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☆ Jamie Dimon is vying to take control of First Republic Bank, report says, after JPMorgan steered clear of SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

First Republic Bank is set to be taken over by regulators as soon as Sunday. JPMorgan and PNC are frontrunners to acquire the ailing bank, The Wall Street Journal reported. Jamie Dimon might have avoided getting involved in a rescue of Silicon Valley Bank, but it appears that the JPMorgan CEO is preparing to swoop on ailing First Republic Bank. First Republic is worth 97% less than it did before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last month. Dimon's active involvement in First Republic contrasts his decision to steer clear of any rescue for Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Democratic insiders are all over the map about whether they'd prefer DeSantis or Trump versus Biden in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Others want a rematch with the legally challenged Trump or say that the younger, lesser-known DeSantis would be a bigger threat to Biden. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said she prefers Trump because Biden beat him in the 2020 presidential election and will "beat him again." Trump has proven he could turn out Republican voters and win the presidency, but he's under indictment and could face even more charges. "That said, this will be a tough race no matter who the Republican nominee is, and every Democrat needs to take it extremely seriously." And both DeSantis and Trump are pushing "extreme" agendas to try and "outmaneuver the other one."

☆ Bloomberg insiders can't be sure if Mike Bloomberg will choose an internal successor because he 'believes in stability, and then change,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sources told the FT that Bloomberg may decide to shun internal frontrunners and bring in an outsider. Bloomberg, who turned 81 in February, is worth nearly $95 billion, according to Forbes. "Only two people" run the company – Zammitt and Kliatchko – a former senior Bloomberg executive told the FT. He gave $1.7 billion to the organization last year, bringing his lifetime charitable donations to more than $14 billion, according to the site. Bloomberg didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

☆ Startups taking new approaches to mental-health care are raising millions. Here are the 10 frontrunners to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Startups want to change how mental-health care is provided. Startups have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to change how mental-health care is provided. So far in 2023, mental-health startups have raised $300 million from VCs. Insider looked at PitchBook funding data from 2018 to 2023 to identify the mental-health care companies that have raised the most funding. Here are the 10 startups that have raised the most money to change mental-health care, listed by amount raised:

☆ Tim Scott is the most intriguing GOP presidential hopeful most Republicans haven't heard of
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is far from well-known by Republican voters. But if he runs for president, Scott would be well positioned to break out if either Trump or DeSantis falter. "I hope he is considering jumping into the race," Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst recently told Insider while on her way back to her Senate office. But more than just his colleagues, Republican voters may also be just as effusive. It's difficult to find polling on Scott's national favorability, but a recent Monmouth University poll of self-identified Republican voters showed significant promise.

☆ Koepka and Rahm set for Masters showdown as Woods withdraws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Critics of LIV Golf have branded the Saudi-bankrolled big-money venture as uncompetitive and little more than a sportwashing enterprise by a country eager to polish its human rights record. A Koepka victory will not end the human rights questions but would give the rebel circuit some of the credibility and legitimacy it craves. The 47-year-old American has won the Masters five times, most recently in 2019, but he has struggled since his car crash. "I am disappointed to have to WD (withdraw) this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis," Woods said on Twitter. "Thank you to the fans and to The Masters who have shown me so much love and support.

☆ Florida insiders react with shock, amusement, and dread after Disney outmaneuvers DeSantis to keep most of its power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It appears Walt Disney World won't be losing power over its land after all — at least not yet — following a high-profile battle with Republican Gov. "It was a pretty brilliant move by the outgoing board to basically take all the power away," one Florida-based lobbyist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Insider. Ron DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009. Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida who co-authored the book "Politics in Florida," told Insider. The company told Insider in a statement that it was "discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums."

☆ California Rep. Ro Khanna passes on Senate run and backs liberal icon Barbara Lee over Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff: 'She stood up so strongly against the war in Iraq'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ro Khanna on Sunday announced that he's backing Rep. Barbara Lee in the 2024 California Senate race. The progressive congressman is endorsing Lee over fellow Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. Khanna during his announcement said that Lee would bring a "unique voice" to the upper chamber. Rep. Barbara Lee of California. Scott Applewhite, File"Barbara Lee is a unique voice," Khanna said.

☆ After Ron Desantis got testy over a reporter’s question about Ukraine, he told Tucker Carlson the war should not be a US priority, moving closer to Trump’s position
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Hannah Getahun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ron DeSantis has previously avoided taking a hard stance on the US's Ukraine policy. On Monday, DeSantis said in a statement the Ukraine war is not of "vital national interest." The US has since provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military aid, which has had bipartisan support. For Biden and his European allies, support for Ukraine is framed as a vital part of protecting the sovereignty of the country. Prominent House Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul and Rep. Mike Turner have even called on Biden to increase existing support for Ukraine.

☆ Salesforce: A New Dawn. CEO Marc Benioff is pivoting the cloud company from family to profitability.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I'm not just talking about the Selena/Hailey 'mean girls' saga — I'm fascinated by the Salesforce spectacle. CEO Marc Benioff recently oversaw the departure of two leading candidates to inherit the Salesforce throne. Now, under their careful watch, Benioff needs to guide the company through a cost-cutting period — something he's never done before. This is quite the turn, considering he was still emphasizing Ohana after laying off 10% of the company in January. CEO Marc Benioff announced on Wednesday that the company is starting a "new day."

☆ Fledgling social media sites are competing to be the next Twitter as users abandon the legacy platform. These are the frontrunners.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Gabor Cselle, co-founder & CEO is a former Group Product Manager at Twitter. Funding: T2 has raised $1.1 million from angel investors, Cselle told Insider. "I was like, 'maybe now's the time,'" Cselle told Insider, who reached out and partnered with Oh on their new build. "Usually the safety has come after something bad happens," Oh told Insider. The T2 website name will change so as not to evoke Terminator associations, Cselle told Insider.

☆ ChatGPT use could spark a new market for chipmakers worth 'tens of billions' annually, Bernstein calculates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Given this, our math suggests a GPU TAM in the multiple tens of billions of dollars annually is potentially plausible once ChatGPT and other large language models are at scale," he added. According to Bernstein's calculations, 100 million ChatGPT queries a day would require annual purchases of $1 billion to $2 billion worth of Nvidia's H100 PCIe chips. At one billion queries a day, expect $10 billion to $20 billion worth of purchases, Rasgon said. Add Google's search queries to the mix, or roughly 10 billion a day, and Rasgon anticipates $150 billion worth of potential H100 graphics processing unit sales annually. "Presumably the cost curve will slope downward as the scale of large language model adoption rises, but the multi-fold expansion of GPU market feels inevitable if [large language model] usages (whether for search or otherwise) becomes a sustained thing," Rasgon wrote.

☆ Pfizer, GSK face FDA panel review in race for RSV vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Manas Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The frontrunners in a crowded race to develop the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and GSK (GSK.L) - will face scrutiny from a panel of experts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week. Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N), Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) are conducting trials of their own RSV vaccines. Pfizer and GSK grabbed a lead last year after data from separate late-stage studies showed their shots prevented respiratory disease caused by RSV. GSK's vaccine was 82.6% effective in preventing lower respiratory tract disease in people aged 60 and over, and 94.1% effective in preventing severe disease. Dr. Schaffner expects a positive vote on the vaccines when the advisory panel discusses Pfizer's vaccine on Feb. 28, and GSK's vaccine on March 1.

☆ Bank of America says A.I. 'is the new electricity’, names its top picks to play the breakout trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Just like the internet and the smartphone, artificial intelligence could dramatically alter the world we live in. And, Bank of America has some pointers for investors looking to play this burgeoning trend revolutionizing the tech industry. Given this backdrop, Bank of America highlighted 15 stocks poised to benefit from AI tailwinds in a seperate note to clients Tuesday. Along with AI frontrunners Alphabet and Microsoft , Bank of America sees Nvidia as one of the biggest AI beneficiaries. Adobe and Baidu , which plans to launch its own artificial intelligence chatbot, were also included in Bank of America's list.

LAFC prevailed in the most thrilling final in league history against Philadelphia last season when Gareth Bale's stunning extra time goal tied the rollercoaster affair 3-3. The home side then broke the hearts of the Union in a one-sided penalty shootout to claim their first MLS Cup and cap a season where they also won the Supporters' Shield for having the best regular-season record. Earlier this month Forbes announced that LAFC was the first MLS club to reach $1 billion in value. "Leading into the World Cup in 2026, you want to build momentum and gain more exposure, and I think this partnership is going to truly be beautiful." While Fox and FS1 will still carry some games on traditional cable, the bulk of the matches will be streamed on Apple TV through its MLS Season Pass at a price of $79 a year for Apple TV+ subscribers and $99 for those without.

☆ Buffett-backed BYD and more: Analysts name top 'climate stocks,' giving one 100% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Energy storage and the future of transport are two of the "most attractive" climate themes to invest in right now, according to HSBC analysts. "While long-term valuations are still below average, consensus expect earnings to grow c40% higher than global climate stocks over the next 12M," said the bank's analysts in a Feb. 20 note. Stocks with the most upside HSBC named buy-rated stocks under both of these themes which have among the highest upside to the bank's price targets. In energy storage, electric vehicle battery maker CATL (55% upside), lithium producer SQM (40% upside) and lithium producer Livent (38% upside) made the list. "The global energy storage market continues to grow, despite higher energy storage costs in 2022.

☆ Two GOP election deniers who were soundly defeated in the 2022 midterms are the top candidates to lead Michigan's Republican Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two 2020 election deniers are the top candidates to lead the Michigan GOP headed into 2024. The state party on Saturday will decide on a leader to replace outgoing chair Ron Weiser. But the outlet also reported that the state GOP had over $2.3 million in outstanding debts in its main state campaign account. Former President Trump is backing Matthew DePerno to lead the Michigan Republican Party. "We must start by supporting Matt DePerno for chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.

☆ Elderly senators have mixed feelings about Nikki Haley's call for 'mandatory mental competency tests' for politicians over 75
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nikki Haley is calling for "mandatory mental competency tests" for politicians over the age of 75. Over a sixth of the US Senate is age 75 or older. "We'll have term limits for Congress, and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old." "I think she should test her own mental competency," said Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who recently turned 75. Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho said he'd take a mental competency test Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesSome aging lawmakers expressed general openness to taking the test.

Ron DeSantis lead an early — and still incomplete — Republican presidential field, according to a new national Monmouth University poll released Thursday. Asked whom they’d like to see as the GOP’s presidential nominee, 33% of Republican voters answered Trump and another 33% picked DeSantis. But the contest is closer among respondents who identify as strong Republicans (DeSantis 49%, Trump 46%) and among evangelical Republicans (DeSantis 51%, Trump 44%). The worst favorable/unfavorable ratings among Republican voters were for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (23%-53%) and embattled freshman Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., (12%-42%). The Monmouth University poll was conducted Jan. 26 to Feb. 2 of 566 registered Republican voters, and it has a margin of error of plus-minus 6.1 percentage points.

☆ Cyprus heads to polls to pick new president with runoff expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Michele Kambas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Cyprus votes on Sunday for a new president in an election unlikely to produce a clear winner, setting the stage for a runoff on Feb. 12. Polling stations will open at 0500 GMT and close at 1600 GMT, with the result expected within two hours of stations closing. Opinion polls suggest none of the frontrunners will muster an outright majority, leading to a runoff. "On foreign policy I think Christodoulides is going to be closer to how Anastasiades has been in his final years," she added, calling that policy "more assertive". Cyprus has complied with all EU sanctions against Russia, a close ally, following the war in Ukraine.

☆ Nigeria asks social media giants to curb fake news ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannABUJA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria has asked Google (GOOGL.O) and Meta (META.O) to control the spread of fake news on their platforms ahead of a presidential election this month, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Friday. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has been exploring ways to regulate social media usage. The country is home to millions of internet users and platforms like YouTube, Twitter , Facebook and Tiktok are popular. Mohammed's request comes after he asked Google last year to block the use of YouTube channels and livestreams by secessionist and Islamist militant groups in the country. "These actions, if executed, will go a long way in checking the proliferation of fake news and disinformation on social media ahead of, during and after the elections," Mohammed said.

☆ Lindsey Graham says you won't find any classified documents at his home, just 'Chick-fil-A bags all over the floor'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lindsey Graham says there aren't any classified documents at his home, just "Chick-fil-A bags all over the floor." The only thing I think you'll find at my house is a bunch of Chick-fil-A bags on the floor," Graham said during a news conference. Classified documents have been found at the homes of President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former President Donald Trump. The spokesman added that Graham was "joking about the bags" — but just "a bit" — and sent several links documenting occasions where Graham was seen eating Chick-fil-A. In a tweet on July 14, 2021, Graham called the anti-Chick-fil-A protests at Notre Dame a "dangerous precedent."

☆ 3 potential frontrunners for the presidency in 2024 are now embroiled in classified documents controversies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Three potential frontrunner candidates for president are embroiled in classified documents controversies. Classified documents were found in the homes of Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Mike Pence. Former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence each improperly stored classified documents. In December 2022, Biden's attorney alerted Lausch that Biden's team found more classified documents near the garage of the president's Wilmington, Delaware home. After going through four boxes at his home, they found the small tranche of classified documents and alerted NARA.

☆ 'Leave him alone': Trump defends Mike Pence as 'an innocent man' after discovery of classified records at former vice president's home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump defended Pence after classified documents were discovered at the VP's home. A lawyer for Pence turned over the records to the FBI last week, according to multiple news reports. "Mike Pence is an innocent man," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, shortly after the news broke. It also comes as classified documents have been found at President Joe Biden's former office and his Delaware home several times this month. Legal experts have distinguished Trump's handling of classified records from Biden's, arguing that Biden's lawyers notified the authorities about the discovery whereas Trump's team resisted turning the records over.

☆ Explainer: When is the New Zealand prime minister election and how will it work?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will step down no later than Feb. 7 after a shock resignation on Thursday in which she said she "had no more in the tank". Leadership hopefuls will gather on Sunday when the centre-left Labour party caucus meets to elect a new leader, who will become prime minister. With Labour holding a majority in parliament, whoever they elect will become prime minister, helming the country for a little more than eight months before a general election set for Oct. 14. The caucus vote will be weighted at 40%, party members at 40% and unions at 20%. Transport Minister Michael Wood and Minister of Justice Kiri Allan are newer faces in parliament, elected in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

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