Forbes

2022-05-04 17:05:01 Greg Stube interrogated Alejandro Mallorcas in the House Judiciary Committee. Watch the video. Open / Comment

2022-05-04 14:05:01 America’s Best Employers For Diversity

Over the past two years, the focus on racial disparities has put a spotlight on several industries. The impact of Covid-19 on the lives and livelihoods of Black families has raised questions about healthcare equity. The economic fallout for Black workers and Black-owned businesses has once again illustrated the need for financial inclusion and access to capital.

Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to compile the annual list of America's Best Employers for Diversity.

To determine the ranking, Statista surveyed 60,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees and pinpointed the companies they identified as most dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. Survey participants were asked to rate their organizations on criteria such as age, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation equality, as well as that of general diversity. Open / Comment

2022-05-03 21:05:01 Asian Billionaires’ Hotel Groups Build Virtual Lands In Decentraland And The Sandbox’s Metaverse

Singaporean billionaire Kwek Leng Beng’s Millennium Hotels and Resorts and the billionaire Lo family’s Regal Hotels Group in Hong Kong are taking their first steps into the metaverse after purchasing virtual properties in blockchain gaming platforms Decentraland and the Sandbox.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts, a hospitality brand under Kwek’s City Developments, said that it is launching a hotel in Decentraland, a virtual world where players can build, buy and sell in-game assets as they interact with others.

The virtual hotel will open its door to players in early May. Visitors will be able to interact with an avatar which guides them through the building.

Meanwhile, Regal Hotels Group, chaired by Lo Yuk Sui of Hong Kong’s billionaire Lo family, said that it is developing a “green metropolis” in the Sandbox, the metaverse platform owned by Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming giant Animoca Brands. Open / Comment

2022-05-03 17:22:10 Dear followers, we open sales of ads on our channel now

If you are interested, please, contact @relevant_theory Open / Comment

2022-05-03 17:05:03 Heinemann Takes A Bow As The Only European Travel Retailer To Be Back In Profit

One of the world’s biggest travel retailers, Gebr. Heinemann, has gone where none of its European competitors have in 2021: into profit. This is quite a feat given that air travelers — who are the core shoppers in the travel retail business — were thin on the ground in airport shops last year, with 5.4 billion passengers effectively removed versus 2019.

Larger European rivals, while making big advances on their 2020 losses, were still in the red. Dufry’s results for 2021 revealed a net loss of $375 million while Lagardère Travel Retail’s results showed its recurring EBIT was negative to the tune of $84.4 million.

Heinemann’s group turnover in 2021 rose 31% year-on-year to $2.2 billion (€2.1 billion) — still less than half (44%) of its €4.8 billion in pre-pandemic 2019. For the current year, the Hamburg-based company hopes turnover will hit 75%. Open / Comment

2022-05-03 14:05:02 Multicultural Collaborative Launches Digital Platforms To Tell Latino And Black Origin Stories

Two new multicultural digital media and documentary platforms — Nuestro Stories and Our Black Origins (OBO) — aim to tell Latino and Black stories from a different perspective: bringing the past back to life by highlighting "origin stories" and sharing how they've shaped today's social culture.

The multicultural, multi-platform collaborative, created by the founders of two content marketing companies, Brilla Media and Joy Collective, won't focus on breaking news or partisan politics. Instead, the founders say they will emphasize cultural history and notable achievements by people of color, many of which are unknown to the general public.

Both platforms will feature written stories, cultural "Did You Knows," quizzes, and photo essays, among other things, across the branded websites and social media channels on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat. Open / Comment

2022-05-02 21:05:01 Warren Buffett Reveals He’s Boosted Stake In Activision Blizzard To 9.5%

Billionaire Warren Buffett said during Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting that he had raised his conglomerate’s stake in Activision from 2% of the company as of the end of the year to 9.5% — worth about $5.6 billion — with the share price hovering around $80, well below Microsoft’s $95 per share offer.

Buffett said he wanted to make it clear it was his own bet, and that he didn’t want anyone to blame Berkshire investment managers Ted Weschsler or Todd Combs if the acquisition fails to win regulatory approval.

Microsoft announced it planned to acquire Activision in January in an all-cash transaction for roughly $69 billion, which would make Microsoft the third-largest video-gaming company by revenue once the deal closes. Open / Comment

2022-05-02 17:05:01 Meet The Vermont Startup That Amazon, Gucci, And Google Are Betting Could Be The Disney Of The Metaverse

The future cultural center of the Metaverse might be 3,000 miles away from Hollywood and Silicon Valley, in a century-old brick and timber warehouse in Burlington, Vermont.

Superplastic founder Paul Budnitz and a team of designers have spent the last five years creating a roster of digital characters and complex storylines built to attract millions of fans across entertainment, music, fashion, NFTs and crypto in the fledgling world of Web3.

Inspired by newspaper comics from the early 1900s, Superplastic debuted its first characters in 2020 even before NFTs became part of the mid-pandemic zeitgeist.

Its colorful inhabitants have gained millions of their own social media. They’ve also made $20 million from selling tens of thousands of NFTs with Christies and others. They party with Paris Hilton, hang out in Fortnite, collaborate with rapper-singer J. Balvin, and even get paid as Gucci models. Open / Comment

2022-05-02 14:05:01 Malaysia Awards Digital Bank Licenses To Groups Led By Grab, Sea, RHB

The Malaysian central bank has awarded digital banking licenses to groups led by ride hailing and food delivery giant Grab Holdings, Shopee owner Sea Group and Malaysian lender RHB Bank, as the Southeast Asia nation seeks to embrace online financial services amid an e-commerce boom.

A total of five licenses were issued by the regulator after receiving about 29 applications for the much-coveted licenses. Groups led by AEON Financial Service and KAF Investment Bank-led were also granted the permits.

“Digital banks can help individuals and businesses gain better access to more personalized solutions backed by data analytics,” Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah said in a statement. “As businesses move online, digital banking also provides a safer and a more convenient way to transact.” Open / Comment

2022-05-01 21:05:01 Amazon Stock Erases $210 Billion In One Day After Inflation Triggers Surprise Loss And ‘Ugly’ Selloff

Shares of Amazon collapsed Friday after the e-commerce monolith reported worse-than-expected earnings spurred by high inflation and lingering supply chain constraints, pushing the stock down more than 30% below its record high and extending a slate of massive losses among formerly high-flying technology firms.

Amazon stock tumbled 14% Friday to $2,485, logging its worst day since 2014 and wiping out about $210 billion in market value.

Spurring the losses, the Seattle-based giant reported an unexpected loss of $3.8 billion in the first quarter, or $7.38 per share, significantly worse than the $8.36-per-share profit analysts were expecting and much lower than the profit of $8.1 billion a year earlier.

Despite remaining bullish on the stock, Bank of America analysts also lowered their Amazon price target on Friday to $3,770. Open / Comment