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☆ 4 things making it harder for Janet Yellen to repair the US-China relationship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The global economy stands to gain if Washington and Beijing can mend fences, but analysts say this appears unlikely. Here are four things likely to make it harder for Yellen to repair US-China ties, and one thing keeping the relationship going. Sequoia’s executives said in a statement that it has become “increasingly complex” to run a decentralized global investment business. On Wednesday, US pharmaceutical firm Moderna (MRNA)signed a deal to make its first major investment in China. “Both sides are ramping up commercial restrictions in the name of national security and national interests,” she said.

Persons: Janet Yellen, China, ” Wei Jianguo, ”, Anna Ashton, Biden, Beijing’s, Wei, Capvision, Xi Jinping’s, “, Li Qiang, Xi, Alex Capri, ” Ashton, —, Jennifer Hansler, Wayne Chang, Bryan Mena Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Eurasia Group, Micron Technology, China Daily, Analysts, China, Capvision, Bain & Company, Group, Forrester Research, Ontario, Republicans, Hawks, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xinhua, US Commerce Department, “, National University of Singapore Business School, Moderna Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, China, Chinese, Washington, Japan, Europe, Shanghai, New York, decouple, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan, Tianjin

☆ House Democrats press Walmart, Costco, Kroger to sell abortion pill mifepristone
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, packages of Mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic on April 13, 2023 in Rockville, Maryland. House Democrats on Thursday called on Walmart, Costco , Kroger , Safeway and Health Mart to publicly commit to sell the prescription abortion pill mifepristone at their retail pharmacies. Goldman and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., sent a letter asking the companies' CEOs to confirm by June 23 whether their pharmacies will get certified to sell the abortion pill. Democratic governors and senators asked the companies in March whether their pharmacies will get certified to dispense the medication. The largest retail pharmacies in the U.S. have found themselves increasingly caught in the middle of the national battle over abortion access, which was set in motion by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last June.

Persons: Dan Goldman, Goldman, Judy Chu, Roe, Wade Organizations: House Democrats, Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Safeway, Health Mart, Drug Administration, FDA, Democratic, U.S, U.S . Constitution Locations: Rockville , Maryland, U.S, U.S .

The Fed is scheduled to release its policy statement and new quarterly economic projections at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). POLICY COMPROMISEData since the last Fed meeting in early May has left policymakers with a tough set of signals to read, and ample room for debate. The decision won't mean rate hikes are in for an extended pause, or - a point Powell is likely to emphasize - that rate cuts are anticipated anytime soon. The Fed's last set of quarterly projections anticipated the benchmark overnight interest rate would only move down by the end of 2024 as inflation also declined - movements that keep the inflation-adjusted rate of interest roughly the same. A true "pivot" towards looser policy was only seen occurring in 2025, when the policy rate was projected by year's end to decline more than inflation.

Persons: Blerina Uruci, Rowe Price, Jerome Powell, Powell, Howard Schneider, Paul Simao Organizations: Federal, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Rowe Price Associates, Fed, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ A CEO shares the exact scripts she uses to ask for clarification and communicate seamlessly with her team
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Deb Liu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

On the other hand, Liu makes a point to purposefully solicit feedback and ask for clarity. He received an email response directly from the CEO saying there was something wrong with the landing page for the project. Proud of their work, then shared it with the CEO, telling him they had taken his feedback and redesigned the page. The confirmation: Remember to wrap up your request for clarification by reiterating what you've heard and understood. For this reason, if you're feeling unsure or unclear about a question or an answer, don't hesitate to ask out loud.

Persons: Deb Liu, Liu, —, I've, you've, it's, let's, we've, Read Organizations: Service

☆ Investors in biggest climate pressure group don't like to pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), set up in 2017, comprises more than 700 investment firms representing $68 trillion in assets. At stake is whether CA100+ members use all the tools at their disposal to pressure climate laggards. FLAGGING CLIMATE LAGGARDSCA100+ posts on its website upcoming shareholder resolutions and board re-election votes but it doesn't recommend voting against directors at climate laggards. Wespath's sustainability director, Jake Barnett, said that challenging board directors over their climate policies was not being used widely enough "as a method of accountability". In at least one area there is compulsion; CA100+ members not responding to a survey asking for their engagement interests within a year could be delisted.

Persons: laggards, Xander Urbach, CA100, Francois Humbert, bodes, Eli Kasargod, Staub, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Jake Barnett, MN's Urbach, Shell, Wael Sawan, Vincent Kaufmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Greg Roumeliotis, Susan Fenton Organizations: Reuters, MN, Generali Investments, Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron, Valero Energy, Warren, Investments, The United Methodist Church, Shell, Ethos Foundation, Thomson Locations: Paris, Swiss

☆ Opinion: We’ve reached a turning point with AI, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jessica Chia | Bethany Cianciolo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +33 min

Will general purpose AI — AI that is as capable as humans — eventually take over the world? CNN/Peg Skorpinski “…even though we may understand how to build perfectly safe general purpose AI, what’s to stop Dr. We don’t know if they reason; we don’t know if they have their own internal goals that they’ve learned or what they might be. It is not general purpose AI, but it’s giving people a taste of what it would be like. And so it turns out that you can actually build AI systems that have those properties, but they’re very different from the kinds of AI systems that we know how to build.

Persons: CNN —, ChatGPT, Bill Gates, —, Stuart Russell, Russell, ” Russell, they’ve, Peg Skorpinski “, ” Stuart Russell Russell, ”, STUART RUSSELL, ” Stuart Russell, we’ll, “, it’s, they’re, That’s, Arthur Samuel, Samuel, Travis Teo, I’ve, Garry Kasparov, Kasparov, Stan Honda, There’s, they’re misaligned, you’ve, It’s, that’s, we’ve Organizations: CNN, University of California, IBM Watson Media, Hyundai, Boston Dynamics, Reuters, Microsoft, Artificial, Intelligence, US National Academies, GPT, IBM's, Getty, Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory, PIXAR Locations: Berkeley, ”, Singapore, New York, AFP, ChatGPT, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, United States, California, —

☆ Scientists identify polar cyclone swirling on mysterious Uranus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] NASA scientists uses microwave observations to spot the first polar cyclone on Uranus, seen here as a light-colored dot to the right of center in each image of the planet, in this handout image released on May 25, 2023. But new observations from a telescope located in New Mexico are providing a fuller understanding of its atmosphere, including the detection of a polar cyclone whose center measures a quarter of Earth's diameter, swirling near its north pole. Scientists were able to gaze more deeply into the atmosphere of Uranus - a planet classified as an ice giant, like its planetary neighbor Neptune - than ever before. The research confirmed that polar cyclones are present on every body in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere - all the planets but Mercury and even Saturn's moon Titan. "The way they form is different from planet to planet," Akins added.

ApartmentComplex Before dawn on Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey destroyed an upscale apartment complex, killing hundreds. The main building in the Renaissance complex toppled over, evidence that the building had major vulnerabilities on the lower level and the south side. Tall column Recreational space on ground floor Antis Yapi via Facebook The most vulnerable part of Renaissance was the ground floor, which had an open layout. 3-D model highlights the ground floor columns and recreational spaces. The horizontal forces could have weakened the ground floor columns and possibly torn them apart.

☆ The former president of Tesla and COO of Lyft just raised a new $40 million fund and wants to fix venture capital's "addiction to fees"
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jon McNeill served as president of Tesla, COO of Lyft, and has started and sold six companies. Over the same period the number of new funds closed has fallen by more than 75%, meaning capital is concentrating in fewer and larger funds. "That's all about addiction to fees," said McNeill, "it's not like they've got twenty times the amount of opportunities to fund, they don't." It's a venture fund, but it also bears resemblance to a private equity fund, an incubator, and a sort of "private Berkshire Hathaway" as McNeill puts it. The fund takes 100% of the company up front, as opposed to the 20% stake a VC fund would typically take.

☆ A Psychedelics Pioneer Takes the Ultimate Trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk A Psychedelics Pioneer Takes the Ultimate TripAs the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Dr. Roland Griffiths has been a pioneer in investigating the ways in which psychedelics can help treat depression, addiction and, in patients with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis, psychological distress. He has also looked at how the use of psychedelics can produce transformative and long-lasting feelings of human interconnectedness and unity. “So I believe that in principle we shouldn’t need this Stage 4 cancer diagnosis to awaken. Is your perspective maybe one that a 40-year-old, say, with a terminal cancer diagnosis would be able to inhabit so profoundly? If I had a regret, it’s that I didn’t wake up as much as I have without a cancer diagnosis.

☆ Fact Check-Video of Australian news interview featuring Bill Gates edited using AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The version of the clip with altered dialogue being shared was created using deepfake technology, which manipulates audio and visuals to make it appear that an individual is saying something (here). There are signs of several techniques used to create the fake video, according to Dominic Lees, an associate professor of filmmaking at the University of Reading. “Voice cloning has been used to create the fake voices of Gates and his interviewer…The fake audio has been applied to a re-edited version of the interview,” Lees told Reuters. So, this analysis suggests the video is likely to be manipulated.”A spokesperson for ABC News told Reuters, “The video is clearly fake. The video shared on social media has been manipulated using deepfake technology and does not show an authentic interaction between ABC News journalist Sarah Ferguson and Bill Gates.

☆ In San Francisco, some people wonder when A.I. will kill us all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

If the super-powerful AI is aligned with humans, it could be the end of hunger or work. Or, as a sign at the Misalignment Museum says: "Sorry for killing most of humanity." Most of the works are around the theme of "alignment" with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence or celebrate the "heroes who tried to mitigate the problem by warning early." As AI technology becomes the hottest part of the tech industry, with companies eying trillion-dollar markets, the Misalignment Museum underscores that AI's development is being affected by cultural discussions. Even as companies and people in San Francisco are shaping the future of artificial intelligence technology, San Francisco’s unique culture is shaping the debate around the technology.

☆ Parents Challenge Lottery Systems Used to Diversify Elite High Schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Sara Randazzo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When Philadelphia’s school district overhauled the admissions process at its most-elite public high schools to try to improve socioeconomic and racial diversity, the reaction from parents came quickly. In surveys and at school-board meetings, parents called the shift to a lottery system demeaning, unfair, stressful and the opposite of equitable. Families shared stories of high-achieving children failing to win a seat in any of the district’s selective high schools, or being placed in a school too far away or one misaligned with student interests.

☆ Interest rates suggest the stock market is wildly overvalued, JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The stock market is wildly overvalued based on current interest rates, according to JPMorgan. Interest rates have surged over the past year, with the 2-year US Treasury note yielding just over 4.8% as of Tuesday morning compared to just 1.3% a year ago. Such a swift surge in interest rates has put pressure on market valuations while at the same time exposing vulnerabilities in corporate profits. "History implies that for the current level of real rates the S&P 500 multiple is ~2.5x overvalued," Kolanovic warned. That's a marked shift from expectations of rate cuts just a few weeks ago, and could keep strong downward pressure on the stock market.

☆ Salesforce is applying pressure to workers to drive down headcount
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Before we drive off into the night, let's jump into today's tech. Salesforce performance pressure is on. Employees told Insider that the cloud company is about to drop new performance metrics for engineers. Plus, multiple investors are believed to be pressuring Salesforce to cut additional costs to become more profitable. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Dave Smith (tweet @redletterdave) in Toronto and Nathan Rennolds (tweet @ncrennolds) in London.

☆ American drivers have a blinding headlight problem. It could last for years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Drivers say they're routinely getting blinded by surrounding cars' headlights. This isn't because headlight regulations have changed — regulations on brightness haven't been altered in decades. This isn't because headlight regulations have shifted — they haven't changed in decades, according to Greg Brannon, AAA's director of automotive engineering. Adaptive driving beams automatically adjust the high beams emitted from LED car headlights in real time to avoid blinding pedestrians and other drivers. So prepare for the immediate future to be even brighter, as the blinding glare problem may get worse before it gets better.

☆ Ketamine is being sold as a depression wonder drug. For some, it's making everything worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

The infusions at the ketamine clinic in his West Texas hometown were a Christmas gift from his grandmother. About five years ago, more and more of my friends started using ketamine recreationally. IV ketamine treatment centers charging $400 to $2,000 an infusion popped up all over the country. "Ketamine used as directed in an appropriate clinical setting very rarely leads to any dependence," Mindbloom says on its website. Like Nadia, most of the people I interviewed said when they started using ketamine, they didn't think it was possible to become dependent on it.

☆ Here's why it's time to bet against a key sector of the market ahead of the coming recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today, I'm sharing a research note from one analyst who's eyeing a new bet to place against a corner of the stock market that offered refuge last year. He's talking about the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Sector SPDR Fund. In his view, the consumer staples sector, which served as a haven last year, presents a bubble about to burst. How much credence do you give to chart analysis for stock market outlooks? The stock market is about to be flipped upside down, according to Bank of America.

☆ Wall Street is feeling bearish, but a rare stock market pattern is hinting at a bull rally to kick off 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Traders gather on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 18, 2016. There is little optimism for stocks among Wall Street's foot soldiers, according to the latest fund manager survey from Bank of America. As BofA pointed out, that means the so-called "pain trade" in the stock market is higher, and any sudden rally would catch investors off-guard. But Wall Street survey be damned, stocks seem to be on the brink of a rare, bullish trifecta. The surge has pushed the world's most largest crypto token to levels not seen since before the fall of FTX.

☆ How this 27-year-old entrepreneur built his $8 million dessert empire after leaving Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

With the help of a business loan, the Wall Street analyst turned food entrepreneur bought a 16 Handles franchise in Manhattan in 2019. Taking advantage of a depressed real-estate market amid the pandemic, he negotiated favorable long-term leases and opened several 16 Handles locations. Last month, I closed on the acquisition of 16 Handles, the frozen-yogurt and soft-serve franchise with over 30 units across five states. Buying 16 Handles and growing it to a national brandAs the largest franchisee working with the franchisor, we were misaligned on what we saw as the vision for 16 Handles. A key reason for my success with 16 Handles is that I found creative solutions to what otherwise seem like impossible obstacles.

☆ Sleep deprivation affects nearly half of American adults, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The analysis also found over 30% of adults reported an hour of sleep debt -— when you sleep less than your body needs — while nearly 1 in 10 adults had a sleep debt of two hours or more. “This is a well done study examining a very large and representative sample,” said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, a sleep medicine specialist in the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Social jet lagIn addition, nearly half of the adults in the study reported social jet lag – a bad fit between the sleep timing preferred by a person’s inner biological clock and the one dictated by society. Over 46% of the survey participants reported at least 1 hour of social jet lag, while 19.3% experienced at least 2 hours. Untreated social jet lag can have serious consequences, including insomnia, early waking or excessive sleepiness, daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, constipation or diarrhea and increased cortisol levels.

☆ From 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' to 'Aladdin,' here are 6 celebrities who've had trouble with their Teslas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actor Glenn Howerton is the latest to relate his issues. In August, Vox reported that owners had filed numerous complaints against Tesla's service centers. The actor said he was locked out of his car Tesla after his key fob broke. The car doors wouldn't open, and he had to exit through the trunk after waiting for Tesla service personnel for almost an hour. The "Aladdin" actor filed a lawsuit against Tesla saying the accident occurred because of defects in his car.

☆ 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' actor said Tesla 'lost a customer' after his car was stuck in a parking garage for days after his key fob broke
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Glenn Howerton said his Tesla was stuck in a parking garage for over 24 hours after his key fob broke. The actor detailed a frustrating experience where Tesla support failed to help him start the car. Bio" star Glenn Howerton detailed a frustrating experience where his Tesla was stuck in a parking garage for over 24-hours in a podcast on Monday. AP/Carlos OsorioHowerton said he was forced to leave the car at the parking garage overnight after replacing the battery for the key failed to fix the issue. He also found it near-impossible to get in contact with Tesla's support teams.

Twitter, a social network with hundreds of millions of users, “was over a decade behind industry security standards,” he later testified. His concerns, raised privately at first and later in a whistleblower disclosure that became public, would upend one of the world’s most influential social networks and raise new questions about its pending acquisition by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. A big part of the issue, Zatko told a Senate panel, was that software and e-commerce companies “want to ignore problems as long as possible. When he was hired to join Twitter, Zatko framed the move in terms of the public good. “This wasn’t my first choice,” he previously told CNN.

☆ Energy subsidies merely delay high inflation, ECB's Villeroy warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Europe's energy subsidies may reduce the current rate of inflation but only at the expense of future higher readings, potentially complicating the task of monetary policy, European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Saturday. "We should not be under the illusion that price caps reduce underlying inflation," Villeroy said in Washington on Saturday, addressing a meeting of the G30, a group of private and public financial officials. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"They may only help to reduce the risk of second round effects," he added. "Price caps, if temporary, only reduce current measured inflation at the expense of future measured inflation." Instead of broader spending increases which add to already high inflation pressures, governments should focus help on those in the greatest need of help, Villeroy argued.

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