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☆ Pandemic Learning Loss Could Cost Students $70,000 in Lifetime Earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ben Chapman | Douglas Belkin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Students are taking longer to learn concepts this year, require more tutoring and struggle to engage in group activities, according to a new study by a Stanford economist. Learning loss could shave $70,000 off the lifetime earnings of children who were in school during the pandemic, according to a new study by a Stanford economist. The sobering forecast is based on an analysis of the sharp declines in the scores of eighth-graders on national math tests taken between 2019 and 2022.

☆ Electric vehicles confront the leap to the mass market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Joseph White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Industry executives and forecasters do not agree on how rapidly electric vehicles could take over half the global vehicle market, let alone all of it. In China, the world's largest single automotive market, battery electric vehicles have captured about 21% of the market. By 2029, electric vehicles could account for a third of the North American market, and about 26% of vehicles produced worldwide, according to AutoForecast Solutions, a consultancy. Electric vehicle sales likely will not increase in a smooth, ever-ascending curve, said AFS President Joe McCabe. The next few years will determine whether the 21st Century's crop of electric vehicle brands will follow a similar path.

☆ The golden age of streaming TV is over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Paris Marx | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

That August, the streaming analyst Eric Schiffer told The Verge that the "golden age" was over as competition increased, and Netflix was putting creators on a shorter leash. But just as Netflix was pulling back from its most creative content, the streaming wars were heating up. Netflix is now churning out cheap and broadly appealing reality TV shows like "Is It Cake?" Despite positioning itself for years as the ad-free way to watch TV, Netflix in October launched a lower-cost, ad-supported tier in many of its major markets. As the cheap money disappears, we're starting to get a better picture of the actual price of streaming media.

☆ Why Have Netflix, Hulu, and the Rest of Streaming TV Gotten so Boring?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Paris Marx | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

As a result, Netflix and other streamers are retreating from any sort of creative risk in favor of humdrum, lowest-common-denominator shows. But just as Netflix was pulling back from its most creative content, the streaming wars were heating up. Netflix is now churning out cheap and broadly appealing reality TV shows like "Is It Cake?" Despite positioning itself for years as the ad-free way to watch TV, Netflix in October launched a lower-cost, ad-supported tier in many of its major markets. As the cheap money disappears, we're starting to get a better picture of the actual price of streaming media.

“You have to sample them all and analyze them all to see if they belong to victims or a suspect. The Moscow killings occurred in a three-story, six-bedroom rented house, about a half-block from the University of Idaho campus. The apartment house in Moscow, Idaho, where four students were stabbed to death held an enormous amount of biological evidence, experts say. “So, who could have left that DNA evidence? Before getting answers about DNA, investigators seek clues in the location of blood.

☆ Jamie Dimon sounds off on the economy, Fed, and crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are few top executives who draw as much attention and speak as freely as Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan. "Inflation is eroding everything…and that $1.5 trillion will run out sometime mid-year next year," Dimon said. Never one to mince words, Dimon then blasted the cryptocurrency sector when asked what he thought of the FTX collapse. Meanwhile, days after the EU's $60 per barrel price cap kicked in, oil prices slumped to levels not seen since before the invasion of Ukraine. There's been much debate about how the measure will alter oil prices moving forward — but PIMCO commodities strategist Greg Sharenow said it's going to come down to three factors.

☆ 'Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo' review: HBO shines a light on decades of alleged abuse within a mega-church
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Spanning decades, “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo” is another #MeToo story, this time on a disturbingly epic scale, exploring alleged sexual abuse that occurred across generations in a Guadalajara, Mexico-based mega-church, and the victims that eventually rose up to speak out. Founded in 1926, La Luz Del Mundo (Spanish for “The Light of the World”) says it has branches around the world, carrying the word of God from a designated apostle chosen from the ranks of its guiding family. CNN has reached out to La Luz Del Mundo for comment. While HBO’s poster for “Unveiled” features the line, “Bringing the truth into the light,” time will tell whether that light turns out to be the best disinfectant. “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo” premieres December 6 at 9 p.m.

☆ A woman who mistakenly visited an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center said she was met with pushback for seeking an abortion: 'I just was not ready, and words can't make you ready for that'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Isabella Zavarise | Katie Nixdorf | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics in the US. When she got to The Keim Center in Virginia Beach, it didn't look or smell like a medical clinic — it was too nice, too inviting. Unbeknownst to her, Estefanía had walked into one of the 2,000 crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, in the US. "Most of the folks that work in crisis pregnancy centers are people that are on a mission to end abortion." Researchers from Middlebury College have estimated that the extinction of national abortion rights means the number of people living closer to CPCs than abortion clinics will double, and CPCs will outnumber abortion clinics 1-to-5.

☆ Trump's tax returns case lost in the Supreme Court. Now what?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Carol C. Lam | Carol C. Lam Was A U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of California | A Federal Prosecutor For Years. She Also Was A Superior Court Judge In San Diego County. She Is A Legal Analyst For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Letitia James, the New York attorney general, also has years of tax returns, and has brought a civil case based largely on them. First, the updated House request to the Treasury Department in 2021 calls for more recent tax returns, this time for tax years 2015-2020. Tax returns in the hands of a congressional committee are not the same as tax returns in the hands of a prosecutor. Government prosecutors can obtain, but not disclose, the contents of tax returns — unless, that is, it becomes necessary to introduce relevant portions of the returns into evidence. After evidence came to light that President Richard Nixon had used taxpayer information to target political opponents, legislation was enacted in 1976 that severely restricted a president’s ability to disclose taxpayer information.

☆ England suffer reality check in 0-0 draw with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AL KHOR, Qatar, Nov 25 (Reuters) - England suffered a sobering reality check as they were outplayed for long periods by a youthful United States side in a tense 0-0 draw in their second World Cup Group B game on Friday. A 6-2 thrashing of Iran on Monday sent fans' hopes soaring but Gareth Southgate's side were fortunate not to suffer a repeat of their 1950 World Cup calamity against the Americans. England captain Harry Kane sent a late header wide that would have given England a first World Cup win over the U.S. at the third attempt but it would have been a travesty. "Wasn't the best performance for sure," Kane, who remains two behind Wayne Rooney's England record 53 goals, said. Haji Wright, the only change to Gregg Berhalter's line-up from the opening draw with Wales, headed wide and England had a huge let-off when McKennie half-volleyed over.

☆ Credit Suisse warns of $1.6 billion loss as rich clients leave
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Credit Suisse expects a pretax loss of up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.58 billion) in its fourth quarter as it keeps bleeding cash, the Swiss bank said on Wednesday, shortly before shareholders approved a $4 billion capital hike. It said this trend in the wealth management division, catering to rich clients, has since improved, but had yet to reverse. The bank has been battered by a string of scandals and losses, including a $5.5 billion loss from the unraveling of US investment firm Archegos. Client activity had remained subdued in the wealth management and Swiss Bank divisions, a situation expected to continue in the coming months, the bank said. Analysts expressed concern about the outflows, which Bank Vontobel estimated to be around 84 billion Swiss francs ($88.2 billion).

☆ Activist investor Cevian takes axe to Thyssenkrupp stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Christoph Steitz | Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Cevian cuts stake by more than 5.6%Thyssenkrupp turnaround failed to boost share priceCevian first disclosed stake in 2013FRANKFURT, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Activist fund Cevian has cut its stake in Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) to less than 1%, it said on Tuesday, effectively ending its loss-making engagement with the German industrial group after years of restructuring that failed to boost its share price. Cevian, which first disclosed a stake in Thyssenkrupp in 2013, had nearly halved its stake to 7.9% a year ago after a far-reaching overhaul it had long demanded arrived too late. Shares in Thyssenkrupp fell 4.7% lower on the news, making them the second-biggest decliners in Germany's mid-cap index and valuing the stake Cevian has sold at more than 180 million euros ($185 million). Refinitiv news service IFR earlier reported that Cevian sold shares at 5.15-5.40 euros apiece in a process run by UBS, indicating the fund took a loss, given Thyssenkrupp stock traded around 17-19 euros when the fund disclosed holdings. The share sale also highlights Cevian's sobering track record in Germany, which includes a 26.67% stake in Bilfinger (GBFG.DE) that has fallen in value since the fund first disclosed a stake in 2011.

☆ 'The Walking Dead' series finale review: Episode 24 of the extended 11th season finally comes to an end, after biting off more than it could chew (SPOILERS)
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers about “The Walking Dead” series finale, “Rest in Peace,” which premiered November 20. CNN —Forgive AMC, at least a little bit, for almost drunkenly celebrating “The Walking Dead” in its heyday by feeding audiences as much content related to the zombie drama as they possibly could. In its early seasons, “The Walking Dead” excelled in part because of its unpredictability, as the montage of characters who had died reminded the audience. Those plans later morphed into a limited series, but the sense that “The Walking Dead” was no longer the priority in AMC’s “Dead” universe had been pretty well cemented. Television is always hungry for another hit, and at its height “The Walking Dead” was the TV equivalent of a supernova.

☆ America’s First World Cup Test: Stopping This Welshman
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Andrew Beaton | Joshua Robinson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DOHA, Qatar—Right after Los Angeles FC won the most dramatic MLS Cup in the history of the league this month, coach Steve Cherundolo had a sobering realization about the player who had just saved his team. Gareth Bale had scored the 128th-minute goal, deep into stoppage time of extra time, to tie the game, send the match into a penalty shootout and tee up LAFC’s victory. It was exactly the kind of moment that Bale, the former Real Madrid star, was signed to deliver. And it didn’t take long for Cherundolo to remember that Bale’s next game wouldn’t be in an LAFC shirt. Bale would be wearing a Wales uniform, and lining up against the U.S.

☆ The Visions of Octavia Butler
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lynell George | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +27 min

As a science fiction writer, Butler forged a new path and envisioned bold possibilities. Mural with a portrait of Octavia Butler and her name, composed of dots of various densities in 3-D space. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant. “‘Kindred’ was a story of ordinary people trapped in fantastic circumstances,” Butler wrote in a 1988 notebook. Her point of view was one not traditionally found in science fiction and, simply by writing, she demanded a larger world.

☆ Chris Hemsworth receives ‘strong indication’ of a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease while filming new show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Chris Hemsworth embarked on a personal and physically demanding journey for his new series “Limitless” that ultimately led to a sobering discovery. Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we’ll somehow avoid it,” he told Vanity Fair. “I think that’s my favorite episode. “Doing an episode on death and facing your own mortality made me go, ‘Oh God, I’m not ready to go yet,’” he later added. “I want to sit and be in this space with a greater sense of stillness and gratitude.

☆ I've been a licensed psychotherapist in Silicon Valley for the past decade, and I've never witnessed such an atmosphere of panic and insecurity amid the massive tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Since the Twitter and Meta layoffs, she and her team are speaking to hundreds of patients a week. For many across Silicon Valley, that all contributed to an environment of professional safety and security. Over time, I too, became convinced that Silicon Valley was untouchable. Since Twitter announced mass layoffs in early November, shockwaves have been rippling through Silicon Valley. There's a general sobering across Silicon Valley that will extend into the new year.

☆ Amazon confirms it has begun laying off employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Amazon confirmed on Wednesday that layoffs had begun at the company, two days after multiple outlets reported the e-commerce giant planned to cut around 10,000 employees this week. Amazon and other tech firms significantly ramped up hiring over the past couple of years as the pandemic shifted consumers’ habits towards e-commerce. Facebook-parent Meta recently announced 11,000 job cuts, the largest in the company’s history. Twitter also announced widespread job cuts after Elon Musk bought the company for $44 billion, funded in part by debt financing. After reaching record highs during the pandemic, shares of Amazon have shed more than 40% in 2022 so far.

☆ No clear answers in deaths of 4 Idaho students found dead near campus, mayor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The mayor of a small Idaho town where four college students were found dead said the “senseless” killings could be blamed on "most any scenario." In a memo to students Monday, University of Idaho President Scott Green said he and his wife were "heartbroken" over the deaths. Kernodle, of Post Falls, Idaho, was a junior and member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority majoring in marketing. Mogen, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was also a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and a senior majoring in marketing. And Goncalves, of Rathdrum, Idaho, was a senior and member of the Alpha Phi sorority majoring in general studies.

CNN —John Aniston, a veteran actor known for his work on the daytime drama “Days of Our Lives,” has died, his daughter, actress Jennifer Aniston, shared on Monday. You always had perfect timing,” Jennifer Aniston wrote in a statement shared on Instagram. Before he became a soap star, Aniston served in the US Navy and appeared in an off-Broadway musical, Soap Opera Digest reported. “I tell everybody who wants to be an actor, don’t be an actor, be something else. News alongside his daughter, Aniston offered both fatherly praise and sobering guidance: “Jennifer is a natural talent,” he said to his daughter’s embarrassment, but reminded her that talent doesn’t always result in a long career.

In August, we spent a day driving around with Mr. Cook and his Tesla to assess the progress of this experimental technology. Tesla is driving But watch as the Tesla struggles to make sense of its environment, veering from the road into a motel parking lot. The experiences of beta testers like Mr. Cook are a window into the enormously ambitious and expensive bet that Tesla is making on self-driving technology. Guided by Tesla’s self-driving technology, the car drove along the river and over a bridge before reaching an intersection lined with trees. These companies are now preparing self-driving car services that will operate without backup drivers in places like San Francisco and Austin, Texas.

☆ The tech boom is officially over - and the FTX fiasco will spark a crypto crackdown, ex-Treasury chief Larry Summers says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The tech boom is over, thanks to the pandemic receding and interest rates rising, Larry Summers said. The ex-Treasury chief predicted the FTX fiasco will lead to greater crypto regulation. He warned some of the recent excesses in the tech sector won't return until the next speculative boom, if at all. Investors need to reset their expectations after years of venture capitalists subsidizing companies' user acquisition with zero regard for profits or sustainable growth, he continued. Summers also touched on the financial troubles of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX and Alameda Research, which have roiled cryptocurrency markets this week.

☆ Analysis: Silicon Valley's greatest minds misread pandemic demand. Now their employees are paying for it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN Business —In the early months of the pandemic, Facebook only grew bigger and more central to our lives. On Wednesday, however, Zuckerberg reversed course and laid off more than 11,000 employees, marking the most significant cuts in the company’s history. In a memo to staff, Zuckerberg coughed up some of the hardest words in the English language. The Federal Reserve maintained near-zero interest rates at the time, giving tech companies easier access to capital. And private and public market valuations for tech companies only seemed to go higher.

☆ Layoffs are crushing the real-estate industry, and Redfin and Opendoor are the latest victims. Here are 44 companies that have shed jobs due to the fast-cooling housing market.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Alex Nicoll | Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Redfin and Opendoor are the latest real-estate firms to lay off employees. The layoffs come as demand for mortgages has reached its lowest level since 1997.Insider rounded up 44 of the firms who have cut staff amid a cooling housing market. The layoffs at Redfin and Opendoor are the latest signs of trouble for the embattled real-estate industry. The downsizing began in the mortgage industry with Better's Zoom layoffs at the end of last year. With signs of distress spreading through the office market and among homebuilders, and rate hikes anticipated into 2023, layoffs are mounting.

☆ Yuan jumps, dollar pauses, sterling claws back some ground
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The offshore yuan jumped more than 1% in the Asia session to a one-week peak of 7.2441 per dollar, and last traded 7.2621. But traders said the most potent boost to the yuan came from speculation that China could relax anti-COVID restrictions,which have been hobbling economic activity. And as is typically the case, this type of 'risk on' move indicated by the yuan will have a magnetic attraction across Asia markets." The Australian dollar rose 0.86% to $0.6342, further buoyed by the positive sentiment on China, as the Aussie is often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan. DOLLAR DOMINANCEFed rate futures now point to a terminal rate of about 5.15% by mid-2023, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this week.

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