DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ TikTok wants its advertisers to know the 'myths vs. facts' after its CEO's day in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now, it seems, TikTok wants to clear up some facts that lawmakers may have gotten wrong. TikTok wants to clear up "Myth vs Fact." After the TikTok CEO's 5-hour hearing at Congress last Thursday, the company wants to reassure advertisers that it'll be fine. The document states: "TikTok does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model." Advertisers make up a large chunk of TikTok's user base, which the company says is now at 150 million monthly active users in the US.

☆ 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.

☆ Red alert recession signals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:But first: Everyone is back to talking about a recession. This week's dispatchFed Chair Jerome Powell Joshua Roberts/Reuters2023 started with fresh hope that the US could avoid a recession. That has big name investors and market signals predicting a recession, and soon. "Red alert recession signals," Gundlach said. Even Powell's preferred bond-market indicator says a recession is on the way this year.

☆ I Visited Miami After the Stock Market Crash, Crypto Bubble Pop
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

And if any city is the city where you can see just how remarkably things have shifted, it's also Miami. If the draw in the 1920s was imaginary land, Miami's bubble in the 2020s was driven by imaginary money — crypto. The newcomers — and the crypto kids, especially — believed they could master Miami as easily as they had mastered the markets. The new Miami money party started to run out of libations. "There were a lot of true believers in the Miami crypto scene.

☆ Tech leaders remain oblivious to the true lessons of Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:But first: Insider's Madeline Renbarger shares what happened at the SXSW Festival in Texas as tech founders and entrepreneurs learned about the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank. The festival began just as the FDIC announced it was taking control of Silicon Valley Bank to stop the catastrophic, social media-instigated bank run that was in full swing. Silicon Valley's blame gameiStock; Rebecca Zisser/InsiderIn the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, there's been plenty of finger-pointing but little self-reflection on the part of Silicon Valley, writes Insider's Linette Lopez. But in recent weeks, as companies like Meta and Twitter braced for tougher times ahead, the assault on middle managers has picked up new steam. But middle managers move the needle on a company's overall performance far more than senior executives do — and make a bigger difference to the bottom line.

☆ Investors in venture funds reveal how they felt VCs handled the Silicon Valley Bank fallout: one was privately frustrated, while another was impressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After last week's bank run on SVB, many limited partners for VC funds had lots of questions. One LP was unhappy with how VCs in the funds they back handled the SVB crisis. Some LPs are wary of the tech industry's heavy reliance on the bank. But after last week's bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, caused in large part by warnings from several prominent VCs to their portfolio companies to get their money out of the bank, LPs have mixed feelings about how it all went down. "There were a lot of fintech companies in particular, and banking companies that banded together to come up with solutions overnight."

☆ Larry Fink's annual letter to BlackRock investors was about getting back to basics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink GettyImages / Eugene Gologursky1. If you're looking for controversy in Larry Fink's annual open letter to investors, better luck next year. Despite this year's letter clocking in at roughly 9,000 words — have you thought about getting an editor, Larry? — Fink largely avoided discussing a favorite, albeit controversial, topic of his: ESG investing. Click here to read more about Larry Fink's latest annual letter that largely avoided hot political topics.

☆ The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank foreshadows a bigger reckoning for the tech industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In the days since the stunning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, I've seen the tech world point a lot of fingers. Silicon Valley Bank imploded in part because it was a repository for the riskiest behaviors of the industry it serviced. In spite of this reality, there has been little self-reflection on the part of the industry that was so closely tied to Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank thrived on these trends. But to grow at the breakneck speed of its clients, Silicon Valley Bank executives had to change things in Washington.

☆ Florida's climate exodus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:But first: Economy reporter Madison Hoff explains why "quiet" is the workplace word for 2023. This week's dispatchWhisper it, but "quiet" might just be the workplace word for this year, Insider's Madison Hoff writes. And although it doesn't use the word "quiet," there are related workplace terms floating around like "Bare Minimum Monday" and "Try Less Tuesday." But Arias Agencies is now at the center of an explosive lawsuit that alleges a pattern of unchecked sexual assault and harassment. What to know about Florida's climate exodus.

☆ Citadel joins a growing number of firms rolling out internships for undergrads looking for a fast track to the buy side
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Investment banks, you've been put on notice: The buy side is coming for your young talent. Insider's Emmalyse Brownstein has a full rundown on an undergrad internship at hedge fund Citadel for aspiring fund managers. The Citadel Associate Program (CAP) is a tough nut to crack, with an acceptance rate of only 1%. Click here learn more about Citadel's ultra-exclusive associate program, along with tips to get ahead during the application process. And if you're wondering who is left leading the world's largest hedge fund, look no further than our list of the fund's top 11 executives.

☆ Another Stock Market Crash Coming, Wall Street's Top Investors Warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

This elation has lulled Wall Street into a false sense of security, according to the investing world's elite who I've spoken with over the past few weeks. It's like all the good little boys and girls on Wall Street asked for a rally for Christmas and got it. He added that nonprofessional retail investors' strong return to the market indicated an unsustainable rally. Anytime Wall Street has forgotten that over the past year, it has gotten punished. And that means Wall Street will eventually have to open its eyes, take its fingers out of its ears, and watch this bear-market rally fall apart.

☆ China's people shortage is a grim omen for the rest of the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're merging with our daily Insider Today newsletter, so we'll be known as the Insider Today: Sunday Edition moving forward. On the agenda today:Up first: It was a big week for tech earnings. Senior tech reporter Diamond Naga Siu, who writes our 10 Things in Tech newsletter, is here to break it all down. Apple meanwhile retained its crown as the only Big Tech giant that hasn't conducted mass layoffs within the past year. That means reining in costs, stripping back perks, and upending the office culture that's defined the world of Big Tech for so long.

☆ From FTX to Adani Group, Fraud Allegations Are Going to Rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Then there's the Adani Group, which lost a jaw-dropping $72 billion in market value after short-seller firm Hindenburg Research last week accused it of "brazen" market manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group, whose founder's net worth recently approached Elon Musk's, has vehemently denied the allegations. Could Wall Street get hit by the Adani Group fiasco? But Wall Street is placing its bets on a California chipmaker, helping its founder get richer to the tune of $5 billion. From Madonna to Tom Brady, many celebrities who shilled for crypto or NFTs are either being sued civilly or facing regulatory scrutiny, according to the Wall Street Journal.

☆ Great Fraud Reckoning Will Expose Scam Companies, Cause Stock Market Chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Get ready for what will feel like an inescapable wave of corporate fraud. And as interest rates have risen, the stock market has fallen off — which makes it harder to get dollars by whipping up new investors or offering stock. Despite Scheck's assertion that the risk of a wave of corporate fraud has heightened, he didn't want to speak in historical analogies. Kreuger had managed to hide that he had stretched the company's finances beyond solvency by raising money on the US stock market while it was raging. That may have been enough when the stock market was on a heater and investors were winning, but it's not enough when the stock market is falling, the economy is slowing, and everyone from regulators to lawmakers to kids on TikTok want answers.

☆ Fraud Economy: How Current Economic Trends Lead to More Corporate Scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Get ready for what will feel like an inescapable wave of corporate fraud. And as interest rates have risen, the stock market has fallen off — which makes it harder to get dollars by whipping up new investors or offering stock. Despite Scheck's assertion that the risk of a wave of corporate fraud has heightened, he didn't want to speak in historical analogies. There be icebergsOf course, there's also fraud that goes undetected in times of easy money — companies where the very act of existing means stretching the truth. Kreuger had managed to hide that he had stretched the company's finances beyond solvency by raising money on the US stock market while it was raging.

☆ Wall Street 2023 Predictions Already Wrong: Recession, Inflation, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Across Wall Street, finance workers of all stripes are returning to work after skiing, gallivanting around the Caribbean, or just visiting Mom for the holiday season. Of course, there's some uncertainty in all this, and Wall Street could still be proved right. Already some Wall Street economists are revising their predictions given the strong economy, even if they're not backing off their priors quite yet. It may take years to get the Chinese consumer, on which Wall Street has placed so many hopes, back to the strength of yesteryear. Don't hatchet your chickens before they countTo be fair, not every Wall Street analyst is looking sheepish right now.

☆ The next recession might hit the wealthy more — and a 'richcession' could be good news for low-wage workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The next recession could be a "richcession," according to the Wall Street Journal. A K-shaped recovery — where high-earning Americans saw jobs and wages grow, while the converse happened to lower-earners — began to take form during the recession. For the bottom 50%, real wealth growth from February 2020 to September 2022 is 226.6%. To be sure, although the recession on the horizon may be considered a richcession, that doesn't mean it won't affect lower-income Americans. "Lower income, lower wage, lower education workers, Black workers, workers of color" tend to see larger spikes in unemployment during downturns, according to Bunker.

Police in South Pasadena said in a statement Tuesday that, contrary to Musk's assertions about the incident, they believe a member of Musk's security team hit a man with his car and accused him of following him. The police called the security team member a "suspect." While parked, the man said another vehicle pulled directly in front of him, blocking his path, according to police. The driver of the second vehicle then accused the Connecticut man of following him, police said. Police said that as Musk's security team member was leaving the parking lot in the second vehicle, he struck the Connecticut man with his vehicle.

☆ Elon Musk Was Always a Visionary Jerk, Bad Boss at SpaceX, Tesla. but It Won't Work at Twitter.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Elon Musk has a pretty tried-and-true playbook for doing business — he's used it for years to build companies from Tesla to SpaceX. Twitter is the antithesis of an "Elon Musk company." And without a big, world-changing promise to paper over his sophomoric product ideas and erratic management, Musk's Twitter takeover is doomed. No time to wasteA Musk company is usually the first, and sometimes the only, company in a specific market. Based on his most recent quarterly calls with investors — the ones where he is supposed to talk about plans to make more money — Musk does not have one.

☆ Elon Musk offers journalists he banned from Twitter ability to return under certain condition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —New Twitter owner Elon Musk offered several of the journalists he banned from the social media website earlier this week the ability to return to the platform if they deleted the tweets he falsely claimed shared his “exact real-time” location. The move from Musk came after he posted an unscientific poll on his personal Twitter account that concluded Friday night with 59% of participants voting in favor of immediately restoring the accounts. Musk had on Thursday banned CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, and The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell. But while the accounts were made publicly viewable on Saturday, the journalists were restricted from posting until they removed the tweets Musk had claimed violated Twitter’s rules. In the past, Twitter had required the removal of violative tweets for users to regain access to their accounts, but the journalists in this case strongly dispute that their posts violated Twitter rules.

☆ Xi Jinping's Biggest Crisis yet: China Lockdown Protests, Stumbling Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Over what has been a stunning week, China has erupted in mass protests calling for an end to the country's restrictive COVID lockdowns. Easing the COVID lockdowns could spur a potentially devastating public health crisis. Accepting Western vaccines or rolling back zero COVID would be a tacit admission that he is fallible. There's lots of money to be made in China, and its economy would almost certainly improve if zero COVID restrictions were loosened. Under Xi, China was already shuttering its doors long before the pandemic struck.

☆ One of China's biggest retailers is cutting executive pay to create a fund to help lower-level employees buy homes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The e-commerce titan will allocate $1.4 billion to help rank-and-file employees buy homes. The move comes amid China's "common prosperity" campaign to reduce economic inequality in the country. The billionaire's philanthropy is part of China's "common prosperity" campaign to close the income gap and bolster social equality in the country. He brought up the slogan "common prosperity" multiple times in his opening speech, Insider reported. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming donated 500 million yuan, or $77.3 million, in June of 2021 to Fangmei Education Development Fund, named after Zhang's grandmothers in his hometown of southeastern Longyan city.

☆ Here's the six-word outlook for stocks in 2023: going to hell in a handbasket
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

We knew that the stock market had formed a bubble and that it was going to pop as interest rates went up. That, in turn, pushed the stock market off a cliff so steep that we still cannot see the bottom. This all goes back to the Fed's move to keep interest rates at 0% after the 2008 financial crisis. Since interest rates were so low, companies that didn't make money could just borrow to keep the lights on. In 2018, Wall Street got a preview of how ugly this bubble would look once it popped in earnest.

Patrick Pleul/Getty Images; Vicky Leta/InsiderLate Thursday, Elon Musk began his much-anticipated mass layoffs at Twitter. The layoffs are part of a new culture that Musk has unleashed at the company. But now, this person said, the company's new workaholic culture is "psychologically unsafe" and has "Elon's stamp all over it." How Gen Z is shaping the workplace. They're happier, they have a lot more confidence, and they feel like they're able to conquer a lot more than before."

☆ China's alarming decline could tank the stock market, take down the global economy, and spark a dangerous showdown with the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

In the Western capitals and boardrooms, it appears the horror of Beijing's transformation has finally settled in, and the lure of China's economic future is fading. Economic dangerIf you want a clue to just how far China's economy has fallen, look no further than Beijing's attempts to hide information about the country's growth. Beyond the short-term signs of trouble, there are more enduring signs pointing to China's economic distress. That's a big if, and even if Beijing is successful, the slow-moving blob of debt will choke off economic growth for years to come. Xi has tightened his grip on China's economy and government from education to public health.

Search resuls for: "Linette Lopez"

25 mentions found