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☆ Apple versus the world: The iPhone maker is bigger than almost any stock market in the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Buried on page 74 is a chapter on "World Equity Market Capitalization," listing the market capitalization of most of the world, country by country. The $40 trillion in stock market wealth in the U.S. is almost 60% of the value of all the equities in the world. My friend Ben Carlson pointed out that Apple's current market capitalization of about $2.7 trillion this week exceeds the entire market capitalization of the United Kingdom, the third biggest stock market in the world. Apple is twice the size of Germany's entire stock market, with 255 companies. Regardless: Apple is bigger than the entire U.K. stock market?

☆ Opinion | Are Anti-Trump Republicans Doomed to Repeat 2016?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

First, there’s the limits of ideological box-checking in a campaign against Trump. Part of DeSantis’s advantage now, compared with Cruz’s situation in 2016, is that he has seemed more congenial to the party’s bigger-money donors. Remember how nothing remotely like that happened among Republicans in 2016? This reflects another tendency that helped elect him the first time, the weird fatalism of professional Republicans. In 2016 many of them passed from “he can’t win” to “he can’t be stopped” with barely a way station in between.

☆ Opinion | Why Trump Won’t Let Go of His Dream of Domination
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Once early humans had developed spears, Haidt continues,anyone could kill a bullying alpha male. Anything that suggests the aggressive, controlling behavior of an alpha male (or female) can trigger this form of righteous anger, which is sometimes called reactance. In democracies, voters, on average, favor the taller candidate and often crave a “strong leader." They might ostracize him (the alpha male) but mostly they assassinate him. As far as “coercive alpha males" go, Trump is a bully, as demonstrated by his treatment both of competitors for the nomination in 2016 and of Gov.

☆ A Drone Opera, Brought to You by General Dynamics? A Company Clarifies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Washington National Opera announced that it would open its coming season with the premiere of “Grounded,” a new opera exploring the psychological toll of drone warfare, its star composer, Jeanine Tesori, got less attention than its listed sponsor: General Dynamics, the military contractor. Anger erupted online, with critics accusing Washington National Opera of serving as a mouthpiece for the defense industry. A think tank that advocates military restraint labeled it a “killer drone opera.” New York magazine gave the opera a “despicable” rating on its Approval Matrix, describing it as “the drone-bombing opera ‘Grounded,’ sponsored by General Dynamics.” RT, a state-owned Russian news outlet, said the work showed the strength of the American military-industrial complex. The creative team behind “Grounded,” an adaptation of an acclaimed Off Broadway play, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which commissioned the opera, grew disturbed by how the new opera was being portrayed. They worked behind the scenes to push the Washington National Opera to make it clear that General Dynamics, which has been a major sponsor of the opera company since 1997, had nothing to do with the creation of the opera.

☆ AI is disrupting Hollywood, and one investor sees huge potential in startups harnessing data to identify valuable IP for TV and film
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A private credit investor explains why Wall Street sees the potential for big returns from the tech. "What we're interested in right now are companies that are creating a more automated way of identifying valuable IP," Aria Vossoughi of Serengeti Asset Management told Insider. To be sure, Hollywood has been taking steps toward fusing data, algorithms, and creative content for years. Michael Blank, head of consumer investing at CAA, previously told Insider that investments in this arena are "blowing up right now." It supplements it more than replacing it," he told Insider of AI tech.

☆ Matthew Perry is removing controversial mentions of Keanu Reeves from future editions of memoir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The one where Matthew Perry tries to make amends with Keanu Reeves. “River was a beautiful man, inside and out – too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down,” Perry wrote. On Saturday, Perry addressed the Reeves mention once more, this time telling the audience “I said a stupid thing. It was just stupid,” Perry concluded.

☆ Oxford malaria vaccine rollout could have 'major' implications in sub-Saharan Africa, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The University of Oxford Jenner Institute, which developed the vaccine, estimates that malaria kills around 800,000 people per annum. These casualties occur predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in five childhood deaths is associated with the disease. The WHO assessed that 241 million clinical cases of malaria occurred in 2020, resulting in 627,000 deaths, mostly among children in Africa. A health worker vaccinates a child against malaria in Ndhiwa, Homabay County, western Kenya on September 13, 2019 during the launch of malaria vaccine in Kenya. Brian Ongoro | AFP | Getty ImagesIn 2021, the WHO signed off on GSK's RTS,S malaria vaccine for rollout across sub-Saharan Africa, following pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which tracked 800,000 children since 2019.

☆ China regulators plan new bond market rules, will coordinate more after turmoil, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"After the chaos, coordination between bodies will be strengthened," one of the regulatory sources said. Turnover in the market — the world's second-largest bond market with $21 trillion in notes outstanding — slid and traders said they had to scramble to chat groups for quotes. In contrast to the pre-ban market, Tullet Prebon's data is now available on all other bond market information platforms including Wind, Dealing Matrix and government-affiliated iDeal. China's interbank bond market operator also said on March 20 that iDeal now offers price data from six interdealer brokers. The strength of the market's reaction to the data ban had surprised authorities, according to one of the regulatory sources.

“As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX tweeted. The massive Super Heavy rocket booster, which houses 33 engines, lifted off and sent a massive boom across the coastal landscape as it fired to life. NASA administrator Bill Nelson took to Twitter to share his congratulations on the flight test. Looking forward to all that SpaceX learns, to the next flight test —and beyond.”The test flight comes after years of explosive tests, regulatory hurdles and public hyping from Musk. SpaceX's Starship lifted off for the uncrewed test flight in Boca Chica, Texas.

Samsung's S95C 4K TV is the company's latest top-of-the-line OLED TV. Samsung 65-inch S95C 4K OLED TV The S95C is Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for 2023. And best of all, we get that increased brightness while maintaining the perfect black levels that OLED TVs are known for. Samsung S95C 65-inch OLED 4K TV: SpecsSpec Samsung 65-inch S95C 4K OLED TV Resolution 3840x2160p HDR formats HDR10, HDR10+, HLG Panel type QD-OLED (OLED with quantum dots) Refresh rate 120Hz (up to 144Hz PC gaming) Gaming features NVIDIA G-Sync, FreeSync Premium, VRR, ALLM HDMI ports Four HDMI 2.1 ports Remote SolarCell remote with Bixby and Alexa support Dimensions 56.8" (W) x 32.7" (H) x 0.4" (D) without stand Weight 41.7 pounds without standShould you buy the Samsung S95C 4K OLED TV? Steven Cohen/InsiderIf budget isn't a concern and you want the absolute best picture quality on the market, the Samsung S95C should be high on your shopping list.

☆ IMF sees high rates, oil prices and inflation worries in Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Banks in the Middle East and Central Asia have very limited exposure to last month's banking turmoil in the United States and Europe, but financial pressures are adding to strains caused by high interest rates, volatile oil prices and years of double-digit inflation, a top IMF official said on Saturday. Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund's Middle East and Central Asia department, said the banking sector strains came on top of tighter monetary policies that raised rates and reduced accessibility to finance. "We are worried because the matrix of risks keeps growing: high interest rates, volatility in oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and it's the third year in the row where you have double-digit inflation," he said. "And they have a window of opportunity with governments now willing to do more, and not to put money in the central bank coffers." The IMF on Thursday forecast that GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa region will slow to 3.1% in 2023, from 5.3% a year ago.

☆ U.S. cities are filling up with luxury apartments despite 'housing recession'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Carlos Waters | In Carloswaters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Scores of luxury homes are coming to major cities across the United States. "You often see new housing branded as 'luxury,' in part because it's new," said Ethan Handelman, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "When you get to affordable housing, we need to be providing some additional capital and/or rental assistance to help make that housing affordable to the people who need it most." Builders say the high cost of housing in the U.S. is related to the large amount of regulation in the housing sector. In 2022, the Biden administration announced a housing action plan that aims to shore up housing supply within five years.

☆ Is AI coming for Hollywood? A Wall Street investor breaks down why he's bullish about a growing class of startups harnessing data to identify the next big blockbuster.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ I added the 'scary hour' hack to my mornings. My ability to focus shot up and so did my productivity — here's how it works
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He said the "scary hour" productivity hack helps him complete his most daunting task each day. My best productivity hack is popularly referred to as the "scary hour" — one hour where you tackle the most daunting but impactful task on your plate. But defining your top priority can be tricky, which is why I prefer to call it "scary hour" rather than "golden hour" as some people do. One of my "block sets" in LeechBlock ensures that I can't browse email, social media, my investment portfolio, or other distractions during scary hour. I use a Notion Habit Tracker to log what I completed during scary hour each day, which helps me stay accountable to my scary hour tasks.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of Musk on reinstating Andrew Tate’s Twitter account is altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A clip purporting to show Twitter CEO Elon Musk talking about social media personality Andrew Tate’s reinstatement on Twitter has been altered from 2022 footage of Musk discussing a different topic. The clip circulating online seemingly shows Musk saying: “People ask me why I unblocked Andrew Tate from Twitter. Reuters also did not find any credible media reporting that Musk discussed Andrew Tate at the 2022 TED Talk (archive.is/wip/8I6Iw). A close comparison between frames of the altered clip online and this segment of the TED Talk can be seen (04s on altered clip compared to 13.08s on TED Talk ibb.co/3MrH71t) and (14s on altered clip compared to 13.15s: ibb.co/B3n7VKZ). The original video shows Musk discussing his intention to open-source the Twitter algorithm, not reinstating Andrew Tate’s Twitter account.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Charles Schwab's Jeff Kleintop and Matrix Asset Management's David Katz
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Charles Schwab's Jeff Kleintop and Matrix Asset Management's David KatzJeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, and David Katz, CIO at Matrix Asset Advisors, join 'The Exchange' to discuss finding quality stocks, Europe's bank sell-off and the Fed's policy focus.

☆ Don't chase yield with low-quality financials, warns Matrix's David Katz
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | 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 EmailDon't chase yield with low-quality financials, warns Matrix's David KatzJeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, and David Katz, CIO at Matrix Asset Advisors, join 'The Exchange' to discuss finding quality stocks, Europe's bank sell-off and the Fed's policy focus.

Powering AI Dungeon's text-generation software was the GPT language technology offered by the Microsoft -backed AI research lab OpenAI. The high cost of training and "inference" — actually running — large language models is a structural cost that differs from previous computing booms. Many entrepreneurs see risks in relying on potentially subsidized AI models that they don't control and merely pay for on a per-use basis. Companies making the foundation models, semiconductor makers, and startups all see business opportunities in reducing the price of running AI software. "Latitude is going to continue to evaluate all AI models to be sure we have the best game out there."

☆ The top 3 U.S. cities where new rental apartments have gotten smaller—and NYC isn't one of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The share of one-bedroom and studio apartments grew to 57% of new apartments in 2022, up from exactly half of new builds 10 years ago. That's part of why the average size of all apartments has shrunk. Cities where new apartments have gotten smallerNew Yorkers may be the first to tell you how small their living spaces are. Tucson, Arizona, leads, the pack, and its new apartments beats the next city's — Tallahassee, Florida's — growth by over 100 square feet. The average new apartment size grew the most in these 15 cities:How to get the most out of your space

Managers are being told to expect demotions, putting them in "direct competition" with reports. A current employee told Insider that, in recent weeks many managers at Facebook have been told they will have their teams taken away. "Folks with years of management experience are being told they have to train on a position they haven't done in years," the person told Insider. Yet the photo-sharing app remained "less bloated" than Facebook, as one former employee told Insider, with roughly 20,000 employees. Facebook currently operates according to a "matrix model," one person familiar with the structure told Insider.

☆ Facebook is becoming more like Instagram as Mark Zuckerberg whittles down manager ranks and further layoffs loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kali Hays | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Facebook is expected to see layoffs amid Mark Zuckerberg's new mandate to "flatten" the company. Facebook, founded by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg twenty years ago, is in the process of being further streamlined, two people familiar with the company told Insider. The company's goal is to have Facebook's structure more closely resemble that of Instagram, the people said, as Zuckerberg looks to cut costs and declares 2023 to be the "year of efficiency." "It's not surprising," another person familiar with the company said of plans to change the structure at Facebook. The current organizational structure at Facebook is essentially what's known as "a matrix" model, one of the people familiar said.

The case for falling rentSomething strange is happening in the apartment market. More than 971,000 apartment units were under construction across the US at the end of 2022, the second-largest number on record. There's only so much people are willing to pay,'" said Jon Leckie, a researcher for Rent, a platform that helps landlords market their properties. For now, though, the wave of supply that's already underway should keep rents in check over the next couple of years. Now, as landlords shift their focus from jacking up rents to filling up units, renters can once again look ahead to better days.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery revenue misses as media giant posts big loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pedestrians walk past a street commercial advertisement billboard from Warner Bros and DC comics character, The Batman, movie in Madrid. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Warner Bros.

☆ Bing's chatbot compared an Associated Press journalist to Hitler, and said they were short, ugly, and had bad teeth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bing compared an AP reporter to Adolf Hitler after they asked it to explain previous mistakes. "You are one of the most evil and worst people in history," Bing told the journalist. Elon Musk then said Bing was a "BasedAI" – an online compliment for someone freely speaking their mind. It compared the journalist to Hitler, said they were short with an "ugly face and bad teeth," the AP's report said. Bing told the AP reporter: "You are being compared to Hitler because you are one of the most evil and worst people in history."

[1/6] Workers carry a mix of seized cocaine and coca paste with industrial waste to produce cement slurry to be used in a construction, at a waste treatment plant at an undisclosed location, in Ecuador February 10, 2023. REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Huge quantities of seized drugs in Ecuador are presenting the Andean country with an unlikely new construction material: cocaine. The amount of drugs seized in Ecuador almost doubled in 2021 versus the previous year to more than 210 tonnes, mostly cocaine, according to the country's police. So far some 350 tonnes of crushed cocaine and coca paste - a cocaine precursor - seized between 2021 and 2022 have been used to fill the hole, according to plant technicians. Some 83 tonnes of cocaine are waiting to be encapsulated.

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