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Showing posts from May, 2023

Google's head of communications and public affairs Corey duBrowa will leave the company to serve as CEO of public relations firm Burson Cohn & Wolfe (Eleanor Hawkins/Axios)

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Eleanor Hawkins / Axios : Google's head of communications and public affairs Corey duBrowa will leave the company to serve as CEO of public relations firm Burson Cohn & Wolfe   —  Corey duBrowa will depart Google and parent company Alphabet in June to serve as CEO of global public relations firm Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), Axios has learned. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/BiQwLz4

China can continue to outgrow the US economy, and Americans shouldn't delude themselves, former Treasury official says

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Lintao Zhang/Getty China has demonstrated its economy can continue outgrowing the US, Steven Rattner wrote. That's despite the China's weaker-than-expected rebound from COVID restrictions. "Most important, we should not delude ourselves with the fantasy that China is going to fall under its own weight." China has demonstrated its economy can continue outgrowing the US, Steven Rattner wrote in The New York Times , warning Americans against any illusions that suggest otherwise. The former counselor to the Treasury secretary during the Obama administration acknowledged that China's rebound following the end of China's strict COVID policies has fallen short of high expectations. In fact, fresh manufacturing data Wednesday added to fears over China's economy. And prior signs of stalling performance prompted Rockefeller International's Ruchir Sharma to call the rebound narrative a " charade ." But Rattner said that China has grown 14% ...

Reddit client Apollo's developer says Reddit plans to charge $12K for 50M API requests and that he would need to pay $20M per year to keep operating the app (Juli Clover/MacRumors)

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Juli Clover / MacRumors : Reddit client Apollo's developer says Reddit plans to charge $12K for 50M API requests and that he would need to pay $20M per year to keep operating the app   —  Popular Reddit app Apollo might not be able to operate as is in the future due to planned API pricing that Reddit is implementing. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/kKChqcy

Billionaire investor Mark Mobius says he's been able to get his money out of China, but investing in the country is still a 'dilemma' amid national security laws

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Mark Mobius Richard Brian/Reuters Mark Mobius said in an interview with Fox Business that he was finally able to get his cash out of China. He previously had trouble withdrawing his funds, due to Chinese capital controls that limit outflows. But investment in China is still concerning amid national security laws, he warned. Mark Mobius said he was able to take his money out of China, but investing in the country is still a concern amid national security laws, the billionaire warned. In a March interview with Fox Business, the Mobius Capital Partners founder said he was unable to withdraw his funds from his HSBC account based in Shanghai, citing government capital controls that limit the flow of money out of China.  But on Tuesday, he said he was able to withdraw his cash soon after his complaint aired. "As soon as we had the program, it went viral, and my bank immediately called me from Shanghai and said, 'let's do something about this,'" Mobius said ...

Apple touts an Analysis Group study saying App Store ecosystem generated $1.1T in 2022, up 29% YoY, with $910B coming from sales of physical goods and services (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Apple touts an Analysis Group study saying App Store ecosystem generated $1.1T in 2022, up 29% YoY, with $910B coming from sales of physical goods and services   —  Ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference next week, the company is offering an update on its app ecosystem with the release … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/rcDg5wt

HPE reports Q2 revenue up 4% YoY to $7B, vs. $7.3B est., HPC & AI revenue up 18% YoY to $840M, and Intelligent Edge revenue up 50% YoY to $1.3B (Jon Swartz/MarketWatch)

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Jon Swartz / MarketWatch : HPE reports Q2 revenue up 4% YoY to $7B, vs. $7.3B est., HPC & AI revenue up 18% YoY to $840M, and Intelligent Edge revenue up 50% YoY to $1.3B   —  HP CEO expects PC sales to rebound in the second half of the year and notes that AI will ‘redefine what PCs can do’ from Techmeme https://ift.tt/xY3u07W

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just reported to prison to begin her 11-year sentence. Here's what we know about her partner, Billy Evans.

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William "Billy" Evans shares two young children with Elizabeth Holmes and appeared alongside her daily during her monthslong trial. Philip Pacheco/Getty Images Elizabeth Holmes , the Theranos founder who has been convicted of fraud, reported to prison May 30 to begin her 11-year sentence. During her sentence, she'll be separated from her partner, William "Billy" Evans, and their two kids. Here's what we know about Evans, including how he met Holmes and his initial hesitation about dating her. Elizabeth Holmes reported to a Texas women's prison on Tuesday to begin her sentence of more than 11 years . During this time, she'll be separated from her family, including her partner, William "Billy" Evans, and their children, a son born in July 2021 and a daughter born this February. Evans is heir to a chain of hotels in California and was her daily companion at her monthslong trial. Not much is known about their relationship, but a rec...

Miami-based Transak, which sells payment and onboarding infrastructure for Web3 games and financial apps, raised a $20M Series A led by CE Innovation Capital (Brandy Betz/CoinDesk)

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Brandy Betz / CoinDesk : Miami-based Transak, which sells payment and onboarding infrastructure for Web3 games and financial apps, raised a $20M Series A led by CE Innovation Capital   —  The startup offers on- and off-ramps that could make it easier for new users to interact with Web3 projects. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/y3DeG71

ChatGPT and Retail: Reality, Hype, What's Next, and How to Prepare

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ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI, has fast become one of the biggest buzzwords in retail. The model, launched as a prototype in November 2022, is the latest iteration of the AI technology promising to revolutionize ecommerce. But retailers remain cautious over its potential pitfalls, especially concerning direct interactions with customers. So where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact in retail, and what are the most and least promising use cases for the technology? Insider Intelligence Generative AI is set to have far-reaching implications for the $5.920 trillion global ecommerce sector. The most sizable impact is expected to be seen in the areas of mobile commerce, social commerce, voice commerce, and other top channels such as personalization and product design. Looking into the future, the most viable and valuable use cases are believed to be chatbots, product descriptions, personalized product recommendations, content creat...

Billionaire quant Cliff Asness says conflicting signals around the Fed's next move could cause a 'scary' sell-off in stocks as recession strikes

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Lucy Nicholson/Reuters Stocks could see a "scary" sell-off if a recession hits the US economy, Cliff Asness said. The quant billionaire pointed to an alarming disconnect between how stocks and bonds are positioned. Experts have been warning of recession over the last year, as high interest rates put pressure on the economy. Stocks and bonds are sending conflicting signals about the economy — and there could be a scary sell-off in stocks if a recession hits, according to billionaire investor Cliff Asness. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, the quant guru pointed to different economic outlooks priced in the bond market and in the stock market, which he called his "biggest concern" in the current macro environment. Though stocks are being carried by a more buoyant outlook on the economy, the bond market is pricing in steep interest-rate cuts over the next few years, which experts say would likely only happen if the US entered a recession . The bond...

Analyst Ross Young says Apple's headset will have two 1.41" Micro OLED displays at 5000+ nits of brightness, a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and "should be 4K per eye" (Zac Hall/9to5Mac)

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Zac Hall / 9to5Mac : Analyst Ross Young says Apple's headset will have two 1.41" Micro OLED displays at 5000+ nits of brightness, a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and “should be 4K per eye”   —  The tech community is collectively on the edge of our seats as we zoom toward the expected unveiling of Apple's mixed reality headset. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/WegBE39

Tokyo-based Gitai, which develops a robotic arm and a robotic rover for in-space applications, raised a ~$30M Series B extension led by Global Brain Corporation (Aria Alamalhodaei/TechCrunch)

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Aria Alamalhodaei / TechCrunch : Tokyo-based Gitai, which develops a robotic arm and a robotic rover for in-space applications, raised a ~$30M Series B extension led by Global Brain Corporation   —  There is a groundswell of commercial space initiatives focused on the moon, with established companies and newer upstarts … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/xLXsOpE

A secret Cold War-era deal lets British jets shadow Russian bombers when they fly near a vital Atlantic chokepoint

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A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber over the Kremlin in Moscow in May 2015. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images Since the 1950s, Ireland has allowed British jets to intercept Russian aircraft near Irish airspace. Ireland's west coast overlooks North Atlantic waters that the Russians and NATO keep a close eye on. The deal allowing the intercepts has long been secret, and Irish lawmakers now want more details. If Russian bombers fly near Ireland, they may be intercepted by fighter jets — but not Irish ones. Under a secret agreement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland that dates back more than 70 years, Britain will defend Irish airspace from intrusions by Russian aircraft and other aerial threats. The deal has been amended by Irish leaders over the years, but it has also been kept secret due to Irish memories of British rule and tensions over Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the UK after Ireland was partitioned in 1921. The deal now faces rising backlash...

A profile of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, credited with bulking up its ad and subscription businesses while seeking to crack down on dangerous and misleading videos (Miles Kruppa/Wall Street Journal)

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Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal : A profile of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, credited with bulking up its ad and subscription businesses while seeking to crack down on dangerous and misleading videos   —  Neal Mohan goofs around with creators and woos advertisers to the platform's short videos and TV offerings from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ZQfrqgF

Belarus said it had no choice but to host Russia's nuclear weapons after US and its allies escalated support for Ukraine

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Russian Yars ballistic nuclear missiles on mobile launchers roll through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade rehearsals on May 6, 2018, in Moscow, Russia. Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Belarus said it had no choice but to host Russia's tactical nuclear weapons.  A senior Belarusian official said the weapons were "strategic deterrence" against the West. Another official said it was the "effective response" to increasing NATO aid to Ukraine.  Multiple Belarusian senior officials have defended the country's decision to host Russia's tactical nuclear weapons, saying they had no choice after increasing aggression from the US and its NATO allies. On Sunday, Alexander Volfovich, state secretary of Belarus' Security Council, said the deal with Russia would discourage Western retaliation in the area. "The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus is therefore one of the steps of strategic deterrenc...