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☆ Premarket Stocks: Who do we blame for the fall of SVB?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Blame the Fed: SVB’s downfall was largely caused by a record $42 billion bank run that left the bank in desperate need of cash. But the Fed’s rate hikes had undermined the value of bonds, a critical source of capital for SVB. “The Federal Reserve failed as a bank supervisor,” he wrote. On Capitol Hill, frequent Fed critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been quick to blame Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a lack of oversight. Blame SVB: Others say the blame should be placed on the banks themselves.

☆ AI Tech Like ChaptGPT, Bing, Bard Is a Bigger Threat Than Social Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Nowadays, the promise of social media as a unifying force for good has all but collapsed, and Zuckerberg is slashing thousands of jobs after his company's rocky pivot to the metaverse. Much like social media in 2012, the AI industry is standing on the precipice of immense change. And as Altman and his cohort charge ahead, AI could fundamentally reshape our economy and lives even more than social media. If social media helped expose the worst impulses of humanity on a mass scale, generative AI could be a turbocharger that accelerates the spread of our faults. Social media amplified society's issues, as Wooldridge puts it.

Up to $250,000 is secure in individual bank accounts and $500,000 is safe in joint bank accounts. If you're concerned about whether money is safe in a bank during a recession, there's good news — your money will be likely secure in a bank account. Savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and CDs are examples of federally insured bank accounts. Up to $250,000 is secure in individual bank accounts, and $250,000 is protected per owner in joint bank accounts. If you're worried about keeping money in your bank account during a recession, you can rest assured that your money will likely be safe at a financial institution, and you won't need to take it out of your bank account.

☆ This half-century old fund seeks out global value and has Warren Buffett's style all over it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Warren Buffett has inspired generations of value investors, and one 53-year-old, market-beating mutual fund has his legacy all over it. For almost three decades, starting in 1979, the fund was run by another acolyte of value, Jean-Marie Eveillard. Since 1979, First Eagle Global has returned more than 12% annually, even including the 5% load fee charged on the first $25,000 invested. The fund employs three main elements when it comes to security selection within the universe of global value, Brooker said. When we're not able to find things that make sense to us, that meet our underwriting criteria, we'll wait in cash," Brooker said.

☆ Yellen says U.S. inflation fight 'not a straight line' after price rise data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Saturday that new U.S. data showing inflation jumped unexpectedly in January signals that the fight against inflation "is not a straight line" and more work is needed. The strongest U.S. consumer spending data in nearly two years on Friday showed that the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), jumped unexpectedly in January, calling into question whether the Fed remains behind in its inflation fight. Revisions to prior data showed that previous disinflation was milder than previously reported, and that data added to financial market fears that the Federal Reserve could continue raising interest rates into summer. "I think this report showed that it's not going to be a straight line - disinflation is not a straight line," Yellen said, adding that inflation "remains a problem." "It’s one read, but core inflation still remains at a level that's above what's consistent with the Fed’s objective.

Some estimates have suggested the unemployment rate, currently at more than a five-decade low of 3.4%, may have to approach 7% for inflation to fall on a reasonable timetable. But a series of rapid rate hikes last year, which pushed the Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero to the current 4.50%-4.75% range, has so far been relatively cost-free. Those projections have inflation dropping to 2.1% by the end of 2025, with the economy growing throughout and the unemployment rate rising only to around 4.6%. By contrast, they said "the cost of lowering inflation to the Fed's 2% target by 2025 will likely be associated with at least a mild recession." Perhaps too reliant on the tame inflation of recent decades, the Fed made a "significant error" by not raising interest rates "preemptively" when inflation began accelerating in 2021, the group concluded.

☆ Bill Gates and professors at top universities agree: The future belongs to those who master AI like ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Even though some school districts banned ChatGPT, educators encourage students to play with AI. But some in the education sector see the intrinsic value of ChatGPT, believing that a familiarity with AI will be an essential skill in the future. The students began to ask ChatGPT more complicated questions that showed they were using AI not to do the work for them, but rather to generate and explore different ideas. The potential for ChatGPT in education is thereNew York City and Los Angeles were two of the largest public school systems that banned ChatGPT. Ultimately, ChatGPT and AI will not go away, so you might as well learn how to use it to get a head start on others.

☆ 6 ways shopping sites trick you into buying more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Online retailers use psychological tricks and tools to get consumers to make purchases. But we're shopping online now more than ever before, and these subtle nudges are starting to feel more widespread. Buy online, pick up in storeBuy online, pick up instore was all the rage during the pandemic. So much of how we shop and make purchase decisions is subconscious, he said, and while you may rationally know that scarcity is a marketing tactic, your subconscious doesn't. Tips for avoiding retailers' marketing tricksJust being aware of these marketing tactics isn't enough to protect you from them, Goldberg said.

☆ Gas, airfares, car insurance: How transportation costs are impacting high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty ImagesMeanwhile, fuel oil dipped 1.2% in January but was up 27.7% for the past 12 months. While high gas prices made headlines in 2022, prompting gas tax holidays in some states, those prices have subsided from last year's highs. Gas prices "did rise in January and that was mostly due to the weather," said Andrew Gross, spokesperson at AAA. Other transportation costs are in fluxNew vehicles are up 5.8% over the past 12 months ending Jan. 30, and up 0.2% for the month. However, used cars and trucks, a category that surged during record high inflation, are now down 11.6% for the past 12 months and down 1.9% for January.

☆ Returns from top venture firms NEA, DCM, and Khosla have been dismal over the past 2 decades, according to filings from California's largest pension fund, CalPERS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CalPERS is the US's largest public pension plan, managing the retirement accounts of 1.5 million California employees and retirees. Unlike many other financial institutions, VC funds are not required to show their return on investment in startups. The CalPERS fund's $75 million bet in 2001 on a venture fund managed by the Carlyle Group lost money. A $25 million investment in DCM's 2000 fund had a 1.9% IRR. Its $260 million investment in two Khosla Ventures funds in 2009 yielded an IRR of 11.8% for the early-to-midstage fund and 6.9% for the seed-stage fund.

☆ How shopping sites are using psychology to trick you into spending more — and 3 ways to avoid them
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Online retailers use psychological tricks and tools to get consumers to make purchases. Offering incentives for adding more items to online carts like free shipping is another example of the psychological tricks a retailer can play. Buy online, pick up in storeBuy online, pick up instore was all the rage during the pandemic. So much of how we shop and make purchase decisions is subconscious, he said, and while you may rationally know that scarcity is a marketing tactic, your subconscious doesn't. Tips for avoiding retailers' marketing tricksJust being aware of these marketing tactics isn't enough to protect you from them, Goldberg said.

☆ Spotify's CEO sent a memo announcing layoffs. It also contained 'a powerful example of toxic positivity.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Spotify is laying off about 6% of its employees, CEO Daniel Ek announced in a memo. This might as well have been the message Spotify CEO Daniel Ek shared in a memo announcing layoffs at the company. Of Ek's comment about doing his best work, Galinsky said, "That's just completely lost here." "In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," Ek wrote. The standard CEO memo announcing layoffs can seem formulaic, Galinsky said.

☆ Who is Shou Zi Chew? Mounting scrutiny on TikTok could put new spotlight on its CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Months later, when TikTok was grilled by Congress over privacy and security concerns, Pappas was the TikTok executive in the hot seat fielding questions. But Chew, who took over as TikTok CEO in April 2021, has largely stayed out of the spotlight at a time when the app he leads can’t seem to avoid it. He eventually went on to become the CFO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, which he helped take public in 2018. While Chew is not a Chinese national, Quint noted Chinese tech companies and leaders that have drawn too much attention to themselves have faced tough government crackdowns. Ultimately, Quint said, “I don’t think the CEO of TikTok has much relevance at all” for US lawmakers scrutinizing its ties to China.

☆ Fed-up Tesla owners say they're so sick of Elon Musk's antics that they're ditching their cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Tesla owners are done with the electric-car brand over Elon Musk's antics. We spoke to three Tesla owners who say Musk has made them rethink their relationship with the brand. Perkowitz is one of many Tesla owners rethinking their allegiance to the brand as Elon Musk becomes an increasingly erratic and polarizing figure online. "Elon was a really good reason to buy the car," Perkowitz told Insider. "I've been kind of stalling waiting for Elon to come to his senses and say something that makes sense," Perkowitz said.

☆ Biggest hedge funds will keep lion's share of customers in 2023, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - The top 5% of the world's hedge fund managers are set to take 80-90% of investor inflows in 2023, according to new research from Agecroft Partners which raises money for hedge funds. The larger a hedge fund manager gets, the harder it is to trade in size and profit from less efficiently priced parts of the market. Data compiled by Hedge Fund Research shows that on average hedge funds were down 4.1% last year through November. The $59 billion hedge fund manager Millennium returned 9.8% in its International Ltd Fund for the year, said industry research. The number of operating hedge funds fell to 9,163 at the end of the third quarter, the lowest number since 2009, according to HFR.

☆ Worried about a gap in your resume? This small tweak could result in more job callbacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Worried about a career gap in your resume? Turns out, there's a pretty easy workaround that's been scientifically proven to lead to more job callbacks. Previous research has shown that hiring managers discriminate against candidates who have a break in their resume. Researchers were focused on seeing the impact for working mothers and tested resumes with no career break, resumes with an unexplained career break, and resumes with a break and brief explanation that they left the labor force to care for children. The new tenure format "draws attention to the applicants' job experience while also obfuscating employment gaps by omission."

☆ The year that brought high-flying Silicon Valley back down to earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The tech industry, already dominant, only seemed destined to grow even bigger at the start of this year. The spread of the Omicron variant suggested a continued pandemic-fueled demand for digital goods and services, which had buoyed many tech companies. The result was a bloodbath unlike anything the tech industry has seen in the past decade. For years, Silicon Valley has held up its founders as visionaries who can see far into the future. “I do not think venture is cratering, or the tech industry is cratering as an industry.”But for now, at least, there appears to be no end in sight to the pain for Silicon Valley and those who work in it.

☆ Elon Musk is surrounded by yes-men, and it's a recipe for disaster: 'The emperor has no clothes, but everybody's too afraid to tell him'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Experts told Insider Elon Musk's close business relationships is a "recipe for disaster." Experts told Insider it's not surprising that the second-richest man in the world would be taken aback by public criticism. Across his companies, Musk also appears to have built up a slew of allies. Similarly, at Twitter, Musk has also brought in some of his personal associates to assist in the transition. 'Speak truth to power'It can be very difficult to "speak truth to power," Nawaz told Insider, saying it's important for CEOs to create "psychologically safe" environments.

TikTok said in a statement it was "disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices - a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests - rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review." The bill gives the White House Office of Management and Budget 60 days "to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies requiring the removal" of TikTok from federal devices. Many federal agencies, including the White House and the Defense, Homeland Security and State departments, already banned TikTok from government-owned devices. "The ban is minimal, extraordinarily minimal on the overall TikTok user base," said Matthew Quint, a brand expert at Columbia Business School. "The question is more, 'will this action get the ball rolling to create a bipartisan movement to fully ban the service because of a potential threat to national security?'"

☆ Elon Musk could lose control of Tesla if the automaker's stock keeps tumbling, ex-Facebook security chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk could face activist investors as Tesla's stock falls, an ex-Facebook exec warns. Activist investors buy up big stakes in public companies and then agitate for change — sometimes in the board room. Stamos was previously Chief Security Officer at Facebook and he was also previously Chief Information Security Officer at Yahoo. Last week, some Tesla investors expressed concern that Twitter had become too much of a distraction for the carmaker's CEO. Tesla's stock was trading a little over $150 a share late Friday.

☆ Small-business owners can innovate on flexibility and work policies to stand out from major companies competing for talent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But small-business owners that can offer flexibility have a competitive edge in hiring. She suggested that small-business owners can more precisely tailor things like remote-work opportunities and mental-health benefits based on their employees' needs. Here's how Meghan Lee, Angela Lee, and McGrail suggest small-business owners innovate their policies to compete with big companies for talent. Be creative with remote-work opportunitiesAs more workers require flexibility in their jobs, small-business owners can innovate on remote-work policies to compete with companies that may be requiring a return to the office. Angela Lee suggested small-business owners invest in benefits like mental-health packages or stipends.

☆ Compass CEO Robert Reffkin's memo on how to dump poor performers was good, but here's how it could have been better
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Robert Reffkin, the CEO of Compass, asked his leadership team to help root out underperformers. The message is compelling but doesn't tell leaders what employees must do to succeed at the company. The memo arrived after two rounds of layoffs, in June and October, at Compass, which has been struggling financially. But the Compass memo, while giving strong examples of what workers shouldn't be doing, didn't offer as much guidance about what the company needs from employees right now. But Galinsky said the memo lacked details about what exactly employees need to do in order to succeed at Compass right now.

Insider is keeping tabs on which creator economy companies are cutting back on staff. For more than a year, the creator economy was a red-hot industry flowing with new players, big deals, and massive investments. According to Crunchbase, funding for VC-backed creator economy startups topped $939 million in 2021. Those sunny days are coming to a halt, however, as creator economy startups grapple with a looming recession. Here are 24 creator economy companies that have laid off staff, as of December 2022:Note: Companies are listed in order of when layoffs occurred, with the most recent first.

☆ Professor discusses China's zero-Covid policy and protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | 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 EmailChina's protests: Authorities, public are doing different cost-benefit analyses, professor saysShang-Jin Wei of the Columbia Business School discusses the Covid protests in China and the challenge of balancing economic growth and the public's desire for liberty.

☆ 7 CEOs on the ‘innovative’ and ‘timely’ books everyone should read this winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Many of the world's most successful CEOs and business leaders swear by their reading habit. CNBC Make It asked 7 CEOs to share their favorite reads for the holiday season. It is so timely and necessary given the pace of work and the amount of distractions. Unlike reading a typical book, which can feel passive, 'Embrace The Work, Love Your Career' is an experiential journal. This book is a quick read that really helped me connect to the ways we tend to tell ourselves stories to self-justify our thoughts and actions.

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