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☆ The tug-of-war is on between deal-hungry shoppers and retailers wary of giving them throw-away prices on Black Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

So are the start-of-the-season deals enticing enough for shoppers or are they holding out in a cat-and-mouse game with retailers? Michael Brown, retail industry leader and partner with management consulting firm Kearney, said the much earlier-than-usual jumpstart to holiday sales this year could be to blame. Shoppers will be holding out for better deals,” he said. Kena Betancur/Getty ImagesTotal holiday sales this year are expected to come in softer compared to last year. He said there were plenty of 25% off Black Friday deals mall-wide and some deeper 40% off promotions for early-bird shoppers.

Persons: New York CNN —, Michael Brown, Kearney, ”, Brown, Emily Elconin, Marshal Cohen, ” Cohen, Barbie, Willing, they’ve, Kena Betancur, Brian Schroeder, Kendra Scott, “, Aeropostale, Aritzia, Shannon Stapleton, Marc Rosen, Rosen, ” Rosen, Nathaniel Meyersohn Organizations: New, New York CNN, “, Shoppers, Black, National Retail Federation, Adobe Analytics, Disney Little, Marvel, Macy's, Brookfield Properties, Brookfield Asset Management, Nike, Apple, Simon Property Group, JCPenney Locations: New York, Oaks, Michigan, New York , New York, La Cantera, San Antonio , Texas, Brookfield, Roosevelt, Garden City , New York, Penney

☆ Reaction to Sam Altman's return as OpenAI CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and ChatGPT creator speaks during a talk at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Openai LLC FollowNov 22 (Reuters) - OpenAI said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, capping frenzied discussions about the future of the startup at the center of the artificial intelligence boom. THRIVE CAPITAL, OPENAI SHAREHOLDER"OpenAI has the potential to be one of the most consequential companies in the history of computing. "Sam Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. Altman and (Microsoft CEO) Nadella may have pushed to allow Altman a much freer hand."

Persons: Sam Altman, Amir Cohen, OpenAI, DANNI HEWSON, BELL, Altman, DANIELA HATHORN, Altman's, Greg, Brockman, ChatGPT's, would've, SUSANNAH STREETER, HARGREAVES LANSDOWN, Sam Altman's, KELVIN WONG, MAK, Nadella, hasn't, Supantha Mukherjee, Ankika Biswas, Bansari Mayur, Aditya Soni, Miyoung Kim, Nivedita Organizations: Microsoft, Tel Aviv University, REUTERS, BANK, OpenAI, MNC, OF, UNIVERSITY OF, UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE BUSINSS, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE, OpenAI, Stockholm, Bengaluru

Bret Taylor, formerly co-CEO of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, will join Quora CEO and current director Adam D'Angelo, OpenAI said. Altman said in a post on X, "i'm looking forward to returning to openai." In a statement on X, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella welcomed the changes to OpenAI's board. In a post on X, Shear celebrated the late-night outcome Tuesday, which he said followed "~72 very intense hours of work." Following this show of solidarity, Altman wrote on X: "we have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before."

Persons: Sam Altman, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, OpenAI, Altman, Satya Nadella, Altman's, OpenAI's, Emmett Shear, Sam Altman's, Susannah Streeter, Hargreaves Lansdown, Shear, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Jeffrey Dastin, Tanna, Bansari, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sam Holmes Organizations: Microsoft, U.S . Treasury, Quora, Hargreaves, Reuters, Thomson Locations: openai, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ A.I. Belongs to the Capitalists Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Kevin Roose | More About Kevin Roose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

What happened at OpenAI over the past five days could be described in many ways: A juicy boardroom drama, a tug of war over one of America’s biggest start-ups, a clash between those who want A.I. to progress faster and those who want to slow it down. But it was, most importantly, a fight between two dueling visions of artificial intelligence. In one vision, A.I. In another vision, A.I.

Persons: Sam Altman Locations: OpenAI

☆ Holiday shopping: Months-long sale season may dilute the impact of Black Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The day after Thanksgiving historically has marked the start of the holiday shopping rush. This matters because the November-December gift-buying months combined can account for about 20%, or a sizable chunk, of retailers’ sales for the full year. Retailers this year trotted out early Black Friday-like deals weeks ahead of the annual day-after-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza. “It is a lengthier shopping season because retailers were rolling out early Black Friday deals as early as October. Walmart’s first round of early Black Friday deals included a 50-inch TV house brand for $148.

Persons: New York CNN —, “, ”, Marshal Cohen, Cohen, Yuki Iwamura, Adam Davis, Wells, they’ll, Cohen doesn’t, doorbusters, Julie Ramhold, ” Ramhold, Charlie Riedel, Walmart’s, “ I’m, Chromebooks Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Retail Federation, Getty, Retailers, “, ”, Shoppers, Apple, Valentine’s Locations: New York, AFP, Wells Fargo

Binance is also expected to expected to plead guilty to the charges. Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, has amassed a fortune that Bloomberg pegs at more than $23 billion. This alleged misconduct paved the way for Binance to become king of the crypto exchanges, prosecutors allege. Prosecutors allege Binance, “knowingly failed” to register as a money service business, willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and willfully caused violations of US economic sanctions. The SEC also alleged that Zhao and Binance commingled customer assets and even diverted some to an entity controlled by Zhao.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, General Merrick Garland, Janet Yellen, laundered, “, ” Binance Organizations: New, New York CNN —, CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street, Treasury, Prosecutors, Court, Western, of, ” Prosecutors, Binance, The Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Locations: New York, of Washington, Canadian, United States, America

Sales of existing homes fell by 4.1% in October as a shortage of houses for sale and higher mortgage rates dampened activity, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday. The annual level of sales reached 3.79 million, down 14.6% from a year ago when sales were 4.44 million. “Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. There is some relief, however, as mortgage rates have fallen in the past week. Some housing industry analysts believe rates could trend under 7% early next year as overall interest rates begin falling amid expectations the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.

Persons: ”, Lawrence Yun, ” Yun, “, Danielle Hale Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Midwest, Federal Locations: “

☆ A former Vice exec is launching an AI platform that can visualize entire stories, scripts, or poems from the text
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He started Lore Machine with Moises Sanabria, the company's chief prompt officer, and Kutlu Mizrak, who is in charge of natural-language processing. Lore Machine turns text stories into images, ensuring consistency in style for the different characters, locations, and recurring elements. Stable Diffusion vs Midjourney) depending on their preferences and their values. Lore Machine is currently in beta, and being used by screenwriters, artists, novelists, graphic novelists, and animators, with a waitlist of over 12,000, the company said. Campion said he expects Lore Machine to be publicly available in early 2024.

Persons: Thobey Campion, Campion, Moises Sanabria, Kutlu Mizrak, Machine's, it's, Phil Gelatt, Lore Machine's, Lore, Samuel T Organizations: Business, Machine, Hollywood, Lore Machine

☆ ‘Succession’ star Brian Cox wears faux leather trousers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —In the five years Brian Cox played vitriolic media mogul Logan Roy in HBO’s boardroom drama “Succession,” viewers mostly saw him on-screen in a navy business suit and burgundy tie. Brian Cox's camel-hued leather trousers have caused a stir online. “I wish this app would stop showing me Brian Cox in those leather trousers and loafers,” added another. More recently, Joe Jonas has been praised online for his rotating selection of leather pants in red, brown, black and silver during the latest Jonas Brothers tour. Lo and behold, two decades on, everyone’s favorite faux-CEO is bearing his calves — and more besides — in leather trousers on prime-time television.

Persons: Brian Cox, Logan Roy, Venk Modur, Cox, Waystar, Jasmine Chongo, Lowry, Jimmy Fallon, Brian Cox's, Todd Owyoung, Roy, ”, Modur, Freddie Mercury’s, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presely, Joe Jonas, Jonas Brothers, horsebit loafers, “, Anne Hollander, New York Times — Organizations: CNN, Scottish thespian, HBO, Warner Bros, NBC, Getty, Cox’s, New York Times, General Electric Locations: Budapest, America

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ If You’re Going to Fall Down, This Is the Right Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Jen Murphy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In any tug of war between Barbro Finndin Stål and her large poodle, Sally, the dog usually wins. The 72-year-old walks her dog daily, and a few squirrel sightings that excited the dog have left her on the ground. She has been shaken, though never seriously injured. When she saw classes training people how to fall advertised in her local newspaper in Gothenburg, Sweden, she immediately signed up.

Persons: Finndin Stål, Sally Locations: Gothenburg, Sweden

☆ Take Five: That rate cut trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Markets are keen to trade rate cuts and big central banks are pushing back, shining a new light on upcoming data in that tug of war. Traders, anticipating roughly three quarter-point Fed rate cuts next year, will now turn their attention to Tuesday's inflation data to confirm their view on the outlook. A sharper cooling could fan the peak rate talk, fuelled by October's employment report, which pointed to an easing in labor markets. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics3/ ONCE BITTENThe robust dollar suddenly appears vulnerable to the push and pull in the market's Fed rate cut bets. The data could also help justify, or challenge, recent remarks from BoE chief economist Huw Pill that mid-2024 could be the time for rate cuts.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Lewis Krauskopf, Kevin Buckland, Danilo Masoni, Alun John, Dhara, Jerome Powell, Ping, Powell, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, BoE, Huw Pill, Sumanta Sen, Pasit, Riddhima Talwani, Prinz Magtulis, Jayaram, Dhara Ranasinghe, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Traders, Reuters, Beijing, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, New York, Tokyo, Milan, London, Washington, September's, Germany, Europe, ITALY, Italy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Nope” star Keke Palmer alleges in civil court documents that she suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, with whom she shares a son. The filing this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court included a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Darius Jackson, 29. Telephone messages seeking comment from Jackson were left on voicemail at a number associated with his address as listed in the court filing. She said she dated Jackson from June 2021 until the relationship ended this past October because of physical and emotional abuse. Representatives for Palmer did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment from the star.

Persons: Keke Palmer, Darius Jackson, Wendy L, Wilcox, Jackson, Lauren Palmer, Darius trespassed, “, ”, Palmer, ” Palmer, “ Akeelah, she's Organizations: ANGELES, Court, Broadway Locations: Los Angeles, Palmer

(AP) — The Louisiana Legislature has until Jan. 15 to enact a new congressional map after a lower court last year ruled that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters, a federal New Orleans appeals court said Friday. Louisiana is among states still wrangling over congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act. They argue that Black populations in the state are too dispersed to be united into a second majority Black district. Lawmakers now have until mid-January to draw and pass a new map, which would have to be done through a special session. However, in the appeals court’s order it does say that the district court will have discretion to grant “limited additional time” if requested.

Persons: John Bel Edwards, Jeff Landry, “, Edwards, Shelly Dick, ” Dick, ” Edwards, Troy Carter, ”, Carter, Landry, Landry won’t Organizations: The Louisiana Legislature, Democratic Gov, Republican Gov, U.S ., Appeals, Fifth District, Louisiana’s GOP, U.S, Supreme, Republicans, Black, Lawmakers, Senate, U.S . Rep, Democratic Locations: BATON ROUGE, La, The Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana’s, Louisiana, Alabama, Black, “

☆ Airbus bullish on jet output as profits override space charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Airbus declined to elaborate on the charge, which came as the planemaker formally announced a restructuring in its Defence & Space division that has been in preparation for several months. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury stuck to his guns, however. Airbus is producing A320-family jets in the low-50s per month instead of a planned level closer to 58, they said. On the loss-making A220, Airbus reiterated plans to raise output to 14 a month. "We are working very closely with them in the spirit of supporting them, but we also expect from Spirit to well support Airbus.

Persons: Steven Udvar, Guillaume Faury, Faury, Pratt, Safran, Whitney, Chris Calio, Spirit, Patrick Shanahan, Tim Hepher, Valerie Insinna, Allison Lampert, Matt Scuffham, Sharon Singleton, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Airbus, Defence, Space, Air Lease AL.N, Pratt & Whitney, CFM, GE Aerospace, GE, Boeing, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Paris, Washington, Montreal

The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.4%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped 1.2%, snapping three straight days of gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) fell 1.7%, while mainland China blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.4%. The index fell 1.3% last week, its steepest decline since mid-July, part of the wider risk-on mood in markets. The euro slipped 0.4% to $1.067, down from an eight-week peak of $1.0756 hit on Monday.

Persons: Toby Melville, Michael Hewson, Nicholas Chia, HSI, Tom Wilson, Tom Westbrook, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln, Kim Coghill, Christina Fincher Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Nasdaq, CMC, Standard Chartered, Fed, Reserve Bank of Australia, Brent, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Singapore

☆ Asia stocks snap winning streak, Aussie slips
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 1.2% following a three-day rally that lifted the benchmark by nearly 6%. South Korean shares (.KS11) fell 3% as traders unwound some of Monday's surge on the reimposition of a short-selling ban. Treasuries were broadly steady in Asia, having unwound a little of last week's rally on Monday. Ten-year yields hovered at 4.92% - about 10 basis points above where they closed on Friday, but below where they were a week earlier. "It was a dovish hike...it's not pointing to any immediate need for a follow-up," said RBC Capital Markets rates strategist Rob Thompson on the phone from Sydney.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Nicholas Chia, it's, Rob Thompson, Alan Ruskin, George Saravelos, Gold, bitcoin, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Reserve Bank of Australia, South, Japan's Nikkei, Shanghai, Nasdaq, Standard Chartered, Fed, Capital Markets, U.S, Deutsche Bank, Brent, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, Australia, Asia, Pacific, Sydney, Taiwan, East, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore

☆ Oil prices ease as market awaits China data to gauge demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices eased on Tuesday, giving up most of the gains from the previous day, on concerns over weak demand in China, with investors focusing on trade data due later in the day to gauge demand from the world's second-largest oil consumer. Both benchmarks gained about 30 cents on Monday after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to extra voluntary oil supply cuts until the end of the year. "Oil prices were supported by continued output cuts by Saudi and Russia the previous day but investors' attention has shifted to demand, especially in China," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, noting all eyes are on data from China this week. "We expect to see a tug-of-war at the levels near the current oil prices going forward, while digesting news on both supply and demand sides," Tazawa said, adding the trend may change dramatically if the Middle East situation becomes more tense. Moscow also announced it would continue its additional voluntary supply cut of 300,000 bpd from its crude oil and petroleum product exports until the end of December.

Persons: Toshitaka Tazawa, Tazawa, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Brent, West Texas, Saudi, Fujitomi Securities Locations: San Joaquin Valley, McKittrick , California, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Gaza, Moscow, Venezuela's

But they are going only as far as the safest bets in the junk category, bonds rated BB and B. Junk bond spreads, the additional interest rate investors demand over safe Treasury bonds, tightened sharply. The spreads of those rated BB and B, or the higher rungs of junk, had tightened 47-52 basis points last week, according to Informa Global Markets data. Four junk bond issuers – Bombardier (BBDb.TO), Venture Global LNG, Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete and InfraBuild Australia - announced bond offerings on Monday. The spotty access to bond markets does not bode well for poorly rated companies.

Persons: Rick Wilking, ”, Edward Marrinan, Peter Knapp, Winnie Cisar, bode, Morgan Stanley, Moody's, Manuel Hayes, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Paritosh Bansal, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Nikko Securities Americas, Investors, JPMorgan, Informa, CCC, Bombardier, Venture Global LNG, “, London, Insight Investment, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, Smyrna, Australia

☆ Here's how the stock market can build on its best week of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

These two points blunted anything that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had to say and that was all it took to have the best week in the stock market of the year. He's the union president, which contributes to investor ennui given how unions have produced minus signs in the stock market wherever they prey. But yields looked to break out the wrong way for the stock market for certain. We didn't realize that yields could be peaking: 6% was beckoning on the long end of the bond market yield curve. All I can tell you is that the Apple selling last Friday morning was relentless from 4 a.m.

Persons: Jerome Powell, it's, Joe Biden doesn't, Gina Raimondo –, –, Raimondo, Biden, hasn't, ennui, Stanley Druckenmiller, Tim Cook, Luca Maestri, Apple, that's, halcyon, Cramer, Elon, Mary Dillon, haven't, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Virginia Sherwood Organizations: Treasury, Federal, Twitter, Mutual, Apple, Phillies, Huawei, Nvidia, Trust, CNBC, Jim Cramer's Charitable, NYSE Locations: Israeli, Gaza, China

☆ Trump’s efforts to overshadow DeSantis in Florida take center stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Steve Contorno | Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —A Florida Republican lawmaker, after flipping his support to former President Donald Trump, is now publicly questioning Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support for the Jewish community. In the tug of war for home-state supremacy, Trump has gained the upper hand in part by exploiting rifts between DeSantis and Florida Republicans. Upstaging the governorThe personal vendettas help explain the lengths that Trump and his allies have traveled to upstage the Florida governor. “I think Ron DeSantis has been a good governor of Florida,” he told CNN.

Persons: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Trump, Florida Sen, Rick Scott, Randy Fine, hasn’t, Scott, Fine, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, ’, Trump’s, Nikki Haley, Sen, Joe Gruters, Gruters, ” Gruters, “, Paul Renner, ” Renner, ” DeSantis, Andrew Romeo, ” “, ” Romeo, —, Susie Wiles, Wiles, Justin Caporale, James Blair, Jennifer Locetta, Brian Hughes, DeSantis ’, “ He’s, Generra Peck, Marc Reichelderfer, Ken Cuccinelli, Matt Wolking, Erin Perrine, Kathleen Passidomo, ”, Stephen Cheung, Crooked Joe Biden, ” Cheung, Upstaging, Greg Steube, –, bagman, Caporale Organizations: CNN, Florida Republican, Trump, Florida Republicans, Republicans, DeSantis, GOP, Republican, Republican Party, Mar, Iran, Hamas, Sunshine State, Florida gubernatorial, South, Sunshine, “, White, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, Politico, Fair, Florida, House Locations: Florida, DeSantis, Orlando, Tallahassee, Miami, Hialeah, Israel, Iowa, South Carolina, ”, Washington, Lago

☆ Disney Says It Will Take Full Control of Hulu
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Brooks Barnes | More About Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Walt Disney Company said on Wednesday that it would take full control of Hulu, one of the world’s most popular streaming services, by paying at least $8.61 billion to buy out Comcast, which owned a 33 percent stake. Comcast, which recently stopped supplying Hulu with shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Voice,” rerouting them instead to its Peacock streaming service, said in September that it had sped up negotiations to sell Hulu to Disney. Previously, Comcast and Disney agreed that Comcast could force Disney to buy its stake early next year (the “put”). At the same time, Disney had the ability at that point to require Comcast to sell (the “call”). “The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” Disney said in a statement.

Persons: ” Disney, “, ” Organizations: Walt Disney Company, Hulu, Comcast, Disney, ABC, Fox Locations: Hulu

But the action that will have longer-term ramifications for the league, and the media and entertainment landscape, is happening off the court. The companies holding the rights to show N.B.A. Discovery, the parent company of TNT — are collectively paying the league $24 billion over nine years for that privilege. Interest rates are high, Wall Street is demanding profitability over growth, and streaming has reconfigured the entertainment industry. The result of the N.B.A.’s negotiations will say a lot about the future of broadcast networks, the cable bundle, streaming services and the sports media ambitions of technology companies.

Persons: LeBron James, Nikola Jokic Organizations: Basketball, Disney, ESPN, ABC, Warner Bros, TNT

☆ San Diego temporarily solved its water crisis by turning ocean water into fresh water. But desalination won't work everywhere.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The largest desalination plant in the US is in San Diego. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the early 1990s, San Diego was dying on the vine, starved of water in a series of yearslong droughts. At the last minute, a miracle saved San Diego — rain and snow in the desert replenished aquifers, saving the city from intense cutbacks. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe desalination plant produces potable water for San Diego county. With these easier options on the table, it's even more staggering that cities such as San Diego have pushed desalination efforts through.

Persons: —, Diegans, Jeremy Crutchfield, Claude, Bud, Lewis, It's, Crutchfield, Diego, Reed Kaestner, Robert Glennon, Frank Ward, Ward, Michelle Peters, Michael Hanemann, Glennon, Peters, Reed Kaestner, Hanemann, Allen J, Schaben Organizations: Service, Water Authority, Western, Getty, University of Arizona, Street Journal, New Mexico State University, Arizona State University, Water Locations: San Diego, Lewis Carlsbad, United States, Colorado, seeping, Mississippi, San Diego County , CA, Encina, San Diego County, Orange County , California, Carlsbad, Orange, California, Diego, San Diego county, Los Angeles, Columbia

U.S. President Joe Biden has demonstrated unwavering support for Israel's security over a half century in public life. During Blinken's six-day trip, the death toll in Gaza soared from Israeli air strikes and concerns grew about food and water. Every Arab leader Blinken met in the region pressed him to urgently find a solution to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza. HUMANITARIAN PAUSEThe most rapid shift in U.S. policy has happened this week, to support a cessation in Israel's attacks on Gaza to allow aid in and people to escape. But Biden also expressed skepticism toward Palestinian estimates of the death toll and a continued staunch support of Israel.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Evelyn, Aaron David Miller, Barack Obama, Biden’s, Obama, Antony Blinken, Blinken, John Kirby, Kirby, Antonio Guterres, ”, Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Matt Spetalnick, Humeyra Pamuk, Trevor Hunnicutt, Michelle Nichols, Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell Organizations: Israeli, Hamas, REUTERS, White, U.S, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Democratic, Biden's Democratic, Israel, Palestinian, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, WASHINGTON, Gaza, Iraq, United States, U.S, U.N

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