DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Two of Germany's largest airports, Munich and Frankfurt, suspended flights, while long-distance rail services were cancelled by rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL). "Millions of passengers who depend on buses and trains are suffering from this excessive, exaggerated strike," a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said on Monday. At the same time, in France they go on strike all the time about something," said passenger Lars Boehm. The head of the Bundesbank Joachim Nagel said last week Germany needed to avoid a price-wage spiral. "Despite signs of second-round effects, we have not observed a destabilising price-wage spiral in Germany so far."

☆ Scotland's next leader to be announced with independence movement in crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Scotland's Health Minister Humza Yousaf and Scotland's Finance Minister Kate Forbes, contenders to become the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scotland's First Minister, attend the SNP leadership hustings, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Craig Brough/PoolLONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - The next leader of Scotland will be announced on Monday with the victor facing the challenge of uniting a country divided over its future and revitalising an independence movement that dreams of ending its three-centuries-long union with England. The Scottish National Party (SNP), which runs Scotland's semi-autonomous government, has been plunged into crisis since Nicola Sturgeon, the country's longest-serving leader, announced last month she was standing down after eight years, saying she had become too divisive to lead the nation to independence. Britain's vote to leave the European Union two years later when a majority of Scots wanted to stay, and Scotland's handling of the coronavirus pandemic brought new support for independence. However, an opinion poll showed the backing for independence dropped to 39% this month after touching a record 58% in 2020.

☆ An AI firm created the ChatGPT of investing, and a basket of its favorite stocks outperformed the S&P 500 over the last two years. Here are the 5 stocks it says you should buy to weather further marke
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Toggle AI trains large language models like ChatGPT to enhance investing decisions. Now, investors have been drawn to the AI industry like moths to a flame, as they try to gauge which companies will win the battle for AI market dominance. But while ChatGPT may have an early lead in the AI race, Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Toggle AI, isn't worried. An example of the Toggle AI capabilities Sette is currently working on. 5 Toggle-selected stocks to buyWith macroeconomic headwinds continuing to challenge markets in 2023, Sette believes that value stocks are set to outperform, at least for the near future.

The code is an AI model, an algorithm that is trained on sets of data and can then learn from new data to perform a variety of tasks. Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi said the release was aimed at demonstrating a viable alternative to training a kind of AI model called a large language model with enormous resources and computing power. OpenAI, valued at $29 billion, trains its AI models with huge troves of data on a supercomputer from investor Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). Databricks wants enterprises to train their own AI models using its software. "My belief is that in the end, you will make these models smaller, smaller and smaller, and they will be open-sourced," Ghodsi said.

☆ French Workers Mount First Nationwide Protest Since Macron Pushed Through Pension Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Workers across France walked off the job and took to the streets Thursday in the first organized nationwide demonstration since President Emmanuel Macron pushed his pension overhaul through Parliament. Teachers, train drivers, nurses, oil-refinery staff and other workers marched in protests from Paris to Marseille. Trains and public transportation were severely curtailed Thursday, and many schools across the country were forced to shut down. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were canceled.

☆ U.S. urges rail tank car owners, shippers to use safer, newer cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) on Wednesday urged rail tank car owners and hazmat shippers of flammable liquids to stop using tank cars like some in a Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and replace them with newer, safer tank cars. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said at a Senate Commerce hearing on Wednesday the railroad supports the provision "for accelerating safer tank car standards". Last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on Congress to mandate owners of tank cars to expedite the phase-in of safer DOT-117 tank cars in advance of the congressionally mandated 2029 deadline. The PHMSA advisory calls on shippers of flammable liquids "to voluntarily upgrade their tank car fleets to the newest, and safest, available tank car design authorized for flammable liquid service." The advisory added railroads should consider applyingrequirements applicable to high-hazard flammable trains to trains with fewer tank cars carrying flammable liquids in DOT-111 tank cars.

The country’s generous pension system and early retirement have long been a point of pride since they were enacted after World War II. Railway workers hold a banner reading "Until the withdrawal" during a demonstration a few days after the government forced the pension reform through parliament without a vote. Macron and his government have defended the retirement reform as necessary to keep the pension system funded. He also defended the decision to push through the reform as financially necessary, no matter how unpopular it was. Between opinion polls and the national interest, I chose the national interest,” Macron said.

☆ Senate GOP populists push Republican colleagues to back railway regulations, arguing 'their voters' are the most affected by disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vance, Hawley, and Rubio are touting a bill to enact new regulations on the rail industry. They're trying out a new argument for their Republican colleagues: these are your voters. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Marco Rubio of Florida, are touting the Railway Safety Act of 2023. "When derailments occur, it is predominantly Republican voters—their voters—who bear the brunt and who rush to put out the fires." "Look, I think if the vote were held today, we'd get 65 votes in the Senate," he told Insider.

☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO told that railroads' planned voluntary safety improvements aren't enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw returns to Capitol Hill Wednesday facing pressure to support rail safety legislation proposed in the wake of his railroad’s massive toxic spill from a February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “We support legislative efforts to enhance the safety of the freight rail industry,” was the only discussion of the legislation in his prepared remarks. Shaw said the railroad would support increasing fines and penalties for people found tampering with railroad facilities and safety equipment, without endorsing proposals for potential fines on railroads found guilty of safety violations. They said residents who live near freight rail tracks can’t depend on the railroad’s voluntary measures to improve safety. Vance said it is important to raise the maximum fine for rail safety violations from the current limit of $225,455.

☆ Google workers tell Sundar Pichai “don’t be evil” while conducting layoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While I daydream about getting my culinary education partially comped too, let's dive into today's tech. Googlers tell CEO Sundar Pichai: "Don't be evil." But more than 1,400 Googlers asked their CEO to continue the spirit of the adage by handling layoffs better. They cited Ukraine as an example and urged Pichai to offer extra support for workers who hold work visas. Today, Vice Media is scrambling for a buyer, and its future will likely be determined in the coming months.

☆ Picking up the pieces in the wake of SVB's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's just over a week from Federal regulators announcing they would be bailing out depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Now, the FDIC said Sunday that New York Community Bancorp's Flagstar Bank will take on nearly all of Signature Bridge Bank's deposits. Credit Suisse, whose problems long preceded SVB's downfall, to be fair, is getting acquired by Swiss rival UBS. Silicon Valley Bank was the bank for tech. The people backing venture capitalists, known as limited partners, share their thoughts on how VCs handled the crisis at Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ The Best Gas Card for Heavy Travelers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

While the card does come with a $95 annual fee after the first year, for the frequent traveler who also spends a lot on gas, no gas card is more rewarding. That is why Buy Side from WSJ named it our Best Gas Card for Frequent Travelers. Consider the Wells Fargo Active Cash card, the Buy Side’s Pick for Best Cash Back Credit Card. Our Gas Credit Card Credit Card MethodologyTo review Best Gas Credit Cards, Buy Side from WSJ looked for cards that offered 3% or greater rewards on gas purchases. Finally, cards that carried an annual fee needed to give cardmembers enough additional rewards to offset the annual fee and be more rewarding than our picks with no annual fee.

Despite SVB's demise knocking the value of banks globally, particularly European lender Credit Suisse, U.N. climate envoy Mark Carney said he, too, did not expect a "material" impact on climate tech funding. "At a minimum, this will likely drive continued tightening of investments and a push to have their portfolio companies cut (cash) burn," it said in a note. Mona Dajani, partner at law firm Shearman and Sterling, said most of her clean energy clients either banked with SVB or faced some other impact from its troubles. SVB "cultivated a reputation as being very friendly to clean energy... they were willing to underwrite more risk," she said. "Not all the companies are going to make it and now that’s happening to climate companies."

☆ Norfolk Southern shareholders sue over Ohio derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N) shareholders have accused the railroad of defrauding them by prioritizing profit over safety prior to last month's derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. A Norfolk Southern spokesman declined to comment, saying the Atlanta-based company does not discuss pending litigation. Norfolk Southern has faced many lawsuits over the Feb. 3 derailment, including cases brought by local residents and Ohio's attorney general. Six of the seven largest U.S. freight railroads use Precision Scheduled Railroading: Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific. The case is Bucks County Employees Retirement System v Norfolk Southern Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, No.

☆ After back-to-back train disasters, regulators approve the largest rail merger in decades creating a line that would stretch from Canada to Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Regulators approved a railroad merger that would create a single route stretching from Canada to Mexico. The rail industry has seen train accidents and labor disputes in recent months. "30-40% of the United States economy depends on a well-functioning railroad," Oberman said in the Wednesday press conference. That's why the STB has been "railing about some of the rail service problems and issues affecting the rail industry," he said. Oberman also argued shippers would not lose any existing rail competition from the merger.

☆ OpenAI's co-founder says at some point it'll be 'quite easy, if one wanted, to cause a great deal of harm' with AI models like ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says it'll be "quite easy" to cause "a great deal of harm" with AI models one day. "These models are very potent and they're becoming more and more potent," he said. Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist and co-founder, told The Verge there will come a time when AI could be pretty easily exploited to cause harm. "At some point it will be quite easy, if one wanted, to cause a great deal of harm with those models." "As the capabilities get higher it makes sense that you don't want want to disclose them," he told The Verge.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Charles Schwab, Meta, Nike, Netflix, Truist, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Oppenheimer reiterates Netflix as outperform Oppenheimer said investors should buy the dip in Netflix shares. Bank of America upgrades W.R. Berkley to buy from neutral Bank of America said buy the dip in shares of the insurance company. "A recent sell-off in financial and insurers more specifically gives an opportunity to upgrade shares of WRB." Deutsche Bank reiterates Nike as buy Deutsche said it's staying bullish on shares of Nike heading into earnings next week. Bank of America reiterates FedEx as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on FedEx heading into earnings on Thursday.

☆ Schumer pushes National Transportation Safety Board to expand rail safety probe beyond Norfolk Southern
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday urged the National Transportation Safety Board to broaden its rail safety investigation beyond Norfolk Southern to other large rail companies after last month's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Hours before Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared at a congressional hearing last week about the Ohio derailment, another of the company's trains derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. It was the third derailment involving Norfolk Southern since last month. They can tell us how many fatalities there were — 2,768 — but not why or if company policies could have prevented them." The Ohio Attorney General's office on Tuesday sued Norfolk Southern in federal court, alleging it was negligent for causing the derailment.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - The rapid unraveling of SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) has blindsided the banking industry after years of stability. Investors and customers now face a nervous wait to see if SVB bank finds a buyer quickly. During the 2008 financial crisis, Washington Mutual found a buyer immediately. One area of particular focus could be larger regional banks, which saw some rule relief under the Trump administration. U.S. banking regulators said in October they were considering new requirements on large regional banks, including holding more long-term debt to weather losses.

☆ Viral TikTok of Lowe's employee screaming for help prompts debate among current and former workers about safety training at the home-improvement chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Lowe's employee resigned in February after a viral TikTok showed him being crushed by an object. In fact, some employees told Insider that Lowe's safety trainings are among the best they've seen in the retail industry. What does Lowe's safety training entail? "Powered equipment training is a joke compared to any other retail environment," a former Michigan Lowe's employee said. Are you a current or former Lowe's employee who wants to share your thoughts and experiences about safety at the company?

☆ US railroad group warns carriers to stop using cars with loose wheels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - A group representing major U.S. railroads on Thursday warned carriers to stop using rail cars with loose wheels until those wheel sets can be replaced. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) said Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) had identified loose wheels on a series of cars that present an increased risk of an out of gage derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was looking at the role of the loose wheels in recent derailments and praised the industry action. Norfolk Southern had 517 railcars in use with the wheels at issue, she added. Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Cathay’s people problem is Hong Kong’s too
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) may be a high-flying reminder of the Asian finance hub’s pandemic-induced isolation for longer than anyone wants. It promises a swift reversal on a HK$6.5 billion ($834 million) net loss for 2022 Cathay reported on Wednesday. The company has close to 2,405 pilots, roughly 63% of pre-pandemic numbers, according to a survey conducted in March by the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association and seen by Breakingviews. That makes Cathay’s people problem Hong Kong’s too. Cathay Pacific carried 1.03 million passengers in January 2023, up from 24,699 last year.

Pay down your credit card balancesIf you already have credit card debt, paying it off should become a priority. With credit card interest rates continuing to reach new heights, you don't want to get stuck with credit card debt if a recession hits. The credit utilization ratio, or how much of your available credit you're using, is the second most important credit factor after payment history. For that reason, it's best to get rid of credit card debt as soon as possible. You might also want to consider a 0% APR credit card (like the ones below) if you're anticipating big expenses.

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO to Pledge Change at Senate Hearing on Ohio Train Derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Norfolk Southern Corp. will spend more than $20 million to reimburse residents and clean up a small town in Ohio where one of its trains derailed and spilled toxic chemicals last month, the chief executive of the company plans to tell a Senate committee on Thursday. “I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities, and I am determined to make it right,” Norfolk Southern Chief Alan Shaw said in prepared remarks to the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

Search resuls for: "Trains"

25 mentions found