacart filed paperwork to go public on Aug. 25 under the formal name Maplebear. The company, which did not share its target price range in the filing, grew revenue by 39% in 2022 to $2.6 billion.

Persons: Eric Cohn, Cheney Orr, Fidji Simo, Instacart, Simo, Apoorva Mehta, Domino's, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Safeway, REUTERS, Reuters, Nasdaq, Kroger, Aldi, Costco Wholesale, Companies, Thomson Locations: Tucson , Arizona, U.S, Cava

☆ Texas construction workers protest after Greg Abbott axed mandated water breaks, calling it 'the law that kills'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Greg Abbott signed a law nixing mandated water breaks across the state. Now construction workers and their allies are protesting the move, calling it "the law that kills." As a result, construction workers and their allies are calling it "the law that kills," the Texas Tribune reports. "We really need to be allowed to work without problems, without any barriers," Luz Martínez, a Texas construction employee who was at the protest, told the Texas Tribune. There have been 42 heat-related workplace deaths in Texas since 2011, the most of any state, according to the Texas Tribune.

Persons: Greg Abbott, —, Luz Martínez, Abbott, Felipe Pascual, Pascual Organizations: Texas Gov, Service, Privacy, Workers, Gov, Texas Tribune, ABC, CNN, Occupational Health, Safety Administration, New York Times Locations: Texas, Wall, Silicon, Houston

☆ WSJ Opinion: Cluster Bombs, Vilnius, and the NATO Leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Wsj Opinion | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ Opinion: Cluster Bombs, Vilnius, and the NATO Leadership Nixing U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as a consideration for the NATO leadership, is another example of the anti-U.K. strain in Mr. Biden’s foreign policy. By WSJ Opinion Jul 10, 2023 11:00 pm Review and Outlook: As the U.S. announces cluster bombs will be included in its $800 million package of military aid to Ukraine, a revived NATO comes to Vilnius with uncertainty surrounding the future leadership. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark Kelly Read: A Revived NATO Comes to Vilnius

Persons: Ben Wallace, Mark Kelly Read Organizations: NATO, Nixing, Defense, Zuma Locations: Vilnius, Ukraine, NATO

☆ JetBlue’s Spirit sacrifice
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) is going for broke on its attempt to buy Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N). Eschewing the benefits of what the government branded a “de facto merger” to win Spirit might make sense, however. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Spirit grew capacity nearly 500% since 2010, far outstripping competitors. JetBlue’s concessions, which include selling Spirit’s operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, may not be enough, though. While the DOJ’s complaint against the merger does lean on harms from the alliance, it also includes Spirit executives warning of risks even without it.

Persons: Spirit, Jonathan Guilford, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Northeast Alliance, ”, U.S . Department of Justice, LaGuardia, Twitter, Thomson Locations: New, China

☆ Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper version of its $3,500 Vision Pro — but it's 2 years away
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Steven Tweedie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple is already working on two follow-ups to its Vision Pro headset, Bloomberg reports. Apple's sky-high price tag for its latest product, the $3,499 Vision Pro headset, elicited groans from the crowd when it was announced. Instead, the entry-level device could be called something like the Apple Vision One — or simply the Apple Vision, according to the report. (Apple already runs this risk, even with the impressive screens currently within the Vision Pro.) Meanwhile, Apple is also working on a follow-up to the Vision Pro that will be even better, introducing a faster processor, Gurman reports.

Persons: Mark Gurman, Gurman, nix Organizations: Apple, Vision, Bloomberg, Morning

☆ Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus, mass employee relocation amid DeSantis feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Disney has abandoned plans to open up a new employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, amid rising tensions with the state's governor. "This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one," D'Amaro told employees. Many Disney employees balked at the company's relocation plans when they were first announced in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek. Disney's announcement comes amid a bitter feud between the company and Florida Gov. The special district has allowed the entertainment giant to effectively self-govern its Orlando parks' operations for decades.

☆ Goldman Sachs isn't getting a new private jet, but are there better places to cut costs on Wall Street?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

If there is a senior Goldman Sachs' executive in your life, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Insider's Dakin Campbell has the scoop on Goldman nixing plans to buy a third corporate aircraft under CEO David Solomon. So as the bank has looked to cut costs this year more broadly, the private jets, naturally, were a topic of discussion. I will say, I think corporate jets have been unfairly labeled as the poster child for excessive spending at the corporate level. Now, regional banks are looking to serve the firms looking for a new banking home, per The Wall Street Journal.

☆ Biden issues his first veto, nixing measure blocking new investment rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Zoë Richards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon in honor of Ireland's Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 17, 2023. President Joe Biden on Monday issued his first veto since taking office, rejecting a bipartisan measure that would nullify a new administration rule for retirement plans. In the Senate vote, Democratic Sens. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., introduced the measure in February, about two months after the Labor Department issued the investment rule. Following the Senate vote, Barr tweeted: "President Biden should abandon the radical climate activists and join us in putting middle-class savers ahead of politics."

☆ Meta's second round of layoffs is coming down next week and expected to be 'bloodbath'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A second round of layoffs at Meta, formerly Facebook, is set to be announced next week. A second round of layoffs at Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is expected to hit next week, set to leave several thousand more employees without work. The timing would be the same as Meta's last round of layoffs, which were announced on a Wednesday in November. This round of layoffs has been in the works for many weeks, as Insider first reported. The sweep of the first round of layoffs took many employees by surprise, with 11,000 people, or 13%, of Meta's workforce let go.

☆ Amazon will start charging Prime members up to $10 in delivery fees on grocery orders under $150
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is adding delivery fees on all grocery orders under $150, the company announced Friday. "This service fee will help keep prices low in our online and physical grocery stores," Amazon said on Friday. The company previously offered free delivery on all grocery orders over $50. Specifically, Amazon will tack on a delivery fee of $3.95 for orders between $100 and $150, $6.95 for orders between $50 and $100, and $9.95 for orders under $50, per the email. Previously, Amazon Prime members could get free delivery on all orders over $50.

☆ A Carnival cruise to the Bahamas became a 'cruise to nowhere' after inclement weather kept passengers stuck onboard the entire trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Windy weather forced a Carnival cruise ship to cancel its only planned port stop earlier this month. Passengers onboard received partial refunds and compensation for the unexpected cancellation. Passenger Kat O'Donnell told Insider the decision was disappointing. "It was the first time either one of us have ever gone out of the country," she told Insider. The Carnival Sunshine cruise ship docked in South Carolina in March 2020.

☆ More than 1 in 4 checking account holders are paying fees. Here's how to avoid them
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

sturtiEven with broad availability of free checking services, more than a quarter of checking account holders — 27% — are paying fees every month. The personal finance site conducted its online survey Dec. 7-12 and included 3,657 adults, of whom 3,069 have a checking account. Gen Z, who range in age from 18 to 26, comes in at the top of the list, with 46% of that generation's checking account holders paying monthly fees. Millennials, who are ages 27 to 42, come in next, with 42% of account holders paying monthly checking fees, Bankrate.com found. Older cohorts — Gen Xers, who are between 43 and 58, and baby boomers, ages 59 to 77 — are less likely to pay checking account fees.

☆ House Jan. 6 committee found military officials were concerned Trump would use troops to overturn the election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The House January 6 committee found evidence that top military officials had "genuine concerns" about Trump using the military to overturn the election. The revelation adds further context to why top officials were so outspoken about clarifying the military's role. "Again, at this time, there is no evidence the Department of Defense understood exactly what President Trump and his associates planned for January 6th." . . and the employment of forces, and you know, that was something that we were all, you know, conscious of," McCarthy told the committee. "They may try, but they're not going to f**king succeed," Milley told his deputies, according to the book.

☆ CNN chief executive Chris Licht says the 'vitriol' aimed at him over his efforts to make the network less partisan has been 'stunning'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht said the "vitriol" aimed at him over changes at the network has been "stunning." And Licht has been adamant that CNN should be a network that people can trust, with less partisan coverage. "The uninformed vitriol, especially from the left, has been stunning," Licht told The Times. Licht told the newspaper that he knew coming into the position that it would not be an easy role. "I want CNN to be essential to society," Licht told The Times.

☆ Grayscale Bitcoin Trust falls as cryptocurrencies slide again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.PK), the world's largest bitcoin fund, fell almost 7% on Wednesday, as investors dumped more digital assets after last week's high-profile unraveling of crypto exchange FTX. The trust is a close-ended fund, whose short-term price is driven by supply, demand and market sentiment unlike an exchange traded fund that generally trades in line with its value. In June, Grayscale sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for nixing the digital asset manager's proposal to convert bitcoin trust into a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund. Grayscale bitcoin fund, which has $10.7 billion worth of bitcoin under management, has slumped about 75% in the past 12 months. Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE.PK), which has $3.8 billion assets under management, shed 81% in the past year.

☆ America’s Tactical Nuclear Stand-Down
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Biden Administration has released an unclassified review of American nuclear forces, and buried in the bureaucratic prose is a contradiction. China and Russia are amassing large, diverse nuclear arsenals, but the U.S. is nixing a tactical nuclear missile that could help deter Vladimir Putin and other rogues. The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review says the Biden Team will cancel the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile, known as SLCM-N, which is a planned smaller “tactical” nuke that could be launched from U.S. Navy ships or submarines. The cancellation isn’t a surprise. The Administration zeroed out the missile in its budget proposal this year.

☆ Trump threatened to withdraw his endorsement of Nevada Republican Joe Lombardo after the then-candidate chose not to call him a 'great' president at an October debate: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump threatened to nix support for Joe Lombardo after he declined to call him "great," per the NYT. Lombardo, in an October debate, said Trump was "sound," which prompted Trump to call Ronna McDaniel. Lombardo said during the October debate that Trump was a "sound" president but at the time chose not to characterize him as a "great" one. Soon after Trump's call with McDaniel, the Lombardo campaign released a statement calling Trump a "great" president. "President Trump presided over one of the greatest eras in modern American History," he added.

☆ Leaked audio reveals Cerebral execs telling workers they blew through too much money too quickly. Here's how the embattled mental-health startup is changing course.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The embattled startup hired against unprofitable growth, Jess Muse, Cerebral's president, said. Cerebral, she said, paid more money on advertising to bring in new patients than it recouped by providing mental-health services and prescriptions. Prioritizing turning a profitCerebral leaders held a series of staff meetings on Monday. During the Monday staff meetings, at least two employees expressed concerns about the increased workload, since remaining staff are taking on patients of those who were laid off. Several employees accused company leaders of blindsiding workers with layoffs after the employees said they were assured the company was performing well.

☆ Australia has bulwark against China slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country is Australia’s biggest trading partner, accounting for up to a third of its roughly A$475 billion ($303 billion) of annual exports. Its voracious demand over the past three decades helped Australia enjoy almost 30 years without a recession until the 2020 pandemic. As Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ first budget on Tuesday shows, though, Australia has some shock absorbers. If it doesn’t Australia won’t be able to escape the fallout entirely, but at least has some defences. Australia’s budget deficit for the financial year to June 30 2023 is expected to be A$36.9 billion ($23.3 billion).

☆ What ‘Perry Mason’ Knew About Justice
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Paula Marantz Cohen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

One exception was “Perry Mason,” the courtroom series that ran on CBS from 1957 to 1966. I have vague memories of watching “Perry Mason” as a child, but I was then in no position to appreciate its exceptional artistry, not to mention its profound—don’t laugh—concept of justice. Erle Stanley Gardner, a trial lawyer by profession with a gift for writing popular fiction, invented Perry Mason and wrote 82 books featuring the character between 1933 and 1973. A series of Perry Mason movies were made in the 1930s, initially starring Warren William, who played him as a mildly debauched figure with a casual flair for solving cases. In a subsequent radio series, Mason was voiced by John Larkin.

“They broke their promise to Black farmers and other farmers of color,” John Boyd, a plaintiff and the president of the National Black Farmers Association, told NBC News on Wednesday just before he held a press conference on the matter. John Boyd, president of the Black Farmers Association, plants winter wheat in one of his fields in Baskerville, Va., on Jan. 8, 2019. The $4 billion was never delivered to Black farmers and other people of color, however. The new legislation aims to circumvent white farmers’ grievances and create two new funds while nixing the initial relief program. In 1920, there were more than 925,000 Black farmers in the U.S., making up about 14% of the farmer population, according to data analysis by the consulting firm McKinsey.

☆ Disney and Hulu salaries revealed: Pay data show how much the Hollywood giant recently offered for jobs across divisions
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Elaine Low | Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Disney+ accounts for 152 million subs, while Hulu has 46.2 million and ESPN+ has 22.8 million. Public work-visa data show Disney offers $93,150 to $242,000 for some jobs at Hulu and other units. Its flagship streaming service Disney+ alone accounts for more than more than 152 million subscribers, gaining on Netflix's 221 million. To see what Disney and Hulu pay for certain jobs, Insider analyzed recent work-visa disclosures. Most of the roles were tech jobs, including data scientist and software engineer roles.

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☆ Republicans' next big play is to 'scare the hell out of Washington' by rewriting the Constitution. And they're willing to play the long game to win.
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-31 | by ( Grace Panetta | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

Whether it happens, he said, is highly dependent on Republicans' success winning state legislatures during the 2022 midterm elections. But not everyone in the conservative constitutional convention movement believes such a gathering is so imminent. Constitutional convention boosters include many of Trump's current and former allies, including conservative legal scholar John Eastman, Florida Gov. In 2012, the Republican National Committee went so far as to pass a resolution formally opposing the convention movement. A convention of states would be the first of its kind since the original Constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

☆ Hulu salaries revealed: How much the streamer and other Disney divisions pay for jobs in tech, marketing, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-31 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Kelly Campbell exited as president of Hulu last year, and former Disney+ executive Joe Earley was named her successor in January. Insider analyzed work-visa disclosures to see what Hulu and other Disney divisions pay for certain positions. Most of the roles were tech jobs, including data scientist and software engineer roles. Disney Streaming did not comment by press time. For example, Hulu included a pay rate of $153,000 to $183,600 per year for a data engineer position.

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Credit card companies may be targeting consumers with great credit with a host of new perks recently, but CreditCards.com warns against falling for 0% balance transfer fee offers. In a study looking at offers from 37 lenders, the site found offers to waive these fees for as many as 21 months on balance transfer cards. "After the CARD Act, we thought zero percent balance transfer offers would just go away," Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action, told the site. Another way they've compensated for keeping the waiver alive is by nixing the usual $50-$75 balance transfer fee caps. CreditCards.com's survey found 12 cards offer the fee waiver for six months, three for a year and seven for 15 months.

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