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☆ Loaf-size mission to improve hurricane forecasting is ready to launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A new mission designed to improve hurricane forecasting is ready to launch, just ahead of the June 1 arrival of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. The NASA mission includes a constellation of CubeSats called TROPICS, or Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats. The launch of this first mission, nicknamed “Rocket Like a Hurricane,” will stream live on NASA’s website and Rocket Lab’s website. Two additional CubeSats, nicknamed “Coming to a Storm Near You,” will launch from the same location later this month. The TROPICS satellites will launch from New Zealand.

☆ Subway's US restaurant locations have hit their lowest level since 2005 as the company looks to sell – report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Subway now has its lowest number of US restaurants since 2005, according to Restaurant Business. The company reportedly closed 571 restaurants in 2022 and operates more than 20,000 nationwide. But more than 6,500 Subway restaurants have closed since 2016, or nearly one of every four restaurants in the country, according to Restaurant Business. Multiple media outlets have reported that the company wants a sale that values the chain at $10 billion. Despite previous years of slumping sales and closing stores, Subway, a privately held company, has recently gained some momentum.

☆ WHO dismisses lead COVID origins investigator for sexual misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a response to Reuters, Ben Embarek said he contested the accusation of harassment and was challenging the sanction. "Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed last year following findings of sexual misconduct against him that were substantiated by investigations, and corresponding disciplinary process," said WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole. Ben Embarek said that a single incident in 2017 "was settled immediately in a friendly way." "I am not aware of any other complaints and no other complaints have ever been brought to my attention," Ben Embarek said in a digital message. The agency said that people are more willing to come forward about sexual misconduct and that it is taking action where allegations are substantiated.

This is weighing on how much the private equity firms are offering to buy companies. So far, bids for Subway have ranged between $8.5 billion and $10 billion, one of the sources said. This is a more expensive route that private equity firms may not opt for, three of the sources added. To be sure, Subway is allowing bidders to use any financing route they want, as long as they can show they can secure committed financing. TPG and Bain were part of a group that owned Burger King when John Chidsey, who is now Subway's CEO, headed that burger fast-food restaurant chain.

☆ Opinion: From Woody Woodpecker to Mickey Mouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. The term is credited to animator Walter Lantz, the creator of Woody Woodpecker. “While I would love to see a progressive in the White House, I am terrified of another Donald Trump presidency. Mickey Mouse warBill Bramhall/Tribune Content Agency“President Franklin Roosevelt launched a war against the Great Depression,” noted Julian Zelizer. “Women still have less access to the internet, with men being 21% more likely to be online than women globally.

☆ Biden Gets a Chance to Mock Fox News, and Gleefully Takes It
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Peter Baker | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Whatever news gods decided that the cable television stars Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon should be fired the same week that President Biden was scheduled to give a funny speech ribbing the news media certainly were generous in providing fresh material. And Mr. Biden took advantage on Saturday night as he gleefully mocked some of his favorite foils. “Last year, your favorite Fox News reporters were able to attend” the dinner “because they were fully vaccinated and boosted,” Mr. Biden said, in a nod to his coronavirus response strategy. “This year, with that $787 million settlement, they’re here because they couldn’t say no to a free meal.”“And hell, I’d call Fox honest, fair and truthful,” he told the crowd gathered in a cavernous ballroom in Washington as well as a national television audience watching at home. “But then I could be sued for defamation.” When some groaned, he quipped, “It ain’t nothing compared to what they do to me.”

HONG KONG, April 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) (STAN.L) on Wednesday said first-quarter profit jumped 21%, beating expectations, as rising interest rates buoyed income from its cash management and retail banking businesses. The earnings update showed how rising central bank rates have boosted revenue, as StanChart charged borrowers more interest while not passing all of the increase to depositors. StanChart, which earns most of its revenue in Asia, said January-March statutory pretax profit reached $1.81 billion. That compared with $1.49 billion a year earlier and the $1.43 billion average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by the bank. The bank said it saw signs of stabilisation in China's troubled commercial real estate market, with no increase in credit impairment from the previous quarter.

☆ Retailers bought so much stuff during the pandemic that it's overburdening warehouses — and it may be causing a 'freight recession,' analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Executives at trucking giant JB Hunt recently sounded the alarm about a freight recession. Over-buying during the pandemic is depressing the demand for goods, which is impacting freight and transport. Executives at trucking giant JB Hunt sounded the alarm over a "freight recession" at a first-quarter conference call last week. A freight recession basically means there are fewer trucks delivering goods across America. Notably, the freight recession is not a US-only problem.

☆ Watch an A.I. Learn to Write by Reading Nothing but Jane Austen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Aatish Bhatia | Aatish Bhatia Spent Weeks Reading Dozens Of A.I. Research Articles | Training Tiny Language Models On His Computer. Before Coming To The Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

This is how language models usually start off: They guess randomly and produce gibberish. Over many, many rounds of training, language models can learn to write. As language models grow larger, the patterns that they learn can become increasingly complex. More is differentOther than the additional fine-tuning stages, the primary difference between nanoGPT and the language model underlying chatGPT is size. Large language models can become highly unpredictable, as evidenced by Microsoft Bing A.I.’s early interactions with my colleague Kevin Roose.

☆ Crab Cakes, Gochujang and Irish Poetry: Biden’s State Dinner With South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Visiting foreign leaders often go for flattery when addressing the president at a state dinner. But President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea went straight for President Biden’s weak spot on Wednesday night, quoting Irish sayings at the beginning and end of his toast at a lavish state dinner at the White House. Mr. Yoon thanked Mr. Biden and then quoted the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, a presidential favorite who makes rather frequent guest appearances in Biden speeches. “Behavior that’s admired is the path to power among people everywhere,” Mr. Yoon said. Mr. Biden honored Mr. Yoon with only the second state dinner of his presidency, with Jill Biden treating their guests to a classic American menu with a Korean flair.

☆ Mekies to leave Ferrari and replace Tost at AlphaTauri
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Tost to step down as AlphaTauri boss at end of seasonMekies to replace him from FerrariFormer FIA executive Bayer also joins teamApril 26 (Reuters) - AlphaTauri's Franz Tost, Formula One's second longest serving team principal, will step down at the end of the 2023 season and be replaced by Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies. "With Peter as new CEO and Laurent as Team Principal, we found two very professional people, who will bring the team to the next level. "I am honoured to take on the role of team principal and to return to the Team where I spent a large portion of my early career," he said. Only Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been in his job for longer than the Austrian who first came into Formula One in 2000 as track operations manager with Williams's then-partners BMW. Mekies' departure continues something of an exodus from Ferrari after the Italian team changed principals, with Fred Vasseur replacing Mattia Binotto in January.

☆ Wading through the mixed signals in the stock and bond markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWading through the mixed signals in the stock and bond marketsBleakley’s Peter Boockvar and The Wall Street Journal's Gunjan Banerji, join 'CNBC Special: Taking Stock 2023' to discuss the House passing a debt limit bill and the mixed action in the market.

☆ Biden Is Running on His Record (and Away From It)
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Under my predecessor, infrastructure week became a punchline,” Mr. Biden told the union members, mocking former President Donald J. Trump’s failure to pass legislation rebuilding the nation’s worn public facilities that his successor did succeed in enacting. “On my watch, infrastructure has become a decade headline — a decade.”Mr. Trump, now seeking a rematch against Mr. Biden in 2024, gave his potential opponent no credit. Some of those were never realistic in the first place, but Mr. Biden was the one to highlight them as priorities. But inflation rocketed up to its highest level in four decades, which some critics blamed on excessive federal spending under Mr. Biden, although cost increases have been a global phenomenon. Likewise, gas prices shot up to record levels.

☆ Subway reports double-digit quarterly sales growth as sandwich chain seeks buyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, a Subway sandwich is seen on a table at a Subway restaurant on January 12, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Sandwich chain Subway reported double-digit same-store sales growth in the first quarter, showing its turnaround taking hold as the company seeks to sell itself. The restaurant company is reportedly seeking a valuation of at least $10 billion, and the auction is heading into its second round, according to The Wall Street Journal. Globally, Subway's same-store sales climbed 12.1%, and its digital sales increased 11.4%. In North America, same-store sales grew 11.7%, and digital sales soared 21.2%.

☆ Inside the Wild World of Celebrity Keynote Speakers: Drugs, Alcohol
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

"I never saw myself as a speaker, let alone a motivational speaker," Leonard tells me while his assistant irons his jeans. 'When I ramble," Hunter told me, "hit me in the leg!" Every plane had been grounded, including the one stuck on the tarmac with an increasingly inebriated Hunter Thompson trapped inside. But by far the most all-consuming task was booking gigs for Hunter Thompson. Just before a debate with G. Gordon Liddy at Brown University, Hunter demanded that Betsy Berg, whom I now worked alongside at GTN, score him some crystal meth.

☆ Watch CNBC’s full interview with Bleakley’s Peter Boockvar and G Squared’s Victoria Greene
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC’s full interview with Bleakley’s Peter Boockvar and G Squared’s Victoria GreeneBleakley’s Peter Boockvar and G Squared’s Victoria Greene, join 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss their expectations for markets next week as many of the S&P 500 companies report earnings.

☆ Bleakley’s Peter Boockvar expects the SVB fallout to be an economic headwind
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBleakley’s Peter Boockvar expects the SVB fallout to be an economic headwindBleakley’s Peter Boockvar and G Squared’s Victoria Greene, join 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss their expectations for markets next week as many of the S&P 500 companies report earnings.

☆ Hybrid solar eclipse draws thousands to remote Australian town
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - A rare hybrid solar eclipse over a remote town on Australia's west coast drew thousands on Thursday to witness the event. Astronomy fans and enthusiasts from around the world travelled to Exmouth, a tiny beachside town roughly 1,200 kilometers from state capital Perth, to witness the total solar eclipse. Thursday's eclipse was a rare "hybrid" type, not seen worldwide since 2013. In a hybrid eclipse, depending on where viewers stand, the moon either blots out the sun, a total eclipse, or obscures the center while leaving a ring of light visible, an annular eclipse. While the total eclipse was only visible from a few parts of Australia, Indonesia and Timor Leste, a partial eclipse was visible across all three countries and parts of southeast Asia.

☆ The Fed is making decisions on rearview mirror data, says Bleakley's Peter Boockvar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Fed is making decisions on rearview mirror data, says Bleakley's Peter BoockvarPeter Boockvar, Bleakley Financial chief investment officer, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss disagreement among Fed officials on interest rate hikes and why he thinks a pause is a right move.

☆ Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck on building hypersonic technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRocket Lab CEO Peter Beck on building hypersonic technologyCNBC’s Morgan Brennan with Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck, join 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss the company's plans to go hypersonic.

☆ Fact Check-Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts unearthed during World War Two are AI-generated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Images created through AI of ancient alien artifacts alongside Nazi soldiers have been shared online, with some claiming they show secret discoveries in Antarctica or Egypt. Similar posts were shared on Facebook (here) and (here). The images, however, can be traced back to the Instagram page of Infinite Odyssey, an online magazine that claims to be “the first fully A.I. The post sharing the images carries a disclaimer that reads “WRITTEN BY A.I. Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts were generated through AI.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts say buy these stocks amid the latest macroeconomic uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Domino'sWall Street analysts are focusing on companies that are well-positioned to navigate the ongoing economic turmoil and emerge stronger. Here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Moskowitz holds the 237th position among more than 8,300 analysts followed by TipRanks. Costco recently reported 0.5% growth in its March sales to $21.71 billion, with its comparable sales declining 1.1% year-over-year. Saleh reiterated a buy rating on Domino's with a price target of $400.

These kind of megadeals are at the vanguard of billions of dollars of annual spending on classic cars globally in a wave of investment in this alternative asset. "The track record of the past 30 years tells us classic cars have become a financial asset class we want our clients to have in their portfolios." [1/5] A general view of the classic car collection of Florian Zimmermann, owner of over 300 classic cars, in a warehouse in Lindau, Germany, April 5, 2023. "Electrification will favour classic cars," said Cristiano Bolzoni, head of Maserati's vintage car unit Maserati Classiche. "The classic car community has changed tremendously over the past five to 10 years," Zimmermann said.

☆ Oil prices could rise if Fed stops hiking rates, says Bleakley's Peter Boockvar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOil prices could rise if Fed stops hiking rates, says Bleakley's Peter BoockvarPeter Boockvar, Bleakley Financial Group, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the latest remarks from the Fed.

☆ Why Warren Buffett is investing in Japan and how to know if you should too
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett has grown even fonder of his favorite Japanese trading houses, hiking his already-large investments and teasing of more to come. Berkshire Hathaway raised its stakes in five Japanese trading houses — Mitsubishi Corp. , Mitsui & Co ., Itochu Corp. , Marubeni and Sumitomo — all to 7.4%. Buffett will appear live from Japan on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The five trading houses — roughly akin to a conglomerate structure, just like Berkshire— seem to check every box of Buffett's stock-picking criteria. In light of expectations for tighter policy, BlackRock , the world's largest asset manager, last month cut Japanese stocks to "underweight."

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