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☆ Inside the private meeting at Jack Ma's apartment where he plotted to take on Silicon Valley with a trusted 'ragtag bunch' of early employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Brian A. Wong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In one apartment, Jack, Lucy Peng, and a few other leaders worked alongside the firm's engineers. Everyone's enthusiasm flowed from their strong identification with the company's mission and Jack's vision, and if it was part of our mission, all believed, it was certainly achievable. In fact, in time, I would grow to better understand and more deeply embrace Alibaba's mission, vision, and values and the way they motivated our people. That's what Savio Kwan, Alibaba's first COO, did, codifying Jack's ideas into our company mission, vision, and values. Their efforts would form the basis of Alibaba's core mission, vision, and values statement— the guiding force or beliefs for Alibaba's development then and now.

Yogesh Raut on "Jeopardy!" Fans of the venerable answer-and-question show were introduced to Raut on Jan. 11 when he won the first of three games, which were taped in mid-November. That true quizzing talent isn't displayed on "Jeopardy!" Raut was annoyed that word leaked that another big name in the quiz community, Troy Meyer, was on the "Jeopardy!" It is fundamentally incompatible with incentivizing the next generation of quizzers to excel, and it is fundamentally incompatible with true social justice.”A "Jeopardy!"

☆ Clash of the titans: Billionaire activist investors are putting pressure on top CEOs who were once thought untouchable
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The bear market in stocks last year has opened up a new window for aggressive activist investors. Once high-flying tech stocks and beloved brand names are subject to unfamiliar pressure from billionaire activists. Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Bob Iger of Disney are the latest high-profile CEOs to face pressure. Nelson Peltz of the Trian Fund and Paul Singer of Elliott Management recently launched activist investor campaigns against Disney and Salesforce, respectively. Activist campaigns targeting firms of this size and caliber are uncommon, but their struggling share price has painted a target on management's back.

☆ Inside Ken Griffin's rise to one of Wall Street's most powerful people, and why politics could be next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

JB and I are not on speaking terms these days," said Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge-fund manager, referring to JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois. As Florida rolled back pandemic restrictions more quickly than Chicago, even more Citadel employees migrated south. Ken Griffin's hedge fund has had a run of eye-popping returns since 2020. Others worry that it gives Griffin's hedge fund an unfair advantage. Hundreds of Citadel employees, partners, and families gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida.

☆ CEOs can't stop talking about a recession, but one bright spot is bucking every real-estate trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prologis, the largest holder of US industrial real estate, beat Q4 expectations last week. As the rest of the real estate market faces layoffs, warehouses are bucking the trend. Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam said warehouse demand will stay high as other markets crumble. In past recessions, there was plenty of empty warehouse space from the start, causing low prices to get lower. Warehouse space thus becomes an investment in future success.

☆ Did the economy end 2022 with a bang or a whimper?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the United States economy still seems to be chugging along just fine after experiencing a hiccup in the first half of 2022. Despite worries about weaker consumer spending during the holidays, economists are forecasting solid growth for the fourth quarter. Yearning for earningsMore blue chip companies will report fourth quarter results (and perhaps give guidance about the first quarter of 2023 and beyond) this week. But according to FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters, earnings for the tech sector are expected to fall nearly 10% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Verizon (VZ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Travelers (TRV), 3M (MMM), Boeing (BA), Dow (DOW), Visa (V), Chevron (CVX) and American Express (AXP).

☆ How Charlie Javice's Frank Sale to JP Morgan Wound up in Allegations of Fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Her financial aid startup, Frank, was featured in the New York Times, CNBC and Wall Street Journal. After leaving the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business school, Javice traded on her reputation, bolstered by glowing profiles, as a successful entrepreneur. In a 2018 interview with Insider, Javice claimed Frank secured an average of $28,000 for its users, and was helping students get "thousands off their tuition." "Charlie's first company fizzled after 18 months, so after losing all her investors' money, she convinced every one of them to fund her next company, Frank." At Frank, Javice admitted she sometimes painted a more positive picture of the company's health than was supported by the facts.

Increasingly, they said conversations in C-suites and with financiers had turned to the risks that climate change presented to businesses. Climate activist Greta Thunberg made the journey up the Swiss Alps to call on the global energy industry and its financiers to end all fossil fuel investments. Suni Harford, the president of UBS's asset management arm who leads the bank's sustainability efforts, said her conversations at Davos suggested no let up in focus on climate, despite the shorter-term pressures. "Clients are becoming ever more informed on the energy transition, demand for sustainable and green products has held up well, and clients are increasingly looking to measure the impact of their portfolios." "Put forward credible and transparent transition plans on how to achieve net zero – and submit those plans before the end of this year," Guterres said in a speech.

☆ Morning Bid: Japan hesitates
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Judging by Wednesday's reaction, world markets reckon Japan will eventually abandon its ultra-loose monetary policy despite a stubborn doubling down this week - and overseas ructions may be less than feared. But after some wild gyrations on the initial announcement, the market reaction was rather muted on balance. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) ended 2.5% higher, but it closed before the yen rebound in European hours. The release of December U.S. producer price, retail sales and industrial production numbers later on Wednesday now takes centre stage. U.S. Treasury auctions 20-year bonds* Bank of Japan policy decision.

☆ Microsoft's major layoffs prove that no tech giant is safe from the market downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft is the latest tech giant to have major layoffs, with plans to cut 10,000 employees. It's a strategy that will help these tech giants weather the ongoing downturn and come out on top, he added. Microsoft's layoffs also bring attention to the fact that the only tech giants that have avoided significant layoffs this cycle are Google and Apple. In another note to clients, RBC analysts advised C-suite leaders to bring down their quarterly and yearly revenue estimates even more. Got a tip about tech layoffs?

☆ 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.

☆ A leaked Google memo compared it to slime mold
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's like the start of a joke: What do Google and slime mold have in common? A lot, says a memo from an ex-Googler comparing the org to a "slime mold." (A key difference: Stanford grads aren't desperate to intern at a slime mold.) But with ChatGPT setting off alarm bells inside and outside the org, Google should probably move faster and with more intention than slime mold. The most memorable part of the memo compares Google's bottom-up organizational structure to a "slime mold," highlighting how both Google and a slime mold can work independently but still come together to solve complex problems.

☆ Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both hit hard by deal drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Earnings for Goldman Sachs (GS) missed by their widest margin since the third quarter of 2011. Revenue tumbled 16% for Goldman Sachs (GS) in the fourth quarter, and profits plunged 66%. Morgan Stanley was hit by the slowdown too, with investment banking revenue dropping 49% from a year ago. Morgan Stanley’s overall revenue and earnings topped analysts’ forecasts though, while Goldman Sachs posted revenue also missed Wall Street’s targets. Goldman Sachs disclosed in a regulatory filing last week, however, that this division has lost more than $3 billion since 2020.

[1/2] The app logo of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is seen reflected on its navigation map displayed on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken July 1, 2021. Didi has been awaiting authorities' approval to resume new user registrations and downloads of its 25 banned apps in China as a key step to resume normal business since its regulatory troubles started in mid-2021. A lifting of the ban on Didi apps would come as Chinese policymakers seek to restore private sector confidence and count on the technology industry to help spur economic activity that has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay in the return of the apps had cast a shadow over Didi's business plans. That deal is primarily subject to the apps' resumption for official announcement, said the two sources.

☆ China to allow Didi apps back online, in latest sign of regulatory thaw, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A logo for Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi is illuminated outside company headquarters on Jan. 21, 2022 in Hangzhou, China. Shen Longquan | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesChinese authorities are set to allow Didi Global's ride-hailing and other apps back on domestic app stores as soon as next week, five sources told Reuters, in yet another signal that their two-year regulatory crackdown on the technology sector is ending. Didi has been awaiting authorities' approval to resume new user registrations and downloads of its 25 banned apps in China as a key step to resume normal business since its regulatory troubles started in mid-2021. The one-week-long holiday period in China would help Didi start to attract new clients for the business and work towards bringing it back to normal, added two of the sources. China's central bank will step up support for private firms as part of steps to shore up the economy, while easing a crackdown on tech companies, Guo Shuqing, Communist party chief of the People's Bank of China, told state-owned CCTV on Sunday.

☆ LendingClub cuts 14% workforce to pare costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 12 (Reuters) - LendingClub Corp (LC.N) said on Thursday it has laid off 14% of its workforce, or 225 employees, joining several financial firms which cut costs as threats of a recession loom large. LendingClub expects to incur charges of approximately $5.7 million, of which $4.4 million was expensed in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a statement. The company expects the job cuts to result in savings of nearly $25 million to $30 million in 2023. The San Francisco, California-based financial services company will report fourth quarter and full-year 2022 earnings on January 25, 2023, after market hours. Analysts on average had estimated the company to report a revenue of $263 million and profit of $18.4 million, according to Refinitiv.

☆ Factbox: Tech firms, Wall Street lead job cuts in corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Big Tech firms and Wall Street titans are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out the economic downturn. HP Inc (HPQ.N):The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025. Job seekers wait before a job fair for airport related employment at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 7, 2021. Blue Apron Holdings Inc (APRN.N):The online meal-kit company said it will cut about 10% of its corporate workforce, as it looks to reduce costs and streamline operations. Last year, company executives had said the home goods retailer was cutting about 20% of its corporate and supply chain workforce.

☆ Microsoft will stop tracking vacation time for US salaried employees, internal memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft will no longer track vacation time for US salaried employees, an internal memo shows. Time-off will still require manager approval, as is standard for companies with "unlimited' vacation time. And as we've transformed, modernizing our vacation policy to a more flexible model was a natural next step." Time-off will still require manager approval, as is standard for companies with "unlimited' vacation time. Microsoft employees outside the US will keep existing vacation benefits.

☆ Six N.F.L. Players Show Football’s Grind on Their Feet and Hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ken Belson | Joe Drape | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

Players Show Football’s Grind on Their Feet and HandsOver the course of the long and brutal N.F.L. season, players’ feet and hands take a beating on nearly every snap. But in practice a few days later, he was running drills and landed awkwardly, spraining an ankle and stretching the tendons in his right foot. The next week Jones caught six passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns as the Jaguars shocked the Dallas Cowboys, 40-34. “The therapist spends a lot of time on my hands and feet,” he said.

☆ Factbox: FACTBOX Tech firms, Wall Street lead job cuts in Corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Big Tech firms and Wall Street titans are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out the economic downturn. Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O):The networking and collaboration solutions company said it will undertake restructuring which could impact roughly 5% of its workforce. The effort will begin in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023 and cost the company $600 million. HP Inc (HPQ.N):The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025. Consumer and retail companies:Beyond Meat Inc (BYND.O):The vegan meat maker said it plans to cut 200 jobs this year, with the layoffs expected to save about $39 million.

☆ Google's most cutting-edge moonshot lab is refocusing on actually making money
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Matt Weinberger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm Matt Weinberger, deputy editor of Insider's tech analysis team, filling in for my colleague Diamond Naga Siu for the next few days. It's yet another sign that the tech industry is very different than it was even a year ago. A moonshot in the foot for Google: Insider's Hugh Langley reports that Google's X Development is scaling back from its pioneering, famously envelope-pushing roots as a tech research lab. Instead, it'll focus on initiatives that actually make money for Google and its parent company Alphabet. Read Insider's in-depth review of the newest model of the iPad Pro, released in late 2022.

☆ Jefferies profit slides as Wall Street dealmaking falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies Financial Group (JEF.N) reported a 52.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, hit by lower underwriting fees and volatile markets that dented income from its trading desks. Still, the firm posted its second-best year for investment banking revenue, which was substantially above 2019 levels, chief executive officer Richard Handler and president Brian Friedman said. Friedman said the profit decline looked more stark compared with an "extraordinary" bonanza for dealmaking in 2021. Jefferies' total net revenue was down 18% at $1.44 billion, dragged lower by a 35% decline in investment banking and capital markets revenue. The bank reported a profit of 57 cents a share in the three months ended Nov. 30, compared with $1.20 a year earlier.

☆ Jefferies posts lower quarterly profit as dealmaking falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies Financial Group (JEF.N) posted a 52.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, hit by lower underwriting fees and volatile markets that dented income from its trading desks. Still, investment banking revenue saw their second-best year and was substantially above 2019 levels, chief executive officer Richard Handler and president Brian Friedman said. Jefferies' total net revenue was down 18% at $1.44 billion, dragged lower by a 35% decline in investment banking and capital markets revenue. Jefferies began reducing the size of its merchant banking portfolio last year, in an effort to sharpen its focus on its key businesses. Leucadia later sold most of its non-financial assets to double down on investment banking.

☆ Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker, said his sons likely won't play football, 'an incredibly dangerous, violent game'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Colin Allred, an NFL alumnus, said he likely won't let his two sons play football, a "violent game." Allred, a former linebacker for the Titans, remarked that every Congressman should have played a team sport. "I don't think my boys – I have two sons – will be playing football," Allred said. "Every NFL player goes into every game praying to come through that game okay because we know it's a violent game. "Football is an incredibly dangerous, violent game.

☆ Ant Group founder Jack Ma to give up control in key revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alibaba founder Jack Ma attends the 5th World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Convention at Hangzhou International Expo Centre on November 13, 2019 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Ant Group's founder Jack Ma will give up control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul that seeks to draw a line under a regulatory crackdown that was triggered soon after its mammoth stock market debut was scuppered two years ago. China's domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control to list. Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle for Ma, had control over two other entities that own a combined 50.5% stake of Ant, the prospectus showed. "At least Ant investors can (now) have some timetable for an exit after a long period of uncertainty," said Clark, who is also an author of a book on Alibaba and Ma.

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