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☆ The State of Payment Methods: More Choice and Economic Changes Are Affecting Consumers Spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Although debit still reigns supreme, with consumer preferences moving toward digital, cash and checks will continue to be displaced in the US. But even though cash usage is dwindling, the Federal Reserve reports that 79% of US adults still hold cash daily. Cash and check usage may be dwindling, but debit and credit cards are seeing upticks among economic uncertainty. As consumers become more concerned about the economy and job security while also steadily adopting new digital solutions, we are seeing shifts away from traditional payment methods. Curious to learn more about the state of payment methods?

☆ The State of Payment Methods: More Choice and Economic Changes Are Affecting How Consumers Spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ At SXSW, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman tried to quell misinformation fears around ChatGPT and says he's still 'optimistic' about the future of AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Greg Brockman, OpenAI president and cofounder, said he's still optimistic about the future of AI. Brockman spoke to a large crowd in one of the kickoff panels at South By Southwest in Austin. Despite concerns around misinformation and sentience, he thinks that AI will be a force for good. Musk, who severed ties with the company in 2018, is putting together a team to build a rival, "anti-woke" AI chatbot, The Information reported. Greg Brockman, the cofounder of OpenAI, speaks at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

☆ How HBO's content chief plans to grow the audience for Warner Bros. Discovery's new mega-streamer with DC and Warner Bros. shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

HBO's Casey Bloys revealed his content strategy on "The Watch" podcast and in a talk with Parrot Analytics. Bloys also shared what's ahead for HBO Max once it combines with Warner Bros. Despite economic pressures on streaming, he's not worried that HBO content will suffer. "Euphoria" is second only to "Game of Thrones" in most-viewed HBO shows, but Bloys was hesitant at first to develop its hit 2022 prequel "House of the Dragon," he told "The Watch." And he pointed to more Batman spinoffs like "The Penguin" that's coming to HBO Max and will star Colin Farrell.

☆ The S&P 500 could jump more than 12% if lower inflation allows the Fed to ease, stock strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

RBC Capital Markets' Lori Calvasina maintained a base-case scenario for the S&P 500 ending the year at 4,100. But she told Bloomberg TV that the broad market index could reach 4,500, representing upside of more than 12%. But inflation would have to cool enough for the Federal Reserve to cut rates. Other analysts have warned investors to prepare for a steep stock market downturn on expectations the Federal Reserve is set to lift rates even higher than expected, not ease them. Fundstrat's Tom Lee published a note on Wednesday, saying that most of the Fed's previous tightening cycles coincided with stock market advances.

☆ HBO's content chief reveals plans to build audiences for HBO Max and Warner Bros. Discovery's new mega-streamer with DC and Warner Bros. shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

HBO's Casey Bloys revealed his content strategy on "The Watch" podcast and in a talk with Parrot Analytics. Bloys also shared what's ahead for HBO Max once it combines with Warner Bros. Despite economic pressures on streaming, he's not worried that HBO content will suffer. And even after Bloys took on oversight of HBO Max Originals in 2020, "The idea is to do things that are not necessarily for HBO," he told "The Watch." And he pointed to more Batman spinoffs like "The Penguin" that's coming to HBO Max and will star Colin Farrell.

☆ New bipartisan bill seeks transparency and accountability from social media platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | 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 EmailNew bipartisan bill seeks transparency and accountability from social media platformsU.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss efforts to regulate social media, bipartisan support for tougher online restrictions for kids, and algorithmic forces skewing information online.

☆ Why this retailer is bypassing Millennials and Gen Zers for Gen X customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Not Lands’ End. As it looks to grow its customer base, Lands’ End is bucking the trend by purposely embracing the “forgotten generation,” Gen Xers. “It didn’t fly with our customers.”In a rush to grab the attention of younger consumers, the retailer stumbled and made fashion missteps. But the company says it knows who its core customers are. They’re Gen Xers,” he said, adding that Gen X shoppers showed the same long-term loyalty to the brand as Baby Boomers.

☆ A 29-year-old part-time remote worker living abroad and making $4,000 a month explains how she finds work and affords her lifestyle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She is among a growing number of digital nomads, or remote workers who travel for weeks, months, or — in Checchi's case — "for the foreseeable future." Driving this trend is the growing flexibility of remote work, a longing to see the world, and the desire to cut costs. As of June, over 25 countries had introduced digital-nomad visa programs aimed at luring remote workers and their wallets. The challenges of a nomadic lifeWhen she's not traveling, Checchi has a home base in Tel Aviv, which she chose in part for its accessibility to both Europe and Asia. While Tel Aviv can be quite an expensive place to live, Checchi pays $871 per month to rent an apartment with a couple.

☆ These S&P 500 stocks are expected to post the biggest gains in the new year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While there's still time for stocks to turn around for the month, hopes for an end-of-year "Santa Claus rally" have fizzled out. However, analysts see the potential for big gains in some stocks despite the potential volatility ahead. Each of the 15 stocks below has at least about 50% upside to the average analyst price target. Discovery each have more than 100% potential upside, according to the target calculated by FactSet. The stock has upside potential of 51% from its current average price target.

☆ Goldman Sachs has plans for deep headcount cuts in the new year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But first, the Goldman cuts go deep. Goldman's bankers and others on Wall Street still enjoy pay packages that are beyond that of most American workers. Some portion of Goldman's cuts are being made with an eye to 2023 and 2024, suggesting that the firm's leaders don't expect a return to go-go days anytime soon. Click here to read more about the cuts set to hit Goldman Sachs. Private-equity firm Advent announced plans to acquire satellite maker Maxar Technologies for $6.4 billion in a deal that included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley.

☆ I perform vasectomies in Texas. I've had a huge increase in patients post-Roe — and a lot of them are young and childless.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Cari Shane | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year, there's been an uptick in the number of vasectomy requests at my clinic. In the two days immediately following the overturning of Roe, we received 150 vasectomy appointment requests. We were averaging five or six electronic appointment requests for vasectomy consultations per day before the overturning of Roe. I tell my patients that the vasectomy is meant to be permanent sterilizationWhile I love doing reversals, they're not 100%. I think vasectomies are fertility medicineThis is a procedure that I like to do and I think I'm good at.

☆ Netflix's 'Wednesday' is competing with the streamer's biggest hits, 'Stranger Things' and 'Squid Game,' for record-high viewership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix's "Wednesday" is already one of the streamer's biggest TV originals ever after two weeks. Its viewership is on pace to pass "Stranger Things" season four and is rivaling its top show, "Squid Game." "Wednesday" also had Netflix's biggest first week of viewership ever, beating "Stranger Things" season four. The show is chasing the Korean-language series "Squid Game" to be Netflix's biggest original show of all time, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at an event in New York City on Tuesday. "This group is far more likely to be among highly engaged viewers because the series has strong overlap with other young-skewing Netflix shows," including "Stranger Things," Alexander wrote.

The new allegations underscore the issues that Meta's planned system would counter. "Addressing fairness in ads is an industry-wide challenge and we’ve been collaborating with civil rights groups, academics and regulators to advance fairness in our ads system," the company said. "There’s no reason that job ads should be sent to a fraction of those numbers on a routine basis," he said. But the charge cites three ads for which Meta let advertisers select age-restricted audiences, an option it promised to block for job ads in 2019. If Meta is struggling to identify job ads, it may likewise face difficulties applying the planned variance reductions, Romer-Friedman said.

☆ HBO is No. 1 as 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: Apple's a big spender and 'there's a sheen when you're a Hulu show,' but there's 'fear in the air' at Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

"It's definitely been not the most exciting and robust year," said one TV agent at a major agency. Around 70 people at HBO and HBO Max have been let go this year, and their comedy development teams have merged. While WBD doesn't break out streamer-specific figures, it said on Thursday's earnings call that HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ have a combined 94.9 million subscribers, ensuring that any show on HBO Max has the chance to get a lot of eyeballs. They'll also take smaller swings in the genre department, do things at a lower budget," said the second TV agent. Echoed the first TV agent: "You pitch and sell to them if no one else wants it."

☆ Now at a Theater Near You: Cannibalism, Vomit and Severed Fingers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( John Jurgensen | Ellen Gamerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

At first, film programmer Ben Delgado felt a little squeamish about the picture he’d selected to open a new festival in Iowa City. On one hand, the coming-of-age story was being praised for its beauty and had already won awards at the Venice Film Festival. On the other hand, would the flesh-eating in “Bones and All” be a deal breaker for older-skewing cineastes in his area? “That’s not exactly the audience you expect to come out to a cannibal love story,” said Mr. Delgado, programming director of the FilmScene nonprofit cinema. The movie ended up being the talk of the inaugural Refocus Film Festival, he said.

“People are bored of a lack of innovation with sneakers, so it makes sense that more guys are getting into loafers and derbies,” said Mark Boutilier, 24, an Atlanta fashion content creator. At men’s spring runway shows in June, the shift to formal styles was clear. Sneakers had faded into the background. This presents a styling conundrum: How to resolve black-tie shoes with comfy shirts and trousers seemingly designed for naps? “Men used to use sneakers to dress down formal looks, but now they are incorporating dressy shoes to elevate more casual [outfits],” said Mr. Klingberg, who recently sold a client cargo pants to team with loafers.

Crop Watch fields were harvested within the last week, all corn, and two of them fell short of expectations, consistent with this year’s trend. The North Dakota corn ended at 2.75, down a quarter-point from expectations but above last year’s 2. The 11-field average, unweighted 2022 Crop Watch corn yield ends at 3.57, down from 3.7 a week ago. Crop Watch yield scores 2022SIGHTS ON 2023More than half of the Crop Watch producers said they have already purchased seed for 2023 and an even larger share said they had priced next year’s inputs. Most of the Crop Watch producers are in rotation-heavy areas, but acres in North Dakota and Kansas can swing the pendulum.

☆ Russian soldiers say leaders threw them into 'incomprehensible battle' where they lost 300 men and half their equipment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian soldiers say hundreds of men died in "incomprehensible battle" in eastern Ukraine. The letter also accused Russian officials of "hiding these facts and skewing the official casualty statistics for fear of being held accountable." A second soldier told The Guardian that "hundreds" of Russian reservists had died in the battle. Accusations of heavy Russian losses prompted a rare response from Moscow. Many of these soldiers were drafted as part of Russia's mass mobilization of 300,000 reservists, per a report from Insider's Matthew Loh.

☆ 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows now as Apple TV+ closes in on HBO Max amid turmoil at Warner Bros. Discovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

☆ Starbucks delivered solid quarter and guidance, imagine when China fully reopens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Estimates were for 4% global growth and 8% in the U.S. China sales dropped 16%. The Q4 operating profit margin contracted to 12.2% from 19.7% in the year ago period due largely to China store closures. Guidance No surprises here, as we mentioned earlier, with management reaffirming the full-year fiscal 2023 guidance provided at the company's Investor Day in September. A Starbucks store is seen inside the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California.

☆ America's longest-serving congresswoman argues her district needs to 'hold on to the seniority we have' amid broader calls for generational change in politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, 76, is the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives. She faces a tough re-election against a controversial GOP opponent amid broader calls for new leaders. In an interview with Insider in Toledo, Kaptur touted the benefits that her seniority brings to her district. the 76-year-old lawmaker told Insider during an interview in a staffer's black Jeep following a press conference. Bryan Metzger/InsiderOwing to her seniority, Kaptur sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

☆ Rich millennials are buying $152 poop-bag holders and $1,100 Hermès dog bowls as luxury brands bank on them spoiling their pets over having kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Luxury brands like Prada and Versace have launched pet collections in the past couple of years. Thirty percent of pet owners said they spent more on their pets and pet supplies in 2020 than in 2019. Courtesy of Anya HindmarchHindmarch's short-lived project is just the latest sign of the opportunities available in the upscale pet market, especially for dog owners. In summer 2021, Versace expanded its homeware collection to cater to pets, no doubt inspired by Donatella's own Jack Russell, Audrey. Heather GildroyPagerie, a luxury pet brand that just launched a collection aimed as much at humans as at dogs, hopes this will be the case.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls of the day: AMC, Apple, Boeing, Amazon, Lyft, BJ's & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

UBS upgrades Norwegian to buy from hold UBS said it sees improved bookings for the cruise operator. Citi reiterates Apple as buy Citi said investor concerns about the company's upcoming earnings report later this month are overblown. " Credit Suisse initiates Boeing as underperform Credit Suisse said it's concerned Boeing has lost access to the China market. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it still sees significant room for margin expansion for Amazon. Bank of America reiterates PayPal as buy Bank of America said PayPal is still a top pick and investors should buy the dip.

☆ Anti-woke ETF adopts progressive cause
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Keeping tabs on such corporate actions is a tall order, especially when the ETF plans to mimic the make-up of the S&P 500 Index and avoid skewing investment toward anti-woke darlings such as the oil sector. Subjects like job creation and fair pay are topics that advocates such as the Congressional Progressive Caucus are advancing. So too is BlackRock (BLK.N) boss Larry Fink, who noted how companies manage their employees is material to investors’ interests. Typically those issues fall under the "S" in the environmental, social, and governance mandates that YALL is fighting against. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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