From Barbie to Eurovision, here’s what people Googled most this year

Published by
Euronews (English)

What’s the state of your Google search history? The US tech giant has just released its “Year in Search,” an annual roundup of what people are searching for most on the internet’s top search engine. As usual, it’s been a sobering snapshot of the state of society’s attention span. When it comes to news trends, the Israel-Hamas war topped the list of global search queries, followed by the Turkey and Syria earthquakes in February and the implosion of the Titanic-bound Titan submersible. Euronews Culture reported on the widespread public Schadenfreude linked to the Titan’s demise, which dominated … Read More “From Barbie to Eurovision, here’s what people Googled most this year”

Hedge funds went on stock-buying spree ahead of job data -Morgan Stanley

Published by
Reuters UK

By Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global hedge funds went on a stock-buying spree just ahead of a U.S. jobs report that drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their highest closing levels since early 2022, a Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage note showed. “What started out as a somewhat quieter week turned on Thursday, as hedge funds shifted to buying equities in what amounted to the largest day of buying seen in recent months,” the bank’s prime brokerage strategic content group said. Morgan Stanley said hedge funds bought mainly stocks in North America, in a mix of additions of long positions and… Read More “Hedge funds went on stock-buying spree ahead of job data -Morgan Stanley”

Grunt Work No-More? Wokelo.AI Streamlines Due Diligence, Cut Costs, Automates 40% Of Tasks

Published by
Benzinga

When you’re a young professional navigating the World of investment banking or private equity, the early days are typically filled with tedious tasks. “Climbing the ranks, we found ourselves immersed in research, modeling, and the tedious formatting of slides,” shared Wokelo AI’s co-founder and CTO, Saswat Nanda. “A tool enabling us to engage in higher-level problem-solving and critical thinking would have been a game-changer.” WokeIo, established in 2022 with $1.5 million in pre-seed funding, is that tool. The generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform operates on the back of OpenAI’s G… Read More “Grunt Work No-More? Wokelo.AI Streamlines Due Diligence, Cut Costs, Automates 40% Of Tasks”

OpenAI Rival Mistral AI Closes $415M Funding Round Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Published by
Benzinga

French startup Mistral AI raised $415 million, or €385 million, as part of a series A funding round. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz were among the main investors. Salesforce (NASDAQ:CRM), BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF), CMA-CGM, General Catalyst,Mixer Labs co-founder Elad Gil, and venture firm Conviction also joined the effort. Bloomberg estimates that this amounts to a $2 billion valuation for the company. Less than six months ago, Mistral AI—a European competitor to OpenAI—raised a $112 million seed round led by former employees of Google’s DeepMind and Meta. The company is d… Read More “OpenAI Rival Mistral AI Closes $415M Funding Round Led By Andreessen Horowitz”

S&P 500 rally facing key tests from bond sales and CPI ahead of Fed meeting

Published by
The Street

By Martin Baccardax Stocks are facing a key three-day stretch this week as investors look to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting to clarify the central bank’s 2024 rate path and potentially extend one of the strongest Wall Street rallies of the past five years. A host of factors have underpinned the market’s third-quarter surge, which has lifted the S&P 500 nearly 12% from its late-October nadir. It’s put the broadest measure of U.S. shares within 200 points, or just under 5%, of the all-time high it reached in January. Better-than-expected earnings, a resilient labor market, easing inf… Read More “S&P 500 rally facing key tests from bond sales and CPI ahead of Fed meeting”

Iran to get Chinese assistance to make oil and gas fields AI-oriented

Published by
IntelliNews

Iran plans to launch a joint venture with Chinese tech companies to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to “digitalise” production in its oil and gas fields and make “great reforms,” the research and technology head of the National Iranian Oil (NIOC) said, as per a report by Mehr News Agency on December 8. “AI will be utilised in the whole value chain including exploration, drilling, production and development,” said Mehdi Motahhari. He added that based on the assessment of the Chinese partners the project would result in a “20% improvement in efficiency.” NIOC chief Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr has … Read More “Iran to get Chinese assistance to make oil and gas fields AI-oriented”

Upstart Hldgs Options Trading: A Deep Dive into Market Sentiment

Published by
Benzinga

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Upstart Hldgs (NASDAQ:UPST). And retail traders should know. We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga. Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don’t know. But when something this big happens with UPST, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen. So how do we know what these investors just did? Today, Benzinga’s options scanner spotted 28 uncommon options trades for Upstart Hldgs. This isn’t normal. The overall s… Read More “Upstart Hldgs Options Trading: A Deep Dive into Market Sentiment”

Can Megacap Tech Stocks Parlay the AI Craze into Higher Profits?

Published by
Barchart

Seven megacap technology stocks in the S&P 500 ($SPX) (SPY) have driven about three-quarters of the S&P’s gain this year in a rally sparked in part by investor obsession with artificial intelligence (AI). These companies, including Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Tesla (TSLA), need to deliver on the promise of AI earnings to justify their high valuations. The rallies in these seven megacap stocks have pushed their valuations to frothy levels, with the companies’ shares trading at an average of 32 times earnings. JMP… Read More “Can Megacap Tech Stocks Parlay the AI Craze into Higher Profits?”

Woman shares brilliant shopping trolley hack for when you don’t have a £1 coin handy

Published by
Mirror

By Niamh Kirk There’s nothing more frustrating than getting to the supermarket and realising you’ve forgotten to bring a £1 coin to put in the trolley – but one woman has shared a brilliant trick so you will never be stuck without one again. The internet can be a wonderful place for learning easy and amazing life hacks, and this one will make things so much easier when you forget your £1 – and for those who hardly carry cash, it can be a game changer. Taking to TikTok to share her trick, @julieannex_higgins said her nifty trick works exactly the same as a coin. As some people don’t usually car… Read More “Woman shares brilliant shopping trolley hack for when you don’t have a £1 coin handy”

Is Adobe set to top forecasts again?

Published by
City AM

By Jess Jones Adobe is preparing to report its fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday, likely looking at a strong performance as demand for its software services rises and its artificial intelligence (AI) business gains momentum. Analyst consensus estimates expect the Photoshop creator to report earnings of $4.14 per share on revenues of $5.02bn (£4bn), up from $4.53bn (£3.61bn) in the fourth quarter last year. Adobe has forecast earnings per share of $4.1 to $4.15 on revenues of $4.98bn (£3.97bn) to $5.03bn (£4.01bn). It could be ending 2023 on a high, having consistently topped Wall Street pre… Read More “Is Adobe set to top forecasts again?”