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☆ 'Barbie' merch is everywhere and fans can't get enough: 'When you're an icon, everyone is familiar with you instinctively'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Barbie" isn't just the biggest ticket of the summer, it's also the hottest merch money can buy. Since its creation in 1959, the Barbie brand has had countless partnerships and licensing arrangements with brands in related industries. "When you're an icon, everyone is familiar with you instinctively," Quint tells Make It. "Add on the marketing push that you get with a Hollywood film, and you've got the explosion of attention, content and partnership around the movie." The boutique cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse is leaning into the Barbie hype, launching its first-ever tie-in merchandise collection alongside the film.

Persons: isn't, it's, Margo Robbie, Matthew Quint, Quint, you've, Barbie, they'll Organizations: Malibu, Columbia Business School, Alamo

☆ 5 ways AI could change your job, including making it more interesting and helping to convince your boss to let your work from home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider asked several experts in AI, economics, and remote work about the multitude of ways Americans' working lives could be impacted by AI moving forward. AI could eliminate some jobs and boost competition for those that remainGenerative AI technologies like ChatGPT will likely create some jobs and replace others. But for companies with leadership that has this concern, AI productivity gains could help them forget about some of their remote work "productivity paranoia" — a factor that in theory, could help remote work persist at some businesses. "So I think the biggest AI impact will be a ton of fully remote jobs like data-entry, payroll etc going to AI." Added Frey: "Any technology that increases productivity, ChatGPT included, makes a shorter workweek more feasible."

Persons: —, there's, Goldman Sachs, Mark Muro, Carl Benedikt Frey, coders, Frey, Oded, Muro, Nick Bloom, Columbia's Netzer, Michael Chui Organizations: Service, Brookings Institution, Columbia Business School, Workers, Microsoft, New York Fed, Companies, Stanford, McKinsey Global Institute Locations: Oxford

☆ Harvard-trained neuroscientist: The 'most underrated' skill successful people use at work—and how to develop it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Instead, there's a different skill that gives successful people a competitive edge in the workplace, says Juliette Han, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist: Self-awareness. Research suggests that developing self-awareness helps us be more creative, make sounder decisions, communicate better and build stronger relationships. According to Han, it's "the most underrated skill" successful people use to get ahead in their careers. Here are three tips to identify your strengths and cultivate greater self-awareness:Reflect on your interests and skillsWhat are you good at? "Sometimes, you don't realize what your strengths are until you see them through someone else's eyes," Han adds.

Persons: —, there's, Juliette Han, Han, you'd Organizations: Harvard, Columbia Business School, Harvard Medical School, Research

☆ Harvard-trained neuroscientist: Avoid these 3 types of toxic co-workers 'at all costs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

At work, toxic bosses, co-workers or clients can drive your brain into a stressed-out state, hurting your productivity and eroding your confidence, says Juliette Han, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist. "Toxic behavior isn't limited to people who are intentionally hurtful or lashing out at you," she adds. "People who gravitate towards drama or have a bad attitude about work can be just as bad for you." The more time you spend with someone who is constantly worried about falling short or getting fired, Han warns, the more at-risk you are for absorbing their toxic behavior. How to handle it: It's important to remember that your co-worker's victimhood mindset has nothing to do with you, Han says.

Persons: Juliette Han, Han, stirrers, weren't Organizations: Harvard, Columbia Business School, Harvard Medical School

☆ Coinbase is the latest target of the SEC’s crypto crackdown—how U.S. investors may be affected
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

On June 13, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase, the second-largest crypto exchange by volume, according to CoinMarketCap.com. The federal regulator alleges Coinbase operated its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange and broker, per the June 13 press release. The SEC also alleges at least 13 crypto assets that Coinbase made available to customers, including Solana and Cardano's tokens, qualify as "crypto asset securities," according to the complaint. This comes just one day after the SEC sued Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, and its billionaire founder, Changpeng Zhao. Trading crypto on an exchange versus peer-to-peer

Persons: Coinbase, Coinbase's, Brian Armstrong, Paul Grewal, we'll, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Gary Gensler, Chen Arad, they've, Arad, Omid, Malekan, wasn't, Bitcoin, There's, bitcoin Organizations: The U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, Twitter, Solidus Labs, NBC, Columbia Business School, Architecting, Money, U.S, Commodity, Futures, Metrics Locations: Paris, France, The, Solana, U.S, Arad

☆ Wage hikes may have been a key driver of inflation. They may now be fueling mass layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Charlotte Morabito | In Charlottemorabito | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Central bank officials around the world have said taming inflation is their top priority, but rising prices have turned out to be stickier than originally expected. The U.S. economy saw a pickup in inflation that began in 2021 amid pandemic-induced supply chain issues. This led to record job openings and high turnover as people job hopped for more money and the unemployment rate declined sharply. "But this is an unusual episode where it seems like right now the main driver of inflation is actually labor costs, and what that means actually is that workers are gaining." But there are signs that wage growth is cooling, especially as layoffs have skyrocketed nearly fivefold in 2023 across some industries.

Persons: Laura Veldkamp Organizations: Columbia Business School Locations: U.S

☆ Why retail theft is soaring: inflation, the economy – and opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But as economic fears grow amid inflation and rising borrowing costs, shoplifting often comes with the territory, industry watchers say. Need and opportunity become forceful catalysts for driving up incidents of retail crime, experts said. He described two types of store theft plaguing retailers currently. “This is organized retail crime. “What’s happening in the overall economy matters when you analyze retail crime overall, but also what is happening more locally, in towns and neighborhoods,” said Hayes.

Persons: Nordstrom, can’t, ”, Read Hayes, criminologist, Hayes, Burt Flickinger, “, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Brian Cornell, Cornell, ” Cornell, that’s, Doug McMillon Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Foods, University of Florida, Prevention Research Council, Walmart, Target, Strategic Resource, Gallup, Columbia Business School, National Retail Federation, CNN, ” Walmart, CNBC Locations: New York, San Francisco, Target

☆ Cancel That Brainstorm. There’s a Better Way to Spur Good Ideas.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Callum Borchers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The value of gathering to swap loosely formed thoughts is highly suspect, despite being a major reason many companies want workers back in offices. “You do not get your best ideas out of these freewheeling brainstorming sessions,” says Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School. He discovered that his 16-person team, now fully remote, thrives when people develop ideas on their own and can share them in writing. An Amazon spokesman adds that the company’s brainstorming sessions are sometimes unstructured but often begin with colleagues sharing well-researched memos, reducing time spent on ill-conceived ideas. Oh, he’s also noticed that the duds tend to come first, so to leave time for the good stuff, he prescribes two-hour meetings.

☆ Office Brainstorms Are a Waste of Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Callum Borchers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Office wardrobe malfunctions? The value of gathering to swap loosely formed thoughts is highly suspect, despite being a major reason many companies want workers back in offices. “You do not get your best ideas out of these freewheeling brainstorming sessions,” says Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School. Mostly, though, grumblers have accepted such meetings as an inescapable office reality, like elevator Muzak and bad coffee. An Amazon spokesman adds that the company’s brainstorming sessions are sometimes unstructured but often begin with colleagues sharing well-researched memos, reducing time spent on ill-conceived ideas.

☆ Debt limit 'brinksmanship' has a cost and is completely unnecessary: former CEA Chair Jason Furman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | 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 EmailDebt limit 'brinksmanship' has a cost and is completely unnecessary: former CEA Chair Jason FurmanGlenn Hubbard, former Council of Economic Advisers chairman and Columbia Business School professor, and Jason Furman, former CEA chairman and Harvard Kennedy School professor, join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's rate hike campaign, the latest on debt ceiling standoff, and more.

☆ Factbox: Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway at a glance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/2] Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File PhotoMay 4 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people are descending on Omaha, Nebraska to attend the annual shareholder weekend for billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N). Susan Buffett and Howard Buffett are Berkshire directors. His Berkshire stock will go to philanthropy after he dies. (Interview with CNBC, April 12, 2023)Abel on Berkshire managers' relationship with him: "It's not the same as working for Warren.

☆ 6 fun ways for ChatGPT beginners to start learning the AI-technology skills companies are looking for
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Companies are already seeking out workers with ChatGPT experience. Here's a list of six prompts ChatGPT beginners can use to familiarize themselves with the AI tech. In the working world, ChatGPT has helped users apply for jobs and be more productive once they land them. While some companies have resisted AI like ChatGPT, many, including Snapchat, Slack, and Duolingo, have incorporated ChatGPT-powered tools into their businesses. Once you're ready to play around with it, here are six fun prompts ChatGPT beginners can use to familiarize themselves with the technology.

☆ How Elon Musk upended Twitter and his own reputation in 6 months as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But it’s not clear just how and when Musk might return Twitter to growth. Musk’s primary plan to grow Twitter’s business through an overhauled subscription strategy has resulted in much chaos but only a limited number of actual subscriptions. In the process, Musk has also upended his own reputation. Disrupting the digital town squareFor years, what differentiated Twitter from other social platforms was that it served as a central hub for real-time news. Tesla (TSLA) shareholders recently complained to the company’s board that Musk appears “overcommitted.”“His reputation has been diminished significantly with Twitter … and once you lose it, it’s very difficult to recover,” Klepper said.

☆ Goldman Sachs M&A team doesn't get out of bed for less than $10 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Goldman Sachs' M&A team operates under a similar mandate, albeit with a few more zeros. Why bother stressing over 10 $1 billion deals when you can just do a $10 billion deal? It's not just the M&A market that's facing issues. The bank has held the top spot on the year-end M&A league tables for decades, but it is hearing footsteps. More on Goldman's M&A strategy amid an industry drought.

☆ A new book by a Pulitzer Prize winner unsuccessfully tries to take down the private equity industry and fixates on Leon Black. Here's what it gets wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jonathan A. Knee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The economic and political influence of the private equity sector has exploded in the last 20 years. It's true that few topics have attracted greater attention from not only crusading journalists but serious academics than the impact of private equity ownership. This supports their belief that private equity firms "carry very little risk if the company fails." This view of a "typical" private equity deal is simply untrue: Even back in 2005, the average loan-to-value percentage for new private equity deals was 68% — firms already contributed over 30% in equity to the deals not under 10% as claimed. 'Smart buyer, dumb seller'One of the important developments in private equity of the last decades has been the emergence of major private funds focused on technology investing.

☆ Upfront's Mark Suster has become the star of LA's booming startup scene. Not everyone is a fan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

"I have worked with more than 50 VCs and nobody comes close to what it is like to work with Mark Suster," said a founder backed by Suster. "Mark and the Upfront Summit helped put LA tech and investing on the map," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the cofounder of DreamWorks and WndrCo. Several years ago, a founder whose startup Suster invested in was in a conference room rehearsing their presentation for the Upfront Summit. If you're going to put him on your board, you're letting the fox guard the henhouse. "If you're going to put him on your board, you're letting the fox guard the henhouse."

☆ Leaders like Elon Musk are calling for an AI pause. But experts say there's no secret to better, safer AI: Just add humans.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Leaders like Elon Musk have called for a "pause" on AI development to better consider its effects on society. But industry insiders say that we already know the best way to make sure AI acts responsibly: Just add humans. The thing is that the secret to responsible AI is no secret at all. A lot of responsible AI deals with understanding the impact of AI in people's day-to-day lives. All of which is to say, a way to create responsible AI already exists.

☆ Here's the 13-page pitch deck Stratyfy, a fintech using AI to help lenders work with the underbanked, used to raise $10 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Stratyfy uses AI to help lenders extend more credit to underbanked communities. Here's the 13-page pitch deck Stratyfy used to raise its so-called "institutional seed." Stratyfy works to help lenders eliminate biasStratyfy uses machine-learning algorithms to help lenders remove sharp cutoffs — like those based on credit history lengths or current income — that are often used in their credit decisioning. The core engine uses a lender's traditional credit data, in addition to alternative data, to offer a breakdown of factors in a given borrower's profile. Here's the pitch deck Stratyfy used to raise $10 million.

☆ 'The credit crunch has started': Here's what tighter lending standards mean for American consumers and businesses as banks navigate the SVB wreckage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Each bank is going to apply those credit standards differently," a source told Insider. Requiring higher minimum credit scores and minimum repayments and curbing credit limits were among tweaks banks were making. Lending to consumers dropped and credit standards and terms "continued to tighten sharply," with marked rises in loan pricing. A "dramatic worsening of firm and consumer access to bank credit," is how a 2014 paper on the Federal Reserve's website describes a credit crunch. Tighter lending standards may have a big impact on floating-rate loans versus fixed loans, CFRA equity analyst Alexander Yokum told Insider.

☆ ChatGPT is strengthening the case for a 4-day workweek
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Such a productivity boost could make a four-day workweek more possible. Calls for implementing a four-day workweek have picked up steam over the past year as pilot programs have described promising results. "Any technology that increases productivity, ChatGPT included, makes a shorter workweek more feasible," Carl Benedikt Frey, an Oxford economist, told Insider. 'The workweek length is up for grabs'Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, is among those advocating a four-day workweek. "Yes, ChatGPT might make a four-day workweek more feasible in principle," Frey said.

☆ Bank runs have the crypto industry on high alert. 3 experts explain why the latest batch is especially worrisome — and what comes next.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Only a decade ago, bank runs happened at a much slower pace. The era of digital bank runsOne thing the past few weeks has made clear is that bank runs now unfold differently, especially for smaller banks that service specialized sectors. "Bank runs are evolving into a different and much more dangerous beast because they happen faster," Baker said. By comparison, on March 9, SVB lost $42 billion in a day — and it was a smaller bank, Baker added. Long said she warned regulators again after FTX collapsed that banks servicing the crypto sector face the danger of bank runs.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank red flags: Why did almost everyone fail to predict its collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A bank run took down Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, as depositors withdrew $42 billion in a single day. To embrace a uniquely Silicon Valley ethos that champions boldness, growth and disruption. Silicon Valley Bank held 55% of its customers' deposits in long-dated bonds whose value eroded as interest rates went up. Silicon Valley Bank held an unusually large proportion (55%) of its customers’ deposits in long-dated Treasuries. And for most of that year, Silicon Valley Bank was operating with a massive vacancy in its corporate leadership team: a chief risk officer.

☆ We need to reconsider the capital regulation of banks: Columbia professor Piskorski
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | 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 EmailWe need to reconsider the capital regulation of banks: Columbia professor PiskorskiColumbia Business School Professor Tomasz Piskorski joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss whether banks should be prepared for customers pulling deposits, whether there should be full deposit insurance, and much more.

☆ Junk fees cost consumers tens of billions annually, according to the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Fees on concert tickets, airfares, hotels and other so-called junk fees cost Americans tens of billions of dollars every year, often obscuring the full price of purchases from consumers, top economic experts said at the White House on Tuesday. Biden also called on state legislators to address junk fees at a March 8 virtual meeting with the White House. The eradication of junk fees is also a bipartisan issue with positive benefits for the economy, Brainard will say. She says recent surveys show 75% of consumers support cutting junk fees, "with strong support across party lines." "As an economist, I know that regulating junk fees has a strong foundation in decades of scholarship.

Employees have been working around the clock to onboard as many startups as possible in the wake of the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank, which had more than $175 billion in deposits and served nearly half of US VC-backed startups, was taken over by US regulators on March 10. "That said, I am worried that this bias towards a Big Four bank is a double-edged sword," Shekar added. "SVB did not think like a big bank. They could understand your operating plan when a big bank would balk at it," Ashley Tyrner, CEO and founder of FarmBoxRX, told Insider.

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