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☆ Government shutdown would leave the Fed flying blind
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —In the event of a US government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says it will stop releasing data, including key figures on inflation and unemployment. A lack of crucial government data would make it difficult for investors and the Federal Reserve to interpret the US economy. “By the time the Fed discovered its mistake, the effects of excessive monetary tightening could be difficult to reverse,” she said. It’s unclear whether the Fed would hold rates steady in the absence of government data or how it would navigate a government shutdown when deliberating monetary policy. The effects of a government shutdown also depend on how long it lasts, which also isn’t clear at this point.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, acquiesce, Greg Daco, ”, Agron Nicaj, Price, Julia Pollak Organizations: DC CNN, of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, BLS, Republicans, “, MUFG, Labor, Survey, ZipRecruiter, Fed Locations: Washington, EY, United States, —

☆ Bullock takes over at Australia central bank with soft landing in sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Incoming RBA Governor Michele Bullock delivers the Sir Leslie Melville Public Lecture at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, August 29, 2023 in this handout image. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been on hold for three months after raising interest rates aggressively for more than a year. The tightening has slowed Australia's growth, but analysts think the economy could still achieve a soft landing. If Australia avoids recession and delivers a soft landing, history may judge outgoing Governor Philip Lowe more kindly. In the search to replace Bullock as deputy, Chalmers has indicated the government is looking at candidates inside and outside the central bank.

Persons: Michele Bullock, Leslie Melville, Tracey Nearmy, Bullock, it's, Cherelle Murphy, Philip Lowe, Lowe, Jim Chalmers, Chalmers, Stephen Halmarick, Stella Qiu, William Mallard Organizations: Australian National University, ANU, REUTERS, Rights, Reserve Bank of Australia, EY Oceania, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: Canberra, Australia, Handout, New Zealand, Germany, Europe's, COVID

☆ EY has created its own large-language model — and says it will train all 400,000 employees to use it as part of a $1.4 billion investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The consulting giant announced a new AI platform and its own large language model. The company now plans on teaching its 400,000 employees how to use AI in the workplace. AdvertisementAdvertisementClient data will not be used to train the model, the company added, and any prompts fed to EY.ai EYQ "are not retained or used by the model," an EY spokesperson told Insider. The company will train all 400,000 of its employees to use the technology, a spokesperson told Insider. Last December, Deloitte announced a $1.4 billion investment in professional development services, including trainings on how to use AI.

Persons: Ernst, Young, Carmine Di Sibio, EY, PwC Organizations: Service, Ernst, Street Journal, Microsoft, Big, KPMG, Deloitte, Walmart, Meta, Netflix Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ US retail spending picked up in August, mostly due to sales at gas stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —US retail sales picked in August, boosted by higher gas prices, as spending on other items grew modestly. Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation, rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding sales at gasoline stations, retail spending advanced a more modest 0.2% in August from July. Retail spending increased across most categories, including at restaurants and grocery stores. Online retail sales in August were flat, after jumping in July due to Amazon’s Prime Day promotional event.

Persons: That’s, It’s, “ Fitch, ”, David Silverman, Goldman Sachs, there’s, Lydia Boussour, “ Encouragingly, Boussour Organizations: DC CNN, Commerce Department, AAA, Federal Reserve, Fitch Locations: Washington, Libya, EY

☆ EY Unveils Fruits of $1.4 Billion Artificial-Intelligence Investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ EY rolls out AI-powered platform after $1.4 bln tech investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The EY company logo is seen at their headquarters in London, Britain, April 16 2023. The EY.ai platform has AI-embedded versions of the firm's products like the data management product EY Fabric, which is used by 60,000 clients, the company said. Every business is considering how it will be integrated into operations and its impact on the future," EY Global Chairman and CEO Carmine Di Sibio said. EY said it plans to train its staff in the technology and will release a large-language model (LLM) called EY.ai EYQ. Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja DesaiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, EY, Carmine Di Sibio, Thomson, Jaspreet Singh, Pooja Desai Organizations: REUTERS, KPMG, Accenture, Dell, SAP, Thomson Reuters, Reuters News, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Streaming subscribers are ready for added services, new research shows, as companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery race to build bundles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The greatest interest was in shopping discounts (50%); 45% expressed interest in a bundle of more than one streaming service. "There's a way to differentiate yourself by tapping into those opportunities," he said of respondents' interest in other services. Of all countries surveyed, the appetite for streaming bundles was the strongest in the US, with 59% interested in streaming packages that included other streaming services or broadband/internet. Disney offers Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for one price and is in the process of migrating Hulu content into Disney+. EY also asked about recent price hikes for streaming services and found rising subscription fees haven't caused widespread cancellations.

Persons: EY, Tom Loozen, Peacock, HBO Max, David Zaslav, They're, Bob Iger, Loozen Organizations: EY Global Telecommunications Leader, Media, Comcast, Warner Bros, Discovery, AMC, Paramount, Walmart, Sky . Disney, Disney, ESPN, HBO, Apple, Hulu, Star, Paramount Global, Showtime Locations: Canada, EU, Asia, Hulu

☆ Inflation slowing and economic slowdown will put pressure on pricing: EY-Parthenon's Gregory Daco
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | 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 EmailInflation slowing and economic slowdown will put pressure on pricing: EY-Parthenon's Gregory DacoGregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, and CNBC's Steve Liesman join 'The Exchange' to discuss their read on inflation and the economy.

Persons: Parthenon's Gregory Daco Gregory Daco, Steve Liesman Locations: EY

☆ Norwegian AI startup Strise helps banks tackle financial crime. It just raised a $10.8 million Series A round with this 8-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Norwegian AI startup Strise has raised $10.8 million in Series A funding. Strise will use the funding to expand its operations to the UK, where it plans to open an office. Strise, an AI startup that helps businesses deal with anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance issues, has raised $10.8 million in funding. Strise's Series A funding round was led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors including Maki.vc plus angels like Camilla Giesecke, COO at Klarna, and Riya Grover, CEO at Sequence. Check out Strise's Series A pitch deck below:

Persons: Orrick, It's, Marit Rødevand, Rødevand, Atomico, Camilla Giesecke, Riya Grover Locations: Oslo, Norwegian

☆ Global business activity showed signs of slowdown in August -PMIs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Germany's services sector contracted for the first time this year and France's shrank more than first estimated. Japan proved an outlier as service sector activity expanded there at its quickest pace in three months, underpinned by robust consumer spending as inbound tourism regained momentum. "August's services PMI pointed to a contraction in UK private sector activity. ASIAN PAINChina's Caixin/S&P Global services PMI dropped to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July, the lowest reading since December when COVID-19 confined many consumers to their homes. The data broadly aligned with the official services PMI released last week, which showed the sector continued to trend downwards.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Adrian Prettejohn, Martin Beck, Duncan Wrigley, Jonathan Cable, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, RBC, P Global, Capital Economics, PMI, Bank of Japan, Pantheon, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, India, Japan, Asia, July's, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, COVID

☆ GLOBAL ECONOMY Global business activity showed signs of slowdown in August -PMIs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Overall U.S. banks' cash assets were $3.26 trillion as of Aug. 23, up 5.4% from the end of 2022. The SVB failure triggered a sudden dash for cash at banks, which within two weeks had bulked up cash assets to $3.49 trillion, the highest level since April 2022. It has $420 billion in cash and $990 billionof what it calls high quality liquidity assets and other unencumbered securities, it said. "The good news is for some of these banks re-investing cash is that we have pretty high short-term rates," said Mac Sykes, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. "It's definitely opportunistic and advantageous to be investing short-term securities."

Persons: Carlo Allegri, David Fanger, Moody's, Brendan Browne, Manan Gosalia, Morgan Stanley, Peter Marshall, Mac Sykes, Saeed Azhar, Ann Saphir, Niket, Megan Davies, Nick Zieminski, Richard Chang Organizations: Bank of America, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Federal, Graphics, Reuters, JPMorgan, Federal Reserve, Regulators, FDIC, Gabelli, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Silicon

☆ The US jobs market stayed strong in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Truck transportation also saw employment fall by 36,700.Leisure and hospitality saw a job gain of 40,000 from July to August. From wage growth to an increase in labor force participation, various data points suggest the US labor market is still strong. There were 8.8 million job openings in July after 9.2 million in June, according to new Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS data released by BLS earlier this week. "We expect this labor market rebalancing to continue," Powell said. "Evidence that the tightness in the labor market is no longer easing could also call for a monetary policy response."

Persons: Jerome Powell, Lydia Boussour, EY, Boussour, Nick Bunker, Bunker, it's, Julia Pollak, Pollak, Jonathan Fisher, Fisher, Powell Organizations: payrolls, Service, SAG, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor, BLS, North America, Washington Center for Equitable Growth Locations: Wall, Silicon, Jackson Hole , Wyoming

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSEC delays decision on spot bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock, WisdomTree and more: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at EY, discusses his new book on how companies can implement Ethereum's blockchain.

Persons: explainers, Paul Brody Organizations: SEC, CNBC Crypto, CNBC Locations: BlackRock, WisdomTree

☆ EY's Paul Brody makes the case for Ethereum in enterprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | Jordan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEY's Paul Brody makes the case for Ethereum in enterpriseCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at EY, discusses his new book on how companies can implement Ethereum's blockchain.

Persons: EY's Paul Brody, explainers, Paul Brody Organizations: CNBC

☆ The Fed’s preferred inflation measure stayed high in July — and consumers are continuing to spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Minneapolis CNN —US inflation may have remained elevated in July, but consumers just wanted to have some fun. It’s the strongest monthly spending gain since January; however, underlying data indicates this type of activity may be on borrowed time. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index showed that prices increased 0.2% on a monthly basis and 3.3% annually. Economists were expecting monthly increases of 0.2% for the headline and core indexes and 3.3% and 4.2%, respectively, for the annual numbers. Even when adjusted for inflation, spending surged in July, rising by 0.6% from the month before.

Persons: ” Eugenio Alemán, Raymond James, “, ” Gregory Daco, EY, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Wells, Shannon Seery, Wells Fargo, ” Seery, ” Daco, Powell, Jackson, ” Organizations: Minneapolis CNN, New Commerce Department, Federal, Commerce Department, Amazon’s, PCE, CNN, “, of Labor Statistics Locations: Minneapolis, Jackson Hole , Wyoming

Participants march with a banner with rainbow colours during the annual pride parade in Hong Kong, China, November 7, 2015. "Hong Kong has a real opportunity to take the lead here and give a clear message," said Gigi Chao, the vice chair of listed Hong Kong property firm Cheuk Nang Holdings and a prominent gay rights advocate in Asia. "WAKE UP"Business groups in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan have become increasingly vocal in making the case that Asia's leading economies must do more to encourage diversity. A poll this year by Kyodo news agency of just over 1,500 people showed that nearly 70 percent supported same-sex marriage. While corporates rarely lobby Asian governments directly on LGBTQ rights, activists say they show their support through sponsorship of LGBTQ events and Pride-themed marketing.

Persons: Bobby Yip, Janet Ledger, Jimmy Sham, Asia's, Gigi Chao, Chao, Kida, Kiyong Shim, Dyson, Nomura, Kathy Teo, Singapore's, they're, Teo, Revolut, Jessie Pang, Justin Fung, Xinghui, Hyonhee Shin, Hyunsu Yim, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Kong's, Community Business, Gay Games, Nang Holdings, Reuters, American Chamber of Commerce, Fortune, Kyodo, Liberal Democratic Party, EY, FINANCE, Rights Watch, Gallup, WeWork, Standard Chartered Bank ., Google, IBM, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, TOKYO, Tokyo, Singapore, Asia, Taiwan, Nepal, India, South Korea, York, Japan, EY Japan, Korea, Seoul, Standard Chartered Bank . Singapore, Xinghui Kok

☆ US second-quarter economic growth revised lower as inventories drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP for the second quarter would be unrevised. Inventories were a small drag to GDP growth instead of adding 0.14 percentage point as estimated last month. It is expanding at a pace well above what Fed officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate of around 1.8%. GDPINFLATION COOLINGThe government's measure of inflation in the economy, the price index for gross domestic purchases, rose at a 1.7% rate, revised down from the 1.9% rate estimated last month. An alternative measure of growth, gross domestic income, or GDI, rebounded at a 0.5% rate in the second quarter.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Lydia Boussour, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao Organizations: REUTERS, Commerce Department, Wednesday, Federal Reserve, Gross, Reuters, Fed, ADP, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, WASHINGTON, EY, New York

☆ The US economy grew more slowly in the second quarter than previously estimated
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —The US economy grew more slowly in the second quarter than previously estimated — a good sign for the Federal Reserve, which is attempting to cool demand to bring down price increases. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s second estimate, released Wednesday morning. The second estimate factored in greater consumer spending, government outlays and exports, compared with the initial estimate. Economic growth in the second quarter was mostly broad based, but there were some signs of weakened demand for goods purchases and imports. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of economic output, was revised slightly higher in the second estimate.

Persons: ”, Bill Adams, Barbie, Taylor Swift, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Biden, Lydia Boussour, “ Organizations: DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Gross, Commerce, Consumer, Comerica Bank, The Commerce Department, Kansas City, Atlanta Fed, Fed Locations: Washington, United States, Wells Fargo, EY

☆ Why the U.S. has a productivity problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jeff Huang | In Jefftchuang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Enter the labor productivity metric. But labor productivity in the U.S. has been falling. Prior to the data from the most recent quarter, the country had seen five consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in worker productivity. "Sluggish productivity means sluggish growth. Watch the video above to find out more about how labor productivity is measured, how effective a metric it is for economists, the reasons behind the slowdown in productivity and the impact it has on the U.S. economy.

Persons: Jason Furman, Barack Obama, Greg Daco, Furman Organizations: Federal Reserve, Harvard Kennedy School, of Economic Advisers, of Labor Statistics Locations: U.S

The development comes days after SoftBank Group-backed (9984.T) chip designer Arm Holdings made public its IPO filing. Instacart said its revenue had surged to $1.48 billion in the six months ended June 30, compared with $1.13 billion in the same period last year. Net income was $242 million during the six-month period, compared to a $74 million loss a year earlier, Instacart said. Customers can order through the Instacart app, and an Instacart "shopper" delivers the product in as little as 30 minutes. Unlike in an IPO, no shares are sold in advance in a direct listing and investors can sell their shares directly to the public.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Schwartz, Mike Bellin, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, Fidji Simo, Frank Slootman, Niket, Savyata Mishra, Shilpi Majumdar, Shinjini, Maju Samuel Organizations: REUTERS, SoftBank, Arm Holdings, PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S, San, underwriters, Nasdaq, Facebook, Canada, CVS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, United States, Snowflake, Bengaluru

☆ India’s space startups are ready to blast off too
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Nearly seven million people watched India’s space program make history on Wednesday. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) became the first to land near the moon’s unexplored south pole. Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, in June led a $10 million investment in Digantara, which maps space debris. At $74 million, the bill for India’s moon mission was less than the cost of producing 2013 Hollywood space thriller "Gravity". New Delhi is finalising new foreign direct investment rules, and that will likely turbocharge India’s space startups.

Persons: Amit Dave, Elon Musk, Singapore’s GIC, Pranav Kiran, Coinbase’s, Una Galani, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, SpaceX, XV Partners, Sequoia, Skyroot Aerospace, Hollywood, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Gujarat Science City, Ahmedabad, India, Sequoia India, Southeast Asia, Digantara, New Delhi

[1/3] Euro currency bills are pictured at the Croatian National Bank in Zagreb, Croatia, May 21, 2019. The services component sank to 48.3 from 50.9, its first time below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction this year. The single currency weakened after the German data, hitting its lowest level against the dollar since June 15 at $1.0805. "The decline in services activity was a sharp move and we've seen a soft euro environment," said Niels Christensen, chief analyst at Nordea. The spot yuan opened at 7.2870 per dollar on Wednesday and was last changing hands at 7.2899.

Persons: Antonio Bronic, Niels Christensen, Martin Beck, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Nordea's Christensen, Colin Asher, Samuel Indyk, Ankur Banerjee, Kim Coghill, Mark Potter, Chizu Organizations: Croatian National Bank, REUTERS, P, European Central Bank, PMI, Bank of England, Reuters, Federal, Japan's Ministry of Finance, Mizuho, Thomson Locations: Zagreb, Croatia, Britain, July's, U.S, Europe, tenterhooks, Tokyo, London, Singapore

☆ UK’s improving finances will bear no fiscal gifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Higher tax receipts helped Britain to borrow less than expected in July. The UK’s poor economic health leaves him with little room for fiscal giveaways ahead of a prospective 2024 election. Public sector net borrowing stood at 4.3 billion pounds in July, less than the 5 billion pounds expected by economists polled by Reuters. In the first four months of the fiscal year, borrowing was 11.3 billion pounds below the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast. The recent rise in bond yields will add around 18 billion pounds to debt interest spending by 2027/28, says Capital Economics.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Mairead McGuinness, Yves Herman, Hunt, Francesco Guerrera, EY’s loveless, Lisa Jucca, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Financial Stability, Financial Services, Capital Markets, REUTERS, Reuters, Budget, Economics, Twitter, TPG, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium

☆ Coinbase’s stablecoin bet pegs to wishful thinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The crypto exchange will take a minority stake in Circle Internet Financial, issuer of stablecoin USDC. Such tokens, designed to track the U.S. dollar, haven’t delivered on promises of transforming finance. Coinbase already earns interest from reserves backing USDC through a partnership with Circle, and doesn’t expect any new major financial benefit. Meanwhile, U.S. legislation to regulate the tokens is stalled, and PayPal’s (PYPL.O) stablecoin launch last month drew criticism from Representative Maxine Waters, among others. Coinbase, meanwhile, is cozying up to pillars of traditional finance like BlackRock (BLK.N).

Persons: haven’t, Coinbase, Maxine Waters, Brian Armstrong, Anita Ramaswamy, EY’s loveless, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, U.S ., Wall Street Journal, BlackRock, Twitter, TPG, Thomson

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