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☆ 'Saltburn' star Barry Keoghan says everyone was silent after he improvised the graveyard scene: 'No one spoke for a bit'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read preview"Saltburn" star Barry Keoghan's shocking improvised graveyard scene left the crew speechless on set. "I think no one spoke for a bit," Keoghan said in the latest installment of Esquire's "Explain This" video series. AdvertisementJacob Elordi as Felix and Barry Keoghan as Oliver in "Saltburn." "I spoke to Barry in the morning, and I just said, 'I don't know, Barry. Barry Keoghan as Oliver in "Saltburn."

Persons: —, Barry Keoghan's, Keoghan, Oliver Quick, Felix Catton, Jacob Elordi, Oliver, Felix, Barry Keoghan, Chiabella James, Fennell, Barry Organizations: Service, Business, Oxford University, Entertainment, MGM, Amazon Studios, Variety, Golden Globes Locations: Saltburn

☆ On This Comedy Show, You’d Better Not Laugh
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Calum Marsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In early 2016, James Farrell, then the head of content at Amazon Studios for Japan, was looking for original programming that could help the streamer gain a foothold in the region. After months of searching, Farrell recalled recently, he was open to any concept, no matter how strange or unconventional. The last one to keep a straight face wins. But Farrell, who is now a vice president at Amazon Studios, based in Los Angeles, thought, “‘That’s it — that’s the one,’” he said. “I was so certain that this was the monster I was looking for.”

Persons: James Farrell, Farrell, Hitoshi Matsumoto, “, ’ ”, ” Organizations: Amazon Studios Locations: Japan, Los Angeles

☆ Wealth Assistants claims in a new lawsuit its accounts were frozen in the weeks before it shut down
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The complaint against Thread Bank lists five accounts that Wealth Assistants held with the bank, saying that CEO Ryan Carroll first noticed the accounts had been frozen on October 11. Carroll and Thread Bank did not return a request for comment from Business Insider on the suit. The timing detailed in the complaint aligns with Wealth Assistants' collapse. However, the lawsuit filed in early January describes Wealth Assistants as a "thriving business." Wealth Assistants filed a similar lawsuit against Bank of America in January 2023, claiming that accounts with more than $3.78 million in them had been closed without explanation.

Persons: Ryan Carroll, Carroll Organizations: Business, Bank, Court, Southern, Southern District of, Houston Division, Carroll, Thread Bank, Forbes , LA Wire, Bank of America Locations: Tennessee, Southern District, Southern District of Texas, Forbes ,, mstone@insider.com

☆ Mark Cuban says becoming a billionaire is just about luck and anyone who says they can do it again is lying
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewTV personality and businessman Mark Cuban admitted that he couldn't become a billionaire again if he had to start over because it's essentially just "luck" and anyone who thinks they can is "lying." This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. At one point Noah questioned him about how he became a billionaire to which Cuban responded frankly: "Anybody who's a billionaire who thinks they could just do it all over again is lying their ass off. "But the whole billionaire side of it, the hundreds of millions of dollars, that's just insane and that was luck," he said. Advertisement"But there's a whole lot of people who are really really smart, who do each of those things or one of them really well, and we don't know who they are," he added.

Persons: —, Mark Cuban, couldn't, it's, Trevor Noah's, Noah, Cuban, That's, that's, there's Organizations: Service, Business, NBA, Dallas Mavericks, Cuban, Yahoo

☆ Amazon is laying off 'several hundred' employees across Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios — read the memo
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is laying off "several hundred" employees across Prime Video and Amazon MGM studios. "As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization." In April 2023, Amazon Studios (now Amazon MGM Studios) and Prime Video teams cut about 100 people — a tiny fraction of Amazon's 27,000 layoffs last year. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization. Prime Video is one of the most popular benefits for Prime members, and one of most widely used entertainment destinations in the world.

Persons: Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Amazon's, Jen Salke, Freevee, We've, we've, Amazonians who've, Mike Organizations: Service, Prime, MGM, Amazon MGM Studios, Business, Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Hollywood, Amazon Studios Locations: Americas, Hollywood

☆ A 32-year-old made an extra $9,000 in 5 months by posting Amazon reviews as a side hustle. She shares how to qualify your posts for commission and the top 5 tips to maximize earnings.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-06 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Butterfield gave up on finding additional gigs until she began seeing posts on TikTok about how others were earning commissions from posting review videos on Amazon. She then posted three video reviews, which is the number required by Amazon to get accepted for the on-site commission program. Most of the products she reviews fall into three categories: low-ticket items under $50, high-ticket items over $100, and trending or seasonal items. This is very important because if there are multiple review videos for a product, the last video watched before a purchase is what earns the commission. One thing to note is that trending products can die down quickly.

Persons: Lauren Butterfield, Butterfield, Stanley Organizations: Service, Adobe, Business, Amazon

☆ 17-year-old used $2,000 in savings to start an Amazon side hustle—now it brings in $34,000 a month
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bella Lin, 17, started a side hustle to give her guinea pigs more quality of life. In those days, Lin let her three guinea pigs roam her parents' grassy, fenced-in backyard just outside of San Francisco. She assumed the first, Snoopy, had escaped and she continued letting her guinea pigs outside — until her dad watched an eagle fly away with another, she recalls. But the glass was too expensive to ship, and her smaller guinea pigs' feet got stuck in the floor. Lin has owned guinea pigs for years, and has kept up to 10 at one time, she says.

Persons: Bella Lin, Lin, GuineaLoft's, —, TLeggings, Bella Lin Lin, who'd, Lin's Organizations: CNBC, Khan Lab, Amazon Locations: San Francisco, —, Mountain View , California, China, BizWorld

☆ Bernstein names Amazon its 'best idea' for internet stocks in 2024. We see a lot to like, too
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Club holding Amazon (AMZN) is a stock to own going into 2024, with the ecommerce giant poised for further profitability, according to Bernstein Research — a view we enthusiastically share. Bernstein on Tuesday named Amazon its "best idea" in the internet space for 2024, citing acceleration in its cloud business, cost discipline, digital advertising growth, and its continued leadership in ecommerce. The firm has an outperform rating on Amazon stock, with a price target of $175 a share. Amazon stock closed up 1.4% on Tuesday, to settle at $146.88 a share. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon stock performance year-to-date.

Persons: Bernstein, Jim Cramer, Jim, he's, Amazon's, Jim Cramer's, Omar Marques Organizations: Bernstein Research, CNBC, Lightrocket, Getty Locations: ecommerce

☆ Should a company rate its staff? A former Amazon exec says 'stack ranking' is useful when done right
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

What is 'stack ranking?' "Stack ranking" is an employee rating system popularized by executive Jack Welch in the 1980s during his time as CEO of GE. Does stack ranking work? And in many cases, having a stack ranking system is actually helpful, because there's an objective, collaborative process to evaluating employees," he said. Why is stack ranking controversial?

Persons: —, Alykhan Sunderji, Sunder, Jack Welch, Sunderji, Banks, Goldman Sachs, McDonald's, Chris Kempczinski Organizations: Amazon, CNBC, GE, Amazon Pay, Google, Microsoft, Origin, New York Times

☆ One Medical employees are furious that Amazon is changing their compensation plan, leaked messages show
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Just nine months after closing its deal to acquire One Medical, Amazon is exerting more control over the primary care provider's employee pay. Prior to the Amazon acquisition, One Medical gave stock grants without baking in any growth assumptions. Like One Medical, Amazon reinforces this through its competitive total compensation program which, for corporate employees, typically includes base pay and restricted stock units (RSUs). As One Medical is now part of Amazon and can no longer grant employees One Medical stock, we are transitioning employees to Amazon's stock-based compensation model. Amazon's pay policy has long been a source of frustration for many employees.

Persons: Christine Morehead, Morehead, Dawn Brun, Slack Organizations: Business, Medical, BI, Amazon, Amazon's

☆ There's an uptick in Amazon employees quitting right now, blaming a strict RTO mandate, layoffs, and 'lack of respect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some Amazon employees have noticed an increasing number of Slack messages lately from colleagues who are quitting over the company's strict return-to-office mandate. Many Amazon employees received deadlines for starting to work in offices and the uptick in departures may be related to teams nearing those various deadlines. "This [is] my last day at Amazon," another AWS employee wrote on Friday. However, BI has asked the company for comment on its RTO policy many times in recent months. "Tomorrow is my last day at Amazon," one Amazon employee wrote on Thursday.

Persons: Slack, RTO, Merritt Baer, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Business, Amazon, Web Services, BI Locations: RTO

Finally Souza, an innkeeper and community leader in Bela Vista do Jaraqui, said he rallied two dozen neighbors to drill a 60-meter well in the heart of the world's largest freshwater basin. With rivers forming the backbone of transportation across the Amazon region, the drought has disrupted access to food and medicine in dozens of cities. The Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, is regarded by scientists as a bulwark against climate change because its dense vegetation absorbs carbon and emits oxygen. The five researchers predicting a 2026 recovery said the effects of the drought could endure even longer if El Nino is prolonged. That would release huge amounts of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change and wiping out a wealth of plant and animal species found only in the Amazon.

Persons: Bruno Kelly, Raimundo Leite de Souza, Souza, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Michael Coe, we're, El Nino, Coe, El, Philip Fearnside, Henrique Barbosa, Eduardo Taveira, Taveira, Paulo Brando, Brando, Barbosa, Brad Haynes, Jake Spring, Ana Mano, Andre Romani, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rio, cobras, United, Reuters, Research Center, National Institute of, Research, University of Maryland, Honda, LG, Positivo, GIANTS, Yale University, Sao Paulo, Thomson Locations: Tefe, Amazonas, Brazil, Rights MANAUS, caimans, Bela Vista, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, United Nations, U.S, South America, South, Pacific, North America, El Nino, University, Baltimore, Western Europe, Brazil's Amazonas, Manaus, Itacoatiara, Madeira Rivers, Sao Paulo, Sao

☆ Amazon launches partnership with rival SpaceX to send competing satellites into orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon struck a deal with SpaceX to use Falcon 9 rockets to launch Amazon's low orbit satellites. The financial terms of the deal between the satellite internet competitors were not disclosed. AdvertisementAmazon and SpaceX, competitors in the satellite internet space, have inked a deal to launch satellites supporting Amazon's Project Kuiper. In response to the news breaking on X, formerly Twitter, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said: "SpaceX launches competitor satellite systems without favor to its own satellites. Starlink began launching satellites in 2019 and has over 4,000 satellites in orbit, with plans to eventually build a constellation of about 42,000.

Persons: —, SpaceX's, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, SpaceX's Starlink, Amazon, Starlink Organizations: SpaceX, Service, SpaceX's, United Launch Alliance, Twitter, Business

☆ Wealth Assistants claimed it would help its clients make money on Amazon. Clients said they 'lost everything' instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Madeline Stone | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Wealth Assistants also said that if clients didn't break even in the first year, they would get their money back. BI spoke with 16 people who invested between $35,000 and $100,000 each to work with Wealth Assistants and said they lost their money. Ten days later, Wealth Assistants said it laid off its roughly 75 employees and planned to shut down by December 1. Selling customers on the entrepreneur lifestyleMany Wealth Assistants clients said they were drawn by the opportunity to generate passive income. Cart.com sent Wealth Assistants a formal notice of termination in the fall after Wealth Assistants stopped paying its invoices earlier in the year, the representative said.

Persons: Mike Wimmer, Wimmer, they're, I'm, Ryan Carroll, Max K, Max O, —, Carroll, Carroll didn't, we're, Tina Luk, breakeven, Seth Hamilton, Andrew Pou, Suzy Arriola, Saheb Sabharwal, Cart.com, Moe O'Neil, weren't, Max, you've, it's, they've, We've, we've, Madeline Stone, Jack Newsham Organizations: Business, ., Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Products, Nobu Dallas, Lamborghini, Facebook, Wealth, BI, FTC, DK Automation Locations: China, Texas, Nobu, California, Houston, Pennsylvania, mstone@insider.com

During the Amazon Web Services cloud conference on Tuesday, Amazon unveiled upgraded AI chips, a new chatbot and an expanded partnership with Nvidia. Expanded Nvidia partnership Amazon on Tuesday outlined the details of its deepening partnership with semiconductor firm Nvidia – the global leader in the development of AI chips. Amazon's announcements involved not only Nvidia' bread-and-butter AI chips known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, but also its fast-growing – yet still underappreciated – software-and-service offerings. In general, Amazon has touted its own AI chips as being a lower-cost option for customers. Nvidia's AI hardware is known to carry a hefty price tag .

Persons: Grace Hopper Superchip, –, Jensen Huang, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Arjun Kharpal Organizations: Nvidia, Services, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, JMP Securities, CNBC, IAA, Qualcomm, Samsung Locations: Munich

☆ AI fatigue, sales challenges, and the problem of getting big: Inside growing tension at AWS
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

For Amazon, AWS is more important than ever. Targets missedAWS is falling short of reaching sales goals in its startups and small-business segments, two employees told BI. Burnout and attritionSeveral AWS employees also pointed to high turnover as a major point of concern. AWS employees told BI it still remains to be seen how all these changes will manifest in the months to come. "The most significant single sentiment we feel is uncertainty," one of the AWS employees told BI.

Persons: Matt Garman, Garman, Mark Shmulik, Bernstein, Rob Munoz, Munoz, Charlie Bell, Rachel Thornton, Chris Vonderhaar, Peter DeSantis, DeSantis, Andy Jassy Mike Blake, AWS's, Prasad Kalyanaraman, Kalyanaraman, Amazon's, Bard, Adam Selipsky, Adam Selipsky Noah Berger, Selipsky, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Jassy, Geekwire Organizations: Amazon Web, AWS, Business, Amazon, SMB, Enterprise, Reuters, Microsoft, Google, BI Locations: Las Vegas, AMZN's, billings

☆ Amazon wants businesses to use its palm-scanning tech to let employees into the office
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is expanding its palm-scanning technology beyond grocery stores and is rolling out a version that's designed for the business world. Companies already signed up for the biometric technology include IHG Hotels and Resorts, turnstile manufacturer Boon Edam, and Kone, an escalator and elevator provider. Amazon didn't disclose pricing for the service, which is available in preview in the U.S. starting Monday. Advocacy groups have criticized the service over privacy and security concerns, arguing it leads to increased surveillance. Earlier this month, Amazon debuted Astro for Business, a version of its household robot that it's framing as a roving security guard for businesses.

Persons: Edam, Kone, Dilip Kumar, It's Organizations: Companies, Resorts, Amazon, Foods, Sports, Business Locations: U.S

☆ Amazon touts 'record-breaking' sales in kickoff to holiday shopping season
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon said Tuesday it rang up "record-breaking" sales in the run-up to Cyber Monday as consumers, still pinched by inflation, sought discounts. The company said the period from Nov. 17 to Cyber Monday marked its "biggest ever" holiday shopping event compared to the same 11-day stretch last year. Amazon, which did not disclose actual sales figures, added that shoppers worldwide bought more than 1 billion items during the period. Retailers and analysts were cautious heading into this year's holiday shopping season. While consumers have remained resilient, grocery prices remain high, and the resumption of student loan payments has eaten into some shoppers' holiday budgets.

Persons: Doug Herrington Organizations: Amazon, Deal, Worldwide Amazon Stores, U.S, Adobe Analytics, Adobe's Locations: Robbinsville , New Jersey, U.S

☆ The holiday trade in Amazon stock may already be over, history shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Investors looking to cash in on the holiday trade may have missed the boat on Amazon , according to Bank of America. While Amazon tends to outperform retail stocks on Cyber Monday, history shows that the e-commerce giant typically lags the market between the popular online shopping day and Christmas, the bank's trading desk noted. Since 2016, Amazon's lagged the market during this period every single year, underperforming the SPDR S & P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) by the widest margin — 6% — in 2022, data shows. Year to date, the stock's rallied more than 75%. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon's year-to-date performance This Cyber Monday, Amazon outperformed the SPDR S & P Retail ETF by 1.3%.

Persons: Amazon's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Bank of America, Trust, Amazon, P

☆ Amazon's leading delivery service is a huge win for the company's growing retail business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It gives us another reason to be confident in the firm's retail business as the holiday online shopping season gets off to a strong start this year. Postal Service remains the largest parcel service by volume, handling packages for its customers as well as all three delivery companies. "People shop every day on Amazon," Jim added. The company's speedy, same-day delivery service is a huge value proposition of the Prime membership — made possible, in part, by Amazon's push to become the U.S. package delivery company in the U.S. The Amazon Prime logo is displayed on the side of an Amazon delivery truck in Richmond, California, June 21, 2023.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jim Cramer, they've, Jim, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, we've, —, Amazon, Jim Cramer's, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Wall, Amazon, United Parcel Service, Journal, FedEx, U.S . Postal Service, Insider Intelligence, Adobe, Mastercard, National Retail Federation, CNBC Locations: U.S, Richmond , California

Right now, you can get some of the lowest prices ever on top-rated items with the best Stanley Cyber Monday deals. One of the best deals is 25% off the Stanley IceFlow Stainless Steel Tumbler with Straw, which is the lowest price we've seen for this model. However, many Amazon Stanley deals beat the brand's website discounts, and other retailers are also offering great savings. For the biggest deals across home, kitchen, and tech, check out our hub where we're covering all the best Cyber Monday deals. The best Stanley deals on Cyber Monday

Persons: Stanley, Amazon Stanley Organizations: Stanley, Amazon

☆ E-commerce stocks rally after Black Friday shoppers spend record online
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shoppers turned out in full force on Thanksgiving and over the Black Friday weekend, largely shunning physical stores for the comfort of clicking "buy online" from their couches. Black Friday online spending reached a record $9.8 billion in the U.S., up 7.5% from a year earlier, according to Adobe Analytics. Online sales on Cyber Weekend, the days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, surged 7.7% to $10.3 billion. Cyber Monday sales are expected to reach up to $12.4 billion, making it the biggest U.S. online shopping day of the year, according to Adobe. A plastic rice washing bowl, listed as one of the top-selling Cyber Week items, is discounted 68% to $1.89 with free shipping.

Persons: Shoppers, Wayfair, Afterpay, Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski Organizations: Adobe Analytics, Black, Adobe, National Retail Federation, CNBC PRO Locations: U.S

☆ These are Wall Street’s favorite Warren Buffett stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Berkshire Hathaway's stock portfolio is stuffed with companies that are also beloved by Wall Street analysts. E-commerce giant Amazon is the most recommended stock in the pool of candidates, with roughly 84% of analysts rating it a buy. Snowflake stock has climbed 18% so far in 2023, almost matching the S & P 500 return. SNOW YTD mountain Snowflake stock. Other stocks in the Berkshire portfolio that Wall Street also favors are Sirius parent Liberty Media and the country's second-largest oil major Chevron .

Persons: Warren Buffett, Warren, Tyler Radke, Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall Street, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, CNBC Pro, CNBC Berkshire Hathaway, Citigroup, Sirius, Liberty Media Locations: Berkshire, Chevron

☆ A 27-year-old who makes an extra $4,200 monthly on average by reviewing Amazon products explains the simple 2-step process to starting it as a side hustle — and it doesn't require any money
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This year, one of his favorite strategies has been reviewing Amazon products. The program compensates people for creating videos reviewing items that get posted to product listings. He has now been reviewing products since April and has concluded that it's one of the best opportunities that he has seen since he began making money online. You have to submit three trial videos reviewing products. "Just this last month, I got over $4,000 of free products sent to my house to do these review videos," Peterson said.

Persons: Trevin Peterson, Peterson, it's, There's, He's Organizations: Business, YouTube, Amazon Associates, Amazon Locations: Amazon

For Black Friday, we are seeing some of the best Stanley deals of the year and even all-time low prices in some instances. Items are marked down by up to 30% as part of the Stanley Black Friday sale through December 4. Right now, many Amazon Stanley deals beat the brand's website discounts, and still other retailers are offering great sales. For the biggest deals across home, kitchen, and tech, check out our hub where we're covering all the best Black Friday deals. The best Black Friday deals on Stanley

Persons: Stanley, Amazon Stanley Organizations: Stanley Black, Amazon

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