London Stock Exchange becomes Europe’s largest stock market again

June 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The UK’s main stock market retook its crown as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, data shows.

The total value of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hit $3.18tn on Monday, overtaking the $3.13tn total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data.

Both valuations have shifted since and remain close, but analysts describe it as a milestone.

They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance.

Ukraine war: Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding | BBC

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dark storm clouds threatened to upend Serhiy and Tania’s beach wedding. But as the couple walked down the long white staircase to greet their guests, the empty chairs signaled there was a bigger problem. In total, half of their guests were missing.

Their family and friends sent their apologies but explained that the risk of attending had been too great. What if they had been caught by one of the conscription squads, which now roam Ukraine’s streets?

With many of its soldiers dead, injured or exhausted, the Ukrainian government has stepped up its efforts to mobilise more men.

Tesla shareholders vote yes again to approve Elon Musk’s $56B pay plan | TechCrunch

June 14, 2024June 13, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has secured enough shareholder votes to have his 2018 stock option compensation package approved. Shareholders also approved the company’s decision to re-incorporate of Tesla in Texas, moving it away from the state where Musk’s pay package was struck down: Delaware.

Shareholders present at the company’s annual meeting Thursday held at Tesla’s Texas gigafactory, cheered and gave a standing ovation when general counsel Brandon Ehrhart announced the results of the vote. The margin of victory was not immediately clear.

“I just want to start off by saying: Hot damn, I love you guys,” Musk said as he leapt around on the stage Thursday. “I think we’re not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we’re starting a new book.”

How to block websites on iPhone | Mashable

June 12, 2024June 11, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whether you’re trying to manage screen time and avoid certain websites, or whether you’re setting some boundaries on your kid’s device, there’s an easy way to block sites on your iPhone.

If it’s specifically the latter, you can also set up parental controls on your iPhone — just know they’re not the full answer. But if you’re keen to know how to simply filter websites directly so they don’t show up in Safari, here’s an easy guide.

Everything AI allows you to do in Windows 11 that saves you time | Mashable

June 12, 2024June 11, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

AI is becoming a major part of our digital lives, and Microsoft has adopted the new tech with open arms. So much so that Microsoft now offers a huge range of AI tools straight from Windows 11, led by Microsoft’s new digital assistant, Copilot.

The real advantage of AI is that it can help you do your work faster. AI tools, at least right now, are excellent at helping users save time, so they can spend that time on other tasks. And, many more AI tools that can help you save time are on the way – so expect to be able to save more and more time over the next few months and years.

Curious about how you can save time in Windows 11 using AI? Here are the best features right now.

Apple needs to make the iPhone cool again. Today is its chance | CNN Business

June 11, 2024June 10, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple hasn’t given users a significant reason to buy an upgraded iPhone for four years, since it rolled out 5G connectivity with the iPhone 12 — a worrying trend for the tech giant’s core business. That could change this week.

The iPhone brought in more than half of the company’s total revenue last year, but sales growth has lagged as customers have been slower to upgrade to new models. Longer upgrade cycles — the time between users’ new phone purchases — currently plague many device companies. But they’ve been especially painful for Apple as it grapples with compounding challenges that also include steep competition in the key China market and a landmark antitrust lawsuit.

Apple is expected to announce new artificial intelligence features at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, which could supercharge its products and bring Apple back into competition with much of the rest of the tech world that has already gone full steam ahead on AI. And no product is more important to Apple than the iPhone.

French election shock hits stocks and the euro | CNN Business

June 11, 2024June 10, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

French markets and the euro were roiled Monday by President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call a snap election after his party lost to the far right in a vote for European lawmakers.

Big gains for the far right in the French election could force Macron to govern with a hostile parliament, making it harder for his centrist administration to pursue its policy agenda and raising doubts about its ability to put government finances on a more sustainable footing.

France’s CAC 40 index, which represents 40 of the biggest companies listed in Paris, fell 1.8% by 11.02 a.m. ET, with banks among the biggest losers. Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index was trading 0.5% down on the day by the same time.

Salmonella outbreak tied to cucumbers sickens 162 | Live Science

June 10, 2024June 9, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cucumbers contaminated with Salmonella bacteria have been tied to an outbreak that has affected at least 162 people in the United States.

Of these, 54 people have been hospitalized and none have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Wednesday (June 5).

The agency noted that the total number of sick people is likely higher than reported. That’s because some people recover from Salmonella infection without medical care, and it can take weeks to deduce that confirmed cases of the illness are connected to an ongoing outbreak.

1st Neuralink user describes highs and lows of living with Elon Musk’s brain chip | Live Science

June 10, 2024June 9, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Noland Arbaugh has a computer chip embedded in his skull and an electrode array in his brain. But Arbaugh, the first user of the Neuralink brain-computer interface, or BCI, says he wouldn’t know the hardware was there if he didn’t remember going through with the surgery. “If I had lost my memory, and I woke up, and you told me there was something implanted in my brain, then I probably wouldn’t believe you,” says the 30-year-old Arizona resident, who has been paralyzed below the middle of his neck since a 2016 swimming accident. “I have no sensation of it—no way of telling it’s there unless someone goes and physically pushes on it.”

The Neuralink chip may be physically unobtrusive, but Arbaugh says it’s had a big impact on his life, allowing him to “reconnect with the world.” He underwent robotic surgery in January to receive the N1 Implant, also called “the Link,” in Neuralink’s first approved human trial.

Lab-grown meat faces bans before it’s even in stores | Fast Company

June 4, 2024June 3, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Lab-grown meat is not currently available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants. If some lawmakers have their way, it never will be.

Earlier this month, both Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells. In Iowa, the governor signed a bill prohibiting schools from buying lab-grown meat. Federal lawmakers are also looking to restrict it.