Boeing’s (BA) attempt to reacquire Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) is facing challenges due to the valuation of factories that produce parts for rival aircraft manufacturer Airbus (EADSY). Spirit’s involvement in the supply chains of both Boeing and Airbus complicates the negotiations.
Spotify’s first quarter results surpassed expectations, marking a significant milestone for the streaming giant. Revenue soared by 20% to 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion), while gross profit surged by 31% to 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion). This surge in revenue was driven by growth in both premium subscribers and ad-supported revenue. Notably, Spotify’s profitability returned, with operating income reaching 168 million euros ($180 million) in the quarter, marking a substantial improvement from the 156 million euro loss in the same quarter last year. This strong financial performance puts Spotify on track to achieve its 2024 growth target.
A Virginia mother, Maria Roldan, won a $1 million Powerball jackpot on behalf of her son, who had given her the ticket to avoid missing the drawing. It was the only ticket in the nation to match the first five winning numbers in the March 11 drawing. The winning numbers were 1-3-7-16-66, and the Powerball number was 5. Roldan matched five of the numbers but missed the Powerball number, which would have won her the estimated $532 million jackpot. The winners have the option to receive the prize as an annuity or a lump sum, but choosing the lump sum may result in significant deductions for taxes and other withholdings.
MALMÖ, Sweden and CHICAGO, April 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — inriver, a leading provider of product information management (PIM) solutions, announced today the appointment of Rohit Goyal as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Goyal brings over two decades of experience in building and scaling B2B SaaS platforms in the e-commerce, insurtech, and fintech industries. inriver is backed by private equity firms THL Partners and Verdane.
Lomi, the innovator behind the world’s first Smart Waste™ food recycler, announces a partnership with renowned kitchenware and home furnishings retailer Williams Sonoma. This partnership brings Lomi’s eco-friendly and pest-free food waste solution to the doorsteps of Williams Sonoma’s customers, empowering them to make a positive impact on the environment while enjoying the convenience of a cutting-edge kitchen solution.
Alphabet (GOOGL) is expected to report strong first-quarter earnings and analysts speculate that the company could announce its first-ever dividend. The move would follow Meta Platforms’ recent dividend announcement and would be a major development for the Google parent. Alphabet has traditionally relied on stock buybacks to return capital to shareholders, but a dividend would provide investors with a more regular income stream. Analysts at Truist expect solid first-quarter results and have raised their price target on the stock to $170 from $158.
Los Gatos Town Council has voted to ease story pole requirements following guidance from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development. The requirement was identified as a constraint to new housing construction and could hinder approval of the town’s Housing Element. The revised policy will limit the scenarios in which story poles are required, allowing signage for certain residential projects. The council also requested further revisions to the notification policy for new developments.
UBS has adjusted its outlook for the USD/JPY currency pair, attributing the change to the robust performance of the US dollar. The firm has increased its quarter-end predictions for the pair to ¥155 for June 2024, followed by ¥152, ¥148, and ¥145 for the subsequent quarters through March 2025. This revision comes as the market recalibrates its expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, which have been scaled back significantly. Additionally, UBS notes that short positions in the yen have reached extreme levels, contributing to the dislocation of the USD/JPY pair.
UBS has revised its forecast for the USD/PLN currency pair, expecting the exchange rate to reach 4.10 in the second quarter of 2024, with a gradual decrease to 3.92 by the first quarter of 2025. The updated forecast reflects changes in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that generates increasingly dangerous and discriminatory prompts. The study, uploaded to the arXiv preprint server in February, shows that the model can create prompts that can be used to train other AI chatbots to give toxic responses. The researchers used a new machine-learning training approach to create an AI that generates increasingly dangerous prompts. The prompts were used to filter dangerous content in the hopes of training AI to never give out “toxic” responses. However, even after testing, the model produced more than 190 prompts that led to the generation of harmful content.
