Webuild-Led Consortium Wins $1.9 Billion Contract in Italy
The Italian construction company said Tuesday that the contract covers a 22-kilometer section of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria railway line and was awarded by FS Italiane Group to a consortium in which Webuild has a 60% share.
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Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
AI is finally getting better at knowing what people want. Why this matters for consumers and the brands trying to reach them
Online advertising has become the internet's most expensive guessing game. Brands spend billions trying to reach the right people at the right moment, while consumers wade through increasingly irrelevant promotional content that clutters their digital experience. The result is a system where both sides lose. Advertisers waste budget on uninterested audiences, and consumers develop banner blindness to escape the noise. This costly inefficiency stems from a fundamental flaw in digital advertising's operation for years. Traditional targeting methods rely heavily on past behavior and broad demographic categories, essentially making educated guesses about what someone might want based on where they've been, not where they're going. But AI is finally evolving beyond simple pattern recognition to reading genuine intent signals. The old playbook no longer works For years, advertisers have relied on a crude toolkit. Cookies tracked browsing history, algorithms kept tabs on website visits, and suddenly, you'd see related ads everywhere, regardless of context or actual need. Someone researching "best walking shoes for Italy" has vastly different intentions than someone browsing "luxury Italian leather shoes," yet traditional systems often lump both behaviors into a generic "shoe shopping" category. The problem compounds when you consider how people actually shop online. We browse, compare, research, and often abandon searches when our needs aren't met. Traditional systems struggle to distinguish between casual browsing and serious purchase intent, leading to poorly timed advertising that contributes to the digital noise consumers tune out. Understanding context, not just clicks This is where newer AI approaches are making a real difference. Instead of simply tracking what pages someone visited in the past, advanced systems can now interpret the full context of what people are looking for by analyzing the content they're engaging with. Take that comfortable shoe example. When someone reads an article on, say, breathable walking shoes for all-day sightseeing, an AI system that understands intent recognizes this goes beyond simple footwear shopping. The person wants comfort, durability, and extended wear. They're solving a specific travel problem. At RTB House, our IntentGPT component uses large language models and Deep Learning to make these contextual connections. Rather than relying on behavioral breadcrumbs, it interprets the meaning behind user interactions and matches that understanding with relevant products from advertiser catalogs. The result has been a 44% increase in engagement rates. The technical mechanics involve analyzing the semantic meaning of web content, understanding user intent in real time, and connecting that intent with appropriate product recommendations. The practical impact is straightforward — people see ads that actually relate to what they're trying to accomplish. Why this matters for consumers and brands For consumers, this shift addresses a genuine digital wellness issue. The constant barrage of irrelevant advertising contributes to the cluttered, frustrating online experience that has trained users to ignore marketing messages entirely. When ads match actual intent, they transform from irrelevant noise into useful information. Consider the broader implications. Better intent recognition means someone researching winter coats for a specific climate gets recommendations for appropriate gear, not generic fashion items. A parent looking for educational toys for a particular age group sees relevant options, not random products for children. The advertising becomes a service rather than contributing to banner blindness. For brands, the benefits extend beyond improved engagement rates. When advertising reaches people who genuinely need what you're selling, conversion rates improve and marketing spend becomes more effective. It's a shift from the imperfect toward precision targeting based on actual consumer needs. This approach also addresses growing consumer privacy concerns by understanding context and immediate needs without requiring deep behavioral profiling. Beyond the guessing game The advertising industry has struggled with having more data than ever while still struggling to deliver relevant experiences. The solution isn't more data collection, it's a better understanding of what that data actually means in the context of human behavior and genuine needs. AI components like IntentGPT are a maturation of advertising technology, moving beyond simple pattern matching to genuine comprehension of user intent. This approach focuses on making promotional content actually useful rather than just more prevalent. As these technologies become more sophisticated, we might finally solve one of digital advertising's most expensive problems by closing the gap between having access to user information and actually understanding what users want. The result could be an internet where advertising enhances rather than clutters the user experience. Early results suggest we're moving toward a more efficient system with the current technology available. The question now is how quickly the industry will adopt these more sophisticated approaches to replace the expensive guesses that have dominated digital advertising for too long.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Town centre restaurant still closed one month on with reopening date uncertain
A fast food restaurant and takeaway in Swindon town centre remains closed, as customers are left in the dark about when it could reopen. Pepe's Piri Piri, located on the corner of Commercial Road and Regent Street in Swindon town centre, is a popular fast food chain with 235 branches nationwide. The spicy chicken restaurant has been a staple in Swindon for several years, but in July 2025 the company announced it was shutting its doors for a long-awaited refurbishment. An announcement issued by Pepe's on July 15 simply stated: "We are closed for renovation". Pepe's Piri Piri remains closed (Image: Newsquest) The company promises it will reopen 'soon' (Image: Newsquest) Work is now well underway at the Swindon store, with decorators and contractors seen inside the shop, and materials left outside the front door. However, with the temporary closure having now reached week five, the re-opening date for Pepe's remains unknown. Recommended reading: Pizza shop boss seeks new owner for transformed formerly zero-rated takeaway Familiar faces reveal plans after taking over popular café restaurant Highly anticipated all-you-can-eat steakhouse opening soon in place of Italian Signs hung on the door of the store read: "We are closed while we improve your restaurant. We look forward to welcoming you back very soon. Apologies for any inconvenience." However, no official reopening date has been given, and efforts by the Swindon Advertiser to contact the store have been unsuccessful. The Regent Street restaurant has faced repeated issues with its town centre location in the past, after being targeted by burglars four times in 2019. Pepe's Piri Piri is not only refreshing its Swindon store, but has also shown its popularity with multiple new branches having opened across the country this summer. Four new Pepe's restaurants opened in July 2025, in Edinburgh, Clapham, Chingford and Chesterfield, with several more towns and cities earmarked to receive new branches of the chicken shop later this year.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Struggling auto parts retail chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The automotive auto parts aftermarket remained stable in the first half of 2025, as retail sales increased about 1% in both revenue and demand, according to market research firm Circana, Aftermarket Matters reported. But increased revenue and demand in the industry didn't prevent several auto parts chains from filing for bankruptcy. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024, electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt AB dismissed its U.S. case and filed for bankruptcy liquidation in Sweden in March 2025. Related: Popular Italian restaurant chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy Also, motor vehicle parts manufacturer Hypertech Inc. and two affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 11, 2025, to reorganize their businesses. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company manufactures automotive performance electronics and components. In the biggest auto parts bankruptcy so far this year, global giant Marelli Holdings Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 11, listing $4.9 billion in funded debt, with plans to hand the company over to its senior lenders. The debtor blamed its distress on the effects of the Covid pandemic and post-pandemic market challenges and headwinds, including supply chain challenges, labor shortages, high costs, inflation, rising prices of raw materials, and declining customer volumes. And now, longstanding car audio retail chain Car Toys Inc. as filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking to sell its assets to five different buyers in four states. Car Toys filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington on Aug. 18, listing $10 million to $50 million in assets and liabilities in its petition. Northvolt AB, liquidation, March April Holdings, June Toys, August 2025. The debtor had about $30 million in liabilities, according to court papers. The debtor's largest unsecured creditors include Pembroke Real Estate, owed $4.2 million in lawsuit debt; Kenwood Electronics, owed over $1.27 million; and Alpine Electronics, owed over $612,000. Related: 63-year-old retailer closing all stores in Chapter 11 bankruptcy The debtor has faced financial difficulties for several years, as its car audio business, which represents 70% of the company's sales, has declined about 8% to 10% annually since 2020, according to a declaration by the debtor's Chief Restructuring Officer Philip Kaestle of Sierra Constellation Partners. "In 2021, the company experienced a strong financial year following pent-up demand coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic," Kaestle said in the declaration. "However, this success was short-lived," Kaestle said. The walls came crashing down in 2022 when Car Toys' affiliate Wireless Advocates LLC, which sold wireless phones and network service contracts, lost an exclusive partnership with Costco Wholesale Company. The dissolved partnership was a fatal blow to Wireless Advocates, as the company shut down its business in December 2022, and the shared management and overhead expenses between the two affiliates shifted to Car Toys. Wireless Advocates is currently a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation debtor. Car Toys' revenue plummeted by 3.3% from $127 million in 2021 to $123 million in 2022, and by another 8.3% in 2023 to $113 million, the declaration said. As the company's revenues continued to decline in 2024, it hired restructuring advisers and laid off 140 employees. More bankruptcy: Unusual bar and restaurant chain files Chapter 7 bankruptcyMajor healthcare company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeks saleHome improvement retail supplier files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Revenue did not improve in 2025 as by July 2025, sales were down 14% year-over-year. The Seattle-based debtor is the nation's largest independent specialty car audio and mobile electronics retail chain, according to court papers, with 46 locations in four states. Texas (16)Washington (14)Colorado (10)Oregon (6) Car Toys began marketing itself for sale in March 2025 and reached purchase and sale agreements with five competitors to purchase 35 of its locations in 4 states for a combined $13.75 million in a Section 363 bankruptcy sale. Aspen Sound is seeking to purchase two Spokane, Wash., locations for $477,536, and Drive In Sound looks to purchase a Colorado Springs North location in Colorado for $533,809. Sound Distribution seeks to purchase six Colorado and nine Washington locations for $1.138 million, and partners Don Longworth and Raul Shakarov offered to buy five Oregon locations for $1.522 million. CTX Operating Co. wants to acquire 12 locations in Texas for $3.951 million. Aspen Sound, Spokane, Wash. (2), $477, In Sound Colorado Springs North, Colo. (1), $533, Distribution Colorado (6), Washington (9), $1.138 Longworth, Raul Shakarov, Oregon (5), $1.522 Operating Co., Texas (12), $3.951 million. Car Toys, which was founded by Daniel Brettler in 1982, specializes in sales of car audio, video, car alarms, remote start, car accessories, marine audio and powersports, and window tinting services. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
