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Delta Takes Flight: Double-Digit Upside In Sight 2023-07-13 - Key Points Delta Air Lines beat its guidance and raised guidance for the year. The company accelerated its debt reduction and is on track to pay down $4 billion this year. Analysts support the stock and may drive it to new highs by the end of the year. 5 stocks we like better than Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines NYSE: DAL surprised the market when it released preliminary results for Q2. The news included a robust outlook for revenue and earnings driven by solid demand for travel. Travel demand is underpinned by consumer and business needs and resulted in outperformance. That’s right. The Q2 results were released only 2 weeks after the guidance was issued and included what the market hoped it would; outperformance and an increase in guidance. The takeaway is that Delta performs at record levels, with shares well below the pre-pandemic levels. This suggests the stock is grossly undervalued and may soar higher over the next few months. At face value, the stock has about 25% of upside before it reaches the previous highs; if the company continues to perform as it is, new highs may be reached by the end of the year. Delta Blows Past Guidance And Consensus; Raises The Outlook Delta had a solid quarter with revenue of $15.58, growing 12.75% compared to last year. On a core, operating basis, the company’s revenue grew by 19% and set a quarterly record. Revenue was driven by demand in all segments and was underpinned by an increase in capacity and revenue per unit. The excellent news is that costs return to better alignment and drive a robust bottom-line performance. The EBIT margin grew by nearly 100% YOY leaving the adjusted operating margin at 17.6%. This drove record quarterly earnings of $2.68, beating the consensus by $0.29 or about 1200 basis points. The guidance is even better. The company expects revenue strength to continue and margins to improve in the back half of the year. That led to an increase in 3rd quarter and FY outlook, with FY earnings lifted by a dollar at both ends of the range. The company expects $6 to $7 in adjusted EPS compared to the $6.20 consensus figure, and there is a good chance that guidance will be increased again later this year. Looking to next year, the company predicts EPS above $7 compared to the $7.10 consensus figure; this guidance may also be increased later this year. Delta’s unanticipated cash flow was put to good use. The company CFO says cash flow allowed for accelerated debt repayment, which means $2.5 billion has been retired YTD. The outlook for FY debt reduction was increased to $4 billion, and it may top that figure if strength continues to build in Q3 and Q4. Regardless, this is excellent news for investors because it cleans up the balance sheet and paves the way for a dividend increase. The dividend partially supports Delta shares, which were reinstated in Q2. The payment was set at $0.10 quarterly or $0.40 annualized, about 25% of the pre-pandemic payout, so shareholders have significant upside potential. Analysts Are In The Pilot Seat At Delta The analysts support Delta stock and have been driving the upswing in price action. The trends ahead of the Q2 release and guidance update were positive, with sentiment up to Buy from Hold and the price target trending higher than last month and last year. Assuming the analysts are pleased with the guidance, this trend should continue. Until then, the consensus price target is about 12% above the price action, and the high price target is another 27% above that. The chart is favorable to higher prices. The market is in a sharp uptrend driven by news and results and now breaking out of consolidation. The consolidation was short and sweet and appears to have substantial momentum. If the market follows through on this signal share price could increase to the $60 range. Before you consider Delta Air Lines, 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 Delta Air Lines wasn't on the list. While Delta Air Lines currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Generac Powers Up as Summer Temperatures Rise 2023-07-13 - Key Points Since June 21st, Generac stock is up 16% and is the seventh-best S&P 500 performer. Generac is uniquely linked to extreme weather events that create a need to keep air conditioners, freezers and heaters running, driving increased demand for its products. Wall Street analysts have mixed feelings on the stock, with Bank of America maintaining its Underperform rating and Argus Research upgrading to Buy this week. Four years ago, when Generac last recorded a life cross event, the stock began its incredible 10x run from approximately $50 to $500. 5 stocks we like better than Generac As temperatures reach 117 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley, California, Generac Holdings Inc. NYSE: GNRC is springing to life. A life cross event is unfolding on the power generation equipment maker’s stock chart, a classic technical pattern that could mark the start of a long-term uptrend. The bullish 50-day/200-day crossover comes amid sweltering temperatures across much of the country. Two weeks removed from a Texas heat wave that drove hot demand for backup generators, other parts of the U.S. are experiencing a similar melt. Arizona temperatures have topped 110 degrees every day this month. Parts of Southern California have been well over 100 degrees, with nearly 20,000 of the state’s residents losing power on Wednesday. Whether record-breaking heat or crippling snowstorms, Generac is uniquely linked to extreme weather events. Consumers and businesses alike scramble to secure potentially life- and business-saving power equipment in preparation for the worst. A need to keep air conditioners, freezers and heaters running drives increased demand for Generac products. Summer 2023’s blistering start, while bad news for the environment, has helped Generac reach a nine-month high. Since June 21st (the official start of summer), the stock is up 16% — and the seventh-best S&P 500 performer. While extreme July temps have put the spotlight on Generac, the company’s move off its 2023 lows has been months in the making. Better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and a brighter full-year outlook have investors scooping the former $500 stock at a deep discount. Wall Street, however, has mixed feelings. How Have Analysts Reacted to Generac’s Rally? Last week, Bank of America poured cold water on Generac’s run, saying recent power outage activity has been within historical levels. The firm suggested that the media has blown the catalyst out of proportion, creating a disconnect between the stock and its fundamentals. With home standby (HSB) generator inventories elevated, it argues that dealers are unlikely to do a big re-stock regardless of the potential weather-related demand. Bank of America kept its Underperform rating and cut its price target to $90. Argus Research disagrees. The firm upgraded Generac to Buy this week with no mention of the recent weather boost. It believes that the inventory picture is improving as retail partners clear excess residential generators ahead of the key hurricane season. The analyst there also cited strong growth in Generac’s industrial segment and cost-cutting measures as reasons to expect better financial performances. Much of the attention has been on weather-driven demand, but Generac’s business goes beyond generators. The company also sells energy storage systems and various power products to residential and commercial customers. Climate change is just part of a list of long-term growth drivers that includes global 5G deployment, manufacturing automation and advancements in battery technologies. Generac is also expanding its presence in the electric vehicle (EV) charging space. Last month, it joined forces with Alectra Utilities to support a managed EV charging project designed to understand better the impact of EV charging on the power grid. Over time, Generac is positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for grid management services as the world’s aging infrastructure gets a major overhaul. In May 2023, Spanish renewable energy leader Iberdrola tapped Generac’s Concerto platform to stabilize its virtual power plant (VPP) initiative. Are Generac Shares Undervalued? Generac is forecast to return to profit growth next year as inventory issues subside, cost-cutting measures take effect and macroeconomic conditions become more sales-friendly. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings per share (EPS) gives the company an 18x forward P/E ratio. This represents a greater than 50% discount to the stock’s five-year historical average P/E. The industrial also looks inexpensive when stacked up against its peers. Based on projected 2024 EPS, mid-cap electrical equipment makers Vicor (37x) and Shoals Technologies (25x) are trading at much higher valuations. Four years ago, when Generac last recorded a life cross event, the stock began its incredible 10x run from approximately $50 to $500. If history repeats, the sea level may not be the only thing rising over the next few years. Before you consider Generac, 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 Generac wasn't on the list. While Generac currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
3 Reasons Why Rivian Can Continue To Surge Higher 2023-07-13 - Key Points Rivian's stock has risen over 40% year-to-date after breaking above critical resistance levels and establishing firm support. The stock broke out after the company announced stronger-than-expected Q2 delivery and production figures. The growing short interest might potentially lead to a significant short squeeze. Two recent price target increases and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy reinforce the potential for Rivian's upward momentum to continue. 5 stocks we like better than Rivian Automotive Just over a week ago, shares of Rivian Automotive NASDAQ: RIVN were in the negative year-to-date. When I first wrote about Rivian precisely one week ago, the stock was up just 6.13% YTD. Today, shares of the EV company are up over 40% YTD. After breaking above critical resistance at $22, shares of Rivian have established firm support over $24, worrying shorts. Could the newfound support and increasing short interest indicate a second leg higher? Rivian Automotive is a leading EV manufacturer specializing in pickup trucks and SUVs. They prioritize environmental sustainability and aim to achieve carbon neutrality earlier than the Paris Climate Accord timeline. Rivian offers R1T and R1S models, five-passenger pickup trucks, and SUVs. Founded in 2009, the company is headquartered in San Jose, California. The Initial Breakout After consolidating below $16 for several months, the stock finally broke out earlier this month off the back of a positive catalyst. Rivian announced Q2 production totals and crushed delivery estimates. The company produced 13,992 in the second quarter, an increase of 48% from the previous quarter. The company commented that those figures remain in line with its expectations and believes it is on track to deliver on the 50,000 annual production guidance previously provided. The announcement sent shares soaring, along with a significant rise in volume. While the stock is already up close to 30% on the week and has a current RSI of 82.93, indicating it is overbought, several factors indicate additional upward momentum could be the likely outcome. Three Reasons Why The Move Can Continue: The Short Interest Over the last four months, the dollar volume sold short has steadily increased month over month. The short interest grew by 12.5% in June over the previous month. As of May 31, the short interest was 13.14% of the float, which means 85.6 million shares had been sold short. The short interest has likely increased substantially in the last two weeks, especially among intraday traders looking to find a potential top. On July 15, FINRA will publish the most recent short interest data. Short sellers are likely feeling anxious as the stock failed to stay below the new support level of $24 when tested multiple times over the past three days. Analysts Boost Target Price In the past week, Rivian has received two major price target increases. On July 7, Wedbush increased their target from $25 to $30, predicting almost 39% upside for Rivian shares on the date reported. Most recently, on July 10, Barclays boosted their price target from $22 to $30, predicting a 21% upside on the date reported. Overall, analysts are bullish, with the consensus rating Moderate Buy. Based on 16 analyst ratings, the consensus price target is $26.94, predicting an almost 4% upside. Recent Price Action Favors The Bulls Over the last three days, shares of Rivian have developed strong support over prior resistance of $22.5 and are now basing firmly over $24. The recent price action indicates that shares were successfully able to digest the recent surge higher, and buyers remain firmly in control. A new pattern has emerged over the last several days, with the stock failing to hold below $24 on multiple attempts and immediately being bid back toward $25.50. A bullish consolidation at the highs has formed, with $26 acting as significant resistance. A push over $26 could spark a new round of buying and short covering, resulting in a significant supply and demand imbalance. $27.5 is the next critical level of resistance and potential target. Before you consider Rivian Automotive, 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 Rivian Automotive wasn't on the list. While Rivian Automotive currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Despite Breaking Higher, Analysts Remain Cautious HP Inc. 2023-07-13 - Key Points Shares of HP Inc. broke above a critical level of resistance which has stood firm all year. Analysts maintain a cautious stance with a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus price target that predicts over 9% of downside. Despite surpassing earnings expectations, the company experienced a decline in revenue, contributing to the cautious sentiment from analysts. 5 stocks we like better than HP The computer and office equipment giant HP Inc. NYSE: HPQ has been trading steadily higher this year, with the stock up over 22%. Shares of HPQ recently broke above a critical level of resistance, and investors will be paying close attention from now on to see if resistance can now turn into support. Over the last five days, shares are up close to 6%, and investors will hope that this is just the beginning as the stock approaches the next critical level of resistance, $35. HP offers a wide range of products, technologies, solutions, and services to various customer segments, including individuals, businesses, government, and educational sectors worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Personal Systems and Printing. HP, formerly known as Hewlett-Packard Company, was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The Consolidation Breakout The stock is up 22.5% year-to-date after trending higher in the ascending wedge since the beginning of the year and a recent breakout through $32 resistance. Before breaking out, HPQ reclaimed the 200-day SMA, indicating a bullish shift in momentum. As $32 was the crucial resistance level for several months; bulls will now want to see the stock firmly hold higher without retesting that key area. The next target and level of resistance in HPQ is $36. While the most recent price action is favorable for bulls, a bearish setup has formed on a higher time frame. A head and shoulders pattern has now emerged. If the stock can continue to base over previous resistance, then the bearish head and shoulders pattern will be of little concern. However, if the stock fails to hold above prior resistance and trades back in the range, the narrative could quickly shift to favor the bears. Earnings And Outlook HP surpassed analysts' expectations in its most recent earnings release on May 30th, 2023. The company reported earnings per share of $0.80 cents for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.04 cents. However, its revenue for the quarter was $12.91 billion, slightly lower than analysts' projected $13.07 billion. The company experienced a 21.7% decline in revenue compared to last year's quarter. Looking ahead, HP anticipates a 6.27% growth in earnings per share for the coming year, from $3.35 to $3.56. Analysts Are Bearish Analysts are bearish on the stock, with a consensus rating of Reduce, based on 13 analyst ratings. The consensus analyst price target is $29.88, predicting a 9.19% downside in the stock. Of the 13 analyst ratings, 3 are Sell, 9 are Hold, and only 1 has HPQ as a Buy. Most recently, Citigroup initiated coverage of HPQ with a Neutral rating and a $32 price target. Insiders Have Been Selling Over the last twelve months, insiders have sold $15.72 million of HPQ stock. The last time an insider purchased stock was in the first quarter of 2022. Since then, insiders have consistently sold stock each quarter. So far this year, insiders have sold $8.69 million, with $4.94 million occurring in the third quarter. Most recently, the CEO sold 156,976 shares on July 3rd at an average price of $30.69, amounting to $4.8 million in proceeds. Before you consider HP, 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 HP wasn't on the list. While HP currently has a "Reduce" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Motorola Approaches Buy Point As Analysts Boost Price Targets 2023-07-13 - Key Points Motorola Solutions has shown steady growth and is a reliable performer and dividend payer in the public safety and security industry. Its year-to-date return is 15.66%, with a one-year gain of 40.42%. Year-over-year sales have been consistently growing, with double-digit increases in the past three quarters. The company offers a dividend yield of 1.18% and has an 11-year track record of boosting shareholder payouts. 5 stocks we like better than Motorola Solutions S&P 500 component Motorola Solutions Inc. NYSE: MSI is within 1% of a buy point, getting a boost on July 12 along with the broader market. A look at the Motorola Solutions chart shows the stock forming a shallow consolidation that began on May 19, after notching gains in February, March and April. This isn’t necessarily the fastest-moving stock, but it’s been a reliably steady grower, in a business that’s getting more attention: Public safety and security at industrial facilities. Motorola Solutions’ year-to-date return is 15.66%, and the stock is up 40.42% on a one-year basis. Over rolling three, five, 10, and 15-year time frames, the stock has posted strong double-digit returns. Not The Motorola You May Remember Forget about those old Motorola Razr flip phones that were all the rage before iPhones came along; that business line was sold to China-based manufacturer Lenovo in 2014. Today’s Motorola Solutions is a leader in the world of public safety electronics gear and software systems. The company’s business is organized into three units: Land Mobile Radio Communications: Two-way radio and broadband, devices for public safety and industrial use. Video: Cameras, access control, video software, and AI-enabled analytics. Command Center: Software suite that enables collaboration and shares information throughout the public safety workflow. Motorola says its strategy “is to generate value through the integration of critical communications, video security, access control and data and analytics.” It aims to remove silos between systems while streamlining and simplifying operations for customers. Across all three business units, its products offer cloud-based applications and cybersecurity services. Competitors, depending on the business unit, include BK Technologies Corp. NYSEAMERICAN: BKTI, L3 Harris Technologies Inc. NYSE: LHX, Axon Enterprise Inc. NASDAQ: AXON, Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. NYSE: SPB and Tyler Technologies Inc. NYSE: TYL. Motorola Systems’ largest customers are U.S. government agencies, including the armed services, and the Home Office of the United Kingdom, with each representing approximately 7% of net sales in 2022. Sales Higher In Second Half Of Year Due to customer purchasing patterns and the cyclical nature of the markets Motorola serves, sales tend to be somewhat higher in the second half of the year, with the fourth quarter being the highest. That was certainly true in 2021 and 2022, when sales growth accelerated on a sequential basis quarter-by-quarter. Year-over-year sales have also been growing, with the company posting double-digit increases in the past three quarters. A look at the Motorola Systems analyst ratings shows a consensus view of “hold.” Although this company has a market capitalization of $49.78 billion, it’s not the subject of much analyst attention, likely because it’s not in a glamor industry, such as infotech or biotech. In addition, it’s not a long-established institutional stalwart like Walmart Inc. NYSE: WMT that’s a “must have” in any large cap growth-and-income portfolio. Higher Price Targets Since Motorola’s most recent quarterly report, in early May, analysts at Barclays and Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price targets on the stock. MarketBeat’s Motorola Solutions earnings data show the stock beating top and bottom-line views in each of the past five quarters. The current area of price consolidation can be categorized as a flat base, since it’s corrected only 8% from peak to trough. That’s encouraging, as it shows institutional investors haven’t been running for the exits, but taking some profits after a solid run-up in the past year. Returning Capital To Shareholders Motorola Solutions' dividend yield is 1.18%, with an annual payout of $3.52. The company has an 11-year track record of boosting the shareholder payout. The company also has a share repurchase program, whose current yield is 0.71. In the first quarter, the company repurchased $140 million in shares. Companies buy back shares to increase shareholder value, signal confidence in their own financial condition and market position, reduce dilution, improve earnings per share, and utilize excess cash. For Motorola Solutions, which is an electronics company but not a red-hot, fast-growing tech, share buybacks and dividend payments are a way of attracting investors who have an eye on income and stability. Before you consider Motorola Solutions, 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 Motorola Solutions wasn't on the list. While Motorola Solutions currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Gilead Boosts Biotech Footprint With Stakes In AlloVir And Arcus 2023-07-13 - Key Points Gilead Sciences purchased significant stakes in AlloVir and Arcus Biosciences, according to recent SEC filings. AlloVir is a young biotech that develops off-the-shelf virus-specific T-cell therapies. Gilead's stake in AlloVir adds to its long-standing financial backing of the company. Gilead has an existing partnership with Arcus Biosciences and collaborates on cancer immunotherapies and combination therapies. These investments are common in the biotech industry, with other companies like Amgen also making strategic investments. 5 stocks we like better than Gilead Sciences In recent Securities & Exchange Commission filings, Gilead Sciences Inc. NASDAQ: GILD revealed that it had purchased significant stakes in AlloVir Inc. NASDAQ: ALVR and Arcus Biosciences Inc. NYSE: RCUS. When you think of shareholders snapping up ownership in a particular stock, you probably think of hedge funds, university endowments, insurance companies, mutual funds, or even yourself, via your brokerage or retirement accounts. However, it’s not unusual for big businesses like S&P 500 component Gilead to be significant shareholders in other companies. They typically have strategic reasons for accumulating shares in other companies, which makes those purchases worth watching. On June 27, Gilead purchased 2,930,870 shares of AlloVir for $3.75 apiece. On June 21, AlloVir announced the pricing of 20 million shares at $3.75, so it’s likely the Gilead purchase was part of that block. AlloVir Gapped Down On Share Offering AlloVir is an extremely volatile stock, but that’s not unusual for a young biotech. Shares gapped down nearly 36% on June 21 as the company priced the new share offering. That’s a big decrease, but such gaps are not unheard of in a small company whose shares are being diluted. AlloVir develops what it calls “off-the-shelf” virus-specific T-cell therapies. The idea is to harness the immune system's power to fend off viral diseases. In the context of AlloVir's T-cell therapies, "off the shelf" refers to the use of pre-manufactured and readily available treatments that can be used without the need for personalized customization or genetic modifications for each individual patient. AlloVir went public in 2020, and has yet to book any revenue, which is not uncommon for early-state biotechs still developing treatments in their pipeline before commercialization. There’s a connection between Gilead and AlloVir: The latter’s CEO, Diana Brianard, worked at Gilead for a decade, heading up the virology therapeutic area. Gilead Has History Of Backing AlloVir Gilead has long been a financial backer of AlloVir, helping to finance the startup’s development of treatments in the pipeline. The most recent round of share purchases simply added to Gilead’s stake in the company. On June 28, Gilead purchased 1,010,000 shares of Arcus Biosciences for $19.26 each. Arcus shares spiked 4.36% on June 28. Arcus Biosciences develops cancer immunotherapies to enhance the body's immune response against cancer, utilizing a diverse pipeline of treatments. Arcus went public in 2018, and has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion. It’s not profitable. It generates a small amount of revenue primarily through upfront and milestone payments, research and development support, and clinical materials reimbursement from strategic partners Gilead and Japan-based Taiho Pharma. Development & Commercialization Partnership Arcus has an existing partnership with Gilead, which specializes in the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics in areas such as HIV, viral hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. It also has treatments for fungal and cardiovascular diseases. Arcus' partnership with Gilead involves collaboration to discover and develop cancer immunotherapies and combination therapies, which are multiple treatments used together. Companies buy shares of other companies for various reasons, often with the aim of achieving strategic objectives and maximizing shareholder value. A company can achieve those objectives by expanding into new markets or industries, diversifying its business portfolio, acquiring valuable assets or technology, entering into strategic partnerships, or enhancing product offerings, among other reasons. In the world of biotech, it’s pretty clear why a big company like Gilead would invest in smaller companies like AlloVir and Arcus. The intellectual property portfolios at those companies can be marketed by Gilead, either through a licensing agreement, partnership or outright acquisition. Amgen's Investment Portfolio These investments aren’t uncommon in the biotech world. For example, Amgen Inc. NASDAQ: AMGN owns shares of BeiGene Ltd. NASDAQ: BGNE, Vigil Neuroscience Inc. NASDAQ: VGIL, Frazier Lifesciences Acquisition Corp. OTCMKTS: FLACU, and Jasper Therapeutics Inc. NASDAQ: JSPR. Amgen is a significant owner of BeiGene, with a 19.61% stake. It owns 8.98% of Vigil, 5.98% of Frazier Lifesciences and less than 1% of Jasper. Amgen has a deal with BeiGene to commercialize cancer treatments in China. BeiGene is a biotech focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs. The company also has deals with Novartis AG NYSE: NVS and Bristol-Myers Squibb NYSE: BMY. Before you consider Gilead Sciences, 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 Gilead Sciences wasn't on the list. While Gilead Sciences currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
The Guardian view on public sector pay: higher taxes on the rich are needed to fix broke Britannia | Editorial 2023-07-13 - It is unlikely that champagne corks will be popping in government offices, school classrooms and NHS hospitals. But they probably are in the City. While the public sector is offered a below inflation pay hike of 6%, wage growth in finance and business services is running at 9%. The private sector can raise its prices to pay for higher salaries or just to make more money. The public sector cannot. Instead Rishi Sunak argues that the state’s wage bill must be paid for by cuts to the services that workers deliver. Mr Sunak’s decision means that pupils will have fewer books and patients are left sicker because teachers and doctors need extra pay. Rising interest rates mean austerity for public services and pain for mortgage-holders, but they make for good business in the Square Mile as UK gilt yields become more attractive to investors. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” begins Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, a cautionary story about widening divisions in the run up to the French Revolution. Britain is, thankfully, in a far less feverish moment. The economist Olivier Blanchard has noted that inflation is “fundamentally the outcome of the distributional conflict, between firms, workers, and taxpayers”. Some unions have rightly fought and won an acceptable deal. But wider tensions are not being adequately managed to allow for broader, sensible negotiations in which the pain is shared. Instead Mr Sunak, and the Bank of England, tilt the scales in favour of private business interests and a recession by relying solely on interest rates. Ongoing strikes are a symptom of such a strategy. The government’s case is that higher taxes and more borrowing would be ruinous. This idea is unfortunately reinforced by a questionable forecast made by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which predicts the national debt of the UK tripling by 2070. In truth it is the government that decides how far the interest paid on its debt should be determined by demand in the money markets. Mr Sunak believes that demand should be primary and has woven a fiscal straitjacket, through the Treasury’s design of the asset purchase facility and by selling inflation-linked bonds: the more the state struggles, the tighter the binding becomes. Balanced-budget ideas, depressingly, have found supremacy in British politics. Yet few things matter more than life and death. If life expectancy and “healthy life expectancy” – a measure of the years people live in decent health – are more important measures of how a country is doing, the OBR has some sobering news. The UK has the lowest healthy life expectancy at birth of any major developed economy bar the US, and is falling behind Italy, Japan, France and Canada in terms of life expectancy. Whoever wins the next election will have to spend money to repair the damage done by chronic state underfunding by the Conservatives on top of Brexit, the pandemic, and the Ukraine war – as well as rewire the economy to deal with an ageing population and net zero. But without careful design this spending will be inflationary: post-Covid Britain saw how quickly supply disruption translated into rising prices; how labour shortages could send wages shooting up; and how there was little restraint on companies hiking prices. Government expenditure, it seems, can only increase in a non-inflationary way if fiscal space has been created by reducing private disposable income, ideally through higher taxes on the wealthiest.
UK poised to drop plans to replace home gas boilers with hydrogen alternatives 2023-07-13 - Controversial UK government aspirations to replace gas boilers in some homes with a hydrogen-based alternative are likely to be scrapped, Grant Shapps, the energy minister, has indicated. Shapps said he believed hydrogen would form part of Britain’s overall energy mix but predicted it was “less likely” that the gas would be routinely piped into people’s homes, amid growing concerns about cost, safety and perpetuating a reliance on fossil fuels. Trials have been under way as part of a government move to phase out natural gas boilers by 2035 amid a broader effort to decarbonise domestic heating, which accounts for about 17% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. But the plans have in some cases been described as unsafe and have met with opposition in areas that have been earmarked for pilot schemes. Shapps said: “There was a time when people thought … you will have something that just looks like a gas boiler and we will feed hydrogen into it.” He added: “It’s not that we won’t do trials. We will. But I think hydrogen will be used for storing energy. You won’t have to switch off windfarms when you don’t need the power because you can turn it into hydrogen and use it later.” Despite being more combustible and leakier than natural gas, energy firms have insisted that hydrogen can be made safe and have engaged in concerted lobbying of both the government and Labour to convince them of its merits. But the assurances have failed to convince people asked to take part in large-scale trials of the technology. Whitby, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, was to host the first village-wide trial of hydrogen home heating but the government ditched the plan this month in the face of local opposition. Shapps said: “It is fundamentally unpopular in that area and I don’t believe in telling people we will be coming in to rip up out your boiler to replace it with this other thing that you don’t want, when they are other areas of the country that actually do want to go ahead with a trial.” 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 Hydrogen is derived either from splitting fossil fuel gas at extreme temperatures (known as blue hydrogen) or by splitting water using electricity from renewables, with minimal emissions – known as green hydrogen. Critics argue that creating green hydrogen for home heating is six times less energy efficient than using heat pumps powered by electricity, and say that switching from gas boilers to heat pumps could save money as well as cut emissions. Shapps also cited logistical concerns, such as the need to replace piping and the length of time it would take produce large volumes of low-emission green hydrogen. Energy analysts have also warned that hydrogen could be up to 70% more expensive than gas for homeowners who make the switch.
A crash is unlikely, but the fall in UK home prices has a long way to go | Nils Pratley 2023-07-13 - Inquiries by would-be buyers of homes hit an eight-month low last month, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which talked about “a renewed deterioration in UK home sales”. On the same theme, Barratt Developments’ trading update on Thursday related a near-halving in reservations from first-time buyers year on year. And the estate agent Winkworth warned this week on profits because of a slump in activity. In other words, the news from the housing market is exactly as you would expect when buyers are adjusting to the new reality of sharply higher mortgage rates. The big slowdown is on, even if Barratt added that demand among existing homeowners was more resilient. A typical two-year fixed deal has risen to 6.66%, a 15-year high on Moneyfacts data. Here’s the mini-mystery, though: house prices have fallen only about 4% so far, which feels a gentle response to a fundamental shift in what buyers can afford. Why such a small fall? Two big factors make the picture more nuanced than in previous house price downturns. First, we’re not (yet) in recession and, even if we get there, the downturn is not expected to be as deep as the one after the financial crisis in 2007-08 or as prolonged as the early-1990s slump. Both episodes coincided with proper house price falls. Second, sharp rises in unemployment aren’t on the cards this time, according to most forecasts. Instead, we have earnings growth ripping along at 7.3% in the three months to May compared with a year earlier. Thus all the big banks sound relaxed about their default rates and are happy to sing the chancellor’s tune about the need to show forbearance to struggling mortgage-payers. Yet, from a house prices perspective, that backdrop still feels weak when you remember where we came from. We had a decade of rock-bottom interest rates and help-to-buy subsidies and then a whoosh of extra demand with stamp duty holidays during Covid. Even if the rise in mortgage rates had been gentler, the market would still have looked overstretched on important historical yardsticks. At the top, the price of houses expressed as a multiple of average earnings was seven times, higher even than in the heady days of 2007-08. These days, a 10% deposit on a typical first-time buyer home is equal to about 55% of gross annual income, calculated Nationwide last month – down from the all-time highs of 59% of late 2022 but still marginally above 2007-08 levels. In theory, higher interest rates also make it easier to save for a deposit (when the banks get round to passing on the change); in practice, still-surging rents, energy bills and general inflation make the task impossible for most. 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 Thus the only sensible prediction is that the price of houses has further to fall. No, it probably won’t be another era-defining crash, which would require a deeper recession. But the thinktank Capital Economics’ forecast of another 8% decline over the next 12 months, taking the drop from the peak to 12%, sounds entirely plausible. There is a long way to go yet.
Sunak could have made peace with public servants a year ago – he just didn’t want to | Polly Toynbee 2023-07-13 - What has all this been for? The country has been put through seven months of NHS strikes, with the Royal College of Nursing provoked into striking for the first time ever and doctors starting another stretch on Thursday. Schools have closed and children already harmed by the pandemic have been made to suffer, the inevitable effect shown in this week’s Sats results. Rail workers have been striking on and off for over a year, just as people should be encouraged back on to trains. Every public service has been disrupted, and all for what? A piffling sum of around £4bn is all it will cost to settle the pay demands of hard-pressed public sector staff at the rates set by the pay review bodies, the head of the IFS, Paul Johnson, tells me. That’s “money down the back of the sofa”, he says. Out of total UK public spending of around £1tn, it’s trivial – equivalent to an accounting or forecasting error. There is no plausible reason why the government put the country through the wringer, why children were harmed or why some patients will have died waiting for treatments, with hundreds of thousands more put at risk. As Sian Elliott, TUC policy officer for public services, tells me, these pay settlements would cost the government even less. Raising pay for millions of public employees means they pay more tax – and since many are very low paid, any extra they earn will reduce their top-up from universal credit (UC). Here’s a disgraceful fact: a huge number of DWP staff are so low paid they claim UC, so while they spend their working lives handing out UC, they also swap places and go round to the other side of the desk as UC claimants. The wonder is not that the public sector finally rose up and went on strike, but that it has been so extraordinarily patient through all the years pay fell: in real terms, senior teachers in England have lost 13%, an average of around £6,600, since 2010; senior police constables have lost 17%; and doctors, nurses, health visitors and prison officers have also lost heavily. Elliott says latest TUC calculations show that public sector workers have lost an average £260 a month in real terms compared with 2010, falling well behind private employees. Nor is raising public pay as inflationary as the Bank of England claims, as public services don’t put up the prices of their products in the same way to cover the cost. How much is £4bn? Johnson says that’s easy to raise several times over from long overdue reforms to council tax and by making tax on unearned income from capital gains match that on PAYE earnings. Read his excellent book Follow the Money for many more such suggestions, in a country under-taxed compared with other western European nations. Johnson’s constant refrain is that everything eventually must be paid for in growth or higher taxes. But Sunak’s slippery talk of “efficiency savings” and “reprioritisation”, while claiming no cuts to frontline services, is what the Tories and their supporters in the press would slam as “magic money tree” talk if it came from Labour. After 13 bitter years of austerity, there are no squads of imaginary “back-office pen-pushers” to be shed in bare-bones public services. Teaching unions are satisfied that their 6.5% will not be stripped out of school or further education budgets. Is it to come from capital, when thousands of schools are crumbling, some with elements at “serious risk of imminent failure”? Where is the fat in the NHS? Sunak dare not admit that the sum is small – and low-paid staff need never have lost earnings to strike for what they deserved. Sunak mentioned only one new source of funds, and it was squalid politics: lifting the price of visas and NHS charges for immigrants by over £1bn. He seeks to placate his ultras, who call for care worker visa cuts as the Commons and Lords ping-pong over the most brutal elements of his new migration bill: it’s cheap, performative politics to deter the migrants whom he knows social care desperately needs. Cheap politics is the cause of all these months of pointless disruption. The Tories gambled that this would be their great culture war win, but as the polling guru John Curtice told the TUC’s staff day last week, they got this “badly wrong”: the public has stayed remarkably staunch in supporting the strikers. Everyone knows someone in the public sector, and nearly everyone feels the pinch themselves. Everyone knows this 6% settlement still leaves public pay lagging behind the 8.7% inflation rate. This is another mighty defeat for the government, on the same day as other bad news: GDP figures showed the economy shrinking again, and the Office for Budget Responsibility issued a grim warning that stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs add billions of pounds to the government’s debt interest. Also on Thursday, the latest NHS waiting list figures showed another leap upwards, to 7.47m. On this day, too, the unions won an important battle, as the high court struck down Sunak’s anti-union law permitting agencies to provide scab workers to cover for strikers: it amounted to making strikes impossible, said the court. We wait to see if all the unions fall in behind the teachers, as Sunak declares this pay offer is final, however long some may stay on strike. But the government’s dithering and U-turning throughout may make that threat look hollow. Labour’s employment policy, with fair pay agreements across every sector, would bring a measure of industrial peace and more voice to the unions. When they are for the first time given freedom to enter any workplace to recruit, the likes of Amazon, where workers have walked out again this week, will find the balance of power shifting between workforce and employer. Sunak’s party flounders yet again, deaf to the mood of the times.
US’s top competition watchdog opens investigation into ChatGPT maker 2023-07-13 - The maker of ChatGPT is under investigation by the main US competition watchdog over whether it has broken consumer protection law by damaging people’s reputations with its responses and misusing personal data. The move against San Francisco-based OpenAI marks the strongest regulatory threat yet to a company that sparked the frenzy in generative artificial intelligence, enthralling consumers and businesses while raising concerns about its potential risks. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent a 20-page demand for records about how OpenAI addresses risks related to its AI models. The agency is investigating whether the company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices that resulted in “reputational harm” to consumers. One question relates to steps OpenAI has taken to address the potential for its products to “generate statements about real individuals that are false, misleading, or disparaging”. In one notorious example, ChatGPT falsely accused a US law professor of sexual harassment, and cited a non-existent Washington Post article in the process. Operating in a way akin to predictive text, chatbots are based on models that predict the likeliest word or sentence to come after the user’s prompt. This can result in factual errors, but the plausible and human-seeming nature of the responses can trick users into thinking a response is 100% correct. The models are trained on vast amounts of data taken from the internet. The FTC has also asked OpenAI to disclose the data it used to train the large language models that underpin products such as ChatGPT, something that OpenAI has declined to do so far. The US comedian Sarah Silverman is among the authors suing OpenAI over claims that ChatGPT’s LLM has been trained on data that includes their work. The FTC has demanded to know whether OpenAI obtained the data from the internet directly – via a process known as “scraping” – or by purchasing it from third parties. It also asks for the names of the websites that data has been taken from, as well as any steps taken to prevent personal information from being included in the training data. The Washington Post was first to report the investigation. The FTC declined comment. OpenAI has also been contacted for comment. Enza Iannopollo, principal analyst at research firm Forrester, said poor governance within AI companies risked becoming a “disaster” for consumers and the businesses themselves, which risk investigations and fines. “As long as large language models (LLMs) remain opaque and rely largely on scraped data for training, the risks of privacy abuses and harm to individuals will continue to grow,” she said. As the race to develop more powerful AI services accelerates, regulatory scrutiny of the technology that could upend the way societies and businesses operate is growing. Global regulators are aiming to apply existing rules covering everything from copyright and data privacy to two key issues: the data fed into models and the content they produce. In the UK, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has convened a global AI safety summit in the autumn, while the domestic competition watchdog is also scrutinising the industry. In the US, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has called for “comprehensive legislation” to advance and ensure safeguards on AI and will hold a series of forums later this year. OpenAI in March also ran into trouble in Italy, where the regulator had ChatGPT taken offline over accusations OpenAI violated the EU’s GDPR – a wide-ranging privacy regime enacted in 2018. ChatGPT was reinstated later after the US company agreed to install age verification features and let European users block their information from being used to train the AI model.
Anchor, first and oldest US craft brewery, to shut down after 127 years 2023-07-13 - After 127 years, Anchor Brewing is no more. The first and oldest craft brewery in the US, which started in San Francisco in 1896, announced on Wednesday that it would end its operations after it struggled financially as a result of a competitive market, inflation and declining sales, particularly after the storied brand’s 2017 acquisition by the Japanese beer distributor, Sapporo. Those factors “left the company with no option but to make this sad decision to cease operations” a company spokesperson, Sam Singer, said in a statement. Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, mourned the loss of the company in an interview with the Guardian. “Anchor was essentially the grandfather of all American craft brewing,” he said. “When I was still a home brewer in the mid-1980s, Anchor Steam was well-loved but their massively hoppy Liberty Ale was a revelation. You know that old saying about a band who only had maybe 50 people at its first show… but every one of those people went and started a band? That was Anchor Brewing Company. And all their people were the best.” Fritz Maytag uses a long-handled ladle to check the Anchor Steam beer in one of the large copper vats of his brewery in San Francisco, on 4 February 1986. Photograph: Jeff Reinking/AP Anchor’s decline represents the wider economic challenges craft beer distributors face in the years since the pandemic when consumer habits have changed and sales have suffered across the industry, leading to smaller breweries being acquired by major beer distributors, to rebrand, or to cease altogether. Sales are down. “The stake through the heart of Anchor was the pandemic,” Singer told the New York Times. He added that 70% of the company’s products had been sold to restaurants and bars, which suffered in the years since the Covid pandemic. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy in the 1960s, with the headlines in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1959 spelling its fate: “Last Steam Beer – An Institution Dies.” It had already survived through San Francisco’s historic earthquake, which destroyed its operations, and the prohibition era. But after Fritz Maytag acquired the brewery in 1965, the storied company ushered in an era of specialty beer popularity, guided by its popular pale ale and its bold Christmas ale. Harry Schuhmacher, publisher of the trade publication Craft Business Daily, told CNN that the end of Anchor represented a “sad day in the history of craft brewing in America”. “I know Fritz must be heartbroken,” Schuhmacher added. “He literally nurtured that brewery from insolvency in the 60s to becoming San Francisco’s hometown beer and symbolic of America’s craft beer resurgence.” During the pandemic, they rebranded and sold its products in grocery stores. But in the last month, the company limited its distribution to California and ceased making its popular Christmas ale after 50 years. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to First Thing Free daily newsletter Start the day with the top stories from the US, plus the day’s must-reads from across the Guardian 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 Anchor ultimately “couldn’t make up for the significant loss of sales”, Singer told the New York Times. “The bottom line is that Anchor ran out of money, and it ran out of time.” The company has given its 61 workers 60 days’ notice and would continue to sell whatever beer remains in its possession through the end of July. Over the years, Sapporo made “repeated efforts” to sell Anchor, without luck. Anchor’s statement left open hope that history would repeat itself, noting it was “possible that a buyer will step forward for the brewery as part of the liquidation process”. “It takes a lot of creativity, nimbleness and no small amount of luck for breweries, even great ones, to survive all storms and remain the choice of the people,” said Oliver. “I hope they climb back somehow.”
Panadol maker plans sweeping job cuts a year after being spun off from GSK 2023-07-13 - The company behind Sensodyne toothpaste, Centrum vitamins and Panadol painkillers plans widespread layoffs in the UK and around the world a year after being spun off from Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker GSK. Haleon, which has 24,000 staff across 170 countries, intends to cut hundreds of roles in the UK and potentially thousands worldwide, the Guardian understands. The cuts will be made across the business. In the UK the firm employs 1,700 people, spread across its global headquarters and its research and development labs in Weybridge in Surrey, and a manufacturing site in Maidenhead. The company is one of the world’s biggest consumer healthcare groups and sells over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and oral care products. Staff were briefed on the redundancies this week in a series of meetings, and a consultation process, which started on Wednesday, will close on 25 August. Some people will be offered other roles in the company. Those who are laid off are expected to leave Haleon from September. The job cuts are part of a broader cost-cutting programme aimed at saving £300m in the next three years. A spokesperson said: “We’ve announced internally a number of changes across our global business this week, as we continue to evolve Haleon into a more agile organisation. As we shared in March, this is part of a broader three-year programme that will help drive increased productivity across the business, ensuring that Haleon continues to deliver for consumers over the long term. “Any decisions that involve colleagues are not taken lightly, and as we enter a process of consultation in relevant markets, we are fully committed to supporting colleagues that may be impacted,” they added. Haleon was listed at 330p when it floated on the London stock market last July, valuing the firm at £31bn. It was the biggest European stock market flotation in a decade. The shares are now changing hands for about 312p, giving it a market value of nearly £29bn. The group was a joint venture between GSK and Pfizer, created in 2018 when both drugmakers merged their consumer healthcare businesses, and includes brands acquired from the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis. It brought together household names such as Pfizer’s painkiller Advil, lip balm Chapstick and Centrum vitamins with GSK’s portfolio including Sensodyne and Aquafresh toothpaste and Voltaren for joint pain relief, acquired from Novartis in 2015. Under pressure from investors to break up GSK, Emma Walmsley, the chief executive, decided in 2018 to spin the consumer business off to focus on developing and producing pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Haleon’s shares fell in early May after Pfizer said it would start offloading its 32% stake in the business, although the US firm has not sold any shares yet. A few days later, GSK sold part of its 12.94% holding, shares worth £823m, reducing its stake to 10.4%. 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 chief executive of Haleon is Brian McNamara, who joined GSK from Novartis in 2015, and its chair is the former Tesco chief executive Sir Dave Lewis. The company made £10.9bn in sales last year, up 13.8% from 2021. In the first three months of this year, sales rose 13.7% to nearly £3bn. Haleon’s main rivals include Kenvue, the consumer health business spun off in May by the US pharmaceuticals firm Johnson & Johnson, which makes Listerine mouthwash and Aveeno skincare products, and Germany’s Bayer’s consumer health division, known for Aspirin and Alka-Seltzer for heartburn and stomach aches. Including £9.9bn of debt, Haleon’s enterprise value is about £39bn. Its performance will be measured against the £50bn offer Unilever made to GSK for the business in January 2022. The drugmaker rejected several offers, claiming they “fundamentally undervalued” the division. That offer assumed £10bn of debt. The name Haleon was created by the merging of “Hale”, an old English word that means “in good health,” and Leon, which is associated with the word “strength”.
Orcas may just be the beginning. Whales and humans are likely to have more strange encounters in the future. 2023-07-13 - Orcas are targeting boats near Spain while gray whales in Baja let humans pet them. A marine ecologist said she expects more interactions like this as the animals recover from whaling. Why the whales interact with humans in these ways it still unknown to scientists. 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 Orcas ramming boats and gray whales letting humans pick whale lice off them have recently made headlines — but these interactions may indicate more of what's to come. "As whale populations recover from whaling and humans venture more into the oceans for various things, including ecotourism, we're going to have more of these interactions between whales and humans that we don't quite understand," Leigh Torres, a marine ecologist and professor at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, told Insider. The population of killer whales near the Iberian Peninsula has especially caused concern. A few years ago they started targeting boats, causing at least three to sink. Since 2020, scientists have documented hundreds of instances of killer whales approaching or striking a boat. While experts doubt the encounters are actually attacks — a more likely explanation is that the orcas are playing — they certainly feel violent to the people on board and pose a risk to both the whales and humans. An ocean away, whales are engaging with humans in a different kind. Gray whales that spend the winters nursing their calves in the warm, shallow waters of the lagoons on the Pacific coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula frequently swim up to the side of boats, even letting humans pet them. "The whale turns on its side, looks you in the eye. It clearly is very curious about people," Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, told Insider. "It isn't people running up to whales, it's whales coming to people." The gray whales befriending boats is especially interesting because just decades ago they were hunted to the brink of extinction in those same lagoons. But after conservation measures made whaling illegal, the North Pacific gray whales have dramatically recovered, allowing for these more friendly, social interactions between whales and humans. And it's not just the gray whales. Commercial whaling in the 18th and 19th centuries put many species at risk of extinction, including fin, humpback, and blue whales. Each of those species has seen varying population increases in recent decades, though it's worth noting some species, including fin, blue, and North Atlantic right whales, are still endangered. Torres said both the gray whales in Baja and the orcas near Spain and Portugal are examples of fascinating behaviors that have popped up recently that scientists don't quite understand, and that she expects more to arise as whales continue their recovery. She also urged caution when it comes to interacting with whales, as humans often tend to see animals through our own bias and may not fully understand what a whale is doing. "We do need to be careful about those interactions," she said. "This is their habitat and we're sort of visiting, so we need to give them the space that they need to do what they need to do."
Tello Mobile review: The low-cost carrier for those who don't use much data, with plans starting at just $5 per month 2023-07-13 - When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. With unlimited data options, free hotspot tethering, and prices as low as $5 per month, Tello Mobile makes a strong case for those looking for a low-cost cell carrier. They operate using T-Mobile's cell towers, like other mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs) Mint Mobile and Google Fi, but have a different set of plan offerings that are geared towards low data users, students, or simply those looking to save a few extra dollars a month. Tello's plans fill the niche that many big-budget carriers tend to avoid: an essentially pay-what-you-use system meant specifically for people who aren't on their phones much — think grandparents, kids, or anyone who is most often connected to Wi-Fi and doesn't use a lot of data. For these users, Tello provides exactly the right amount of data at the lowest possible rate. Ultimately, you get what you pay for with Tello, as the budget plan comes with barebones benefits — there aren't discounts for multiple lines like you might see on a traditional family plan, for example, and there are no ways to use your phone's data outside of the United States. I tested Tello's coverage, data reliability, and speeds to see how the service fared in a typical week in New York City, considering the pros and cons of Tello's various plans so you can judge for yourself whether Tello will work for you. Tello Mobile Phone Plans Tello's customizable budget phone plans can cost as little as $5 per month, and are ideal for low monthly data users. What works Plans as cheap as $5 per month with data flexibility Free international calls to 60+ countries Mobile hotspot tethering at no additional charge What needs work Not ideal for high data users No discounts for multiple lines No international roaming options Plan offerings and flexibility Tello's strength lies in its wide selection of plan options, including a range of pre-designed plans as well as the opportunity to create your own customized plan. Each of the plans has a designated allotment of data per month before your data speeds will be throttled to 2G from 4G LTE/5G, and any additional data you use that month will be free of charge. Even the "unlimited" data plan has this threshold, with data speeds slowing to 2G after you use 25GB of high-speed data. All of Tello's plans include unlimited texts, and you can choose an unlimited minutes option for calls or add prepaid minutes or data to your account using Tello's Pay As You Go credit. The Pay As You Go minutes are a good option if you have a minutes-only plan and want the option of data usage if you need it, and your credits will last 90 days. Here are the specifics of each Tello premade plan: Plan Data (per month) Talk & Text Price (per month) Economy 1GB Unlimited $10 Value 2GB Unlimited $14 Smart 5GB Unlimited $19 Data Unlimited* Unlimited $29 Build Your Own No data**, 500MB, 1GB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, or Unlimited* Unlimited text, varied minutes options (no minutes or the choice of 100, 300, 500, or unlimited minutes) Varied (ranging from $5 to $29) *The "Unlimited" data allotment isn't truly unlimited — after you use 25GB of 4G LTE/5G high-speed data, your data speeds will slow to 2G. **You can't combine the "No data" option with a "No minutes" option in a Build Your Own plan; you'll have to couple "No data" with at least 100 minutes. All of Tello's plans have a data cap, which when met reduces users' data speeds to 2G rather than the faster 4G LTE or 5G, but any 2G data used after that cap is free, so you won't be left without means. You likely won't be able to stream video or perform other high-data functions easily at that point, but if you regularly watch video over data, Tello likely isn't meant for you regardless. There are also a few pre-made plans directed specifically at families who are looking to customize individual lines on their plan. While there are no discounts for adding multiple lines to an existing plan, each line can be given its own data and minutes allotment. These are essentially specific arrangements of the Build Your Own plan, and are designated as "For Grandparents," "For Teens," "For Students," and "For Parents." It's also important to note that each line will have its own billing cycle, and each will be billed separately on the day the plan was activated rather than on a single billing date for the entire account. The prices with Tello's plans are impressive — costing as low as $5 per month — but the accompanying data and minutes can be difficult for some users, even with unlimited texts. If you want the lowest possible price with the Build Your Own plan, you'll have to choose between minimum data (and zero minutes) and minimum minutes (with zero data). If you're a frequent social media user, tend to browse off of Wi-Fi, or use health apps that often require data to operate, you'll likely use the low data cap quickly and be stuck with 2G speeds for the rest of the month. If you don't use your phone much or are always connected to Wi-Fi, however, you could make some serious savings. Coverage area Since Tello operates on T-Mobile's network, you can expect the coverage area to be the same — if T-Mobile works well in your area, it's likely Tello will too. There are some areas in the western United States that have less consistent coverage, so if you live in a more rural area out west you might have spottier coverage. My testing area in New York City had consistently good coverage through the service, and in general major urban centers are well-covered by T-Mobile (and by extension its various MVNOs, Tello included). You can check your coverage area by entering your address or viewing the coverage map on the coverage page of Tello's website. Tello's coverage is provided by T-Mobile, so if T-Mobile covers your area, you should have reliable coverage with Tello. Tello The downside to this is that with more users comes more network traffic, and T-Mobile prioritizes their top-paying customers over the lower-budget carriers that use their network like Tello, Google Fi, and Mint Mobile. In those high-traffic instances, Tello users will experience slower data speeds until congestion decreases, and thus may be more likely to encounter a 2G connection rather than a faster 4G LTE or 5G one — even if their high-speed data allotment is not yet used up. Service reliability and speeds While Tello's access to T-Mobile's expansive network means that customers will likely be covered throughout much of the US, your data speeds may vary depending on your location. In my own experience I had no issues sending and receiving texts, making audio and video calls, and using social media apps while connected via 4G LTE or 5G through Tello, which is a good sign for an MVNO operating in a major metropolitan area like New York. I noted that the audio quality of phone and video calls wasn't the best and would cut out occasionally, both on standard phone calls as well as Wi-Fi calls. However, I had no undelivered texts and no dropped calls, even when I only had a few bars of service to work with. During my week of testing I used Tello's "Data" plan, which is their option for an unlimited data and minutes plan. I only used about 2GB of data throughout the week, and that is far less than the plan's 25GB data cap (after which my data speeds would have slowed to 2G rather than 4G LTE or 5G). Even calculating a month's usage would put me under the data cap. Granted, I'm connected via Wi-Fi the vast majority of the time (either in the office, my home, or a cafe, all places I'm likely to be found working most days), and if I'd relied solely on hotspot data my usage would have skyrocketed. With that in mind, Tello customers can use their mobile device as a hotspot with no additional charge, a perk that many carriers will charge extra for. That said, your hotspot usage will come out of your monthly pool of data, and once you use 5GB of data through a hotspot your hotspot speeds will slow. While connected to my Tello hotspot I was able to browse online and watch YouTube videos with ease, but I found that it struggled to stream 4K video on Netflix, for instance. This wasn't necessarily a surprise to me, as I was using a hotspot rather than a stable Wi-Fi connection. If you rely on hotspots in your preferred places of work outside the home and office or if you stream video frequently over data, your data allowance will be spent quickly. If you only use a hotspot every once in a while, however, this perk is definitely not to be overlooked. Tello users can make calls using a Wi-Fi connection via the My Tello app. Eve Montie/Insider Tello also supports Wi-Fi calling through the My Tello app, which you might skim over as a prospective user at first but can be a key feature for some — Tello doesn't offer international roaming options, so you'd be stuck as a Tello user abroad without Wi-Fi calling. It's not ideal, but in a pinch it works. Within the US, though, you'll be covered as long as T-Mobile has coverage in your area. If T-Mobile is spotty for you, your data and loading speeds will likely fluctuate much more — so you might consider another budget carrier like Visible Wireless, which uses Verizon's network and may provide more coverage where you need it. Customer support With Tello, your initial setup will be minimal — you'll receive a SIM card in the mail, and that's just about it. The QR code on the card containing the SIM directs you to download the My Tello app, which provides a little bit more setup information and a basic walkthrough of the app's functions, then you're set to begin your wireless service. Since Tello is an online-only company, there are customer support channels available through the app and by phone only (with no option to visit a brick and mortar store for assistance), but the 24/7 chat feature is responsive and can answer most of the basic questions you might have on setup. After choosing your Tello plan, you'll receive a SIM card in the mail with basic instructions on how to set up your new plan. Eve Montie/Insider You can also use the app to make calls over a Wi-Fi connection, connect with the shop to purchase a new phone, or manage your plan preferences. The shop notably only provides phones that are mostly older or refurbished, which reflects Tello's baseline principle of affordability and accessibility for its customer base. If you have a newer phone it will most likely be compatible with Tello, but you should double-check its compatibility on Tello's website using your phone's IMEI number. Should you sign up for Tello Mobile? Tello's low-cost, low-data plans aren't for everyone, but for the right person they could be a huge money saver. As a prospective buyer, you don't choose Tello for its benefits, data, or even coverage, as it's outperformed by other MVNOs like Mint Mobile and Visible Wireless on all those counts. Instead, you choose it to save money. I was overall surprised by how well Tello served me during my testing, especially as someone who tends to use more data while out in New York. I expected to hit data deprioritization quickly by using video calls and using social media, and I figured a service that costs as little as Tello's can't be all that effective. In reality, I was able to survive perfectly well with Tello, though using the service gave me pause in moments when I might usually reach for my phone. Lower data limits can be cumbersome, but there's undoubtedly some benefit to being able to disconnect from your device and be more present in the moment — even if it's simply so that you don't meet your data cap. And texts and calls work perfectly well over T-Mobile's network, so the basics are covered in a pinch even if you do hit your data max. The plans can be as cheap as $5 per month, and even the highest-cost plan is just $29 per month. The latter isn't necessarily the best deal for "unlimited" data, as your high-speed allotment is capped at 25GB (rather than the 30+GB offered by other MVNOs), but Tello's Build Your Own plan is a steal for users who don't use a lot of data each month and don't want to pay for anything more than they use. Tello's Economy and Value plans are both less than $15 per month, and while their data allowances are 1GB and 2GB respectively, both include unlimited talk and text. For many users, that data will run out quickly — but if you're someone who's most often connected via Wi-Fi, if you don't use your phone much at all, if you're traveling to the US and need a phone for the duration of your stay, or if you're a student who's paying for their own phone plan for the first time, these plans could be a perfect fit. Ultimately, Tello is a carrier for limited-data users. Data hogs, video streamers, and those traveling internationally from the US need not apply. FAQs Who owns Tello Mobile? Tello is owned by the global telecommunications company KeepCalling. What network does Tello Mobile use? Tello operates using T-Mobile's cellular network. This means that the coverage provided by Tello is virtually the same as that provided by T-Mobile, though T-Mobile users will be prioritized in terms of data speed over Tello users. Deprioritization will occur with any MVNO, as it's part of the deal with using a larger carrier's cell towers while keeping prices low for customers.
US officials almost altered plans for Ukraine's NATO membership timeline after Zelenskyy's fiery tweet: report 2023-07-13 - US officials almost edited NATO's invitiation for Ukraine after Zelenskyy's fiery tweet. The Washington Post reported that the tweet left the White House and US NATO delegation "furious." Zelenskyy called the invitation "unprecedented and absurd," but his tone changed during the summit. 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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's fiery tweet slamming NATO for their "unprecedented and absurd" timeline for Ukraine's membership left allies stunned — and almost pushed US officials to edit their invitation for Kyiv to eventually join the alliance, The Washington Post reported. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy posted a lengthy, frustrated tweet before his arrival to the NATO summit in Lithuania. He expressed frustrations at NATO's proposed timeline for Ukraine's membership — which, given the final copy of the summit's communiqué, isn't really a timeline at all. "It's unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. While at the same time vague wording about 'conditions' is added even for inviting Ukraine," Zelenskyy tweeted. "It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance," he added. "This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror." Zelenskyy's tweet was likely in response to NATO foregoing a roadmap or timetable for Kyiv to gain membership. Instead, Ukraine is at the mercy of "when allies agree and conditions are met," meaning when its war with Russia ends. The tweet's a scathing callout, and according to the Post, left the US delegation "furious." Prior to Kyiv arriving, there were informal discussions on how best to respond, leading to US officials suggesting they revisit or remove any mention of Ukraine's invitation to membership at all. Ultimately, the language remained in the communiqué, and Zelenskyy's tone noticeably softened during the remainder of the summit as NATO leaders announced a major package of military support for Kyiv. Zelenskyy has repeatedly pushed for Ukraine to join NATO as soon as possible and has worked with allies to procure Western weapons and assets for Ukraine. The summit's kick-the-can approach extends Ukraine's long limbo towards NATO inclusion. In 2008, NATO pledged that Ukraine "will become" a member of the world's foremost alliance, in part due to the advocacy of US President George W. Bush. But the communique left unaddressed any timetable for formal consideration, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisors saw Ukraine slipping from their control. Six years later, Russia would seize the Crimea peninsula by force and back separatist fighters in Ukraine's east.
Mitch McConnell says Congress can't pass an NIL bill unless universities get their act together 2023-07-13 - Mitch McConnell urged a majority of universities to get behind a single name, image, and likeness (NIL) bill. Otherwise, the Senate Minority Leader said it will be difficult for Congress to pass anything. NIL has upended college athletics as states jockey to pass the most expansive law. 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 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday expressed frustration that universities still haven't figured out a name, image, and likeness proposal they can support that would allow Congress to end the "patchwork" of state laws that have upended college athletics. "It's a pretty big mess right now," McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "We have a patchwork of state laws across the country that have done different things. They probably do need a federal solution." McConnell, who previously called for a federal solution, said the biggest problem is that universities can't seem to get on the same page of what they want. His observation isn't surprising as some universities, governors, and lawmakers see a benefit in allowing each state to determine its own NIL standards. Having a more expansive state law is now an asset akin to a new practice facility or a massive weight room. "I think the colleges would like us to step in," the Senate's top Republican said. "The problem is if they don't come behind a particular proposal, we'll screw it up going through the legislative process. What I've said to them repeatedly is before we can act, we have to know what you want." In the interim, the NCAA has mostly allowed states to proceed on their own. College athletics' governing body has taken a backseat in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark unanimous ruling in 2021 that opened the door for athlete compensation. For years, the NCAA had argued that any whiff of compensation would tarnish the amateur nature of college sports. The ruling further undermined the NCAA's authority to restrict the benefits athletes can receive. In the wake of the decision, the NCAA voted to allow athletes to get paid through NIL. The floodgates were open. Per one tracker, 32 states have passed some version of name, image, and likeness laws. Some states allow for NIL benefits for high-school athletes. Missouri's newly passed NIL law is regarded as one of the most expansive in the country, explicitly allowing coaches and school officials to talk about NIL with potential recruits. The state even went so far as to write into the law a provision that seeks to bar the NCAA from ever investigating potential NIL improprieties. Multiple bills introduced in Congress, but none have come anywhere near close to becoming law. NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts, has pressed lawmakers to pass something. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, has discussed the issue with both his colleagues and his former coaching colleagues. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who is close friends with Alabama coach Nick Saban, is also looking into the matter. With more pressing business, lawmakers have encountered skepticism about whether Congress should devote time to the matter. Not everyone is happy with NIL either. Look no further than McConnell's fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Rand Paul. Paul went off on the fallout from the Supreme Court's decision during an unrelated hearing about the PGA's proposed merger with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. "Now everybody that plays basketball in college is gonna be driving a Bentley or a Rolls," Paul said. "I mean, we're gonna be seeing rap stars instead of basketball stars."
Samsung Galaxy Watch4 review: The best budget smartwatch for Android users 2023-07-13 - When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Samsung's Galaxy Watch series were always among the best Android smartwatches users could buy. They consistently offer a premium experience while maintaining a robust set of health and fitness features. But Android users still didn't have something that could quite compare to the Apple Watch's finesse and polish. But that was before the Galaxy Watch4 existed, a wearable Samsung pushed to another level via two key upgrades: more apps via the Samsung-designed version of Google's Wear OS and an enticing price. Starting at $250 for the smaller 40mm model, and $330 for the larger 44mm model, the Galaxy Watch4 poses some of the best value for a smartwatch considering how much it offers. Samsung also differentiates its smartwatches with advanced health tracking features, like the new Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) that measures body composition like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage. While this is a nice addition, some of the features don't always work as intended and you may be better with one of the best fitness trackers to fill this gap instead. Galaxy Watch4 specs Display: 40mm (396 x 396) and 44mm (450 x 450) 40mm (396 x 396) and 44mm (450 x 450) Battery: 247mAh (40mm) and 361mAh (44mm) 247mAh (40mm) and 361mAh (44mm) Processor: 1.18GHz, dual-core, Exynos W920 1.18GHz, dual-core, Exynos W920 Operating system: Google Wear OS powered by Samsung Google Wear OS powered by Samsung Memory and storage: 1.5GB RAM and 16GB storage 1.5GB RAM and 16GB storage Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU, Galileo, LTE (optional) WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU, Galileo, LTE (optional) Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Electrical Heart Sensor (ECG), Optical Heart Rate Sensor (HRM), Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, Light Sensor Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Electrical Heart Sensor (ECG), Optical Heart Rate Sensor (HRM), Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, Light Sensor Water resistance: IP68 + 5ATM Design and comfort Regardless of what color you choose for the aluminum frame, the Galaxy Watch4 series has a safe, generic round design that lets your watch face make the statement rather than the aesthetics of the overall watch. There are tons of options for watch faces and different watch hands, but one thing that bothers me is the limited color options for the faces and hands. I would have loved a green color option for the watch face below, for example, but it's not available for some reason. The Galaxy Watch 4 has standard and classic versions that vary in thickness and strap design. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The Galaxy Watch4 is the thinnest and lightest smartwatch of Samsung's recent smartwatches, and it's a comfortable watch for it. The Galaxy Watch4 Classic is a little thicker, thanks to its rotating bezel. The included silicone straps are also comfortable, but they're pretty stiff — the strap sticks out quite a bit where they connect to the watch itself. Specifically for the Galaxy Watch4 Classic's included strap, the loops that keep the excess strap from flailing around are ineffective. That's a shame, and I'd feel the need to buy another strap had I bought the Galaxy Watch4 Classic. General usage Telling the time with the Galaxy Watch4 is best with the always-on display The Galaxy Watch4 doesn't reliably show you the time when you do the "raise-your-wrist-to-tell-the-time" gesture, unless you cartoonishly exaggerate the gesture, tap the screen, press a button, or rotate the bezel on the Classic version. The easy solution is using the always-on display mode, which reduces battery life, but the watch still lasts a full day with ease. Notifications are helpful on the Galaxy Watch4 Smartwatches are great for checking notifications without having to look at your phone, as well as receiving messages and making calls from the watch. When the Galaxy Watch4 is connected to your phone via Bluetooth, all this works just fine. When you're beyond your phone's Bluetooth connection, however, the Galaxy Watch connects to your WiFi network (or LTE if you opt for that option. Almost everything still works fine when the watch is connected to a WiFi network, except for phone calls, which is a shame to find. In fact, I wouldn't even get a notification for a phone call when I was outside of Bluetooth range from my phone, but text and messaging notifications came through. There's also the occasional time when the Galaxy Watch4 struggles to find my WiFi network or stay connected to WiFi when I move around different parts of the house with a mesh WiFi system. Google's Wear OS operating system, brought to you by Samsung One of the biggest upgrades to come to the Galaxy Watch4 series is the adoption of Google's Wear OS smartwatch operating system instead of Samsung's Tizen smartwatch (OS). That may cause concern for anyone familiar with Google's neglected and poor Wear OS, but with Samsung's help, it's actually pretty great on the Galaxy Watch4 series. It looks and feels like Samsung's excellent Tizen OS, but Google's Wear OS means the Galaxy Watch4 is compatible with significantly more apps from Google's Play Store. Health and fitness General fitness tracking with the Galaxy Watch4 works well The Galaxy Watch4 has an array of health and fitness tracking features you'd expect from a premium smartwatch, including workout tracking, heart rate monitoring, blood pressure measuring, an ECG feature, sleep tracking, blood oxygen measuring, and stress tracking. The Galaxy Watch 4 is always ready to record a workout session, which can cause some issues. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The basic workout and fitness tracking stuff work great, but it can be a little over-eager to automatically record a workout. For example, the Galaxy Watch4 thinks I'm working out while I'm taking a shower. Perhaps I shower more aggressively than the average person? Either way, it's annoying to delete my erroneous shower workout day after day to avoid messing with my actual workout tracking. Sleep tracking with the Galaxy Watch4 For sleep tracking, it's impossible to tell if the Galaxy Watch4 is properly measuring my REM, light, deep sleep, and wakefulness without comparing its readings to a medical sleep test. Still, I can tell when I've been awake, as I'm waking up a couple of times a night to feed my baby, and the Galaxy Watch4 sometimes doesn't register those waking moments well at all. It makes me doubt that the Galaxy Watch4 is properly tracking the other sleep metrics. Sleep tracking on the Galaxy Watch 4 doesn't seem to be very precise, though it does provide a decent summary. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider Still, I guess I get an overall sense of my sleep quality — my sleep score in Samsung Health is consistently a poor 40 out of 100, which isn't surprising on account of my baby. But I don't need a smartwatch or health app to tell me I'm getting lousy sleep these days. ECG on the Galaxy Watch4 can be hit or miss The ECG works well, but it's extremely dependent on having the Galaxy Watch4 properly positioned on your wrist, and there seems to be a very narrow margin for that proper position. I'd easily get inconclusive readings when the watch wasn't well positioned, and I even got a reading saying that I was experiencing atrial fibrillation. Heart rate monitoring on the Galaxy Watch 4, like most smartwatches, is often inaccurate. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider Thankfully, cardiologist and Director of Cardiology for Dallas-based State of the Heart Cardiology, Dr. John Osborne, debunked the reading and said I wasn't experiencing atrial fibrillation. Dr. Osborne attributed the erroneous reading to a confused algorithm caused by external feedback like motion, talking, or even simply breathing. It's not uncommon for smartwatches with ECG features to be "fooled," he elaborated. Here's what a normal ECG reading should look like: The sensors require precise positioning, which isn't ideal for daily activity or excessive movement. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider Measuring your body with the Galaxy Watch4 is an awkward experience The big new piece of health-tracking tech in the Galaxy Watch4 is the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) feature that measures body composition, like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage. The fancy new body measurement feature with the BIA sensors seems fairly accurate. Every reading I took showed slightly different numbers, but they were largely pretty consistent, and that's fine to give you a general idea of your body metrics. With that said, taking a measurement was often a frustrating experience. Like the ECG feature, the BIA seems incredibly sensitive to where the watch is on your wrist to take a reading. Also, placing your middle and ring fingers on the two buttons on the side of the watch to take a body measurement is incredibly awkward. The device's metrics, though no replacement for a doctor, can give you a sense of your body composition. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The overall takeaway here is that sleep tracking, the ECG, and BIA features are just meant to give you a general idea, and they don't replace a doctor or real medical measuring devices. Battery life The Galaxy Watch4 has a solid day-and-a-half-long battery life with the always-on display mode enabled and with general use (without workout tracking). Enabling bedtime mode when I went to sleep, which turns off the display and puts the watch into "do not disturb" mode, helped with getting that extra few hours into the next day. Even with a good workout, the Galaxy Watch4 will comfortably last a day until you lay it down to charge overnight. Longer workouts, especially those that use GPS like a marathon or a 100-mile bike ride, will likely considerably run down the battery. The Galaxy Watch4's battery life shouldn't be rated with the always-on display mode disabled, as it's such an important feature to keep on for the basic function of telling the time. You can help extend battery life into the second day by enabling bedtime mode when you go to sleep, which turns off the screen and notifications. Overall, the watch is a solid choice for Android users. Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider Should you buy it? The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is the closest option Android users have to the premium Apple Watch experience and is the obvious choice for those looking for a comprehensive and quality smartwatch. Although Samsung now has the Galaxy Watch5 Pro (our pick as the best Android smartwatch), the Watch4 remains a quality budget smartwatch for Android users. However, it's a shame the ECG feature is limited to Samsung phone owners. If you do want a smartwatch or fitness tracker that works with most phones, you may want to consider a Garmin instead. The Galaxy Watch4, starting at $220, is also very well priced, especially for such a premium and feature-packed watch.
'Ghost' menu massacre: Virtual brands face a reckoning as Uber Eats slashes 8,000 from its app 2023-07-13 - Uber Eats has cut 8,000 virtual brands from its app. Some were offering duplicate menus from restaurants at the same address. The crackdown comes a year after DoorDash began investigating delivery-only brands on its app. 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 March, Uber Eats began weeding out delivery-only brands clogging its app. About 8,000 brands were wiped — 3,000 more than Uber Eats anticipated when it rolled out the new rules, which were designed to ensure consumers saw authentic restaurant varieties on the app, the company said. Uber Eats' virtual-brand policies come a year after Insider reported that DoorDash and Grubhub were cracking down on virtual brands. Virtual brands are menus created for delivery only, and their food is typically prepared inside "ghost kitchens" or restaurants looking to boost delivery income by selling another food brand online. These virtual brands grew rapidly earlier in the pandemic. But now delivery apps, and even some consumers, are wising up to virtual brands and the confusion, clutter, and lack of accountability they bring. "We saw many duplications for a virtual restaurant operating out of a brick-and-mortar where the two menus were, if not incredibly similar, exactly the same," John Mullenholz, the head of virtual restaurants and dark kitchens at Uber Eats, told Insider in a recent interview. 'This whole thing is making me revisit our virtual-brand strategy' At the start of the year, Uber Eats had 40,000 virtual brands on its site, up from more than 20,000 in March 2022, the company said. To weed out the doppelgänger online menus, Uber Eats now requires a virtual restaurant's menu to be at least 60% different from the "parent" restaurant where the food is prepared, according to its site. It also must be 60% different from any other virtual restaurant operating from that same physical location, Uber Eats said. DoorDash hasn't announced any widespread virtual-brand elimination, but it requires a virtual brand to have at least 50% differentiation in its main menu from all other DoorDash restaurant menus prepared at that same address. Grubhub requires similar differentiation. DoorDash has been labeling virtual brands on its app for more than two years. Uber Eats' new rules cost Joon Park, a Washington, DC, ghost-kitchen operator, $7,000 a month, he told Insider earlier this month. At the start of the year, Park had 10 Asian-themed virtual brands listed on Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. The delivery-only brands are prepared at his ghost kitchen, &market, a virtual food hall where he operates five brands available for delivery and takeout. He said Uber Eats booted eight of his virtual restaurants from the app during the March purge. Park acknowledged some of his menus were too similar to the menus of his other &market concepts. For example, Uber Eats removed his virtual brand Poke Sushi because its menu was nearly identical to Block Sushi, an &market concept, he said. He said he created the virtual brands to "grab more real estate" on the delivery apps. Park added that he understood the rationale for the changes. "If every restaurant did what we did and basically creates two to three times the number of brands or logos and floods these marketplaces," it negatively affects the experience, Park told Insider, adding: "This whole thing is making me revisit our virtual-brand strategy." MrBeast recently tweeted about the quality of his virtual brand, MrBeast Burger. Dave Kotinsky MrBeast Burger woes Uber Eats wants to improve the quality of virtual brands as well. Its new guidelines require restaurants to have a 4.3-star rating or higher on the app before adding a second online brand to their brick-and-mortar kitchen. "If you're under this number, it feels, essentially, like you don't have the bandwidth to be able to launch a secondary concept," Mullenholz said, adding that Uber Eats had a tool that swept the app to look for "bad actors." Still, some virtual-brand creators have no control over the quality of their products. Take MrBeast Burger. The most popular virtual brand in the space is having some quality-control problems, according to its namesake, MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson. The influencer has tweeted criticism about his burger brand and even said in a now deleted tweet that he was "moving on" from it. "Yeah, the problem with Beast Burger is I can't guarantee the quality of the order. When working with other restaurants, it's impossible to control it, sadly," MrBeast said in a June 16 tweet. The MrBeast Burger brand is licensed by Virtual Dining Concepts, a company that helps run virtual brands. A spokesperson for the firm said: "Brand is completely up and running. Nothing has been changed." Its other celebrity-backed brands include Mariah's Cookies from Mariah Carey. The company said it's a certified virtual-brand partner with Uber Eats. Other virtual-brand companies are feeling the heat. The SoftBank-backed Nextbite, whose virtual brands are inside chains including IHOP, had several rounds of layoffs before selling the company to a rival virtual-brand company, C3. Meredith Sandland, the CEO of the foodtech startup Empower Delivery, said in her podcast, "The Digital Restaurant" that the latest struggles in the space didn't mean virtual brands were done. "Innovation is messy, right? Nobody wakes up one day with a fully formed idea," Sandland, also a coauthor of "Delivering the Digital Restaurant," said. She said virtual brands were still a great way to maximize underused restaurant kitchens. And like restaurants, producing a high-quality menu will be key to their success. "You have to consistently deliver great food to people, or people will stop ordering it," she said. Are you a foodtech insider with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com.
Ukrainian civilians imprisoned by Russia are being treated like livestock and forced to dig mass graves, report says 2023-07-13 - Ukrainian civilians imprisoned by Russia are being forced to dig mass graves, the AP reported. They're also being forced into livestock trailers in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia, per AP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just slammed NATO for not allowing it into the alliance, saying that "for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror." 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 Ukrainian civilians who are being held prisoner in Russian-occupied territories are being forced to dig mass graves for their fellow prisoners, The Associated Press reported. In the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which is located on the frontlines of Russia's military invasion, Ukrainian civilians are also forced to share one toilet and were forced into a livestock trailer while being held at gunpoint, the report said. It went on to say that in one instance, a civilian who refused to dig trenches and graves on Russian officials' orders was immediately shot and that his body was placed in one of the graves. The AP reported that as Russia continues its offensive against Ukraine, it's planning to hold possibly thousands more Ukrainians as prisoners across occupied Ukrainian territories and wants to build as many as 25 additional prisoner colonies by 2026. The news comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes an aggressive push for Ukraine to be admitted to NATO. "It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance," he tweeted. "This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia," Zelenskyy continued. "And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror. Uncertainty is weakness. And I will openly discuss this at the summit." Since the early months after the Russian invasion last February, Ukrainians have reported missing family members. United Nations human rights workers shared in a May 2022 report that there were more than 200 cases of "enforced disappearance" mostly by Russian armed forces. The Ukrainian government now believes Russia has detained a total of about 10,000 civilians, Oleksandr Kononeko, a prisoner exchange negotiator, told AP. The prisoners are scattered throughout Russia and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, according to the report. Conditions inside the facilities are squalid and torture, including electric shocking and beatings, is a regular practice. Olena Yahupova, a 50-year-old civilian told the AP that she was detained in October in the Zaporizhzhia region where she was forced to dig trenches for Russian soldiers until March. She also was beaten and forced to provide statements to a Russian news outlet to show that Moscow was releasing Ukrainian civilians, AP reported. "It's a business of human trafficking," Yahupova told AP. "If we don't talk about it and keep silent, then tomorrow anyone can be there — my neighbor, acquaintance, child." This story is developing. Check back for updates.