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Will China's Interest Rate Cuts Ignite a Rally for This Stock? 2024-07-24 13:34:00+00:00 - The answer is that nobody knows. If anyone had a way of timing a new market rotation or rally, there would be a lot more billionaires around. That being said, investors can follow a relatively simple blueprint to position themselves and wait for the potential moves that certain events tend to cause. In the case of China’s stock market, many indicators are showing that a rally could be in the cards for those who are willing to go into that market, such as Ray Dalio, by allocating into the iShares MSCI China ETF NASDAQ: MCHI as his own bet on a Chinese economic expansion to bring higher stock prices. As Michael Burry did, investors can also take the individual stock route rather than an ETF. The same investor who correctly called the 2008 financial crisis had just as much conviction when looking over the potential opportunities in China’s stock market. But, rather than diversifying like Dalio, Burry decided to make Alibaba Group NYSE: BABA as well as JD.com Inc. NASDAQ: JD his two largest positions today, and rarely does this fund manager place so much weight into a single country, let alone a single sector like the technology names. Get Amazon.com alerts: Sign Up Why Alibaba Has Become a Top Chinese Pick for Investors Alibaba Group Today BABA Alibaba Group $75.80 -0.30 (-0.39%) 52-Week Range $66.63 ▼ $102.50 Dividend Yield 1.29% P/E Ratio 17.67 Price Target $108.79 Add to Watchlist When investors think of E-Commerce, they typically think of Amazon.com Inc. NASDAQ: AMZN in a vacuum. While they might be right in their thinking, as this household name has taken the throne as one of the most entrenched operators in the space and one of the largest companies in the world, there’s more to the story. On a gross merchandise value (GMV) basis, Alibaba sells more than its American counterpart, reaching $1.2 trillion, while Amazon sells less than half at $575 billion. The difference is in revenues, as Amazon generates more revenue from this merchandise than Alibaba, which could be undercutting strategies to take on market share. Alibaba Group MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.88 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 43.5% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength Moderate Sustainability N/A News Sentiment 0.62 Insider Trading N/A Projected Earnings Growth 11.35% See Full Details In other segments, such as the cloud business known as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alibaba has a bigger reach. It taps into the fastest-growing middle-class populations in the world, who are now going online at a faster rate. Michael Burry may have spotted, apart from these potential tailwinds, the potential effects that these new stimulus measures may have on the company. Triggering more domestic and international demand will likely have a trickle-down effect (benefit) on Alibaba’s financials. This could be why analysts at Citigroup still see a price target of $122 a share for Alibaba stock, daring it to rally by 60.4% from where it trades today. More than that, Alibaba stock’s short interest has declined by 1.9% in the past month, opening the way for more bullish capital to enter the stock. China's Economic Stimulus and Interest Rate Cuts: What's Next for Investors? Because the iShares China ETF has some of China's blue-chip stocks among its top holdings, investors should consider what this move may mean for those with a more significant risk appetite. The ETF's top holding is Tencent Holdings OTCMKTS: TCEHY, followed by Alibaba in second place and PDD Holdings Inc. NASDAQ: PDD in third. Interestingly, the concentration is all in the technology and consumer discretionary spaces, disproving the dominant belief that China is primarily a manufacturing nation. Because these companies are highly dependent on the national – and international–consumer cycle, Dalio chose this as his Chinese bet. The Chinese government has recently added the newest round of economic stimulus, this time by lowering several interest rate benchmarks that would, in turn, help lower rates on other consumer instruments like credit cards and mortgages. This is what Dalio may have predicted, and therefore, his bet in the concentrated ETF. But there's more to it. The Chinese ten-year treasury bond now pays investors a 2.24% yield, significantly below the Hang Seng Index's 5.3% dividend yield. Whenever stocks pay a higher yield than bonds, it typically triggers a mass of stock buyers. Not this time, though, as the obstacle is made up of those fearful of investing in Chinese names. That could be the gap Michael Burry is trying to exploit today. Over the past 12 months, this is what happened. Up to $5.7 billion in institutional capital was invested into Alibaba stock. Will the rate cuts make the stock rally? Will the inverted stock versus bond yields get it done? No one knows, but Burry and Dalio are willing to find out. Before you consider Amazon.com, 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 Amazon.com wasn't on the list. While Amazon.com currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Steel Leader's Stock Being Dragged Down By Falling Prices 2024-07-24 11:24:00+00:00 - Nucor Today NUE Nucor $154.79 -6.76 (-4.18%) 52-Week Range $140.07 ▼ $203.00 Dividend Yield 1.40% P/E Ratio 9.11 Price Target $191.29 Add to Watchlist Nucor NYSE: NUE is a basic materials firm that manufactures steel and steel products. It is the 14th largest firm in the metals and mining industry. Nucor is underperforming its industry so far this year, with a total return of -6.1%. The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF NYSEARCA: XME has provided a total return of 3.6%. Nucor released Q2 2024 earnings on July 22, 2024. Let's review the firm's operations to provide context for the earnings release. We'll then discuss Nucor's financial results and provide some outlook, as well as what Wall Street analysts expect. Get XME alerts: Sign Up Nucor: Steel Leader with Competitive Advantages Nucor has three reportable segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The steel mills segment is the largest, representing 58% of revenue in 2023. This segment produces steel in various structures, including sheets, plates, beams, and bars. Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) transform scrap steel, the primary input in this process, into other products. Outside customers get 80% of the shipments in the steel mills segment. The company's steel products segment gets the remaining 20%. The steel products segment sells various steel products to non-residential construction and infrastructure markets. It also has some residential business through the sale of garage doors. The company has subsidiaries that lead in open-web steel joists and cold-finished bar products in the United States. In the raw materials segment, Nucor controls subsidiaries that operate scrap metal recycling and brokerage businesses. One advantage Nucor has in the global steel market is that it produces steel using scrap metal and EAFs. This is in opposition to the use of traditional blast furnaces in which iron ore is the main input. EAFs account for 30% of global production, compared to 70% for blast furnaces. But, in the U.S., the ratio is reversed. In EAF production, scaling production up and down is easier compared to blast furnaces, which require production to remain relatively stable to maintain profitability. This gives the firm an advantage in its cost structure, with 85% of costs being variable, according to Fitch Ratings. The firm also benefits from government policies trying to keep foreign companies out of the U.S. steel market. The U.S. government has proposed tripling the 7.5% average tariff on Chinese steel imports. To get around these tariffs, Chinese companies have been shipping steel to Mexico first. In response, the administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel arriving from Mexico. However, analysts have noted that this really doesn’t impact the U.S. steel market, as only 2% of the nation’s steel comes from China. Nucor: Earnings Beat Estimates But Plummet From Last Year Nucor beat adjusted earnings per share estimates, posting a figure of $2.68 compared to estimates of $2.45, resulting in an earnings surprise of 9%. However, adjusted EPS was down 54% from last year. It also beat revenue estimates by $56 million, coming in at $8.08 billion, which fell 15% from the previous year. The firm attributes lower revenues to the lower average sales price per ton, which decreased 11% from the previous year. The firm expects steel prices to continue to fall and, in turn, earnings to fall further in Q3 2024. Nucor Co. (NUE) Price Chart for Wednesday, July, 24, 2024 Nucor: Long-Term Tailwinds, Short-Term Pressure EAFs use much less energy and produce fewer emissions. This is a key advantage as more governments and firms want to reduce carbon emissions. Nucor recently announced an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to supply its low-carbon steel to the firm's factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Commodities analysis firm CRU believes that corporate and government mandates for low-carbon steel will create a price premium of $100+ per ton. This will boost Nucor’s margins on these products. This should be a long-term tailwind for Nucor. Nucor MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.56 out of 5 Analyst Rating Hold Upside/Downside 21.8% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength Strong Sustainability -3.96 News Sentiment 0.54 Insider Trading N/A Projected Earnings Growth 12.03% See Full Details Experts expect steel prices worldwide to keep dropping because of the anticipated increase in Chinese exports and the increase in supply. Nucor will be mostly isolated from this as most of its customers are in the United States; however, internal pressures will affect Nucor. The firm will likely perform better than steel companies worldwide, but it will still follow falling U.S. steel prices, not leaving much upside in the short run. Paying attention to changes in construction spending and manufacturing will help. Upticks will signal when things may be turning around. Several analysts have updated their price targets in the past month, but all of them dropped their forecasts. The average forecast of those analysts’ price targets is $179, implying an upside of 9%. Before you consider SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF, 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 SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF wasn't on the list. While SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF currently has a "hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
This Parcel Delivery Stock's Dip Signals a Buy, But Be Patient 2024-07-24 11:20:00+00:00 - United Parcel Service Today UPS United Parcel Service $128.53 +0.85 (+0.67%) 52-Week Range $124.80 ▼ $192.98 Dividend Yield 5.07% P/E Ratio 18.63 Price Target $164.45 Add to Watchlist United Parcel Service NYSE: UPS turned a corner in Q2, but the odds are high that the rebound won’t start soon or will be vigorous when it does. While volume growth is present, for the first time in over two years, it was weak and offset by other factors that suggest an L-shaped recovery is the best to expect. An L-shaped recovery is marked by a sharp downturn, which the stock is still in, followed by a slow, gradual recovery that may take several quarters, if not years, to complete. The takeaway is that UPS's business is sound and on track to return to growth, and capital returns are safe, but growth will be tepid for the foreseeable future. The catalyst that could alter this outlook is the Fed and interest rates; the first cut may come soon, but it will take months for the impact to be felt by consumers who drive this business. Get United Parcel Service alerts: Sign Up UPS Falls on Weak Results: Guidance is Trimmed Again UPS didn’t have a terrible quarter, but its results were weaker than expected and compounded by reduced guidance. The $21.8 billion in net revenue is down 1.4% versus an expectation for growth and fell short of the MarketBeat.com analysts consensus estimate by 200 basis points. The company logged volume growth only in the U.S. but was offset by price, mix, and weakness in other segments. US fell by 1.9% and International by 1% on a 2% decline in volume. Supply Chain Solutions is the only area of true strength; it grew by 2.6% on strength in logistics and healthcare. The worst of the news is the margin. The company has worked hard to stabilize and improve margins but failed to follow through in Q2. The Q2 results include the impact of last year’s Teamster negotiations, which greatly increased labor costs. The result is a 30% decline in operating profit and a 29% decline in adjusted operating profits, leaving the adjusted EPS at $1.79, down 30% YoY and 1000 basis points shy of the consensus. The weakness was expected but far outpaced the consensus, weighing on the guidance and the outlook for future profits. The company can recoup some of the costs but will have a hard time doing it: there is only so high that it can raise consumer prices. Guidance is the straw that broke the markets back. The company reduced its guidance, extending a trend in place for at least six quarters. The new guidance expects $93 billion in consolidated revenue, below the prior midpoint, with margin expected to be 100 basis points lower than previously. The takeaway is that the stock is down more than 10% on the news, trading below critical resistance and showing a strong, trend-following sell signal that could lead to additional downside for this transportation stock. United Parcel Service to Resume Buybacks; Won’t Support Price Action United Parcel Service MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.79 out of 5 Analyst Rating Hold Upside/Downside 24.1% Upside Short Interest Bearish Dividend Strength Strong Sustainability -4.52 News Sentiment 0.18 Insider Trading N/A Projected Earnings Growth 17.18% See Full Details United Parcel Service cut share buybacks from its budget in 2020 to preserve capital and sustain a healthy balance sheet. The efforts worked, and the company is in a healthy position if troubled by economic conditions, leading to a reinstatement this quarter. The company is targeting $500 million in buybacks this year and $1 billion annually, worth less than 0.5% of the market cap. The buybacks are a bonus for investors but are not likely to support the market. Institutions and analysts should not be counted on for market support either. The institutions bought heavily in Q1 but shifted to net-selling in Q2, a trend that has persisted into Q3, and the analysts have been trimming targets. MarketBeat hasn’t tracked any fresh revisions post-release, but they are sure to be negative when they come. Until then, the sentiment is falling in 2024 and dangerously close to Reduce while the price target also trends lower. The consensus forecasts about 30% upside if it stands; based on these results, investors should expect it to continue moving lower in Q3 and provide a headwind for the market. UPS Falls Below Critical Support UPS shares fell more than 10% to set a new multi-year low following the Q2 release. The market may consolidate at this new level before making its next move, which will likely be lower. The critical hurdle is the $135 support target, which should now be considered resistance. A move above that level may signal a bottom for the market. However, if the market confirms resistance at or near that level, a fall to $120 or lower is expected. Before you consider United Parcel Service, 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 United Parcel Service wasn't on the list. While United Parcel Service currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Streaming Stock Soars on Record Financials: Rally Just Starting? 2024-07-24 11:19:00+00:00 - While today’s market is centering its attention on the technology sector, particularly on stocks that deal with the global growth and adoption of artificial intelligence, like NVIDIA Co. NASDAQ: NVDA, other areas in the market warrant investor attention. Spotify Technology Today SPOT Spotify Technology $336.52 +5.73 (+1.73%) 52-Week Range $129.23 ▼ $346.23 Price Target $326.74 Add to Watchlist Subscription-based businesses will start to become more attractive amid uncertainty. That preference is being brought to life by stocks like Spotify Technology NYSE: SPOT, which rallied by over 14.4% in the pre-market hours of Tuesday morning. The bullish reaction comes as the company released its second quarter 2024 earnings results, and needless to say, the numbers justified the double-digit rally. Get NVIDIA alerts: Sign Up Investors need to understand today that as Spotify’s financials expand, the compounding effects for future valuations are just getting started. Catching this household name before it becomes too big to ignore could be the key to outperforming the broader stock market in the years to come. Rather than blindly following the momentum, here’s what investors can focus on when breaking down the earnings release. Spotify Stock's Main Drivers Point to More Upside Reviewing Spotify's Q2 2024 earnings can be overwhelming due to its complex infographics and extensive corporate language across over 30 slides. Here's a straightforward summary of the key points and insights that investors can use to make informed decisions about Spotify's stock. Starting with the most straightforward metric, revenue, Spotify reports an annual increase of 20% in sales to surprise Wall Street with another quarter of double-digit growth. However, not all revenue is equal, as investors will find out. There is advertising revenue and premium-based subscription revenue. For Spotify, most revenue comes from subscription-based customers (it turns out people don't like to be interrupted when listening to music), and that's a good thing. As the stock market deals with the uncertainty of whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates before 2024, predictable cash flows are more important than ever. Subscription revenues rose by 21% over the year, while advertising revenue grew by only 13%. Spotify's monthly active user growth is driving this divide. Premium subscriber growth was reported at 12% for the year and 15% for advertisement-based users, and that's Spotify's normal cycle. Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) Price Chart for Wednesday, July, 24, 2024 Typically, users get a free taste of the platform and then realize they would be better off with a premium subscription, so seeing the divergence in growth is typical for this company. Investors can expect to see a healthy conversion rate from advertisement-based to subscription-based. This momentum drove management to deliver an even bigger future, as the outlook for the next quarter also carries single-digit and double-digit upside in all the metrics that matter for the company's valuation. Strong Financials Set Spotify Stock Up for Higher Valuations After revenue has been accounted for, investors need to focus on other metrics that allow a stock to become a potential portfolio favorite. Spotify's consistent profitability is the best path to compounding and expanding valuation multiples. Operating profits swung from a net loss of $247 million for the second quarter of 2023 to a net operating profit of $266 million in 2024, which is also higher than the first quarter of 2024 net operating profit of $168 million. The question is, how is this profit being translated into the business's free cash flow? A year ago, Spotify generated net free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures) of $9 million. While that was exciting, today's results are all the better at $490 million in free cash flow. Here's how rising free cash flow lays the foundation for future compounding. As a company increases its cash balance through free cash flow, it can do a few things. The company will reinvest in itself. Now that Spotify is profitable, this reinvestment generates up to 5% return on invested capital (ROIC) rates, which are only expected to increase. Spotify Technology MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.63 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 5.0% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -0.66 News Sentiment 0.64 Insider Trading N/A Projected Earnings Growth 44.80% See Full Details Besides reinvesting, management can improve the balance sheet by paying down debt to increase equity and book value. However, since Spotify's balance sheet is only 35.6% debt, that sounds like something other than a priority. Lastly, management can reward investors through either dividends or share buybacks, funded by this free cash flow. Since the company is still going through its growth phase, it isn't likely that investors will see dividend payments any time soon, which is okay since share buybacks are typically a better way to get capital back as an investor. Knowing this, analysts at Benchmark decided to boost their price targets on Spotify stock up to $405 a share, daring it to rally by 37.1% from where it trades today. Before you consider NVIDIA, 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 NVIDIA wasn't on the list. While NVIDIA currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Stock market news today: US stocks slip as mixed results from Alphabet, Tesla kick off Big Tech earnings 2024-07-24 05:46:00+00:00 - US stocks slipped on Tuesday as investors weighed early reports on a marquee earnings day, with Big Tech results from Alphabet and Tesla in focus after hours. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped about 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) finishing the day just below the flatline. Markets have been digesting a rotation away from the megacaps that have fueled this year's rally. Small caps have benefitted as a result with the Russell 2000 (^RUT) up 3% over the past two days. In the kickoff to "Magnificent 7" earnings, Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) both reported mixed quarterly results after the bell. Google parent Alphabet delivered a beat on both the top and bottom lines. The company praised its search and cloud businesses, announced a $0.20 cash divided, and reported better-than-expected advertising revenue. But network revenue, services revenue, along with subscriptions, platforms and devices revenue disappointed. Shares ticked lower. Tesla missed earnings expectations in the second quarter but delivered a beat on the top line. It reported gross margin of 18%, ahead of consensus calls of 17.4% But a miss on free cash flow, capital expenditure and operating income led to a drop in the stock in after-hours trading with shares down more than 5%. Earlier in the session, investors assessed earnings from General Motors (GM) and Coca-Cola (KO). GM shares closed down about 6%, while Coca-Cola finished the day flat. Read more: 32 charts that tell the story of markets and the economy right now Meanwhile, volatility around the US presidential election has ebbed over the past two days. Vice President Kamala Harris is projected to have secured delegate backing to become the Democratic presidential nominee, helping settle any remaining nerves over President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race.
Visa's fiscal third-quarter profits rise 9% as payments become increasingly digital 2024-07-24 05:13:00+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Payment processing giant Visa Inc. said Tuesday that its fiscal third-quarter profits rose 9% on an adjusted basis, as it benefits from consumers and businesses moving their payments from cash to credit and debit cards. The San Francisco-based company said it earned $4.87 billion, or $2.40 a share, compared to a profit of $4.16 billion, or $2.00 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Visa earned $2.42 a share, which was in line with what analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Visa processed $3.325 trillion in transactions on its network during the quarter, up 7.4% from a year earlier. Much of the payments growth came from Europe and Latin America, but U.S. payments grew by 5.1%, which is faster than U.S. economic growth. Visa earns a fee from every transaction processed on its network. That fee varies from industry to industry, and whether it's done with a credit or debit card, but generally it is somewhere between 1% to 4%. Since the pandemic, more consumers globally have been shopping online for goods and services, which has translated into more revenue for Visa in the form of fees. Even traditionally cash-heavy businesses like bars, barbers and coffee shops have started accepting credit or debit cards as a form of payment. But while the world continues to move toward digital payments, the pace of adoption may be slowing slightly. Visa reported that credit and debit card payment volumes growth slowed from 8% to 7%. That may be partially due to the size of Visa's market getting too big to grow as quickly as it once did, but it also could be because there are fewer new industries for Visa to switch over to digital.
Alphabet earnings top estimates as cloud business gains steam, AI losses grow 2024-07-24 04:13:00+00:00 - Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) reported its fiscal second quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday, beating analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines as its cloud businesses continue to pick up steam, topping the $1 billion mark for operating profit for the first time. For the quarter, the company saw earnings per share of $1.89 on revenue of $84.7 billion. Analysts were anticipating earnings per share of $1.85 on revenue of $84.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's a jump from the same period last year of 31% and 14%, respectively, when the company reported earnings per share of $1.44 on revenue of $74.6 billion. Advertising revenue topped $64.6 billion versus analysts' expectations of $64.5 billion, and up from $58.1 billion last year. YouTube ad revenue, however, fell short, with the segment bringing in $8.66 billion versus expectations of $8.95 billion. Shares of Alphabet were flat immediately following the announcement. Google saw cloud revenue of $10.35 billion and operating income of $1.17 billion. That's better than analyst expectations of $10.1 billion and operating income of $982.2 million and higher than the $8 billion in revenue and $395 million in operating income the company reported in Q2 2023. Alphabet shares are up 30% year to date. Shares of rivals Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) are up 18% and 22% year to date, respectively. All three companies are pouring money into building out their generative AI capabilities, spending lavishly on data centers capable of powering the AI models they offer via their cloud service platforms. In the second quarter, Alphabet reported spending $2.2 billion building AI models across its DeepMind and Google Research organizations. That's up from $1.1 billion in Q2 2023. When exactly AI starts to generate revenue for Google’s Cloud business, let alone its ad segment, is still up in the air. “It is still too early to count on AI benefits as most [companies] remain in pilot mode, and material AI [revenue] is more likely a 2025-26 event,” Jefferies analyst Brent Thill wrote in a recent client note ahead of Alphabet's earnings announcement. Google is still trying to find its footing with AI Overview, the generative AI feature that shows up at the top of Google Search results pages. In May, the company rolled out the search function, only for users to quickly discover that its answers weren’t always accurate, with now-famous responses telling users to put glue in their pizza or to eat a rock every day. Google responded by pulling back some of the generative AI features. Story continues While it spends on AI, Alphabet has been cutting in other areas, including headcount. In Q2, the company reported having 179,582 employees, down from 181,798 in the same period last year. Subscribe to the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. (Yahoo Finance) Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley. For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Meta CEO Zuckerberg calls on industry to adopt open-source AI, debuts high-powered Llama AI model 2024-07-24 00:08:00+00:00 - Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram on Tuesday to call out the tech industry, saying it should focus its generative AI efforts on open models rather than closed ones like those developed by OpenAI, Google, and others. In a blog post on the topic, Zuckerberg said open-source AI models would ultimately prove more secure and efficient as developers and researchers around the world fine-tuned them over time. Tech giants are currently in a battle over whether closed-source or open-source AI models should be the path forward for AI. Closed-source models are, generally, those that are only available to a company's customers and limit how much they can be manipulated at a base level, if at all. Open-source AI models are available to any interested researchers or developers who can manipulate the models' code. Think something like the difference between Apple's (AAPL) iOS operating system, which is closed, and Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) Android, which is open. "Open source will ensure that more people around the world have access to the benefits and opportunities of AI, that power isn’t concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies, and that the technology can be deployed more evenly and safely across society," Zuckerberg wrote in his post. In calling for the industry to rally around open-source AI, Zuckerberg is also rolling out the latest version of Meta's open-source Llama AI model, Llama 3.1, which the CEO says is among the most advanced in the industry. What's more, he says he anticipates the model will become the most advanced beginning next year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Sept. 27, 2023. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) (REUTERS / Reuters) Zuckerberg's Meta is going up against some of the biggest names in AI, including OpenAI and Google. Both companies offer their flagship AI models as closed-source software options, though they provide open-source models as well. Zuckerberg says that making flagship AI models open source will improve security and overall capabilities, since a larger number of researchers and developers will be able to examine them from a base level, allowing them to catch flaws over time. There are also concerns that open-source models will give the US's rivals, including China, easy access to high-powered AI technologies. But Zuckerberg claims that the US's adversaries could simply steal the code related to closed models and gain access to them that way. Closed models, he says, would also limit availability of AI technology to a small group of powerful companies. Zuckerberg writes that leading companies should work with the government to help ensure they can take advantage of open-source AI models, ensuring they have a lead over other countries' governments. Story continues Part of Zuckerberg's emphasis on open-source technology has to do with his distaste for Apple's iOS and the iPhone maker's ability to control how Meta updates its apps. Meta also offers its own open-source programming languages that have proven popular across the web, including React. It's difficult to tell whether open-source or closed-source AI models will win out at the moment. In reality, it's unlikely either will dominate the market in the long run. Ultimately, we'll likely see a split between closed-source and open-source models, just as we've seen with enterprise and consumer-level software programs throughout the years. Subscribe to the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. (Yahoo Finance) Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley. For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
FTC launches probe into whether surveillance pricing can boost costs for consumers 2024-07-23 22:32:00+00:00 - Wendy's sparks conversation about dynamic pricing in other industries Wendy's sparks conversation about dynamic pricing in other industries 04:07 Federal regulators want to know how JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard and other companies may use people's personal data to sell them a product at a different price than what other consumers might see. The practice — which the Federal Trade Commission calls "surveillance pricing" and which is also known as dynamic pricing or price optimization — has long been used by retailers such as Amazon and Walmart, along with ride-sharing providers, to boost profits. More recently, companies have deployed artificial intelligence and other advanced software tools to collect personal information about consumers, including their location, credit history, device type, and browsing or shopping history, which can then be used to individualize prices. "Firms that harvest Americans' personal data can put people's privacy at risk. Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices," FTC Chair Lina Khan said Tuesday in a statement regarding the agency's inquiry. "Americans deserve to know whether businesses are using detailed consumer data to deploy surveillance pricing, and the FTC's inquiry will shed light on this shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen." A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment. A spokesperson for Mastercard also declined to comment, but said the credit card giant is cooperating with the FTC. The agency is also seeking information from six other companies as part of its review of surveillance pricing: management consulting firms Accenture and McKinsey & Co., and retail technology makers Bloomreach, PROS, Revionics and Task Software. Specifically, the FTC is asking the companies named in its inquiry to provide information on the surveillance pricing products and services they have developed or licensed to a third party, including how they're used. The agency is also examining how those products and services can affect the prices consumers pay. In a blog post, the FTC pointed to media reports that a growing number of retailers and grocery stores may be using algorithms to set targeted prices for different consumers. "Advancements in machine learning make it cheaper for these systems to collect and process large volumes of personal data, which can open the door for price changes based on information like your precise location, your shopping habits or your web browsing history," the agency said. "This means that consumers may now be subjected to surveillance pricing when they shop for anything, big or small, online or in person — a house, a car, even their weekly groceries." Lawmakers are also looking at the impact of dynamic pricing. In May, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D.-Ohio, held a hearing examining how such retail technologies may have contributed to ferocious inflation during the pandemic. Jonathan Donenberg, deputy director of the National Economic Council, praised the FTC's probe, saying in a statement Tuesday that such practices can lead to consumers getting "different prices for different people at times in an opaque or anticompetitive manner."
French aerospace company sees surge in U.S. applicants after SpaceX relocation news: 'Come to Europe and we'll help you' 2024-07-23 22:15:00+00:00 - Latitude, a French aerospace company based an hour outside Paris, is getting a surge of applications from American engineers after Elon Musk said he would relocate SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas. Within the last week, a spokesperson for Latitude says it received the equivalent of one month of applications to its hiring systems, and that 89% of those are coming from U.S.-based candidates. Those job seekers work at SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Tesla and other companies related to the aerospace industry, the spokesperson tells CNBC Make It. The bump comes after Musk wrote on X on July 16 that he intends to move his company's base from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas. The SpaceX founder and CEO says his decision follows the passing of a new state law that bans school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents about changes to a student's sexual orientation and gender identity. Though it's unclear if, or when, SpaceX will leave California entirely, aerospace business leaders quickly used Musk's message to pitch themselves to the company's roughly 13,000 employees who may be concerned about their future career and relocation plans. Stanislas Maximin, CEO at Latitude, wrote in a LinkedIn post that Space X employees "looking to join an inclusive and highly ambitious rocket company" should contact him — and they did. "It was quite a surprise," Maximin tells CNBC Make It. Within a few days of his posts, he says he received some 200 messages of interest, and his LinkedIn network swelled from 6,000 to 9,000 connections. He says the message wasn't a takedown of Musk or SpaceX, which Maximin refers to as one of "the best engineering companies in the world." Rather, he says, "if you're not happy where you are, if you want different things, you can come to Europe, and we'll help you." A rising share of Americans may be willing to take up offers to relocate abroad. The number of American workers hired by international companies grew 62% last year, according to Deel, an HR platform that specializes in global hiring. U.S. search interest for "how to move" to a new country swelled following the first 2024 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in June, while companies that help Americans relocate are seeing a surge in interest, too. Latitude, which has roughly 140 employees and a dozen job openings, has made a few hires from U.S.-based applicants before and says it will help new employees obtain a visa for themselves and any family members, find new work and school options for relatives, pay for relocation costs, and handle other necessary logistics. "We have done it multiple times over," Maximin says, adding that his company has "the full support of French authorities" to make the relocation happen quickly.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Hits Game Pass As Xbox Price Hikes —Report - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 2024-07-23 22:10:00+00:00 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is reportedly making its debut on Xbox Game Pass this week. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson is citing sources claiming that the game will be available on the subscription service on July 24. This development follows earlier rumors from Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who hinted at the game’s arrival on Game Pass in July. See Also: Black Ops 6: First Multi-Platform Beta In Franchise History — All You Need To Know The upcoming release marks a significant moment for Microsoft Corp.‘s MSFT Game Pass, as it will be the first Call of Duty title to launch on the platform. While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was speculated to be the initial offering, Modern Warfare 3 has taken the spotlight. Modern Warfare 3, the latest installment in Activision’s renowned first-person shooter series, is a reboot of the beloved sub-series. It continues the franchise’s tradition of delivering high-octane, multiplayer action. Price Hikes For Xbox Game Pass The timing of Modern Warfare 3’s Game Pass release coincides with recent announcements from Xbox regarding price increases for the subscription service. The Ultimate tier will see a $3 increase in its monthly fee. The Game Pass Console tier will be replaced by Xbox Game Pass Standard, costing subscribers $14.99 per month. Impact Of Modern Warfare 3’s Game Pass Debut The addition of Modern Warfare 3 to Game Pass is likely to bolster the service’s appeal, especially amid the recent price hikes. Game Pass has been a cornerstone of Xbox’s strategy. It offers a vast library of games for a monthly fee, and the inclusion of high-profile titles like Call of Duty is a significant draw for subscribers. Read Next:
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Alphabet, Tesla, Visa and more 2024-07-23 22:08:00+00:00 - A dog looks out the window from a Tesla electric vehicle charging at a Tesla Supercharger location in Santa Monica, California, on May 15, 2024. Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading: Alphabet — The tech giant slipped 1% despite a beat on both top and bottom lines in the second quarter. Alphabet earned $1.89 per share on $84.74 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for earnings of $1.84 per share on $84.19 billion in revenue. However, revenue at its YouTube advertising segment missed forecasts. Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker declined 4.7% after second-quarter earnings missed consensus estimates. Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share at 52 cents, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had called for 62 cents per share. On the other hand, the company posted $25.5 billion in quarterly revenue, which was slightly higher than the $24.77 billion estimated by the Street. Visa — Shares slipped more than 2% after the company posted a revenue miss in its fiscal third quarter. Visa reported $8.9 billion in revenue, which came in slightly below the $8.92 billion forecast by analysts polled by LSEG. Meanwhile, payments volume rose 7% in the quarter. Seagate — Shares rallied more than 6% after Seagate posted an earnings and revenue beat in the fiscal fourth quarter. Seagate earned $1.05 per share, excluding items, on $1.89 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had estimated it would earn 75 cents per share on revenue of $1.87 billion. The company cited an improving cloud environment for its stronger performance. Capital One Financial — Shares of the credit card issuer fell about 1% after its second-quarter profit fell from a year ago as the bank put aside more money to offset potential credit losses. Revenue rose 5% to $9.51 billion from the year-ago period, but was lower than analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected. Texas Instruments — The chipmaker rallied 5% after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Texas Instruments recorded $1.22 in earnings per share versus the consensus estimate of $1.17 per share, per LSEG. The company's revenue of $3.82 billion came in line with forecasts. Mattel — The toymaker advanced more than 1% after announcing its second-quarter results. Its adjusted earnings per share of 19 cents topped analysts' estimates for 17 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Revenue of $1.08 billion slightly missed forecasts of $1.1 billion. Mattel reiterated its full-year guidance and highlighted its gross margin expansion. Cal-Maine Foods — Shares of the nation's largest egg producer fell 1% as the avian flu outbreak continues to pressure its performance. In the fiscal fourth quarter, earnings of $2.32 per share were higher than a year ago, but shy of the $2.41 per share analysts predicted, according to FactSet. Sales of $640.8 million also fell short of the $652.3 million estimate. Enphase Energy — The solar energy stock added 5% despite weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. Enphase posted earnings of 43 cents per share, after adjustments, which was 5 cents below consensus estimates, according to LSEG. Revenue of $304 million also fell short of the $310 million analysts forecast. However, shares rose on better-than-expected margins and its third-quarter forecast of between $370 million and $410 million in revenue, which was above the $404 million analyst estimate. Chubb — The insurance company gained nearly 1%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $5.38 in the second quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.14 per share, per FactSet. — CNBC's Christina Cheddar Berk contributed reporting.
OpenAI reassigns top AI safety executive Aleksandr Madry to role focused on AI reasoning 2024-07-23 21:50:00+00:00 - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024. OpenAI last week removed Aleksander Madry, one of OpenAI's top safety executives, from his role and reassigned him to a job focused on AI reasoning, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC. Madry was OpenAI's head of preparedness, a team that was "tasked with tracking, evaluating, forecasting, and helping protect against catastrophic risks related to frontier AI models," according to a bio for Madry on a Princeton University AI initiative website. Madry will still work on core AI safety work in his new role, OpenAI told CNBC. He is also director of MIT's Center for Deployable Machine Learning and a faculty co-lead of the MIT AI Policy Forum, roles from which he is currently on leave, according to the university's website. The decision to reassign Madry comes less than a week before a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman concerning "questions about how OpenAI is addressing emerging safety concerns." The letter, sent Monday and viewed by CNBC, also stated, "We seek additional information from OpenAI about the steps that the company is taking to meet its public commitments on safety, how the company is internally evaluating its progress on those commitments, and on the company's identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats." OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawmakers requested that the tech startup respond with a series of answers to specific questions about its safety practices and financial commitments by Aug. 13. It's all part of a summer of mounting safety concerns and controversies surrounding OpenAI, which along with Google, Microsoft, Meta and other companies is at the helm of a generative AI arms race — a market that is predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade — as companies in seemingly every industry rush to add AI-powered chatbots and agents to avoid being left behind by competitors. Earlier this month, Microsoft gave up its observer seat on OpenAI's board, stating in a letter viewed by CNBC that it can now step aside because it's satisfied with the construction of the startup's board, which has been revamped in the eight months since an uprising that led to the brief ouster of Altman and threatened Microsoft's massive investment in the company. But last month, a group of current and former OpenAI employees published an open letter describing concerns about the artificial intelligence industry's rapid advancement despite a lack of oversight and an absence of whistleblower protections for those who wish to speak up. "AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this," the employees wrote at the time. Days after the letter was published, a source familiar to the mater confirmed to CNBC that the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice were set to open antitrust investigations into OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, focusing on the companies' conduct. FTC Chair Lina Khan has described her agency's action as a "market inquiry into the investments and partnerships being formed between AI developers and major cloud service providers." The current and former employees wrote in the June letter that AI companies have "substantial non-public information" about what their technology can do, the extent of the safety measures they've put in place and the risk levels that technology has for different types of harm. "We also understand the serious risks posed by these technologies," they wrote, adding the companies "currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily." In May, OpenAI decided to disband its team focused on the long-term risks of AI just one year after it announced the group, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC at the time. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some of the team members are being reassigned to other teams within the company. The team was disbanded after its leaders, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, announced their departures from the startup in May. Leike wrote in a post on X that OpenAI's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products." Altman said at the time on X he was sad to see Leike leave and that OpenAI had more work to do. Soon afterward, co-founder Greg Brockman posted a statement attributed to Brockman and the CEO on X, asserting the company has "raised awareness of the risks and opportunities of AGI so that the world can better prepare for it." "I joined because I thought OpenAI would be the best place in the world to do this research," Leike wrote on X at the time. "However, I have been disagreeing with OpenAI leadership about the company's core priorities for quite some time, until we finally reached a breaking point." Leike wrote that he believes much more of the company's bandwidth should be focused on security, monitoring, preparedness, safety and societal impact. "These problems are quite hard to get right, and I am concerned we aren't on a trajectory to get there," he wrote. "Over the past few months my team has been sailing against the wind. Sometimes we were struggling for [computing resources] and it was getting harder and harder to get this crucial research done." Leike added that OpenAI must become a "safety-first AGI company." "Building smarter-than-human machines is an inherently dangerous endeavor," he wrote at the time. "OpenAI is shouldering an enormous responsibility on behalf of all of humanity. But over the past years, safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products." The Information first reported about Madry's reassignment.
How a perfect storm sent church insurance rates skyrocketing 2024-07-23 21:48:36+00:00 - (RNS) — The Rev. John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church’s accountant with some bad news. Church Mutual, the church’s insurance company, had dropped them. “This does not make sense,” Parks, the pastor of Ashford Community Church in Houston, recalls thinking at the time. “We’ve never filed a claim.” Five months and 13 insurance companies later, the church finally found replacement coverage for $80,000 per year, up from the $23,000 they had been paying. “It’s been an adventure,” said the 69-year-old Parks from his home in Houston, where the power was out after Hurricane Beryl. “That’s putting it politely.” ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Parks and his congregation are not alone. An ongoing wave of disasters — Gulf Coast hurricanes, wildfires in California, severe thunderstorms and flooding in the Midwest — along with skyrocketing construction costs post-COVID have left the insurance industry reeling. As a result, companies such as Church Mutual, GuideOne and Brotherhood Mutual, which specialize in insuring churches, have seen their reserves shrink. That’s led them to drop churches they consider high risk in order to cut their losses. Hundreds of United Methodist churches in the Rio Texas Annual Conference learned they’d lost property insurance in November last year, leaving church officials scrambling. More than six months later, some churches have found new insurance, often at a steep increase. Others still have none, said Kevin Reed, president of the conference board of trustees. Reed said the conference had about a month’s notice that its property insurance policy, which local congregations could buy into, was being canceled. That wasn’t enough time to find new coverage before the policy expired. It also left local churches on their own. “We have not found a good solution,” said Reed. “It continues to be a significant problem for our churches.” United Methodist churches in Iowa have also lost insurance, according to the Iowa Annual Conference, in the aftermath of severe weather in the area. The Rev. Ron Carlson, treasurer of the Iowa conference, said that both small rural churches and larger churches have been affected. Carlson said the conference reminded churches earlier this year to be proactive in checking on their insurance and not waiting for a renewal offer. The UMC’s Book of Discipline requires churches to carry insurance for the full replacement cost of their buildings as well as liability insurance. For some churches, said Carlson, that’s just not possible. He said the conference is trying to sort out what happens to those churches. For struggling churches dealing with declining membership and giving, he said, rising insurance may be the last straw. “There have been some that have said we can’t do this anymore,” he said. For churches that lost their insurance, finding replacement coverage is difficult. That’s in part because churches are a niche market that’s difficult to insure and full of risk, say experts. They are open to the public, work with everyone from infants to senior citizens, sometimes house social service programs, are run by volunteers and often have large and expensive buildings. Churches also operate with little oversight, said Charles Cutler, president of ChurchWest Insurance Services, which works with about 4,000 churches and other Christian ministries. “Because of the First Amendment and the separation of church and state, ministries are largely unregulated,” said Cutler. “And unregulated businesses are difficult to underwrite.” The church insurance market, like the insurance industry overall, has been hit with a perfect storm in recent years. Supply chain shortages for construction materials that began during the pandemic have driven up the cost of rebuilding after a disaster. When the cost of rebuilding goes up, so does the size of claims, said Cutler. That led insurance companies to raise their rates in order to cover those claims. Then a series of natural disasters hit the industry hard — including hurricanes, wildfires and what are known as “severe convective storms” — thunderstorms with extreme rain and wind that caused billions in damage last year, according to the Insurance Journal. Claims from those disasters have stressed the reserves that insurance companies use to pay claims. AM Best, a credit rating agency that specializes in the insurance industry, cited weather and cost from legal claims as reasons for placing Church Mutual under review this past spring. AM Best also downgraded the rating of Brotherhood Mutual, another major church insurer, while a third church insurer, GuideOne, was taken off review after Bain Capital invested $200 million in the company. In a statement on its website, Church Mutual said it hopes the company’s outlook will improve. “Church Mutual has been proactively addressing these challenges to better manage the risks throughout its book of business, nationwide,” the company said. “The company’s leadership team is confident these measures will have a significant, positive impact on profitability in 2024 and beyond.” Pam Rushing, the chief underwriting officer for Church Mutual, said that the company is still renewing policies and accepting new business in every state. However, the company no longer offers property coverage in Louisiana. Church Mutual did not give details of how many policies have been canceled. “We do not take nonrenewal decisions lightly and it represents a small percentage of our overall portfolio,” Rushing said in an email. “For us to remain financially strong, viable and best able to serve our mission, we need to mitigate the severe impact catastrophic weather has had – and will continue to have – on our bottom line and our ability to serve customers nationwide.” Brad Hedberg, executive vice president of The Rockwood Co., a Chicago-based agency, said church insurers are facing pressure from the reinsurers — large companies such as Lloyd’s of London that provide insurance to insurance companies so catastrophic claims don’t overwhelm them. Those companies are looking to reduce their exposure to certain types of claims— meaning church insurers can’t offer as much coverage as they did in the past. Hedberg, who works with churches and other ministries, said he spends a lot of time helping clients keep the insurance they already have and reduce their risk of filing claims. That means making sure churches have policies in place for everything from abuse prevention to who gets to drive the church van, as well as being proactive with building maintenance and safety projects. It also means being strategic in when to file a claim — and when to pay for a loss out of pocket. Churches should only tap their insurance for large losses — not small claims, he added. “If small claims get filed, your coverage could be nonrenewed or your premium could go through the roof,” he said. “The market is just that bad.” Once a church loses coverage, it may face higher prices for years. That’s likely the case for Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, Connecticut, said Greg Pihl, who chairs the church’s finance committee. The church had been paying $12,500 for insurance and had made a claim for flooding damage due to a faulty sprinkler. Pihl said the church learned this past spring that its insurance had been canceled. Now Bethany will pay about $73,000 for less coverage, said Pihl. That made for a difficult conversation at a church business meeting and midyear changes to the church’s budget. The church was able to tap some reserves to cover the increased premium this year. But it’ll likely be paying higher rates for the next three to five years, said Pihl. And those reserves, meant to pay for things like a new roof, still have to be built back up. Pihl said that before the church’s policy was canceled, he expected rates to go up, perhaps by 10% or 20%. But that proved overly optimistic. “It’s just a terrible market,” he said. Nathan Creitz, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Bay Shore, New York, a congregation of about 100 people on Long Island, said that in the past, getting insurance hadn’t been a worry. The total annual cost for all the church’s insurance — the church building, a parsonage, liability — was less than $4,000. “We got lucky,” he said. “We were grandfathered into some really low rates.” Things changed last summer after Calvary’s insurance carrier dropped the church, deciding not to renew the policy. With the help of a broker, the church found new insurance for about $14,000. Since most of the costs of running a church, such as paying staff and keeping the lights on, are already fixed, that meant cutting programs. The church also had to put off capital improvements to the building, which ironically are the kinds of things that would make them easier to insure. “It’s not ideal but that’s what happened,” Creitz said. For Ashford Community Church in Houston, finding the funds to cover the increased insurance has also been a challenge, especially post-COVID, when church attendance and giving are down. Higher insurance costs also mean less money for ministry at the church, which Parks described as a mission-focused congregation. The church’s 40,000-square-foot facility is currently home to about a dozen congregations, through a partnership called Kingdom City Houston. Parks said he came to the church about a decade ago after hopes of starting a church overseas fell apart. At the time, the church was struggling and was using only a quarter of the space in its building. Today about 1,200 people worship every weekend in the building — which holds multiple services in its three sanctuaries. Parks said worshippers come from more than 60 countries. The churches each have their pastors but share some back-office staff. The idea is to show that Christians from different backgrounds can still be united. “We can walk side by side, even if we don’t always see eye to eye,” he said. Parks said Ashford’s building has been largely untouched by recent storms. After Hurricane Harvey caused massive flooding in 2017, the church hosted volunteers from around the country who helped residents recover. “It was a good time of serving the community,” he said.
The Secret Service budget has swelled to more than $3 billion. Here's where the money goes. 2024-07-23 21:45:00+00:00 - Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday faced blistering criticism as she directly addressed lawmakers' questions for the first time about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump earlier this month. A key concern in wake of the shooting: How did a federal agency whose annual budget has swelled to $3 billion fail to stop an amateur assailant like Thomas Matthew Crooks? While Cheatle didn't provide an answer at the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing, the question points to the Secret Service's funding and staffing, which as of the 2023 fiscal year has jumped 27% from about $2.34 billion in 2014 on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to an analysis of budget data from the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank. On Tuesday, Cheatle resigned from her position after facing pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to step down due to the agency's failure to stop the assassination attempt. Funding for the agency has increased over the last decade in part due to an incident in 2014, when a man scaled the White House fence and ran through its front doors. Although then-President Obama wasn't in the building at the time, the incident caused a review of the Secret Service's training and brought about calls for more funding. Over the years, those demands have been answered, with lawmakers approving an additional $211 million in funding for the Secret Service in fiscal year 2023 alone, documents show. Lack of funding doesn't appear to be the problem that led to the assassination attempt, which appears to be linked to management stumbles, Chris Edwards, a fiscal studies expert at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, told CBS MoneyWatch. "No amount of funding will fix the management failures," he said. Still, Edwards added that he wouldn't be surprised if lawmakers boost funding for the Secret Service given concerns aired by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers that the agency had failed in its mission. "We've seen this type of problem before — when there is a management failure at an agency, they almost invariably end up with more funding," he said. Here's what to know about how the Secret Service spends its funding. How much is the Secret Service's budget? The Secret Service's annual budget was about $3 billion in the most recent fiscal year, which ended September 30, according to Edwards, who analyzed data from the Office of Management and Data. About 87% of that budget, or $2.7 billion, is directed toward operations and support, which includes $1.2 billion in funding for Protective Operations — the division that oversees protection for the president, vice president and their families. The remaining $400 million in annual spending is directed toward procurement, information technology, construction and research and development. How many Secret Service agents protect the president? The Protective Operations unit employed about 3,671 staffers in the most recent fiscal year, or about 44% of the Secret Service's roughly 8,300 employees. Of course, those agents are spread across multiple assignments, as the agency by law is tasked with more than protecting the president. In addition to the commander-in-chief, the unit must also safeguard the president's family, the vice president and their family, as well as former presidents and vice presidents and their families, as well as presidential and vice presidential candidates. Protective Operations is divided into several divisions: Protection of Persons and Facilities, which protects presidents, vice presidents and their families, with a budget of $907 million Protective Countermeasures, which is focused on protecting the president and vice president at the White House and vice president's residence from "emerging explosive, chemical, biological, radiological and cyber threats." It has a budget of $82.5 million. Protective Intelligence, which investigates people or groups that pose threats to the president and other protectees. It has a $94.6 million budget. Presidential Campaigns and National Special Security Events, which protects "major presidential and vice presidential candidates" and their spouses during the general election. It has a $73.3 million budget. Others who qualify for Secret Service protection include foreign leaders who visit the U.S., such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington on Monday. During the Monday hearing, Cheatle defended the number of agents assigned to Trump's rally, saying there were "sufficient resources" assigned to protect the former president. What are critics saying about the Secret Service's funding? Edwards of the Cato Institute noted that the security failure in 2014 was blamed on underfunding. But as he wrote in a July 17 blog post, "If the administration uses that excuse this time, it would not be very convincing because the Secret Service budget has soared in recent years." Still, Edwards told CBS MoneyWatch that he questions whether the Secret Service's mission is too broad, given that it also includes responsibility for investigating financial crimes, such as counterfeiting and identity theft. In his view, such oversight would be better assigned to the Treasury Department, allowing the Secret Service to focus on protecting the president and other officials. Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight committee, has said after the assassination attempt that the Secret Service's annual budget "is more than enough" to provide adequate protection. "We want to know who's at fault for what happened," the Kentucky Republican said. —With reporting by the Associated Press.
Parents say Delta stranded their kids while they were flying alone 2024-07-23 21:37:57+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Some parents say they were left scrambling to help their stranded kids after Delta Air Lines suddenly changed its policies as it grapples with extended delays and cancellations that stretched into the fourth day. "It was about three hours of sheer panic," one of the parents, Cecilia Stone, told Business Insider. Delta remains the hardest hit US airline in the wake of Friday's global CrowdStrike outage. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Delta has axed more than 5,000 flights in the past five days, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced on X that the agency had opened an investigation into the airline to ensure it was "taking care of its passengers." Advertisement After the outage, Delta barred unaccompanied minors from traveling, a move its competitors have not implemented. The airline initially paused unaccompanied minor travel through Sunday, The New York Times reported, but the company posted on its website that kids can't fly alone through Tuesday. Frustration and panic Joel Fortney, a serial entrepreneur and loyal Delta customer, said his 12-year-old daughter wasn't able to fly back home to Iowa after a two-week stay at summer camp in Maine on Friday. The daughter remained calm as Fortney frantically tried to get his daughter home. "Ultimately, I had a 12-year-old just kind of floating," he told BI. Advertisement Fortney's daughter was able to stay overnight at a hotel with some of her camp counselors, he said, and then he rebooked her on a United flight to Chicago the next day — where he and his wife drove six hours to pick her up. Fortney was able to get a refund for the unused portion of the Delta ticket, but said he "going to be shopping" for other airlines in the future. Related stories "I would never want this to happen to another family," he said. "It felt like a uniquely Delta decision and it really impacted people in a way that just didn't make any sense." Stone, 39, said her son — a 17-year-old Navy Sea Cadet — was also stuck while trying to fly from a Salt Lake City training camp to his home in San Diego on Saturday. Advertisement Donald had a regular ticket, but as a minor was still not allowed to fly, Stone told BI. She said Delta didn't notify her of the change; she found out when her son called her after he couldn't check-in to his flight. Stone immediately began calling other airlines, she said, none of which had any flights. Hours later, Stone was able to find a Southwest flight to San Diego that evening. "It was just incredibly frustrating," she said. "It boggled my mind that [Delta] thought that that was okay." Advertisement Delta told Business Insider in a statement that it stopped unaccompanied kids from traveling "to protect minors from being separated from their families and caregivers in the event of flight disruptions or cancellations." "We take seriously the trust caregivers place in us with their children's travel, and sincerely apologize that that trust was compromised through confusion around the embargo," the airline said, adding teams were working to keep customers updated and to make things right for affected customers. Stone said she hasn't received a refund yet. She plans to "steer clear of Delta Airlines altogether" in the future.
A Silicon Valley exec had $400,000 stolen by cybercriminals while buying a home. Here's her warning. 2024-07-23 21:33:00+00:00 - After a yearlong search, Rana Robillard was elated to learn she’d beaten three other bidders for a house in the leafy California suburb of Orinda, just outside of San Francisco. So when Robillard, who works at a software startup, received an email in late January from her mortgage broker with directions to wire a $398,359.58 down payment to a JPMorgan Chase account, she wasted no time sending the money. After all, the email appeared to be a response to one Robillard had sent her broker asking about final steps before the closing, which was rapidly approaching. But on Jan. 30, the day after she’d sent the wire, Robillard got what looked like a duplicate request for the down payment, and it dawned on her that she had fallen for a scam — one that would throw her life into turmoil for the next six months. To her horror, instead of sending a down payment for her future home to the title company, as she believed she had done, Robillard had been tricked into sending her life savings to a criminal. “That’s when I went into a full panic,” Robillard, 55, told CNBC, which verified the details of her story with the four banks involved. What happened to Robillard, a 25-year veteran of tech companies including cybersecurity firm HackerOne, speaks to the increasingly sophisticated nature of cybercrime. Fraudsters are able to penetrate the email systems of mortgage brokers, real estate agents, lawyers or other advisors, waiting for the perfect moment to strike by sending emails or phone calls that appear to be from trusted parties. Real estate, with its large transaction sizes and frequent use of wire transfers, has proven to be an especially lucrative target for criminals. Wires are faster than other forms of payment, typically closing within 24 hours, can handle far larger sums and are often irreversible, making them ideal for fraud. Scams involving fake emails in real estate deals have exploded over the last decade, rising from less than $9 million in losses in 2015 to $446.1 million by 2022, according to FBI data. Once criminals have a victim’s money, they quickly shuffle it to other bank accounts before withdrawing it as cash, converting it into crypto or exploiting mules to launder the funds, according to Naftali Harris, CEO of anti-fraud startup SentiLink. That’s why recovering funds in wire fraud can be so difficult, he added. “The faster the fraudster moves it out of that first account and the more institutions they move it to, the better for them, because it just gets murkier and harder to track,” Harris said. That’s what initially happened to Robillard’s funds, which went from a JPMorgan Chase account to ones at Citigroup and Ally Bank, according to people with knowledge of her case who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Robillard had alerted her bank, Charles Schwab, of the fraud on Jan. 30; within days, an official working in the cyber branch of the San Francisco division of the FBI had this message: “Funds have been located and are frozen,” the official said, according to a Feb. 2 email reviewed by CNBC. “That’s all I’m allowed to tell you.” Waiting for months After that promising start, Robillard’s frustrations have only mounted. Robillard says she was initially told that her funds would likely be released after 90 days. But as the weeks and months stretched on, there were few updates from JPMorgan, which has taken the lead on the case, she said. The FBI told her that once the banks involved had frozen the funds, its role was over, she said. So Robillard became obsessed with advocating for herself, reaching out to elected officials and government agencies including the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Nobody will give you any updates or information,” Robillard said. “I’ve been very assertive trying to get people to help; every week I’m following up with random people on LinkedIn from Chase, I’m filing to the California attorney general, the FTC, the CFPB, but it’s gotten me nowhere.” Rana Robillard, an Oakland-based tech executive, in front of the home in Orinda, Calif., that she attempted to purchase earlier this year. Courtesy Rana Robillard In early July, Robillard told CNBC she had no idea whether she would ever see her money again. And while she’s been in financial limbo, the world has moved on. The home she had envisioned living in with her daughter — a newly renovated four bedroom on nearly half an acre of land — has been relisted by Opendoor for $1.63 million. Robillard says she decided to publicize her story to boost awareness of real estate wire fraud, besides being a last-ditch attempt at getting her money back. “This is not what I thought my public representation would look like, which is that I’ve lost all this money,” Robillard said. “If it helps other people, I’m happy to do it, even though it’s obviously not my proudest moment.” Room for improvement Robillard acknowledges that she could’ve been more cautious before initiating the wire transfer. For one, she says she should’ve confirmed with OS National, the title company owned by Opendoor, that the wire request sent to her in January was an authentic one. But Robillard also sees ample room for improvement in all the parties involved: Her real estate agent should’ve explained that wire directions would be coming directly from the title company; the banks should’ve verified that the receiving account was that of a genuine title company and not a fraudster; and her mortgage broker should’ve used a secure portal for document sharing. In a chain of more than 20 emails seen by CNBC between Robillard and her mortgage processor, Kristy Aichinger of Compass Mortgage Advisors, just one was sent by the cybercriminal. It was indistinguishable from the rest. While Martinez, California-based Compass Mortgage denies being hacked, it acknowledged that the email with wire directions wasn’t from them, according to Robillard. When reached by phone last week, Aichinger declined to comment and referred a reporter to the company’s founder and president, Kent Donahue. Donahue didn’t respond to several detailed messages about this story. 'We are sorry' After more than five months in limbo, Robillard finally caught a break. A few days after CNBC contacted the banks in early July about the Robillard case, she received a $150,000 wire from Chase, funds that had been bounced back from Ally. Then, on Thursday, Robillard got the balance of her down payment that had been at Citi, nearly $250,000. A JPMorgan spokesman had the following comment: “We are sorry to hear that Ms. Robillard was tricked into sending funds from her real estate transaction to an imposter,” the spokesman said. “Although she’s not our customer, we were able to recover all of her funds.” Further, JPMorgan said that consumers should be wary of last-minute changes to payment instructions and to always verify wire recipients before sending money. Robillard’s bank, Schwab, told CNBC that it urged customers to “remain vigilant in protecting their personal information, and stay skeptical when it comes to financial transactions.” Robillard still doesn’t know who was behind the scam. While overjoyed that she can finally begin a new home search, the tech executive struck a pessimistic note. The real estate industry has gotten used to closing transactions electronically, which is efficient, but leaves buyers open to fraud, she said. Advances in artificial intelligence will give criminals more tools to impersonate those they trust to steal Americans’ money, she warned. “The banks and real estate companies weren’t even prepared for the old world, how are they going to handle the new one?” Robillard said. “Nobody’s ready for what’s coming.”
Americans are flocking to Texas: 9 of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities are there 2024-07-23 21:33:00+00:00 - They say everything’s bigger in Texas. And between 2020 and 2023, that seems to have been true of population growth. Nine of the 10 U.S. cities and towns where populations grew at the fastest clip during that period are found in the Lone Star State, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on places with populations of 20,000 or more at any point between April 2020 and July 2023. Celina, Texas, a city about 40 miles north of Dallas, earned the top spot as its population grew by more than 143% between 2020 and 2023. As of July 2020, the city had a humble population of just over 17,800. By July 2023, that number had swelled to more than 43,300, according to Census Bureau estimates. Residents say Celina is incredibly safe, has excellent economic health and offers an overall great quality of life, according to a 2022 community engagement survey the city sponsored. Fulshear, Texas, which lies about 30 miles west of Houston, experienced similar growth. Its population more than doubled, from 17,558 in 2020 to 42,616 in 2023. On the flip side, Big Spring, Texas, had the fastest population decline of -14.8% over the three-year period. But it’s the only Texas city among the 10 U.S. cities and towns that saw the biggest population drops between 2020 and 2023. While the cities that grew the fastest are fairly concentrated in Texas, places where populations shrank by the largest percentages are spread across eight states, primarily in the South and Western regions. California has three entries, including notoriously expensive San Francisco. The population growth in many Texas towns may be attributed, at least in part, to the state’s relatively lower cost of living compared with many other states, plus its lack of personal income tax. Texas also ranked No. 3 in the nation in CNBC’s 2024 top states for business rankings. The state’s population has been growing steadily and faster than nearly any other state since 2000, the Census Bureau reports. Despite its position along the Southern border, domestic migration has played a slightly larger role than international migration in Texas’ population growth, the agency finds.
'Bridgerton' finally confirmed its season 4 lead — here's everything we know about the next season 2024-07-23 21:32:51+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview "Bridgerton" fans have been patiently waiting, and Benedict Bridgerton's season is finally coming. Season three of the Netflix series, centered on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington's ( Nicola Coughlan ) relationship , concluded with the release of part two in June. In giving Polin a happy ending, "Bridgerton" also teased that Benedict (Luke Thompson), the second-eldest sibling, would get the main character treatment next season. And now, his status as the lead is officially confirmed. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Here's everything we know about season four, so far. Advertisement Benedict's love story will be the focus of season 4 Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton on season three, episode one of "Bridgerton." Liam Daniel/Netflix An official announcement about Benedict being the season four lead was made on Tuesday. In a video posted by Netflix, Thompson is handed a suit for the masquerade ball — which was teased in the season three finale. As Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) prepared to head off to Scotland with Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), John Stirling (Victor Alli), and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) in the episode, she assured Benedict that she'd only be gone until next year. "Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her Masquerade Ball?" she said. Benedict, still not ready to settle down, replied: "I will be there, hiding out behind a mask, avoiding eligible ladies like the plague." Advertisement That not-so-subtle moment was a nod to Benedict's novel "An Offer From a Gentleman," which is part of Julia Quinn's "Bridgerton" book series. In the third, "Cinderella"-inspired book, Benedict meets a woman named Sophie Beckett at a masquerade ball. Unbeknownst to him, Sophie is a servant to a rude stepmother named Araminta Gunningworth. By the end of the book, they express their love for each other and get married. Back in June, Brownell told Deadline that Benedict would continue "exploring his fluidity," but played coy about when he might meet his future wife. The official logline for next season reads: "The fourth season of 'Bridgerton' turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson). Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother's masquerade ball." Advertisement Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan will reprise their roles as Colin and Penelope Bridgerton in season 4 Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan on season three of "Bridgerton." Liam Daniel/Netflix Coughlan told TheWrap that she and Newton will return in season four, but they "don't know anything about it." Meanwhile, showrunner Jess Brownell told the publication that she'd like the pair to continue on the show beyond season four. Related stories "We will definitely hope to bring them back in future seasons because I think there's more story there," she said. Brownell elaborated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that Polin will shift to being part of the larger ensemble. "I do think that there is a bit more to tell story-wise with Whistledown," she said. "Whistledown has been the narrative glue of every season. Now that Penelope's out publicly as Whistledown, I want to see more of what that's like. So, we will continue with them next season for sure." Advertisement Newton similarly told Teen Vogue that he's committed to being on the show indefinitely. "I feel very invested in the show… like I said before, I just love the people," he said. "I love my job. I love my role in the show, so I can't see myself going anywhere. I just want to finish the stories off. I would say there's still stuff to get sorted in season four, so yeah, that's why I'm there." Kanthony may also return Simone Ashley as Kate and Jonathan Bailey as Anthony on season three, episode seven of "Bridgerton." Netflix Kanthony fans have been wondering how long Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) will stay on the show after leading season two. Previous season leads have largely stepped away after their story arc was done, but Anthony and Kate are the new heads of the Bridgerton household, which means they have to stick around. Advertisement In season three, Anthony and Kate show up in four episodes, often disappearing on trips around the world. The show writers likely did this to explain the characters' disappearance so Ashley and Bailey could film other projects. In season three, episode seven, Anthony and Kate leave for a trip to India so Kate can visit her home and give birth to their first child. Though this looks like a convenient way to write the couple off the show, that may not be the case. Ashley told reporter Josh Rom during a "Bridgerton" season three screening premiere on Wednesday that she will return for season four. "Kate Sharma is here to stay," Ashley said. Advertisement It might be more tricky to bring back Bailey since he was just cast as the lead in the next "Jurassic World" movie. However, Bailey has not yet said he's leaving "Bridgerton." Brownell, for her part, said that she hopes to see more of Kanthony on the show. "We love them so much, and they're both so incredibly talented and we want to support their ability to do other projects, while still leaving the door open for them to return when and if they're able," she told Entertainment Weekly. "So the India send-off is a plot device in certain ways that allows us to leave the door open." This isn't the last we've seen of Cressida Cowper Jessica Madsen as Cressida Cowper in season three, episode seven of "Bridgerton." Liam Daniel/Netflix Season three of "Bridgerton" gives more insight into Cressida's (Jessica Madsen) difficult home life and the lengths she'll go to in order to get out of her situation. Advertisement During the season, she attempts to take credit for Lady Whistledown so she can receive the reward money and avoid marrying an older man, but the plan backfires. Then, when she learns that Penelope is Lady Whistledown, she attempts to blackmail her with the intention of using the money to escape town and avoid being sent off to live with her aunt in Wales. But Cressida is outsmarted and is last seen being sent away in a carriage to live with her relative after tarnishing the Cowper family's reputation. In separate interviews with The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, and The Los Angeles Times, Brownell said that Cressida's story isn't over yet. "It felt a little early in this season for her to get a happily ever after just because we've watched two seasons of her being a real bully to Penelope. She has a little bit more growth to do, but I do want to give her a happy ending eventually," she told EW. Advertisement "We want to see more from Jessica Madsen," Brownell told THR. "So we wanted to leave her story a little bit more open-ended so that we can craft an ending for her in future seasons." 'Bridgerton' season 4 won't come out until 2026 Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton on season three, episode two of "Bridgerton." Liam Daniel/Netflix In June, "Bridgerton" showrunner Jess Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter that fans will have to wait two years for the next season. "We are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language," Brownell said. "And the writing takes a very long time as well, so we're kind of on a two-year pace, we're trying to speed up but somewhere in that range." Brownell added that the writers are nearly done with the season four scripts. Advertisement "I feel like it's some of my best work and my writers room's best work," Brownell said. "We've just really gelled our collaboration, and we're firing on all cylinders, so I can't wait for fans to see what we have." In a season three finale post-mortem interview with Business Insider, Lady Danbury actor Adjoa Andoh said that filming for the new season is set to begin "sometime in the autumn." Brownell confirmed this in an interview with the LA Times and said that they're filming in the fall partly for storytelling purposes but also out of practicality. "It's still going to be just as lush and colorful, but just more in those warm fall colors instead of the pastels," she said. "There will still be some pastels, so it won't look like a totally different show." Advertisement This means that season four is likely to premiere at some point in 2026, but there's no confirmed release date yet.
A storm chaser on what 'Twisters' gets right and wrong 2024-07-23 21:23:47+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview The new "Twisters," a stand-alone sequel to the 1996 film, has the same kind of giant tornadoes that inspire awe and dread as the original. It follows professional storm chasers and scientists as they pursue the dangerous storms. Jen Walton, a storm chaser from Denver, has already seen the new film twice and loved many of the nods to the original movie, the accuracy of the tornado science, and the appreciation for storm chasers. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Walton wasn't always in love with storms. "It started with sheer terror," she said. As a kid, she'd drag a sleeping bag into her parents' bedroom during storms. But eventually, she got over her fear and has been chasing storms for the last six years. An environmental communicator by training, she understands the importance of media portrayals, even fictional movies, for scientific topics. Here's what she says "Twisters" gets right and wrong. Advertisement Right: "Twisters" knows chaser culture Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in "Twisters." Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Amblin Entertainment Walton was a teenager when the original "Twister" came out. With the sequel, it was exciting to see the community she's a part of portrayed on screen. "The way that the movie celebrated chaser culture, they definitely nailed some of the things that we do, like hanging out at gas stations," she said. Related stories Tornadoes bring out large crowds, from storm-chasing tours to researchers to weather enthusiasts, she said. And there are different personalities in the mix. For example, Glen Powell's character in the new movie, Tyler Owens, films outrageous storm-chasing stunts for YouTube, which is actually a real thing people do, "the social media chaser, as we call it," she said. Advertisement But there's not just one kind of chaser, she added. Walton said she tends to hang back and take photos instead of getting as close as possible. Wrong: There's way more traffic to get to tornadoes Storm chaser vehicles lining up on a highway in Oklahoma in May 2010. Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo In the new film, the main characters have the roads pretty much to themselves when driving after the storms. While that may have actually been the case 30 years ago when storm chasing was more niche, that's far from reality today — partly thanks to the original "Twister" which brought a lot of newcomers to the pursuit. "The thing we struggle with most days is what's called 'chaser convergence,' where it actually gets so busy out in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road that people get stuck in traffic," Walton said. Advertisement It mostly happens in Texas and Oklahoma, where storm chasing is the most popular, she said. And it can be dangerous, like when a line of cars blocks the only escape route from a tornado. Right: Chasers bring both science and excitement Jen Walton setting up a pod instrument for studying tornadoes as part of Doppler on Wheels. Jen Walton/FARM Facility "Our crew's not like your crew," Owens tells researcher Katie Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, in the movie. "We don't need PhDs and fancy tech." Walton doesn't have a background in meteorology. She went on a storm-chasing tour in 2018 and then began studying on her own. "I realized I could teach myself to forecast and chase successfully," she said. While she takes incredible images of storms, she's also interested in the science. In May, she helped a Doppler on Wheels tornado research team deploy instrument pods in the path of storms. Advertisement That assignment led to a frightening situation where the vehicle she was in ended up close enough to the tornado that debris fell all around her. "I realized that this is a very real, potentially very significantly dangerous situation," Walton said. Wrong: The vehicles remain fairly pristine A National Severe Storms Laboratory vehicle displaying large cracks in its windshield. NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory Tornadoes are so unpredictable that close calls do happen, Walton said. But she worries that "Twisters" sets an unrealistic expectation about what happens when you get close to a storm. In the movie, several vehicles get in and near tornadoes and emerge without much damage. In reality, flying debris can break windshields and kill or injure people, Walton said. Advertisement Walton has concerns about the newest generation of chasers being unsafe. Many may not remember the 2013 El Reno storm when four storm chasers were killed, she said. That's why Girls Who Chase, the initiative Walton started to support women in STEM fields, offers Storm Chasing 101. It provides basics on staying safe while on the hunt for tornadoes. People are going to chase storms whether or not they have the training, Walton said, "so, we might as well develop a new generation of more self-aware, safer, crowd-friendly storm chasers."