Oil Slips on Larger OPEC+ Output Hike
Eight OPEC+ countries said they will increase production by 548,000 barrels a day in August–the equivalent of four monthly increments and above the 411,000 barrels a day forecast by analysts.
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Forbes
5 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Real Reason For Building Disneyland In Abu Dhabi
The upcoming Disneyland park in Abu Dhabi is expected to cast a powerful spell on the economy of the glitzy Middle Eastern state and it will also make Disney's magic available to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to visit its parks. It is no secret that Abu Dhabi is building theme parks to diversify its economy. Its fortune was built on fossil fuels but as its reserves are beginning to run out it has brought global theme park giants to its shores to drive tourism revenue. That's far from the only magic touch they have. Although Abu Dhabi and neighboring Dubai are seen as being playgrounds exclusively for the world's wealthiest people, the vast majority of their residents are far from billionaires. There is good reason for this. Developing a leisure sector to diversify a country's economy takes more than the wave of a magic wand. In order to do this, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the five other states that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have built sprawling facilities and hired hundreds of thousands of people to work in them. They tend to come from nearby nations where they might not earn as much as they do in the UAE. It explains why a staggering 88.5% of the 11.4 million residents of the UAE are expats according to Global Media Insight. The number of expats from the United States is reflected in the vast array of its stores and restaurants which have made their way to the UAE. They include everything from chains like Applebee's, Dickey's Barbecue Pit and IHOP to fine dining outlets such as California's Urth Caffé and Sarabeth's which began life as a small bakery-kitchen on New York City's Amsterdam Avenue in 1981. Nevertheless, the number of U.S. expats in the UAE pales in comparison to the 5.9 million who come from India and Pakistan. Together they represent more than half of the UAE's total population and many of them are responsible for building the spectacular towering structures scattered across the country's landscape. It explains why data from the California-based Economic Research Institute shows that the average annual salary in the UAE comes to $48,993 (AED179,949) compared to $66,991 in the U.S., proving that you don't have to be a billionaire to live there. The UAE has a wide catchment area to draw on as one-third of the world's population is located within a four-hour flight of the country. It is also part of the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year. In order to welcome them as workers and tourists, the UAE has some of the friendliest visa regulations of any country. As this author has reported, the UAE and the Middle East in general are home to many of the most passionate Disney fans worldwide. So much so that when Disney announced at the height of the pandemic that it would close almost all of its iconic stores to focus instead on online sales, it opened a landmark new outlet in Kuwait. However, despite being fervent Disney fans, many residents of the UAE and the five nearby Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations aren't able to visit its theme parks. Although Disney has six resorts worldwide, its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Instagram account focuses on just two of them as it describes itself as "the official guide to information about the amazing experiences at Disneyland Paris, Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World." That's because Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World in Orlando have historically been the studio's most popular outposts for travelers from the Middle East. However, in recent years, getting there has been far from child's play. When Disneyland Abu Dhabi was announced in May, Subair Thekepurathvalappil, senior manager at Wisefox Tourism, told the Khaleej Times newspaper that getting a visa to France, where the nearest Disneyland is currently located, can be difficult for many UAE residents. In contrast, not only does the UAE have a simpler tourist visa process, but it it is set to introduce a GCC Unified Visa which will enable travelers to visit Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain without needing additional paperwork. "There's already a lot of talk in the travel industry about Disneyland Abu Dhabi. We expect it to be a massive hit, especially once the unified GCC tourist visa comes into effect. It will be a must-visit for anyone coming to this region," Subair explained. "Passports will no longer be needed for UAE families dreaming of Disney magic." The impact of this was laid bare in a separate report by the Khaleej Times in May which revealed that 23.7% of applications for visas to Europe's Schengen area filed by UAE residents were rejected last year. The dark clouds aren't just hanging over Europe. Recent data from the National Travel and Tourism Office revealed that the number of overseas visitors to the U.S. in July fell 4.9% on the previous year, only reaching around 86.6% of the pre-pandemic level despite it being one of the busiest seasons of the year. It is the latest development in a months-long trend which also saw international arrivals fall 6.6% in June. It follows a string of high-profile rejections to U.S. visa applications made by everyone from ambassadors to ordinary travelers. Indeed, in April an Indian man's story went viral after he posted on Reddit that his visa for a two week vacation to visit Disney World in Orlando was rejected after an interview which lasted just 40 seconds. In fact, a recent report by Gulf News revealed that India is one of the top ten Asian nations with the highest rejection rates for visas to the U.S. Other countries in the top ten include Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and China which together represent a massive 74.3% of the UAE's population. Almost half of U.S. visa applications made from Bangladesh are rejected setting a high barrier for its residents to visit Disney's stateside theme parks. Bangladeshis represent 7.38% of the UAE's population which clearly illustrates the untapped potential for Disneyland Abu Dhabi. The more people who visit the park, the more money flows into its leisure sector. As Mohamed Al Zaabi, the trailblazing boss of Abu Dhabi's theme park operator Miral, explained to this author in 2023, this strategy "is about diversification of Abu Dhabi's economy." Miral isn't stopping at Disney as it acknowledges that there are other parks in Orlando which locals would want to visit. SeaWorld is one and Miral ticked that off in 2023 when it opened by far the most advanced outpost of the marine life park. Harry Potter is another. Attractions themed to the boy wizard are found in Universal Studios parks but soon Miral will be the only other operator with them when they open in Abu Dhabi as this report recently explained. Abu Dhabi even recently debuted an exhibition of props from the Potter movies which resembles a scaled-down version of the popular behind the scenes tour in London. It's not got the tour's sweeping size but it's enough to satiate locals as they wait for the Potter theme park attractions. In contrast, when Disneyland Abu Dhabi swings open its doors it could be the Mouse's biggest park as this report revealed. It is expected to be home to the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge land giving Abu Dhabi yet another draw from Orlando. The park may be years away from opening but the force is already strong in Abu Dhabi.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI is at a classic strategy crossroads involving its ‘moat'—which Warren Buffett believes can make or break a business
It's an epochal moment as history's latest general-purpose technology, AI, forms itself into an industry. Much depends on these early days, especially the fate of the industry's leader by a mile, Open AI. In terms of the last general-purpose technology, the internet, will it become a colossus like Google or be forgotten like AltaVista? No one can know, but here's how to think about it. OpenAI's domination of the industry is striking. As the creator of ChatGPT, it recently attracted 78% of daily unique visitors to core model websites, with six competitors splitting up the rest, according to a recent 40-page report from J.P. Morgan. Even with that vast lead, the report shows, OpenAI is expanding its margin over its much smaller competitors, including even Gemini, which is part of Google and its giant parent, Alphabet (2024 revenue: $350 billion). The great question now is whether OpenAI can possibly maintain its wide lead (history would say no) or at least continue as the industry leader. The answer depends heavily on OpenAI's moat, a Warren Buffett term for any factor that protects the company and cannot be easily breached–think of Coca-Cola's brand or BNSF Railroad's economies of scale, to mention two of Buffett's successful investments. On that count the J.P. Morgan analysts are not optimistic. Specifically, they acknowledge that while OpenAI has led the industry in innovating its models, that strategy is 'an increasingly fragile moat.' Example: The company's most recent model, GPT-5, included multiple advances yet underwhelmed many users. As competitors inevitably catch up, the analysts conclude, 'Model commoditization is an increasingly likely outcome.' With innovations suffering short lives, OpenAI must now become 'a more product-focused, diversified organization that can operate at scale while retaining its position' at the top of the industry–skills the company has yet to demonstrate. Bottom line, OpenAI can maintain its leading rank in the industry, but it won't be easy, and betting on it could be risky. Yet a different view suggests OpenAI is much closer to creating a sustainable moat. It comes from Robert Siegel, a management lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business who is also a venture capitalist and former executive at various companies, many in technology. He argues that OpenAI is already well along the road to achieving a valuable attribute, stickiness: The longer customers use something, the less likely they are to switch to a competitor. In OpenAI's case, 'people will only move to Perplexity or Gemini or other solutions if they get a better result,' he says. Yet that becomes unlikely because AI learns; the more you use a particular AI engine, the more it learns about you and what you want. 'If you keep putting questions into ChatGPT, which learns your behaviors better, and you like it, there's no reason to leave as long as it's competitive.' Now combine that logic with OpenAI's behavior. 'It seems like their strategy is to be ubiquitous,' Siegel says, putting ChatGPT in front of as many people as possible so the software can start learning about them before any competitor can get there first. Most famously, OpenAI released ChatGPT 3.5 to the public in 2022 for free, attracting a million users in five days and 100 million in two months. In addition, the company raised much investment early in the game, having been founded in 2015. Thus, Siegel says, OpenAI can 'continue to run hard and use capital as a moat so they can do all the things they need to do to be everywhere.' But Siegel, the J.P. Morgan analysts, and everyone else knows plenty can always go wrong. An obvious threat to OpenAI and most of its competitors is an open-source model such as China's DeepSeek, which appears to perform well at significantly lower costs. The venture capital that has poured into OpenAI could dry up as hundreds of other AI startups compete for financing. J.P. Morgan and Siegel agree that OpenAI's complex unconventional governance structure must be reformed; though a recently proposed structure has not been officially disclosed, it is reportedly topped by a nonprofit, which might worry profit-seeking investors. As for moats, OpenAI is obviously in the best position to build or strengthen one. But looking into the era of AI, the whole concept of the corporate moat may become meaningless. How long will it be, if it hasn't been done already, before a competitor asks its own AI engine, 'How do we defeat OpenAI's moat?' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘My Kid Will Never Ever Be Smarter Than an AI': OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Most Kids Won't Know a World Without AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now so advanced that some experts believe no child will ever surpass its intelligence again. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a central figure in the world of artificial intelligence, recently reflected on the transformative potential of AI advancements, and particularly their impact on the next generation. Speaking on a podcast, he remarked, 'My kid will never ever be smarter than an AI. That will never happen. You know, kid born a few years ago. They had a brief period of time. My kid never will be smarter.' More News from Barchart Warren Buffett Cautions Ill-Informed Investors: 'The Market, Like the Lord, Helps Those Who Help Themselves,' But Markets Are Unforgiving Can Archer Aviation Become the Tesla of the Skies? As Kodak Terminates Its Pension Plans, What Top Companies Still Offer This Retirement Perk? Our exclusive Barchart Brief newsletter is your FREE midday guide to what's moving stocks, sectors, and investor sentiment - delivered right when you need the info most. Subscribe today! Altman's statement captures a profound and ongoing shift, both in technology and society. As the current leader of OpenAI, the organization behind breakthroughs like the GPT-language model series and other advanced AI technologies, Altman's insights carry significant weight. His views are shaped by daily interactions with researchers pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve — tasks ranging from language generation and autonomous reasoning to problem-solving at a superhuman scale. When Altman says 'my kid will never be smarter than an AI,' he is not lamenting a loss, but observing a turning point in technology. Historically, each new generation had the chance to exceed the achievements of earlier ones, shaped by new education, tools, and inventions. Now, he says, a rapidly accelerating AI trajectory means that children born today will coexist with machines that learn and develop orders of magnitude faster, with access to vast data and computational resources. Altman's comment reflects both a recognition of what has already changed and a sense of inevitability about the future. The authority behind Altman's remark comes from his central role at OpenAI. Since its founding in 2015, OpenAI has led the development of generative AI with a philosophy that blends technological optimism and public caution. Altman, previously a leading Silicon Valley investor and technologist, has often spoken about the responsibility of the sector and the need for flexible, thoughtful policy as AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life and the economy. His assertion that no human — no matter how young or well-educated — could ever outpace AI is rooted in empirical reality. AI models now routinely outperform humans in specialized knowledge domains, can process and generate language with uncanny fluency, and are applied across finance, healthcare, logistics, and creative fields. The 'brief period of time' when a child or their peers could match or exceed machine intelligence may well have effectively vanished, as Altman suggests, replaced by a world where coexistence and collaboration with increasingly capable AI systems is the norm. This perspective is particularly salient as debates about job displacement, educational outcomes, and the essence of human endeavor gain prominence. Altman's comment is not simply an observation about his own family, but a reflection of the collective transition underway: society must adapt to new definitions of intellect, capability, and value in an era dominated by artificial intelligence. Experts suggest this requires a renewed emphasis on skills such as creativity, adaptability, and ethical reasoning — areas where machines may never fully overtake human strengths. For now, Altman's remark encapsulates the magnitude of change artificial intelligence is bringing to global culture, labor, and the imagination of what people can become. As AI evolves, the notion of human uniqueness is being redefined, not diminished — and it's a process that will shape the upbringing and prospects of generations to come. On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
