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☆ The owner of Insider and Politico says AI is coming for journalists' jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —One of Europe’s biggest media groups has warned journalists that artificial intelligence (AI) could steal their jobs, and has provided tips for how reporters can avoid the chop. “Only those who create the best original content will survive.”AI raceDöpfner’s warnings come three months after Open AI opened up access to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot. The bot is capable of providing lengthy, thoughtful responses to questions, and can write full essays, responses in job applications and journalistic articles. Its instant popularity has turbocharged a race among tech companies to bring their own AI products to market. Staff in journalistic roles, such as reporters and specialist editors, are not currently the target of cuts, Döpfner said.

☆ Axel Springer to Restructure German Business in Shift to U.S. Focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

German-based Axel Springer is one of Europe’s biggest media houses. BERLIN—The German owner of Politico and other U.S. outlets announced Tuesday an important restructuring of its domestic operation as part of a strategy to shift its focus to the U.S. and become a globally leading digital-only publisher. Axel Springer SE, one of Europe’s biggest media houses and the only one with a major U.S. presence, will slim down its corporate structure. It aims to boost earnings in its German media business by around 100 million euros, equivalent to $106.1 million, over the next three years, with a mid-term aim to shut down its print editions, the company said.

☆ Axel Springer to Restructure Its German Business as It Shifts Focus to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

German-based Axel Springer is one of Europe’s biggest media houses. BERLIN—The German owner of Politico and other U.S. outlets announced a restructuring of its domestic operation, floated potential disposals and unveiled plans for a new headquarters in New York City as it shifts its focus to the U.S.Axel Springer SE, one of Europe’s largest news organizations and the only one with a major U.S. presence, said it would slim down its corporate structure in Germany and phase out the print editions of its publications as it seeks to become a leading digital-only publisher.

☆ Schibsted, publishers look to EU tech rules to resolve Apple antitrust concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Norwegian media group Schibsted (SCHA.OL) and the European Publishers Council have urged EU antitrust regulators to ensure that tech rules coming into play this year will rein in Apple's (AAPL.O) powers, especially over its App Store. Apple is already in the EU antitrust crosshairs related to its App Store practices in music streaming, in e-books and competing apps as well as its mobile payment system Apple Pay. Apple's App Store practices affect Schibsted because of its market power in Scandinavia where up to 60% of consumers have an iPhone in Norway and Sweden, said Petra Wikstrom, director of Public Policy at Schibsted. Apple, which would be forced to loosen its App Store rules under the DMA, could not be reached for comment. In 2021, to allay Japanese antitrust concerns, it scraped the ban on providing separate links on App Store apps for reader apps which provide content such as e-books, video and music.

China's population is shrinking. This shocking statistic is only the start of China's population decline. This year India is set to surpass China's population, and in a few years it will surpass China's working-age population — people 20 to 69. Because of its manufacturing prowess and importance to supply chains, China's shrinking working-age population has enormous, direct effects on the global economy. Among today's largest economies, only the US has a projection of positive population growth, though at very low levels.

☆ KKR's top tech exec details the firm's 3-year migration to the public cloud, and how the PE giant is leveraging the tech to streamline how deals get done
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

KKR is moving its technology and infrastructure to the public cloud by year end. The finish line is in sight for Emilia Sherifova, KKR's top tech exec who is spearheading the firm's multi-year migration to the public cloud. KKR's cloud migration has been years in the making. Under Sherifova, KKR has more than doubled its number of cloud-focused engineers, she said, declining to specify numbers. No longer are regulatory and security concerns barring finance players from moving mission-critical systems, like exchanges' matching engines and banks' core banking platforms, to the public cloud.

☆ Jeff Bezos has called work-life balance a 'debilitating phrase,' and says work and life are actually a circle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called "work-life balance" a "debilitating phrase." The billionaire and former Amazon CEO taught employees that work and life are a circle. Bezos said the reality is if he is happy at home, he has "tremendous energy" in the office. "I get asked about work-life balance all the time," Bezos told Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. And if he's happy at work, Bezos said he comes home with the same energy.

☆ 10 money managers who quietly control the vast fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, the Waltons, and other big-name billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Many über-rich people don't outsource their wealth — they hire their own chief investment officers. He left SAC in 2005 for Dune Capital Management, but stayed in touch with Steve during his five-year term at the investment firm. Andrew oversees CPV's portfolio, which primarily comprises direct private investments such as Collectors Universe, a collectibles-authentication company, and the New York Mets. In 2011, Wildcat Capital Management was launched with Potter as president and chief investment officer. Since November 2021, Carland has also served as the interim chief investment officer for Builders Vision's asset arm.

☆ PE wants to see some cash flow before it starts making deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As the markets continue to sour, and a recession looms, everyone's wondering when PE firms will begin scooping up assets. High on Bae's wishlist are "all things digital," he said, with one giant caveat: profitability. There are plenty of companies doing fascinating things in the digital space, but many have yet to reach profitability (*cough* fintechs *cough*). Goldman Sachs is going dumpster diving for crypto companies. Chaos in the crypto markets is creating investing and acquisition opportunities for the bank, according to Matthew McDermott, Goldman's head of digital assets.

☆ KKR's co-CEO says the firm is looking at investments in 'all things digital,' while avoiding tech companies with lofty valuations and no earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

KKR's co-CEO said on Tuesday that the firm is staying away from unprofitable companies. The private-equity behemoth KKR still has an appetite to invest in tech companies. KKR oversaw $496 billion as of September 30 as one of the largest managers of alternative assets such as private equity, private credit, and real-estate. While it used to be far more heavily weighted toward private equity, KKR's fundraising has increasingly shifted toward other assets like private credit, liquid credit, and real estate, Bae said. Private credit has been a particular focus for alternative money managers like KKR, Blackstone, and Carlyle amid rising rates and big banks' retreats from some lending, Insider previously reported.

☆ Inside the private-debt boom: Wall Street's hottest asset faces a tremendous test in a dimming economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Defaults on private loans, which have fallen steadily since the pandemic's height in 2020, are ticking up. Private credit, or private debt, are catch-all terms to describe privately negotiated loans outside the public debt markets. Private credit firms engage in what's known as direct lending, making these private loans to companies who turn to them instead of a traditional bank. Analysts and asset management executives say private debt has held up well in 2022 in the face of brutal stock and bond market volatility. 'Fighting for allocation'A challenge for private debt funds in the past decade has been a dearth of companies they can lend to.

☆ CoinDesk's chief content officer breaks down crypto media's advertising challenges and how he's steering the site through by exploring opportunities in NFTs and Web3
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The incident has led to stress on other crypto companies, including one owned by CoinDesk's parent company. It's all unfolding as media companies fend off cuts and layoffs and an industry-wide slump in advertising revenue, which has seen big crypto companies like Grayscale, Binance, and Coinbase slash their advertising budgets. In an email to Insider, Casey reiterated that the incident does not impact CoinDesk's business. Are you a crypto or media insider with insight to share? Disclosure: Axel Springer is Insider's parent company.

☆ Insiders detail how Wall Street is preparing for a post-FTX world, from heightened scrutiny on crypto deals to rethinking hiring plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Morgan Chittum | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Most Wall Street firms have executed big crypto and blockchain initiatives. The ties between Wall Street, Main Street, and digital assets have never been tighter. Some traditional firms have chosen crypto custodians to do that for them, while others offer it themselves. Fidelity also has its own digital assets custody offering, and reportedly had plans to continue building out its digital-asset team as recently as late October. 121, which requires most SEC registrants to record the fair value of custodied digital assets as a liability.

Robert Allbritton launched Protocol in early 2020 with a lofty goal of replicating his success with Politico for the tech industry. But that was a nonstarter, in part because Axel Springer, through a joint venture, already owned half of Politico Europe. Axel Springer acquired Protocol in October 2021 as part of its $1 billion-plus acquisition of Politico. Goli Sheikholeslami became CEO of Politico Media Group in February and was focused on the task of integrating Politico's US and Europe operations. The person familiar with the business said that Axel Springer gave Protocol a real shot.

According to a person familiar with the business, some inside Politico originally hoped to create what became Protocol as a direct offshoot — using a name like "Politico Tech." But that was a nonstarter, in part because Axel Springer already owned the rights to half of the Politico brand in Europe. Axel Springer acquired Protocol in October 2021 as part of its $1 billion-plus acquisition of Politico. Goli Sheikholeslami became CEO of Politico Media Group in February and was focused on the task of integrating Politico's US and Europe operations. A few former employees, in retrospect, wondered how committed Axel Springer was to the little tech-news site that came bundled with its Politico purchase.

☆ How private-equity firms, rich with investors' cash, plan to capitalize on a souring economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ultimate winners from the economic downturn may turn out to be private-equity firms. At the same time, private-equity firms are seeing fewer exits and fundraising is slowing. That's the private-equity industry, according to interviews with corporate advisors and a review of earnings transcripts. Regardless of the challenges, however, one positive note for the largest private-equity firms is that they are more diversified today. These relationships are better insulating private-equity firms from economic cycles, she added.

☆ Tesla’s board chair says Musk needed money for space travel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington, DC CNN —Elon Musk said that he needed to receive what amounted to the largest compensation package in history so that he could fuel his goals around “inter-planetary travel,” Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm testified Tuesday. Musk has long claimed that he intends to use his vast wealth in pursuit of space travel and colonization. “Quite honestly, I don’t know how much it costs to do any inter-planetary travel. The company’s driving interest in awarding Musk such an enormous compensation package was to keep his focus on Tesla, as opposed to his other companies. Denholm said Tuesday that Musk’s previous compensation package before the 2018 plan wasn’t adequate to keep him engaged at Tesla.

☆ Jeff Bezos responds to criticism over investing in space travel instead of solving problems on Earth: 'We go to space not to abandon our home, but to protect it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a speech at the Vatican, Jeff Bezos addressed people who ask why he invests "so much into space." The former Amazon CEO said investing in going to space will benefit the Earth and "protect it." The goal for Blue Origin, Bezos has previously said, is to make traveling to space cheaper, more frequent, and more accessible. In 2018, Bezos said Blue Origin was "the most important work I'm doing," in an interview with Axel Springer's CEO Mathias Döpfner. Bezos founded the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, which will disburse $10 billion, committed by Bezos, in the current decade to fight climate change and protect nature.

☆ Semafor debuts in a tough media environment, with an aim toward decluttering the news
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Semafor has been preparing for its launch since January, when former New York Times media columnist Ben Smith and former Bloomberg Media Chief Executive Officer Justin Smith quit their jobs to start the venture. The Smiths will take lessons learned from more than 20 years in digital media to steer Semafor into what they hope will be a global, profitable business. Still, advertising-supported digital media is a sector known for recession droughts and low growth — with plenty of cautionary tales. Semafor will immediately stand out from legacy news publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Steet Journal or CNN.com through its unique article structure. To solve for information overload, a key flaw in the current media ecosystem, according to Justin Smith, outside media analysis will be truncated and found in the Notable section.

☆ Jeff Bezos' knowledge of rockets blew United Launch Alliance's chief away during their initial meeting, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-23 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jeff Bezos astonished ULA boss Tory Bruno with his rocket knowledge, per The Washington Post. Bruno told The Post that Bezos was "the real deal" and wasn't faking it. Bezos' Blue Origin and Bruno's ULA agreed in 2014 to build rocket engines but delays have occurred. Bruno told the newspaper that he and Bezos "hit it off right away." Since the agreement in 2014, the relationship between Blue Origin and ULA has reportedly been rocky.

☆ How to land a job in private equity, from Blackstone to Apollo, KRR, General Atlantic, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-03 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private equity is a rewarding but challenging field to break into. Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital. Private equity recruiting has been starting earlier than ever Getty ImagesPrivate equity firms like to recruit from investment banks. These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, and it's resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day. General Atlantic managing director Alex Crisses walked Insider through the growth-equity investment firm's elite summer souring internship.

Persons: Jeffrey Hamilton, Alyssa Powell, Blackstone, Samantha Lee, Drew Angerer, Skye Gould, Jon Gray, Grace Koo, Read, Sara Diniz, Carlyle, Alex Crisses, Thoma Bravo, —, Warburg Pincus, Wharton's, Axel Springer Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Morning, Getty, Apax Partners, Oaktree, of Foreign Labor, Apollo, Bain Capital, Labor, KKR KKR, General Atlantic, PJT Partners, Partners, dealmakers, Wall, University of Michigan Locations: Carlyle, Blackstone, Axel

☆ Germany and the US aren't going to deter Putin with a few sanctions and frozen bank accounts. It's going to take a strong, democratic alliance to stop the war in Ukraine.
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-25 | by ( Mathias Döpfner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Germany must abandon its pacifist foreign policy and stand up against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Germany needs to form tighter ties with the US, stop using Russian gas, and confront Vladimir Putin. Stirred by the nuclear-power-plant disaster in Fukushima, Germany made an epochal blunder and created an unnecessary dependence on Russian energy and Russian policy. Time for a new German foreign policyNow Putin has started the long-feared war with Ukraine. The people of Ukraine need our solidarity, and words will not be enough.

☆ Jeff Bezos: This is what you are going to regret at 80
▼ + stars: | 2018-05-02 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

At the time, however, Bezos, and his wife MacKenzie, were taking a risk — one that not everyone agreed with. "So that's the kind of life regret that is very hard to be happy about when you're telling yourself in a private moment that story of your life." "When you think about the things that you will regret when you're 80, they're almost always the things that you did not do. "I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. "Because I think it's one of those things, you know, you kind of know that somebody's got your back.

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