DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Since 2015, Prime Day sales have risen to more than $7 billion and could top $8 billion this year. Now in its ninth year, Amazon's annual Prime Day has become a fact of American life — a quasi-holiday that retailers of all types pile into. Protestors in New York raising awareness of Amazon facilitating ICE surveillance efforts coinciding with Amazon Prime Day 2019. How Prime Day is goingLast year, Amazon drove more than $7 billion in sales through its Prime Day sales, according to Insider Intelligence. The number of Amazon Prime account holders has ballooned too, with nearly 175 million people using Amazon Prime in the US today — around two-thirds of the country's population — according to a report by Insider Intelligence.

Persons: Michael M, Jack Ma's Alibaba, Diego Piacentini, Jeff Bezos, Brad Stone, Bezos, Execs, Stone, Meagan Wulff Reibstein, Wulff, Kevin Hagen, Brian Olsavsky, Rafael Henrique, Scott Olson, Andrew Lipsman, Lipsman, — Organizations: Amazon Prime, Companies, Amazon, Intelligence, Insider Intelligence, Workers, Walmart, Getty, Target, Target Circle, Black, Prime Locations: China, Tokyo, London, Paris, Munich, Japan, Europe, New York

☆ Travel in America is a crasphoot, and it won't get better anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Passengers weave through JFK International airport on Friday, which is expected to be the busiest day for air travel since the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, it’s not going to get better anytime soon. This summer, airfare is expected to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, though a bit lower than their 2022 levels, according to travel research site Hopper. Demand for air travel roared back faster than airports and airlines could rehire staff. When demand for travel roared back faster than expected, the airlines couldn’t hire fast enough.

Persons: David Dee Delgado, it’s, Scott Olson, ” Biden, airfare, Hopper, Mario Tama Organizations: New, New York CNN, Transportation Security, JFK International, Biden, Amtrak, Jet, McKinsey Locations: New York, United States, Europe, Asia

☆ The billionaires' beef at Two Sigma seems pretty petty
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ICYMI: This is the last week of 10 Things on Wall Street. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino has more details on how long the beef between Overdeck and Siegel has been brewing behind the scenes. What stands out to me about the drama at Two Sigma is how it all seems to be so petty. The Two Sigma cofounder was included only as an example of the type of managers Haider had eclipsed. The asset manager tapped two internal executives to serve as co-CEOs of the firm, succeeding CEO Jay Wintrob, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Persons: Dan DeFrancesco, I'm, Billy Joel's, —, we've, Goldman, Cofounders David Siegel, John Overdeck, David Siegel, cofounders, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, Siegel, Rebecca, Haidar Capital's Said Haidar, Haider, Penny, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Scott Olson, Ruobing Su, Michael Broadbery, Goldman Sachs, Maza, Andreessen Horowitz, Seth Klarman, Jay Wintrob, Robert O'Leary, Armen Panossian, Everybody's, they're, Joey Hadden, Jeffrey Cane, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Sigma, Baupost, Oaktree Capital, Street, Wall, LinkedIn Locations: Omaha, New York, London

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Oracle rescinds job offers, Twitter is getting evicted, and CEOs predict what’s next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Big thanks to my amazing colleagues Hallam Bullock, Nathan Rennolds, and Lara O'Reilly for covering the newsletter while I was out. My colleague Sonam Sheth, however, is quite confused as to why hundreds of other people are also watching it. This setup means Amazon gets to list more items as eligible for free Prime shipping without having to significantly expand warehouses. They have to ship over 99% of their orders on time with an order cancellation rate of less than 0.5%. The US gives Russia's nuclear program about $1 billion every year.

Persons: It's, I'm, Siu, Hallam Bullock, Nathan Rennolds, Lara O'Reilly, I've, Sonam Sheth, Scott Olson, Eugene Kim, They've, Read, Elon, Valentina Tereshkova, Con —, Tupac, Diamond Naga Siu, Alistair Barr Organizations: Wall Street, Getty, Oracle, Twitter, Ikea, Benz, Washington Locations: Colorado, Spain, Portugal, Paris, California, San Diego, San Francisco, London

☆ In another grim milestone for the housing market, 75% of homes are unaffordable for middle-income buyers, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Today we're bringing you the latest updates on housing, Russia's currency moves, and the outlook for tech stocks. Homebuyers are returning to the US housing market as mortgage rates fall. The housing market isn't getting any more affordable. It's so expensive right now that over 75% of homes are too pricey for middle-income buyers, the National Association of Realtors said. Tech stocks are in the midst of a "1995 moment."

Persons: I'm Max Adams, Let's, Scott Olson, Goldman Sachs, Wedbush's Dan Ives, They've, —, Elon, Tesla, Max Adams, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Getty, National Association of Realtors, Helix Biopharma Corp, MamaMancini's Holdings, Kremlin, Tech, EV, GM, Ford Locations: —, Russia, New York, London

☆ Someone brought a severed pig's head to the Miami courthouse where Trump is due to appear on Espionage Act charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Edith Honan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump critics and the MAGA faithful gathered in Miami ahead of the former president's arraignment. "I am here expressing my joy, because in the end the system works," Estrada told the Miami Herald. Osmany Estrada holds the pig's head near a group wearing 'Blacks for Trump 2020' shirts. A Trump impersonator outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse. Win McNamee/Getty ImagesA supporter of former President Donald Trump pulls a trailer around outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. courthouse in Miami.

Persons: MAGA, Trump, —, Donald Trump's, Osmany Estrada, " Estrada, Estrada, Giorgio Viera, Getty Images Trump, Wilkie, Ferguson Jr, Waltine Nauda, Domenic Santana, Win McNamee, Donald Trump, Scott Olson, Stormy Daniels, Joe Biden Organizations: Trump, Service, Miami Herald, Blacks, Getty Images, Federal, White House, Politico, Miami, Miami Police Department, United States, Getty, Manhattan, Attorney's, Prosecutors, Washington Post Locations: Miami, Lago, Cuban, Mar, Florida, Fulton County , Georgia

☆ CPI in May: US inflation cooled significantly — but it's still not where the Fed wants it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation gauge that measures price changes for a basket of goods and services, increased 4% for the year ending in May. That represents a sharp pullback from April’s 4.9% and is slightly below economists’ expectations for a 4.1% gain, according to Refinitiv. It’s the 11th consecutive month that inflation has slowed, and it’s a welcome reprieve from the painful shock of persistently high inflation endured during the past two years. The Fed would like to see inflation (as measured by the core Personal Consumption Expenditures index) settle in at 2%. Markets are currently pricing in a 95.3% probability that the Fed pauses on Wednesday, according to CME FedWatch.

Persons: It’s, “, Nancy Vanden Houten, it’s, Chris Zaccarelli, “ They’ve, ”, Scott Olson, Vanden Houten, There’s, Kurt Rankin, ” Rankin Organizations: Minneapolis CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oxford Economics, CNN, Federal Reserve, Independent, CPI, Fed, FedWatch, Walmart, Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond, Hospitality, PNC Financial Services, PNC, United Locations: Minneapolis, Chicago , Illinois, United States

☆ One of the most dangerous hours in America is now 11 o’clock on Sunday morning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

It would also foreshadow a disturbing trend that has only worsened in subsequent years: 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is now one of the most dangerous hours of the week in America, pastors and church security officials say. Brady Boyd, senior pastor of New Life Church, the same church where Assam confronted a gunman 16 years ago. And in 2018, a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. But his church security does not have a monopoly on Sunday morning firepower. Consider this sobering Sunday morning scenario:A spiritual seeker visits a church and finds it filled with metal detectors and armed security guards carrying walkie-talkies.

Persons: Jeanne Assam, He’s, Beretta, Jake Stephens, Brian Snyder, ”, Brady Boyd, Boyd, “ That’s, Scott Olson, Rabbi Hillel Norry, Beth David, Norry, “, Kwon, Jeff Swensen, ” Norry, that’s, Shaukat Warraich, Dwayne Harris, Harris, Hope, ” Harris, Darren Hauck, Tim Russell, ‘ I’m, David Swanson, Pastors, Jesus ’, ” Boyd, Jesus, Tommy Mason, Mason, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Saint Joseph, Beau Biden, Brendan Smialowski, Jerilee Bennett, George W . Bush, “ You’re Organizations: CNN, New, Church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Reuters Churches, New Life, White, Texas Church of Christ, Baptist, Security, Police, House Church, Geneva Presbyterian, Colorado Springs, Marion County Baptist Association, Service, Brandywine Catholic, “ Police, AP, Minneapolis Police Department Locations: Colorado, Assam, Colorado Springs, America, Charleston , South Carolina, Sutherland Springs , Texas, Texas, Orange County , California, Oak Creek , Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, That’s, New Zealand, Missouri, ”, Geneva, Laguna Woods , California, Marion, Alabama, Saint, Brandywine, Brandywine Catholic Church, Wilmington , Delaware, AFP, AP Assam

☆ Strict polling requirements from the RNC wiped out most of the GOP primary field before they could even declare
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The RNC set a number of benchmarks a campaign needs to hit to make the August 23 debate. Candidates must poll at 1% or higher in three polls with over 800 likely Republican voters. Not many polls have over 800 likely Republican voters, so that'll be harder to hit than some expect. That's a high bar for some campaigns in the increasingly busy bottom of the race, but that's not even the number that's going to screw them. Chris Christie, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Doug Burgum will all in the GOP primary by the end of the week.

Persons: —, That's, that's, Gallup, Chris Christie, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Doug Burgum, Wade Vandervort, Andrew Caballero, Getty, Scott Olson, Stephen Yang, Nate Cohn, FiveThirtyEight's Nathaniel Rakich, Geoffrey Skelley, Nikki Haley, South, Tim Scott, Sen, Jim DeMint, Ehrhardt, Trump, DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy — Organizations: RNC, Republican, Service, Republican National Committee, Republicans, Morning, New York Times, GOP, South Carolina, AP, North Dakota Gov Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire , Nevada, South Carolina, FiveThirtyEight, Columbia

☆ Conservative boycotts against Target and Bud Light are working thanks to a 'perfect storm' of social media and culture wars, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Experts say the boycotts work thanks to the culture wars and panic-stoking online and in the media. Bud Light was the target of social-media outcry in April after it partnered with the trans influencer and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch said that several of its facilities had received threats following the weeks of backlash against its brands. Like Bud Light, Nike also partnered with Mulvaney, but that outrage cycle seemed to blow over quickly. "Well, you know what, the next company is gonna say, 'We don't want to be Bud Light or Target.

Persons: —, Bud Light, Dylan Mulvaney, Disney, Ron DeSantis, Joe Raedle, Lawrence Glickman, Glickman, Bud, Busch, Brian Cornell, Scott Olson, Vanitha Swaminathan, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, Cruz, Ari Drennen, Drennen Organizations: Service, Target, Florida Gov, American Studies, Cornell University, Consumer, Bud Light, Anheuser, Survey, Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, Cornell, Nike, Mulvaney, Katz, Branding, University of, Republican, Disney, Media Matters Locations: Target, America, Patagonia

☆ Here’s what Pfizer and Moderna say is next for their Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Scott Olson | Getty ImagesThree years and billions of Covid vaccinations into the pandemic, Pfizer and Moderna say their work is far from over. Here's what Moderna and Pfizer say is next for their Covid shots. Annual Covid shotsPfizer and Moderna aim to keep up with a shift in the U.S. toward annual Covid shots rather than frequent booster doses. Miller, who helped lead the development of Moderna's Covid shot in 2020, said the advantages of using mRNA became evident earlier on in the pandemic. 'Next-generation' Covid shotsPfizer's and Moderna's Covid vaccines both deliver robust protection against the virus, but that immunity can start to fade after four to six months.

☆ The most dangerous place for retail workers might be right outside their stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ben Tobin | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Store parking lots can present dangers for workers and customers alike. Roughly half of all deaths one outlet recorded at retailers in early 2022 occurred in parking lots. The incident illustrates a particular danger for retail workers that lies not within the confines of their brick-and-mortar stores but outside them, in the parking lot. Many of them identified the parking lot as the place they felt most unsafe. Retail store's parking lots are the scene of both violence and accidentsA worker collects shopping carts from the parking lot of a Walmart store in Chicago.

☆ Activist Shareholder Plans Proxy Battle at Shake Shack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Lauren Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shake Shack’s shares have been cut nearly in half from an early-2021 high. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesActivist investor Engaged Capital is planning to run a proxy fight for three board seats at high-end burger chain Shake Shack , according to people familiar with the matter. Including swaps, Engaged has a roughly 6.6% stake, the people said.

☆ Vivek Ramaswamy's firm courts GOP officials as he pushes businesses to stay out of politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Scott Olson | Getty ImagesRepublican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy built his White House bid around urging companies to stay out of politics. The messages show Ramaswamy's firm actively engaged with GOP state leaders who have defended the fossil fuel industry and criticized environmentally conscious investment standards. Ramaswamy on Thursday defended the firm's engagement with GOP officials, saying bigger firms BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have conducted similar practices with state officials across the country. Strive has become one of the more vocal opponents of ESG investing and has gained enough notoriety to challenge the likes of fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil . Ron DeSantis, have often attacked ESG investing standards and corporations that support social causes — an increasingly common refrain within the GOP.

☆ The real reasons stores are closing in big cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These big chains and others have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some of the country’s most prominent downtowns and business districts. How policymakers remake their downtowns — with retail as a crucial attraction — will be crucial to cities’ fiscal health and regional economies. People who are being employed in those stores are losing their jobs” because of crime, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said in February. San Francisco lost around 6% of its retail establishments from 2019 to 2021, according to the think tank’s research. For example, chain-store closures in New York City have correlated to the products most frequently bought online.

☆ When Jamie Dimon speaks, Wall Street listens - and he just warned of catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But on Thursday, the man with the most gravitas on Wall Street shared his take on the potentially catastrophic scenario that's just weeks away. Everyone pays attention when Jamie Dimon speaks. In an interview with Bloomberg, Dimon said he's put together a "war room" at JPMorgan to plan for contingencies around a potential US default. While Dimon doesn't anticipate the country will actually see its first-ever default, he acknowledged the clock is running down. "Markets will get volatile, maybe the stock market will go down, the Treasury markets will have their own problems."

☆ Apple and fintechs like Robinhood chase yield-hungry depositors as Fed rate hikes continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Last month, the iPhone maker launched its Apple Card savings account with a generous 4.15% APY in partnership with Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs . "It's really a trade-off for consumers, between safety or the appearance of safety, and yield," Laplanche told CNBC. Still, the emerging group of high-yield savings products are much more mainstream than what the crypto platforms were promoting. SoFi launched its high-yield savings account in February of last year. In its annual SEC filing, the company said that offering checking and high-yield savings accounts provided "more daily interactions with our members."

☆ What John Blake discovered when he met the White mother he never knew
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +25 min

It’s a story about my mother, and the White relatives who shunned me at birth—and still somehow became family. I now know one of the reasons my family didn’t tell me about my mom’s illness is because they didn’t know how. I vividly recall thinking as I looked at my mom: I didn’t know a White person could suffer like this. I saw White, Black, and brown people hug and call each other “brother” and “sister” after worship service. John Blake is a Senior Writer at CNN and the author of “More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.”

☆ Democrats say Florida is 'dead for Biden' as his 2024 presidential campaign starts: 'We just need to be realistic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

"It's like a dead carcass on the side of the road," DeSantis said in April of the Florida Democratic Party. Nearly two decades ago, Florida Democrats were "similarly declared dead, you know, forever, Amen," Schale said, but they rebounded. Wilfredo Lee/AP PhotoDemocrats say they still have spend in FloridaBut it's important for Democrats to still invest campaign resources in Florida, Democratic insiders said. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the party had no infrastructure and no voter registration drive when she took the helm in February. Joe Raedle/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty ImagesBuilding a Democratic benchFried she's optimistic about Florida Democrats' future — and Biden's potential there.

☆ Trump's 'states rights' abortion stance is drawing criticism from the right — but don't expect it to dent his evangelical support in Iowa: 'I don't think we can die on that hill'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Trump has backed away from a nationwide law on abortion, saying the issue is best left to states. Asa Hutchinson, and Sen. Tim Scott of Florida — declined to draw a strong contrast with Trump on abortion. That statement quickly upset many on the anti-abortion right. Maggie DeWitte, the director of an Iowa anti-abortion group, had a table that included "free babies." "We need to convince more people that the life position is the right position," said Horman.

☆ Veteran investor David Roche says a credit crunch is coming for 'small-town America'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A home in Lynch, Kentucky. Central banks in Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. sprang into action to reassure that they would provide liquidity backstops, to prevent a domino effect and calm the markets. Roche, who correctly predicted the development of the Asian crisis in 1997 and the 2008 global financial crisis, argued that, alongside their efforts to rein in sky-high inflation, central banks are "trying to do two things at once." "They're trying to keep liquidity high, so that the problems of deposit withdrawals and other problems relating to mark-to-market of assets in banks do not cause more crises, more threats of systemic risk," he said. "At the same time, they're trying to tighten monetary policy, so, in a sense, you've got a schizophrenic personality of every central bank, which is doing with the right hand one thing and doing with the left hand the other thing."

☆ FDA authorizes additional omicron Covid booster for seniors and people with weak immune systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an additional dose of Pfizer and Moderna 's Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant for seniors and people with weak immune systems. People with weak immune systems can receive another omicron shot at least two months after their last dose and receive additional shots at the discretion of their doctor. Children 6 months through 5 years of age who are unvaccinated can now receive the full two-dose series of Moderna's omicron vaccine. The FDA first authorized the omicron BA.5 shots last August, but that subvariant has long since been displaced by a version of omicron called XBB.1.5. In June, the agency will likely update the variant that the Covid vaccines target, ahead of the fall respiratory virus season.

☆ Congressional Democrats bash Ron DeSantis for alienating Florida job creator Disney World in service of a 'flailing presidential campaign'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Warren Rojas | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ron DeSantis's Tuesday swing through DC, calling it ill-timed, his political resume goofy, and his ongoing fight with Walt Disney World a devastating vanity project. Walt Disney World has roughly 80,000 employees in Florida and is the state's biggest tourist attraction. The Florida governor wasn't being offered much cover by Florida Republicans on Capitol Hill. When another reporter asked whether DeSantis had gone too far by threatening Disney with state prisoners for neighbors, Scott claimed ignorance. "Ron DeSantis is out campaigning outside of the state of Florida and picking fights with Mickey Mouse," Fried said.

☆ Apple's new financial product reinforces its ecosystem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Apple 's (AAPL) latest banking offering — a savings account with a 4.15% annual percentage yield — bolsters the Club's own-it, don't-trade-it mantra. Apple's high-yield savings account is available Monday for users of its Goldman Sachs (GS)-backed credit card. The savings account is unlikely to have a material impact on Apple's profit-and-loss statement — but that's not its fundamental purpose. Like Apple's other financial services — including Apple Pay — the savings account is largely about boosting the long-term attractiveness of owning an iPhone, the crown jewel of its hardware lineup. As a result, investors are willing to pay up for services revenue, which in practice translates into a higher price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) on Apple's stock.

☆ Tupperware: How a plastic bowl with a 'burping seal' gave women a means to an income
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Tupperware stereotyped women as much as it empowered themTupperware parties became popular social and marketing events in the 1950s and 60s. They wanted to present an upscale version of themselves because these were also events where women were recruited into the Tupperware sales force,” he said. Tupperware products were the centerpiece of the event, carefully stacked and presented to be shown off. Wise, a divorced single mother living in Florida, held her own Tupperware parties in the 1940s and 50s and became a budding entrepreneur. Like Blockbuster, the Tupperware brand will never go away,” he said.

Search resuls for: "Scott Olson"

25 mentions found