Stellantis says financial loss caused by Trump tariffs as Brampton plant sits empty
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
27 minutes ago
- CTV News
Allianz Life confirms data breach affecting majority of 1.4M U.S. customers
MINNEAPOLIS — Hackers gained access to personal data on the majority of the 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company confirmed Saturday. Minneapolis-based Allianz Life, a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE, said the data breach happened on July 16 when a 'malicious threat actor' gained access to a third-party, cloud-based system used by the company. 'The threat actor was able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life's customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique,' Allianz Life said in a statement. 'We took immediate action to contain and mitigate the issue and notified the FBI.' The company said its own systems were not accessed, just the third-party's platform. Allianz Life said its investigation is ongoing and that the company has begun reaching out to the impacted individuals. It said the incident involves only Allianz Life in the U.S., not other Allianz corporate entities. In the case of data breaches, a 'social engineering technique' usually involves using trickery to gain access. Spokesman Brett Weinberg said he couldn't provide details because they are still investigating. Allianz Life also reported the breach to multiple other authorities, including the Maine Attorney General's Office. A filing on the agency's website said the company discovered the breach the day after it happened, and that it will be offering those affected 24 months of identity theft protection and credit monitoring. Allianz Life was known as North American Life and Casualty until it was acquired by German conglomerate Allianz SE in 1979 and changed its name to Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. It has nearly 2,000 employees in U.S., with the majority working in Minnesota, according to its website. It is one of five North American subsidiaries of the Munich-based global financial services group Allianz SE, which says it serves more than 125 million customers worldwide. Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Could a Quantum Computing Bubble Be About to Pop? History Offers a Clear Answer
Key Points IonQ, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and Quantum Computing have reached valuation levels well beyond those seen during prior stock market bubbles. Each of these companies has recently raised capital through a series of equity offerings and stock issuances. These moves could suggest that the valuation levels for these businesses are not only abnormally high, but unsustainable. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Last summer, companies such as IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), and Quantum Computing (NASDAQ: QUBT) were unknown penny stocks. However, as quantum computing steadily made its way toward center stage in the artificial intelligence (AI) realm, each of these companies witnessed meteoric rises in their share prices. Over the last 12 months, IonQ stock has blasted higher by 517%, while Rigetti, D-Wave, and Quantum Computing have experienced surges of at least 1,500% as of this writing (July 21). With valuations reaching historically high levels, could investors be on the verge of witnessing a quantum computing bubble bursting? Is quantum computing in a bubble? The chart below illustrates valuation trends among popular quantum computing stocks on a price-to-sales (P/S) basis. IONQ PS Ratio data by YCharts. As I outlined in a prior article, the quantum computing stocks above are trading at far higher P/S multiples compared to levels seen during the dot-com and COVID-19 stock bubbles. For example, during the internet boom in the late 1990s, stocks such as Amazon, Cisco, and Microsoft experienced peak P/S ratios in the range of 30x and 40x. Taking this a step further, popular COVID stocks such as Zoom Communications and Peloton saw P/S multiples top out at 124x and 20x, respectively. The big theme here is that IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave, and Quantum Computing are each trading for valuation multiples that could be seen as historically high, even when compared to prior bubble events. With that said, other AI companies that are also exploring quantum computing -- such as Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft -- currently trade for much more reasonable valuation multiples when compared to the companies in the chart above. For this reason, I do not think the entire quantum computing landscape is at risk of experiencing a bubble-bursting event. However, IonQ and its peers have been dropping some breadcrumbs in recent months that lead me to think the smaller quantum computing players could be on the verge of a harsh sell-off. What's going on under the hood with quantum computing stocks? After some digging into certain filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), I think IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave, and Quantum Computing may be trying to signal some important things to investors: In February, IonQ announced that it planned to raise up to $500 million through a series of stock issuances. The company doubled down on its capital-raising ambitions more recently, offering 14,165,708 shares at a price of $55.49 -- raising nearly $1 billion in the process. In June, Rigetti raised $350 million in capital after completing an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering. Between June 11 and June 27, D-Wave Quantum raised $400 million through an ATM offering. Of note: This followed a prior raise of $150 million that occurred in January. In late June, Quantum Computing raised $200 million following the issuance of 14 million shares at an average price of $14.25. What's really going on here? With each of these quantum computing stocks trading near all-time highs, it appears to me that management is looking to take advantage of frothy market conditions. IONQ data by YCharts. Quantum computing is a research-heavy, capital-intensive industry. Management at IonQ and its peers surely understand this, and so I see these capital raises as a calculated move to capitalize on inflated, overstretched valuations. Should you invest in quantum computing stocks? To me, any hint of a bubble surrounding IonQ and its smaller peers may already be in the process of bursting. Under the surface, the various stock issuances and equity offerings annotated above could suggest that management does not believe current price levels are sustainable. By using the dot-com and COVID bubbles as benchmarks, history would suggest that a major correction could be on the horizon for these small quantum computing stocks. Issuing stock to raise funds is not sustainable in the long run. Furthermore, consistently diluting shareholders through these offerings could call into question how these companies are allocating capital. In my eyes, if investors are seeking exposure to the quantum computing industry, they are best off exploring more diversified opportunities in big tech as opposed to the smaller, more speculative players analyzed in this piece. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Revenge dress for a party in Sicily': This platform is using AI to make online shopping hyper-personal
AI startup Daydream wants to make online shopping easier and more personal, by letting users shop online as if they're talking to a personal stylist. (madisonwi/E+/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) As anyone who's scoured the internet for a bridesmaid dress knows, online shopping can be a pain. Among almost unlimited options, it can be a difficult task to find just the right style, color, size and price point. A tech startup called Daydream is now looking to fix that by letting users search for a product online in the same way they'd describe it to a friend. A user could say they're looking for a 'revenge dress to wear to a party in Sicily in July,' for example, or 'a summer bag to carry to work and to cocktails after.' Daydream, which has staff in the New York and San Francisco areas, is just the latest tech company using artificial intelligence to try to make online shopping simpler and more personalized. The demand is already there — a survey of 5,000 American consumers published by Adobe Analytics showed that 39% of respondents had used a generative AI tool for online shopping last year and that 53% planned to do so this year. It's competing with tech giants that have already launched AI tools for online shopping. Meta is using AI to make it easier for sellers to list items for sale on its apps, and to show users ads for products they're more likely to buy. OpenAI launched an AI agent that can shop for users across the web, and Amazon is testing a similar feature. And Google has rolled out a range of AI shopping tools, including automated price tracking, a 'circle to search' feature that lets users search for a product in a photo or on social media, and virtual try-on for clothes. But Daydream has a deeper understanding of the fashion and retail industries than those bigger players, CEO Julie Bornstein told CNN. Bornstein helped build Nordstrom's website as its vice president of e-commerce in the early 2000s and worked in the C-suite for Sephora and Stitch Fix. In 2018, she co-founded her first AI-powered shopping startup The Yes, which sold to Pinterest in 2022. 'They don't have the people, the mindset, the passion to do what needs to be done to make a category like fashion work for (AI) recommendations,' Bornstein said. 'Because I've been in this space my whole career, what I know is that having the catalogue that has everything and being able to show the right person the right stuff is what makes shopping easier.' Already, Daydream has raised $50 million in its first round of funding from investors including Google Ventures and model and Kode With Klossy founder Karlie Kloss. The free platform operates sort of like a digital personal stylist. Users can type in what they're looking for in natural language — no Boolean search terms required, thanks to its AI text recognition technology — or upload an inspiration photo. Then, Daydream will surface recommendations from more than 8,000 brand partners, ranging from Uniqlo to Gucci. Users can then continue chatting, just like they would with a chatbot, to refine the search; for instance, by asking for more casual or less expensive options. As users spend more time on the platform, it will start to tailor recommendations based on what they've searched for, clicked on and saved. When they're ready to buy, shoppers are directed to the brand's website to complete their purchase, and Daydream will take a 20 per cent cut of the sale. Unlike many of the other big players in e-commerce, Bornstein is eschewing ads-based rankings — she wants products to show up on recommendation pages because they're a likely fit for the customer, not because brands have paid for them to be there. 'As soon as Amazon started doing paid sponsorships, I'm like, 'How can I find what the real good product is?'' she said. 'We want this to be a thing where we get paid when we show the customer the right thing.' On a recent CNN test of Daydream, a search for 'white, fitted button-up shirt for the office with no pockets' led to a US$145 cotton long-sleeve from Theory that fit the bill. But the recommendations aren't always perfect — a search for 'mother of the bride dress for a summer wedding in California' returned, among more formal styles, several slinky slip dresses, including in white, that seemed more suited to a bachelorette party. Bornstein said the company continues to refine its AI models and collect user feedback. 'We want data on what people are doing so we can focus and learn where we do well and where we don't,' she said. Part of that work, she added, is training the AI model to understand what it means when users say, for example, they're looking for a dress for a trip to Greece in August (it's going to be hot) or that it's for a black-tie wedding (it should be formal). Daydream launched its web version to the public last month, although it remains in beta testing, and plans to release an app this fall. In the future, Bornstein said she expects people to use AI not just for shopping but for a range of fashion needs, such as pairing items they're shopping for with existing pieces in their closet. 'This was one of my earliest ideas, but I didn't know the term (generative AI) and I didn't know a large language model was going to be the unlock,' she said. By Clare Duffy, CNN
