2 months ago
(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched the beta version of an artificial intelligence music-generation model that can turn a single text prompt into a fully produced song, expanding the Chinese technology giant's push into generative AI.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Trump Reduces US-South Korea Drills, Citing Lack of Help on Iran
Stripe Clinches Over $7 Billion Deal to Buy AI Firm OpenRouter
Covert Mideast Oil Flows Are Keeping Global Prices in Check
#bloomberg #group #holding
Most Read from Bloomberg
Trump Reduces US-South Korea Drills, Citing Lack of Help on Iran
Stripe Clinches Over $7 Billion Deal to Buy AI Firm OpenRouter
Covert Mideast Oil Flows Are Keeping Global Prices in Check
#bloomberg #group #holding
2 months ago
The Strait of Hormuz is, by some accounts, named for a Zoroastrian deity destined to emerge victorious after a 9,000-year standoff with an adversary.
Iran's leaders feel their own victory is at hand and won't require the same epic patience.
They are betting that military pressure will ultimately force the United States to accept their control over the crucial waterway for global energy — and that time is on their side.
They know about the diminishing stockpiles of key U.S. weapons such as advanced missile interceptors. They know the war is deeply unpopular with Americans. They know that as long as the strait is largely closed, the price of gas and other goods will stay high ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November. They know that trying to open it by force would be costly and may require American ground troops. They know their Houthi allies in Yemen could widen the war and disrupt another major trade route.
By that logic, U.S. President Donald Trump has no choice but to capitulate.
#united #americans
Iran's leaders feel their own victory is at hand and won't require the same epic patience.
They are betting that military pressure will ultimately force the United States to accept their control over the crucial waterway for global energy — and that time is on their side.
They know about the diminishing stockpiles of key U.S. weapons such as advanced missile interceptors. They know the war is deeply unpopular with Americans. They know that as long as the strait is largely closed, the price of gas and other goods will stay high ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November. They know that trying to open it by force would be costly and may require American ground troops. They know their Houthi allies in Yemen could widen the war and disrupt another major trade route.
By that logic, U.S. President Donald Trump has no choice but to capitulate.
#united #americans
2 months ago
Scott Bessent has some good news for consumers this morning: The K-shaped economy is officially over! Consumers on the lower end of the income spectrum are no longer being left behind by their richer counterparts, he insists.
The only problem is that the data has yet to subscribe to Bessent's feelings.
The Treasury Secretary said he is "sick of hearing about this K-shaped economy," during a CNBC interview yesterday, adding: "I can say here definitively, the K-shaped economy is over."
Instead, Bessent said, U.S. households are in a C-shaped economy, "where the lower end of wage earners are finally calling it back, just like they did in President Trump's first term."
Bessent said the bottom 25% of workers have seen a 2% real wage gain. That's likely a reference to Treasury data for 2025 that showed blue-collar workers saw growth of 1.7% in the first five months of Trump's presidency.
The Treasury Secretary also pointed to White House policy under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (such as no taxes on tips or overtime, as well as reduced taxes for seniors on Social Security) as having a meaningfully positive effect on household finances. The act, described by the White House as the biggest tax break in history, purported to give Americans earning between $15,000 and $80,000 an average tax cut of 15%.
The bill also promised to increase tipped and overtime workers' take-home pay by $1,500 a year, and has reportedly increased after-tax income for a typical two-child family by $7,600 to $10,900.
#economy #workers
The only problem is that the data has yet to subscribe to Bessent's feelings.
The Treasury Secretary said he is "sick of hearing about this K-shaped economy," during a CNBC interview yesterday, adding: "I can say here definitively, the K-shaped economy is over."
Instead, Bessent said, U.S. households are in a C-shaped economy, "where the lower end of wage earners are finally calling it back, just like they did in President Trump's first term."
Bessent said the bottom 25% of workers have seen a 2% real wage gain. That's likely a reference to Treasury data for 2025 that showed blue-collar workers saw growth of 1.7% in the first five months of Trump's presidency.
The Treasury Secretary also pointed to White House policy under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (such as no taxes on tips or overtime, as well as reduced taxes for seniors on Social Security) as having a meaningfully positive effect on household finances. The act, described by the White House as the biggest tax break in history, purported to give Americans earning between $15,000 and $80,000 an average tax cut of 15%.
The bill also promised to increase tipped and overtime workers' take-home pay by $1,500 a year, and has reportedly increased after-tax income for a typical two-child family by $7,600 to $10,900.
#economy #workers
3 months ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son, has died, state media reported. He was 74.
The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause.
Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar's stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod's department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network.
Qatar's political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world's most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match.
But Qatar's rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close ties to Shiite powerhouse Iran, the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause.
Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar's stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod's department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network.
Qatar's political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world's most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match.
But Qatar's rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close ties to Shiite powerhouse Iran, the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
3 months ago
Nolan Wells went missing after a July 4th celebration and was later found dead in the water near an island off of MIssissippi where he had gone with friends for a holiday celebration. His parents sat down with NBC News' Kate Snow and revealed how they first learned Nolan was missing.
