Month: January 2024

Small biz owners scale back their office space or go remote altogether. Some move to the suburbs

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Hunter Garnett, of Garnett Patterson Injury Lawyers, poses outside his law office near the Madison County courthouse, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Huntsville, Ala. Garnett is seeking a smaller office space in the suburbs closer to his clients, rather than the large space he has now. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — After 46 years, Steve Replin has decided to give up his office space.

Replin, who has a law practice and acts as an alternative lender in Denver, is adapting to the changing preferences of clients, who would rather conduct business online, or in a less professional setting like a coffee shop.

“I am 76 and have grown up being in actual physical spaces as offices, but I really think that the ‘kids’ have it right,” by shunning offices, he said.

The pandemic has had a transformative effect on the office space landscape. Many businesses are shifting away from traditional spaces toward hybrid work and more flexible, collaborative spaces. About 23% of U.S. office space is available, compared with 16% before the pandemic, according to global real estate advisor Avison Young. Continue reading

Jodie Foster’s back, ‘Barbie’ brings novel numbers and other Oscar nomination facts and figures

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

A replica of the Academy Awards statuette on display prior to the 96th Academy Awards nominations announcement on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A look at notable facts, figures and curiosities from Tuesday’s nominations for the 96th Academy Awards, which saw “Oppenheimer” lead with 13 Oscar nominations, with “Poor Things” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” also running up big numbers.

FOSTERING THE OSCARS

Jodie Foster became an Academy Awards mainstay starting at age 14 with her first nomination for Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” in 1977. This year she returns with a best supporting actress nomination after an unusually long absence. Like her “Nyad” co-star Annette Bening, she got her fifth Oscar nomination for the based-on-a-true-story swimming drama from Netflix, and it’s Foster’s first in 29 years. Her last nod was for “Nell” in 1995. Continue reading

Japan becomes the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Staff of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) watch a live streaming of the pinpoint moon landing operation by the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft observe a live streaming at JAXA’s Sagamihara Campus Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Sagamihara near Tokyo. Japan’s space agency said early Saturday that its spacecraft is on the moon, but is still “checking its status.” More details will be given at a news conference, officials said. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when one of its spacecrafts without astronauts successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface early Saturday.

However, space officials said they needed more time to analyze whether the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, achieved its mission priority of making a pinpoint landing. They also said the craft’s solar panel had failed to generate power, which could shorten its activity on the moon.

Space officials believe that the SLIM’s small rovers were launched as planned and that data was being transmitted back to Earth, said Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, a unit of Japan’s space agency. Continue reading

The world could get its first trillionaire within 10 years, anti-poverty group Oxfam says

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., May 5, 2019. The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, anti-poverty organization Oxfam International said Monday Jan. 15, 2024 in its annual assessment of global inequalities timed to the gathering of political and business elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

By PAN PYLAS and MASHA MACPHERSON Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, anti-poverty organization Oxfam International said Monday in its annual assessment of global inequalities timed to the gathering of political and business elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Oxfam, which for years has been trying to highlight the growing disparities between the super-rich and the bulk of the global population during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, reckons the gap has been “supercharged” since the coronavirus pandemic.

The group said the fortunes of the five richest men — Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and his family of luxury company LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffett — have spiked by 114% in real terms since 2020, when the world was reeling from the pandemic. Continue reading

Robot baristas and AI chefs caused a stir at CES 2024 as casino union workers fear for their jobs

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

The Artly barista robot serves a drink during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The barista tipped the jug of smooth, foamy milk over the latte, pouring slowly at first, then lifting and tilting the jug like a choreographed dance to paint the petals of a tulip.

Latte art is a skill that can take months if not years of practice to master — but not for this barista powered by artificial intelligence.

Robots of all kinds caused a stir on the show floor this week at the annual CES technology trade show in Las Vegas.

It’s innovations like this that worry Roman Alejo, a 34-year-old barista at the Sahara hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, who can’t help but wonder if the clock is ticking on hospitality jobs in the age of AI. Continue reading