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☆ KFC owner says its 2-for-$5 deal on fried chicken wraps is winning over low-income shoppers that are being pummelled by rising costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

KFC launched a two-for-$5 promotion on fried chicken wraps earlier this year. This deal led to strong sales from low-income shoppers at KFC during the first quarter, its parent company said. "In the Q1 KFC rolled out those $5 wraps," Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said during the call. KFC added chicken wraps to its US menu in February 2023 after a trial in Atlanta in 2022. Insider reached out to Yum Brands for more details on how long the deal would run but did not immediately hear back.

☆ Abdul Wadud’s Cosmic Cello Music Gets Another Moment in the Sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hank Shteamer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But less than three months after Wadud handed over the “By Myself” master tapes, he died at age 75 from complications of multiple illnesses. Image “By Myself” was first released in 1977. Credit... Gotta Groove RecordsThe cellist’s son, the R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn, sees the new edition of “By Myself” as key to preserving his father’s legacy. “I think it’s going to warm his heart,” he said, clarifying his belief that those who have died are still spiritually present. In 1977, when he entered the Manhattan studio Blank Tapes to record “By Myself,” he was ready to synthesize his various musical dialects. On “Expansions,” he sounds like a jazz bassist, walking a brisk line, before switching to arco and summoning scraping cries and heaving groans out of the strings.

☆ Here's how to use AI to make a commercial in 3 hours, according to the guy whose creepy pizza ad grabbed the attention of Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Here's how you can make your own AI commercial. Use an image generator to come up with artThe stills in the AI pizza commercial, including the final exterior shot of the phony pizzeria, were created using Midjourney, which Pizza Later described as "mind-blowing." Midjourney // PIzza LaterUse a video generator to come up with clipsThe most noticeable aspect of the Pizza Hug Spot commercial was the video clips created using AI. For the Pepperoni Hug Spot commercial, Pizza Later also used Runway AI, a text-to-video generator, to create short clips to add to the commercial. Put it up for the world to seeAfter releasing the commercial, Pizza Later said he was surprised by the widespread online reaction.

☆ Benioff vs. Benioff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

Within Salesforce, Benioff riffs are at times met with backlash from an angry workforce. "You're not going to fire your family during times of need," a former Salesforce executive told Insider. "I don't think they understand Ohana," Benioff told Insider. "Look, we have to be the example of stakeholder capitalism," Benioff told Insider. A 'New Day' at Salesforce"I use the Japanese principle of shoshin, beginner's mind," Benioff told Insider in a phone interview in March.

☆ This AI-generated ad for a fake pizza restaurant shows the tech still has a long way to go
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Reddit user posted a pizza ad he made using AI tools like ChatGPT Plus and Midjourney. The ad is for a fake pizza restaurant called "Pepperoni Hug Spot," and shows "people" eating pizza. Well unsurprisingly, the ad for a fake pizza restaurant called "Pepperoni Hug Spot" is not real — it's all AI-generated. The fake pizza restaurant ad was created by a Reddit user named PizzaLater, and was posted to the Midjourney Reddit page. "Our chefs make pizza with heart and special touch," the ad says, not too far off something a normal pizza ad would say.

☆ Rebel attacks deepen displacement crisis in Congo's Ituri
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paul Lorgerie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Semire said members of the Hema herding community started to abandon Drodro in mid-March ahead of a rumoured advance by CODECO. "There are repeated attacks - this delays the return of people here, because it creates doubts," he said. Its population has nearly doubled to 65,000 since the beginning of 2023, according to camp representative Samuel Kpadjanga. The presence of fighters in the forests and fields around the camp makes attacks on those who venture out a regular occurrence, Kpadjanga said. My life is safe, but they took everything from me, my scythe, my money," she lamented back in a hut at Rhoe camp, as a toddler peeked at her from the doorway.

☆ Trump offered pizza to supporters in a Florida restaurant, asking: 'Does anybody want a piece that I've eaten?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump stopped by a pizza restaurant in Fort Myers, Florida, after giving a speech. A video shows him offering a half-eaten slice of pepperoni pizza to supporters. Over 100 supporters rushed to see Trump as he stopped to get pizza, causing "pandemonium," according to local outlet Wink News. The former president stopped by the eaterie after giving a speech at the Lee County GOP's 2023 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. The event included speeches from Rep. Greg Steube, Rep. Byron Donalds, and political operative Roger Stone.

☆ Taco Bell's chief of equity, inclusion, and belonging opens up about using her voice and her seat at the table
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Josée Rose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

KT Thornton, Taco Bell's chief of equity, inclusion, and belonging, said she felt "fully embraced." Equity, inclusion, and belonging is a term we use across our entire Yum system. And I'm going to push and I'm going to challenge. What are you most worried about in terms of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in corporate America? One of the things I've seen in just the space of equity, inclusion, and belonging is it's often posed as this journey.

☆ UK's THG gets buyout proposal from Apollo, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away, the British company said. Oil services company John Wood Group (WG.L) said on Monday it is engaging with Apollo over a possible 1.66 billion-pound offer, while CVC Capital and Francisco Partners have tabled a 2.1 billion-pound takeover bid for payments provider Network International (NETW.L). Last week, EQT entered talks with veterinary pharma group Dechra (DPH.L) over a 4.63 billion-pound deal. THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, is set to publish full-year results on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8063 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Japan's 20-meter-deep snow corridor reopens for visitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A giant snow corridor near the otherworldly Mount Tateyama, one of Japan’s three sacred mountains, is reopening to travelers on April 15. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route offers stunning views of the Japanese alps. The opening of the Yuki no Otani walk also marks the resumption of traffic through the entire Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route at the end of winter. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine RouteTravelers can opt to stay in one of the mountain accommodations on offer. Travelers visiting the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route are advised to wear winter clothing and gear suitable for trekking or mountaineering.

☆ Behold the stuffed crust bagel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now, Philadelphia cream cheese and H&H Bagels, a New York City-based bagel shop, are trying to please the carbohydrate- and dairy-loving communities with a new and dubious spin on the stuffed crust: The bagel stuffed with cream cheese. But unlike stuffed-crust pizzas, the bagel is filled with cheese after it is baked, making it more of a cream cheese bagel donut, if not in spirit then at least in form. What’s so wrong with slicing a bagel and slathering on a healthy amount of cream cheese? New York doesn’t have a specific bagel tax, explained Ryan Cleveland, a representative of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Philadelphia cream cheese, which struggled with shortages in the past, turned that issue into a marketing opportunity as well.

☆ Why Instagram's 'Creator Marketplace' has left many influencers twiddling their thumbs instead of scoring brand deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"I was so excited when the creator marketplace was rolled out," content creator Melanie Demi told Insider. "Over the last couple of months, I feel like the creator marketplace has died down a little bit," Demi said. "Even on the TikTok creator marketplace, it's the same," said Joseph Arujo, who has access to the feature on both platforms. On TikTok's marketplace, creators can add their starting rates for brand deals or negotiate terms. TikTok's creator marketplace, for example, brought on "alpha partners" in 2021 such as Influential, Whalar, and Captiv8.

☆ Bitcoin falls after CFTC sues crypto exchange Binance for allegedly breaking trading rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cryptocurrencies dropped on Monday morning after the CFTC sued Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, for allegedly violating trading rules. The price of bitcoin slid 2.5% to $27,142.29, according to Coin Metrics. In a court filing, the CFTC, or the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission, said Binance violated eight provisions of a commodities trading law "designed to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorism financing." It's the largest crypto exchange and any U.S. regulatory action against it will have huge implications for the industry," she said. "Many knew Binance had a bullseye on its back, but this is still unnerving some crypto traders," said Ed Moya, an analyst at Oanda.

☆ Trump says Ron DeSantis has 'no personality' and would be working at a cigar store if he hadn't endorsed him in 2018
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump said Ron DeSantis may have ended up working at a cigar store without his backing in 2018. Ron DeSantis. Probably working either at a cigar store or a law firm," Trump added, per the Daily Mail. During the rally, Trump mocked DeSantis, drawing a muted response from a mostly silent audience. Representatives for DeSantis and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Here are Morgan Stanley's favorite quality stocks to buy as bear market nears end
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As investors start preparing for the end of the bear market, Morgan Stanley has identified a number of stocks it expects to outperform once the next bull market begins. He has an overweight rating on the stock and a $135 price target, which suggests about 33% upside from Monday's close. He has an overweight rating on Costco and a $520 price target, which implies a little more than 6% upside from Monday's close. Graseck has an overweight rating on JPM and a $173 price target, which implies 36% upside from Monday's close. His $155 price target suggests the stock could rally more than 20% from Monday's close.

☆ A vlogger built a tiny home for $6,000 after watching DIY videos on YouTube
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A 25-year-old built a tiny home using skills learned from YouTube videos after losing his job. Jacob Harrell, 27, told Insider how he built the tiny home in four months for under £5,000 (about $6,000). After being made redundant, he set up a YouTube channel and decided to convert the tiny office into a house. "I'm quite proud of the tiny house – the process of building something with your hands is very rewarding." "The process is complicated because I applied to change the use of land for tourism purposes and to rent out more than one tiny house."

☆ Over KFC on 'Trump Force One,' Trump says that Ron DeSantis would be working at 'a law firm or maybe a Pizza Hut' without his initial support
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

After a campaign pit stop in Davenport, Iowa, Donald Trump took another dig at Ron DeSantis. Trump found a new way to diss the Florida Governor aboard his Boeing 757, "Trump Force One." Trump joked that DeSantis would be working at Pizza Hut without his initial backing, per Bloomberg. Schwartz, Schwartz, Schwartz, and Schwartz. "Remember, this Ron DeSanctimonious would be right now working probably at a law firm or maybe a Pizza Hut," Trump told reporters, according to the report.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: FRC, FDX, NVDA, BMBL & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the Swiss National Bank said it would provide a liquidity backstop for Credit Suisse. First Republic — The regional bank shares shed over 20% even after the company is set to receive aid from other financial institutions. Credit Suisse — U.S.-listed shares of the Swiss bank fell nearly 11% on Friday, a day after soaring on news the bank will borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank. Warner Bros Discovery — The media company gained 2% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight. FedEx — The shipping company saw its stock jump over 8% after the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings topped analysts expectations.

Starbucks (SBUX.O) warned of a "cautious" recovery in its China sales. "Consumers have become more meticulous in their spending," its chief executive, Xu Lei, said in an earnings call on Thursday. "Now the Chinese tourists are either super rich or very poor," said the owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This suggests that once the initial reopening rebound has happened, we shouldn't expect a further surge in consumer spending," he wrote in a note to clients. ($1 = 6.8780 Chinese yuan renminbi)Editing by Marius Zaharia and Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former Domino's CEO bought nearly $4,000 worth of pizza in a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Grace Mayer | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Domino's CEO Ritch Allison bought $3,919 worth of pizza in 2021, the Financial Times found. The former CEO was compensated for a nearly $4,000 personal pizza expense, the Financial Times reported, citing Domino's proxy filing from last year. As FT points out, the previous proxy shows Allison's nearly $4,000 in pizza in 2021 was relatively tame. During his tenure as CEO, Allison pushed innovation and a culture of risk-taking at the tech-forward company. Curious what $3, 919 gets you in Domino's pizza pies?

☆ American Girl enters the 1990s with a new set of 'historical' dolls from the not-so-distant past
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

American Girl announced its first set of twin dolls since the company's founding in 1986. The sisters are historical characters from the year 1999, and their accessories are a blast from the past. American Girl has produced historical characters from each decade of the 20th century. The latest additions to the historical characters have people speculating what a doll from the 2000s will eventually look like. American Girl has had a historical character for each decade of the 20th century, and a few dolls from the 19th century.

☆ Beyond Meat sales slumped because people are eating less fake meat, and the company says it gets why
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The company said it sold around 3,300 fewer pounds of its fake meat products over the time period, a drop of about 17%. Despite the huge slump in sales, Beyond – which sells products including fake jerky, chicken, and sausage – still beat Wall Street sales estimates. According to Brown, the three major obstacles faced by the plant-based meat industry are taste, understanding of health benefits, and price. Consultancy giant Deloitte noted in a September report that plant-based meat sales were dipping. Beyond also offers some plant-based chicken products, including tenders and popcorn chicken.

☆ I was the original voice of Siri. Even though Apple used my voice without my knowledge, it's been a fun ride.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Dorothy Cucci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Susan Bennett is the voice actor behind Apple's first iteration of Siri, released in 2011. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Susan Bennett, a voice actor based in Atlanta, Georgia. One day, while I was there recording, a voice actor for another commercial didn't show up. I unknowingly did the initial Siri recordings in 2005In July 2005, six years before Apple would introduce Siri, I made the recordings that would eventually be used for the famous personal assistant. I also connected with Karen Jacobsen, a voice actor and singer who was the original Australian Siri.

☆ Why Pizza Hut’s red roofs and McDonald’s play places have disappeared
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As fast-food chains spread across the US after World War II, new roadside restaurant brands needed to stand out. So restaurant chains turned to architecture as a key tool to promote their brand and help create their corporate identity. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesBut the fast-food architecture of today has lost its quirky charm and distinctive features. Googie style fell out of fashion in the 1970s as fast-food style favored dark colors, brick and mansard roofs. But in the effort to modernize, some say fast-food design has became homogenized and lost its creative purpose.

☆ 2 portfolio managers at a $24 billion firm share 8 stocks that are pursuing innovation even in a slowing economy — and explain why investors should focus on boring businesses for success during a rece
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Souccar and Daniel Kranson, portfolio managers focused on global equities at Vontobel Quality Growth — which manages $24 billion in assets — are following the same philosophy. But they believe that investors can still find innovative and growth-oriented companies when they go looking for high-quality stocks. That may seem counterintuitive, since growth stocks have recently struggled against their value peers as investors have reemphasized fundamentals. Boring stocks can be the most innovativeSometimes, quality growth stocks like the ones Souccar and Kranson invest in can be more boring than companies with high speculation and flashy CEOs. So as life goes back to normal, there is going to be an acceleration of earnings growth," Souccar said.

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