DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' makes the visual effects in Marvel movies and other blockbusters look amateur
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with ComicBook.com last week, the filmmaker threw shade at the visual effects in Marvel movies, comparing them to those in "Avatar: The Way of Water," his long-awaited sequel to the first "Avatar." After a year of Marvel movies and other big-budget tentpoles whose looks didn't impress me, the movie was a breath of fresh air. That same month, a VFX artist who has worked on Marvel movies wrote a scathing essay for Vulture, alleging that Marvel overworks VFX houses and demands last-minute changes. The reality is that the problems with Marvel movies are a reflection of the state of big-budget movies in general. Audiences are already realizing that these premium formats are the best way to see "The Way of Water."

☆ I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Meat quesadilla at the only place it's available in the US. The meatless 'steak' could've fooled me, and I now want to try it on everything.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Cassy Crabtree | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Meat quesadilla at the only place it's available in the US. Cassy Crabtree tried Taco Bell's Beyond Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla. Cassy Crabtree On October 13, Taco Bell introduced its new Beyond Meat Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla. Taco Bell I visited my local Taco Bell in Tipp City, Ohio (a suburb of Dayton). I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla.

☆ A real-estate investor who owns 22 units and started buying property during an economic downturn shares her top advice for investors heading into 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She also says you shouldn't let rising interest rates hold you back from buying. When Dana Bull bought her first property in June 2012, she wasn't intending on becoming a real estate investor. Even though everybody was talking about how scary buying real estate was, it didn't really seem to impact me. Today, the 33-year-old real estate investor and agent owns 22 rental units around Salem and Marblehead, two coastal towns north of Boston. Don't let today's interest rates hold you back from buyingSure, interest rates aren't what they were in 2020 and 2021, when they plummeted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and even dipped below 3% to record lows.

☆ The biggest security risks of using fitness trackers and apps to monitor your health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Fitness trackers, which help keep tabs on sleep quality, heart rate and other biological metrics, are a popular way to help Americans improve their health and well-being. Here's what you should know about the security risks tied to fitness trackers and personal health data. For example, fitness trackers generally connect to a user's phone via Bluetooth, leaving personal data susceptible to hacking. What's more, the information that fitness trackers collect isn't considered "health information" under the federal HIPAA standard or state laws like California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act. Default social, location settings may need to be changedA fitness tracker's default settings may not offer the most stringent security controls.

☆ Holiday shoppers aren’t in a rush. What that means for retail stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

If you're a retailer, and it's the holiday season, the thing you most want consumers to feel is a sense of urgency. Unlike last year, holiday shoppers don't need to fear empty shelves at the store. Walmart said it saw more shoppers with incomes above $100,000 ring up items in its stores, drawn in by less expensive groceries. He suggests investors position themselves in discounters like Walmart or Family Dollar or in luxury stocks like RH or Lululemon . She explained that many shoppers perceive Target as a place where "you go in for two items and come out $150 later."

☆ Gap's slowing sales of baby clothes indicate inflation is deeply hurting families
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Customers are pulling back on spending at Gap and Old Navy — particularly in one specific category that shows just how much families are feeling inflation’s pinch. But Gap and Old Navy said Thursday they’re now seeing less spending on babies’ and kids’ items. “Old Navy customers still have a propensity to buy. More than a quarter said inflation motivated those purchases, and half of parents surveyed sold a secondhand item in the kids’ and baby items category. Mercari said parents of kids 2 and under are the most active secondhand shoppers, according to its survey.

☆ NRF: Holiday sales to increase between 6% to 8% in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Holiday online are forecast to increase between 10% and 12% to between $262.8 billion and $267.6 billion, up from $238.9 billion in 2021, the group said. This has helped jump start holiday sales ahead of schedule and could support more sales increases in coming weeks.. But other forecasts for holiday sales suggest there may be a big pullback on gift shopping in the weeks ahead. Consulting firm Deloitte expects retail sales in November, December and January – when Christmas gift cards are redeemed – to increase only 4% to 6%. That compares unfavorably with last year’s robust 15.1% increase, but this year’s expected slower growth is in line with where holiday retail sales were trending pre-pandemic.

☆ Uncertainty clouds holiday shopping for consumers as inflation takes a toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Many consumers are planning to make fewer purchases — and at a discount, according to a recent holiday retail report by Deloitte. Still, households will shell out $1,455, on average, on holiday gifts, in line with last year, the report found. "Inflation is, by far, the biggest issue for households this year," said Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo and author of its 2022 holiday sales report. Household finances have taken a hit with a lower savings rate and declining real wages, which could slow holiday sales, Quinlan said in the report. "The bottom line is, with inflation remaining a headache, dollars aren't stretching as far, and most consumers will still be looking for bargains."

☆ Biden made a major dent in the student debt crisis — and it's time he does the same for the growing medical debt load in the US, attorneys and advocates say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

America's medical debt problem has parallels to the student debt crisis, experts told Insider. But experts on medical debt say that student loans are just one piece of a household debt crisis, which debilitates millions of Americans. Haynes also noted that younger adults are more likely to hold student debt, medical debt, or both. Lawsuits for medical debt are more common than those for student debt, but both transpire. Haynes pointed out that much of medical debt is paid using credit cards, which means it doesn't register as medical debt — it's anonymized as credit card debt.

☆ Undecided? Here are 3 questions we ask ourselves before selling a troubled stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-25 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

When managing our own portfolio, these are three questions that we ask ourselves that could also be beneficial to Club members. This was a nastier separation than expected, making it unclear how it could impact PayPal's growth rate. (PayPal's stock price has fallen about 50% year to date.) This created liquidity, much of which made its way into the stock market. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

☆ The $107,000 Lexus LC500 is the best-kept secret on the car market
▼ + stars: | 2020-08-03 | by ( Alanis King | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Alanis KingThe Lexus LC500. Alanis KingThe Lexus LC500. Alanis KingThe Lexus LC500. Alanis KingThe Lexus LC500. Alanis KingThe Lexus LC500.

Search resuls for: "skimp"

11 mentions found