DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Search for Two Missing Oklahoma Teens Uncovers Seven Bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Why This Rolex Is Worth More Used Than NewWhy are some consumers willing to spend more for a used watch than for a new version of the same model? WSJ’s Jacob Gallagher explains why the secondary market for watches has exploded in recent years and how Rolex is trying to get in on the action. Photo illustration: Xingpei Shen

The Fed's meeting will be followed with expected rate increases by the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of England next week. But the U.S. central bank is furthest along in the process, and may signal that this week's rate increase is the last, at least for now. Inflation has been edging down, gradually, with the main price index the Fed watches still more than double the central bank's 2% target. The anticipated quarter-percentage-point increase on Wednesday will put the target federal funds rate at roughly the same spot, between 5% and 5.25%. With this rate increase, Fed officials will hit a level that will be about 1 percentage point above the rate they consider to have a neutral impact on economic activity.

☆ Steph vs. LeBron: The NBA’s Dream Duel Bounces Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jason Gay | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Here we go again—tell the family, tell the neighbors, tell the pets, and tell the pets who say they only watch hockey. Definitely tell anyone who only watches Boston Bruins hockey, once they get back from crying for three days in the woods. Steph Curry. LeBron James. It’s an unexpected playoff re-rendezvous for two NBA all-timers, pitting Curry’s Golden State Warriors against James’s new-look (and not as terrible as expected!)

☆ WSJ Opinion: Rewriting the History of Covid-19 School Closures
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ FBI Raises Reward for Texas Shooting Suspect: ‘We Have Zero Leads’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ MLB roundup: White Sox surge past Rays, snap 10-game skid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

[1/6] Apr 30, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn (25) watches his game-winning three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Christian Bethancourt added a solo homer and two RBIs. Orioles 5, Tigers 3Adam Frazier and Jorge Mateo hit solo home runs and visiting Baltimore continued its dominance of Detroit. Evan Phillips closed out the ninth inning to earn his third save. Reliever Zack Thompson (1-2) allowed two runs on one hit and two walks while retiring just two batters.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff gave executives lavish gifts including Cartier watches. Its marketing chief was given an Aston Martin, while another executive got an electric BMW. Marc Benioff pulls out all the stops when it comes to buying gifts for some executives. Insider revealed last week that the Salesforce CEO has generously given some watches costing five figures and cars costing well into six figures. Benioff is known for handing out $10,000 Cartier watches at Salesforce executive meetings.

☆ A real estate investor who built a $2.7 million portfolio in 4 years shares how he made over $180,000 from his biggest housing flip to date — and pinpoints the hidden costs to avoid when flipping home
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Real estate investor Dan Rivers, who owns a 16-unit portfolio worth $2.7 million, also flips homes. In addition to his rental income, Rivers also has another nearly $1 million invested with a number of different real estate syndicates. In fact, flipping homes has been a big part of Rivers' success in real estate investing. Getting started in flipping homesRivers first became interested in flipping homes in 2019, while working as a real estate agent. Luckily, Rivers' real estate commission cushioned the loss by a couple grand, bringing his total loss down to over $2,000.

☆ Jack Nicholson watches on courtside as LA Lakers dominate Memphis Grizzles to end series
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Hollywood great Jack Nicholson watched the LA Lakers put on a dominant display against the Memphis Grizzles Friday in Game 6 of the first-round series. Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesDetermined to avoid a Game 7 in Memphis, the Lakers beat the second-seeded Grizzles 125-85 to end the series. Victory for the Kings, the third seeds, at home on Sunday would mean a first playoff series win in 19 years and would eliminate the defending champions. Malik Monk scored 28 points for the Kings, De’Aaron Fox ended with 26 points, including a game-high 11 assists, and Keegan Murray 15 points. Steph Curry scored 29 points for a Warriors team who did not come close to threatening the Kings.

☆ World record crowd watches England complete Grand Slam against France in Women’s Six Nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —When England’s women first played at Twickenham in 2003, the crowd was scattered about the vast stadium, almost imperceptible in the pictures taken that day. Twenty years later, in the latest historic occasion for women’s rugby, a world record crowd of 58,498 supporters watched England win the Women’s Six Nations by defeating France 38-33 in a thrilling finale at Twickenham, the home of English rugby union. The previous record for a women’s game was 42,579, set at the 2022 women’s rugby World Cup final in New Zealand. To produce a game like that on a stage like this is everything that is good about the game. Ultimately, however, it was too little too late – France’s last try arrived as the clock ticked into the red – and England clung on for victory.

☆ Here's why Rolex watches are so expensive and how the brand gained its luxury status
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With their precision manufacturing, specially sourced materials, and exceptional craftsmanship, Rolex watches have never come cheap, but neither were they out of financial reach for 1960s working professionals in search of perfect timekeeping and technical innovation. "Back then, anybody could afford a Rolex," Hess told Insider. Dealers would buy luxury watches in Switzerland to carry across the border and sell in Italy. That reputation has helped Rolex crush the competition with a quarter of the luxury watch market — more than double that of runner-up Omega. "They all buy the little wannabe Rolex brands in the beginning and finally, when they achieve success, they buy that Rolex."

☆ Dylan Mulvaney Speaks Out Following Bud Light Ad Controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Markets next week have to contend with how aggressive the Fed drumbeat sounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"Is Chairman Powell going to say, 'It is likely that we pause now and assess what the economy is going to do?' "The tone on that balance is going to be very critical to how the market is going to move next week." "What is [Powell] going to do? June Fed meeting The betting on Wall Street right now is that, after next week, the Fed will standpat at its next meeting six weeks later, on June 13-14. Beyond Apple, some 161 other companies in the S & P 500 index are scheduled to report latest-quarter results next week.

☆ Key inflation gauge for the Fed rose 0.3% in March as expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Despite a year's worth of interest rate increases, inflation rose again in March, according to economic data released Friday that the Federal Reserve watches closely. The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy increased 0.3% for the month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate. In another key inflation measure for the Fed, the employment cost index increased 1.2% for the first quarter, higher than the 1% estimate. Personal income rose 0.3% for the month but consumer spending was flat, as expected. Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times for a total of 4.75 percentage points.

☆ Benioff vs. Benioff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

Within Salesforce, Benioff riffs are at times met with backlash from an angry workforce. "You're not going to fire your family during times of need," a former Salesforce executive told Insider. "I don't think they understand Ohana," Benioff told Insider. "Look, we have to be the example of stakeholder capitalism," Benioff told Insider. A 'New Day' at Salesforce"I use the Japanese principle of shoshin, beginner's mind," Benioff told Insider in a phone interview in March.

☆ BBC chairman resigns after controversy involving loan deal for former PM Boris Johnson
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Peter Wilkinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The embattled chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporaration (BBC), Richard Sharp, resigned on Friday after a report found he failed to disclose his involvement in facilitating a loan of almost $1 million to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Sharp claimed the breach was “inadvertent and not material,” but said he was resigning to “prioritise the interests of the BBC.” He had previously denied involvement in the arrangement, or the existence of a conflict of interest as the loan happened before his appointment as head of the public broadcaster. Adam Heppinstall’s report however found Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest” to the cross-party panel of MPs which advised ministers on who to appoint. “There may well have been a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp would not be independent from the former Prime Minister, if appointed,” the report said. The former England soccer captain was later reinstated after his fellow presenters refused to go on air without him, and the corporation announced a review into what freelancers outside of its news arm (such as Lineker) can and cannot say on social media.

☆ Border patrol seized $290,000 worth of counterfeit Apple AirPods Pro and Watches at Virginia airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US Customs and Border Patrol officers detained four shipments of Apple products suspected to be fake. The products, Apple AirPods Pro and Apple Watches which came from China, were seized. Handbags and wallets were the most common items seized, accounting for 30.3% of all seizures, the agency reported. Counterfeit Apple products are nothing new. In 2020, Apple removed more than one million online listings for counterfeit products, with most of these sellers based in China.

☆ Futures rise on Meta forecast ahead of key earnings, economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures up: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.70%April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday as an upbeat forecast from Meta Platforms lifted social media stocks, with investors looking forward to big-ticket earnings and key economic data. Shares of social media platforms Snap Inc (SNAP.N) and Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) rose 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Meta is the second best performer among the S&P 500 stocks with a 74% gain so far this year, next only to Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O). Analysts expect first-quarter earnings to have fallen 3.2% year-over-year for S&P 500 (.SPX) companies versus a 5.1% decline forecast earlier, according to Refinitiv data on Wednesday. ET, Dow e-minis were up 88 points, or 0.26%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 90.25 points, or 0.7%.

☆ A drug company abandoned a treatment for ‘bubble boy disease.’ After a 5-year fight, this little girl is about to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

The Sulacks weighed their options: Have a transplant with a match that was less than ideal – far less – or wait for gene therapy to become available. The news release didn’t say anything else about the SCID gene therapy. Or was the company abandoning its plans for SCID gene therapy altogether? In February, 2021, the parents of more than 20 children who were waiting for the gene therapy treatment, including the Sulacks, wrote a letter to Gaspar. Insurance companies have sometimes balked at paying for gene therapy, which is typically given in one treatment.

☆ EBay forecasts upbeat revenue as sneakers, refurbished items drive growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The upbeat results soothed investor sentiment, which was hit after eBay earlier this year said that demand weakness will persist in the first half of 2023. EBay is expanding listings under refurbished electronics, luxury bags and watches, and the collectibles category. San Jose, California-based eBay now expects June-quarter revenue in the range $2.47 billion to $2.54 billion, higher than analysts' projection of $2.43 billion, according to Refinitiv. Revenue in the most recent March quarter grew 1% to $2.51 billion, also beating analysts' estimate of $2.48 billion. EBay's shares have gained 4.6% so far this year, compared with a 13.3% rise in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index (.IXIC).

☆ EBay forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Ecommerce firm eBay Inc (EBAY.O) forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, on hopes that it would attract shoppers to its refurbished as well luxury offerings as inflation cools. EBay expects revenue in the range $2.47 billion to $2.54 billion for the quarter ending June. Analysts on average were expecting $2.43 billion, according to Refinitiv. Revenue in the most recent March quarter grew 1% to $2.51 billion, also beating analysts' estimate of $2.48 billion, according to Refinitiv. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ‘Ask Me What I’m Painting’: The Changing Role of the Artist in Residence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( John Hanc | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This article is part of our Museums special section about how art institutions are reaching out to new artists and attracting new audiences. At the Queens Museum, they’re getting ready for a show. A gaggle of curatorial staffers gathers around an iPad on a worktable. “I’m so excited.”Although Ms. Nisenbaum is an accomplished artist — her works have been exhibited in the Tate Liverpool, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others — this is a show that, at other institutions, might never have happened. Ms. Nisenbaum, a native of Mexico who now lives in New York, is an artist in residence at the Queens Museum.

☆ Your Next Fitness Coach Could Be a Robot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Hilary Achauer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Many of the apps also integrate data from fitness wearables or smart watches. In the last couple of years, fitness apps have been incorporating more complicated blends of heart rate, mileage and calories burned to create new workouts. One of the oldest and most popular of these, with more than 55 million subscribers, is Freeletics, which incorporated a form of A.I. One benefit of such a large subscriber base is that it has an extensive data pool from which to create workouts, helping the A.I. Fitness AI, Aaptiv (which is launching a new coach product in May) and FitBod all cost slightly less than $100 a year.

She told jurors they would also hear testimony from two other women who say Trump sexually assaulted them, which Trump denies. Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina countered in his opening statement that the evidence will show the former U.S. president did not assault Carroll. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts on April 4 at a New York state courthouse, a three-minute walk from Tuesday's trial. Trump did not attend the trial and is not required to, and according to lawyers from both sides is unlikely to testify. Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation after he first denied her rape claim in June 2019, when he was still president.

☆ How Putin spent 20 years rebuilding Russia's military 'and then just simply destroyed it' in Ukraine, according to an expert who watched it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vladimir Putin has spent his two decades in power rebuilding and reforming Russia's military. Below, Galeotti describes those reforms, what they achieved, and how, in a devastating war in Ukraine, Putin has squandered the military he built. IGOR SAREMBO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Putin came to power at the end of the 1990s, what was the state of the Russian military? How did the Russian military underperform in that conflict in Georgia? What did those conflicts show about the capabilities of the Russian military and about the impact of those reforms?

Search resuls for: "Watches"

25 mentions found