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☆ The biggest takeaways from Microsoft's courtroom showdown with the FTC over Activision Blizzard
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +21 min

The impulse to expand Microsoft's gaming business on mobile devices at least in part inspired the Activision acquisition. The impulse to expand Microsoft's gaming business on mobile devices at least in part inspired the Activision acquisition. Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, wasn't happy with a Microsoft-generated list of Activision Blizzard games that would remain accessible on the PlayStation after the acquisition closes. Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, wasn't happy with a Microsoft-generated list of Activision Blizzard games that would remain accessible on the PlayStation after the acquisition closes. Activision Blizzard and Microsoft have agreed to terminate the deal if it's not done by July 18.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Phil Spencer, Spencer, James Weingarten, Weingarten, Jim Ryan, Sony, Ryan, Amy Hood, Bobby Kotick, Sarah Bond, Kotick, Amazon Weingarten, Bond, Tim Stuart, Nadella, Bernstein, Mark Moerdler, Hood, Stuart, it's, Jacqueline Scott Corley, she'll Organizations: Northern, Northern District of, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Sony, PlayStation, Mobile, Activision, Xbox, Zynga, Sega Sammy, Nintendo, Enix, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Management, Sony Group, Amazon, Microsoft's Xbox, Bernstein Research, Symantec, Sony PlayStation Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of California, San Francisco, cybersecurity, United Kingdom, FarmVille, Asia, Japan, Tokyo

☆ Pokemon Go maker Niantic lays off 230 employees, cancels games
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Pokemon Go players are seen in search of Pokemon and other in-game items in the Pasadena Playhouse District. Niantic, a mobile games developer based in San Francisco, announced Thursday that it would lay off 230 employees as part of a reorganization. It will also shutter a Los Angeles-based studio, where most of the affected employees are based. The move highlights how the mobile games industry has shifted in the years since Niantic landed its first major hit, Pokemon Go, in 2016. Overall, App Store spending on games declined 5% in 2020 to $110 billion, according to an estimate from Data.ai, a research firm.

Persons: John Hanke, Niantic, Hanke, Pokémon Organizations: Pasadena Playhouse, Marvel, Apple, Google, Meta, Quest Locations: Pasadena, San Francisco, Angeles, Silicon

☆ 'Obama,' 'Trump gets impeached twice' and the other top political references in Fall Out Boy's new cover of the Billy Joel classic 'We Didn't Start the Fire'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Fall Out Boy's new cover of the 1989 Billy Joel classic covers a lot of the bases the original touch. "Cambridge Analytica" (2018): The British consulting firm had been around for years, but bombshell reporting by The New York Times and The Guardian in 2018 sparked a scandal. Obama went on to defeat Republican presidential nominee John McCain en route to becoming the nation's first Black president. "Trump gets impeached twice" (2021): President Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Video later showed that Rice, who was 12 years old, was killed within two seconds of officers arriving, The New York Times reported.

Persons: Billy Joel, Obama, Trump, —, Billy Joel's, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Dwight D, Eisenhower, It's, Egypitan Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi, Rodney King, King, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Viktor Yanukovych, Russia's, Donald Trump's, Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica, Osama bin Laden's, Illinois Sen, Barack Obama, New York Sen, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Donald Trump, acquit Trump, Roberto Schmidt, Timothy McVeigh, Alfred P, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Bland, Rice, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Chauvin, Kerem Yucel, Gore, George W, Bush, Al Gore, Sandra Day O'Connor, Tom Delonge Organizations: Service, Cubs, Israel, NPR, National Guard, Russia, Cambridge, The New York Times, Guardian, London Thomson Reuters, US, New York, Democratic, Affordable, Republican, AFP, Getty, Murrah Federal Building, Georgia Republican, Minneapolis Police, Civil, Hennepin County Government Center, Texas Gov, Electoral College, Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, New York Times Locations: Suez, Israel, Egypt, United Kingdom, France, British, Tunisia, North Africa, California's, Crimea, Ukraine, Azov, Kerch, Moscow, Russian, London, Afghanistan, Illinois, Iowa, Washington, Oklahoma, Georgia, The, Hennepin County, Minneapolis , Minnesota, AFP, Florida

At his grooming salon in San Diego, anything is possible: Bernedoodles become giraffes and poodles become Pokémon. Feitosa, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, opened Gabriel Feitosa Grooming Salon in 2018, capitalizing on a $1.3 billion global pet grooming market. As a dog grooming artist, Feitosa combines traditional grooming techniques with unique designs, and uses vegan, pet-friendly dyes. Finding career inspiration while running an errandFeitosa's dog grooming career began when he was 12. He left high school right before graduating to pursue dog grooming as his full-time career, working at the salon and teaching dog grooming at a vocational school based on his real-world learnings.

Persons: Gabriel Feitosa, poodles, Feitosa, São Paulo, Tasia Jensen, it's Organizations: CNBC Locations: San Diego, São Paulo, Brazil, TikTok, São, Sacramento, Calif

☆ Bringing in $1.3 million a year as a dog grooming artist
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Tasia Jensen | Elham Ataeiazar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBringing in $1.3 million a year as a dog grooming artistGabriel Feitosa, 31, brought in $1.3 million in 2022 with his business as a dog grooming artist. He is the owner of Gabriel Feitosa Grooming Salon based in San Diego, California. Originally hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, Gabriel is known for transforming dogs into everything from giraffes and leopards, to Pokémon and Lisa Frank-inspired animals.

Persons: Gabriel Feitosa, Gabriel, Lisa Frank Locations: San Diego , California, São Paulo, Brazil

☆ Tottori Sand Dunes: Japan’s disappearing desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Claire Hannum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But these are the Tottori Sand Dunes, wedged along the coast of Japan’s sparsely populated San’in region, the country’s very own slice of desert. A dwindling treasureThe Tottori dunes are located on the western coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest and most populous island. The Tottori Sand Dunes are just 12% of the size that they were 100 years ago. “The environmental conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes are different from those of arid lands because of its humid climate,” Nagamatsu says. “But Tottori University is promoting arid land research using the ‘sand’ conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes and experimental facilities.”Down the road from the research center, tourists are experiencing an otherworldly adventure in the sand.

Persons: you’d, They’ve, Takeo Arishima, ”, Dai Nagamatsu, Akira Miyawaki, — Buddhika, Nagamatsu, shiba, sandboarders, Anya Jarilla, “, it’s, amulapo, Kengo Kuma Organizations: Japan CNN, Sand Museum, Tottori University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Local, Brazilian Amazon ., Research Center, ” Staff, Associates Locations: Tottori Prefecture, Japan, Tottori, Honshu, Japan’s, Osaka, Hiroshima, Chūgoku, Sendai, Tottori University’s, Tottori City, Brazilian, Paragliders, Tottori Sand, Tokyo, ”

☆ It's not just the money. People are doing side hustles to socialize and be creative as well.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Money is a big reason why many people take on side hustles, but there are non-financial reasons why people try side jobs too. "Side hustlers are much more likely to view this extra income as essential, rather than a passion project or a way to get ahead financially." In the April survey, 39% of US adults said they do something "to earn extra income on the side" outside of their primary income source. For example, people may want to make extra money outside of a main job to put toward paying off debt. One full-time worker who tries side hustles told Insider he does his side hustle work during some nights.

Persons: —, Bankrate, Ted Rossman, Jennifer Nahrgang, Palmer, Trisha Diamond, hustles, Diamond, Gen, Nahrgang, Julia Pollak, Uber, Clarke Bowman, Bowman Organizations: Service, Management, Entrepreneurship, University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business Locations: Bankrate

☆ Was mass hysteria behind the mysterious case of 227 middle school students fainting last fall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lillian Perlmutter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences. Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

Persons: Esmeralda, Diala, Gladys, Esmeralda's, convulsing, Esmeralda Eva Alicia Lépiz, —, Esmerelda, Mami, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gladys didn't, Bochil, Luis Villagrán, bristled, Susanna, Tapachula, Diala's, José Eduardo Morales Montes, they'd, Eva Alicia Lépiz, Hidalgo —, I've, Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, Pantoja Meléndez, Meléndez, Robert Bartholomew, Bartholomew, Lopez Obrador, busily, Simon Wessley, schoolgirls, twitching, we'll, Pantoja, Melendez, Bartholomew said, we're, We've, who's Organizations: Federal, Central America, Journalists, Mexico City —, Mexico City, Universidad Autónoma Nacional, University of Auckland, Roswell, Kings College, New York, Health Department, Pantoja Locations: Tapachula, Mexico, Bochil, Mexican, Chiapas, Mexico City, El Pais, Chiapas —, Central, Esmeralda, Mexico City — Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, México, University of Auckland , New Zealand, Veracruz, London, Southern Mexico, Kanshasa, Tanzania, Blackburn , England, Sweden, Pyuthan, Nepal, Leroy , New York, Tapachula .

☆ How TikTok sensation Squishmallows found Warren Buffett
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

May 13 (Reuters) - Squishmallows joined Warren Buffett's business empire two years after Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and others helped make the plush stuffed toys a viral sensation on TikTok. They married in 1993 and embarked on law careers, but Judd Zebersky soon realized that wasn't his destiny. Laura Zebersky, a litigator, sold her practice in 2005 and joined him, becoming Jazwares' president. "This was a brand that needed a lot of love," Judd Zebersky said. "Greg is exactly what we have all learned about the Berkshire model," Laura Zebersky said.

NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) said on Tuesday it had begun selling users of mobile games related physical items such as T-shirts and toys as it teamed up with the makers of Pokemon GO to provide merchandise related to a new game. The e-retailer announced a business-to-business program called Amazon Anywhere allowing video game makers to sell goods directly through their respective platforms. However, most retailers to date have focused on making digital replicas of physical goods, rather than selling related real-life merchandise. Amazon Anywhere will be offered to any gaming company that wants to turn its platform into an e-commerce site, the retailer said, allowing players to shop from video games, augmented reality apps and other mobile apps. The Amazon service is now available on Peridot, an augmented reality pet game made by Pokemon GO developer Niantic.

☆ Weird and wonderful trains that break the rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Here’s a selection of unusual railways that break the rules in order to reach the places other trains can’t roll. The single rails carrying the trains are supported by a series of 486 steel portals weighing almost 20,000 tonnes in total. It is the oldest continuously operating pier railway in the world. Six miles of the route are along a rural railway line, with the rest in bus mode. Katoomba Scenic Railway, AustraliaNot far from the wonderful city of Sydney is a railway experience unlike anything else in the world.

☆ 29-year-old who quit the NFL to sell Pokémon cards: How my side hustle became a company bringing in $8.3 million in 9 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

When Blake Martinez was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2016, he didn't foresee leaving the NFL to sell Pokémon cards. Since its launch, Blake's Breaks has brought in more than $8.3 million in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Most of them are streamers — people who open and auction items on live streams — hawking everything from Pokémon cards to vintage purses. Selling food and selling Pokémon cards is obviously different, but they both depend on culture. Just last week, I told everyone, "This isn't about making Blake's Breaks money.

Tokyo, Japan CNN —Move over, boomers and older millennials – Japan’s young people are stepping into office. Most members of Japan’s parliament are aged 50 to 70 – and are 75% male, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Making headlines is Ryosuke Takashima who, at 26 years old, is Japan’s youngest-ever mayor, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Shin the Hiratsuka YouTuber, who was elected to the Hiratsuka city council. Ayaka Nasuno, 25, is another Gen Z politician making her debut after winning the highest share of votes for the Kawasaki City Council earlier this month.

☆ Meta employees criticize Mark Zuckerberg's second round of layoffs in an internal forum: 'you've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta's second round of layoffs, expected to affect 10,000 staff, began Wednesday. Employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg and other managers on internal company forums, per Reuters. Meta employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg on an internal company forum after Wednesday's layoffs, Reuters reported. "You've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity," said one question seen by Reuters. But management experts told Insider's Rebecca Knight that Meta's second round of layoffs could harm employee morale.

☆ They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should We?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jay Kirk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Jeff decided that he and Sam would be the only two permitted to have phones inside, in order to limit photographs. It was something Jeff learned to do from the nurses at Bristol Hospital a million years ago when he was a paramedic. He had already made the mistake when one fluttered out as he was dumping an uneaten lunch into the trash. They would set up staging tables in the tent for mass processing of the evidence, nothing they’d ever done at this scale. The problem was that during these interruptions it was not as if they could just step outside for a break.

The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch is a full-sized gamepad with a budget-friendly price. If you're looking for a full-sized Switch controller that won't break the bank, check out the PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller. PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch is a full-sized gamepad that offers bigger buttons, better joysticks, and extra customizable buttons. William Antonelli/InsiderCompared to the Joy-Cons that come packaged with every Nintendo Switch, the Enhanced Wired Controller feels fantastic. Without Bluetooth or motion controls, the Enhanced Wired Controller isn't versatileThe Enhanced Controller plugs into the Switch's dock.

☆ How this 26-year-old went from running bitcoin trading desks in Taco Bells to creating the largest crypto exchange in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +28 min

Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice just before meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Accra, Ghana. Chris MauriceFrom there, Yellow Card users can send or receive digital cash in eligible markets. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice in Accra, Ghana loading cash onto his Mobile Money account, MoMo. Yellow Card has facilitated $1.75 billion in transactions since launching in 2019 and has about 220 employees – mostly in Africa. A resident checks his phone outside a mobile money kiosk in the Kibera district of Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022.

☆ Tencent, NetEase, Bilibili allowed to distribute foreign video games as China reopens market to global titles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has approved 27 foreign video games, including titles to be released by Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili, as it gradually reopens the world’s largest mobile entertainment market to international titles. It was the second batch of foreign games to be allowed to enter the Chinese market since December. Bilibili (BILI) will publish the localized version of “Uma Musume: Pretty Derby,” a hugely popular franchise from Japan’s Cygames. “We believe this implies a more supportive regulatory policy towards foreign titles that further support a healthier and normalized development of online gaming industry going forward,” said Citi analysts on Tuesday. But foreign games were still unable to access the Chinese market until December, when the regulator finally approved 45 foreign titles, including “Pokémon Unite” by Nintendo and “Valorant” by Riot Games.

☆ TikTok's potential buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts estimate the price tag for TikTok's US assets could fall anywhere between $40 billion and $100 billion. ": Married couple who both worked for Silicon Valley grieved after its collapse. Peter Thiel said he had $50 million in a personal account at Silicon Valley Bank when it collapsed. Silicon Valley Bank employees react to the bank's collapse Getty ImagesFrom our tech analysis team:9. Silicon Valley Bank's meltdown shows that tech's elites need the government after all.

☆ A laid-off Meta worker says the company paid her to not work: They were 'hoarding us like Pokémon cards'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An ex-Meta worker said she was part of a group that didn't have work to do when hired. Britney Levy told Insider some people were frustrated and felt Meta was stalling their careers. In the video that has since garnered over 870,000 views, Levy said she felt Meta was hiring people so other companies couldn't have them. "They were just kind of like hoarding us like Pokémon cards," she said in the video. "People who were incredibly well qualified and had turned down amazing opportunities said they felt Meta was intentionally stalling their career.

☆ Billionaire tech CEO says Meta and Google over-hired so much they didn't have enough work for employees: 'They really were doing nothing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Grace Kay | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

C3.ai's CEO said Google and Meta over-hired employees and didn't have enough work for them to do. Thomas Siebel joked that if you want to work remote "in your pajamas," you should work at Facebook. "If you want to work from home, like four days of work in your pajamas, go to work for Facebook." Siebel is far from the first executive to express concern that tech workers aren't doing enough work. Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned that remote work has spurred "productivity paranoia" among managers.

☆ Former NFL player's multi-million dollar Pokemon trading card business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFormer NFL player's multi-million dollar Pokemon trading card businessBlake Martinez, former New York Giants linebacker and founder of Blake's Breaks, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss the Pokemon trading card industry, the multi-million dollar business of trading Pokemon cards and the business model for managing card inventories.

☆ I built a 6-figure company designing sets for photoshoots and events. Here's how I turned my college hobby into a business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Skylar Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dotun Abeshinbioke is a set designer and the owner of Ábiké Studio in New York. She got into set design as a student and started making sets for friends, leading to paying clients. I initially started doing design work for T-shirts and flyers, then I started designing sets to showcase my photography. Ábiké Studio was inspired by my traditional Yoruba name, which means "born to treasure." As a creative studio, we do branding, web design, and experiential design for clients across creative fields.

It’s a sunny day in early January, and Steven Yeun is happy to be out of the house. He’s wearing trail sneakers, brown pants, a shaggy mohair cardigan and sunglasses. With some actors, sunglasses serve as armor when they’re out in public, but Yeun, 39, shows no such guardedness. It’s a sunny day in early January, and Steven Yeun is happy to be out of the house. He’s wearing trail sneakers, brown pants, a shaggy mohair cardigan and sunglasses.

☆ By getting a good night’s sleep, you can collect Pokémon in this new game
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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