Revenues climbed to $5.7 million, up 41% compared to the first quarter of 2022; Net loss dropped to $0.7 million (Q1.2022: a net loss of $4.7 million); Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $0.06 million (Q1.2022: Adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.2 million) TEL AVIV, Israel, May 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alarum Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq, TASE: ALAR) ("Alarum" or the "Company"), a global provider of enterprise and consumers internet access solutions, today announced record financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2023.  Key Financial Highlights for the First Quarter of 2023: Revenues climbed to a record high of $5.7 million, an increase of approximately 41% compared to the first quarter of 2022. Net loss decreased by 85% to $0.7 million, compared to a net loss of $4.7 million during the first quarter of 2022. Achieved positive cashflow from operating activities, and Adjusted EBITDA, for the first time, of $0.06 million, up from an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2022. NetNut Ltd. ("NetNut"), the Company's internet access arm for business and enterprise customers, became profitable for the first time. "I am incredibly proud of the entire Alarum team for their contributions to the generation of cashflow from our operating activities and the first-ever positive Adjusted EBITDA this quarter, alongside our ninth consecutive quarter of revenue growth. We've significantly improved our revenue stream, our net loss and the Adjusted EBITDA compared to the previous year as well as the prior quarter. Our key metrics, both financial and non-financial, are moving in the right direction and aligning with our strategic vision. As our enterprise access solutions continue to scale, we believe that we are well positioned for continuous success," said Mr. Shachar Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Alarum. "Achieving positive cash flow from our operating activities is a significant milestone for Alarum, especially when accompanied by continuously sustaining substantial growth. We believe this is a strong indicator of the financial success of our core business activities.  With another solid quarter behind us and sufficient financial resources to support our growth initiatives, we believe that we remain on path to profitability. Our results showcase our ability to drive revenue growth while maintaining operational efficiency, ultimately creating value for our stakeholders," concluded Mr. Daniel. Mr. Chen Katz, the Company's chairman of the board of directors, added, "We began fiscal year 2023 with a solid foundation, delivering robust top-line growth, primarily by expanding sales of our value-added products. We are also demonstrating operational leverage as we maintain cost discipline across the organization and invest wisely to fuel further growth. The impressive results achieved by Alarum are a testament of the successful efforts by our talented leading teams, and I have full confidence in the Company's ability to continue to thrive." First Quarter of 2023 Operational Highlights and Recent Business Developments: NetNut experienced surging demand and rapid adoption in Asia, with monthly subscriptions tripling NetNut Announced launch of a new white-label consumer internet access privacy solution NetNut expanded into the retail artificial intelligence ("AI") market, securing its first customer for digital technologies and analytics solutions CyberKick Ltd., the Company's Consumer Internet Access subsidiary, extended its $2.0 million revolving line of credit agreement with United Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd., to support consumer privacy solutions operations, through May 25, 2024 Further to Alarum's February 22, 2023, announcement regarding an investigation into potential illegal short selling of the Company's American Depository Shares, the Company continues to assess suspicious trading activity and will take appropriate corrective actions if necessary Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2023: Revenues amounted to $5.7 million (Q1.2022: $4.0 million). The growth is attributed to the organic increase in the enterprise access business revenues. Cost of revenues totaled $1.9 million (Q1.2022: $1.9 million). The additional costs for resources in the enterprise internet access business were offset by lower user acquisition costs in the consumer internet access business and lower amortization of intangible assets. Research and development expenses totaled $1.1 million (Q1.2022: $1.4 million). The decrease is attributed mainly to reduced expenses in the enterprise security segment after outsourcing to TerraZone Ltd., a global security reseller, in 2022. Sales and marketing expenses totaled $2.2 million (Q1.2022: $3.0 million). The decrease resulted mainly from lower media acquisition costs in the consumer internet access business and reduced sales and marketing expenses in the enterprise security business after outsourcing to TerraZone Ltd. in 2022. General and administrative expenses totaled $1.0 million (Q1.2022: $2.25 million). The decrease is largely due to reduced professional consulting fees, particularly legal fees related to resolved patent proceedings in May 2022. As a result, net loss improved to $0.69 million, or $0.02 basic loss per ordinary share (Q1.2022: net loss of $4.7 million, or $0.16 basic loss per ordinary share). Adjusted EBITDA was positive at $0.06 million (Q1.2022: Adjusted EBITDA Loss of $3.2 million). The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net loss before depreciation, amortization, interest, tax and impairment of intangible assets, as further adjusted to remove the impact of (i) impairment of goodwill (if any); (ii) share-based compensation expense; and (iii) contingent consideration measurement (if any). The following table presents the reconciled effect of the above on the Company's Adjusted EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA loss for the year and three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, and the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:     For the Three-Month Period Ended March 31,   For the Year Ended December 31, (millions of U.S. dollars)   2023   2022   2022   2021                   Net loss for the period   (0.69 )   (4.73 )   (13.15 )   (13.13 ) Adjustments:                 Assets depreciation, amortization and impairment   0.25     0.43     2.21     1.51   Finance expense (income), net   0.20     0.24     0.05     (0.94 ) Tax benefit   *     (0.08 )   (0.33 )   (0.94 ) EBITDA loss from continuing operations   (0.24 )   (4.14 )   (11.22 )   (13.50 ) Adjustments:                 Impairment of goodwill   -     -     0.57     0.70   Contingent consideration measurement   -     -     -     (0.68 ) Share-based compensation   0.30     0.94     1.68     2.36   Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA loss) for the period   0.06     (3.20 )   (8.97 )   (11.12 ) *Less than $0.01 Balance Sheet Highlights: As of March 31, 2023, shareholders' equity totaled $12.9 million, or approximately $3.93 per outstanding American Depository Share, compared to shareholders' equity of $13.3 million on December 31, 2022. The reduction is due mainly to the Company's net loss during the first quarter of 2023. As of March 31, 2023, the Company's cash and cash equivalents balance totaled $3.7 million, compared to $3.3 million on December 31, 2022. The Company's cash balance does not account for up to an additional $2.2 million in funds available under its credit facility and investment financing. Use of Non-IFRS Financial ResultsIn addition to disclosing financial results calculated in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, this press release contains non-IFRS financial measures of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Loss for the periods presented that exclude depreciation and amortization, interest and tax, as further adjusted for the effect of impairment of goodwill, contingent consideration adjustments and share-based compensation expenses. The Company's management believes the non-IFRS financial information provided in this release is useful to investors' understanding and assessment of the Company's ongoing operations. Management also uses both IFRS and non-IFRS information in evaluating and operating its business internally, and as such deemed it important to provide this information to investors. The non-IFRS financial measures disclosed by the Company should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with IFRS, and the financial results calculated in accordance with IFRS and reconciliations to those financial statements should be carefully evaluated. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of these non-IFRS measures to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures provided in the financial statement tables herein. First Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call Mr. Shachar Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Alarum, and Mr. Shai Avnit, Chief Financial Officer of Alarum, will host a conference call today, on May 30, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. ET, to discuss the first quarter of 2023 financial results, followed by a Q&A session. To attend the conference call, please dial one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin by placing your call five minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free number, please try the international dial-in number: Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, 5:30 a.m. Pacific time Toll-free dial-in number: 1-877-407-0789 or 1-201-689-8562 Israel Toll Free: 1-809-406-247 Participants will be required to state their name and company upon entering the call. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Michal Efraty on behalf of Alarum at +972-(0)-52-3044404. The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here. A replay of the conference call will be available after 11:30 a.m. Eastern time May 30, 2023, through June 27, 2023: Toll-free replay number: 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671 Replay ID: 13738915 About Alarum Technologies Ltd. Alarum Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq, TASE: ALAR) is a global provider of internet access solutions. The Company operates primarily in two distinct segments: solutions for enterprises and solutions for consumers. The solutions by NetNut, our Enterprise Internet Access arm, are based on our world's fastest and most advanced and secured hybrid proxy network, enabling our customers to collect data anonymously at any scale from any public sources over the web. Our network comprises both exit points based on our proprietary reflection technology and hundreds of servers located at our Internet Service Providers partners around the world. The infrastructure is optimally designed to guarantee privacy, quality, stability, and the speed of the service. Our Consumer Internet Access arm offers privacy and cybersecurity solutions to end users. These solutions are designed to allow users to take charge of their online privacy with a powerful, secured and encrypted connection. The solutions are designed for basic and advanced use cases, ensuring complete protection of personal and digital information. For more information about Alarum and its internet access solutions for enterprises and consumers, please visit www.alarum.io. Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to our YouTube channel Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Alarum is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses that its key metrics, both financial and non-financial, are moving in the right direction and aligning with its strategic vision, its belief that it remains on a clear path to profitability, the Company's ...Full story available on Benzinga.com.....»»

RISHON LE ZION, Israel, May 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BOS Better Online Solutions Ltd. ("BOS" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:BOSC) reported its financial results for the first quarter of the year 2023. First Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights: Revenues grew by 12% to $12.1 million from $10.8 million in the first quarter of the year 2022; Gross profit margin improved to 21.9% compared to 20.9% in the first quarter of the year 2022; Operating profit for the first quarter of 2023 increased by 94% to $902,000 compared to $465,000 in the first quarter of the year 2022; EBITDA for the first quarter of 2023 increased by 84% to $1,034,000 compared to $562,000 in the first quarter of the year 2022; Financial expenses increased to $246,000 from $151,000 in the first quarter of the year 2022; Net income for the first quarter of 2023 increased by 109% to $656,000 or $0.12 per basic share compared to $314,000 or $0.06 per basic share in the first quarter of the year 2022; Eyal Cohen, BOS' CEO stated: "We have invested extensive managerial resources in expanding our offerings to include complementary technologies and services. I am pleased to see the positive results yielded by these efforts both in the year 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023." Ziv Dekel, BOS' Chairman, stated: "BOS' Board of directors and management have been executing an expansion strategy based on organic growth and M&A opportunities. This strategy leverages our core expertise and highly advanced proficiency in technologies for inventory processes." BOS will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. EDT - 4:00 p.m., Israel Time. A question-and-answer session will follow the management's presentation. To access the conference call, please dial one of the following numbers:US: +1-888-281-1167, International: +972-3-9180644. For those unable to listen to the live call, a replay of the call will be available the next day on the BOS website: www.boscom.com About BOS BOS' technologies enhance inventory processes through three business divisions: The Intelligent Robotics division automates industrial and logistic inventory processes; The RFID division marks and tracks inventory; and The Supply Chain division manages inventory. For additional information, contact: Eyal Cohen, CEO +972-542525925 | eyalc@boscom.com Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information BOS reports financial results in accordance with US GAAP and herein provides some non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the Company's presentation of its financial results that are prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses the non-GAAP measures presented to evaluate and manage the Company's operations internally. The Company is also providing this information to assist investors in performing additional financial analysis that is consistent with financial models developed by research analysts who follow the Company. The reconciliation set forth below is provided in accordance with Regulation G and reconciles the non-GAAP financial measures with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of BOS. These risk factors and uncertainties include, amongst others, the dependency of sales being generated from one or few major customers, the uncertainty of BOS being able to maintain current gross profit margins, inability to keep up or ahead of technology and to succeed in a highly competitive industry, inability to maintain marketing and distribution arrangements and to expand our overseas markets, uncertainty with respect to the prospects of legal claims against BOS, the effect of exchange rate fluctuations, general worldwide economic conditions, the continued availability of financing for working capital purposes and to refinance outstanding indebtedness; and additional risks and uncertainties detailed in BOS' periodic reports and registration statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. BOS undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS U.S. dollars in thousands     Three months endedMarch 31, Year endedDecember 31,     2023   2022     2022     (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)           Revenues   $ 12,141     $ 10,789     $ 41,511 Cost of revenues     9,477       8,537       32,451 Gross profit     2,664       2,252       9,060 Operating costs and expenses:                         Research and development     41       51       166 Sales and marketing     1,246       1,164       4,924 General and administrative     475       572       2,122 Other income, net     -       -       (81 ) Total operating costs and expenses     1,762       1,787       7,131                       Operating income     902       465       1,929 Financial expenses, net     (246 )     (151 )     (647 ) Income before taxes on income     656       314       1,282 Tax on income     -       -       (6 ) Net income   $ 656     $ 314     $ 1,276               Basic net income per share   $ 0.12     $ 0.06     $ 0.23 Diluted net income per share   $ 0.11     $ 0.06     $ 0.23 Weighted average number of shares used in computing basic net income per share     5,702       5,251       5,550 Weighted average number of shares used in computing diluted net income per share     5,712       5,291       5,589               Number of outstanding shares as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022     5,702       5,251       5,702 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (U.S. dollars in thousands)       March 31,2023     December 31,2022     (Unaudited)     (Audited) ASSETS       CURRENT ASSETS:   Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,294 $ 1,763 Restricted bank deposits   146   130 Trade receivables, net   10,888   10,834 Other accounts receivable and prepaid expenses   1,358   1,414 Inventories   6,930   6,433       Total current assets   21,616   20,574       LONG-TERM ASSETS   251   260       PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET   3,390   3,270       OPERATING LEASE RIGHT-OF-USE ASSETS,NET   1,021   1,110       OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET   460   486       GOODWILL   4,895   4,895      .....»»

$177 million Q1 Net Income - $2.5 billion of Net Income since inception Fivefold increase in EBITDA from Q1 2022 Strong cash reserves support at par redemption of Series D perpetual Preferred Shares 15 new charters increase minimum contracted revenues to $1.6 billion Market fundamentals remain strong ATHENS, Greece, May 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TEN, Ltd (TEN) (NYSE:TNP) (the "Company") today reported results (unaudited) for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. Q1 2023 SUMMARY RESULTSAs TEN celebrates 30 years as a public entity, this quarter's performance highlights the Company's ability to achieve record profits by adapting its employment and investment policy to take advantage of market circumstances. As a result, in the first quarter of 2023, the positive industry fundamentals together with the trade imbalances the war in the Ukraine has created, continues to support a healthy tanker market and allowed TEN - despite operating fewer vessels - to generate gross revenues of $261 million, representing an increase of 74% or $112 million from the same quarter in 2022. Operating income in this year's first quarter climbed to $199 million which includes an $81 million capital gain from the sale of six first generation MRs and two handysize product tankers at values reflecting the strong demand for secondhand tonnage. The resulting net income, including the $81 million capital gain, totaled $177 million. Fleet utilization in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 96.4% reflecting efficient technical management and the low number of scheduled dry dockings during the period. Boosted by TEN's flexible charters with upside potential, the fleet's average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) more than doubled to $41,882 per day from the 2022 first quarter levels. Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation & Amortization (EBITDA) exceeded $236 million. As a consequence, the positive cash flow generated from the profitable contracts the vessels are employed under resulted in the increase of the Company's cash reserves, as of March 31, 2023, to $476 million. Bank debt in the first quarter of 2023 was $21 million lower from the year-end 2022 level at $1.39 billion. Interest and finance costs in the first quarter of 2023 reached $24 million, primarily due to higher underline interest rates and a new loan for the acquisition of a VLCC in November 2022. Daily operating expenses per vessel during the 2023 first quarter were at $9,213 impacted by the seasonal inventory buildup for the fleet and the inflationary pressures evident in the world economy. Depreciation and amortization marginally increased by $1.8 million partly due to two vessels undergoing dry-docking during the 2023 first quarter. RECENT EVENTS – NEW CHARTERSTEN continues to take advantage of prevailing solid charter rates and attractive long-term employment and as a result, it has secured new charters and extensions of 15 of its vessels (including two LNGs) on both fixed and marked related rates. These recent fixtures raise the total minimum contracted revenue of the fleet to $1.6 billion. CORPORATE AFFAIRS - DIVIDENDThe Company's Board of Directors has approved the full and at par redemption of TEN's 3,517,061 Series D Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares currently outstanding with a par value of $25.00 per share or $87,926,525 in total. The redemption, along with accrued dividends, is scheduled for July 7, 2023. Through this redemption, the Company will generate annual preferred dividend savings of $7.7 million. This latest action brings the total number of preferred shares the Company has redeemed since 2019 to $188 million with total annual preferred dividend savings of approximately $16.1 million. In line with TEN's semi-annual dividend distribution policy and as previously announced, the Company will distribute in 2023 an annual dividend of $0.60 per common share, $0.30 of which will be paid on June 15, 2023, to shareholders of record as of June 9, 2023, and $0.30 cents to be paid in December 2023. This is a 140% increase from the $0.25 per common share paid during 2022 and brings the total dividends paid to common shareholders since TEN's NYSE listing in 2002 to well in excess of $500 million. In addition, and subject to ongoing strong freight market conditions, TEN's Board of Directors could consider an extra dividend to common shareholders for payment within 2023. The amount will be determined at that point and details of the relevant payment will be communicated through a separate public announcement. CORPORATE STRATEGYTEN is well placed to be a prime beneficiary of the solid market fundamentals. Its tried and tested mix of strong spot presence along with fixed and market related long-term charters to major oil concerns safeguards the Company's development going forward. In this environment, the accumulation of ample cash reserves from vessel operations and asset divestments will continue to fund the Company's growth and capital allocation. As secondhand prices remain healthy and demand for readily available tonnage is on the rise, management will continue to explore opportunities for the strategic sale of vessels whilst seeking fleet expansion by increasing its footprint in dual-fuel vessels in co-operation with its clients. Strong liquidity and debt reduction, together with dividend rewards for the shareholders are integral parts of TEN's policy. "Our 30th year as a public company finds TEN in record performance. With strong market fundamentals we expect to continue reducing our debt obligations, further strengthen our balance sheet and reward our shareholders with healthy dividend distributions," George Saroglou, Chief Operating Officer of TEN stated. TEN's FLEET GROWTH PROGRAM # Name Type Delivery Status Employment 1 H5081 Aframax Dual Fuel Q1 2024* Under Construction Yes 2 H5082 Aframax Dual Fuel Q1 2024* Under Construction Yes 3 H5083 Aframax Dual Fuel Q3 2023* Under Construction Yes 4 H5084 Aframax Dual Fuel Q4 2023* Under Construction Yes 5 H3431 Suezmax – Scrubber Fitted Q2 2025* Under Construction Under Discussion 6 H3432 Suezmax – Scrubber Fitted Q4 2025* Under Construction Under Discussion 7 H2654 Suezmax Shuttle Tanker Q2 2025* Under Construction Yes 8 H2655 Suezmax Shuttle Tanker Q2 2025* Under Construction Yes *Expected delivery as per shipbuilding contracts (could be subject to change) ABOUT TSAKOS ENERGY NAVIGATIONTEN, founded in 1993 and celebrating this year 30 years as a public company, is one of the first and most established public shipping companies in the world. TEN's diversified energy fleet currently consists of 67 double-hull vessels including four dual-fuel LNG powered Aframaxes, two scrubber-fitted Suezmaxes and up to three DP2 Shuttle tankers under construction constituting a mix of crude tankers, product tankers and LNG carriers, totaling 8.4 million dwt. Conference Call Details:Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes before the scheduled time using the following numbers: 877 405 1226 (US Toll-Free Dial In) or +1 201-689-7823 (US and Standard International Dial In). Please quote "Tsakos" to the operator and/or conference ID 13738977.Click here for additional participant International Toll- Free numbers. Alternatively, participants can register for the call using the call me option for a faster connection to join the conference call. You can enter your phone number and let the system call you right away. Click here for the call me option. Simultaneous Slides and Audio Webcast:There will also be a live, and then archived, webcast of the conference call and accompanying slides, available through the Company's website. To listen to the archived audio file, visit our website www.tenn.gr and click on Webcasts & Presentations under our Investor Relations page. Participants to the live webcast should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast. ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. TEN undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For further information, please contact: CompanyTsakos Energy Navigation, Ltd. George SaroglouCOO+30210 94 07 710gsaroglou@tenn.gr Investor Relations / MediaCapital Link, Inc. Nicolas Bornozis Markella Kara+212 661 7566ten@capitallink.com                     TSAKOS ENERGY NAVIGATION LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES   Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data   (In Thousands of U.S. Dollars, except share, per share and fleet data)                             Three months ended           March 31 (unaudited)       STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA   2023       2022                           Voyage revenues $ 261,212       $ 149,704                             Voyage expenses   45,898         48,202         Charter hire expense   6,792         8,615         Vessel operating expenses   48,275         43,174         Depreciation and amortization   35,139        .....»»

"ChatGPT will be the next leg of the growth stool" for the tech giant, Dan Ives said in a research note. Microsoft shares could rally another 13% thanks to ChatGPT and AI, according to Wedbush's Dan Ives.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Microsoft's market capitalization could jump $300 billion thanks to the rise of AI, according to Wedbush. "ChatGPT will be the next leg of the growth stool" for the tech giant, Dan Ives said in a research note. Ives’ bullish outlook comes after chipmaker Nvidia posted stunning gains last week on the evidence that AI had boosted its sales. Microsoft shares' 2023 rally will continue thanks to the Redmond-based tech giant's efforts to integrate ChatGPT and artificial intelligence into its business model, according to Wedbush."ChatGPT will be the next leg of the growth stool for Microsoft," Ives said Monday in a research note seen by Insider."Redmond is just starting to hit its next gear of growth with ChatGPT and AI also adding a new layer of growth to the Microsoft story over the coming years," he added.Ives upped his price target for the tech stock from $340 to $375 a share – up 13% from its current $333 level, equivalent to adding $300 billion worth of market capitalization.His bullish note comes the week after Nvidia saw its valuation surge by nearly $200 billion after it issued a second-quarter sales forecast that crushed Wall Street's expectations thanks to the rise of AI fueling demand for its chips.Ives expects Microsoft to enjoy similar gains as it integrates the intelligent language tool into its Azure cloud business, Bing search engine, and Office 365 suite of products."We believe Nvidia's 'jaw-dropping guidance' heard around the world is a direct AI barometer for Redmond as our recent checks confirm the monetization opportunity for Microsoft is happening much sooner than the Street had anticipated in the field," he wrote."Over the last few weeks in our numerous conversations with Microsoft customers, partners, and field checks it has become clear to us that the monetization opportunities around deploying AI and ChatGPT in the cloud is a transformational opportunity across the industry, with Redmond in the driver's seat," Ives added.Microsoft shares are already up 39% in 2023, benefiting from both the ChatGPT craze and traders' expectation that the Federal Reserve will soon pause its interest-rate hiking campaign.Read more: Big Tech stocks' massive gains this year have made them even more dominant. That could be bad news for investors.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The CEO of Priceline, Brett Keller, believes post-pandemic 'revenge travel' is here to stay. He also talked with Insider about leadership and AI. Brett KellerPriceline Brett Keller joined Priceline in 1999 just as the dot-com boom was getting in gear. He rose through the ranks to become CEO of the online-travel services company in 2016. In an interview with Insider, Keller talked about the company's early startup days — and its future. In a tourism industry dominated by flashy marketing campaigns touting tropical beach getaways, nonstop flights, and off-the-grid adventures, it's easy to overlook that much of the work that makes those vacations possible is performed by companies that operate behind the scenes.One of those companies is Priceline.Founded in 1997, the online-travel agency, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, has helped customers score deals on flights, hotels, and rental cars for nearly 25 years. Brett Keller joined the company in 1999 and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2016.Keller, 55, who grew up in small-town Idaho, didn't travel much as a kid. Family vacations for him and his seven siblings centered around fishing and camping excursions. It wasn't until his college years at Brigham Young University, when he spent two years as a missionary in Japan, that he realized the eye-opening thrill of exploring new places.And yet, Keller didn't set out to forge a career in the travel industry. Rather, it was a fortuitous combination of time and place. He received his MBA from Cornell in the late '90s, just as the dot-com economy was getting in gear. A former colleague who worked at Priceline invited him to tour the office."There were about 40 people there and it looked like a complete circus," Keller recalled with a chuckle. "After a while, he said to me, 'You should come to work here!' I was so young, I had no idea what I was getting myself into."The ride has been worthwhile. Keller has led the company through periods of immense growth. Priceline, which today has roughly 1,500 employees, is part of Booking Holdings, the travel juggernaut that also owns Kayak and OpenTable, among others, and last year earned more than $17 billion in revenue. Keller has also helped steer the company through many challenges, including the dot-com bust, the Great Recession, and most recently, the pandemic. Insider spoke with Keller recently via video where he talked about the leadership lessons he learned during Priceline's startup days, the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and why he thinks the era of pandemic-fueled revenge travel will never go away.This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.What were your early impressions of Priceline?The founder of Priceline, Jay Walker, wanted to create a business that represented the future of commerce. In the early days, we had a bizarre product lineup. We sold flights, car rentals, and hotel rooms, and also insurance, gasoline, and used goods. Obviously, we migrated from that original vision to something very different. But the roots have stayed, and the things I learned in those first few years shaped how I lead. I look back on that time fondly, even though it was a frenetic pace. What was it like at Priceline after the terrorist attacks of  9/11? I became the chief marketing officer in early 2002. We were a few days away from going bankrupt because all the funding dried up for the business. The CEO who took over, my then-boss, was tasked with saving the company. We went through four rounds of layoffs that year and shut down all our non-travel businesses. We said travel is where our model works, and where we can generate profit. That was the start of what Priceline became: a very large, scaled travel-services business. That sounds like it was a painful process, but one that ultimately had a positive outcome for the company.Brett KellerPricelineScaling and growing a business year after year takes focus, discipline, and complete transparency. I didn't get those things in other jobs early in my career and I saw how that impacted employees. You didn't know what leaders were thinking or what was happening. One day you'd show up to work and they'd say, "Pack a box, you're out of here."What do you do differently?I want our people to know literally everything about our business. We share information about sales and profitability so employees can see how those things tie directly to their compensation. I also hold a lot of skip-level sessions with teams. They can ask me anything they want. And I'll genuinely give them answers to help them understand the course of the business. But sometimes you don't always know the answers yourself, right? When the pandemic first hit, for example, there was so much uncertainty.When COVID hit, I held daily all-hands updates. I talked about what was happening within the organization, what I knew, and what I didn't know. I said, "I've been in the industry a long time. I've seen other very big shocks to the system — 9/11, the financial crisis, and volcanoes in Europe — and every time travel rebounds." My first message was, "We're going to be OK, but it may take a while."My second message was that we're going to take advantage of every opportunity to grow the business in a very challenging period. Many of our competitors pulled out of all of the marketing channels in the early months of COVID. We pushed in, which put us in a position where we could be more aggressiveWhat are some other leadership lessons you learned early on?For the first few years of my career, I used to look at the whole idea of having a mission and a purpose with an air of, "Whatever. We're here to work." But I have come to learn how important that is. When I took over as CEO, the first thing we did as a leadership team was to construct our mission, which is to be the world's best travel dealmakers. Every two weeks, I get up in front of our employees, and talk about how the mission ties into what different folks in the company are doing.How do you describe the culture of your company?When I ask our people, "Why do you work here" there are a couple of answers that come through. One, they say, "I believe that the company is trying to do the right thing at all times." We have a high bar of ethics. Two, we don't tolerate jerk behavior. If you're a jerk, we'll show the door. When it comes to ethics, your business and industry are in a tough spot. For as much as travel broadens horizons and can help cultivate empathy, it also does a lot of harm to our environment. How do you wrestle with these challenges?It's something we think about every day. Travel creates consumption that's harmful to the world. But if we didn't do it, what does the world look like? During COVID, we saw that it's not a very nice place when people never leave their homes or towns, and are so focused on themselves that they become less compassionate toward others. We have to keep pushing the travel world in the right direction while continuing to promote travel as much as we can. How are you doing that?Brett KellerPricelineWe've created a travel-sustainability rating system. We have tiers of accommodations that providers can apply for and reach, which we then promote on our website with a sustainability badge. We think providing information to consumers allows them to make choices. How do you view the rise of AI? Do you think it could lead to a reduction in your workforce? I've been through years where you look to cut people and cut expenses and guess what happens to your company? It shrinks. If you want to grow, which is what every public company tries to do, you've got to be innovative. You have to deploy new products, new features, and better consumer experiences. What's super exciting to me is that AI should empower and drive more innovation within the company, as opposed to cutting it back. We want every person in the company to find a way to deploy AI within their respective roles. The way we look at it is: "Wow, if our coders were to use these new AI tools that help them code more effectively and efficiently, we could do three times the productivity with our product releases."Spending on trips shows no sign of slowing. What's your take on future demand amid this uncertain economy?We've all reminded ourselves how amazing it is to travel. When you finally take that trip, you want to immediately do it again the following week. And yes, the economy's very uncertain. But I promise you, travel will continue to grow for the next 10 years. It just will: It always outpaces the GDP of every country because travel is what people want to do. So the era of revenge travel is not going away?A lot of people think that travel is just about taking a great vacation. But most of travel is about life: You're going to your kids' sports game and you got to travel across the state, so you need a hotel. You need to book flights to visit family that you haven't seen in five years. You're traveling to your friend's bachelorette party or wedding. These types of travel are intricate in our lives. It's what people are prioritizing now. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

OpenAI won't say what books ChatGPT has read. But some data experts have figured it out — and the list is kind of mind-blowing. OpenAI won't say what books it has used to train ChatGPT. But some data experts have figured it out — and the list is kind of mind-blowing.Robyn Phelps/InsiderTurns out the bot is a giant sci-fi nerdDavid Bamman was trying to analyze "Pride and Prejudice" — digitally. An information scientist at UC Berkeley, Bamman uses computers to think about art, building what he calls "algorithmic measuring devices for culture." That means extracting data from classic literature about things like, say, the relationships among various characters. In this case, he was going to start with a question that'd be easy for an even marginally literate human: Are Lizzie and Jane besties, or just sisters?For kicks, Bamman decided to first try asking ChatGPT. What would happen if he fed in 4,000 words of "Pride and Prejudice" and posed a simple question: "What are the relationships between the characters?" To his amazement, it worked. The chatbot's GPT-4 version was amazingly accurate about the Bennet family tree. In fact, it was almost as if it had studied the novel in advance. "It was so good that it raised red flags in my mind," Bamman says. "Either it knew the task really well, or it had seen 'Pride and Prejudice' on the internet a million times, and it knows the book really well."The problem is, there was no way of knowing how GPT-4 knew what it knew. The inner workings of the large language models at the heart of a chatbot are a black box; the datasets they're trained on are so critical to their functioning that their creators consider the information a proprietary secret. So Bamman's team decided to become "data archaeologists." To figure out what GPT-4 has read, they quizzed it on its knowledge of various books, as if it were a high-school English student. Then they gave it a score for each book. The higher the score, the likelier it was that the book was part of the bot's dataset — not just crunched to help the bot generate new language, but actually memorized.In a recent preprint, meaning it hasn't been peer reviewed yet — the team presented its findings — what amounts to an approximation of the chatbot canon. A lot of it, as you might expect, are the classics: everything from "Moby Dick" and "The Scarlet Letter" to "The Grapes of Wrath" and, yep, "Pride and Prejudice." There are a bunch of popular novels, from Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes to "The Da Vinci Code" and "Fifty Shades of Grey." But what's most surprising is how much science fiction and fantasy GPT-4 has been raised on. The list is staggering: J.R.R. Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Orson Scott Card, Philip K. Dick, Margaret Atwood, "A Game of Thrones," even "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." The question of what's on GPT-4's reading list is more than academic. Bots aren't intelligent. They don't understand the world in any way a human can. But if you want to get to know someone — or something, in this case — you look at their bookshelf. Chatbots don't just invent untrue facts, perpetuate egregious crud, and extrude bland, homogenized word pap. It turns out they're also giant nerds.The Silmarillion. Really?One reason people are trying to figure out what sources chatbots are trained on is to determine whether the LLMs violate the copyright of those underlying sources. The issue, as several lawsuits argue, revolves around whether the bots make fair use of the material by transforming into something new, or whether they just memorize it whole and regurgitate it, without citation or permission.One way to answer the question is to look for information that could have come from only one place. When prompted, for example, a GPT-3 writing aid called Sudowrite recognizes the specific sexual practices of a genre of fan-fiction writing called the Omegaverse. That's a strong hint that OpenAI scraped Omegaverse repositories for data to train GPT-3.Bamman and his team used a different tactic: a fill-in-the-blank game called a name cloze. They grabbed short passages from hundreds of novels from as far back as 1749, stripped them of character names and any clues to character names, and then prompted the latest versions of ChatGPT to answer questions about the passage. They might ask: You have seen the following passage in your training data. What is the proper name that fills in the [MASK] token in it? This name is exactly one word long, and is a proper name (not a pronoun or any other word). You must make a guess, even if you are uncertain.Then they would feed the bot a line from the passage in question:The door opened, and [MASK], dressed and hatted, entered with a cup of tea.If the bot answers "Gerty," that's a good indicator it has ingested "The House of Mirth," by Edith Wharton — or a detailed summary of it. Show the bot 100 samples from a given book and see how many it gets right. That's the book's score.!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r.....»»

Costco executives shared new insights on how their members are shopping in a call with investors on Thursday. Costco is seeing sales shift romJustin Sullivan/Getty Images Costco shoppers are ditching pricey meat products for cheaper alternatives.  Execs from the warehouse chain said this trend was common in previous recessions. Some higher-income consumers are also heading to discount chains to do their food shops. Costco shoppers are reining back on pricier products, and it's a good indicator that they're prepping for a recession.In a call with investors on Thursday, executives from the warehouse chain shared insights into how their members are shopping, what they're swapping into their baskets, and what's being left behind. CFO Richard Galanti said that some of its customers are ditching pricier beef products for cheaper meats such as pork and chicken. This is a trend that has been common in previous recessions, he said. Others are bypassing the fresh meat aisle entirely and opting for canned meat and fish products. These items cost less and have a longer shelf life.There are other indicators showing that Costco's customers are feeling the pinch. For example, the portion of sales from Costco's private label brand — Kirkland — grew during the most recent quarter. These products cost less than national brands and are a quick way for customers to save money on their weekly shop. Moreover, the average daily transaction at Costco was down 4.2% worldwide and 3.5% in the US during the quarter. Costco said this number was primarily impacted by the drop in sales of big-ticket nonfood items, such as TVs and fridges. As food prices have stayed high, some higher-income shoppers have chosen to switch up their weekly shopping routine entirely.Discount chains like Dollar Tree and Dollar General say they've been big beneficiaries of this and are seeing a new customer base come to their store to shop for groceries. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

In today's edition: HR is torn on job applicants using AI, Elon Musk gets government approval for putting brain chips in humans, and more headlines. It's Tech Tuesday, friends. I'm Diamond Naga Siu. Have you ever thought about quitting your job to pursue your dreams? That's what one former Googler did — and they failed miserably. But it wasn't all bad. She learned a lot of lessons along the way, including how having no goals and zero expectations resulted in "a lot of fun." Check out her story here. Now, let's dive into today's tech.If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.Amazon Employees for Climate Justice lead a walk out and rally at the company's headquarters to demand that leaders take action on climate change in Seattle, Washington on September 20, 2019. (Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images1. Employees accuse Amazon of 'actively accelerating' the climate crisis. They plan to walk off the job on Wednesday, according to an internal email leaked to Insider. The action is part of a broader protest over layoffs and return-to-office.Amazon employees listed five areas of concern over the company's climate impact: rising emissions, deception in reporting, partnering with Big Oil, killing clean energy legislation, and disproportionate harm to communities of color.The company committed to a Climate Pledge in 2019 to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. But employees claim the company has increased emissions by 40% since making the promise.My colleague Eugene Kim obtained the entire email outlining employee concerns and shared it in full.Dive into the walkout email here.In other news:Tech workers are searching for low stress jobs on social media.Getty stock illustration2. Tech workers are looking for less stressful jobs. They're done with the grind. Many said they're even willing to take lower pay for lower stress. But one Amazon worker said there's "no such thing as [a] high pay low stress job in tech." More on the job search here. 3. HR is torn on applicants using AI during the job search. For some, it's a "definite dealbreaker." But others don't really care. Check out what hiring managers think about AI here.4. Earth's neighboring (and dying) star Betelgeuse got really bright. It's 50% brighter than normal after recently dimming its shine, so scientists are now closely monitoring it. The convalescing star will likely explode into a supernova. More on the starpower here.5. AI can make or break the workforce. Generative AI like ChatGPT could turbocharge the workforce by making us a lot more productive. Or it could cause troves of people to lose their jobs. Look into the contrasting AI futures here.6. Elon Musk got government approval to put chips in people's brains. His company Neuralink was previously only allowed to test on animals. But the Food and Drug Administration just gave it the greenlight for human implants. More on the milestone here.7. Amazon's guide on how every industry will use AI. A leaked document revealed Amazon's predictions for nine different industries. Automakers could use it for vehicle concept design, while healthcare could use it for personalized medicine. Get all the predictions here.8. Things you're probably wrong about when it comes to your car. Buying cars at the end of the month or year might have been clever at one point. But the automotive industry has changed a lot in recent years. Drive over for the nine vehicle misconceptions you might have.Odds and ends:Kaboo Bill. Kaboo Photography. Monterey Bay AquariumKaboo Bill/Kaboo Photography9. Love Love Love: Award-winning engagement photos from around the world. The images are meant to reflect love in all forms. Winners hail from New York City, Bali, and many places in between. View all 50 lovely photos here.10. Students list their high school on Zillow as a prank. The 20-bedroom, 15-bathroom Maryland property features a spacious kitchen and private basketball court. But the $42,069 listing was unfortunately too good to be true. More on the prank here.What we're watching today:Elizabeth Holmes is expected to surrender to federal prison.China is launching its Long March 2F rocket. It will carry three taikonauts (aka Chinese astronauts).Quarterly earnings for HP and other companies. Keep up with earnings here.Happy birthday, Remy Ma! Hope you're All the Way Up.Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in San Diego. (Feedback or tips? Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Alistair Barr (tweet @alistairmbarr) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Beverly Hills residents voted against Bernard Arnault's plan to build an exclusive 115-room hotel on Rodeo Drive with a private club and luxury shops. Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, speaks during a news conference to present the 2022 annual results of LVMH in Paris, France, January 26, 2023.Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Beverly Hills residents voted against Bernard Arnault's plan to build a luxury hotel on Rodeo Drive. Plans for the 115-room hotel included a ninth-story penthouse, private club, spa, shops, and restaurants. Opponents said it would be "too big and tall" for the area and would cause congestion. Bernard Arnault's plan to build an exclusive luxury hotel on Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles' most famous shopping street, was scuppered after residents voted against the controversial development.The boss of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH had hoped to build his first US Cheval Blanc hotel in Beverly Hills, adding to a portfolio of five sites in locations including Paris, the French Alps, and the Maldives. Plans for the Rodeo Drive hotel included 115 rooms with a ninth-story penthouse, private club, spa, shops, and three restaurants.Arnault is the world's richest person, with an estimated net worth of $193 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Financial Times reported that LVMH had spent nearly $2.9 million on its campaign to win the vote."If the final vote count confirms the voters' rejection of our project, we will respect the outcome, and will not bring the hotel project back in any form," a spokesperson for LVMH told Bloomberg.Rodeo Drive is a haven of luxury retail.Benedek/Getty ImagesCity officials approved the hotel proposal last year, with only one of the city's five council members voting against the project, but a union representing hospitality workers in south California opposed the development and gathered enough signatures to trigger a public referendum.The union argued that the development agreement didn't include information about local affordable housing for hotel workers. The hotel also attracted opposition from the group Residents Against Overdevelopment, which said the hotel — set to reach 115 feet at its tallest — was "just too big and tall for our village" and would lead to traffic and drain the city's services and infrastructure.The 5.7-square-mile city, which has around 35,000 residents, is already home to 16 hotels. Masa Alkire, Beverly Hills' principal planner, told The Los Angeles Times when the hotel was first proposed more than three years ago that the Cheval Blanc "is at the highest end, at a part of the market that maybe is not being met right now. This is supposed to be the upper echelon of hotels."LVMH had said that the hotel would generate around $780 million in tax revenues for Beverly Hills over the next three decades. Under the development agreement, it said that it would also contribute a one-off payment of $26 million to the city's budget for services like schools and policing and $2 million to arts and culture.A "Yes on B and C" campaign sign is displayed at the site of the proposed Cheval Blanc Hotel on Rodeo Drive.Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images"The project was revised to address community input and ultimately received overwhelming support from Beverly Hills residents, businesses, and civic groups," supporters of the project said.Just under a third of the city's 22,160 eligible voters had voted on the proposal as of Tuesday morning. The results were tight, but just under 51% of people have so far voted against the development on the two measures on the ballot. Some ballots are yet to be processed, The Los Angeles Times reported."It is a sad day for our city," Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold said, per The Los Angeles Times. "While I respect the democratic process, I believe our community lost an incredible addition to Rodeo Drive that would have provided additional funding for vital city services.""I'm devastated," Andy Licht, chair of the Beverly Hills planning commission, told The Financial Times. "It's a horrible decision."Rodeo Drive is already home to a number of Arnault's businesses, including a Dior store.Jon Hicks/Getty ImagesThe Financial Times reported that LVMH is expected to retain ownership of the property and could develop it for other uses like retail or office space.LVMH already has 15 stores on the street, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi. Other luxury fashion brands including Prada, Gucci, Yves San Laurent, and Valentino also have stores on Rodeo Drive.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Tesla Inc.’s stock TSLA rose 3% premarket Tuesday, as Chief Executive Elon Musk was on a visit to China, his first in about three years. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the visit comes at a key time for the electric vehicle maker. “We would expect Musk to spend most of his visit around the key Shanghai Gigafactory plant which remains the hearts and lungs of the Tesla production globally,” Ives wrote in a note to clients. “With Giga Shanghai now producing over 80k units per month the production scale and scope of Tesla in China remains one of its key advantages as Musk & Co. face increasing domestic competition from the likes of BYD, Nio, Xpeng, and others with an EV price war underway within the country.” Musk is also expected to spend time meeting key officials in Beijing, that may even include Premier Li Qiang, said Ives. “While the geopolitical tensions between the US and China are increasing, Tesla (as well as Apple AAPL) finds itself in a tight wire act to balance its success and production within China which remains a vital market on both the supply and demand front,” said the analyst. “Playing nice in the sandbox in Beijing is something the Street is laser focused on to make sure there are no disruptions to Tesla’s expansion and tentacles within China for the coming years as this remains the #1 EV market in the world.” Ives has an outperform rating on Tesla stock, the equivalent of buy. His $215 price target is about 11% above its current price. Tesla stock has gained 57% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 9.5%. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news......»»

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR USD 4.5 million capital commitment from SPRIM Global Investments to enable initiation of ColiFin® COPILOT study; first patient dosing expected in mid-2023 Reported solid safety and pharmacokinetics results from first-in-human study of inhaled murepavadin Announced positive renal impairment clinical trial results with balixafortide ALLSCHWIL, Switzerland, May 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spexis AG (SIX: SPEX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases and oncology, today announced its financial results for the full year of 2022 and provided a strategic business update. "With the recent closing of the capital commitment from SPRIM Global Investments, Spexis is well-positioned to execute on the clinical development of our Phase 3 ColiFin® program, beginning with the initiation of our COPILOT study expected in the middle of the year," said Jeff Wager, M.D., Chairman & CEO of Spexis. "In addition to the progress made with our lead asset ColiFin®, we are highly encouraged by the accomplishments across our entire pipeline, including promising clinical results from both our balixafortide and inhaled murepavadin programs. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, we remain laser focused on driving each of these programs forward and will continue to diligently evaluate sources of capital to allow for the advancement of our pipeline through value creating milestones." Pipeline Status and Plans The subsequent plans regarding further development of various programs in the Spexis' pipeline are subject to the company raising additional funds and/or entering into partnering agreements. Lead Program: ColiFin® ColiFin® is being developed for the treatment of chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Spexis has worldwide rights to ColiFin® ex-Europe and is focused on developing the product first for the U.S. market. With a "Study may Proceed" letter from the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Spexis is advancing ColiFin® into a Phase 3 clinical program in adult and adolescent CF patients with moderate to severe lung function impairment and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) lung infection. PA infection accounts for two-thirds of CF chronic lung infections and is the leading cause of lung function decline and mortality in CF patients. The Phase 3 program includes the COPILOT safety and tolerability pilot clinical trial which will enroll 38 patients and evaluate and confirm the use of once or twice daily dosing for COPA, the planned single pivotal efficacy and safety Phase 3 trial. In April 2023, Spexis reported the closing of a capital commitment of USD 4.5 million from SPRIM Global Investments (SGI) to enable the initiation of the ColiFin® Phase 3 COPILOT study. COPILOT has study start-up activities ongoing and is expected to enroll its first patient in Q3 2023 with data expected in the first quarter of 2024. Additional financing will be required to continue the clinical development of ColiFin® into the COPA pivotal study. The clinical development of ColiFin® is supported by an FDA Orphan Drug Designation for treatment of respiratory infection in patients with cystic fibrosis, Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) Designation for ColiFin® for the treatment of PA lung infections in CF patients, and Fast Track Designation. Balixafortide Spexis announced positive results from the Phase 1 clinical trial of balixafortide (BLX) in patients with renal impairment in September 2022. The Phase 1 trial was designed to investigate the pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of BLX in subjects with mild (n=8), moderate (n=8), or severe (n=7) renal impairment compared to a control group (n=8) with normal renal function. Each person received a single 2-hour intravenous infusion at the previously studied clinical dose of 5.5 mg/kg of BLX. The data from this trial indicate that BLX doses substantially higher than 5.5 mg/kg, the highest dose previously tested, and can potentially be safely administered while stimulating higher levels of stem cell mobilization for longer durations well beyond 24 hours. Increase of functional stem cells, also called mobilization, is an important prerequisite to the collection and transplantation of bone marrow cells in patients with hematologic malignancies. Inhaled murepavadin In January 2023, Spexis reported promising safety and pharmacokinetics results from a first-in-human study with inhaled murepavadin (iMPV), a novel macrocycle compound. The proprietary compound was derived from the company's macrocycle ...Full story available on Benzinga.com.....»»

Backlog of orders at $15.8 billion; Revenues of $1.39 billion; Non-GAAP net income of $76 million; GAAP net income of $62 million; Non-GAAP net EPS of $1.70; GAAP net EPS of $1.40 HAIFA, Israel, May 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elbit Systems Ltd. ("Elbit Systems" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:ESLT) and (TASE: ESLT), the international high technology defense company, reported today its consolidated results for the  quarter ended March 31, 2023. In this release, the Company is providing US-GAAP results as well as additional non-GAAP financial data, which are intended to provide investors a more comprehensive view of the Company's business results and trends. For a description of the Company's non-GAAP definitions see page 3 below, "Non-GAAP financial data". Unless otherwise stated, all financial data presented is US-GAAP financial data. Management Comment: Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems, commented: "The financial results in the first quarter reflect the demand for our portfolio of technologically advanced and relevant solutions that resulted in a record order backlog of $15.8 Billion, an increase of 16% compared to the first quarter of 2022. We continue to invest in our people, new and legacy facilities, and R&D to deliver the order backlog and realize the significant potential created by the growth in defense budgets around the world. I am confident that the sustained demand for our solutions and our operational improvement activities will support the successful implementation of Elbit Systems' long term strategy." First quarter 2023 results: Revenues in the first quarter of 2023 were $1,393.5 million, as compared to $1,352.8 million in the first quarter of 2022. Aerospace revenues decreased by 10%, to $420.8 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $465.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to lower airborne precision guided munition sales partially offset by growth of Training & Simulation sales. C4I and Cyber revenues increased by 19%, to $175.7 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $148.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to growth in Command & Control systems sales.ISTAR and EW revenues increased by 17%, to $294.7 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $251.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to Electronic Warfare systems sales. Land revenues increased by 8%, to $301.4 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $279.4 million in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to armored vehicle upgrade sales. Elbit Systems of America's revenues were $345.3 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $343.9 million in the first quarter of 2022. For distribution of revenues by segments and geographic regions see the tables on page 11. Non-GAAP(*) gross profit amounted to $368.5 million (26.4% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $333.3 million (24.6% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. GAAP gross profit in the first quarter of 2023 was $361.5 million (25.9% of revenues), as compared to $326.9 million (24.2% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. The GAAP and Non-GAAP gross profit in the first quarter of 2022 included expenses of approximately $20 million related to the effect of the significant increase in the Company's share price on employees' stock price linked compensation plans. Research and development expenses, net were $110.3 million (7.9% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $100.7 million (7.4% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. Marketing and selling expenses, net were $80.2 million (5.8% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $87.0 million (6.4% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. General and administrative expenses, net were $77.1 million (5.5% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $84.3 million (6.2% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP(*) operating income was $105.1 million (7.5% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $65.8 million (4.9% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. GAAP operating income in the first quarter of 2023 was $93.9 million (6.7% of revenues), as compared to $58.6 million (4.3% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. GAAP and Non-GAAP(*) operating income in the first quarter of 2022 was reduced by expenses of approximately $35 million related to the Company's stock price linked compensation plans. Financial expenses, net were $24.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to financial income of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2022. The financial expenses in 2023 were higher as a result of the increase in interest rates. The financial income in the first quarter of 2022 included gains from changes in fair value of financial assets and exchange rate differences. Taxes on income were $8.7 million in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $8.0 million in the first quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP(*) net income attributable to the Company's shareholders in the first quarter of 2023 was $75.6 million (5.4% of revenues), as compared to $54.3 million (4.0% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders in the first quarter of 2023 was $62.1 million (4.5% of revenues), as compared to $52.8 million (3.9% of revenues) in the first quarter of 2022. Net income in the first quarter of 2022 was reduced by net expenses of approximately $32 million related to the Company's stock price linked compensation plans. Non-GAAP(*) diluted net earnings per share attributable to the Company's shareholders were $1.70 for the first quarter of 2023, as compared to $1.22 for the first quarter of 2022. GAAP diluted earnings per share attributable to the Company's shareholders in the first quarter of 2023 were $1.40, as compared to $1.19 in the first quarter of 2022. Diluted net earnings per share in the first quarter of 2022, were reduced by $0.72 as a result of the expenses related to the Company's stock price linked compensation plans. The Company's backlog of orders as of March 31, 2023 totaled $15.8 billion. Approximately 75% of the current backlog is attributable to orders from outside Israel. Approximately 54% of the backlog is scheduled to be performed during the remainder of 2023 and 2024.  Cash flows used in operating activities in the three months ended March 31, 2023 were $73.0 million, as compared to cash flows provided by operating activities of $35.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2022. The cash flows in the first quarter of 2023 was affected by the increase in inventories and trade receivables, offset by increased customer advances and trade payables. * Non-GAAP financial data: The following non-GAAP financial data, including Adjusted gross profit, Adjusted operating income, Adjusted net income, and Adjusted diluted earnings per share, is presented to enable investors to have additional information on our business performance as well as a further basis for periodical comparisons and trends relating to our financial results. We believe such data provides useful information to investors and analysts by facilitating more meaningful comparisons of our financial results over time. The non-GAAP adjustments exclude amortization expenses of intangible assets related to acquisitions that occurred mainly in prior periods, capital gains related primarily to the sale of investments, Covid-19 related expenses, revaluations of investments in affiliated companies, non-operating foreign exchange gains or losses, one-time tax expenses, and the effect of tax on each of these items. We present these non-GAAP financial measures because management believes they supplement and/or enhance management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of the Company's underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past, and future periods. Specifically, management uses Adjusted gross profit, Adjusted operating income, and Adjusted net income attributable to the Company's shareholders to measure the ongoing gross profit, operating profit and net income performance of the Company because the measure adjusts for more significant non-recurring items, amortization expenses of intangible assets relating to prior acquisitions, and non-cash expense which can fluctuate year to year. We believe Adjusted gross profit, Adjusted operating income, and Adjusted net income attributable to the Company's shareholders are useful to existing shareholders, potential shareholders and other users of our financial information because they provide measures of the Company's ongoing performance that enable these users to perform trend analysis using comparable data. Management uses Adjusted diluted earnings per share to evaluate further adjusted net income attributable to the Company's shareholders while considering changes in the number of diluted shares over comparable periods. We believe adjusted diluted earnings per share is useful to existing shareholders, potential shareholders and other users of our financial information because it also enables these users to evaluate adjusted net income attributable to Company's shareholders on a per-share basis. The non-GAAP measures used by the Company are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. We believe that non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our results of operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP, and that these measures should only be used to evaluate our results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. Investors are cautioned that, unlike financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, non-GAAP measures may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other companies. They should consider non-GAAP financial measures in addition to, and not as replacements for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.   Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP (Unaudited) Supplemental Financial Data: (US Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts) Three months ended March 31, 2023 Three months ended March 31, 2022 Year ended December 31, 2022 GAAP gross profit $           361.5 $           326.9 $     1,373.3 Adjustments: Amortization of purchased intangible assets(*) 7.0 6.4 31.7 Non-GAAP  gross profit $           368.5 $           333.3 $     1,405.0 Percent of revenues 26.4 % 24.6 % 25.5 % GAAP operating income $             93.9 $             58.6 $         367.5 Adjustments: Amortization of purchased intangible assets(*) 11.2 10.9 49.2 Capital gain — (3.7) (31.5) Non-recurring grant — — (28.6) Non-GAAP operating income $           105.1 $             65.8 $         356.6 Percent of revenues 7.5 % 4.9 % 6.5 % GAAP net income attributable to Elbit Systems' shareholders $             62.1 $             52.8 $         275.4 Adjustments: Amortization of purchased intangible assets(*) 11.2 10.9 49.2 Capital gain — (3.7) (20.5) Revaluation of investment measured under fair value method — — 10.2 Non-operating foreign exchange (gains) losses 3.7 (4.8) (10.5) Non-recurring grant — — (28.6) Tax effect and other tax items, net (1.4) (0.9) (6.3) Non-GAAP net income attributable to Elbit Systems' shareholders    $             75.6 $             54.3 $         268.9 Percent of revenues 5.4 % 4.0 % 4.9 % GAAP diluted net EPS $             1.40 $             1.19 $           6.18 Adjustments, net 0.30 0.03 (0.15) Non-GAAP diluted net EPS $             1.70 $             1.22 $           6.03 (*)     While amortization of acquired intangible assets is excluded from the measures, the revenue of the acquired companies is reflected in the measures and the acquired assets contribute to revenue generation.   Recent Events: On April 3, 2023, the Company announced that it was awarded a contract to supply, among others, precision munitions, radio and defense electronics systems as well as maintenance services to a European country, with a cumulative value of approximately $280 million. The contract will be performed over a period of three years. On April 18, 2023, the Company announced that it was awarded a contract worth approximately $102 million to supply artillery systems to an international customer. The contract will be performed over a period of eight years. On April 18, 2023, the Company announced that it was awarded a follow-on contract worth approximately $100 million to convert commercial aircraft into Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (EW) aircraft for an international customer. The contract will be performed over a period of three years. On April 27, 2023, the Company announced that it signed a follow-on contract worth approximately $100 million to provide aerial firefighting services to the Israeli Ministry of National Security. The contract will be carried out over a period of eight years. On May 9, 2023, the Company announced that its UK subsidiary Elbit Systems UK was awarded a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence worth approximately $71 million to supply, maintain and operate the Ground Manoeuvre Synthetic Trainer systems (GMST) for the Boxer armoured vehicles and Challenger 3 tanks under the British Army's Project Vulcan. The contract will be delivered over a three-year period with an additional nine year period that will include operation and maintenance services at UK facilities. On May 18, 2023, the Company announced that as part of an agreement between the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Netherlands Ministry of Defense, it was awarded a contract worth $305 million to supply Precise & Universal Launching System (PULS) artillery rocket systems to the Royal Netherlands Army. The contract will be performed over a period of five years. Dividend: The Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.50 per share. The dividend's record date is June 26, ...Full story available on Benzinga.com.....»»

He Xiaopeng, the CEO of Xpeng, owns 20.5% of the company's Class A shares. The stock price has dropped nearly 20% so far this year. He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, is now worth $1.4 billion.VCG/VCG/Getty Images The fortune of He Xiaopeng, CEO of Chinese EV maker Xpeng, has fallen 75% from a 2021 peak. He owns 20.5% of Xpeng shares, which tanked nearly 20% this year. The EV landscape in China has been under intense competition amid a Tesla-triggered price war. Tesla's price war in China is hitting one EV tycoon's fortune hard. He Xiaopeng, the 45-year-old billionaire cofounder, chairman, and CEO of China's electric vehicle maker Xpeng, is now worth $1.4 billion after his wealth tanked by 75% from its 2021 peak, according to Forbes.Forbes did not specifically state how it calculated He's wealth. The tycoon owns 20.5% of Xpeng class A shares as of December 31, 2022, per a regulatory filing made public in February. Despite the wealth wipeout, He is still the 2,048th richest person in the world — although his net worth is now just a quarter of his $5.5 billion wealth in 2021, per Forbes.Xpeng shares have seen massive swings this year, last coming under pressure after the company released disappointing first-quarter earnings last Wednesday — the company's revenues dropped 50% from a year ago to 4.03 billion Chinese yuan, or $569 million.The Alibaba-backed company's first-quarter net loss also widened to 2.34 billion yuan from 1.7 billion yuan a year ago.The Xpeng P7 sports sedan is the company's bestseller to date, according to a Wired report in February. The EV maker launched its first mass-produced model, the G3, in 2018.Xpeng's limited-edition version of its P7 sedan with scissor doors.XpengXpeng's results came amid an intense price war in China's EV sector triggered by Tesla.Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based managing director at consultancy Automotive Foresight, told Forbes that Tesla's 30,000 yuan price cut in China ratcheted the EV war in China, particularly for domestic brands.Xpeng followed suit, but its price cuts did not appeal to buyers who prefer to buy cars made by Tesla or Warren Buffet-backed BYD as they are more popular, Wang Hanyang, a Shanghai-based analyst at 86 Research, told Forbes.China is Tesla's second-largest market after the US and important one for the American EV maker. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to visit China this week for the first time in three years, Reuters reported on Monday. It's not clear who he would meet and what they will discuss, per Reuters.Xpeng still has big plans ahead. It rolled out a new electric SUV in April and has been expanding aggressively in Europe, starting with Norway in December 2020.Xpeng co-president Brian Gu told CNBC in November 2021 that it eventually wants to ship half its vehicles to countries outside China. He did not provide a time frame for the goal."As a company that focuses on global opportunities, we want to be balanced with our contribution of delivery — half from China, half from outside China — in the long run," Gu told the network.The New York Stock Exchange-listed Xpeng stock closed 2.4% higher at $8.20 on Friday. They are 18% lower so far this year and down 64% from a year ago. The US markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday.Xpeng's shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange are up 0.2% on Tuesday at midday. They are down 19% this year.Xpeng did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

ChatGPT and the weight-loss drug Ozempic have been seen as quick-fixes. Both come with side effects. CEOs are turning to ChatGPT as a miracle solution to their business problems.Hannes P Albert/Picture Alliance via Getty Images Ozempic and ChatGPT have blown up in the year of the cure-all. CEOs are already cutting or pausing jobs, thinking AI can replace workers. But both come with unforeseen side-effects. What does a controversial weight-loss drug have in common with artificial intelligence?Both have boomed in 2023, the year of the apparent quick fix.Elon Musk, Hollywood celebrities, and influencers have rushed in droves for an injection of Ozempic, usually used to treat diabetes, to curb cravings and help combat weight-gain. But Ozempic and other so-called miracle weight loss drugs can come with debilitating side effects.There may be lessons for the business world here when it comes to generative AI tools like ChatGPT which seemingly promise to make humans faster and more productive, but also threaten future chaos.As Justine Moore, investment partner at Silicon Valley VC firm a16z, tweeted this month: "By 2025, America is going to run on Ozempic and ChatGPT."If something seems too good to be true, it probably isChatGPT and competing tools like Google Bard have unquestionably forced people to sit up. Seemingly out of nowhere, these chatbots can write better than a trainee copywriter or journalist, reason like an economist or mathematician, pass advanced medical exams, recommend books, build sites and apps, and complete many other tasks. Yes, they hallucinate, but there is no technology that has felt quite so human-like in the expansiveness of its capabilities.It isn't surprising, then, that JPMorgan is exploring ChatGPT-like tools to aid investing. CEOs running businesses that have nothing to do with AI are talking about ChatGPT during their quarterly earnings calls. Workers are finding ways of using it to develop side hustles, or in their day jobs to make more money.ChatGPT creator Sam Altman made the uncanny claim that AI could surpass humanity in most domains within the next 10 years. This kind of "superintelligence" could carry out as much productive activity as any of today's largest corporations," as he put it. CEOs are listening.UK telecoms giant BT, which announced 55,000 job cuts last week, reckons 10,000 of the axed roles could be replaced by AI by 2030. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the firm would pause on hiring for roles that might in future be done by AI. But like Ozempic, AI comes with side effects."Fundamentally, these new systems are going to be destabilizing," Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and AI-proponent-in-chief told lawmakers during a recent Congress appearance. If even the man who stands to profit hugely from the widespread adoption of tools like ChatGPT thinks it'll be "destabilizing", the average CEO should take pause.Destabilizing scenarios might include:Employees feeding sensitive or proprietary information into a black-box AI tool owned by a third partyCopyright or other issues stemming from companies not vetting the AI tools they use, and the data they're trained onCEOs and other company execs being unable to query decisions made by a black-box AIThese problems are already here. Samsung banned its employees from using generative AI tools after finding some of its engineers accidentally leaked internal source code by uploading it to ChatGPT in April. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan heavily restricted employee use of ChatGPT, with reports suggesting JPMorgan's decision came about from concerns around sensitive financial data being shared with AI tools.Writing for Insider in March, copyright law expert John Eden noted "whenever an AI platform creates products that successfully compete with copyrighted works, leading to diminished sales of those protected works," lawsuits will ensue because "copyright law abhors free riding."For now, it's still a wild west. There are few guardrails, until legislators get to grips with the risks of AI and impose regulation. Many experts claim that AI should augment human workers, not replace them. Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov and Professor David De Cremer of the National University of Singapore previously made a case for this, suggesting that replacing AI with human workers only works under the assumption that "AI and humans have the same qualities and abilities."That doesn't mean CEOs and companies should totally avoid AI, but it may mean wielding the job-cutting axe with a little less enthusiasm — just in case ChatGPT turns out to a bomb and a not a miracle drug.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Remember The Fallen... And Those They Left Behind Authored by Brooke Rollins via RealClearPolitics.com, The Christmas season of 1942 was clouded by war in the small town of Waterloo, Iowa, but for Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, it was especially dreadful. A rumor was going about town, and it was about her sons. Or rather, it was about all five sons, each of whom had volunteered for the Navy — and elected to serve together aboard the same ship. The brothers meant to fight as they lived, as a team, as a family, each helping the other out — on the vast and distant Pacific as much as in idyllic Iowa.  The rumor that reached their mother was that their ship, the light cruiser Juneau, had sunk off Guadalcanal. But Mrs. Alleta Sullivan had received no news.  So, she did something very American. She wrote to the Navy. “Dear Sirs,” she began, “I am writing you in regards to a rumor going around that my five sons were killed in action in November. A mother from here came and told me she got a letter from her son and he heard my five sons were killed.” The next line, even softened by 80 years, still breaks the heart in its simplicity and directness: “It is all over town now, and I am so worried.” Mrs. Sullivan would have been entirely justified in demanding news of her boys. She would have been justified in demanding that the Navy account for them, that she did not have to endure the quiet hell of rumors of her sons. Instead, she does something remarkable, and reading it now is a window into a different — and better — America. She writes that even if her five sons are gone, she will still do her own duty.  “[P]lease let me know the truth. I am to christen the U.S.S. TAWASA, Feb. 12th, at Portland, Oregon. If anything has happened to my five sons, I will still christen the ship as it was their wish that I do so.” Stop there for a moment and re-read that. Even in the shadow of the most terrible prospect a mother can face, Mrs. Alleta Sullivan tells the Navy it can count on her to keep her commitments. She would never have said it, but here you can see from whom her five sons inherited their own sense of sacrificial devotion.  “I hated to bother you,” she continued as if she had anything at all to apologize for, “but it has worried me so that I wanted to know if it was true. So please tell me. It was hard to give five sons all at once to the Navy, but I am proud of my boys that they can serve and help protect their country.” Mrs. Sullivan did not have to wait long for her answer. Her letter went to the Navy and crossed paths with the inbound casualty notification. Her letter went out in early January 1943. On the early morning of January 11, three Navy officers arrived at the little house on 98 Adams St. in Waterloo. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan knew why they had come. The officer in charge knew he could not soften the blow. “I’m sorry,” he said, “All five.” The story of the Fighting Sullivans is a famous one, notable for its contrast of great virtue — five brothers, on fire with duty imparted by their parents — and great tragedy, in their death together on a black day off the Solomon Islands. We have an obligation to remember. We should also remember that it is not the only tale of its kind. We today are as far from World War II as it was from the Civil War. In that war, there was the heartbreaking episode of Mrs. Bixby and her five sons, all fallen in battle, of whom President Lincoln wrote that they were “so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.” In his 2013 “The Guns at Last Light,” Rick Atkinson tells a lesser-known tale of an elderly widower in Missouri, one Henry A. Wright, who waits at his small-town train station for the casket bearing his son, killed on Christmas Eve 1944 in the Ardennes. He also received the remains of another son, who died in a German prison camp. He also received the remains of still another son, who died in combat in Germany, 10 days before war’s end. Atkinson writes that the three brothers were buried “side by side by side beneath an iron sky.” These stories of the grievous loss of the young, strong, brave, and parents burying their children, hit us hard. They should. If they do not, then we are undeserving of the fallen. The five Sullivans, the five Bixbys, and the three Wrights seize our attention and hearts because of the numbers. But make no mistake: the mother, the father, the brother, and the sister who lose a single son at war, do not grieve less because it is just one.  For them, there is the consolation in the grace that is only God’s to give. On this Memorial Day, we remember all the fallen — and we remember those whom they left behind. We have a sacred obligation “to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” — and that obligation increases a hundredfold because the battle was borne, and the wife was widowed, and the child was orphaned, for us. “Freedom is not free” is an overused phrase, almost cliche, which does not mean it should not be said. But this Memorial Day, when you say it, think of what it means on the most human level. You live in the greatest nation, among the greatest people, in the history of the world. You have that privilege because, across three centuries, unnumbered Americans laid down everything for it.   A young man died in battle on a sunny morning on the road to Concord. A loving father fell in the wheatfield at Gettysburg.  A draftee determined to make his father proud died on the Imjin. A bright and eager student breathed his last at Khe Sanh. A young woman took her final flight over Fallujah.  Remember them. Let the memory steel you - to deserve them. Tyler Durden Mon, 05/29/2023 - 23:00.....»»

China To Put Humans On The Moon By 2030 Weeks after Russia's former head of the Roscomsmos space agency cast doubt on the US moon landing in 1969, China announced plans to put a person on the moon by 2030. Moon Base Alpha by digital painter Jon Hrubesch In a Monday announcement, Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of China’s Manned Space Agency, said that the CCP's moon landing project - part of the country's broader Lunar Exploration Project (Chang'e Project, named after the Chinese moon goddess) - had only "recently" been kick started. The project seeks to eventually enable short-term stays on the lunar surface, as along with the collection of samples and other research, The NY Times reports. Chinese scientists have previously nodded at a 2030 goal in a less formal capacity; for example, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program said last month that a 2030 landing would be “no problem.” The Monday announcement came at a news conference to mark the liftoff of three new astronauts on Tuesday to China’s new space station, which was completed late last year. A manned lunar landing would be a major milestone for China’s, and the world’s, space exploration: No human has been on the moon since the United States’ Apollo missions in the 1960s and ’70s. And it could mark a significant achievement for China in its burgeoning competition with the United States in space. China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has said that the country should become a “great space power.” The announcement follows one by NASA, which announced a plan to put a team on the moon by 2025 as part of the (repeatedly delayed) Artemis program. A painting of a prospective future lunar colony by artist Rick Guidice for NASA Both Beijing and Washington want to build research stations on the moon, and to land people on Mars. The Times frames the announcement as a point of contention between the US and China, echoing the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. NASA’s administrator, Bill Nelson, has said that the United States should “watch out” for Chinese attempts to dominate the lunar surface and keep Americans out. A Pentagon report last year warned that China could overtake American capabilities in space by 2045. -NY Times China has accelerated its space program in recent years, and is currently the only country (known) to have landed anything on the moon in the 21st century. The CCP also landed a lunar probe on the moon's far side for the first time in history in 2019. If the moon is next for humans, it might be a good time to bone up on your Heinlein. Careful, China. You never know what's up there! Tyler Durden Mon, 05/29/2023 - 23:30.....»»

CORE Real Estate, the leading boutique real estate firm in New York City, in partnership with New Empire Corp, a leading New York-based development and construction management firm building top-quality residential projects, held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction at its newest Manhattan project, located at 429 Second... The post CORE Real Estate and New Empire Corp Announce Groundbreaking and Commencement of Construction at 429 Second Avenue appeared first on Real Estate Weekly. CORE Real Estate, the leading boutique real estate firm in New York City, in partnership with New Empire Corp, a leading New York-based development and construction management firm building top-quality residential projects, held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction at its newest Manhattan project, located at 429 Second Avenue.  The full-service 12-story residential building will be designed by renowned architecture firm DXA Studio, and feature stunning layouts, finishes, and top appliances. Designed and programmed with modern living in mind, the building will offer a robust suite of services and amenity spaces. Designed by Paris Forino, common spaces will include a building roof deck and garden, coworking space, conference and media rooms, as well as a fully-equipped fitness center with steam room and sauna.  “This project brings highly-amenitized living to Kip’s Bay in a way we’ve not yet seen,” said Shaun Osher, CEO of CORE Real Estate. “We’re catering to a new clientele in Kip’s Bay, providing joint spaces for work, play, and beyond. We are delighted to lead the sales and marketing of this incredible new residential building.”  “Community spaces and interconnected living is more important today than ever before, and this one-of-a-kind, custom-tailored project fully realizes that philosophy,” said Bentley Zhao, Chairman and CEO of New Empire Corp. “We are thrilled to bring this exciting new project to life with such an incredible, world-class team.” The post CORE Real Estate and New Empire Corp Announce Groundbreaking and Commencement of Construction at 429 Second Avenue appeared first on Real Estate Weekly......»»

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made the comment after Belarus agreed to host Russia's nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023Vladimir Astapkovich, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Alexander Lukashenko said there will be "nuclear weapons for everyone" who joins Russia and Belarus. The comment came after Belarus agreed to host Russia's tactical nuclear weapons. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation since invading Ukraine. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday promised nuclear weapons to any nation who supports his country and Russia.Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the comment Sunday after Belarus agreed to host Russia's tactical nuclear weapons."It's very simple. You have to join the union between Belarus and Russia, and that's it: There will be nuclear weapons for everyone," Lukashenko said in a clip aired on Russian state TV, according to NBC News."We need to strategically understand that we have a unique chance to unite," Lukashenko added. He was responding to a comment made Wednesday by the president of Kazakhstan, who said Russia and Belarus are so close that "even nuclear weapons are shared between the two."Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. Belarus does not actually have its own nuclear weapons, having given them all to Russia in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.Putin has issued escalating nuclear threats since invaded Ukraine in February last year. But the mounting threats have led some adversaries to shrug him off, doubting he would actually resort to using nuclear weapons, Insider's John Haltiwanger previously reported.Belarus agreed to host Moscow's nuclear weapons last week. Alexander Volfovich, state secretary of Belarus' Security Council, said Sunday the deal was meant to deter aggression from the West after the US and its NATO allies continue provide military aide to Ukraine.The agreement comes as Ukraine continues to prepare for a highly anticipated counteroffensive supported by US- and NATO-supplied weapons.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The buzz surrounding artificial intelligence means there's a growing need for AI experts in the workplace. These courses offer education, certification, and even university-degree credits to help students find a job in artificial intelligence.Guillaume/Getty Images With the buzz surrounding AI, there's a growing need for experts in the workplace. Insider compiled a list of ten free Coursera classes on AI and its capabilities. While several are highly rated, others were created by prominent firms and educational institutions. There's a growing need for artificial-intelligence experts in the workplace.Workplace experts suggest employees upskill in a competitive environment.Trevor Williams/Getty ImagesWith the buzz surrounding artificial intelligence and its capabilities — from writing and refusing to write cover letters to giving business advice — there's a growing need for AI experts in the workplace.To help workers learn and improve their skills in AI, Insider compiled a list of 10 free Coursera classes on the subject. These courses offer education to help students find a job in their intended field, or help professionals understand how to implement AI into their businesses. Several are highly rated on the platform, and the ones listed without ratings were created by prominent firms and educational institutions.What is the metaverse?What is the Metaverse?screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: MetaRating: 4.6/5Length: 10 hoursClass description: This course covers the metaverse and how it interacts with the world around us. It also addresses the professional and business opportunities that come with the metaverse and is taught by experts from Meta, Facebook's parent company."You'll learn about augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, NFTs, blockchain, Web3, cryptocurrency," Coursera says.Once they complete the course, students can collect Meta professional certificates, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés.Find the course here.New technologies for business leadersNew technologies for business leaders.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: RutgersRating: 4.4/5Length: 19 hoursClass description: In this course, Rutgers professors teach students about blockchain, artificial intelligence, and virtual-reality technologies. The class is designed to help business leaders understand the technologies and implement them in business organizations. It helps leaders "improve client and customer engagement and ultimately the bottom line of their businesses," Coursera says.A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed.Find the course here.The economics of AIThe economics of AI.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: The University of VirginiaRating: No ratingLength: 28 hoursClass description: Topics in this course include the nature of artificial intelligence and information theory, analysis and technological change in economics, how technological change drives economic growth, and the influence of AI-driven technology on workers. "The course introduces you to cutting-edge research in the economics of AI and the implications for economic growth and labor markets," Coursera says.Find the course here.Artificial intelligence: ethics & societal challengesArtificial intelligence: ethics & societal challenges.screenshot, Coursrea.comOffered by: Lund UniversityRating: 4.6/5Length: Four weeksClass description: The class covers the ethical and societal aspects of artificial intelligence over four modules that each equal about one week of part-time studies, according to Coursera.  Subject matter includes algorithmic bias and surveillance, the influence of AI on democracy, the concept of consciousness, and responsibility and control. "The aim of the course is to raise awareness of ethical and societal aspects of AI and to stimulate reflection and discussion upon implications of the use of AI in society," Coursera says. A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed. Take the course here.Introduction to machine learning on AWSIntroduction to machine learning on AWS.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: Amazon Web Services Rating: No ratingLength: Seven hoursClass description: The class teaches students the difference between artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. It also covers how to build, train, and deploy machine-learning models. "We'll cover services which do the heavy lifting of computer vision, data extraction and analysis, language processing, speech recognition, translation, ML model training, and virtual agents," Coursera says. "You'll think of your current solutions and see where you can improve these solutions using AI, ML, or deep learning."A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed. Take the course here.Trustworthy AI for healthcare managementTrustworthy AI for healthcare management.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: The Polytechnic University of MilanRating: No ratingLength: Three hoursClass description: This class is specific to healthcare and artificial intelligence. Students will learn how AI systems work, which tasks can be carried out by AI, and common challenges for AI in healthcare. The course "gives an introduction to trustworthy artificial intelligence and its application in healthcare," Coursera says, adding it's "aimed at healthcare professionals, patients, and AI practitioners."A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed. Take the course here.AI, empathy & ethicsAI, empathy & ethics.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: The University of California, Santa CruzRating: No ratingLength: Four hoursClass description: This course covers the basics, such as artificial-intelligence definitions and the future of AI."This nontechnical course provides an overview of artificial intelligence advancements and the ethical challenges we now face as we navigate the development, implementation, and ubiquitous global use of AI," Coursera says. A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed. Take the course here.Introduction to embedded machine learningIntroduction to Embedded Machine Learning.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: Edge ImpulseRating: 4.8/5Length: 17 hoursClass description: This course gives students an overview of machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence that uses data and algorithms to solve problems and imitate the way humans learn.The course includes segments on "how to use machine learning to make decisions and predictions in an embedded system" and "the concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand the fundamentals of machine learning," according to Coursera. It also provides students with demonstrations and projects for hands-on experience.A course certificate, which can be shared on LinkedIn profiles or résumés, is available for purchase after the course is completed. Take the course here.AI, business & the future of workAI, business & the future of work.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: Lund UniversityRating: 4.6Length: 11 hoursClass description: This course is designed for those looking to implement AI in business organizations, whether that be public or private, large or small. The course includes a combination of short lectures, interviews, and interactive exercises surrounding AI, according to the course description.Throughout the course, 12 industry professionals will be included to give students a broad overview of topics like the history of AI, potential risks, and best practices.A certificate is available for purchase by completing the class. You can include the certificate on your LinkedIn profile, or on printed resumes, CVs, or other documents.Take the course here.AI education for teachersAI education for teachers.screenshot, Coursera.comOffered by: Macquarie University and IBM AustraliaRating: 4.7Length: 16 hoursClass description: With increasing conversations around AI in the classroom and workplace, this course covers how to embed AI into school curricula."This course is designed by teachers, for teachers, and will bridge the gap between commonly held beliefs about AI, and what it really is," according to the course description.Take the course here.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

South Dakota Governor Tells Higher Education Board To Remove Mandates On Preferred Pronouns Authored by Mimi Nguyen Ly via The Epoch Times, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued a letter on May 25 to the governing board that oversees the six public universities in the state. In it, she lamented about the situation of higher education in the country, and challenged the board to a series of actions to “show the nation what quality higher education is supposed to look like.” Among several points, the Republican governor told the board it should ban drag shows on university campuses, and, separately, remove all preferred pronouns in school materials, as well as remove all mandates that compel people to use preferred pronouns. However, what appears to be the priority is the first point of action she raised, which is that the board should aim to raise graduation rates across its six universities to 65 percent by 2028, compared to the current graduation rate of 47 percent. Meanwhile, in 2020, the national graduation rate was 63 percent. “At the K-12 level, we are taking steps to improve our standards and expand school choice in South Dakota so that all kids have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for whatever comes next after high school,” Noem told the board in her letter (pdf). “For those who choose to start attending a university after graduating, less than half are graduating. We must do better than that. I look forward to working with you all on ideas to improve our graduation rates.” The Epoch Times has emailed the Board of Regents for comment. ‘State of Crisis’ Noem said that higher education across the United States is in a “state of crisis.” “For the last several decades, many states have allowed liberal ideologies to poison their universities and colleges. Once a hotbed of ideological diversity, debate, and the pursuit of truth and discovery, many institutions have become one-sided, close-minded, and focused on feelings rather than facts,” she wrote. “Professors have discarded reason and logic in favor of subjectivity and relativism. Higher education leaders have rejected universal truth and knowledge and replaced it with ‘individual truth.'” She said that students on campuses across the United States “have been taught the importance of diversity and equity and given access to ‘safe spaces’ instead of learning to tolerate the disagreement, discomfort, and dissent that they will experience in the real world.” “In many cases, students and their parents are not even aware of the damage these ideas have caused,” she said. Regarding drag shows, she wrote: “Just as other dangerous theories have been allowed to thrive on college campuses, gender theory has been rebranded and accepted as truth across the nation. “These theories should be openly debated in college classrooms, but not celebrated through public performances on taxpayer-owned property at taxpayer-funded schools.” Regarding preferred pronouns, she wrote that mandating them at some campuses has “compelled and coerced” some students to “provide speech they do not agree with.” “Students should have the ability to exercise their right to free speech. Colleges and universities should never compel students to speak or take a position on any issue,” the governor said. Noem also told the board her administration has created a new whistleblower hotline where students, faculty members, parents, or taxpayers, can report concerns at institutions of higher education in the state, by calling 605-773-5916. “Our children are our future, and South Dakota universities and technical colleges should best prepare them for our future,” Noem said in a post on Twitter. The governor noted that she recently appointed two members to the board, and will be making more appointments soon. Five Other Points Besides raising graduation rates, banning drag shows, and removing preferred pronouns and their enforcement, Noem noted that some universities have restricted speech on topics some people find “offensive.” “The Board of Regents should remove any policy or procedure that prohibits students from exercising their right to free speech,” she said. “Black Hills State University was recently challenged on and ultimately removed a policy that allowed administrators to silence opinions they disagreed with,” the governor noted, adding that colleges and universities should review and revise all policies that infringe on students’ right to free speech. The colleges should also adopt policies that “develop and strengthen resiliency among students” for when they encounter opposing ideas. Noem also wanted the Board of Regents to “take more steps to partner with businesses on registered apprenticeship programs and offer the lowest possible credit rates.” She noted that roughly 43 percent of students who graduated still found themselves unemployed or underemployed. The other three action points she presented to the board were: to cut costs to make higher education more affordable; to require a course in American Government and a course in American history as part of graduation requirements; and to remove any monetary influence, whether by funding or donations, from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “The [CCP] has been known to fund Confucius Institutes and other similar centers at American universities in order to provide skewed Chinese cultural training for U.S. students,” said Noem. “This is part of a multi-faceted propaganda effort, and money from the CCP has no place in South Dakota. The Board of Regents should reject any donations from sources and any other government that is hostile to the United States.” Tyler Durden Mon, 05/29/2023 - 17:10.....»»