Category: Business

As climate warms, that perfect Christmas tree may depend on growers’ ability to adapt

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Gary Chastagner, a Washington State University professor called “Dr. Christmas Tree” shows an example of a less-desirable tree due to fewer top branches, grown in a small plantation of Turkish fir trees to produce disease and insect-resistant Christmas trees at the school’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Puyallup, Wash. Chastagner has been working with breeders to see if species from other parts of the world — for instance, Turkish fir — are better adapted to conditions being wrought by climate change. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

By MELINA WALLING Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Christmas tree breeder Jim Rockis knows what it looks like when one dies long before it can reach a buyer.

Rockis farms trees in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, where he and other producers often grow their iconic evergreens outside their preferred habitat higher in the mountains. But that can mean planting in soil that’s warmer and wetter — places where a nasty fungal disease called Phytophthora root rot can take hold, sucking moisture away from saplings and causing needles to crisp to burnt orange.

“After a while, it just gets to the core of it,” Rockis said. “They just wither away.”

Christmas tree growers and breeders have long prepared for a future of hotter weather that will change soil conditions, too. People buying trees may not have noticed a difference in availability this year and may not even in the next couple; the average Christmas tree takes eight to 10 years to reach marketable size. Continue reading

Technology built the cashless society. Advances are helping the unhoused so they’re not left behind

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

A vendor selling Street Sense, a local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors, takes a donation for a paper while wearing a sign saying she can accept donations from cashless apps like Venmo and CashApp, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. The transition to a cashless society has impacted street-level charitable giving – from individual donations to panhandlers to the Salvation Army donation kettles. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Littlejohn remembers the days when lots of people had a couple of dollars to spare to buy a copy of Street Sense, the local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors.

Today, he’s finding fewer people are walking around with spare change. Even well-meaning individuals who want to help are likely to pat their pockets and apologize, he said.

“I would be out here for six or seven hours and wouldn’t get more than $12 to $15,” said Littlejohn, 62, who was homeless for 13 years. “People are like, ‘I don’t leave the house with cash.'”

But just as technological shifts helped create the problem, further advances are now helping charitable groups and advocates for the unhoused reach those most in danger of being left behind in a cashless society. Continue reading

Google ups the stakes in AI race with Gemini, a technology trained to behave more like humans

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

File – Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks about Google DeepMind at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., May 10, 2023. Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of a project called Gemini that’s trained to think more like humans and behave in ways likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. Google DeepMind is the AI division behind Gemini. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writers

Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that’s likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils.

The rollout will unfold in phases, with less sophisticated versions of Gemini called “Nano” and “Pro” being immediately incorporated into Google’s AI-powered chatbot Bard and its Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.

With Gemini providing a helping hand, Google promises Bard will become more intuitive and better at tasks that involve planning. On the Pixel 8 Pro, Gemini will be able to quickly summarize recordings made on the device and provide automatic replies on messaging services, starting with WhatsApp, according to Google. Continue reading

Buyers worldwide go for bigger cars, erasing gains from cleaner tech. EVs would help

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Vehicles move along Interstate 76 ahead in Philadelphia, Nov. 22, 2023. The energy used by cars and CO2 emissions could have dropped by over 30% in the past decade if not for the world’s growing taste for SUVs, a new report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggests. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

By ALEXA ST. JOHN undefined

The negative impact on the climate from passenger vehicles, which is considerable, could have dropped by more than 30% over the past decade if not for the world’s appetite for large cars, a new report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggests.

Sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, now account for more than half of all new car sales across the globe, the group said, and it’s not alone. The International Energy Agency, using a narrower definition of SUV, estimates they make up nearly half.

Over the years these cars have gotten bigger and so has their cost to the climate, as carbon dioxide emissions “are almost directly proportional to fuel use” for gas-powered cars. The carbon that goes in at the pump comes out the tailpipe. Continue reading

Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh chosen to host the 2030 World Expo

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

A supporter of the candidacy of Busan, South Korea, jokes with a supporter Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris. In a high-profile showdown, Rome, Busan, and Riyadh are the top contenders as the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) prepares to vote on Tuesday in Paris for the host city of the 2030 World Expo. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

By THOMAS ADAMSON and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors.

Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE.

The vote has been held behind closed doors in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a southwestern suburb of the French capital. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17.

With the stakes high, each city has escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. Continue reading

Company that created ChatGPT is thrown into turmoil after Microsoft hires its ousted CEO

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

File – Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. Microsoft has announced that it’s hired Sam Altman and another architect of ChatGPT maker OpenAI after they unexpectedly departed the company days earlier in a corporate shakeup that shocked the artificial intelligence world. Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella also tweeted Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 that the major investor in the chatbot that kicked off the generative AI craze is committed to its partnership with OpenAI. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

By COURTNEY BONNELL and MATT O’BRIEN AP Business Writers

The company that created ChatGPT was thrown into turmoil Monday after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part on how to build artificial intelligence that’s smarter than humans.

The developments followed a weekend of drama that shocked the AI field and fueled speculation about the future of OpenAI, which named a new chief executive on Friday and then replaced her on Sunday. The newest CEO vowed to investigate the firing of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who’s been instrumental in OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research laboratory into a world-renowned commercial startup that inaugurated the era of generative artificial intelligence. Continue reading

Navigating Troubled Waters: Moody’s Credit Review and The Struggles of The U.S. Banking Sector

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Amaka Chukwuma | Wealth of Geeks undefined

In August, ratings agency Moody’s announced six major United States banks, including Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, and Northern Trust, were at risk of having their credit rating downgraded. An additional 10 mid-sized banks had their credit ratings slashed, exposing the “ongoing strain” within the U.S. banking sector.

This development sent shockwaves through the financial markets, with investors growing concerned about the potential challenges ahead for the banking sector.

The tension evident in Moody’s report is compounded by mounting pressures on funding and potential “weaknesses” in the capital reserves that lenders must maintain. A credit rating downgrade could further elevate the funding costs for these banks, intensifying their financial challenges. Continue reading

Apple’s sales fall for the fourth straight quarter despite a strong start for latest iPhones

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Customers shop in an Apple store in Pittsburgh Jan. 30, 2023. Apple reports earnings on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

Apple’s sales remained on a downward slope during the summer, resulting in a full year of declining revenue at the technology trendsetter with a long history of steady growth that turned it into the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

The slight sales deterioration announced Thursday for the July-September period marked the end of Apple’s fiscal year — a stretch that saw the company suffer a revenue decrease from the prior year in each quarter.

Although this past fiscal year’s revenue only dipped by 3% from the previous fiscal year, it was still a noteworthy anomaly in a business that has been so successful that Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at $3 trillion earlier this year.

It’s the first time Apple’s fiscal year revenue has dropped since 2019 when sales fell by 2%. Continue reading

Less boo for your buck: For the second Halloween in a row, US candy inflation hits double digits

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

An assortment of Halloween candy is shown in this photo taken on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 in New York. For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer

Spooked by the high price of Halloween candy? There’s not much relief in sight.

For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Candy and gum prices are up an average of 13% this month compared to last October, more than double the 6% increase in all grocery prices, according to Datasembly, a retail price tracker. That’s on top of a 14% increase in candy and gum prices in October 2022.

“The price of candy has gotten to be outrageous,” said Jessica Weathers, a small business owner in Shiloh, Illinois. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.” Continue reading

Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown reels in subscribers as it raises prices for its premium plan

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A Netflix sign is photographed outside its office building in Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Netflix reports earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix on Wednesday disclosed summertime subscriber gains that surpassed industry analysts’ projections, signaling the video streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing is converting former freeloaders into paying customers.

In an effort to bring in even more revenue, Netflix also announced it’s raising the price for its most expensive streaming service by $2 to $23 per month in the U.S. — a 10% increase — and its lowest-priced, ad-free streaming plan to $12 — another $2 bump. The $15.50 per month price for Netflix’s most popular streaming option in the U.S. will remain unchanged, as will a $7 monthly plan that includes intermittent commercials.

It also raised its prices for subscribers in the U.K. and France. Continue reading