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  • Large Unusual Options Activity in Alphabet Options Shows the Stock Is Undervalued

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    Alphabet (Google) Image by Piotr Swat via Shutterstock

    Positive news from a judge who is allowing Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) to keep Chrome has spurred large, unusual options activity in GOOG and GOOGL put options. This highlights how undervalued GOOG and GOOGL shares are today.

    GOOG is at $229.86, up over 8.43% today after a U.S. District judge ruled against a breakup of Alphabet, including not having to divest its Chrome division, according to CNBC. GOOGL stock is also up 8.49% to $229.30.

    GOOG stock - last 3 months - Barchart - Sept. 3
    GOOG stock – last 3 months – Barchart – Sept. 3

    A Barchart report showed this heavy options activity. Today’s Barchart Unusual Stock Options Activity Report shows that 25,745 put option contracts have traded in out-of-the-money (OTM) put options in GOOG stock.

    It also shows other OTM puts in GOOGL shares have had unusual volume (see table below).

    GOOG and GOOGL puts expiring Sept 5 - Barchart Unusual Stock Options Activity Report - Sept. 3
    GOOG and GOOGL puts expiring Sept 5 – Barchart Unusual Stock Options Activity Report – Sept. 3

    In both cases, the out-of-the-money puts are for expiration on Friday, Sept. 5. The heavy volume indicates that the buyers expect the Alphabet shares to retract from today’s surge.

    However, those shorting these puts are essentially willing to buy shares at the OTM strike prices. They are also getting paid good yields.

    For example, the GOOGL puts at the $225.50 strike price have a $1.02 last premium price. That means short-sellers of these puts are making an immediate yield of 0.453% (i.e., $1.02/$225.00) for just 3 days left until expiration.

    It this could be repeated each week for a month, the expected return is a 1.813% monthly yield. That is a very good expected return in this stock.

    Moreover, the investor’s breakeven point, assuming GOOGL falls to $225.00 by close on Friday, is $223.98 ($225-1.02), or -2.3% below today’s price.

    Similarly, the GOOG put options at the $222.50 strike have a 0.2337% 3-day yield (i.e., $0.52/$222.50), or an expected return of 0.935% monthly yield.

    The point is that these investors feel strongly that GOOG and GOOGL shares may be undervalued here. Let’s look at why.

    Alphabet posted higher +14% revenue increase in Q2 year-over-year (Y/Y) with +19% higher net income and +22% Y/Y higher earnings per share.

    However, its free cash flow (FCF) was lower, mainly due to significantly higher capex spending. This was due to its huge investments in AI-focused activities throughout its product line.

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  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) Has A Great CEO, Says Jim Cramer

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    We recently published 11 Latest Stocks That Jim Cramer Just Talked About. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.

    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is a home furnishing and associated products retailer. Its shares are flat year-to-date, primarily due to a 5.2% dip in August. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)’s shares fell after the firm’s second-quarter earnings report and an announcement by President Trump that he would start a major tariff investigation into furniture items entering the US. Here is what Cramer said about Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM):

    “If you want to know who was best yesterday, and I know she’s not gonna get any credit for it, but, Laura Alber had the most largest increase in tariffs, of any one company, and she still did the number. That is impressive. Williams-Sonoma.

    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) Has A Great CEO, Says Jim Cramer

    Copyright: johnkasawa / 123RF Stock Photo

    Previously, Cramer discussed Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the context of tariffs and the American furniture industry:

    “Let’s talk about Wayfair, Williams-Sonoma, and RH, the old Restoration Hardware… I know both Williams-Sonoma and RH are a different story. They make some fine furniture here, and they’d like to make more furniture, but it’s difficult to find skilled workers to make high-quality merchandise. I’m not slagging our workers. The people who used to make furniture simply moved on to other things, or they retired. … Tariff wouldn’t go far enough to make them come back. At the end of the day, I’m skeptical that we can bring back the American furniture industry as we remember it, and even if we could… would it be worth the cost? I don’t know… Unless the federal government wants to get into the business of making furniture, forcing the hand of RH and Williams-Sonoma, it won’t make a difference to the industry as a whole. There will most likely not be a revival of those great furniture cities.”

    While we acknowledge the potential of WSM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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  • Walmart helps pull Wall Street to its 5th straight loss

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street fell to a fifth straight loss on Thursday, hurt by a drop for Walmart and dampened hopes for coming cuts to interest rates.

    The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%. All its losses have been relatively modest, but it has not risen since setting an all-time high last Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 152 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.

    Walmart was one of the market’s heaviest weights and dropped 4.5% after reporting a profit for the spring that came up short of analysts’ expectations, while Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks held a bit steadier following two days of sharp swings.

    The moves were stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields rose after a report forced Wall Street to scale back hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon deliver relief by cutting interest rates.

    AP AUDIO: Wall Street edges lower in its final moves ahead of a speech by the Federal Reserve’s head

    U.S. stocks are falling after a weaker-than-expected profit report from a major retailer. The AP’s Seth Sutel reports.

    The report suggested growth in U.S. business activity is accelerating and hit its fastest rate so far this year. That’s good news for the economy, but the preliminary data from S&P Global also said tariffs helped push up average selling prices at the fastest rate in three years. That’s a discouraging sign for inflation.

    Taken all together, such data has historically aligned more with the Federal Reserve considering a hike in interest rates, rather than a cut, according to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

    No one expects a rate hike to happen, but the overwhelming expectation on Wall Street has been for coming cuts. Traders are betting on a nearly three-in-four chance that the Fed will lower its main interest rate at its next meeting in September, according to data from CME Group. The hope on Wall Street has been that Fed Chair Jerome Powell may give hints on Friday that easier rates may be coming.

    He will be speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at an annual conference of central bankers that’s been home to big policy announcements in the past.

    A cut in interest rates would be the first of the year, and it would give investment prices and the economy a boost by potentially making it cheaper to borrow to buy cars or equipment. But it could also risk worsening inflation.

    The Fed has been hesitant to cut interest rates this year out of fear that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push inflation higher, but a surprisingly weak report on job growth earlier this month suddenly made the job market a bigger worry. Trump, meanwhile, has angrily pushed for cuts to interest rates, often insulting Powell while doing so.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages, rose to 4.32% from 4.29%. The two-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with short-term interest rates, climbed to 3.78% from 3.74%.

    On Wall Street, Walmart dropped even though it reported encouraging growth in revenue during the latest quarter and raised its forecast for profit over its full fiscal year.

    Analysts said the market’s expectations were high coming into the report. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company’s stock came into the day with a gain of 13.5% for the year so far, more than the rest of the market.

    Big Tech stocks are under even more pressure to deliver bigger profits amid criticism that their stock prices ran too high, too fast and have become too expensive because of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

    Several AI superstar stocks have swung sharply this week, taking some shine off their skyscraping surges for the year, because of such criticism. But they held a bit steadier on Thursday.

    Palantir Technologies, which at one point on Wednesday was on track to fall more than 9% for a second straight day before paring its loss, rose 0.1%. Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, edged down 0.2%.

    Coty tumbled 21.6% after the beauty products company reported a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts expected a slight profit. The company, whose brands include CoverGirl and Joop!, said uncertainty about tariffs and the economy are making retailers cautious in their orders.

    On the winning side of Wall Street was Nordson, which makes products and systems used for precision dispensing and other things. It delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations, and its stock rose 3%.

    All told, the S&P 500 slipped 25.61 points to 6,370.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.81 to 44,785.50, and the Nasdaq composite sank 72.55 to 21,100.31.

    In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across much of Europe and Asia.

    Germany, Europe’s largest economy, saw its DAX return 0.1% after U.S. and European Union officials offered a framework for their trade deal.

    Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% after a survey showed Japan’s factory activity contracted again in August.

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    AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

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  • Nvidia’s CEO says it’s in talks with Trump administration on a new chip for China

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    BANGKOK (AP) — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the company is discussing a potential new computer chip designed for China with the Trump administration.

    Huang was asked about a possible “B30A” semiconductor for artificial intelligence data centers for China while on a visit to Taiwan, where he was meeting Nvidia’s key manufacturing partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., the world’s largest chip maker.

    “I’m offering a new product to China for … AI data centers, the follow-on to H20,” Huang said. But he added that “That’s not our decision to make. It’s up to, of course, the United States government. And we’re in dialogue with them, but it’s too soon to know.”

    Such chips are graphics processing units, or GPUs, a type of device used to build and update a range of AI systems. But they are less powerful than Nvidia’s top semiconductors today, which cannot be sold to China due to U.S. national security restrictions.

    The B30A, based on California-based Nvidia’s specialized Blackwell technology, is reported to operate at about half the speed of Nvidia’s main B300 chips.

    Huang praised the the Trump administration for recently approving sales of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China after such business was suspended in April, with the proviso that the company must pay a 15% tax to the U.S. government on those sales. Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, was told to pay the same tax on its sales of its MI380 chips to China.

    As part of broader trade talks, Beijing and Washington recently agreed to pull back some non-tariff restrictions. China approved more permits for rare earth magnets to be exported to the U.S., while Washington lifted curbs on chip design software and jet engines. After lobbying by Huang, it also allowed sales of the H20 chips to go through.

    Huang did not comment directly on the tax when asked but said Nvidia appreciated being able to sell H20s to China.

    He said such sales pose no security risk for the United States. Nvidia is also speaking with Beijing to reassure Chinese authorities that those chips do not pose a “backdoor” security risk, Huang said.

    “We have made very clear and put to rest that H20 has no security backdoors. There are no such things. There never has. And so hopefully the response that we’ve given to the Chinese government will be sufficient,” he said.

    The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet watchdog, recently posted a notice on its website referring to alleged “serious security issues” with Nvidia’s computer chips.

    It said U.S. experts on AI had said such chips have “mature tracking and location and remote shutdown technologies” and Nvidia had been asked to explain any such risks and provide documentation about the issue.

    Huang said Nvidia was surprised by the accusation and was discussing the issue with Beijing.

    “As you know, they requested and urged us to secure licenses for the H20s for some time. And I’ve worked quite hard to help them secure the licenses. And so hopefully this will be resolved,” Huang said.

    Unconfirmed reports said Chinese authorities were also unhappy over comments by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggesting the U.S. was only selling outdated chips to China.

    Speaking on CNBC, Lutnick said the U.S. strategy was to keep China reliant on American chip technology.

    “We don’t sell them our best stuff,” he said. “Not our second best stuff. Not even our third best, but I think fourth best is where we’ve come out that we’re cool,” he said.

    China’s ruling Communist Party has made self-reliance in advanced technology a strategic priority, though it still relies on foreign semiconductor knowhow for much of what it produces.

    ___

    AP Videojournalist Taijing Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.

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  • Wall Street soars on hopes for lower interest rates as the Dow surges 846 points to a record

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rallied to its best day in months on Friday after the head of the Federal Reserve hinted that cuts to interest rates may be on the way, along with the kick they can give the economy and investment prices.

    The S&P 500 leaped 1.5% for its first gain in six days and finished just shy of its all-time high set last week.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 846 points, or 1.9%, to its own record after topping its prior high from December. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9%.

    “Ka-Powell” is how Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, described the reaction to Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The Fed isn’t going to be the party-pooper.”

    The hope among investors had been that Powell would hint that the Fed’s first cut to interest rates of the year may be imminent. Wall Street loves lower rates because they can goose the economy, even if they risk worsening inflation at the same time.

    President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for lower rates, often insulting Powell while doing so. And a surprisingly weak report on job growth this month pushed many on Wall Street to assume cuts may come as soon as the Fed’s next meeting in September.

    Powell encouraged them on Friday after saying he’s seen risks rise for the job market. The Fed’s two jobs are to keep the job market healthy and to keep a lid on inflation, and it often has to prioritize one over the other because it has just one tool to fix either.

    But Powell also would not commit to any kind of timing. He said the job market looks OK at the moment, even if “it is a curious kind of balance” where fewer new workers are chasing after fewer new jobs. Inflation, meanwhile, still has the potential to push higher because of Trump’s tariffs.

    In sum, Powell said that “the stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance.”

    Treasury yields tumbled in the bond market as bets built that the Fed would cut its main interest rate in September. Traders see an 83% chance of that, up from 75% a day earlier, according to data from CME Group.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.33% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, sank to 3.69% from 3.79% in a notable move for the bond market.

    On Wall Street, stocks of smaller companies led the way. They can benefit more from lower interest rates because of their need to borrow money to grow. The smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index surged 3.9% for its best day since April and more than doubled the S&P 500’s rally.

    Homebuilders jumped on hopes that easier interest rates could encourage more people to buy homes. Lennar, PulteGroup and D.R. Horton all rose more than 5%.

    Travel companies, meanwhile, climbed amid hopes that easier interest rates could help U.S. households spend more. Norwegian Cruise Line rallied 7.2%, Delta Air Lines flew 6.7% higher and Caesars Entertainment rose 7%.

    Shares of Nio, a Chinese electric-vehicle maker, that trade in the United States leaped 14.4% after it began pre-sales of its flagship premium SUV model, the ES8.

    Intel climbed 5.5% after Trump said the chip company has agreed to give the U.S. government a 10% stake in its business.

    Nvidia rose 1.7% to trim its loss for the week. The company, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move in to artificial-intelligence technology, had seen its stock struggle recently amid criticism that it and other AI superstars shot too high, too fast and became too expensive.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the company is discussing a potential new computer chip designed for China with the Trump administration. The chips are graphics processing units, or GPUs, a type of device used to build and update a range of AI systems. But they are less powerful than Nvidia’s top semiconductors today, which cannot be sold to China due to U.S. national security restrictions.

    All told, the S&P 500 jumped 96.74 points to 6,466.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 846.24 to 45,631.74, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 396.22 to 21,496.53.

    In stock markets abroad, Germany’s DAX returned 0.3% after government data showed that its economy shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter compared with the previous three-month period.

    Indexes rose across much of Asia, with stocks climbing 1.4% in Shanghai and 0.9% in South Korea.

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    AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

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  • Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain

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    JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate the impact of tariffs and other policies on the economy.

    In a high-profile speech closely watched at the White House and on Wall Street, Powell said that there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation. Yet he suggested that with hiring sluggish, the job market could weaken further.

    “The shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” he said, a reference to his concerns about weaker job gains and a more direct sign that the Fed is considering a rate cut than he has made in previous comments.

    Still, Powell’s remarks suggest the Fed will proceed carefully in the coming months and will make its rate decisions based on how inflation and unemployment evolve. The Fed has three more meetings this year, including next month, in late October, and in December, and it’s not clear whether the Fed will cut at all those meetings.

    AP AUDIO: Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain

    AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on prospects of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

    “The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance,” Powell said. That suggests the Fed will continue to evaluate jobs and inflation data as it decides whether to cut rates.

    The stock market jumped in response to Powell’s remarks, with the broad S&P 500 index rising 1.5% in midday trading.

    “We see Powell’s remarks as consistent with our expectation of” a quarter-point cut to the Fed’s short-term rate at its Sept. 16-17 meeting, economists at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients. The Fed’s rate currently stands at 4.3%.

    Powell spoke with the Fed under unprecedented public scrutiny from the White House, as President Donald Trump has repeatedly insulted Powell and has urged him to cut rates, arguing there is “no inflation” and saying that a cut would lower the government’s interest payments on its $37 trillion in debt.

    Trump also says a cut would boost the moribund housing market. A rate cut by the Fed often leads to lower borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and business borrowing, but it doesn’t always.

    While Powell spoke, Trump elevated his attacks, telling reporters in Washington, D.C. that he would fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook if she did not step down over allegations from an administration official that she committed mortgage fraud.

    If Cook is removed, that would give Trump an opportunity to put a loyalist on the Fed’s governing board. The Fed has long been considered independent from day-to-day politics. The president can’t fire a Fed governor over disagreements on interest rate policy, but he can do so “for cause,” which is generally seen as malfeasance or neglect of duty.

    Later Friday, Trump told reporters, referring to Powell, “We call him too late for a reason. He should have cut them a year ago. He’s too late.”

    Powell spoke at the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a conference with about 100 academics, economists, and central bank officials from around the world. He was given a standing ovation before he spoke.

    Cook, who is also attending the conference, declined to comment on the president’s remarks.

    In his remarks, the Fed chair underscored that tariffs are lifting inflation and could push it higher in the coming months.

    “The effects of tariffs on consumer prices are now clearly visible. We expect those effects to accumulate over coming months, with high uncertainty about timing and amounts,” Powell said.

    Inflation has crept higher in recent months though it is down from a peak of 9.1% three years ago. Tariffs have not spurred inflation as much as some economists worried, but they are starting to lift the prices of heavily imported goods such as furniture, toys, and shoes.

    Consumer prices rose 2.7% in July from a year ago, above the Fed’s target of 2%. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%.

    Powell added that higher prices from tariffs could cause a one-time shift to prices, rather than an ongoing bout of inflation. Other Fed officials have said that is the most likely outcome and as a result the central bank can cut rates to boost the job market.

    The Fed chair said it is largely up to the central bank to ensure that tariffs don’t lead to sustained inflation.

    “Come what may, we will not allow a one-time increase in the price level to become an ongoing inflation problem,” he said, suggesting deep rate cuts, as Trump has demanded, are unlikely.

    Regarding the job market, Powell noted that even as hiring has slowed sharply this year, the unemployment rate remains low. He added that with immigration falling sharply, fewer jobs are needed to keep unemployment in check.

    Yet with hiring sluggish, the risks of a sharper downturn, with rising layoffs, has risen, Powell said.

    Powell also suggested the Fed would continue to set its interest-rate policy free from political pressure.

    Fed officials “will make these decisions, based solely on their assessment of the data and its implications for the economic outlook and the balance of risks. We will never deviate from that approach.”

    Powell dedicated the second half of his speech to announcing changes to the Fed’s policy framework that was issued in August 2020. The framework, which has been blamed for delaying the Fed’s response to the pandemic inflation spike, provides guidelines on how the Fed would respond to changes in inflation and employment.

    In 2020, after a decade of low inflation and low interest rates following the financial crisis and Great Recession in 2008-2009, the Fed changed its framework to allow inflation to top its 2% target temporarily, so that inflation would average 2% over time.

    And after unemployment fell to a half-century low in 2018, without pushing up inflation, the 2020 framework said that the Fed would focus only on “shortfalls” in employment, rather than “deviations.” That meant it would cut rates if unemployment rose, but wouldn’t necessarily raise them if it fell.

    The Fed reviewed its framework this year and concluded that it was tied too closely to the pre-pandemic economy, which has since shifted. Inflation spiked to a four-decade high in 2022 and the Fed rapidly boosted interest rates afterward.

    “A key objective has been to make sure that our framework is suitable across a broad range of economic conditions,” Powell said.

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  • As AI becomes part of everyday life, it brings a hidden climate cost

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    Marissa Loewen first started using artificial intelligence in 2014 as a project management tool. She has autism and ADHD and said it helped immensely with organizing her thoughts.

    “We try to use it conscientiously though because we do realize that there is an impact on the environment,” she said.

    Her personal AI use isn’t unique anymore. Now it’s a feature in smartphones, search engines, word processors and email services. Every time someone uses AI, it uses energy that is often generated by fossil fuels. That releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

    And it’s getting harder to live without it.

    The climate cost

    AI is largely powered by data centers that field queries, store data and deploy information. As AI becomes ubiquitous, the power demand for data centers increases, leading to grid reliability problems for people living nearby.

    “Since we are trying to build data centers at a pace where we cannot integrate more renewable energy resources into the grid, most of the new data centers are being powered by fossil fuels,” said Noman Bashir, computing and climate impact fellow with MIT’s Climate and Sustainability Consortium.

    The data centers also generate heat, so they rely on fresh water to stay cool. Larger centers can consume up to 5 million gallons (18.9 million liters) a day, according to an article from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. That’s roughly the same as the daily water demand for a town of up to 50,000 people.

    It’s difficult to imagine, because for most users the impact isn’t visible, said AI and Climate Lead Sasha Luccioni with the AI company, Hugging Face.

    “In one of my studies, we found that generating a high-definition image uses as much energy as charging half of your phone. And people were like, ‘That can’t be right, because when I use Midjourney (a generative AI program), my phone battery doesn’t go down,’” she said.

    Jon Ippolito, professor of new media at the University of Maine, said tech companies are constantly working to make chips and data centers more efficient, but that does not mean AI’s environmental impact will shrink. That’s because of a problem called the Jevons Paradox.

    “The cheaper resources get, the more we tend to use them anyway,” he said. When cars replaced horses, he said, commute times didn’t shrink. We just traveled farther.

    Quantifying AI’s footprint

    How much those programs contribute to global warming depends on a lot of factors, including how warm it is outside the data center that’s processing the query, how clean the grid is and how complex the AI task is.

    Information sources on AI’s contributions to climate change are incomplete and contradictory, so getting exact numbers is difficult.

    But Ippolito tried anyway.

    He built an app that compares the environmental footprint of different digital tasks based on the limited data he could find. It estimates that a simple AI prompt, such as, “Tell me the capital of France,” uses 23 times more energy than the same question typed into Google without its AI Overview feature.

    “Instead of working with existing materials, it’s writing them from scratch. And that takes a lot more compute,” Luccioni said.

    And that’s just for a simple prompt. A complex prompt, such as, “Tell me the number of gummy bears that could fit in the Pacific Ocean,” uses 210 times more energy than the AI-free Google search. A 3-second video, according to Ippolito’s app, uses 15,000 times as much energy. It’s equivalent to turning on an incandescent lightbulb and leaving it on for more than a year.

    It’s got a big impact, but it doesn’t mean our tech footprints were carbon-free before AI entered the scene.

    Watching an hour of Netflix, for example, uses more energy than a complex AI text prompt. An hour on Zoom with 10 people uses 10 times that much.

    “It’s not just about making people conscious of AI’s impact, but also all of these digital activities we take for granted,” he said.

    Limit tech, limit tech’s climate impact

    Ippolito said he limits his use of AI when he can. He suggests using human-captured images instead of AI-generated ones. He tells the AI to stop generating as soon as he has the answer to avoid wasting extra energy. He requests concise answers and he begins Google searches by typing “-ai” so it doesn’t provide an AI overview for queries where he doesn’t need it.

    Loewen has adopted the same approach. She said she tries to organize her thoughts into one AI query instead of asking it a series of iterative questions. She also built her own AI that doesn’t rely on large data centers, which saves energy in the same way watching a movie you own on a DVD is far less taxing than streaming one.

    “Having something local on your computer in your home allows you to also control your use of the electricity and consumption. It allows you to control your data a little bit more,” she said.

    Luccioni uses Ecosia, which is a search engine that uses efficient algorithms and uses profits to plant trees to minimize the impact of each search. Its AI function can also be turned off.

    ChatGPT also has a temporary chat function so the queries you send to the data center get deleted after a few weeks instead of taking up data center storage space.

    But AI is only taking up a fraction of the data center’s energy use. Ippolito estimates roughly 85% is data collection from sites like TikTok and Instagram, and cryptocurrency.

    His answer there: make use of screen time restrictions on your phone to limit time scrolling on social media. Less time means less personal data collected, less energy and water used, and fewer carbon emissions entering the atmosphere.

    “If you can do anything that cuts a data center out of the equation, I think that’s a win,” Ippolito said.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Remembering Dr. Alyce M. Ware: A legacy of love, faith, and lifelong learning

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    The Atlanta community pauses to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Alyce Martin Ware, who passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. She was the beloved wife of the late J. Lowell Ware, co-founder of The Atlanta Voice, and the devoted mother of Publisher Janis L. Ware and Dr. Rhonda Ware.

    Dr. Alyce Martin Ware Credit: Ware Family

    A woman of extraordinary grace, compassion, and resilience, Dr. Ware devoted her life to nurturing her family, uplifting those around her, and serving as a source of wisdom and strength to all who knew her.

    A Life Dedicated to Education

    Education was both her calling and her gift. Dr. Ware taught in DeKalb County Schools and Atlanta Public Schoolsfor more than 40 years, shaping generations of students with her patience, knowledge, and care. She served as a homebound instructor, bringing education into the homes of children who were unable to attend school due to illness or other circumstances, ensuring that every child had the opportunity to learn.

    Her academic journey reflected her lifelong commitment to excellence. She graduated from Alabama A&M University in 1951 with a degree in English, earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University, and later achieved her Doctorate in Education from Atlanta University—a testament to her determination and passion for learning.

    Leadership and Service

    Beyond the classroom, Dr. Ware was a committed leader whose service extended across civic, professional, and faith-based organizations. She held numerous offices throughout her life, including:

    • National President, National Association of Media Women
    • President, Atlanta Chapter of Media Women
    • President, Homebound/Hospital Association
    • President, Summech Development Corporation, Inc.
    • Secretary and Public Relations Chairperson, Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
    • Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC)

    Her leadership in these organizations reflected her deep commitment to education, media, community development, and faith.

    A Legacy of Love and Faith

    Her warmth was matched only by her unwavering faith and lifelong devotion to community. To her children, she was a guiding light whose love shaped their paths and inspired their own leadership and service. To friends and neighbors, she was a steady presence of kindness, generosity, and encouragement—someone whose words and actions left a lasting imprint.

    Dr. Ware’s impact extends far beyond her immediate family. As the matriarch of a family devoted to truth, service, and community empowerment, her legacy of love, dignity, and perseverance will continue to live on in the many lives she touched and in the institution she helped strengthen.

    The Atlanta Voice family extends its deepest sympathies and prayers to Rhonda, Janis, and the entire Ware family. Dr. Alyce Ware’s memory will remain a blessing, and her spirit will continue to guide and inspire all who were fortunate to know her.

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  • The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) “Is The Barometer” For The Stock Market, Says Jim Cramer

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    We recently published Jim Cramer Said Quantum Computing Could Quench AI’s Thirst For Water As He Discussed These 14 Stocks . The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.

    The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s shares have been performing well lately as mergers and acquisitions pick up. They have gained 25.5% year-to-date and are up by 56% since the post-Liberation Day dip in April. Cramer’s previous comments about The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) have discussed the bank’s valuation and commented that a price-to-earnings ratio of 16 was too low. The shares are currently trading at a P/E ratio of 15.9, while the CNBC host believes they should trade at least 18. This time, Cramer discussed The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in the context of broader market activity and President Trump’s belief that its top management should switch careers:

    “The reason I brought it up instead of Rocket Mortgage is because Goldman encapsulates everything, IPOs, right, M&A, trading volume. This is the barometer for this stock market and it took off in a way that I haven’t seen in ages.

    The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) “Is The Barometer” For The Stock Market, Says Jim Cramer

    Source: pixabay

    Here is what Cramer believes about The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s valuation:

    “Goldman, Goldman and Morgan. I think that Goldman stock has been elevated because of things I guess. Now see, Goldman’s only at [inaudible] it’s got a parabolic move. But it sells at 16 times earnings. That is a candidate to be revalued up to 18, 19 times earnings.”

    While we acknowledge the potential of GS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

    READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

    Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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  • Trump thinks owning a piece of Intel would be a good deal for the US. Here’s what to know

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    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump wants the U.S. government to own a piece of Intel, less than two weeks after demanding the Silicon Valley pioneer dump the CEO that was hired to turn around the slumping chipmaker. If the goal is realized, the investment would deepen the Trump administration’s involvement in the computer industry as the president ramps up the pressure for more U.S. companies to manufacture products domestically instead of relying on overseas suppliers.

    What’s happening?

    The Trump administration is in talks to secure a 10% stake in Intel in exchange for converting government grants that were pledged to Intel under President Joe Biden. If the deal is completed, the U.S. government would become one of Intel’s largest shareholders and blur the traditional lines separating the public sector and private sector in a country that remains the world’s largest economy.

    Why would Trump do this?

    In his second term, Trump has been leveraging his power to reprogram the operations of major computer chip companies. The administration is requiring Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, two companies whose chips are helping to power the craze around artificial intelligence, to pay a 15% commission on their sales of chips in China in exchange for export licenses.

    Trump’s interest in Intel is also being driven by his desire to boost chip production in the U.S., which has been a focal point of the trade war that he has been waging throughout the world. By lessening the country’s dependence on chips manufactured overseas, the president believes the U.S. will be better positioned to maintain its technological lead on China in the race to create artificial intelligence.

    Didn’t Trump want Intel’s CEO to quit?

    That’s what the president said August 7 in an unequivocal post calling for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign less than five months after the Santa Clara, California, company hired him. The demand was triggered by reports raising national security concerns about Tan’s past investments in Chinese tech companies while he was a venture capitalist. But Trump backed off after Tan professed his allegiance to the U.S. in a public letter to Intel employees and went to the White House to meet with the president, who applauded the Intel CEO for having an “amazing story.”

    Why would Intel do a deal?

    The company isn’t commenting about the possibility of the U.S. government becoming a major shareholder, but Intel may have little choice because it is currently dealing from a position of weakness. After enjoying decades of growth while its processors powered the personal computer boom, the company fell into a slump after missing the shift to the mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhone’s 2007 debut.

    Intel has fallen even farther behind in recent years during an artificial intelligence craze that has been a boon for Nvidia and AMD. The company lost nearly $19 billion last year and another $3.7 billion in the first six months of this year, prompting Tan to undertake a cost-cutting spree. By the end of this year, Tan expects Intel to have about 75,000 workers, a 25% reduction from the end of last year.

    Would this deal be unusual?

    Although rare, it’s not unprecedented for the U.S. government to become a significant shareholder in a prominent company. One of the most notable instances occurred during the Great Recession in 2008 when the government injected nearly $50 billion into General Motors in return for a roughly 60% stake in the automaker at a time it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The government ended up with a roughly $10 billion loss after it sold its stock in GM.

    Would the government run Intel?

    U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC during a Tuesday interview that the government has no intention of meddling in Intel’s business, and will have its hands tied by holding non-voting shares in the company. But some analysts wonder if the Trump administration’s financial ties to Intel might prod more companies looking to curry favor with the president to increase their orders for the company’s chips.

    What government grants does Intel receive?

    Intel was among the biggest beneficiaries of the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act, but it hasn’t been able to revive its fortunes while falling behind on construction projects spawned by the program.

    The company has received about $2.2 billion of the $7.8 billion pledged under the incentives program — money that Lutnick derided as a “giveaway” that would better serve U.S. taxpayers if it’s turned into Intel stock. “We think America should get the benefit of the bargain,” Lutnick told CNBC. “It’s obvious that it’s the right move to make.”

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  • Google’s Pixel 10 phones raises the ante on artificial intelligence

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    Google on Wednesday unveiled a new line-up of Pixel smartphones injected with another dose of artificial intelligence that’s designed to do everything from fetch vital information stored on the devices to help improve photos as they’re being taken.

    The AI expansion on the four Pixel 10 models amplifies Google’s efforts to broaden the use of a technology that is already starting to reshape society. At the same time, Google is taking a swipe at Apple’s Achilles’ heel on the iPhone.

    Apple so far has only been able to introduce a few basic AI features on the iPhone while failing to deliver on last year’s promise to deliver a more conversational and versatile version of its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri.

    Without mentioning the iPhone by name, Google has already been mocking Apple’s missteps in online ads promoting the four new Pixel models as smartphones loaded with AI technology that consumers won’t have to wait for more than a year to arrive.

    “There has been a lot of hype about this and, frankly, a lot of broken promises, too,” Google executive Rick Osterloh said during a 75-minute presentation in New York about the new Pixel phones. The event was emceed by late-night TV show host Jimmy Fallon.

    Google, in contrast, has been steadily increasing the amount of AI that it began to implant on its Pixels since 2023, with this year’s models taking it to another level.

    “We think this yeasr we have a game-changing phone with game-changing technology,” Osterloh said.

    Taking advantage of a more advanced processor, Google is introducing a new AI feature on the Pixel 10 phones called “Magic Cue” that’s designed to serve as a digital mind reader that automatically fetches information stored on the devices and displays the data at the time it’s needed. For instance, if a Pixel 10 user is calling up an airline, Magic Cue is supposed to instantaneously recognize the phone number and display the flight information if it’s in Gmail or a Google Calendar.

    The Pixel 10 phones will also come with a preview feature of a new AI tool called “Camera Coach” that will automatically suggest the best framing and lighting angle as the lens is being aimed at a subject. Camera Coach will also recommend the best lens mode to use for an optimal picture.

    The premium models — Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL — will also include a “Super Res” option that deploys a grab bag of software and AI tricks to zoom up to 100 times the resolution to capture the details of objects located miles away from the camera. The AI wizardry could happen without users even realizing it’s happening, making it even more difficult to know whether an image captured in a photo reflects how things really looked at the time a picture was taken or was modified by technology.

    The Pixel 10 will also be able to almost instantaneously translate phone conversations into a range of different languages using the participants own voices.

    Google is also offering a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan to anyone who buys the more expensive Pixel 10 Pro or Pixel 10 Pro XL models in hopes of hooking more people on the Gemini toolkit it has assembled to compete against OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

    The prices on all four Pixel 10 models will remain unchanged from last year’s Pixel 9 generation, with the basic starting at $800 and the Pro selling for $1,000, the Pro XL at $1,200 and a foldable version at $1,800. All the Pixel 10s expect the foldable model will be in stores on August 28. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be available starting October 9.

    Although the Pixel smartphone remains a Lilliputian next to the Gulliverian stature of the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy models, Google’s ongoing advances in AI while holding the line on its marquee devices raise the competitive stakes.

    “In the age of AI, it is a true laboratory of innovation,” Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson said of the Pixel.

    Apple, in particular, will be facing more pressure than usual when it introduces the next-generation iPhone next month. Although the company has already said the smarter Siri won’t be ready until next year at the earliest, Apple will still be expected to show some progress in AI to demonstrate the iPhone is adapting to technology’s AI evolution rather than tilting toward gradual obsolescence. Clinging to a once-successful formula eventually sank the BlackBerry and its physical keyboard when the iPhone and its touch screen came along nearly 20 years ago.

    Apple’s pricing of the next iPhone will also be under the spotlight, given that the devices are made in China and India — two of the prime targets in President Donald Trump’s trade war.

    But Apple appeared to gain a reprieve from Trump’s most onerous threats earlier this month by adding another $100 billion on top of an earlier $500 billion investment pledge to the U.S. The tariff relief may enable Apple to minimize or even avoid price increases for the iPhone, just as Google has done with the Pixel 10 models.

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  • Cruiserweight Jake Paul and lightweight Gervonta Davis announce they will fight on Nov. 14

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    ATLANTA (AP) — YouTuber-turned-cruiserweight boxer Jake Paul and undefeated WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis have agreed to fight on Nov. 14 at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.

    Paul’s promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, and Netflix announced the highly unusual matchup Wednesday. Netflix will stream the fight worldwide to its more than 300 million subscribers.

    The 30-year-old Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), a three-division world champion, would be the first star near his ostensible prime to face Paul (12-1, 7 KOs), the online celebrity who has become one of the world’s highest-paid combat sports athletes despite never fighting an elite boxer.

    Netflix and Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner, did not refer to the fight as an exhibition, but it’s unclear how Georgia officials would allow the matchup to be held as a competitive bout, given the fighters’ dramatic difference in size and experience.

    Paul typically weighs more than 200 pounds in the ring, while Davis is a 135-pound champion who has never fought above 140 pounds. The fighters did not announce a contracted weight or the number of rounds in their planned bout.

    The fight would mark a return to Netflix for the 28-year-old Paul, whose victory last November over the then-58-year-old Mike Tyson drew an estimated 108 million viewers globally.

    After Paul beat a tepid Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by decision earlier this summer, he entered the World Boxing Association’s cruiserweight rankings at No. 14, making him eligible to fight for world titles.

    Instead of pursuing a cruiserweight belt, Paul recently discussed a fight with two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua — a more logical opponent in terms of size and strength — but shifted his focus to the popular Davis. who has jousted with Paul on social media for years.

    Perhaps Paul can look inside his own family for a plan: His older brother, Logan, weighed 189 pounds before fighting Floyd Mayweather at 155 pounds in an eight-round exhibition bout in 2021. Promoters said the spectacle sold more than 1 million pay-per-view buys and made more than $80 million.

    Davis has been billed by his promoters as “the modern day Mike Tyson” because of the frequency with which he has won by knockout, but his career and life have been rocky in 2025. He struggled to a shocking draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in his most recent ring outing in March, and he was arrested on a domestic violence charge in Florida last month before the misdemeanor battery case was dropped last week.

    Bidarian said Paul and Davis are “favorites of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences,” and that their bout will “determine the true face of boxing’s next generation.”

    “This isn’t just a fight, it’s a spectacle that brings together two of the most electrifying figures in boxing today,” Netflix vice president Brandon Riegg said.

    ___

    AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

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  • Epic Games wins partial victory in Australian court against Google and Apple

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    MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Epic Games, the company behind the popular online game Fortnite, on Tuesday won a partial victory in an Australian court. The case was brought by U.S. billionaire chief executive Tim Sweeney, who claimed that Google and Apple engaged in anti-competitive conduct in running their app stores.

    Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach upheld key parts of Epic’s claim that the tech giants breached Australian competition laws by misusing their market power against app developers and using restrictive trade practices.

    Google and Apple ’s dominance of the app market had the effect of substantially lessening competition and breached Australian law, Beach found.

    But the judge rejected some of Epic’s claim including that Google and Apple engaged in unconscionable conduct as defined by Australian law.

    Sweeney is also challenging Google and Apple’s dominance in the app markets through the courts in the United States and Britain.

    The litigation began in August 2020 when Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store expelled Fortnite because Epic installed a direct payment feature in the extraordinarily popular game.

    The court ruled both companies pressured app developers including Epic through contracts and technology to sell their products through the two dominant app stores.

    Epic said that the ruling will allow its Epic Games Store and Fortnite to come to Apple’s operating system iOS in Australia.

    “An Australian court just found that Apple and Google abuse their control over app distribution and in-app payments to limit competition,” Epic said in a statement.

    “There are 2,000+ pages of findings that we’ll need to dig into to fully understand the details,” the statement added. “This is a WIN for developers and consumers in Australia!”

    Apple said the company “faces fierce competition in every market where we operate.”

    “We welcome the Australian court’s rejection of some of Epic’s claims, however, we strongly disagree with the Court’s ruling on others,” Apple said in a statement.

    Google said it would review the judgment. Google and Apple could potentially appeal the ruling before the Federal Court full bench.

    “We disagree with the court’s characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape on behalf of users and developers,” a Google statement said.

    Beach has yet to release a 952-page judgment on Epic’s case against Apple or his 914-page judgment on the case against Google.

    The judge gave an oral summary of his findings during a 90-minute hearing Tuesday.

    Lawyers will return to court on a date yet to be set to argue what Epic is entitled to in terms of damages.

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  • CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soared

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    NEW YORK (AP) — The typical compensation package for chief executives who run companies in the S&P 500 jumped nearly 10% in 2024 as the stock market enjoyed another banner year and corporate profits rose sharply.

    Many companies have heeded calls from shareholders to tie CEO compensation more closely to performance. As a result, a large proportion of pay packages consist of stock awards, which the CEO often can’t cash in for years, if at all, unless the company meets certain targets, typically a higher stock price or market value or improved operating profits.

    The Associated Press’ CEO compensation survey, which uses data analyzed for The AP by Equilar, included pay data for 344 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their companies, which filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30.

    Here are the key takeaways from the survey:

    A good year at the top

    The median pay package for CEOs rose to $17.1 million, up 9.7%. Meanwhile, the median employee at companies in the survey earned $85,419, reflecting a 1.7% increase year over year.

    CEOs had to navigate sticky inflation and relatively high interest rates last year, as well as declining consumer confidence. But the economy also provided some tail winds: Consumers kept spending despite their misgivings about the economy; inflation did subside somewhat; the Fed lowered interest rates; and the job market stayed strong.

    The stock market’s main benchmark, the S&P 500, rose more than 23% last year. Profits for companies in the index rose more than 9%.

    “2024 was expected to be a strong year, so the (nearly) 10% increases are commensurate with the timing of the pay decisions,” said Dan Laddin, a partner at Compensation Advisory Partners.

    Sarah Anderson, who directs the Global Economy Project at the progressive Institute for Policy Studies, said there have been some recent “long-overdue” increases in worker pay, especially for those at the bottom of the wage scale. But she said too many workers in the world’s richest countries still struggle to pay their bills.

    The top earners

    Rick Smith, the founder and CEO of Axon Enterprises, topped the survey with a pay package valued at $164.5 million. Axon, which makes Taser stun guns and body cameras, saw revenue grow more than 30% for three straight years and posted record annual net income of $377 million in 2024. Axon’s shares more than doubled last year after rising more than 50% in 2023.

    General Electric Co. CEO Lawrence Culp Jr. signs a $52 billion deal by Emirates to purchase Boeing aircraft with GE engines, at the Dubai Air Show, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Lujain Jo)

    Almost all of Smith’s pay package consists of stock awards, which he can only receive if the company meets targets tied to its stock price and operations for the period from 2024 to 2030. Companies are required to assign a value to the stock awards when they are granted.

    Other top earners in the survey include Lawrence Culp, CEO of what is now GE Aerospace ($87.4 million), Tim Cook at Apple ($74.6 million), David Gitlin at Carrier Global ($65.6 million) and Ted Sarandos at Netflix ($61.9 million). The bulk of those pay packages consisted of stock or options awards.

    The median stock award rose almost 15% last year compared to a 4% increase in base salaries, according to Equilar.

    Tim Cook attends the WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

    Tim Cook attends the WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

    “For CEOs, target long-term incentives consistently increase more each year than salaries or bonuses,” said Melissa Burek, also a partner at Compensation Advisory Partners. “Given the significant role that long-term incentives play in executive pay, this trend makes sense.”

    Jackie Cook at Morningstar Sustainalytics said the benefit of tying CEO pay to performance is “that share-based pay appears to provide a clear market signal that most shareholders care about.” But she notes that the greater use of share-based pay has led to a “phenomenal rise” in CEO compensation “tracking recent years’ market performance,” which has “widened the pay gap within workplaces.”

    Some well-known billionaire CEOs are low in the AP survey. Warren Buffett’s compensation was valued at $405,000, about five times what a worker at Berkshire Hathaway makes. According to Tesla’s proxy, Elon Musk received no compensation for 2024, but in 2018 he was awarded a multiyear package that has been valued at $56 billion and is the subject of a court battle.

    Other notable CEOs didn’t meet the criteria for inclusion the survey. Starbucks’ Brian Niccol received a pay package valued at $95.8 million, but he only took over as CEO on Sept. 9. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang saw his compensation grow to $49.9 million, but the company filed its proxy after April 30.

    The pay gap

    At half the companies in AP’s annual pay survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company’s pay scale 192 years to make what the CEO did in one. Companies have been required to disclose this so-called pay ratio since 2018.

    The pay ratio tends to be highest at companies in industries where wages are typically low. For instance, at cruise line company Carnival Corp., its CEO earned nearly 1,300 times the median pay of $16,900 for its workers. McDonald’s CEO makes about 1,000 times what a worker making the company’s median pay does. Both companies have operations that span numerous countries.

    Overall, wages and benefits netted by private-sector workers in the U.S. rose 3.6% through 2024, according to the Labor Department. The average worker in the U.S. makes $65,460 a year. That figure rises to $92,000 when benefits such as health care and other insurance are included.

    “With CEO pay continuing to climb, we still have an enormous problem with excessive pay gaps,” Anderson said. “These huge disparities are not only unfair to lower-level workers who are making significant contributions to company value – they also undercut enterprise effectiveness by lowering employee morale and boosting turnover rates.”

    Some gains for female CEOs

    This photo provided by Otis Elevator Co. shows CEO Judy Marks. (via AP)

    This photo provided by Otis Elevator Co. shows CEO Judy Marks. (via AP)

    For the 27 women who made the AP survey — the highest number dating back to 2014 — median pay rose 10.7% to $20 million. That compares to a 9.7% increase to $16.8 million for their male counterparts.

    The highest earner among female CEOs was Judith Marks of Otis Worldwide, with a pay package valued at $42.1 million. The company, known for its elevators and escalators, has had operating profit above $2 billion for four straight years. About $35 million of Marks’ compensations was in the form of stock awards.

    Other top earners among female CEOs were Jane Fraser of Citigroup ($31.1 million), Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices ($31 million), Mary Barra at General Motors ($29.5 million) and Laura Alber at Williams-Sonoma ($27.7 million).

    FILEw - Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing to examine Wall Street firms on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

    FILEw – Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing to examine Wall Street firms on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

    Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, arrives for a dinner at the Elysee Palace, during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File)

    Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, arrives for a dinner at the Elysee Palace, during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File)

    Christy Glass, a professor of sociology at Utah State University who studies equity, inclusion and leadership, said while there may be a few more women on the top paid CEO list, overall equity trends are stagnating, particularly as companies cut back on DEI programs.

    “There are maybe a couple more names on the list, but we’re really not moving the needle significantly,” she said.

    FILE- Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors, talks to David Rubenstein during an interview hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

    FILE- Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors, talks to David Rubenstein during an interview hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

    Prioritizing security

    Equilar found that a larger number of companies are offering security perquisites as part of executive compensation packages, possibly in reaction to the December shooting of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.

    Equilar said an analysis of 208 companies in the S&P 500 that filed proxy statements by April 2 showed that the median spending on security rose to $94,276 last year from $69,180 in 2023.

    Among the companies that increased their security perks were Centene, which provides health care services to Medicare and Medicaid, and the chipmaker Intel.

    __

    Reporters Matt Ott and Chris Rugaber in Washington contributed.

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  • US stocks rally to records on hopes for cuts to interest rates

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    NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rallied to records on Tuesday after data suggested inflation across the country was a touch better last month than economists expected.

    The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to top its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 483 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to set its own record.

    Stocks got a lift from hopes that the better-than-expected inflation report will give the Federal Reserve leeway to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September.

    Lower rates would give a boost to investment prices and to the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment. President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for cuts to help the economy, often insulting the Fed’s chair personally while doing so.

    AP AUDIO: Wall Street rises toward records on hopes for lower interest rates

    AP business correspondent Seth Sutel reports markets are leaning higher.

    But the Fed has been hesitant because of the possibility that Trump’s tariffs could make inflation much worse. Lowering rates would give inflation more fuel, potentially adding oxygen to a growing fire. That’s why Fed officials have said they wanted to see more data come in about inflation before moving.

    Tuesday’s report said U.S. consumers paid prices for groceries, gasoline and other costs of living that were overall 2.7% higher in July than a year earlier. That’s the same inflation rate as June’s, and it was below the 2.8% that economists expected.

    The report pushed traders on Wall Street to increase bets that the Fed will cut interest rates for the first time this year in September. They’re betting on a 94% chance of that, up from nearly 86% a day earlier, according to data from CME Group.

    The Fed will receive one more report on inflation, as well as one more on the U.S. job market, before its next meeting, which ends Sept. 17. The most recent jobs report was a stunner, coming in much weaker than economists expected.

    Some economists warn that more twists and turns in upcoming data could make the Fed’s upcoming decisions not so easy. Its twin goals are to get inflation to 2% while keeping the job market healthy. Helping one with interest rates, though, often means hurting the other.

    Even Tuesday’s better-than-expected inflation report had some discouraging undertones. An underlying measure of inflation, which economists say does a better job of predicting where inflation may be heading, hit its highest point since early this year, noted Gary Schlossberg, market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. That helped cause some up-and-down swings for Treasury yields in the bond market.

    “Eventually, tariffs can show up in varying degrees in consumer prices, but these one-off price increases don’t happen all at once,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “That will confound the Fed and economic commentators for months to come.”

    Other central banks around the world have been lowering interest rates, and Australia’s on Tuesday cut for the third time this year.

    On Wall Street, Intel’s stock rose 5.6% after Trump said its CEO has an “amazing story,” less than a week after he had demanded Lip-Bu Tan’s resignation.

    Circle Internet Group, the company behind the popular USDC cryptocurrency that tracks the U.S. dollar, climbed 1.3% despite reporting a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It said its total revenue and reserve income grew 53% in its first quarter as a publicly traded company, which topped forecasts.

    On the losing side of Wall Street was Celanese, which sank 13.1% even though the chemical company delivered a better profit than expected. It said that customers in most of its markets continue to be challenged, and CEO Scott Richardson said that “the demand environment does not seem to be improving.”

    Cardinal Health dropped 7.2% despite likewise reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and analysts said the market’s expectations were particularly high for the company after its stock had already soared 33.3% for the year coming into the day.

    Critics say the broad U.S. stock market is looking expensive after its surge from a bottom in April. That’s putting pressure on companies to deliver continued growth in profit.

    All told, the S&P 500 rose 72.31 points to 6,445.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 483.52 to 44,458.61, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 296.50 to 21,681.90.

    In stock markets abroad, indexes edged up in China after Trump signed an executive order late Monday that delayed hefty tariffs on the world’s second-largest economy by 90 days. The move was widely expected, and the hope is that it will clear the way for a possible deal to avert a dangerous trade war between the United States and China.

    Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.5% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

    In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.27% late Monday.

    The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, fell to 3.73% from 3.76%.

    ___

    AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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  • Trump says Intel CEO has an ‘amazing story’ days after calling for his resignation

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    Less than a week after demanding his resignation, President Donald Trump is now calling the career of Intel’s CEO an “amazing story.”

    Shares of Intel, which slid last week after CEO Lip-Bu Tan came under fire from the U.S. president, bounced higher before the opening bell Tuesday.

    The attack from Trump came after Sen. Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary expressing concern over Tan’s investments and ties to semiconductor firms that are reportedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army. Cotton asked Intel if Tan had divested from the companies to eliminate any potential conflict of interest.

    Trump said on the Truth Social platform Thursday that, “The CEO of Intel is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”

    Tan was named Intel CEO in March and it is unclear if he has divested his interests in the chip companies.

    Tan said in a message to employees that there was misinformation circulating about his past roles at Walden International and Cadence Design Systems and said that he’d “always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.”

    After a Monday meeting with Tan at the White House, Trump backed off his demand that Tan resign without hesitation.

    “I met with Mr. Lip-Bu Tan, of Intel, along with Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The meeting was a very interesting one. His success and rise is an amazing story. Mr. Tan and my Cabinet members are going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

    Shares of Intel gained 3.5% Tuesday

    The economic and political rivalry between the U.S. and China are increasingly focused on computer chips, AI and other digital technologies that are expected to shape future economies and military conflicts.

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  • Delivery drones may soon take off in the US. Here’s why

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    Delivery drones are so fast they can zip a pint of ice cream to a customer’s driveway before it melts.

    Yet the long-promised technology has been slow to take off in the United States. More than six years after the Federal Aviation Administration approved commercial home deliveries with drones, the service mostly has been confined to a few suburbs and rural areas.

    That could soon change. The FAA proposed a new rule last week that would make it easier for companies to fly drones outside of an operator’s line of sight and therefore over longer distances. A handful of companies do that now, but they had to obtain waivers and certification as an air carrier to deliver packages.

    While the rule is intended to streamline the process, authorized retailers and drone companies that have tested fulfilling orders from the sky say they plan to make drone-based deliveries available to millions more U.S. households.

    Walmart’s multistate expansion

    Walmart and Wing, a drone company owned by Google parent Alphabet, currently provide deliveries from 18 Walmart stores in the Dallas area. By next summer, they expect to expand to 100 Walmart stores in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; and Orlando and Tampa, Florida.

    After launching its Prime Air delivery service in College Station, Texas, in late 2022, Amazon received FAA permission last year to operate autonomous drones that fly beyond a pilot’s line of sight. The e-commerce company has since expand its drone delivery program to suburban Phoenix and has plans to offer the service in Dallas, San Antonio, Texas, and Kansas City.

    The concept of drone delivery has been around for well over a decade. Drone maker Zipline, which works with Walmart in Arkansas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, began making deliveries to hospitals in Rwanda in 2016. Israel-based Flytrex, one of the drone companies DoorDash works with to carry out orders, launched drone delivery to households in Iceland in 2017.

    But Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said drone delivery has been in “treading water mode” in the U.S. for years, with service providers afraid to scale up because the regulatory framework wasn’t in place.

    “You want to be at the right moment where there’s an overlap between the customer demand, the partner demand, the technical readiness and the regulatory readiness,” Woodworth said. “I think that we’re reaching that planetary alignment right now.”

    Flying ice cream and eggs

    DoorDash, which works with both Wing and Flytrex, tested drone drop-offs in rural Virginia and greater Dallas before announcing an expansion into Charlotte. Getting takeout food this way may sound futuristic, but it’s starting to feel normal in suburban Brisbane, Australia, where DoorDash has employed delivery drones for several years, said Harrison Shih, who leads the company’s drone program.

    “It comes so fast and it’s something flying into your neighborhood, but it really does seem like part of everyday life,” Shih said.

    Even though delivery drones are still considered novel, the cargo they carry can be pretty mundane. Walmart said the top items from the more than 150,000 drone deliveries the nation’s largest retailer has completed since 2021 include ice cream, eggs and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

    Unlike traditional delivery, where one driver may have a truck full of packages, drones generally deliver one small order at a time. Wing’s drones can carry packages weighing up to 2.5 pounds. They can travel up to 12 miles round trip. One pilot can oversee up to 32 drones.

    Zipline has a drone that can carry up to 4 pounds and fly 120 miles round trip. Some drones, like Amazon’s, can carry heavier packages.

    Once an order is placed, it’s packaged for flight and attached to a drone at a launch site. The drone automatically finds a route that avoids obstacles. A pilot observes as the aircraft flies to its destinations and lowers its cargo to the ground with retractable cords.

    Risks and rewards of commercial drones

    Shakiba Enayati, an assistant professor of supply chain and analytics at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, researches ways that drones could speed the delivery of critical health supplies like donated organs and blood samples. The unmanned aircraft offer some advantages as a transport method, such as reduced emissions and improved access to goods for rural residents, Enayati said.

    But she also sees plenty of obstacles. Right now, it costs around $13.50 per delivery to carry a package by drone versus $2 for a traditional vehicle, Enayati said. Drones need well-trained employees to oversee them and can have a hard time in certain weather.

    Drones also can have mid-air collisions or tumble from the sky. But people have accepted the risk of road accidents because they know the advantages of driving, Enayati said. She thinks the same thing could happen with drones, especially as improved technology reduces the chance for errors.

    Woodworth added that U.S. airspace is tightly controlled, and companies need to demonstrate to the FAA that their drones are safe and reliable before they are cleared to fly. Even under the proposed new rules, the FAA would set detailed requirements for drone operators.

    “That’s why it takes so long to build a business in the space. But I think it leads to everybody fundamentally building higher quality things,” Woodworth said.

    Others worry that drones may potentially replace human delivery drivers. Shih thinks that’s unlikely. One of DoorDash’s most popular items is 24-packs of water, Shih said, which aren’t realistic for existing drones to ferry.

    “I believe that drone delivery can be fairly ubiquitous and can cover a lot of things. We just don’t think its probable today that it’ll carry a 40-pound bag of dog food to you,” Shih said.

    The view from the ground in Texas

    DoorDash said that in the areas where it offers drone deliveries, orders requiring the services of human delivery drivers also increase.

    That’s been the experience of John Kim, the owner of PurePoke restaurant in Frisco, Texas. Kim signed on to offer drone deliveries through DoorDash last year. He doesn’t know what percentage of his DoorDash customers are choosing the service instead of regular delivery, but his overall DoorDash orders are up 15% this year.

    Kim said he’s heard no complaints from drone delivery customers.

    “It’s very stable, maybe even better than some of the drivers that toss it in the back with all the other orders,” Kim said.

    For some, drones can simply be a nuisance. When the FAA asked for public comments on Amazon’s request to expand deliveries in College Station, numerous residents expressed concern that drones with cameras violated their privacy. Amazon says its drones use cameras and sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles but may record overhead videos of people while completing a delivery.

    Other residents complained about noise.

    “It sounds like a giant nagging mosquito,” one respondent wrote. Amazon has since released a quieter drone.

    But others love the service. Janet Toth of Frisco, Texas, said she saw drone deliveries in Korea years ago and wondered why the U.S. didn’t have them. So she was thrilled when DoorDash began providing drone delivery in her neighborhood.

    Toth now orders drone delivery a few times a month. Her 9-year-old daughter Julep said friends often come over to watch the drone.

    “I love to go outside, wave at the drone, say ‘Thank you’ and get the food,” Julep Toth said.

    ___

    AP Video Journalist Kendria LaFleur contributed from Frisco, Texas.

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  • YouTube to begin testing a new AI-powered age verification system in the U.S.

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    YouTube on Wednesday will begin testing a new age-verification system in the U.S. that relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors, based on the kinds of videos that they have been watching.

    The tests initially will only affect a sliver of YouTube’s audience in the U.S., but it will likely become more pervasive if the system works as well at guessing viewers’ ages as it does in other parts of the world. The system will only work when viewers are logged into their accounts, and it will make its age assessments regardless of the birth date a user might have entered upon signing up.

    If the system flags a logged-in viewer as being under 18, YouTube will impose the normal controls and restrictions that the site already uses as a way to prevent minors from watching videos and engaging in other behavior deemed inappropriate for that age.

    The safeguards include reminders to take a break from the screen, privacy warnings and restrictions on video recommendations. YouTube, which has been owned by Google for nearly 20 years, also doesn’t show ads tailored to individual tastes if a viewer is under 18.

    If the system has inaccurately called out a viewer as a minor, the mistake can be corrected by showing YouTube a government-issued identification card, a credit card or a selfie.

    “YouTube was one of the first platforms to offer experiences designed specifically for young people, and we’re proud to again be at the forefront of introducing technology that allows us to deliver safety protections while preserving teen privacy,” James Beser, the video service’s director of product management, wrote in a blog post about the age-verification system.

    People still will be able to watch YouTube videos without logging into an account, but viewing that way triggers an automatic block on some content without proof of age.

    The political pressure has been building on websites to do a better job of verifying ages to shield children from inappropriate content since late June when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law aimed at preventing minors from watching pornography online.

    While some services, such as YouTube, have been stepping up their efforts to verify users’ ages, others have contended that the responsibility should primarily fall upon the two main smartphone app stores run by Apple and Google — a position that those two technology powerhouses have resisted.

    Some digital rights groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy & Technology, have raised concerns that age verification could infringe on personal privacy and violate First Amendment protections on free speech.

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  • One Tech Tip: Get the most out of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots with better prompts

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    LONDON (AP) — If you’re using ChatGPT but getting mediocre results, don’t blame the chatbot. Instead, try sharpening up your prompts.

    Generative AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude have become hugely popular and embedded into daily life for many users. They’re powerful tools that can help us with so many different tasks.

    What you shouldn’t overlook, however, is that a chatbot’s output depends on what you tell it to do, and how. There’s a lot you can do to improve the prompt — also known as the request or query — that you type in.

    Here are some tips for general users on how to get higher quality chatbot replies, based on tips from the AI model makers:

    Be more specific in your prompt

    ChatGPT can’t read your mind. You need to give it clear and explicit instructions on what you need it to do.

    Unlike a standard Google search, you can’t just ask for an answer based on some keywords. And you’ll need to do more than just tell it to, say, “design a logo” because you’ll end up with a generic design. Flesh it out with details on the company that the logo is for, the industry it will be used in and the design style you’re going for.

    “Ensure your prompts are clear, specific, and provide enough context for the model to understand what you are asking,” ChatGPT maker OpenAI advises on its help page. “Avoid ambiguity and be as precise as possible to get accurate and relevant responses.”

    Refine and rewrite your request

    Think of using a chatbot like holding a conversation with a friend. You probably wouldn’t end your chat after the first answer. Ask follow-up questions or refine your original prompt.

    OpenAI’s advice: “Adjust the wording, add more context, or simplify the request as needed to improve the results.”

    You might have to have an extended back-and-forth that elicits better output. Google advises that you’ll need to try a “few different approaches” if you don’t get what you’re looking for the first time.

    “Fine-tune your prompts if the results don’t meet your expectations or if you believe there’s room for improvement,” Google recommends in its prompting guide for Gemini. “Use follow-up prompts and an iterative process of review and refinement to yield better results.”

    Consider the persona and audience

    When making your request, you can also ask an AI large language model to respond in a specific voice or style.

    “Words like formal, informal, friendly, professional, humorous, or serious can help guide the model,” OpenAI writes.

    You also tell the chatbot the type of person the response is aimed at.

    These parameters will help determine the chatbot’s overall approach to its answer, as well as the tone, vocabulary and level of detail.

    For example, you could ask ChatGPT to describe quantum physics in the style of a distinguished professor talking to a class of graduate students. Or you could ask it to explain the same topic in the voice of a teacher talking to a group of schoolchildren.

    However, there’s plenty of debate among AI experts about these methods. On one hand, they can make answers more precise and less generic. But an output that adopts an overly empathetic or authoritative tone raises concerns about the text sounding too manipulative.

    Add more context and examples

    Give the chatbot all the background behind the reason for your request.

    Don’t just ask: “Help me plan a weeklong trip to London.”

    ChatGPT will respond with a generic list of London’s greatest hits: historic sites on one day, museums and famous parks on another, trendy neighborhoods and optional excursions to Windsor Castle. It’s nothing you couldn’t get from a guidebook or travel website, but just a little better organized.

    But if, say, you’re a theatre-loving family, try this: “Help me plan a weeklong trip to London in July, for a family of four. We don’t want too many historic sites, but want to see a lot of West End theatre shows. We don’t drink alcohol so we can skip pubs. Can you recommend mid-range budget hotels where we can stay and cheap places to eat for dinner?”

    This prompt returns a more tailored and detailed answer: a list of four possible hotels within walking distance of the theater district, a seven-day itinerary with cheap or low-cost ideas for things to do during the day, suggested shows each evening, and places for an affordable family dinner.

    Put limits around your request

    You can tell any of the chatbots just how extensive you want the answer to be. Sometimes, less is more.

    Try nudging the model to provide clear and succinct responses by imposing a limit. For example, tell the chatbot to reply with only 300 words, or to come up with five bullet points.

    Want to know all that there is to know about quantum physics? ChatGPT will provide a high-level “grand tour” of the topic that includes terms like wavefunctions and qubits. But ask for a 150-word explanation and you’ll get an easily digestible summary about how it’s the science of the tiniest particles that also underpins a lot of modern technology like lasers and smartphones.

    ___

    Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

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  • How to clean keyboard grunge, earwax in earphones and screen smudges

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    LONDON (AP) — Smartphones, laptops, headphones and other electronic devices are essential for work and play in our daily lives. But all that time spent typing, scrolling or listening also means our devices gradually accumulate grime that needs to be cleaned off.

    You might not give much thought to cleaning your devices but there are reasons you should, says Logitech, which makes keyboards, webcams and other computer peripherals.

    “Regular cleaning and proper maintenance not only keeps your gadgets looking pristine, and wins you hygiene points, it also helps them perform better and last longer,” the company says. “In the case of devices like earbuds, the accumulated bacteria and debris may even cause health issues or discomfort.”

    Here are some pointers on cleaning your tech:

    Getting started

    Always check if the manufacturer has any specific guidelines for cleaning.

    Assemble some basic equipment and material for cleaning, which should include a soft and lint-free cleaning cloth, like a microfiber cloth; cotton swabs; a soft-bristled brush like a toothbrush, paintbrush or makeup brush; compressed air and isopropyl alcohol.

    Isopropyl, or rubbing alcohol, is a cleaning solvent that’s antiseptic and antibacterial. It’s popular for cleaning electronics because it doesn’t leave any residue and dries quickly. But you might want to wear gloves to avoid skin irritation. Drip some of it on a cloth instead of pouring it directly onto your device. Also heed some of the more specific warnings below.

    Water and mild soap can be useful for cleaning dirty surfaces, but isopropyl alcohol is recommended for cleaning the internals of a device, said Alex Diaz-Kokaisl, senior technical writer at electronics repair company iFixit.

    “While there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule for cleaning electronics, we generally use high-concentration isopropyl alcohol (more than 90%) because it evaporates quickly,” he said. “The faster a liquid evaporates, the less likely it is to affect any components that conduct electricity.”

    For whatever device you’re cleaning, disconnect or power it off first. Remove any cases, plugs, covers and accessories.

    Computers and laptops

    When using a computer, the keyboard and mouse are the parts that are touched most often and therefore need the most frequent cleaning. And all those crevices between a keyboard’s keys are sure to catch crumbs.

    To remove any loose debris, iFixit’s official in-house cleaning guide recommends using a can of compressed air. Run the spray back and forth across the keys to blow out any bits. If possible, hold the keyboard upside down so the debris falls out.

    If you don’t have compressed air, Logitech suggests using a hair dryer on the cold air setting. Some social media users also recommend a handheld balloon pump.

    Next, dampen a cleaning cloth with water and gently wipe down the keyboard and mouse.

    Logitech says you can also use rubbing alcohol but recommends you test it first on an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn’t cause discoloration or scrub the lettering off the keys.

    Anti-bacterial baby wipes can also work on devices like a mouse, Diaz-Kokaisl said.

    “There shouldn’t be enough liquid to seep through cracks in the shell, and their residue typically evaporates faster than just using soap and water,” he said.

    For laptop screens or external monitors, use a dry microfiber cloth to gently wipe away fingerprint smudges.

    If there are more stubborn spots — like food stains or sneezy spatters — dampen the cloth with distilled water or a 50/50 solution of distilled water and vinegar.

    Computer maker Lenovo says the “gentle acidity of vinegar can help break down oils and fingerprints.” Avoid using household glass cleaners, which can contain ammonia that could damage the screen. The same goes for paper towels, which can scratch the screen. HP also warns against using rubbing alcohol.

    AirPods and earphones

    A lot of people listen to music or podcasts through their earbuds, but that also means they’ll need regular cleaning to remove any earwax, natural skin oils or other grungy buildup.

    If the earbuds have silicon tips, remove them. Cleaning procedures vary depending on your brand and model. Logitech and Bose recommend using soapy water. But Sony warns against water or wet wipes because they can speed deterioration, and, instead, advises using a dry cloth.

    Use a cotton swab to wipe the earbud nozzles clean.

    Owners of Apple AirPods need to follow a much more elaborate procedure to clean the mesh. You’ll need a child’s toothbrush, two small cups, a paper towel, distilled water, as well as micellar water — typically used as a facial cleanser.

    Pour some micellar water into a cup, dip the toothbrush, brush the AirPod’s various mesh parts, and then blot them dry with the paper. Repeat twice. Then repeat that procedure but using the distilled water to rinse off the micellar water. Finally, let the AirPods dry for at least two hours.

    To clean the rest of the AirPod’s body, use a damp cloth. And don’t forget about the charging case. Apple recommends brushing out any debris and then wiping with a dry cloth. If needed, dampen it with isopropyl alcohol.

    What about over-the-ear headphones? Bose says you should wipe them down at least once a week, especially after working out, to remove any dirt and bacteria hiding in the nooks and crannies. Remove the pads and use a cloth dampened with soapy water to clean them.

    Smartphones

    Apple has issued specific instructions on its website for cleaning various iPhone models. Samsung has posted similar guidelines for its Galaxy lineup.

    They both advise using a soft, lint-free cloth, such as a lens cleaning cloth, to gently wipe the outside of the phone. Apple warns against using any cleaning products, which could erode the oil-repellent coating that most iPhones come with.

    Both companies say it’s OK to use disinfectants such as rubbing alcohol to gently clean the exterior, but avoid bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

    ___

    Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

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