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Read the pitch decks from media and entertainment startups that have raised millions to disrupt Hollywood 2024-06-26 19:51:36+00:00 - Tech is disrupting all areas of media and entertainment, and investors are rushing to cash in. Startups are attracting millions in investments to change how content is made, distributed, and more. Here are 23 pitch decks that startups used to fundraise for pre-seed and Series A rounds and beyond. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement Technology is upending all facets of media and entertainment. New startups are raising capital to jump on audiences' shift to streaming, change hidebound production practices, and more. Business Insider talked with founders about the pitches they used to raise millions and innovate in content creation and distribution. Investors have particularly chased AI startups like Runway, which promises to reduce the cost and time it takes to create special effects like de-aging and film restoration; and Papercup, an AI-based translation company.

Unifor Members Persist With Bombardier Strike After Rejecting Final Offer - Bombardier (OTC:BOMBF), Bombardier (OTC:BDRXF) 2024-06-26 19:46:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Unifor, the Canadian workers’ union, announced that its members at Bombardier Inc. BDRXF BOMBF will persist with their strike following the business-jet manufacturer’s rejection of what it termed a final offer. “Both the union and the company will remain at the bargaining table and further updates on negotiations will be provided at the appropriate time,” Unifor said in a statement. The union expressed caution as both parties remain apart on certain “key union priorities.” “However, specific details of the negotiations will not be made public to protect the integrity of the bargaining process,” Unifor added. Union locals 112 and 673 initiated the strike at the company after negotiations failed to yield an agreement by June 22nd. Reuters reported that the 1,350 workers from these units manufacture Bombardier’s long-range Global series aircraft at the Pearson International Airport facility in Toronto. Yesterday, the union characterized the company’s offer as “insufficient,” noting significant differences in key union priorities, Reuters added. Mark Masluch, a spokesperson for Bombardier, told CBC News that the collective goal is to “swiftly reach a mutually beneficial agreement.” Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Read Next: Tesla China Gets Morale Boost As Laid-Off Employees Return: Report Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Why Is Lyell Immunopharma Stock Trading Lower On Wednesday? - Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) 2024-06-26 19:40:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Lyell Immunopharma Inc LYEL shares are trading lower on Wednesday on a heavy session volume of 5.79 million shares as per data from Benzinga Pro. The company released initial clinical and translational data from its Phase 1 trial of LYL797, its first-generation reprogrammed ROR1 CAR T‑cell product candidate enhanced with proprietary anti-exhaustion technology. This initial dataset of 20 treated patients includes 16 patients with TNBC and four patients with non-small cell lung cancer and demonstrated dose-dependent antitumor clinical activity and the ability of LYL797 CAR T cells to proliferate, infiltrate tumors, and kill cancer cells in patients with relapsed/refractory disease. Patients with TNBC treated with LYL797 had an objective response rate (ORR) of 40% and clinical benefit rate (CBR) of 60% at the 150 x 106 CAR T cell dose level, with a CBR of 38% across all dose levels evaluable to date. Common treatment-related adverse events in patients without lung metastases included Grade 1 and 2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) headache and the expected cytopenia from lymphodepletion. No reports of immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) attributed to LYL797. Pneumonitis occurred in patients with lung metastases. The company said dose escalation continues separately and more gradually in those patients. No dose-limiting toxicities have been reported in patients without lung involvement. The company reported one death (Grade 5) due to respiratory failure on Day 41. All patients are now receiving prophylactic steroids before LYL797 treatment. Lyell says the adverse event of Grade > 3 pneumonitis occurred only in patients with TNBC and lung metastases, separating dose escalation into two cohorts based upon lung involvement (lung primary, lung metastatic disease, or pleural effusion). Price Action: LYEL shares are down 35.9% at $1.31 at last check Wednesday.

Cigna's Specialty Pharmacy Leadership Expected to Drive Long-Term EPS Growth, Analyst Says - Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) 2024-06-26 19:36:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Piper Sandler has initiated coverage on Cigna Corporation CI, a diversified managed care and healthcare delivery organization specializing in commercial insurance markets and pharmacy services. The analyst writes, “We believe Cigna has a unique and defensible leadership position in the fast-growing specialty pharmacy market which, together with the company’s insurance segment and core PBM business, should support LT-adjusted EPS growth at a 10-14% CAGR.” Related: Cigna Crushes Q1 Estimates: Revenue Soars With Evernorth’s Explosive Growth. The company’s Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services businesses complement one another and empower Cigna to continue delivering premium adjusted EPS growth against the LT target of 10-14% per year, the Piper analyst writes. Cigna grew adjusted EPS at a 13%+ CAGR from 2013-2023, and the company is expected to maintain its track record of consistent execution against industry-leading earnings growth targets over the next decade. Piper adds, “We believe CI will focus on organic earnings growth until we know the outcome of the 2024 presidential election and get a better understanding of the antitrust/ MA regime for the next 4 years.” Piper initiates with an Overweight rating and a price target of $400. A 12.5x multiple is appropriate as it assigns an in-line/slight-premium multiple to the comp group, which Piper writes is justified by Cigna’s above-average EPS CAGR. The analyst also writes that selling the medicare advantage business to HCSC will be a positive catalyst for Cigna when it closes in the first quarter of 2025. Piper says Cigna’s strong position in the $400 billion specialty market is encouraging. While many are tackling the drug pricing crisis, Cigna is at the forefront. Specialty services drive growth for Evernorth, which is supported by Cigna’s transparent PBM business. We are confident in Evernorth’s 5-8% long-term growth forecast. Read Next: Arthritis Patients – Cigna’s Evernorth To Offer Humira Biosimilar At No Out-of-Pocket Cost. Price Action: CI shares are down 0.41% at $337.41 at the last check on Wednesday. Photo via Shutterstock

Amazon joins exclusive club, crossing $2 trillion in stock market value for the first time 2024-06-26 19:27:33+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon joined the exclusive $2 trillion club Wednesday after Wall Street investors pushed the value of the e-commerce giant’s stock past that threshold. Shares in Amazon.com Inc. finished the day up almost 4%, giving the Seattle-based company a stock market valuation of $2.01 trillion. Its stock has gained 52% in the past 12 months, partly driven by enthusiasm for the company’s investments in artificial intelligence. Amazon now joins Google’s parent Alphabet, software behemoth Microsoft, iPhone maker Apple and chip maker Nvidia among companies with valuations of at least $2 trillion. Last week, Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI applications and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the focus has been on business-focused products, including AI models and a chatbot called Q, which Amazon makes available to businesses that use its cloud computing unit AWS. “A big part of the valuation boost has been cloud and AI,” said Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives. “Amazon is going to be a major player in the AI revolution.” In April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that AI capabilities have reaccelerated AWS’ growth and that it was on pace for $100 billion in annual revenue. The unit’s growth slowed last year as companies cut down on costs amid high inflation. Amazon has also invested $4 billion in the San Francisco-based AI company Anthropic to develop so-called foundation models that underpin generative AI systems. In addition, Amazon makes and designs its own AI chips. Outside of its cloud business, Amazon has cut costs significantly since late 2022, laying off more than 27,000 corporate employees across several divisions. It reported revenue and profits for the first quarter of the year, aiding by growth in AWS as well as its core retail business and advertising. All those things are boosting investor sentiments, said Neil Saunders, the managing director at GlobalData Retail. “Certainly, there are downsides, but these are mostly external — such as the threat from the FTC,” Saunders said, alluding to the federal agency’s antitrust lawsuit against the company. But, he said, “investors see these clouds as a long way off so they are not dampening the current valuation.”

Novo Nordisk Halts Late-Stage Study Of Experimental Hypertension Drug, Takes Over $800M Impairment Charge - Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) 2024-06-26 19:06:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... On Wednesday, Novo Nordisk A/S NVO announced that the CLARION-CKD phase 3 trial failed to meet its primary endpoint. CLARION-CKD was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized phase 3 study of ocedurenone for uncontrolled hypertension in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Also Read: Novo Nordisk Releases Data Showing Ozempic For Diabetes Slows Kidney Disease Progression. CLARION-CKD follows the same inclusion criteria as the phase 2b BLOCK-CKD study, which achieved its primary endpoint with clinical and statistical significance. More than 600 patients were randomized for the CLARION-CKD trial. Novo Nordisk acquired ocedurenone from KBP Biosciences PTE., Ltd. in 2023. KBP Biosciences conducted the phase 3 lead indication trial CLARION-CKD, which investigated ocedurenone in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and advanced chronic kidney disease. The trial design included a prespecified interim analysis after all participants had completed 12 weeks of treatment. Based on the interim analysis, an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the trial met the prespecified futility criteria—meaning that it did not meet its primary endpoint of change in systolic blood pressure from baseline to week 12. As a result, Novo Nordisk has decided to stop the CLARION-CKD trial. The company will recognize an impairment loss of around 5.7 billion Danish kroner (around $817 million) related to the intangible asset ocedurenone in the second quarter of 2024. This corresponds to an estimated negative impact of around six percentage points on operating profit growth at CER in 2024 compared to the operating profit outlook communicated in the financial report for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024. Further development of ocedurenone in other indications is now being evaluated. Ocedurenone is a third-generation, non-steroidal, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist. Read Next: Novo Nordisk’s Older Generation Weight-Loss Drug Saxenda Associated With Decreased Bone Mass Density, Study Shows. Price Action: NVO shares were down 1.70% at $144.41 at the last check on Wednesday. Photo via Shutterstock

Why NASA astronauts are delayed at the space station after Boeing Starliner launch 2024-06-26 18:56:38+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — When two veteran NASA astronauts blasted off on a test drive of Boeing’s new capsule, they expected to head home from the International Space Station in a week or so. It’s now three weeks and counting for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams as NASA and Boeing troubleshoot equipment problems that popped up on the way there. Three potential landing dates were called off and their flight home is now on hold. This week, Boeing said the Starliner capsule’s problems aren’t a concern for the return trip and “the astronauts are not stranded.” The long-delayed test flight is the first with astronauts aboard. Boeing will eventually join SpaceX in ferrying crews to and from the space station for NASA. A look at what’s behind the extended stay: Why was the Starliner return trip postponed? NASA wants more time to analyze problems in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, which is used to maneuver in flight. The propulsion system is attached to the capsule, but it doesn’t come back to Earth for inspection. It is ditched during reentry and burns up. “We’re just taking a little more extra time to review all the data and also learn as much as we can while we have this service module in orbit,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said at a news conference last week before the latest postponement. The space agency also said it didn’t want the departure to conflict with spacewalks. This week’s spacewalk was called off after water leaked from an astronaut’s spacesuit while she was still inside the orbiting lab. Tuesday’s spacewalk was still on the schedule. What are the problems being investigated? Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters went down during docking, as the capsule closed in on the space station. All but one thruster was restarted, and they worked during a later test firing, NASA said. Officials suspect that heat from all the thruster action at docking caused the shutdown. The one faulty thruster has been turned off and is not an issue for the return trip, Boeing said. The capsule launched June 5 with one small helium leak, but four more leaks sprung up by the time it reached the space station. Helium is used to pressurize fuel for the thrusters, and a faulty rubber seal was suspected in the initial leak. Officials say there’s an amply supply of helium, and Boeing says the leaks are stable and not a concern. “So far, we don’t see any scenario where Starliner is not going to be able to bring Butch and Suni home,” Stich said last week. What’s next? Boeing and NASA say they’ll consider landing dates once the spacewalks are over. The capsule can remain at the space station for 45 days or longer if needed, Boeing said. In the meantime, mission managers continue to analyze the thruster trouble and helium leaks so they can resolve the problems before the next flight. Wilmore and Williams have been pitching in with chores and research at the space station, along with their duties checking out systems on the Boeing capsule. NASA said there is no rush for them to leave, and there are plenty of supplies for the pair and the seven residents at the space station. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Amazon reaches $2 trillion market cap for the first time 2024-06-26 18:56:00+00:00 - Amazon shares climbed more than 3% in intraday trading on Wednesday, pushing the company’s market cap past $2 trillion for the first time. In crossing the milestone, Amazon join Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft, all of which are worth $2 trillion or more. Investors have piled into tech stocks recently as excitement around generative artificial intelligence has reached a fever pitch. Nvidia, which makes graphics processors for the servers that power large AI models, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries, with its market value soaring from $2 trillion to $3 trillion in just over 3 months. Shares of Amazon have surged roughly 26% so far this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has risen about 18% over the same period. In April, the company reported first-quarter earnings that showed its Amazon Web Services business was continuing to rebound from a recent slowdown caused by businesses who trimmed their cloud spend. Amazon executives also spoke at length about how AWS can benefit from a surge in demand for generative AI services. Investors have also cheered the company’s recent cost-cutting initiatives, which fueled Amazon’s earnings growth in recent quarters. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been on a multi-year quest to reign in the company’s spending, including widespread layoffs that have affected more than 27,000 Amazon employees. It took Amazon more than four years to cross the $2 trillion milestone. Its market cap reached $1 trillion in 2020, the second time in its history after hitting the benchmark for the first time in 2018.

Millions of Miniverse toys recalled over risks of skin, eye and respiratory issues 2024-06-26 18:56:00+00:00 - A large volume of toys – 21m sets of MGA Entertainment’s Miniverse Make It Mini sets – are being recalled across the US over risks of skin, eye and respiratory irritation. In an announcement on Tuesday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the toy sets, which consist of spheres containing material required to assemble miniature imitations of appliance, food or lifestyle items, contain resin that, when liquid, can cause various physical issues. The resin packaging in each set may imitate food items such as a peanut butter jar, maple syrup and a milk container and the resins when hardened imitate food, the CPSC said. Each sphere consists of a disposable wrapper bearing the words “MGA’s Miniverse” on a yellow background and “Make It Appliances” or “Make It Mini Food” in bright pink, or “Make It Mini Lifestyle” in salmon pink. The wrapper contains information related to the manufacturer’s identity and country-specific information in different languages, CPSC added. According to the CPSC, the resins contain acrylates, a chemical agent made from acrylic acid, in amounts prohibited in children’s products by the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. After the resins harden, they no longer pose a risk. MGA Entertainment has received 26 reports of incidents with this product affecting children and adults. Those include reports of burns and irritation, respiratory irritation, as well as one report of a consumer’s asthma being triggered. In addition to the toy sets being recalled across the US, there are 1m recalls that have been issued across Canada. In a statement to CNN, the MGA Entertainment CEO, Isaac Larian, said that the product had been on the market for 18 months and that only 10% to 15% of the recalled products contain liquid resin. From October 2022 through June 2024, the sets, which were manufactured in China and ranged in price from $7 to $13, were sold at Target, Walmart, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Aldi and Hobby Lobby, in addition to other stores and Amazon.com. Some sets were also sold in a box ranging in price from $14 to $52. In an FAQ document posted online, MGA Entertainment said that the remedy upon returning a recalled set with unused resin is the consumer’s choice of a replacement product or a refund. MGA Entertainment also said it will pay for return shipping labels. The Guardian has reached out to MGA Entertainment for comment.

Electric vehicle prices are tumbling. Here's how they now compare with gas-powered cars. 2024-06-26 18:48:00+00:00 - Prices on electric vehicles are tumbling as dealership lots are filling up with more models amid cooling consumer demand. The result is that EV prices, in some cases, are approaching those of gas-powered cars, after adding in federal tax credits. The average price of a new EV in May was $56,648, according to Kelley Blue Book, or about 15% lower than two years earlier, when the average price was $65,000. Meanwhile, used EV prices plunged to $28,767 last month, representing a 42% decline from $40,783 a year earlier, according to iSeeCars. Prices are falling, in part, because EV sales have hit a plateau in the past year or so, Jenni Newman, the editor-in-chief of Cars.com, told CBS News. Still, the sticker prices on EVs tend to be higher than those of gas-powered cars, although that gap is narrowing as dealers cut prices on electric-powered vehicles. "So we're seeing inventory build up, both on the new side and the used side, which means there are deals to be had," she said. While a record 1.2 million EVs were sold in the U.S. last year, according to Cox data, experts expect 2024's sales to remain at about that level. Federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for qualifying used EVs are helping convince some Americans to buy electric. After applying these credits, EV prices are even closer to that of gas-powered cars, with new models of the latter selling for an average price of about $45,000, Newman noted. Dealership supply The number of EVs available for sale was limited three years ago as automakers battled a shortage of semiconductor chips. But once those supply chain woes vanished, automakers revved up their production to keep pace with Americans' growing demand for EVs. Today, dealerships now have about 117 EVs available on their lots for a typical 45-day supply, compared to 78 gas-powered vehicles and 54 for hybrids, according to data from CarGurus. The auto industry is betting big on EVs, with automakers spending billions of dollars to retrofit their factories to produce battery-powered vehicles. As the number of EV options expand, automakers are turning to price cuts to convince customers to buy the eco-friendly vehicles. Over its lifetime, an EV produces 50% less CO2 than a gas-powered vehicle, while a hybrid cuts those emissions by 25%, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Decarbonizing the nation's fleet of gas automobiles would take longer if consumers choose hybrids over EVs. Prices are also falling at a time when Americans appear to be losing interest in EVs. A survey this month from consulting firm McKinsey found that nearly half of U.S. drivers who bought an EV plan to switch back to a gas-powered vehicle. A separate AAA survey found declining interest in purchasing electric vehicles, with only 18% of U.S. adults saying they are likely to buy an EV, down from 23% last year. The main concerns cited by consumers are EV's high costs, limited charging infrastructure and range anxiety, the survey concluded. Newman said the lack of charging locations is still a major concern for EV drivers, but automakers and local governments have launched programs to increase the number of stations.

Supreme Court may have accidentally revealed ruling in emergency abortion case 2024-06-26 18:43:16+00:00 - The Supreme Court may have inadvertently telegraphed the outcome of a key abortion case Wednesday, in the clash between Idaho’s near-total ban and a federal law requiring emergency care. Bloomberg Law reported that it obtained a copy of the document that the court said was accidentally posted on its website and has since been removed. To be clear, the court hasn’t officially issued a ruling yet, so there is only so much that we can read into it at the moment. Bloomberg Law reported: The US Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of the opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website. The decision would reinstate a lower court order that had ensured hospitals in the state could perform emergency abortions to protect the health of the mother. The briefly posted version indicated the majority will dismiss an appeal by Idaho without resolving the core issues in the case. A court spokesperson said that the opinion has not been released, that it was posted inadvertently and briefly uploaded to the court’s website, and that it will be issued in due course. According to the document posted by Bloomberg Law, the court would vote 6-3 with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissenting. The document contains separate writings from the justices, including from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who writes that the outcome “is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay” and that “while this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.” Again, the court has not actually issued its opinion, and we don’t know if the posted document was the final ruling. So we don’t know whether this will, in fact, be the outcome or how the decision could look differently, if at all, from the prematurely posted document. But if this is the outcome, while it doesn't rule on the merits in Idaho’s favor, Jackson’s separate writing shows how it wouldn’t be a win for abortion rights, either. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

California floats an idea to fight shoplifting that may even affect who controls Congress 2024-06-26 18:30:20+00:00 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California initiative to once again make shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders is developing into a contest over whether the state’s Democrats are tough enough on crime to hang on to their seats in Congress. A broad coalition of law enforcement and retailers aims to crack down on retail theft in the state, where videos of large groups of people brazenly rushing into stores and stealing in plain sight have gone viral. A proposal on the verge of appearing on the November ballot calls for harsher penalties for repeat shoplifters and drug dealers, among other things. The measure is set to be certified by the secretary of state Thursday. Top Democrats are fighting to kill the proposal, citing concerns it would disproportionately incarcerate low-income people and those with substance use issues. But they are also motivated by the political implications of the tough-on-crime initiative bringing Republicans and conservative voters to the polls in droves. “It is very clearly intended by Republicans to help drive turnout at the November election,” said Natasha Minsker, an advisor for a social justice coalition that opposes the initiative. “The Democrats are clear-eyed of the threat here.” Leaders in both parties agree the outcome of California’s congressional races could determine which party controls Congress in 2025. The tightest contests are concentrated in Republican-held districts in the Central Valley and Southern California carried by President Joe Biden in 2020. “This ballot measure may literally have an impact on who controls the U.S. House of Representatives in the next two years,” Republican consultant Rob Stutzman said. “The Democrats are concerned, and the Republicans are hopeful, that it will skew turnout to be a little bit more conservative.” With many California voters vexed over crime rates and drug abuse, the ballot measure could also turn out those who aren’t typically interested in voting, said Wesley Hussey, professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento. Some of California’s contested races could be determined by small numbers. “There’s a lot of very marginal seats — seats that one party won by a thousand votes, or 2,000 votes, or 3,000 votes. and that might be enough to swing three, four or five House seats,” he said. It’s hard to quantify the retail theft issue in California due to the lack of local data. But many point to major store closures and daily products such as toothpaste being locked behind Plexiglass as evidence of a crisis. Crime is shaping up to be the major political issue in California’s November’s election. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón are facing tough reelection bids against challengers who have criticized their approach to crime and punishment. The campaign committee representing House Republicans has attacked Democratic candidates in those swing districts, depicting them as indifferent to concerns over smash-and-grab robberies, auto break-ins and safe streets. Facing tricky political calculus in a swing district north of Los Angeles, Democratic candidate George Whitesides broke with his party’s leadership last week and said he supported the ballot initiative on crime, which not only seeks to address retail theft, but some drug-related crime as well. “It’s abundantly clear that we have to get these smash-and-grabs and attacks on our local businesses under control, and do more to keep our communities safe,” said Whitesides, who is attempting to oust Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia. Top California Democrats are pressuring law enforcement and business groups backing the ballot initiative to withdraw it. They argued that their option, a legislative package of 13 bills to go after professional online reseller schemes and auto thieves, would have more impact on crime without putting more people behind bars. It’s unclear whether the package has enough votes to pass. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has tried to persuade business leaders to postpone their ballot proposal until 2026, the coalition said. But proponents said they cannot wait. KCRA reported earlier this week that Democrats are now also weighing placing their own crime-related initiative on the November ballot to compete with the business groups’ proposal. The deadline is next week. “It’s not clear that anything will matter if its voters are already highly mobilized and motivated by a presidential contest,” said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. “These could matter at the margins, and elections are won and lost on the margins.” —- Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang addresses rising competition at shareholder meeting after historic stock surge 2024-06-26 18:30:00+00:00 - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday that the company's advantage in artificial intelligence chips was due to a bet it made more than 10 years ago, centering on billions of dollars in AI investment and a team of thousands of engineers. Huang's comments came during the Q&A period of Nvidia's shareholder meeting following a more than 200% surge in the stock over the past year. Wall Street has been enamored by the company's dominant position in the AI chip market. Nvidia recently split its stock 10-for-1, passed a $3 trillion valuation and briefly reached the status of most valuable public company. The first question Huang answered Wednesday was about the company's competition, as traditional chipmakers and startups alike release products intended to challenge Nvidia's more than 80% market share in AI chips. Nvidia shares fell more than 1% in trading on Wednesday. Without naming competitors, Huang laid out the company's overall strategy to maintain its position, leading with the idea that Nvidia has already "transformed" into a data center-focused company from its previous gaming focus. The company is also looking to create new markets for its AI, such as in industrial robotics, and it aims to partner with every computer maker and cloud provider to do so. Huang said its AI chips provide the "lowest total cost of ownership," suggesting that while other chips may be less expensive, Nvidia's are more economical considering their performance and cost to run. Ultimately, Huang said Nvidia had achieved a "virtuous circle," a term in the technology industry that refers to when a platform has the most users, which allows it to make the improvements it needs to attract even more users. "The NVIDIA platform is broadly available through every major cloud provider and computer maker, creating a large and attractive install base for developers and customers, which makes our platform more valuable to our customers," Huang said. Nvidia shareholders were pleased with the company's performance and approved a nonbinding vote on executive compensation called "say on pay." Nvidia executives are paid in a combination of salary and various kinds of restricted stock units. Huang received a compensation package worth about $34 million during the company's 2024 fiscal year, a 60% increase since 2023, according to the company's annual filing.

Now Narrating the Olympics: A.I.-Al Michaels 2024-06-26 18:18:05+00:00 - The Olympics have ancient beginnings. Now, they will also have a dose of the latest technology. This year, highlights from the Summer Olympics will be brought to you by artificial intelligence — and more specifically, the A.I.-generated narration of Al Michaels. Executives at NBCUniversal and the streaming service Peacock said on Wednesday that a customized, daily highlight reel for the Olympics would be available to streaming subscribers. The reel will feature the voice of Mr. Michaels, the 79-year-old American broadcaster, who first covered the Olympics decades ago. Mr. Michaels, however, will not be holing up in a broadcast booth each night to briefly summarize the dozens of Olympic events that took place. Instead, Peacock’s program has been trained from Mr. Michaels’s NBC clips — he joined the network in 2006 and was its longtime “Sunday Night Football” announcer — to formulate coherent, realistic-sounding sentences, which “will provide his signature expertise and elocution,” the company said. Mr. Michaels granted approval for the use of his voice. “When I was approached about this, I was skeptical but obviously curious,” Mr. Michaels said in a statement issued by the company. “Then I saw a demonstration detailing what they had in mind. I said, ‘I’m in.’”

Jamaal Bowman's concession speech highlights a key failure in his campaign 2024-06-26 18:07:32+00:00 - Progressive New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s primary election loss to George Latimer is a Rorschach test. Many people across the political spectrum benefit from claims that the biggest takeaway is that AIPAC’s money affords it unmatched political power. But I think Bowman’s concession speech provided better answers. This line stuck out to me: “This movement has never been about one person. This movement was never just about me. It was never just about NY-16. It was never just about this race and this moment. This movement has always been about justice, it has always been about humanity, it has always been about equality, and it has always been about our collective liberation.” I agree with this sentiment, but I’m also not running to represent New York’s 16th District. These comments demonstrate Latimer's criticism that Bowman focused less on his New York constituents and more on national politics. Multiple things can be true. Was Bowman targeted by millions of dollars in AIPAC money? Yes — but that spending started in May, months after polls showed him lagging significantly behind Latimer. Did Democrat-led gerrymandering spell his demise? Not exactly. While some have noted that redistricting in 2022 dimmed his re-election chances, he also narrowly won his district on the new map in 2022. And there have been changes made to the map since that arguably could have boosted his re-election chances. So while it’s hard to tell whether, or to what degree, political chicanery contributed to Bowman’s loss, we can say with much more certainty that his poor judgment was on vivid display during this campaign. And that can be fatal for a politician. Politicians can be principled and go against the grain — perhaps, even against the prevailing sentiment in their districts — when folks have faith in their direction. With little to show for their stances, politicians who are constantly performing can exhaust the voters. But with little to show for their stances, politicians who are constantly performing can exhaust the voters. In this case, voters in New York’s 16th District preferred the substantive benefits of liberalism — which Latimer sought to represent — over the performance of progressivism, which Bowman has offered with some of his actions. For example, when a candidate votes against his party’s signature legislative achievement, as Bowman did with the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, the best he can do for himself is explain how he’ll pass something better, which he didn’t do. Or, when a candidate portrays himself as a truth-telling anti-imperialist, as Bowman has with his criticism of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, it’s counterproductive to claim that stories of rapes committed by Hamas against hostages are false. Bowman ultimately apologized for this. But “I’m sorry for denying rapes happened” is a sentiment you never want to have to express while campaigning. There are other lessons to be learned from Bowman’s campaign. For example, candidates should avoid having conspiratorial YouTube accounts linked to their names exposed for all the world to see. That’s especially true for candidates like Bowman, who’d already had to answer for other dalliances with conspiracy theories in his past. I’d also recommend not being caught pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol building. Or telling campaign rallygoers that AIPAC is going to feel the power of the “motherf------ south Bronx” when the south Bronx is not in your district. The lessons from Bowman’s loss are plentiful, and some are quite simple. Reducing this race to a statement on AIPAC ignores a more obvious takeaway: candidates facing political headwinds can win — as long as they run focused, disciplined campaigns that allow them to brag about their accomplishments and avoid embarrassing missteps. If you're going to step into the spotlight, you'd better put on a good show. Otherwise, people are going to get tired of watching.

Fat fees for Royal Mail’s advisers, no detail for its shareholders | Nils Pratley 2024-06-26 18:02:00+00:00 - Surprise, surprise: the proposed £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), by a Daniel Křetínský-led bidding consortium will generate a fee bonanza for investment bankers, lawyers, debt-arrangers and assorted hangers-on. The grand total is £146m before VAT, with £89.1m falling on the acquirer and £56.9m on IDS, according to the formal offer document. It’s a hell of a sum, and the most infuriating element is the £36m that IDS has allocated for “financial and corporate broking advice”. Why? Because that’s the portion that is supposed to reflect the depth, quality and seriousness of the IDS board’s consideration of the fairness of 370p-a-share terms. For such an advisory bill, shareholders might expect maximum financial detail on why the directors rolled over. Instead, in his formal letter to shareholders in the offer document, IDS chair Keith Williams merely served up a cut-and-paste version of his previous sketchy explanation for surrender. Remember the force of the rejection of Křetínský’s initial shot in April at 320p. This line stood out as important: the offer didn’t take account of “the significant underpin of value through the group’s extensive freehold property portfolio [and] the pension scheme in material surplus”. So what is the value of the freehold portfolio? At the make-your-mind-up stage, shareholders might expect to be told, but they will search the 140-page document in vain. Having raised property as a major consideration at the outset, IDS’s board has never mentioned it again. Similarly, the board has offered no guidance on how shareholders should think about the £1bn accounting surplus, as of March this year, in the main Royal Mail pension scheme. The company can’t access the sum until the scheme is either wound up or transferred to an insurer via buyout, but one of those outcomes will probably happen eventually. So, while the current value of the surplus to the owner may not be £1bn today, one of those expensive City advisers must have modelled a few numbers. Again, though, the board has fallen silent on an issue it brought up itself. Of course, Williams has other reasons for regarding 370p as “fair and reasonable”: the need for investment in Royal Mail; competitive threats; uncertainty over whether regulator Ofcom will agree to the company’s proposal for a reduced second-class delivery service; and, most of all, the fact that the offer represents a 73% premium to the share price before the fun started. Yet IDS is best thought of as a sum-of-the-parts stock, which is how City analysts (many of whom are now gagged because their employers are advisers on the bid) always used to assess it. The biggest of those parts, even though it gets a fraction of the attention, is GLS, the very successful Amsterdam-based international parcels operation. The offer document revealed GLS is no longer expected to reach its previous target of €500m (£423m) of operating profit in 2026-27, but it is still a high-quality business that is the real underpin of the group-wide value. In the old days, it was commonplace to observe that GLS accounted for all of IDS’s stock market value. One doesn’t have to make too many optimistic assumptions about progress at Royal Mail – now shooting for break-even in the second half of this financial year – to think 370p is less than a knockout price. As argued here previously, fund managers – with the honourable exception of the objecting Columbia Threadneedle Investments – should be asking more questions. A bid for an important UK company is getting minimal financial scrutiny (and the Labour party still seems terrified of saying anything that could be misconstrued as anti-business). skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Mind you, the CWU union might also care to up its game. The other mystery is why the union thinks it stands a chance of getting Křetínský to gift “a serious stake” in Royal Mail to the workers post-takeover. Read the offer document: the bidder is merely “exploring” the idea of “potentially offering a form of employee participation”, such as a profit-share of unknown size. Unlike the fat fees for City advisers, it could hardly be more vague.

Brexit may have felt absent from this election – but it will still define it | Larry Elliott 2024-06-26 17:42:00+00:00 - It is one of the oddities of this weirdest of election campaigns that the issue that helped give the Conservatives an 80-seat majority in 2019 has barely been mentioned. As far as the main parties are concerned, Brexit is a done deal. The decision has been made. Time to move on. To be sure, much has happened since 2019, most notably a global pandemic, a cost of living crisis and the brief – yet drama-packed – premiership of Liz Truss. Making ends meet features more prominently in voters’ lists of concerns than whether the UK should rejoin the single market. Even so, the fact that the UK left the EU since the last election matters. It matters because Brussels can no longer be blamed for the UK’s problems or the failure of UK politicians to deal with them. The EU can’t, for example, be fingered for record net migration numbers in 2022. Those are entirely due to decisions taken at Westminster. The likely scale of the Conservative defeat on 4 July will be the result of voters holding the government fully to account for rising prices, falling living standards and a failure to deliver on levelling up. There is no hiding place, and that’s good. Many of those who voted leave in 2016 because they felt ignored and marginalised still feel ignored and marginalised. They gave the Tories a chance and they blew it. From next week, they will almost certainly be able to see whether Labour can make a better fist of things. Keir Starmer has been on quite a journey since he was the shadow Brexit secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, pressing for a second referendum. He has not just ruled out rejoining the EU but has also said there will be no return to the single market or the customs union. Instead, Labour wants to smooth out the wrinkles by negotiating a better trade deal with the EU than the one Boris Johnson secured. It remains to be seen whether Starmer’s fellow MPs and Labour party supporters have come on that journey with him, because for the most part they are solidly anti-Brexit and pro-EU. That has not always been the case, and there was a time in the 1970s and early 1980s when, under Tony Benn’s influence, Labour was the more Eurosceptic of the two main parties. But after Labour’s drubbing at the 1983 election there was then a shift towards a more pro-EU stance amid hopes that Brussels-style socialism offered a way to circumvent the policies of Margaret Thatcher. To say the least, the party is not entirely comfortable with Starmer’s decision to rule out rejoining the EU. Labour’s Brexit strategy was summed up by Starmer on one of the few occasions the issue has surfaced during the campaign – a BBC Panorama interview with Nick Robinson. “If you look at the problems for growth over the last 14 years, they were there, or many of them were there, before Brexit, so the idea that the sort of single silver bullet is simply the relationship with the EU is not something I accept.” Starmer is right about this. The parts of the country that voted most strongly for leave were those that saw the sharpest rises in unemployment in the 1980s and the biggest increases in incapacity benefits as attempts were made to massage the jobless figures down. They had the heaviest reliance on the tax credits to top up poverty pay, and they bore the brunt of the welfare cuts introduced by George Osborne after 2010. As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has noted, progress towards the 2030 levelling up goals set in a 2022 white paper has been “glacial” and in some areas the UK has gone backwards. Political developments on the other side of the Channel are helpful to Starmer, because he can point out to his critics that the EU is not exactly a haven of contentment and prosperity, and hasn’t been for some time. There is some irony in the fact that the left’s love affair with Europe began in the 1980s at a time when the EU’s economic performance took a marked turn for the worse. Then in the 90s, the single currency was supposed to deliver faster growth and greater shared prosperity. Instead, as the growing support for populist parties shows all too clearly, monetary union has been accompanied by economic stagnation and rising inequality. Voters in the UK’s industrial heartlands are not the only ones who feel marginalised and ignored: the same sentiments are widespread in struggling parts of Germany and France, particularly among young voters. Starmer may find that improving trade links with the UK is not top of the EU’s list of priorities. Instead, the pressure is on him to use all the tools at his disposal – tax, procurement, state aid, nationalisation, subsidies, skills, control of migration – as part of an activist industrial strategy designed to boost growth and narrow regional divides. This was what those on the left who supported Brexit called for in 2016 and there is now even more of a need for such a strategy. Doubtless, some will say a Brexit growth strategy is an oxymoron. Others will say – with some justification – that Labour’s growth strategy is too small to make a difference. Some may even be quietly hoping for Labour to come a cropper because it will ease the way to rejoining the EU. But there is no real difference between Labour’s growth strategy and its Brexit strategy. If one fails then so does the other.

Smoked salmon sold at Kroger and Pay Less Super Market recalled over listeria risk 2024-06-26 17:39:00+00:00 - Foppen Seafood is recalling smoked salmon sold at Kroger and Pay Less Super Market stores in 15 states after routine tests detected listeria in the product. The recall involves Smoked Norwegian Salmon Slices — Toast-sized, 8.1-ounce, identified by lot number 412 in the clear plastic window on the front of the package, the Harderwijk, Netherlands-based company said Tuesday in a notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration. The fish was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Listeria monocytogenes is a type of bacteria that can cause listeriosis. Mild symptoms include fever, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea, while more severe symptoms include headache, stiff neck, confusion and convulsions. An estimated 1,600 Americans get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "At Foppen Seafood, we operate to the highest standards of health, safety and quality control. We have taken immediate steps to address this isolated incident and we are collaborating closely with Kroger and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure a swift resolution," the company stated. Those who purchased the recalled product should discard or return it for a refund or replacement. People with questions and concerns can contact Foppen Seafood's U.S. office at (844) 646-0928 or email supportQ1087@foppenseafood.com.

Supreme Court acknowledges accidentally posting Idaho abortion case document that may preview narrow Biden admin win 2024-06-26 17:21:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday acknowledged that it inadvertently posted online a document related to a pending abortion case, which was obtained by Bloomberg Law before it was removed from the website. Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed that a document was “inadvertently and briefly uploaded” to the court website, but added that the ruling “has not been released.” Bloomberg also posted a copy of the document. NBC News could not independently verify the document. It is not known if it was a draft decision, the actual decision or neither. Reproductive rights activists demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court on June 24, 2024. Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images The court appears set to allow emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions in certain situations according to a copy of the decision, Bloomberg reported. The court is likely to dismiss the appeal brought by Idaho officials, Bloomberg said. In doing so the court will allow a lower court ruling in favor of the Biden administration to go back into effect. Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissenting opinion joined by two other conservatives, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Neil Gorsuch, saying the court should not have dismissed the case. The Supreme Court in January blocked the lower court ruling and allowed Idaho to enforce its abortion law in full while agreeing to hear oral arguments in the case. Other provisions of the ban are already in effect and will not be affected by the ruling. The case concerns whether a federal law that regulates emergency room treatment overrides Idaho's strict abortion ban. But if the court dismisses the appeal, the decision would leave the legal question unresolved. According to the document posted by Bloomberg, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separately to say the court should have gone ahead and decided the bigger issue, which is likely to come up in another case in due course and would have an impact on other states with similar abortion restrictions as Idaho. "Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay,” she wrote, according to the document. “While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires," she added. In a separate opinion, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett explained why she would vote to dismiss the case, saying the court had made a "miscalculation" in taking it up before an appeals court had a chance to weigh in. Part of the confusion was caused by both sides altering their legal arguments once the case got to the high court, she added. Idaho’s law says anyone who performs an abortion is subject to criminal penalties, including up to five years in prison. Health care professionals found to have violated the law can lose their professional licenses. The federal government sued, leading a federal judge in August 2022 to block the state from enforcing provisions concerning medical care that is required under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA. That 1986 law mandates that patients receive appropriate emergency room care. The Biden administration argued that care should include abortions in certain situations when a woman’s health is imperiled even if death is not imminent. The Supreme Court is due to issue rulings on Thursday and Friday as it reaches the end of its current term. The abortion case is one of 12 argued cases yet to be decided.

Human rights group urges UK financial regulator to block Shein’s LSE flotation 2024-06-26 17:12:00+00:00 - A human rights group has urged Britain’s financial regulator to block the Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein’s planned blockbuster flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Stop Uyghur Genocide, a UK-based human rights charity that alleges minority Uyghur people are being used as forced labour at some of Shein’s cotton suppliers in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, has begun a legal campaign against the planned stock market listing. Represented by the law firm Leigh Day, the campaign group has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to argue that “any attempt by Shein to list on the LSE should be refused”. The China-founded company, which was valued at $66bn (£52bn) in a fundraising round last year, began to explore a listing on the LSE early this year, and is expected to file a prospectus with the UK regulator soon. Shein abandoned its original plan to list in New York after opposition from US politicians. On Tuesday, Amnesty International UK said Shein’s potential London listing would be a “badge of shame” for the London market because of the fast-fashion firm’s “questionable” labour and human rights standards. The fast-fashion retailer said on Wednesday: “Shein has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labour and we are committed to respecting human rights. We take visibility across our entire supply chain seriously and we require our contract manufacturers to only source cotton from approved regions.” Stop Uyghur Genocide said it had reminded the FCA that its US counterpart, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has already refused to recommend the listing of Shein for trading on the US stock exchange because of concerns around labour practices in the company’s supply chains. The group said the London listing should not be allowed to go ahead because the UK has signed up to International Labour Organization conventions, which set out minimum standards for engaging workers. Any concerns about companies engaging workers in their supply chains that may breach those minimum standards are inconsistent with the UK’s convention obligations, it said. “The FCA has a statutory duty of integrity and to protect its investors,” the group added. The Leigh Day solicitor Ricardo Gama, who represents Stop Uyghur Genocide, said: “Stop Uyghur Genocide expects UK financial institutions to uphold the high ethical standards that they pay lip service to, and to make clear that London isn’t the place to come for a ‘no questions asked’ approach to capital. At the very minimum regulators must make sure that laws in place to root out modern slavery are complied with.” Stop Uyghur Genocide said it was concerned about the London Stock Exchange’s ability to detect and respond to any alleged forced labour in Shein’s supply chains. Stop Uyghur Genocide is preparing a detailed submission to the regulator to support its letter. In the meantime, the campaign group’s lawyers have asked the FCA to obtain more information from Shein about the “accuracy of its published modern slavery statement”. Under the Modern Slavery Act, large businesses have to publish a statement every year that sets out the measures they have taken to ensure slavery and trafficking do not occur in their own operations and their supply chains. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Leigh Day lawyers have urged the regulator to “refuse Shein’s listing application unless the FCA is satisfied that its products are not tainted by forced labour”. Rahima Mahmut, executive director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, said she was “deeply concerned” about Shein’s potential London listing and said the organisation had been highlighting concerns from national security and human rights experts that Shein “could be associated with egregious human rights abuses, including modern slavery, and pose ethical and security risks to businesses and citizens”. “Our investment community must not support companies like Shein who are reportedly linked to the Chinese state and which we believe may enable the ongoing genocidal policies against Uyghurs.” The FCA declined to comment on Shein’s potential listing. It noted that it has no investigation or enforcement powers relating to alleged breaches of legislation not within its remit, such as the Modern Slavery Act or tax legislation. Before a company’s shares can be admitted to the LSE, the firm must apply to the FCA for admission to listing and to approve its prospectus. The watchdog said it was the company’s responsibility to ensure the information in its prospectus is accurate, and not the FCA’s role to independently verify the accurate of information. Michael Polak, barrister and chair of Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, said: “A firm alleged to have involvement in goods directly produced by slave labour in the Uyghur region creates a risk that those vital principles will be violated. We will ask the FCA to consider the expert evidence that we will provide to them before deciding on a public listing in the UK.”