ReportWire

Tag: Business

  • Top moments from the White House Correspondents’ dinner | CNN Politics

    Top moments from the White House Correspondents’ dinner | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]


    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    President Joe Biden joked about a range of topics at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday but struck a serious tone as he called for the release of wrongfully detained Americans abroad.

    The annual dinner, hosted inside the Washington Hilton, drew thousands of guests in support of freedom of the press, something Biden called “the pillar of a free society, not the enemy.”

    Here are the top moments from this year’s dinner.

    Biden used the opportunity to address a crowd gathered to support freedom of the press to send a clear message: “Journalism is not a crime.”

    He began his remarks on a serious note and immediately addressed the wrongful detentions of American journalists Evan Gershkovich in Russia and Austin Tice in Syria, reassuring the room full of journalists and the families of the detainees that his administration is committed to bringing them home.

    “I promise you, I’m working like hell to get them home,” Biden said.

    In attendance Saturday evening was Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was freed from Russia late last year after being wrongfully detained. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden held a pull-aside meeting with Griner and her wife at the event, per the White House pool.

    The president and First Lady also met privately with the family of Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter that the US State Department has deemed “wrongfully detained” in Russia. Several journalists in attendance wore pins to urge his release.

    The daughter of jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navanly, Dasha Navalnaya, told CNN earlier Saturday the White House Correspondents’ dinner represents an especially important event for those who are wrongfully detained because “America as a country represents freedom of speech, freedom of political expression.”

    Comedian Roy Wood Jr., known for his role on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” did not hold back in his roast of Washington politics Saturday evening, saving jabs for both parties.

    He immediately addressed the classified documents found in Biden’s Delaware home, telling the president as he stepped aside from the podium, “Real quick, Mr. President. I think you left some of your classified documents up here.”

    Wood also pointed to protests in France in response to the government raising the retirement age. “Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work,” he quipped, alluding to Biden’s reelection bid.

    But the comedian went on to dub former President Donald Trump the “king of scandals.”

    “Keeping up with Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars movies,” he said. “You got to watch the third one to understand the first one, then you got – you can’t miss the second one because it’s got Easter eggs for the fifth one.”

    Watch: Iconic moments from past White House Correspondents’ dinners

    Biden’s jokes, meanwhile included a number of quips aimed at his predecessor’s recent scandals.

    He joked that he was offered $10 to keep his remarks under ten minutes. “That’s a switch, a president being offered hush money,” he joked in reference to Trump’s indictment in an alleged hush money scheme.

    Biden also poked fun at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is likely to be top candidate for the GOP presidential nomination if he enters the 2024 race.

    “I had a lot of Ron DeSantis jokes ready, but Mickey Mouse beat the hell out of me, he got there first,” Biden said.

    Disney filed a lawsuit against the governor and his oversight board earlier this week, accusing him of punishing the company for exercising its free speech rights with his political influence.

    The White House Correspondents’ dinner honored several journalists for their impactful work last year, including CNN’s Phil Mattingly for his coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington and Politico’s publishing of the Supreme Court draft opinion that would later overturn Roe v. Wade.

    While Biden also applauded the journalists for their work, he poked fun at their tough questioning.

    “I get that age is a completely reasonable issue, it’s on everybody’s mind,” he said, referring to his reelection bid. “By everyone I mean the New York Times.”

    Biden also joked about how he dodges the media’s questions. “In a lot of ways, this dinner sums up my first two years in office: I’ll talk for 10 minutes, take zero questions and cheerfully walk away.”

    In recent weeks, the media industry has taken several hits – from high-profile terminations to layoffs, something Wood addressed head on.

    “The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job,” Wood said, referring to the anchor’s departure from Fox News, which prompted applause.

    “Okay, some people celebrate it,” he responded. “But to Tucker’s staff, I want you to note that I know what you’re feeling. I work at the Daily Show, so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program.”

    Saturday’s event saw a number of celebrities in attendance, including model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen and her husband, singer John Legend.

    Actress Julia Fox posed with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer while actress Rosario Dawson and actors Liev Schreiber and Billy Eichner all took turns on the red carpet.

    During the event, identical twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott, who host “Property Brothers” on HGTV, drew big laughs as their sketch-style video showcased how they would renovate the White House.

    “We’ve been doing this a long time and we think we know how to turn the White House into the White Home,” the pair said in video.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The man behind ChatGPT is about to have his moment on Capitol Hill | CNN Business

    The man behind ChatGPT is about to have his moment on Capitol Hill | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    New York
    CNN
     — 

    For a few months in 2017, there were rumors that Sam Altman was planning to run for governor of California. Instead, he kept his day job as one of Silicon Valley’s most influential investors and entrepreneurs.

    But now, Altman is about to make a different kind of political debut.

    Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind viral chatbot ChatGPT and image generator Dall-E, is set to testify before Congress on Tuesday. His appearance is part of a Senate subcommittee hearing on the risks artificial intelligence poses for society, and what safeguards are needed for the technology.

    House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are also expected to hold a dinner with Altman on Monday night, according to multiple reports. Dozens of lawmakers are said to be planning to attend, with one Republican lawmaker describing it as part of the process for Congress to assess “the extraordinary potential and unprecedented threat that artificial intelligence presents to humanity.”

    Earlier this month, Altman was one of several tech CEOs to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and, briefly, President Joe Biden as part of the White House’s efforts to emphasize the importance of ethical and responsible AI development.

    The hearing and meetings come as ChatGPT has sparked a new arms race over AI. A growing list of tech companies have deployed new AI tools in recent months, with the potential to change how we work, shop and interact with each other. But these same tools have also drawn criticism from some of tech’s biggest names for their potential to disrupt millions of jobs, spread misinformation and perpetuate biases.

    As the CEO of OpenAI, Altman, perhaps more than any other single figure, has come to serve as a face for a new crop of AI products that can generate images and texts in response to user prompts. This week’s hearing may only cement his stature as a central player in AI’s rapid growth – and also add to scrutiny of him and his company.

    Those who know Altman have described him as a brilliant thinker, someone who makes prescient bets and has even been called “a startup Yoda.” In interviews this year, Altman has presented himself as someone who is mindful of the risks posed by AI and even “a little bit scared” of the technology. He and his company have pledged to move forward responsibly.

    “If anyone knows where this is going, it’s Sam,” Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, wrote in a post about Altman for the latter’s inclusion this year on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people. “But Sam also knows that he doesn’t have all the answers. He often says, ‘What do you think? Maybe I’m wrong?’ Thank God someone with so much power has so much humility.”

    Others want Altman and OpenAI to move more cautiously. Elon Musk, who helped found OpenAI before breaking from the group, joined dozens of tech leaders, professors and researchers in signing a letter calling for artificial intelligence labs like OpenAI to stop the training of the most powerful AI systems for at least six months, citing “profound risks to society and humanity.”

    Altman has said he agreed with parts of the letter. “I think moving with caution and an increasing rigor for safety issues is really important,” Altman said at an event last month. “The letter I don’t think was the optimal way to address it.”

    OpenAI declined to make anyone available for an interview for this story.

    The success of ChatGPT may have brought Altman greater public attention, but he has been a well-known figure in Silicon Valley for years.

    Prior to cofounding OpenAI with Musk in 2015, Altman, a Missouri native, studied computer science at Stanford University, only to drop out to launch Loopt, an app that helped users share their locations with friends and get coupons for nearby businesses.

    In 2005, Loopt was part of the first batch of companies at Y Combinator, a prestigious tech accelerator. Paul Graham, who co-founded Y Combinator, later described Altman as “a very unusual guy.”

    “Within about three minutes of meeting him, I remember thinking ‘Ah, so this is what Bill Gates must have been like when he was 19,’” Graham wrote in a post in 2006.

    Loopt was acquired in 2012 for about $43 million. Two years later, Altman took over from Graham as president of Y Combinator. The position allowed Altman to connect him with numerous powerful figures in the tech industry. He remained at the helm of the accelerator until 2019.

    Margaret O’Mara, a tech historian and professor at the University of Washington, told CNN that Altman “has long been admired as a thoughtful, significant guy and in the remarkably small number of powerful people who are kind of at the top of tech and have a lot of sway.”

    During the Trump administration, Altman gained new attention as a vocal critic of the president. It was against that backdrop that he was rumored to be considering a run for California governor.

    Rather than running, however, Altman instead looked to back candidates who aligned with his values, which include lower cost of living, clean energy and taking 10% off the defense budget to give to research and development of future technology.

    Altman continues to push for some of these goals through his work in the private sector. He invested in Helion, a fusion research company that inked a deal with Microsoft last week to sell clean energy to the tech giant by 2028.

    Altman has also been a proponent of the idea of a universal basic income and has suggested that AI could one day help fulfill that goal by generating so much wealth it could be redistributed back to the public.

    As Graham told The New Yorker about Altman in 2016, “I think his goal is to make the whole future.”

    When launching OpenAI, Musk and Altman’s original mission was to get ahead of the fear that AI could harm people and society.

    “We discussed what is the best thing we can do to ensure the future is good?” Musk told the New York Times about a conversation with Altman and others before launching the company. “We could sit on the sidelines or we can encourage regulatory oversight, or we could participate with the right structure with people who care deeply about developing A.I. in a way that is safe and is beneficial to humanity.”

    In an interview at the launch of OpenAI, Altman explained the company as his way of trying to steer the path of AI technology. “I sleep better knowing I can have some influence now,” he said.

    If there’s one thing AI enthusiasts and critics can agree on right now, it may be that Altman clearly has succeeded in having some influence over the rapidly evolving technology.

    Less than six months after the release of ChatGPT, it has become a household name, almost synonymous with AI itself. CEOs are using it to draft emails. Realtors are using it to write iistings and draft legal documents. The tool has passed exams from law and business schools – and been used to help some students cheat. And OpenAI recently released a more powerful version of the technology underpinning ChatGPT.

    Tech giants like Google and Facebook are now racing to catch up. Similar generative AI technology is quickly finding its way into productivity and search tools used by billions of people.

    A future that once seemed very far off now feels right around the corner, whether society is ready for it or not. Altman himself has professed not to be sure about how it will turn out.

    O’Mara said she believes Altman fits into “the techno-optimist school of thought that has been dominant in the Valley for a very long time,” which she describes as “the idea that we can devise technology that can indeed make the world a better place.”

    While Altman’s cautious remarks about AI may sound at odds with that way of thinking, O’Mara argues it may be an “extension” of it. In essence, she said, it’s related to “the idea that technology is transformative and can be transformative in a positive way but also has so much capacity to do so much that it actually could be dangerous.”

    And if AI should somehow help bring about the end of society as we know it, Altman may be more prepared than most to adapt.

    “I prep for survival,” he said in a 2016 profile of him in the New Yorker, noting several possible disaster scenarios, including “A.I. that attacks us.”

    “I try not to think about it too much,” Altman said. “But I have guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Montana governor bans TikTok | CNN Business

    Montana governor bans TikTok | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday banning TikTok in the state.

    Gianforte tweeted that he has banned TikTok in Montana “to protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party,” officially making it the first state to ban the social media application.

    The controversial law marks the furthest step yet by a state government to restrict TikTok over perceived security concerns and comes as some federal lawmakers have called for a national ban of TikTok. But it is expected to be challenged in court.

    The bill, which will take effect in January, specifically names TikTok as its target, prohibiting the app from operating within state lines. The law also outlines potential fines of $10,000 per day for violators, including app stores found to host the social media application.

    Last month, lawmakers in Montana’s House of Representatives voted 54-43 to pass the bill, known as SB419, sending it to Gianforte’s desk.

    In a statement to CNN, TikTok said it would push to defend the rights of users in Montana.

    “Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state. We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana.”

    The law comes as TikTok faces growing criticism for its ties to China. TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance. Many US officials have expressed fears that the Chinese government could potentially access US data via TikTok for spying purposes, though there is so far no evidence that the Chinese government has ever accessed personal information of US-based TikTok users.

    NetChoice, a technology trade group that includes TikTok as a member, called the Montana bill unconstitutional.

    “The government may not block our ability to access constitutionally protected speech – whether it is in a newspaper, on a website or via an app. In implementing this law, Montana ignores the U.S. Constitution, due process and free speech by denying access to a website and apps their citizens want to use,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice’s general counsel.

    The ACLU also pushed back on the bill, releasing a statement saying that “with this ban, Governor Gianforte and the Montana legislature have trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use the app to express themselves, gather information, and run their small business in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment.”

    On Wednesday, Gianforte signed an additional bill that prohibits the use of any social media application “tied to foreign adversaries” on government devices, including ByteDance-owned CapCut and Lemon8, and Telegram Messenger, which was founded in Russia.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Apple got rich in China. Other Asian markets offer the next ‘golden opportunity’ | CNN Business

    Apple got rich in China. Other Asian markets offer the next ‘golden opportunity’ | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Apple launched an online store in Vietnam this week, in another nod to the growing importance of emerging markets for the iPhone maker.

    The opening on Thursday, which followed the high-profile launch of its first physical shops in India, means consumers in the fast-growing Southeast Asian economy will be able to buy any Apple product directly for the first time.

    Markets like Vietnam, India and Indonesia are becoming more important for Apple as its growth in developed markets, including China, slows down, prompting the company to focus on places where it’s traditionally been less active.

    For decades, China was central to Apple’s extraordinary ascent to become the most valuable company on Earth, serving as a backbone for both its production and consumption. While the country remains key to Apple’s operations, the tech giant is now hedging its bets.

    Apple

    (AAPL)     CEO Tim Cook has pointed to the company’s prospects in emerging economies, calling them bright spots in the company’s financial results. On an earnings call this month, Cook said he was “particularly pleased” with the performance in these markets during the first three months of the year.

    Apple “achieved all-time records in Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE, as well as a number of March quarter records, including in Brazil, Malaysia and India,” he told analysts.

    That came as the California-based giant also reported its second straight drop in overall quarterly revenue, prompting concerns about a broader slowdown in demand amid economic uncertainty.

    “Clearly, growth has slowed globally and thus put more pressure [on Apple] to aggressively go after emerging markets,” said Daniel Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities.

    Ives predicts that “over the coming years, Indonesia, Malaysia and India will comprise a bigger piece of the pie for Apple, given its efforts in these countries.”

    The start of online sales in a country usually precedes the launch of brick-and-mortar stores for Apple, he told CNN. This was true of India, for instance, which got its first physical outlets last month and a pledge from Cook to further invest in the country.

    Thursday’s launch showed how Apple was “further cementing” its presence in emerging markets, according to Chiew Le Xuan, a research analyst who covers smartphones in Southeast Asia for Canalys.

    He said the tech giant had been “actively increasing” its presence in the region in recent months, ramping up its distribution and network of authorized resellers, especially in Malaysia.

    Apple has ample room to run in these markets.

    Currently, the company only operates its own stores in more developed regional economies, such as Thailand and Singapore, according to Canalys.

    Even Indonesia, a vast archipelago that is the world’s sixth-biggest smartphone market, doesn’t have a physical Apple store yet, said Chiew. Apple’s market share there is tiny, at just 1% in 2022, according to Canalys data.

    “We’re putting efforts in a number of these markets and really see, particularly given our low share and the dynamics of the demographics … a great opportunity for us,” Cook said during Apple’s results call.

    Apple joins a growing list of global businesses that have become bullish on Southeast Asia, where more investment is being poured into manufacturing.

    The region’s consumer base also holds promise, with the number of middle-income and affluent households in economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines projected to grow by around 5% annually through 2030, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

    The consultancy has called this group of consumers “the next mega-market.”

    The allure of Southeast Asia’s rising middle class “has changed the dynamic in these countries, which previously Apple stayed away from,” according to Ives.

    “This is a golden opportunity for Apple,” he said.

    For years, premium brands like Apple have have struggled to compete in emerging markets because of the price of their products, choosing instead to rely on local resellers.

    iPhones, which cost between $470 and $1,100, are expensive for consumers in less developed Southeast Asian economies, where the bulk of smartphone shipments are priced under $200, according to Chiew.

    He said Apple’s absence from places like Cambodia or Vietnam was typically more apparent around the launch of a new iPhone, as buyers from those countries often flew to Singapore or Malaysia to purchase devices and take them back for resale.

    A view of an Apple store at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in 2020. Buyers from other Southeast Asian countries without their own Apple stores typically line up outside such outlets to buy devices for resale, according to an analyst.

    This could change in the coming years, particularly as Apple continues to increase its firepower in the region.

    Ives predicted that Apple could “further expand its ecosystem and tentacles to emerging markets using its China playbook,” meaning it could try to hook customers through “various pricing strategies and building out from there.”

    Once those users have converted to Apple’s operating system, iOS, they tend to stick around and become loyal customers, he added.

    This has “been the core part of its success in China that now can be replicated in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, among others,” said Ives.

    But Apple may face hurdles in Southeast Asia, where several countries have placed stringent requirements on foreign businesses, according to Chiew.

    For example, at least 35% of the components of electronic goods sold in Indonesia must made locally, a threshold Apple has had to meet by working with partners, he added. Similar rules prevented Apple from setting up shop in India for years until the relaxation of regulations in 2019.

    And while consumers are becoming more affluent, the company’s price points are still considered high in many emerging markets, noted Ives. “Growth will be choppy we believe.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow | CNN Business

    Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow | CNN Business

    [ad_1]

    Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers, after meeting top executives on Thursday before a Group of Seven summit.

    China is set to be high on the agenda of the annual G7 leaders meeting that begins on Friday, with the United States increasingly urging its allies to counter the Asian giant’s chip and advanced technology development.

    Growing Taiwan and US tensions with China have brought serious challenges to the semiconductor industry. Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets.

    Ensuring diversified, resilient supply chains is a key component of the economic security theme being emphasized by Japan at the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One.

    Kishida told the executives, including those from Micron Technology Inc

    (MU)    , Intel Corp

    (INTC)     and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co

    (TSM)     (TSMC), that stabilizing supply chains would be a topic of discussion at the G7 talks in the western city of Hiroshima.

    “I am very pleased with your positive attitude towards investment in Japan, and would like the government as a whole to work on further expanding direct investment in Japan and support the semiconductor industry,” Kishida said.

    An industry ministry official later said Kishida wanted to foster cooperation to strengthen semiconductor supply chains, while Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Japan would use 1.3 trillion yen ($9.63 billion) of the supplementary budget from the last fiscal year to support its chip business.

    In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp

    (FUJIF)    .

    Micron said in a statement that it would bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, becoming the first semiconductor company to do so, and expected to invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) with support from the Japanese government.

    Bloomberg News reported the financial incentives would total about 200 billion yen.

    An industry ministry official said no decision had been made on whether Japan would give a subsidy to Micron, but that one would be made as soon as possible.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • One of Asia’s top female entrepreneurs is stepping down at Grab, the ride-hailing company she helped found | CNN Business

    One of Asia’s top female entrepreneurs is stepping down at Grab, the ride-hailing company she helped found | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    One of Southeast Asia’s most well-known female entrepreneurs is to step down from her operational roles at Grab, the ride-hailing giant she helped found more than a decade ago.

    Tan Hooi Ling, a former chief operating officer who currently leads the firm’s technology and corporate strategy teams, will move to an advisory role by the end of the year, the company said Thursday. She will also give up her seat on the board.

    Her exit leaves Grab’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan the tough task of reversing years of losses amid increasingly fierce competition in the ride-hailing and food delivery markets, all without the help of the woman who helped him co-found the company in 2012.

    “Grab has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. The impact we create is a reflection of who we are as a team, and I am humbled to have been able to walk alongside Anthony and the many amazing Grabbers who share the same values and work ethic to build something that improves lives in Southeast Asia,” a statement from the company quoted Tan Hooi Ling as saying.

    After being founded as a ride-hailing company by the two Tans – who are both from Malaysia but are unrelated – Grab quickly soared to become Southeast Asia’s most valuable private company. It acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia business in 2018, and has since expanded into a variety of other services, including food delivery, digital payments and even financial services.

    But Grab has faced intensifying competition from Southeast Asia rivals, including Singapore’s Sea Ltd, Indonesia’s GoTo Group, and Berlin-based Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda.

    Grab, which unlike some of its competitors avoided mass layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic, posted an annual loss of $1.74 billion in 2022. That was a 51% improvement on the year before, according to its annual report.

    In 2021, the company merged with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, backed by Altimeter Capital in a deal that would pave the way for a New York listing and value Grab at nearly $40 billion.

    Before that, Grab had heavyweight backers including Japan’s SoftBank

    (SFTBF)     and China’s ride-hailing startup, Didi Chuxing.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Meta’s Threads gets a highly requested ‘following feed’ | CNN Business

    Meta’s Threads gets a highly requested ‘following feed’ | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Meta on Tuesday launched a highly anticipated “following feed” option in its Threads app as part of its latest batch of updates that could help the new social platform further chip away at Twitter’s position in the market.

    The option to see a reverse chronological feed of posts from only accounts a user follows had been one of the most requested features since Threads launched earlier this month. On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg replied to a post requesting the feature, saying, “Ask and you shall receive.”

    The following feed, one of the central features of the Twitter experience, can be accessed on Threads by double tapping on the app’s home button.

    Meta has been steadily rolling out updates to Threads as it tries to keep users engaged in the new app. Threads had a hugely successful launch, topping 100 million sign-ups in its first week, but engagement has declined somewhat since then.

    Meta rolled out Threads as a barebones app — missing popular features such as direct messages and a robust search function — to take advantage of a weak moment at rival Twitter. Now, Meta executives have acknowledged that they must continue building out the app to keep the momentum going.

    “I’m very optimistic about how the Threads community is coming together,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on the platform last week. “Early growth was off the charts, but more importantly 10s of millions of people now come back daily … The focus for the rest of the year is improving the basics and retention.”

    Tuesday’s round of updates also includes automatic translation of posts into a users’ default language, the ability for users to see posts they’ve liked in their settings, the option for private users to batch “approve all” follow requests and buttons to filter the activity feed by various types of interactions, according to the company.

    The changes followed another batch of updates last week, which included a translation button and the option to subscribe and receive notifications from accounts a user doesn’t follow.

    Meta’s ongoing work on Threads comes as the chaos at Twitter continues. Earlier this week, owner Elon Musk began doing away with the platform’s iconic bird branding and replacing it with “X” in hopes of building an “everything” app similar to China’s WeChat.

    As Musk rebrands the app, he could face a different threat from Meta: Facebook’s parent company is one of many businesses that already have intellectual property rights to the letter “X.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Koch network raises more than $70 million, launches new anti-Trump ads in early voting states | CNN Politics

    Koch network raises more than $70 million, launches new anti-Trump ads in early voting states | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    The influential network associated with conservative billionaire Charles Koch has collected more than $70 million for political races, the group announced Thursday, as it gears up to help shape the outcome of next year’s contests up and down the ballot and encourage Republican voters to bypass former President Donald Trump in the White House nomination fight.

    Americans for Prosperity Action has pledged to back a single contender in the GOP presidential primary for the first time in its history. It has not yet announced whom it will support, but the group could dramatically reshape the Republican field by deploying its vast resources and standing army of conservative activists on behalf of a single candidate.

    The sums raised by the group will help advance those efforts. The lion’s share of the total announced Thursday came from two organizations affiliated with Koch: $25 million from his Kansas-based industrial conglomerate Koch Industries, and another $25 million from Stand Together, a nonprofit he founded, AFP Action spokesman Bill Riggs confirmed.

    The New York Times first reported the fundraising total.

    The group is also launching new digital spots, shared first with CNN, that cast Trump as a candidate Republicans can’t risk supporting in 2024.

    “Instead of making (President Joe) Biden answer for his reckless progressive agenda, Trump makes the debate about indictments, personal grievances and the election he lost,” one 30-second spot, titled “The Choice,” says.

    The second, called “Unelectable,” describes Trump as a serial loser who caused Republicans to lose the House, Senate and the White House. “If Donald Trump is the GOP nominee, we could lose everything,” the narrator says.

    The ads will run in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, officials said.

    “President Trump continues to fight against the swampy D.C. insiders who would love nothing more than to have an establishment puppet they can control in the White House,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email. “No amount of dirty money from shady lobbyists and mysterious donors will ever stop the America First movement, and that’s why President Trump continues to dominate poll after poll — both nationally and statewide. We welcome this fight.”

    AFP Action on Thursday also announced its first US House endorsements of the cycle, saying it will back Republican Reps. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Young Kim of California, Zach Nunn of Iowa and John James of Michigan, along with former GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell of New Mexico.

    In addition to attempting to stir doubts about Trump among the GOP faithful, network officials have said part of their 2024 strategy is to bring more general election voters into the GOP primary process to alter the outcome of early contests.

    Americans for Prosperity already has reached out to 1.4 million potential new Republican and swing voters in nearly a dozen states, officials said.

    In a statement to CNN earlier this month, Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel said the group’s voter interactions have demonstrated to it that many Trump supporters are “receptive to arguments that he is a weak candidate, his focus on 2020 is a liability, and his lack of appeal with independent voters is a problem.”

    “That tells us that many Republicans are ready to move on, they just need to see another candidate step up and show they can lead and win,” she added.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Nvidia says US curbs on AI chip sales to China would cause ‘permanent loss of opportunities’ | CNN Business

    Nvidia says US curbs on AI chip sales to China would cause ‘permanent loss of opportunities’ | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Nvidia warned Wednesday that if the United States imposes new restrictions on the export of AI chips to China, it would result in a “permanent loss of opportunities” for US industry.

    The company’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, said she didn’t anticipate any “immediate material impact” but tighter curbs would impact earnings in the future.

    US officials plan to tighten export curbs announced in October to restrict the sale of some artificial-intelligence chips to China, according to multiple media reports, including the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. Washington has ramped up efforts to cut China off from key technologies that can support its military.

    The US Department of Commerce has not replied to a CNN request for comment.

    The rules, as reported, could make it harder for companies like Nvidia

    (NVDA)     to sell advanced chips to China. Fueled by a boom in demand for its AI chips, the company briefly hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion in late May.

    “We are aware of reports that the US Department of Commerce is considering further controls that may restrict exports of our A800 and H800 products to China,” Kress told an investment conference.

    “Over the long-term, restrictions prohibiting the sale of our datacenter GPUs to China, if implemented, would result in a permanent loss of opportunities for US industry to compete and lead in one of the world’s largest markets and impact on our future business and financial results,” she said.

    GPUs refer to graphics processing units, which are chips or electronic circuits capable of rendering graphics for display on electronic devices.

    “Given the strength of demand for our products worldwide, we do not anticipate that such additional restrictions, if adopted, would have an immediate material impact on our financial results. We do not anticipate any immediate material impact on our financial results,” Kress added.

    Last October, the Biden administration unveiled a sweeping set of export controls that ban Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license.

    The new move is aimed in part at Nvidia’s A800 chip, which the US-based company created following the introduction of last year’s curbs in order to continue to sell to China, Bloomberg reported.

    China is a key market for Nvidia. Revenues from mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for 22% of the company’s revenue last year, according to its financial statements.

    On Wednesday, shares of Nvidia slumped as much as 3.2%, before recouping some of the losses. It ended down 1.8%. Chinese AI stocks suffered much heavier losses.

    Inspur Electronic Information Industry fell by 10%, the maximum allowed, on Wednesday in Shenzhen. It dropped again by 5.3% on Thursday. Chengdu Information Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences slid 12% on Wednesday. Baidu

    (BIDU)    , which is developing a rival to ChatGPT, sank 4.4% on Thursday in Hong Kong.

    “The US could ruin China’s AI party,” Jefferies analyst said in a research note. Local chipsets do not have Nvidia’s GPU ecosystem, thus every update may require reworking, resulting in lower efficiency and higher costs.

    The Biden administration’s chip curbs would be “much more effective” in limiting China’s advances in military power driven by AI than rules restricting US investment in China’s tech sector, the analysts added.

    China has strongly criticized US restrictions on tech exports, saying earlier this year that it “firmly opposes” such measures.

    In May, Beijing banned Chinese operators of critical information infrastructure from buying products from Micron Technology

    (MU)    , in apparent retaliation against sanctions imposed by Washington and its allies on the country’s chip sector.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Biden has already canceled $66 billion in student loans. Here’s how 3 people received debt relief | CNN Politics

    Biden has already canceled $66 billion in student loans. Here’s how 3 people received debt relief | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]


    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    Even though the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, more debt will be canceled during his time in office than under any other president.

    The Biden administration has already canceled a record $66 billion in student loan debt for nearly 2.2 million borrowers.

    While his one-time student loan forgiveness program would have been far reaching, promising up to $20,000 of debt cancellation for eligible borrowers and wiping out roughly $400 billion overall, the Department of Education has made some lesser-known changes to existing student loan forgiveness programs.

    The administration has made it easier for people to qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which grants relief for public sector workers after they’ve made 10 years of qualifying payments.

    It has also made more people eligible for the borrower defense to repayment program that cancels student loan debt for borrowers who attended a school that may have misled them or violated certain state laws, as well as made loan discharges automatic for more borrowers who are permanently disabled.

    Here’s how three people received student loan forgiveness due to the changes the Biden administration has made to existing federal programs.

    Margo Myles, 52, got a letter from the Department of Education in late March saying that nearly $25,000 of her federal student loan debt had been canceled.

    Myles had borrowed the money in the early 2000s to earn an associate degree in paralegal studies, but the education didn’t pay off. She found work in the legal field a few years after finishing school but was earning just $9 an hour – not enough to pay her bills and her student loans.

    “I was trying to reorganize my life. For me, and for so many other students, this should have been a door,” Myles said of her degree program.

    Instead, she defaulted on her student loans. The default dinged her credit and resulted in the garnishment of her federal tax refunds. Myles said she wasn’t allowed to request her academic transcript while her loans were in default, preventing her from enrolling elsewhere.

    The Department of Education later found that schools owned by the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges – which include Myles’ alma mater, known at the time as Florida Metropolitan University – engaged in “widespread and pervasive misrepresentations” about students’ employment prospects, including guarantees they would find a job as well as the ability to transfer credits.

    Under the borrower defense program, borrowers can apply for debt relief if they were misled by their college. Last June, the Department of Education announced that any student who attended a Corinthian-owned college would automatically qualify for the benefit. The move made 560,000 more borrowers eligible.

    About nine months later, Myles learned that she was one of the qualifying borrowers and her debt was discharged. The Department of Education said it would request credit reporting agencies to repair her credit within 45 days, according to the letter she received.

    Myles, who now lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and works in insurance, plans to continue her education by pursuing a bachelor’s degree and then a law degree.

    “I’ve always wanted to go back to school. I don’t care if I’m 60 when I finish,” she said.

    Paige Vass recently qualified for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

    Applying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was a yearslong, frustrating process for Paige Vass, a special education teacher in Virginia.

    The PSLF program cancels remaining federal student loan debt for eligible government and nonprofit workers after they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments, which takes at least 10 years.

    But the program has been riddled with problems. Many people reached 10 years of repayment believing they qualified for cancellation of their remaining debt, but instead found out that they had the wrong kind of loan or were making payments in the wrong kind of repayment plan.

    Vass applied after teaching for more than 10 years, but her paperwork was returned several times, for things like having an incorrect date or a signature in the wrong place.

    She decided to try applying one more time last year after the Biden administration temporarily expanded eligibility for the program with a one-year waiver.

    “My fingers were crossed, but I also thought I might be chasing a unicorn,” Vass, 47, said.

    “But I was like, I’ve got to try. This is a huge debt and a huge weight on our family,” she added. She and her husband, who is also an educator, have two children.

    This spring, not only did Vass find out that she qualified for more than $30,000 in debt relief, but she is also set to receive a refund of about $5,000 because she had overpaid. Under the rules of the temporary waiver, she had made more payments than the 120 required for debt forgiveness.

    The debt relief means she may be able to spend more time with her kids. In the past, when she’s owed hundreds of dollars for her student debt each month, she’s worked summer school, taught skiing and worked for the on-demand delivery company DoorDash for some extra cash.

    “There’s been so many changes and so many hardships for teachers over the last three years. To me (the loan forgiveness) felt like a statement on behalf of our country’s administration that says, ‘You are valuable and we appreciate what you do, and you do make a difference,’” Vass said.

    Charles Goldenberg saw more than $340,000 of his debt canceled.

    Last year, Charles Goldenberg, a radiologist in New York City, got an email notifying him that his more than $340,000 in federal student loan debt had been canceled because he qualified for the PSLF program.

    While in training, and making little money, Goldenberg was paying off his loans through an income-driven repayment plan, which lowered his monthly payments. But those payments hardly covered the interest accumulation, and his balance ballooned before the pandemic pause went into effect in 2020.

    Now, at 42, Goldenberg said the student debt cancellation gives him the opportunity to move on with his life.

    “And I think that’s the whole point of the PSLF program. You spend years of training and schooling above and beyond college, making less money than you would when you’re out of training. It’s not without sacrifice. It’s because you work for eligible employers … where you’re not going to be making the kind of money that I make now,” he added.

    Goldenberg had been paying off some his loans for 19 years, but not every payment had counted toward the PSLF program until he consolidated his loans about two years ago.

    Thanks to the one-year waiver put in place by the Biden administration, some payments he made earlier became eligible.

    Applying for the relief had also been a long process for Goldenberg. His loan servicer had difficulty verifying that one of his employers, a nonprofit hospital in Miami, qualified for the program. He eventually found proof on the Department of Education’s website that the hospital did qualify.

    Now that Goldenberg is done with training and is earning more money, his student loan payments would be much higher when the pandemic-related pause ends later this year than they were three years ago. He expects they would be $2,500 or more a month if not for the debt relief.

    “Now I can use the money that I make for myself, for a mortgage, for family, for other expenses, for retirement. So it really opened up my financial future in a big way,” he said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Meta begins blocking news access on its platforms in Canada | CNN Business

    Meta begins blocking news access on its platforms in Canada | CNN Business

    [ad_1]


    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    Meta has begun to remove news content from Facebook and Instagram in Canada, the social media giant said Tuesday, in response to recently passed legislation in the country that requires tech companies to negotiate payments to news organizations for hosting their content.

    As a result of the move — which Meta had previously said would occur before the law takes effect — Meta’s Canadian users will no longer be able to click on links to news articles posted to Facebook and Instagram.

    The changes began Tuesday and will roll out gradually over the coming weeks, said Meta spokesperson Andy Stone.

    The decision comes amid a global debate over the relationship between news organizations and social media companies about the value of news content, and who gets to benefit from it.

    Google has also announced that it plans to remove news content from its platforms in Canada when the law takes effect, which could happen by December.

    The Canadian legislation, known as Bill C-18, was given final approval in June. It aims to support the sustainability of news organizations by regulating “digital news intermediaries with a view to enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace.”

    It comes after the passage of a 2021 Australian law that the tech platforms initially opposed by warning it would similarly force them to remove news content. Since then, the platforms have reached voluntary agreements with a range of news outlets in that country.

    Like-minded proposals have been introduced around the world amid allegations that the tech industry has decimated local journalism by sucking away billions in online advertising revenues.

    In May, Meta also threatened to remove news content from California if the state moved ahead with a revenue-sharing bill. The legislation was put on hold last month.

    And at the federal level, the US Senate in June advanced a bill that would grant news organizations the ability to jointly negotiate for a greater share of advertising revenues against online platforms, thanks to a proposed antitrust exemption for publishers and broadcasters.

    In a blog post Tuesday, Meta said the Canadian legislation “misrepresents the value news outlets receive when choosing to use our platforms.”

    “The legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true,” the blog post said. “News outlets voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their audiences and help their bottom line.”

    Canadian users of Meta’s platforms will still be able to access news content online by visiting news outlets’ websites directly or by signing up for their subscriptions and apps.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Call of Duty to remain on Playstation following Activision Blizzard Microsoft merger | CNN Business

    Call of Duty to remain on Playstation following Activision Blizzard Microsoft merger | CNN Business

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Microsoft

    (MSFT)     has signed an agreement with Sony

    (SNE)     to ensure “Call of Duty” remains available on PlayStation after Microsoft

    (MSFT)     closes its $69 billion Activision Blizzard

    (ATVI)     merger, the tech giant said Sunday.

    The agreement could resolve long-standing complaints by Sony that the merger — which aims to make Microsoft the third-largest video game publisher in the world — threatens competition. Sony didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” said Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Xbox head, in a tweet. “We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.”

    Sony had been among the loudest critics of the acquisition. Addressing the company’s concerns about the continued availability of “Call of Duty,” one of the industry’s most popular franchises, could help Microsoft overcome any remaining opposition to the deal and usher it to a conclusion.

    In response to competition concerns from regulators around the world, Microsoft had already signed multiyear licensing agreements with rival companies including Nintendo and Nvidia, among others, to ensure Microsoft would not be able to restrict Activision titles from users of those businesses’ platforms and consoles.

    On Sunday, Microsoft did not disclose the duration of the agreement with Sony.

    “From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a tweet. “Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”

    During a five-day hearing last month in federal court, Microsoft executives including CEO Satya Nadella testified properties such as “Call of Duty” would not be restricted from competitors following the deal’s close.

    Last week, US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in her opinion the US government had “not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets.”

    Microsoft faces a contractual deadline of July 18 to close the merger with Activision, though the companies could mutually seek to extend that time frame.

    Last week, Microsoft won two successive court victories when a federal district court and a US appeals court declined to temporarily block the merger from being consummated. The Federal Trade Commission had argued a preliminary injunction was necessary to prevent video game consumers from being immediately harmed by the deal, which regulators said would enable Microsoft to withhold “Call of Duty” and other popular titles from competing consoles and cloud gaming services.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) to Officially Launch DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) to Officially Launch DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    [ad_1]

    The Latino Restaurant Association promotes DINE LATINO Restaurant Week in an effort to help draw customers to hard-hit Latino restaurants

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Apr 6, 2021


    LOS ANGELES, April 6, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA), a national non-profit, introduces DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021, an initiative that showcases the depth and diversity of Latino restaurants in an effort to help draw customers to Latino restaurants. DINE LATINO Restaurant Week will be held two different weeks this year beginning Tuesday, April 6, through Sunday, April 11, 2021, and a second week during Latino Heritage Month, from Tuesday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. 

    “The DINE LATINO initiative helps raise awareness of inequality in the industry while promoting Latino restaurants,” states Lilly Rocha, CEO of the Latino Restaurant Association.  “Latino restaurants have been hard hit. They haven’t received anywhere near the fair share of PPP money, so we are promoting the DINE LATINO Restaurant Week in an attempt to drive customers back to their favorite Latin restaurants,” Rocha continues. The aim is to highlight Latino restaurants to the general public during these two weeks. Participating restaurants will be offering a special “DINE LATINO” prix fixed menu for lunch, dinner, or both. Restaurants can register for free at the LRA website (https://latinorestaurantassociation.org/dinelatino). This is a national program, although the LRA is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Media is invited to the “Kick Off” event on April 5, 2020, at 11 a.m. at El Portal Restaurant in Pasadena at 695 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101.

    The DINE LATINO Restaurant Week program is free to all restaurants. Restaurants do not have to be members of the association to participate. Restaurants are asked to share fun photos and videos on their social media feeds to provide additional content and increase visibility. In addition to this FREE Program, the Latino Restaurant Association also offers other free resources helpful to all restaurants. Additional information can be found on the LRA website at www.latinorestaurantassociation.org and to follow the Latino Restaurant Association on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latinorestaurantassociation/.

    WHAT: DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    WHEN: Tuesday, April 6, through Sunday, April 11, 2021 

    WHERE: National Program based in Los Angeles, California

    About the Latino Restaurant Association:

    The 800+ member-based Latino Restaurant Association is dedicated to promoting and supporting all types of Latino restaurant businesses and their auxiliaries to ensure the equitable economic growth of the Latino restaurant sector. As a member association, we work to bring our member community together to advocate for critical issues impacting our industry. We provide resources and educational opportunities to support effective business practices. The LRA strives to create an all-inclusive Latino restaurant platform for the country.

    MEDIA CONTACT
    Robert Alaniz
    On behalf of Latino Restaurant Association
    (626) 437-3354
    ralaniz@milagrosg.com  

    Source: Latino Restaurant Association

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Celina Nogueras Launches Season Four of Jefas y Jevas

    Celina Nogueras Launches Season Four of Jefas y Jevas

    [ad_1]

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Mar 11, 2021


    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 11, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Jefas y Jevas, the critically acclaimed podcast by Celina Nogueras with a 4.9/5 star rating on Apple Podcasts has recently launched its fourth season on Feb. 5. To kick things off, Nogeras interviews Janesse Torres Rodriguez, Latina entrepreneur and Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast host who created the widely popular food blog Delish D’Lites.

    Nogueras founded Jefas y Jevas out of the desire to grow the number of millionaire Latinas. Using the platform, she aims to build a network of a million millionaire Latinas primarily by making their stories visible. Research conducted by the National Women’s Business Council showed that there are over 1.9 million Hispanic women-owned businesses in the United States.

    “As a Latina, I aim to inspire, support and give voice to more Latina business role- models. I interview women grossing more than a million in revenue in efforts to help bring forward their stories and lessons they’ve picked up along their journey–all in the name of guiding other women who aspire to pursue entrepreneurship and wealth,” Nogueras said.

    Other millionaire Latinas joining Nogueras this season include: Ana Flores, owner of We all Grow; Rita Pinto, founder of elite nail salon-meets-art gallery, Vanity Project; Susie Jaramillo owner of award-winning edtech company, Encantos, and; Mabel Frias, owner of beauty and lifestyle brand, Lunamagic.

    Nogueras releases a new episode every other Friday through March 26. You can listen to Jefas y Jevas on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart.com, Google Podcasts and YouTube. 

    About Celina Nogueras

    Celina Nogueras is a founding partner of Muuaaa Design Studio with over ten years of experience conceptualizing and implementing efficient brand growth and recognition strategies for new or existing brands or companies. As a passionate brand growth strategist, she developed a proprietary traction methodology for companies to stay culturally relevant and be economically successful. Over its ten years of existence, Muuaaa Design has helped launch more than 300 brands.

    Celina has a reputation as a goal-getter who can visualize a project or a business and create the strategies needed to make it happen and take it to the next level.

    In 2019, she launched the Jefas y Jevas Podcast. As a Latina business owner and serial entrepreneur, she is interested in creating a network of million-dollar Latinx women business founders in growth or acceleration stages in order to share knowledge with other women and encourage their wealth and independence. 

    Contact:

    Katie Cafiero

    Publicity For Good

    Katie.cafiero@publicityforgood.com 

    Source: Celina Nogueras

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Immigration Map is the Simplest, Fastest Path to a Green Card

    Immigration Map is the Simplest, Fastest Path to a Green Card

    [ad_1]

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Feb 17, 2021


    NEW YORK, February 17, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    During the coronavirus pandemic, everyone felt helpless. There was no basic information regarding safety and security, no clear rules to follow, and significant uncertainty about the future. But as successful New York City immigration attorneys, Min Chan and Sumaiya Khalique also know that immigrants feel that same helplessness every day. That’s why they created Immigration Map (IM), a simple way for immigrants and employers to navigate the dense bureaucracy that is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). IM assists and empowers its members to navigate the complex immigration process with confidence.

    IM knows where its members want to go and how to get them there.

    IM’s founders are both immigrants, and children of Asian immigrants, who remember their own parents being frightened of a system they didn’t understand. While moving to America remains a powerful draw for many seeking legal and economic stability, one false move and immigrants can lose everything. “The best advice we can give immigrants is to carefully analyze, build and complete your visa or Green Card application before you file with USCIS,” says Min Chan. And IM can help.

    Analyze, Build, and Complete an Immigration Petition

    IM takes an individual from start to finish and turns their American Dream into reality. The three-step Analyze, Build, and Complete process is as simple as ABC. Immigrants can analyze their situation, build their case, and then complete and submit their petition to USCIS confidently.

    IM Puts Immigrants in the Driver’s Seat

    How does it work? One hears from friends that they need an H-1B Visa…maybe. They visit immimap.com and read user-friendly articles such as “6 Reasons to Apply for an L-1 Visa over an H1-Visa if You Are Eligible for Both” or even “When You Must File an Amended H-1B Visa Petition Due to Changes in Work Site Locations and Travel.” Based on this, they decide they need the L-1 Visa, so they open the checklist section for a list of critical documents to answer easy to understand questions.  IM is the guide to simplify the immigration journey for its members.

    IM’s Experience, Transparency, and Efficiency

    How is IM different from LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer? With 30 years of combined experience, two attorneys provide more than downloadable forms members can struggle through; IM gives its members complete control over their immigration journey.  IM is transparent with its services, where its information comes from, and what it offers in the monthly subscription and its legal help with attorneys. The DIY technology and three-step Analyze, Build, and Complete process with IM will clearly outline what its members need, what its member should prepare for, and what its members never even considered.

    Sign up for a membership and get started today! 

    Media Contact:
    Min Chan, Esq.
    212.745.1388
    Immigration Map, LLC
    www.immimap.com

    Source: Immigration Map LLC

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • New DDI Study Reveals Minority Leaders Getting More Promotions, But More Likely to Switch Companies to Advance

    New DDI Study Reveals Minority Leaders Getting More Promotions, But More Likely to Switch Companies to Advance

    [ad_1]

    Part of the Global Leadership Forecast series, DDI’s new Diversity and Inclusion Report 2020 shows strong benefits of corporate inclusion efforts, as well as retention risks for minority leaders

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Oct 28, 2020


    PITTSBURGH, October 28, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
     Senior minority executives plan to leave their current position at twice the normal rate of other executives. And this exodus could be coming within the next year, according to DDI’s Diversity and Inclusion Report 2020.

    This is just one finding from the report, which is part of the Global Leadership Forecast series by DDI. The report includes data from 15,787 leaders and 2,102 human resources professionals. These leaders represent more than 1,740 organizations across more than 25 industries globally. The report delivers data on gender and racial/ethnic diversity among leaders, and its effect on companies’ financial results. Companies can use the data to help guide their diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as their talent strategy.

    “While leaders from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are finally advancing at a faster rate, our study showed that organizations face high retention risks for these leaders,” said Stephanie Neal, director of DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research. “It’s likely that these leaders still face significant barriers as they move up the ladder, which may be why they feel like they have to leave the company to advance. Companies should be paying close attention to how inclusive their culture and talent practices are to ensure they retain these diverse and highly talented leaders.”

    The study found that fewer than one in four leaders reported their organization consistently recruits and promotes from a diverse talent pool. Furthermore, only 27 percent of leaders believe inclusion is a strong part of their organizations’ culture and values.

    The Diversity and Inclusion Report 2020 found that while organizations are working to build more diverse and inclusive workforces, there are still gaps that need to be addressed. The study also found:

    • Diversity has a greater impact on financial performance than any other organizational demographic factor. Organizations with above-average gender, racial and ethnic diversity had at least 30 percent of women and 20 percent of leaders from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in leadership roles. These organizations were eight times more likely to be in the top 10 percent of organizations for financial performance.
    • Leaders from minority backgrounds are more likely to feel the need to change companies to progress their career across all leadership levels. Also, they were much more likely to say they plan to leave within the next year. This is especially true among senior-level minority leaders, who are more than twice as likely to leave as their non-minority peers.
    • Diversity and inclusion efforts resonate across organizations’ entire workforce. More than one-third of leaders from companies that qualify as “Best Places to Work” reported that inclusion is a strong component of their work culture and value. This is in comparison to the 20 percent of leaders from other companies without the same label.
    • Organizations with more diversity in high-potential pools typically see higher financial performance. Organizations in the top 10 percent of financial performance report that women make up 24 percent of their high-potential pool, and 19 percent are from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Organizations with below average financial performance report less diversity in their high-potential pools. Their pools include only 16 percent women and 12 percent from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
    • Women continue to struggle to advance. At higher levels of leadership, women indicated an increasing need to switch companies to climb higher in their roles. In fact, 45 percent of women executives said they would likely need to switch companies to advance, compared to only 32 percent of male executives.

    “There’s a clear bottom-line benefit to workplace diversity and inclusion, and organizations can only benefit from increasing these efforts,” Neal said. “It’s important that leaders take the time to assess the state of diversity and inclusion in their organization and employ best practices if they want to realize the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce.”

    For more information, including the full report, visit ddiworld.com/research/inclusion-report.

    ###

    About DDI

    DDI is a global leadership consulting firm that helps organizations hire, promote and develop exceptional leaders. From first-time managers to C-suite executives, DDI is by leaders’ sides, supporting them in every critical moment of leadership. Built on five decades of research and experience in the science of leadership, DDI’s evidence-based assessment and development solutions enable millions of leaders around the world to succeed, propelling their organizations to new heights. For more information, visit ddiworld.com.

    Available for Interviews

    Stephanie Neal, director of DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research

    Contact:
    Brad Pedersen
    PR Specialist, DDI
    Brad.Pedersen@ddiworld.com 
    412-485-9767

    Source: DDI

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Intercultural Dialogue in Dubai

    Intercultural Dialogue in Dubai

    [ad_1]

    The interchange of common cultural knowledge in the wake of the historical UAE-Israel deal.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Sep 10, 2020


    DUBAI, Arab Emirates, September 10, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Abrahamic Business Circle organized a visit to the cultural museum in Dubai to commensurate with the Abrahamic Accord by fostering tolerance and interchange of intercultural dialogue.

    H.E. Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, the founder of Crossroad of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, hosted on the 8th of September of this year a group of representatives of the Jewish Community and the founding members of The Abrahamic Business Circle. The Jewish group was led by the Rabbi of the Jewish Community of the UAE, R. Levi Duchman, while The Abrahamic Business Circle was represented by the Founder, Chairman Raphael Nagel, and the Co-Founder, Dr. Tillmann C. Lauk. H.E. Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori exclusively showcased the history and culture of the UAE and hosted the intercultural dialogue at the museum.

    During the visit, the group had the opportunity to capture His Excellency’s profound knowledge of the history and cultural evolution of the UAE. Rich traditional culture and unique pieces of history were beautifully gathered in one place. Following the tour, there was an extensive exchange of common cultural knowledge that ended with a common prayer from all of the participants in all three major Abrahamic faith.

    Together, everyone was praying accordingly to his own faith in unity—an unimaginable event with an overwhelming grip of emotions that proved Dubai is the capital of tolerance in the world.

    ###

    About The Abrahamic Business Circle

    The Abrahamic Business Circle (“The ABC”) aims to present an innovative global interfaith entrepreneurial dialogue forum. Our organization wants to boost long-standing relationships among goodwill people of all faiths within a high-level business environment. Accordingly, multi-faith business leaders come together under an umbrella that is made of tolerance, cooperation and reliance of one to another. The ABC’s initiatives will generate huge opportunities not only in culture but also in economic exchanges.

    Contact:

    Strawberry Fernandez

    Executive Assistant

    +971 54 445 1408

    contact@theabrahamicbusinesscircle.com​

    Source: Abrahamic Business Circle

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Cedartree Hotels Will Open Its First US Property in Hillsboro, Oregon With Easy Access to the Entire Portland Metro Area

    Cedartree Hotels Will Open Its First US Property in Hillsboro, Oregon With Easy Access to the Entire Portland Metro Area

    [ad_1]

    Cedartree Hotel will offer guests an exquisite Japanese-style hotel experience featuring a variety of unique Japanese amenities, a full-service restaurant, state-of-the-art conference rooms and comfortable guest rooms.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Jan 15, 2020


    HILLSBORO, Ore., January 15, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​​​​​​​​​​​Cedartree Hotels announced today it will open its 1st hotel in the U.S in early 2021. The 120 Room property will be located in Hillsboro, conveniently situated 15 minutes from Downtown Portland, and close to Intel, Nike, and many other innovative companies. Cedartree Hotel will provide guests with exceptional service, striving for the finest in functionality, convenience, and comfort to meet the needs of this rapidly developing area.

    Our stunning property features a unique design, a ‘kindness in the details’ approach rooted in Japanese hospitality and culture. As guests experience our hotel, they will step from one new discovery to another. Whether it be in the guest room, the lobby, the fitness room, or the many other amenities, our guests will constantly find new spaces that help heal the body and mind after a hard day at work.

    Unique hotel features and amenities include;

    • Dining [Waterfalls] and Japanese Sake Bar [Kiyomizu]

    Waterfalls, our 68 seat, full-service restaurant is the place to be for exciting, innovative cuisine open for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. With a full bar and outdoor seating, guests can enjoy delicious food and drink with or without company. After dinner wind down in Kiyomizu, the Japanese Sake Bar, to savor a glass of the best imported sake in a sophisticated Japanese setting.

    Only at Cedartree Hotel can guests enjoy a Japanese-style spa experience in the Portland area. Shower and bathe in the heated indoor pool, then move outdoors to the Onsen stone bath to enjoy a steamy soak under the stars in Japanese ambiance and leave your worries behind.

    • Conference rooms [Matsu, Sakura, Tsubaki and Kaede]

    Offering a total of 2,500 square feet of space with the latest audio-visual capabilities, Cedartree Hotel is the perfect venue for meetings, conferences, and events. The stunning Sakura room can host large business gatherings, accommodating over 100 people, as well as major cultural events such as Aikido classes and demonstrations.

    Find peace and tranquility in the Japanese View Garden as you sit on the outdoor deck and watch the beauty of nature unfold in a thoughtful combination of colors, textures, and elements.

    Culture comes alive in the Sado Room, a representation of a traditional tatami room, where Japanese tea ceremony, Japanese flower arrangement classes, and other cultural events will be held for guests and the local community alike.

    About Cedartree Hotels, Inc.

    Cedartree Hotels is a hospitality company based in Japan. It was established in 1992 in the center of the internationally recognized historical city of Kyoto. Now with 6 locations and over 25 years of experience providing the finest hospitality to visitors from around the world, Cedartree Hotels is primed to bring its unique brand of Japanese-style hotel to the US. Visit www.cedartreehotels.com

    If you would like more information regarding this topic, please contact

    Allen Chen
    Phone: (310) 897-5358
    Email allen.chen@cedartreehotels.com

    Source: Cedartree Hotels, Inc.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Acquire Singapore Permanent Residency via Global Investment Program (GIP), One Visa Immigration Consultant Shares Valuable Insights

    Acquire Singapore Permanent Residency via Global Investment Program (GIP), One Visa Immigration Consultant Shares Valuable Insights

    [ad_1]

    Global investors / entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of Singapore’s infrastructure, workforce and favorable immigration policies can apply for the Global Investor Program (GIP) which accords permanent residency to qualified investors.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Sep 30, 2019


    SINGAPORE, September 30, 2019 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​​​​​As investors remain optimistic about Singapore’s equity market, the world’s most competitive economy continues to attract high-caliber entrepreneurs from around the globe through the Global Investor Program (GIP).

    GIP is also known as the Singapore Investor Visa Scheme. It allows qualified investors to acquire permanent residency (PR) in Singapore through substantial investment to the local economy. Interested investors have two options both requiring at least S$2.5 million—invest in a start-up or in an expansion or invest in a GIP-approved fund that funds Singapore-based companies.

    Aside from having sufficient funds to invest, investors must have an entrepreneurial track record showing a minimum of S$50 million annual business turnover on average in the last three years. This will be validated by submission of audited financial statements. If the company is privately owned, investors must at least own a minimum of 30% share in the company.

    Approved industries for the GIP scheme include aerospace engineering, alternative energy, electronics, consumer business, healthcare, education, nanotechnology, medical technology and lifestyle products and services, among others.

    According to One Visa Immigration Consultant Cheng King Heng, the GIP scheme is the only “guaranteed” way to secure permanent residency in Asia’s Lion City. However, it is also crucial to establish the investor’s entrepreneurial proficiency by showing a good track record and a viable business or investment plan.

    “Many investors think that just because they have the money, it’s a guaranteed approval for them,” he said. “But it is more than the money, what the authorities really need to see is investors contributing to local job creation and business in Singapore. This can be challenging to prove, which is why we always recommend working with a professional who knows the requirements.”

    He added, “Can you go through the process on your own? Certainly. But with an immigration consultant, you benefit from insider knowledge and expertise based on years of experience. Working with an expert is also an investment toward your future in Singapore.”

    Qualified investors can extend the PR application to family members, specifically their spouses and children below 21 years old. Children over 21 years of age can apply for the renewable five-year Long-Term Social Visit Pass.

    Once PR is formalized, qualified GIP scheme applicants will be issued a five-year Re-Entry Permit (REP) that will allow them to maintain their PR status even when they are out of Singapore. After the first five years, the REP will be renewed following the fulfillment of certain investment conditions, depending on the GIP option applied for.

    Permanent residents in Singapore enjoy visa-free access to the country, subsidies, tax cuts and eventually, a chance to become a citizen and enjoy the full privileges of citizenship.​

    Source: One Visa Pte Ltd

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • As Political Unrest Continues, HK-Based Businesses and Professionals Look to Singapore

    As Political Unrest Continues, HK-Based Businesses and Professionals Look to Singapore

    [ad_1]

    A veteran immigration consultant noted that there has been a sharp increase in interested entrepreneurs and professionals who are looking to move to Singapore as Hong Kong’s political future remains uncertain.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Sep 12, 2019


    SINGAPORE, September 12, 2019 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​Amid a volatile political climate, Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs and professionals are looking to migrate their businesses and careers to another Asian powerhouse.

    According to One Visa Immigration Consultant Cheng King Heng, there has been “200% increase” in inquiries about migrating to Singapore, mostly from workers and business owners who are currently based in Hong Kong. The heightened interest is driven by the uncertainty of Hong Kong’s current political situation, following months of pro-democracy protests that began over a proposed and now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China.

    “As Asia’s Lion City, Singapore is a known business hub. This shift in interest is not at all unusual,” he said. “Both Hong Kong and Singapore are top destinations for entrepreneurs and professionals who want access to a global market from a strategic regional headquarters.”

    Earlier this year, Singapore was named as the world’s most competitive economy because of its business-friendly landscape, favourable immigration policies, competitive labour market and advanced IT infrastructure. Hong Kong was ranked second in the report and former number one U.S. moved down two spots to third.

    A World Bank list released last year also cited Singapore as the top country when it comes to “success in developing human capital.” The ranking was based on factors such as health, education, earning potential, future productivity as well as mortality and survivability rates.

    And in another survey among expatriates, it was found that, even though expats earned more in Hong Kong, Singapore was still considered the “best place to live.”

    For global companies and entrepreneurs, Singapore has always been a top choice because of tax benefits including tax-free dividends, world-class transport hubs particularly the Changi Airport which has been ranked as the World’s Best Airport since 2013, and a generally accommodating business environment.

    Heng added, “As it is, employment and business applications to Singapore are competitive. With the current developments in Hong Kong and the influx of interested parties, it is best to stay ahead of the curve and get professional help when it comes to relocation plans. There are many ins and outs that must be navigated, and the insights of an immigration expert are invaluable to a successful outcome.”

    Visit www.one-visa.com for more information.

    ***

    One Visa is a Singapore-based global immigration agency specialising in visa solutions for corporate professionals, entrepreneurs and investors.

    Media Contact:

    Zac Wong
    ​media@one-visa.com

    Source: One Visa Pte Ltd

    [ad_2]

    Source link