Latest News
See the latest news and get GPT analysis of articles
Glucose Monitor Maker DexCom In Buy Zone After Gapping Higher 2023-08-01 - Glucose-monitor maker DexCom Inc. NASDAQ: DXCM was among the top three gainers within the healthcare sector on July 28, advancing 2.33% in the season after gapping higher at the open. Key Points DexCom reported strong second-quarter results, beating Wall Street's expectations. Earnings increased by 100% to 34 cents per share, and revenue rose by 25% to $871.3 million. The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $3.5 billion to $3.55 billion, an increase of 21% at the midpoint. DexCom projects $4 billion to $4.5 billion in revenue for 2024 and $4.6 billion to $5.1 billion for 2025. Wall Street expects the company's earnings to grow by 40% this year and 30% next year. 5 stocks we like better than DexCom The company reported second-quarter results that came in ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. Earnings were 34 cents a share on revenue of $871.3 million, increases of 100% and 25%, respectively, over last year’s second quarter. U.S. revenue was up 21%, but international revenue growth was even stronger, at 38%. Domestic business still constitutes the bulk of revenue, at 71%. DexCom specializes in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for people with diabetes. Its CGM devices allow users to track their glucose levels in real-time, giving patients valuable data to manage their conditions more effectively and make better decisions about their insulin dosing and dietary choices. Rivals in the space include Abbott Laboratories NYSE: ABT and Medtronic plc NYSE: MDT. The company tailors its software to address different needs for various patients’ glucose control. Reducing Costs & Patient Admissions In a June investors' day presentation, DexCom said its CGM has demonstrated a 35% reduction in inpatient admissions, an approximately 50% reduction in inpatient visits, and a 14% reduction in outpatient visit costs. The company also said that it sees plenty of potential with domestic growth, but suggested the opportunity for international market share was even greater. As is the case with the U.S. market, international growth is dependent on insurance reimbursements. So far, it’s received broad reimbursement for its G-series of monitors, and tiered or limited reimbursement for other products. In the U.S., according to the company, Dexcom is the most-covered CGM with the lowest out-of-pocket expenses. In 2024, the company aims to launch a glucose-sensing product designed for people with Type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin. Boosted Full-Year Revenue Guidance In its second-quarter report, DexCom boosted its full-year guidance. It expects revenue between $3.5 billion and $3.55 billion, an increase of 21% at the midpoint. Analysts’ forecasts called for revenue of $3.5 billion, so investors were cheered by the slightly better-than-expected outlook. In its investors’ day presentation, DexCom guided toward $4 billion to $4.5 billion in revenue for 2024, and $4.6 billion to $5.1 billion for 2025. Wall Street expects the company to grow earnings by 40% this year, to $1.22 a share, with earnings growth of 30% next year, to $1.58 per share. Immediately after the second-quarter report, five analysts boosted their price targets on the stock, as you can see using MarketBeat’s DexCom analyst ratings. The consensus view is “moderate buy,” with a price target of $138.50, an upside of 4.62%. For now, it appears that investors and analysts are pleased with the company’s growth prospects, although price increases have been relatively slow and steady, rather than explosive. Anticipating Further Improvements In a note following the earnings report, Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang wrote that Morningstar’s Debbie Wang wrote, “This quarter was a big step in the right direction, and we anticipate further improvements through 2024 as the manufacturing of G7 reaches scale.” The company has been ramping up its production capabilities. It’s scaling production for its G7 model in San Diego and Mesa, Arizona, as well as opening production facilities in Ireland and Malaysia. The stock has advanced 9.10% in the past three months and 16.90% year-to-date. On a one-year basis, shares are up 52.18%. In the post-earnings price action, after the stock gapped up 4.84% in the first five minutes, it made further advances in the session’s first 25 minutes, then began selling off, ending the day with a gain of 2.33%, without closing the gap. On July 28, the stock cleared a short area of consolidation above the 50-day moving average before reversing lower. It remains in a buy zone, as long as it doesn’t decline below its 50-day average, or unless it rallies more than 5% above its July 28 high of $139.55. Before you consider DexCom, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and DexCom wasn't on the list. While DexCom currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
2 Attractive Large Caps on Sale After Q2 Earnings 2023-08-01 - Key Points For S&P 500 companies that fell short of Wall Street’s Q2 forecasts, macroeconomic weakness, soft demand and cost inflation are common themes. Interpublic Group of Companies fell short on revenue, impacted by macro uncertainty that caused clients to spend cautiously during the period. In the back half of the year, IPG is expected to return to top line growth thanks to some large new business wins. Equifax reported slightly lower-than-expected revenue, leading to a $20 share price selloff that extended to a 15% downturn last week. Equifax is trading at 23x next year’s earnings estimate - well below its five-year average P/E ratio of 30x, a reversion to which implies 30% upside. 5 stocks we like better than Interpublic Group of Companies Upgrade Now This premium article is available to MarketBeat All Access subscribers only. Log in to your account or sign up below. Upgrade Now See Benefits Already have an account? Log in here. Before you consider Interpublic Group of Companies, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Interpublic Group of Companies wasn't on the list. While Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Despite Promising Q2 Report, Ford's EV Business Faces Challenges 2023-08-01 - You don’t usually see a stock’s price go off a cliff after an earnings beat and an increase in guidance, but that’s precisely what happened to Ford Motor Co. NYSE: F after its second-quarter report. Key Points Ford's stock experienced a sharp decline of 3.02% at the open on July 27, following its second-quarter report. By the end of the session, the stock had lost 3.42%, with trading volume nearly double the average. Earnings and revenue beat views, and the company raised its full-year earnings guidance. Investors were disappointed by slower-than-expected growth in EV sales. Ford is not the only auto maker facing EV challenges, as consumers still have concerns about price and charging-station availability. 5 stocks we like better than Ford Motor Ford stock gapped down 3.02% at the open on July 27, and ended the session with a loss of 3.42%. Trading volume was nearly double the average. Earnings came in at 72 cents a share, up 6% from the year earlier. Revenue of $45 billion was a 12% increase. MarketBeat’s Ford earnings data show the company exceeded views on the top and bottom lines. There was good news in the report: The Ford Pro unit, which serves commercial customers, saw a 22% sales increase. The unit’s repair sales also increased. The company expects Ford Pro’s full-year earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to approach $8 billion, more than double 2022’s level. The Ford Blue gas-and-hybrid business posted higher wholesale revenue, with the new Ranger pickup becoming more popular, as well as profitable. The company expects Ford Blue EBIT to come in at around $8 billion. Model e, the electric vehicle business unit, saw revenue growth of 39%. The company raised full-year 2023 guidance for adjusted EBIT to a range between $11 billion and $12 billion, and for adjusted free cash flow to a range between $6.5 billion and $7 billion. On the surface, that’s all well and good. However, the company also said it expects a loss of about $4.5 billion from the Model e EV unit, “reflecting the pricing environment, disciplined investments in new products and capacity, and other costs.” That’s worse than Ford’s previous forecast of a $3 billion loss from its EV business. Industry-Wide, EV Sales Growing, But More Slowly Than Hoped Wait a minute. Aren’t EVs supposed to be racing off dealers’ lots, now that politicians are mandating their use? Not so fast. Consumers, it turns out, don’t quite yet share the unbridled enthusiasm about EVs that you might find in Washington and in certain statehouses. While it’s clear that EVs are gradually catching on, and that the future looks to be increasingly electrified, politicians may have gotten ahead of themselves, when it comes to their targets versus real-world concerns. In the second-quarter release, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected.” Already, reports have shown that EV sales industry-wide have been increasing, but lagging expectations. Lingering Concerns About Price, Charging Stations Make no mistake: EV sales are rising, and many consumers are interested in purchasing. But those purchases are being postponed, as concerns about high prices for the high-tech cars are stopping people from plopping down their cash, or taking on debt. While the cost argument in favor of EVs is, of course, that buyers will save on gas, many still don’t see a good tradeoff between that and shelling out more money for an EV. Concerns about availability of charging stations also stop some potential buyers. This isn’t a forever thing, though. Manufacturers, including Ford, are slashing prices; and the charging-station infrastructure issues will eventually be resolved. Ford Investing In EV Production Along those lines, Ford said in its second-quarter report that it was transforming a Canadian plant to produce EV battery packs and install them in vehicles. It also opened an electrification center in Germany, where it will produce the electric Ford Explorer for Europe. In addition, Ford added capacity expansion for the Mustang Mach-E in Cuautitlan, Mexico, and expanded an EV facility in Dearborn, Michigan. It made substantial progress on the construction of a next-generation EV pickup plant in Tennessee, as well as three joint-venture battery manufacturing facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky, and started site preparation for a wholly-owned plant in Michigan that will produce lithium iron phosphate batteries for EVs. So where does that leave Ford now? Forming Potentially Bullish Base On the Ford chart, you can see a cup-with-handle base that’s been forming since August of last year, within a larger correction. The current buy point would be above $15.42, where it twice hit resistance in the first half of July. With the stock tumbling for the past two weeks, now is not the ideal time to make a purchase. However, if the stock reverses higher before the handle breaks down, watch for the stock to break through resistance above $15.42 as a potential buy opportunity. Before you consider Ford Motor, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ford Motor wasn't on the list. While Ford Motor currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
HSBC more than doubles profits as interest rates soar 2023-08-01 - HSBC more than doubled its profits in the first half of the year, as rising interest rates increased returns for the London-headquartered lender. The bank reported pre-tax profits of $21.7bn (£17bn) in the first six months of 2023, up from $8.8bn during the same period last year, despiteputting aside more money to protect against potential defaults, as rising living costs put pressure on customers’ finances. It is now handing more money back to shareholders, who will benefit from dividend payments worth 10p a share, as well as a $2bn share buyback. The move is expected to strengthen HSBC’s battle against its largest shareholder, Ping An, which has been pushing for a break-up of the lender to increase returns for investors. However, shareholders overwhelmingly voted against a break-up at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting in May. Bankers are in line for larger payouts, too. While HSBC said it would not disclose the total bonus pool for bankers until next spring, the lender confirmed it had put aside $200m more for performance-related pay for staff compared with last year. The bank paid £3.4bn in bonuses to top-performing bankers for 2022. Rising interest rates have allowed banks to charge borrowers more for loans and mortgages, increasing their bottom-line profits. However, this has caused controversy in the UK, where politicians have accused banks such as HSBC of profiteering by failing to raise rates on savings accounts at a similar pace as on loans and mortgages. This has resulted in intervention by the UK regulator, which on Monday promised to take “robust action” against laggards in the savings market. While HSBC makes most of its revenue in Asia, its ringfenced UK bank – which primarily serves retail customers and smaller businesses across the UK – accounted for about a quarter of the group’s $18.3bn worth net interest income. Net interest income measures the difference between what the bank charges borrowers and what it pays out to savers. HSBC UK accounted for about 22% of the group’s total pre-tax profits in the first half of the year. Higher interest rates have increased pressure on borrowers whose finances are increasingly stretched by rising inflation, making them more likely to fall behind on payments. HSBC said it had put aside $1.3bn to cover losses linked to customers falling behind on loan and mortgage payments in the first half of the year. That is slightly higher than $1.1bn last year. The rise was more dramatic in the second quarter, when impairments nearly doubled from $447m to $913m. About $300m of that total was linked to a downturn in the commercial property market in China, as well as charges linked to UK businesses in its commercial banking division. “There remains a degree of uncertainty in the forward economic outlook, particularly in the UK,” HSBC said, adding that it would also monitoring ongoing exposures to the Chinese property market. 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 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 The bank also suffered a drop in deposits in the second quarter, as corporate customers across Europe dipped into savings to pay down costlier loans and retail customers in the UK faced higher living costs or moved their savings to rivals offering higher rates. But the prospect of further interest rate rises – including in the UK where the Bank of England is expected to increase rates to 5.25% on Thursday – are likely to boost HSBC earnings further. HSBC has increased its full-year guidance, saying it expects interest income to rise above $35bn, up from previous estimates of $34bn. The lender also expects customers to increasingly put money into fixed-term savings accounts as interest rates continue to climb. The HSBC chief executive, Noel Quinn, said: “We have moved on from the task of purely transforming the bank between 2019 and 2022, to a greater focus on growth and new creation for our shareholders. Our portfolio is more focused and we have a tight grip on costs. So if you take one thing from today’s results, it’s our strategy is working.”
UK house prices fall at fastest rate since 2009 after interest rate rises 2023-08-01 - UK house prices fell last month at the fastest annual rate in 14 years, as higher interest rates hamper people’s ability to buy a property with a mortgage. Nationwide building society reported that prices fell 3.8% year on year, the sharpest drop since July 2009 when the global economy was in the grips of financial crisis. It compared with a fall in annual prices of 3.5% in June. The price of a typical home is now £260,828, 4.5% below the peak reached last August. Prices dipped 0.2% in July from the previous month. The Bank of England has raised interest rates 13 successive times since December 2021 in an attempt to curb soaring inflation. The Bank is expected to raise interest rates again on Thursday, from 5% to 5.25%. Higher interest rates have led to a sharp rise in the cost of a mortgage over recent months, making the prospect of buying a home unaffordable for many people. Those hoping to remortgage after their fixed-rate mortgages come to an end are facing an increase in payments of hundreds of pounds in some cases. The average two-year fixed deal rose to 6.85% on Tuesday from 6.81% the day before, while the average five-year fixed deal was 6.37%, up from 6.34%. Robert Gardner, the Nationwide chief economist, said housing affordability “remains stretched” for those hoping to buy a home with a mortgage. For example, someone on the average wage who wants to buy a typical first-time buyer property with a 20% deposit would have to make monthly mortgage payments of 43% of their take-home pay, assuming a 6% interest rate. This is up from 32% a year ago and well above the long-term average of 29%. “This challenging affordability picture helps to explain why housing market activity has been subdued in recent months,” Gardner said. There were 86,000 completed housing transactions in June, 15% below the levels at the same time last year and about 10% below pre-pandemic levels. Mortgage approval data showed an increase in activity in June, but most of these applications will predate the more recent rise in longer term interest rates, he said. Bank of England data on Monday showed mortgage approvals in the UK rose to their highest level since October as people scrambled to secure home loan deals before interest rates rise further. Nationwide believes a housing crash is unlikely, assuming unemployment – currently 4% in the UK – remains below 5%, and most borrowers should be able to cope with higher interest rates. Gardner concluded: “While activity is likely to remain subdued in the near term, healthy rates of nominal income growth, together with modestly lower house prices, should help to improve housing affordability over time, especially if mortgage rates moderate once Bank rate peaks.” 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 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 Economists are predicting further declines in house prices. Gabriella Dickens, the senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Consumers’ confidence remains well below its long-run average, and expectations that house prices will fall further are well-entrenched. Accordingly, we think that house prices will have to fall by about 8% from their peak before demand and supply come back into balance.” Imogen Pattison, an assistant economist at Capital Economics, forecast a further 7% drop in house prices on top of the near-4% decline to date. “While we suspect mortgage rates have now peaked, we expect them to stay at 5.5%-6% until mid-2024 when we think the Bank of England may start cutting Bank rate,” she said. The latest report from Nationwide showing a housing slowdownwas reflected in an update by Travis Perkins, Britain’s biggest building materials supplier. It reported a 4.5% drop in revenues from new-build housing and private repair and maintenance projects in the six months to June. This contributed to a 31% drop in overall adjusted operating profits to £112m. The company, which owns Toolstation, expects to make a full-year profit of £240m, below last year’s £295m. It cut its forecast in June, as sales at the builders merchant have been hit by higher interest rates and weaker consumer confidence. “Market conditions have been challenging, which is reflected in both our first half performance and our outlook for the balance of the year,” the chief executive, Nick Roberts, said.
UK house prices fall at fastest rate since 2009; recession fears rise as factory output tumbles – business live 2023-08-01 - 07.15 BST UK house prices fall at fastest rate since July 2009 Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. UK house prices have fallen at their fastest rate since July 2009 as rising interest rates cool the property market. Nationwide has reported this morning that the average house price fell by 3.8% year-on-year in July, the biggest drop since the aftermath of the financial crisis. That’s an increase on the 3.5% annual drop in house prices in June, and takes the price of a typical home down to 4.5% below the August 2022 peak. Prices dipped by 0.2% in July alone, on a seasonally adjusted basis, to an average of £260,828, down from £262,239. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, says the increase in interest rates in recent months have made it more challenging for prospective buyers to afford a mortgage on a new home. Gardner explains: For example, a prospective buyer, earning the average wage and looking to buy the typical first-time buyer property with a 20% deposit, would see monthly mortgage payments account for 43% of their take home pay (assuming a 6% mortgage rate). This is up from 32% a year ago and well above the long-run average of 29%. Moreover, deposit requirements continue to present a high hurdle – with a 10% deposit equivalent to 55% of gross annual average income. This challenging affordability picture helps to explain why housing market activity has been subdued in recent months. There were 86,000 completed housing transactions in June, 15% below the levels prevailing the same time last year and around 10% below pre-pandemic levels. More timely mortgage approval data showed a slight increase in activity in June, though most of these applications will pre-date the more recent rise in longer term interest rates. Moreover, activity is still c20% below 2019 levels. Photograph: Nationwide Data from the Bank of England yesterday showed that mortgage approvals in the UK rose to their highest level since October 2022 last month. That indicates borrowers were scrambling to secure home loan deals earlier this year before interest rates rose higher. Also coming up today UK food inflation has dropped to its lowest level this year. Food inflation decelerated to 13.4% in July, down from 14.6% in June, according to the British Retail Consortium. This is the lowest food inflation level since December 2022, with prices falling cross key staples such as oils, fats, fish, and breakfast cereals. Major blue-chip companies HSBC and BP are reporting results this morning. HSBC has more than doubled its pre-tax profits to $21.7bn, including a provisional gain of $1.5bn on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited. BP’s profits have dropped, though, following the decline in oil and gas prices compared to last year. The oil giant still made underlying profits of $2.6bn for the second quarter of the year, down from almost $5bn BP made in January-March, while it made almost $8.5bn in the second quarter of 2022. The agenda 7am: Nationwide house price index for July 9am BST: Eurozone manufacturing PMI report for July 9.30am BST: UK manufacturing PMI report for July 10am BST: Eurozone unemployment report for June 3pm BST: US manufacturing PMI report for July 3pm BST: US JOLTS job openings report for June
BP’s £2bn profits cause anger amid climate crisis 2023-08-01 - BP has angered climate campaigners by reporting profits of $2.6bn (£2bn) for the second quarter of the year as the climate crisis triggers extreme heatwaves. The company blamed falling oil and gas markets for the drop in profits from $8.5bn in the same period last year when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ignited a rise in global energy markets. BP willincrease its shareholder dividends by 10% to $2.3bn, despite the fall in profits. It will also return a further $1.5bn to investors through a share buyback over the next three months. The BP chief executive, Bernard Looney, said the payouts reflected the company’s confidence in its strategy and the outlook for its future cashflows. BP’s profits have fuelled growing anger at fossil fuel companies among green groups, which have accused the oil companies of “obscene” profits at the expense of hard-pressed families and the environment. Tommy Vickerstaff, a lead UK campaigner for 350.org, said: “We’re almost desensitised to BP’s profits at this point because the government has continuously failed to take action to redistribute them. But there is nothing normal or routine about BP’s profit margins or about the destructive heatwaves we’re seeing across Europe that BP is directly responsible for causing.” Global Witness said BP’s multibillion-dollar shareholder payouts stand in contrast to the millions of households pushed into fuel poverty by the rise in global energy prices. Jonathan Noronha-Gant, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, said: “This is what a broken energy system looks like – oil giants get richer because the rest of us get poorer. For BP the energy crisis has been a giant cash grab; for parents across the country it has been an impossible choice between feeding their children and paying their bills.” In a recent report, the IPPR, a left-leaning thinktank, argued that share buybacks are a direct cash transfer away from hard-pressed households to already wealthy shareholders at the expense of the environment. Pranesh Narayanan, a research fellow at IPPR, said: “For every £1 BP spent on ‘low carbon investments’ they gave shareholders £9 in buybacks.” 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 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 Russia’s war in Ukraine helped BP triple its profits in the second quarter of last year to $8.5bn, the second-best quarterly profit result in the company’s history. This allowed BP to hand investors $3.5bn through a share buyback programme, while it increased its total dividend payout by 10% to about $1.1bn. It also fuelled a political row in which Labour demanded the government impose a windfall tax on energy companies that profited from the record prices caused by the Ukraine war. Global oil and gas market prices have tumbled since reaching a peak last year. The global oil price averaged $76.60 a barrel in the last quarter, down sharply from an average of about $112 a barrel in the second quarter of last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Help! How can HMRC shut down its self-assessment help centre? 2023-08-01 - I am retired but do part-time sales from home to boost my pension, and as a result I have done a PAYE self-assessment tax return for the past eight years or so. This year the calculation for my tax has gone through the roof, even though my income has not significantly changed. I have tried on numerous occasions to phone HM Revenue and Customs on 0300 200 3310 without success – I simply get the message that they cannot take calls at this time. On the HMRC website, it now states that the self-assessment phone service is closed until 4 September 2023. I have therefore in desperation written to them asking them to investigate my concern that the calculation is incorrect. I have misgivings that I will get any reply. While I appreciate that many departments are busy and understaffed, to my mind this is a ridiculous situation. What do you think? MP, by email When I read your letter, my first reaction was that there must be some mistake, but you are right: HMRC has shut its contact centre for self-assessment queries until September. It has done so to allow it to move staff to other operations, in an effort to bring down call waiting times. It also wants more customers to use its “online channels”. I asked it what taxpayers like you are supposed to do, and was told that customers who need extra support should ask for a phone or video appointment with HMRC’s extra support team. You can request this when calling any HMRC helpline or by using the extra support team webchat service, it says. In your shoes, I would do this rather than expect your letter to be answered. “We’re working hard to improve all our service levels, but to achieve this, we must move more of our customers to our online channels. By doing so, we’ll deliver a better experience to them, while crucially providing support to taxpayers who really need to talk to us,” it says. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions
Americans are being pinched by rising prices and grueling debt - and the pain isn't going away soon, analyst says 2023-08-01 - Higher prices and interest rates are pressuring consumers and companies, Stephanie Pomboy says. Disposable incomes are shrinking, and businesses face cost pressures, the Macro Mavens chief says. Robert Heller, a former Fed governor, sees a recession hitting late this year or in early 2024. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy American households and businesses are being squeezed hard by inflation and steeper borrowing costs — and the pain is far from over, a veteran analyst has warned. Consumers are spending a bigger chunk of their budgets on housing, healthcare, energy, and food, forcing them to cut back on discretionary purchases, Stephanie Pomboy told Fox Business on Friday. The upshot is that overall consumer spending has remained buoyant in recent months, but retail sales have barely budged, she said. Meanwhile, businesses are suffering a "migraine" in the form of higher debt costs, the Macro Mavens founder and president said. Interest expenses for S&P 500 companies have surged 71% over the last year to reach their highest level since 2008, she continued. "Expect rates to dampen economic activity and to create real stress in the credit markets, corporate credit market especially," Pomboy said. Some Wall Street analysts have argued that corporate profits bottomed last quarter, and will rebound to double-digit growth next year. "Nothing I look at suggests that," Pomboy said. She pointed to the pressure on consumer spending, the limited supply of labor, and striking workers raising companies' costs by driving up wages and securing settlements. Pomboy has been issuing grim predictions for a while. In March, she warned the bursting of an "everything bubble" could tank stocks by 30% and cause a 2008-style economic collapse. Inflation surged to a 40-year high of 9.1% last summer, spurring the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates from nearly zero to north of 5.25% today — a 22-year high. Higher rates can ease upward pressure on prices by encouraging saving over spending, hiring, and investing. But they can also sap demand, increase unemployment, drag down asset prices, and cause a recession. Several commentators, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, have proclaimed the inflation threat has faded. They believe the Fed can pull off a soft landing, where it reins in price growth without tanking the economy. Other experts aren't convinced. "The Federal Reserve is really slowing down the economy, it has its foot on the brakes," Robert Heller, a former Fed governor, told Fox Business in a separate interview on Friday. However, the central bank's tighter monetary policy has been offset by vast amounts of government expenditure, the retired banker and economics professor noted. "That's the foot on the gas pedal, and that has prevented us from going into a recession so far," he said. Heller warned the current volume of fiscal spending is "unsustainable," and predicted it wouldn't last. He suggested a recession could hit toward the end of this year, or early next year.
I'm a former senior leader at Amazon. Mentorships can be a waste of everyone's time unless you do it right — here's how. 2023-08-01 - Brandon Southern is the former head of analytics at eBay, Amazon, and GameStop. He writes that many want membership but most don't get value from their mentor/mentee relationships. Southern advises mentees to do their homework to find success. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. I've had the opportunity to mentor several people during my 20-year career in tech as a senior leader at companies like Amazon and eBay. I've learned there is a right way to build a mentor/mentee relationship. The alternative way leaves mentees frustrated in their lack of improvement and mentors feeling like they wasted their time. But mentorship doesn't have to be this way. In my last team survey at Amazon, approximately 80% of my team expressed a desire to have a mentor, and half of the team members had received mentorship in the past. But what stuck out to me is that when I asked about the progress and benefits that team members received from past mentorship, I found that most didn't get a lot of value. That's because most mentorships weren't set up for success, and mentees didn't do the necessary homework to make it worth it. When the right planning and effort are applied, mentorship can fast-track your development and career. But to achieve success, you'll want to follow these 8 steps. 1.Define where you want to be This is the most critical step. To start your mentorship off right, come prepared with specific, time-based goals for what you'd like to accomplish. Many mentees come into a mentorship without a specific goal, possibly stating they want to get a promotion, raise, or better title. Other times the mentee doesn't really know what they want to gain from the mentorship. They just want to talk with someone higher up on the corporate ladder. Both of these things are not specific or setting the mentee up for success. Without knowing why you want a promotion, what the promotion duties look like, and when you want to achieve a promotion, your mentor won't be able to give the specific feedback you need. You may receive random tidbits of advice, but it probably won't be aligned with your goals, which will likely leave you feeling frustrated with the lack of progress. 2. Identify where you stand You must seek candid feedback about your skills, abilities, and knowledge and define your position. Some details may be obvious, such as your current title and years of experience. But other details may not be as obvious. For example, you may see yourself as an expert communicator, but your peers and employee review may paint a different picture. This is where self-awareness and open-mindedness are key. Without proper feedback, you may overlook critical gaps in your skillset that you need to work on with your mentor. Unfortunately, many people become defensive when receiving critical feedback, which blocks their ability to accept the advice and guidance of a mentor. 3. Find a mentor who is aligned with your next goal With clear goals and general knowledge of what you'd like to improve, you can find a mentor that is aligned with your needs. For example, if you're looking to get promoted in a technical role, you may select a leader at your company who can influence the promotion process. But if the prerequisite for a promotion is strong technical skills that you're lacking today, this leader may or may not be the best mentor. The reverse is also true. If you select a mentor that is at your current pay grade or far removed from your team, this mentor may be able to help you increase your technical skills, but they may lack the ability to influence the promotion process. While it's possible to find a mentor that can help you in both areas, you may find yourself needing multiple mentors as you progress on your journey. The key is to prioritize your goals and growth opportunities. You want to avoid taking on too many tasks or trying to work with too many mentors at the same time. 4. Make sure your mentor is invested, too When you choose a mentor, it's important to choose one that is vested in you. I've seen many coworkers offer their time for mentorships, but many of them aren't truly invested in the relationship. A good mentor will understand your goals and constantly be focused on helping you accomplish your goals on your timeline. They'll come to the meeting prepared by reviewing what you discussed in your last meeting and what your action items were. Also, they'll review your progress since this last meeting to help you address new problems and ensure that you've been making progress. But a more common mentor relationship or a bad mentorship usually feels like a basic conversation. The mentee shows up to the meeting without an agenda and since there were no action items at the end of the previous meeting, there's no progress to discuss. Instead, the mentor answers a few random questions or talks about whatever is top of mind for the mentor. Rarely is this aligned with the goals of the mentee, and it's certainly not a focused approach to helping the mentee accomplish their goals, on their timeline. 5. Find the opportunities After you and your mentor have discussed your goals and the items that you need to improve, it's time to find the right opportunities that will allow you to improve. For example, if you need to gain experience with public speaking, the only way that you're going to get the experience is to get out there and speak in public. The task sounds easy, but finding the right people who will give you the opportunity can take a bit of planning. This is where your mentor can offer ideas and point you in the right direction to find the opportunities you'll need to get involved with if you want to improve. 6. Come prepared It's extremely important that you come prepared. I've seen a lot of mentorships where the mentee doesn't have action items from the end of the previous meeting. This usually means they won't have made meaningful progress, and they won't have those details, as well as challenges to share with their mentor. To have a successful mentorship, you have to come prepared with an agenda based on what you intended to accomplish since the last meeting, the progress that you made, and any challenges or learnings that you collected along the way. Without this information, your mentor won't be able to provide feedback, and you'll likely find yourself repeating the same content as your last conversation or your conversation won't be focused on your goals. This causes many mentorships to fizzle out because the meetings feel like they don't have a purpose. 7. Do the work To grow, you're going to have to do some work. But before you start a mentorship, you must be prepared to invest your time. Many people come into a mentorship thinking that they'll receive a few quick tips and guidance from their mentor, and suddenly results will appear. Unfortunately, that's not the way that progress is made. Like learning to play a sport or musical instrument, you will have to practice what you've learned. During your meeting with your mentor, you may receive tips and guidance on what to focus on, but it will be up to you to find the opportunities to practice and then put that practice into action. Without this practice, not only will you not make progress, but you'll end up re-hashing the same conversation from the previous meeting. This will be a waste of time for you and your mentor and quickly result in a frustrating and unsuccessful mentorship. 8. Assess and adjust Last, you'll need to assess your progress and adjust along the way. For example, if your goal was to get promoted in 18 months, you would likely have identified the core skills and the scope of work that would be required. But on your journey, you may have progressed a bit slower than anticipated or you received additional feedback in your last review that requires additional growth before you can get promoted. You'll need to take these things into consideration and adjust your timeline and focus areas accordingly. Brandon Southern is the former head of analytics at eBay, Amazon, and GameStop. He also creates TikToks about data analytics and career development.
Here's exactly how much I made at Google, Snap, and Cisco in non-technical roles 2023-08-01 - Jonathan Javier is a former product operations analyst at Google, Snap, and Cisco. He left his $120,000 job to build his startup to help people land their dream jobs. Jonathan talked about why it's crucial to build the network early on to land your dream job. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jonathan Javier, the CEO and founder of Wonsulting, an AI-powered platform that helps job seekers optimize their résumés, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Insider has verified his income with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I graduated from UC Riverside and always wanted to work in the tech industry in non-tech roles focusing on strategy, sales operations, and advisory. During that time, I wasn't able to get into the big companies. Then, I started networking on LinkedIn in the early days of 2016 and talked to a lot of people at companies like Meta through LinkedIn InMail and personal invites. I also went to career fairs and networking events, where I connected with people on LinkedIn ahead of time — this approach helped me stand out and ensured that I wouldn't get lost in the crowd. I landed my first job at Snapchat through LinkedIn: in the search bar, I typed in "hiring manager" and "operations." I found a recruiter at Snap and I sent her a personalized invite to connect with her. At first, she didn't respond, so I sent another message with my résumé. Three months later, she said that there was an operation specialist role available. Then I got the interviews. During the interview, I also prepared a case study. I put my résumé, a business project tailored towards the job description in a yellow folder (because yellow is Snapchat's color) and gave it to them. Two hours later, I got the offer from Snapchat. How much money I made working in tech Snap: Product operations specialist, $40,000 salary I worked at Snapchat for about eight months working as an operations specialist. During my time there, I worked on the tagging system and structured the onboarding and hiring process for new vendors and workers. However, the difficult part of the job was the commute — I had to wake up around 4:35 am, drove for an hour to get to work and drove two hours back home. Also, I worked Sunday to Thursday, which just wasn't sustainable. After seven months, Snapchat outsourced our positions to another company. Snapchat offered us salaries even lower than what we were already earning if we wanted to stay at the company. While some team members chose to accept this offer, I made the decision to part ways with Snap. Google: Sales strategy and product operations analyst, $80,000 salary After my job was outsourced, I made a LinkedIn post about it and it went viral. Then, a hiring manager at Google reached out to me, so I sent him messages, went through three interviews, and landed an offer. As a product operations analyst, I was the subject matter expert (SME) for the sales pipeline: I worked with a lot of sales teams and taught account executives how to sell Google local services to local businesses around the area. My focus was on teaching them the art of cold calling, like what to say and what to steer clear of. After six months, I became a product trainer at Google — my manager saw that I liked doing career development workshops, and she thought I could do it for Google, too. During that time, I hired and trained more than 200 vendors for the sales team and spoke on panels with Googlers regarding career journeys into tech. Cisco: Go-to-market strategy and operations analyst $90,000 base salary + $10K bonus + $20K stock options I left Google for Cisco for two main reasons. First, the compensation increase from Cisco was significant, around 33%. Second, I enjoyed talking with my team at Cisco, who supported both my core role and my side hustle at Wonsulting. They even involved me in the first week of being in the Early Career Network, an early career program where I was one of their leads. I worked with their sales, customer success, and renewals team to figure out how we could get our B2B customers to stay on Cisco products. My one old-school — but efficient — interview tip Showcasing your relevant skills and experience is crucial during interviews. I always look at the job description and preemptively include an anecdote that addresses the "Tell me about a time when…" question. For example, the responsibility in the job description could be "collaborate with a sales team to figure out problems." In my mind, I turn it into a question: "Tell me about a time when you worked with sales teams to figure out problems," and I share a specific situation of when I did that in my past roles. This way, I know the whole job description from top to bottom and exactly how my past experiences match the responsibilites. You need to build your network early on to land your dream job Building your network early on makes a big difference in job hunting. Before negotiating compensation, I asked peers who worked at other tech companies what a reasonable pay range might be. With that information, I felt much more confident during interviews. It's better than relying solely on websites like Glassdoor. Also, after building the relationship, I felt more comfortable asking them if my total compensation was reasonable for the experience that I had. What usually happens is, a lot of folks get the job first, and then start asking around. But not everyone is close enough to share insights with you, so oftentimes they might just not respond. That's why it pays off to build the network early on. If you work in tech, finance, sales, or marketing and want to share your salary journey, email Aria Yang at ayang@insider.com.
A father-son duo built 2 vacation homes on a remote Australian island that rent for $6,200 a night — and Chris Hemsworth was their first guest 2023-08-01 - Michael and Timmy Maxwell run Island House on Lord Howe Island, Australia. They live on the 400-person island and rent out two guest houses they built. Chris Hemsworth was the first visitor in 2020, and rates now are $3,250 to $6,200 a night. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy In 1999, the financier Michael Maxwell was flipping through a newspaper when he spotted an advertisement for a 1930s lodge on Lord Howe Island, Australia, an island he'd visited as a child. He called the number, and within six months he owned a patch of land complete with a café and four holiday huts. He became one of the island's 400 residents. "Even before I got to the shore, I was completely in love with the island," Maxwell told Insider. Lord Howe Island. Courtesy of Island House His son, Timmy, was just as taken with Lord Howe Island when he stayed in their new holiday home for the first time in 2000. "I remember my mum saying to me, 'Well, you've got your bike, and you know it's safe, so just make sure you're back before dark,'" Timmy Maxwell said. "As a 12-year-old, that's amazing." The family loved the casual paradise. It was the antithesis of life in Sydney, where they lived full time. For the next 13 years a local family ran their café and another resident managed the holiday huts. In 2013, after Michael Maxwell retired and Timmy Maxwell gained experience working in hospitality, the father and son decided to make Lord Howe Island their permanent home and rebuild the huts to rent out. Starting renovations They bought the rights to a plant nursery next to their property. They also decided to turn the café and the holiday huts into a new family home for themselves and build two new holiday houses. Renovations underway. Courtesy of Island House While neither had worked in home development, the father and son said they weren't intimidated by the challenge. Timmy Maxwell joked that his father was always knocking down walls in the homes they'd lived in. "Ever since I was a toddler there were always paint tins or new pieces of furniture being shuffled around," he said. They wanted the new buildings to be more striking than the holiday huts they'd removed, but also to disappear into the surroundings. The architects they commissioned mapped the position of the trees on the grounds, then created raised villas around them. Interior renovations. Courtesy of Island House The timber and copper used in the building were designed to help the houses' exteriors age well and blend into the landscape. Sustainable development is encouraged on the island, so the Maxwells made use of solar power and rainwater throughout the property. They also oriented the villas so guests could wake up to views of the jungle filled with 800-year-old banyan trees. An outdoor copper bathtub in the North House. Courtesy of Island House Facing challenges and sourcing furniture The Maxwells realized that building new homes on a tropical island — and one designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO — would be far more difficult than building in the suburbs of Sydney. Planning applications were rigorous, and they could receive building materials only by air or water. "A ship would arrive with the floorboards, and then we'd find out that the glue wouldn't arrive until the next shipment," Timmy Maxwell said. They thought many times that they'd bitten off more than they could chew. "We would be working on the build, dealing with deliveries, and then a pipe would burst in the nursery," Timmy Maxwell said. "Our goal and that dream was threatened many times." While Michael Maxwell liaised with the architect and took care of the overall look of the villas, Timmy Maxwell used his hospitality background to focus on the guest experience. He added an annex with stand-up paddleboards, surfboards, and a didgeridoo, and he stocked the refrigerators in the villas with produce from the nursery and fish caught on the island. A finished bedroom in the North House. Courtesy of Island House The Maxwells traveled as far as Denmark to buy furniture and worked with Indigenous artists in Australia. "I think Timmy and I can put our hand on our heart, and we could take you around those houses, and every painting, every kitchen utensil, book, table mat, and couch has a story to it," Michael Maxwell said. Greeting their first guest While concreting the driveway one day, Timmy Maxwell received a call from Tourism Australia , which had been following the family's progress. "I remember talking to our landscaper, Ken, saying, 'I've just got the craziest call, it's from Tourism Australia, and they would love to send Chris Hemsworth to us as our first guest,'" Timmy Maxwell said. "We were standing there still covered in cement going, 'OK, so this could be a life-changing event.'" The completed South House. Courtesy of Island House The Maxwells completed the South House and the North House and opened them as Island House in October 2020. "Both my dad and I are over 6 foot, so the scale of the houses is quite large," Timmy Maxwell said. "As Chris Hemsworth is famously a pretty large guy, when he saw Island House, he said, 'OK, this is my kind of place.'" During their visit to the island, the Hemsworths "were surfing and snorkeling, and the kids were running around and having fun," Timmy Maxwell said, adding that they later returned to visit a second time. Marketing the property The Maxwells got a marketing boost from Hemsworth, who shared his holiday photos on Instagram . Timmy Maxwell's partner, Cecile, also runs an Instagram account to market Island House, which is open from September to May each year. The exterior of the South House. Courtesy of Island House Guests who'd like to come back regularly can join a membership program that costs just over $42,700. Members can book a particular week each year for the next three years and get access to certain experiences and benefits. The Maxwells said that three families are signed up now and the goal for next year is to hit seven. Outside of the membership, guests can rent one of the houses for $3,250 a night or the entire site for $6,200 a night.
Free England vs. China live stream: How to watch the Women's World Cup match from anywhere 2023-08-01 - When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. We have everything you need to watch a free England vs. China live stream today. This is the final game of the group, and while a draw will see England through, a win would secure first place in the group. China will likely need a win and to better Denmark's result against Haiti to move to the knockout stages of the Women's World Cup, so we should see a competitive game today. There are a few international options for a free Women's World Cup live stream of this game, and if your country doesn't have free coverage, we can show you how to watch one of the free live streams via a VPN (virtual private network). You'll need one of these to get around geo-restrictions that block outside viewing for international soccer fans. A VPN isn't just good for today's game; with it, you'll actually be able to watch every last game of the World Cup, as the BBC and ITV in the UK have total coverage between them. VPNs aren't just for accessing global streaming options, though. They also add a layer of security to your phone, PC, laptop, and more devices by protecting your online privacy. We'd seriously recommend using them on any public WiFi network too. But yes, we mainly use them to save a small fortune on overpriced streaming apps. How to watch England vs. China live stream from anywhere While various countries offer free live streams during the Women's World Cup, most only provide them for select games, with their own nation being the guaranteed team covered. But if you want your pick of every last match from the group stages to the final, you can't beat the UK coverage, as all matches will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer or ITVX. ITVX has the England vs. China game today. Many free European channels that work for other matches in the Women's World Cup don't seem to be showing this particular match, except for ORF in Austria, which is an excellent option if you're after German commentary. We've used it for free Champions League coverage this season and heartily recommend it as a quality streaming option. In Australia, the game will also be free over on 7 Mate. If the game isn't showing in your country, don't give up, as you too can enjoy the extensive UK coverage of every match of the Women's World Cup live streams for free online. However, if you're not in the UK when you try to watch, you'll be hit by a geo-block. You can access these free live streams using a VPN to simulate your viewing device in the UK. Don't have a VPN? There's a fantastic offer right now on the best VPN we've tested and have been using for years for streaming and beefing up our online security. You can pick up Express VPN, save 49% on the usual price, and get three months for free. Better yet, if you're not satisfied for any reason, there's a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN Plan With its consistent performance, reliable security, and expansive global streaming features, ExpressVPN is the best VPN out there, excelling in every spec and offering many advanced features that makes it exceptional. Better yet, you can save up to 49% and get an extra three months for free today. How to watch the Women's World Cup with a VPN Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one. if you don't have one. Install it on the device you're using to watch the game. Turn it on and set it to a UK location. Go to: ITVX . . Sign in with a UK postcode. Watch the game. Kickoff time: August 1, 7 a.m. ET / 12 p.m. BST / 1 p.m. CET / 9 p.m. AEST. How to watch England vs. China in the USA Fox and Fox Sports 1 have the rights to the Women's World Cup live streams in the US. So if you have those channels on your cable package, you're all set. However, if you're a cord-cutter and want to access these cable channels temporarily, you could opt for a service like Sling Blue or Fubo TV. Sling is usually $40 a month, but your first month is currently cut to $20, and you can cancel anytime. Fubo TV is much more expensive at $75 a month, but you can get a 7-day free trial before moving onto a rolling one-month rolling deal. Or, if you have a VPN, you can watch for free if you hop on over to the UK and enjoy their free coverage on ITVX, as described above. This is a great option because the BBC and ITVX will be covering the entire range of matches. Full replays will be available too, if the games are on at a gross time of day. Deal icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Deal Sling TV Subscription Sling is one of the most affordable live TV streaming services you can sign up for. New members can now receive their first month for a discounted rate of just $20. Shop at Sling Fubo TV (Pro Plan) FuboTV is one of the lesser-known streaming services, but it's worth considering for those who love entertainment and non-traditional sports programming. It's pricey, but there is currently a 7-day free trial, so you can take it for a spin first. More upcoming games Keep an eye on our regularly-updated free Women's World Cup live stream guide to stay updated on the latest details for every game. The times listed below are for ET in the US. We've also put in the TV channels the games will be shown locally in the US/UK. Tuesday, August 1 Portugal vs. USA - 3 a.m. on FOX / ITVX Vietnam vs. Netherlands - 3 a.m. on FS1 / ITVX China vs. England - 7 a.m. on FOX / ITVX Haiti vs. Denmark - 7 a.m. on FS1 / ITVX Wednesday, August 2 Argentina vs. Sweden - 3 a.m. on FOX / BBC South Africa vs. Italy - 3 a.m. on FS1 / BBC Panama vs. France - 6 a.m. on FOX / ITVX Jamaica vs. Brazil - 6 a.m. on FS1 / ITVX Thursday, August 3 South Korea vs. Germany - 6 a.m. on FOX / BBC Morocco vs. Colombia - 6 a.m. on FS1 / BBC Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.
A cruise ship carrying Russian passengers was greeted with jeers and heckles in Georgia and was forced to leave the port early 2023-08-01 - Locals jeered at Russian passengers on a cruise ship in Batumi, Georgia, on two occasions. The ship departed earlier than scheduled on Thursday and later returned to the port on Monday. Georgia has long had tension with Russia about disputed territory and opposition to the Ukraine war. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. A cruise ship with Russian passengers docked in Batumi, Georgia, was met with jeers from locals who were protesting the Ukraine war and the disputed territories occupied by Russia. The cruise ship Astoria Grande was met with a large protesting crowd when it docked in the Georgian port of Batumi on Thursday and Monday, according to various media reports, including the local outlet Georgia Today. On July 27, the ship was forced to leave Batumi earlier than intended after the protests broke out, Radio Free Europe and Meduza reported. The ship's original departure schedule is unclear. Videos shared by Twitter users on Monday captured chaotic scenes of protesters in Georgia heckling the cruise ship after it arrived for the second time in five days. Helen Khoshtaria, a Twitter user who identifies as a human-rights activist, posted a video on Monday that received more than 39,000 views: "The protest in Batumi continues for about 20th hour now, with more people joining. It will only stop when the Russian cruise ship leaves, hopefully earlier than scheduled." The local media outlet Formula News tweeted a video of protesters on Monday: "Protesters condemn the arrival of Russian cruise ship carrying pop stars and journalists supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Georgian port city of Batumi." —Formula NEWS | English (@FormulaGe) July 31, 2023 A Twitter user called @KShoshiashvili shared pictures of protesters' signs on Monday, with one reading: "We choose Europe, not Russia." The cruise's Turkish operator, Miray Cruises, told the Russian media outlet RBC that it had no further stops planned for Batumi. Insider could not independently verify the ship's docking schedule. In response to last Thursday's protests, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said: "Proud of our people protesting peacefully the latest russian provocation — a Russian cruise liner visiting the Georgian port of Batumi while Putin blocks grain shipments and hinders free navigation in the Black Sea." Zourabichvili was seemingly referring to Russia axing the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal that expired on July 17. The deal previously allowed food to be shipped from Ukrainian ports despite a Russian blockade. A March survey by the International Republican Institute found that Georgians remained sharply opposed to Russian foreign policy. Only 4% of Georgians surveyed said that Russians were welcome in their country after the invasion of Ukraine, and 76% said that Russian aggression against Georgia was still ongoing. The Republic of Georgia exited the Soviet Union in 1991 and has been involved in a frozen conflict with pro-Russia forces about the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, culminating in Russian occupation of a significant part of Georgian territory in 2008, per the BBC. Georgia's internal-affairs ministry told Insider on Tuesday that 23 people were arrested in connection with the protests. Miray Cruises did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours. August 1, 4:51 p.m.: The story has been updated to include a comment from Georgia's internal-affairs ministry.
Switzerland is the most expensive place in Europe to see Taylor Swift's Eras Tours, because of course it is 2023-08-01 - Eras Tour tickets in Zurich are the most expensive in Europe, per Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. That's nearly four times the cost of seeing Swift in Warsaw, per Bloomberg. The Swiss pay the most for everything from McDonald's to rent. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. Surprising nobody, Switzerland has once again topped the charts as the "most expensive country" — this time for the cost of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour tickets in Europe. The cheapest tickets in the country cost 167.5 Swiss Francs, or $190, according to Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. That's nearly four times the cost of seeing Swift in Warsaw, Poland, Bloomberg reported. Switzerland consistently ranks as one of the most expensive places on Earth, and the Swiss are no stranger to paying the most for, well, everything. A Big Mac costs $7.26 in Switzerland, the most of any country in the world per the Economist's Big Mac Index, and 35.4% more than one would cost in the United States. The index was most recently updated in January. Zurich and Geneva rank third and fourth as the most expensive cities in the world to live in, according to Mercer's 2023 Cost of Living Index, after Hong Kong and Singapore. Mercer calculates the cost of living by aggregating the cost of rent and daily goods — like butter. The Eras Tour — which will run from March 2023 to August 2024 — is projected to be the first-ever concert to rake in more than $1 billion from tickets, merchandise, and sponsorships, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. And despite the steep ticket prices, the tour is still selling out in its Switzerland stops, according to NZZ am Sonntag. This too should be unsurprising, not just because the median salary in Switzerland is 6,665 Swiss Francs or just over $7,600, but because some Swifties are already spending up to $20,000 for the chance to see her as many times as possible. To my friends in Singapore who are trying to catch as many of her shows around the globe as possible: be ready to fork out the big bucks.
Tech worker goes viral after listing all past and current salaries on LinkedIn—but experts warn that may work against you 2023-08-01 - As salary transparency becomes more widespread it's increasingly easy to measure up how your wage compares to similar roles on the market. In theory, the practice can help close the gap that women, people of color and other minorities often experience, as pay inequalities become public. But one worker has taken matters into her own hands: Charlotte Chaze, founder of Break Into Tech, recently posted the salaries of all of her previous jobs to her LinkedIn profile. The 32-year-old tech worker said on her TikTok channel that she added the salary for each job—from $28,000 to be a research assistant, to $158,000 as a senior analytics manager for AT&T—to “do her part to make salary transparency happen”. Her LinkedIn profile went viral, thanks in part to this tweet which has been viewed over 4 million times, with people conflicted on whether Chaze's candor is a smart or foolish idea. This person listed all their past and current salaries on LinkedIn. Would you do it? I’m kinda digging it. pic.twitter.com/lKPVFIEzv3 — zakovska (@sanjazakovska) July 10, 2023 As her own boss, Chaze felt she had both freedom and responsibility to post her salary information but according to Rameez Kaleem, the founder and managing director at 3R Strategy, she’s part of a growing trend. Story continues He told Fortune that a number of clients at his remuneration consultancy have experienced employees sharing their salaries online “because they feel that they're underpaid in their current job”. “Other people are putting their salary on LinkedIn to reduce the risk of time-wasting, poorly paid recruitment opportunities,” Kaleem says. "They’re making their current salaries public to say, 'This is what I currently earn. If you're going to make me an offer, it has to be higher than this, otherwise, I just won’t bother.'” Is posting your salary counterintuitive? By disclosing what you’re currently on, Zahra Amiry, Omnicom Media Group’s associate director of talent attraction cautions that you could be sabotaging your chances of substantially increasing your salary in the future. “By effectively saying, ‘Don't approach me for a role, which is less than this’ you're capping yourself,” she explains because hiring managers will most likely look at this information and form their job offer based on your current salary. It means that those who are already being paid below market value for their role, risk being lowballed. “All this does is transfer the inequity and discrimination from one company to the next,” Kaleem echoes, while adding that it’s especially risky for those who don’t know the current market value of their role or are transitioning into another industry that pays much higher. “They may think they’re being paid well when they’re actually far below the market median for that position,” he adds. “Publishing your salary with this in mind can demonstrate to employers that you’re happy to sit at the lower end of a salary range.” Meanwhile, even those who know they’re being underpaid lose their ability to negotiate when they’ve put all their cards on the table. Risk of damaging relations with your current employer Although it’s perfectly legal to do so, publishing your salary while you’re still employed can cause unnecessary internal friction and impact how you’re perceived by management. Really, most modern businesses are slowly trying to reduce pay inequalities and are introducing measures like salary banding to do so. “It takes a long time to get there,” Amiry says, adding that some team members may experience a pay adjustment sooner than others. “You don't know what your peers are earning, so you'll be displaying some pretty significant discrepancies potentially which could cause tension.” Not only could outing your salary put a strain on the relationship you hold with your peers and your boss (who has to deal with the fallout), but Kaleem warns that it risks damaging the reputation of your company, which certainly won’t land well. “As a result, it could definitely ruin future progression opportunities with that employer,” he says. The first port of call, if you are frustrated with your pay, is to speak with your line manager and HR department. But if you feel like all avenues have been exhausted, rather than sharing your individual pay publicly, you could consider using anonymous salary-sharing websites, such as Glassdoor, to voice your frustrations without exposing yourself to potential backlash. Alternatively, if poor pay is a company-wide issue, you could rally together your peers in protest. “If you have a large group of people that are part of this movement, it can force organizations to rethink their strategy.” This story was originally featured on Fortune.com More from Fortune: 5 side hustles where you may earn over $20,000 per year—all while working from home Looking to make extra cash? This CD has a 5.15% APY right now Buying a house? Here's how much to save This is how much money you need to earn annually to comfortably buy a $600,000 home
Shale producers Pioneer Natural, Devon post sharp drop in second-quarter profits 2023-08-01 - FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County (Reuters) -Pioneer Natural Resources Co and Devon Energy Corp posted a sharp drop in their second-quarter profits on Tuesday, as the shale producers were hurt by a decline in oil prices from last year's sky-high levels. Profits for oil and gas companies have dropped from last year's bumper levels after crude prices eased from multi-year highs when Russia's invasion of Ukraine upended markets. Shares of Devon fell 2.4% to $52.41 in extended trade. Pioneer posted a 53.5% drop in second-quarter profit, while Devon's income declined 64.3%. The two companies said their average realized price for oil fell 34% for the April-June quarter from last year. However, crude prices have steadied and traded between $70-$80 per barrel during the quarter, levels which remain lucrative for production, pushing both the companies to report higher output for the quarter. Energy prices had sky-rocketed last year when Russia's invasion of Ukraine upended markets. Permian basin-focused Pioneer said its total average daily production rose 10.5% to 710,678 barrels of oil equivalent (boe), while Devon's oil production averaged 323,000 boe in the second quarter, an increase of 8% from the year-ago period. The rise in production helped Pioneer beat Wall Street estimate. Its adjusted income of $4.49 per share for the three months ended June 30 beat analysts' average estimate of $4.18 per share, according to Refinitiv data. Pioneer also raised the midpoint of its annual oil and total production forecasts to 369,000 bopd and 707,000 bopd. Its shares were up 0.9% at $226.75. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
AMD forecasts challenger to Nvidia AI chip to launch in 4th quarter, shares rise 2023-08-01 - By Max A. Cherney and Chavi Mehta (Reuters) -Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday forecast a strong fourth quarter and expects to have artificial-intelligence hardware that can challenge Nvidia chips by then. Shares were up roughly 3.5% in after-hours trading. AMD CEO Lisa Su said AMD is set to ramp production of its MI300 artificial-intelligence chips in the fourth quarter. The MI300 AI accelerator chips are designed to compete against the advanced H100 chips already sold by Nvidia, though they are in short supply. Su said customer interest in the company's MI300 series chips is "very high" and that AMD expanded its work with "top-tier cloud providers, large enterprises and numerous leading AI companies" during the third quarter. Investors are betting AMD could one day challenge Nvidia in the surging market for advanced AI chips when AMD releases a competing product later this year. AMD has not given a detailed full-year forecast but said it expects sales in its data center business that will contain MI300 sales to be higher in 2023 than 2022's $6.04 billion total. Jenny Hardy, portfolio manager at GP Bullhound, which owns Nvidia and AMD stock, said that Nvidia still faces supply constraints, leaving an opening for AMD's chip. "So if AMD can ramp production and launch those MI300 chips in the fourth quarter, they will likely see strong demand because plenty of people cannot get their hands on Nvidia chips. So we would assume that AMD can effectively kind of fill some of that supply-demand gap," Hardy said. For the second quarter, revenue at AMD’s data center business fell 11% to $1.32 billion, while revenue at its client business fell 54% to $998 million from $2.2 billion a year ago. Large cloud players like Microsoft and Google plan to ramp up spending on data centers in the second half of the year and that spending will skew toward AI chips and infrastructure, analysts said. However, PC shipments decline has moderated and demand has started showing signs of improvement. Story continues "Looking to the third quarter, we expect our Data Center and Client segment revenues to each grow by a double-digit percentage sequentially driven by increasing demand for our EPYC and Ryzen processors, partially offset by Gaming and Embedded segment declines," said AMD finance chief Jean Hu. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of about $5.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect revenue of $5.82 billion. (Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Max A. Cherney in San FranciscoAdditional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San FranciscoEditing by Arun Koyyur, Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis)
UPDATE 2-Shale producers Pioneer Natural, Devon post sharp drop in second-quarter profits 2023-08-01 - (Adds share moves in third and last paragraphs, Devon results, details on Pioneer's second quarter) Aug 1 (Reuters) - Pioneer Natural Resources Co and Devon Energy Corp posted a sharp drop in their second-quarter profits on Tuesday, as the shale producers were hurt by a decline in oil prices from last year's sky-high levels. Profits for oil and gas companies have dropped from last year's bumper levels after crude prices eased from multi-year highs when Russia's invasion of Ukraine upended markets. Shares of Devon fell 2.4% to $52.41 in extended trade. Pioneer posted a 53.5% drop in second-quarter profit, while Devon's income declined 64.3%. The two companies said their average realized price for oil fell 34% for the April-June quarter from last year. However, crude prices have steadied and traded between $70-$80 per barrel during the quarter, levels which remain lucrative for production, pushing both the companies to report higher output for the quarter. Energy prices had sky-rocketed last year when Russia's invasion of Ukraine upended markets. Permian basin-focused Pioneer said its total average daily production rose 10.5% to 710,678 barrels of oil equivalent (boe), while Devon's oil production averaged 323,000 boe in the second quarter, an increase of 8% from the year-ago period. The rise in production helped Pioneer beat Wall Street estimate. Its adjusted income of $4.49 per share for the three months ended June 30 beat analysts' average estimate of $4.18 per share, according to Refinitiv data. Pioneer also raised the midpoint of its annual oil and total production forecasts to 369,000 bopd and 707,000 bopd. Its shares were up 0.9% at $226.75. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Electronic Arts forecasts weak bookings as competition, lower spending weigh 2023-08-01 - -Videogame publisher Electronic Arts forecast quarterly net bookings below expectations and missed estimates for the first quarter on Tuesday, hurt by high competition and muted spending by gamers, sending its shares down 3% after the bell. Videogame publishers such as EA are not only struggling with slowing spending, but also fighting for top spots with new entrants like Warner Bros Discovery, whose "Harry Potter"-based game "Hogwarts Legacy" was among the best-selling games in May, according to market research firm Circana. Elevated inflation has forced gamers to get picky with the titles they choose to play, with many returning to their favorite franchises because of tight budgets. EA forecast net bookings in the range $1.70 billion to $1.80 billion for its quarter ending Sept. 30, below analysts' estimate of $1.81 billion, according to Refinitiv data. In the first quarter, the company posted net bookings of $1.58 billion, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $1.59 billion. EA's performance was partially supported by "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor", the latest videogame based on the storied Star Wars franchise it launched in April. The Star Wars game and "FIFA 23" were the number 3 and number 7, respectively, in the top 20 best-selling video games in May, according to Circana. The company, which kept its fiscal 2024 booking forecast intact, expects to debut in September EA Sports FC, EA's new football franchise after it ended its partnership with FIFA last year. (Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)