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Trump's zeal for factory work risks damage to growing segments of economy

Trump's zeal for factory work risks damage to growing segments of economy

Washington Post4 hours ago

President Donald Trump says U.S. factories hollowed out by rapacious foreign competition can produce well-paying new jobs only if they are protected by the highest tariffs since the 1930s.
But those trade barriers may damage the larger and faster-growing part of the economy: the services industries that employ more than 80 percent of American workers. Since January, manufacturing payrolls have increased by 6,000 jobs, a fraction of the 470,000 new providers of services such as financial advice, health care and education, who generally escape presidential notice.

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This Is the Best-Rated Garmin Forerunner, And It's Just Hit a New All-Time Low on Amazon
This Is the Best-Rated Garmin Forerunner, And It's Just Hit a New All-Time Low on Amazon

Gizmodo

time22 minutes ago

  • Gizmodo

This Is the Best-Rated Garmin Forerunner, And It's Just Hit a New All-Time Low on Amazon

Whether you're a casual athlete or a regular one, this Garmin suits all profiles. Among the best-rated running watches available today, the Garmin Forerunner series consistently earns top marks from runners and fitness enthusiasts. The Garmin Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S are no exception, boasting an impressive 4.7 out of 5 stars across hundreds of Amazon reviews. These two models—the 265S in 42mm and the standard 265 in 46mm—have both dropped to an all-time low price of $349 since Monday morning, down from their original list price of $449. With a discount of $100, this is a great opportunity if you're looking to upgrade your running watch without waiting for Prime Day. See at Amazon Perfect For 5K or Marathon The Garmin Forerunner 265 and 265S are packed with features that cater to both serious athletes and everyday runners. The watch faces are equipped with vibrant, colorful AMOLED displays that make it easy to view your stats and notifications, even in direct sunlight. The AMOLED technology enhances visibility but also helps conserve battery life so that your watch stays powered for long training sessions or busy days. Under the hood, the Garmin Forerunner 265 and 265S are designed to deliver advanced training metrics and in-depth recovery insights: These watches track a wide range of data including heart rate, VO2 max, training load, and training status, and give you a comprehensive picture of your fitness progress. The recovery insights help you understand when your body is ready for another hard workout or when you might need a rest day which makes it easier to avoid overtraining and injury. Whether you're training for a marathon or simply trying to stay active, these features provide valuable feedback to help you reach your goals. Both watches offer built-in GPS so that you can track your runs, hikes, and bike rides with precision. You can also upload your favorite routes and follow turn-by-turn directions right on your wrist. The watches connect seamlessly with your smartphone, so you can receive notifications, control music, and even make contactless payments with Garmin Pay. The lightweight design and breathable silicone strap ensure a secure, comfortable fit even during long runs or intense workouts. The watches are also water-resistant so you don't have to worry about sweat, rain, or accidental splashes. With a battery life that lasts for days on a single charge, you can focus on your training without constantly worrying about recharging your device. The Garmin Forerunner 265 and 265S are among the best running watches you can buy right now, and the current Amazon deal makes them more accessible than ever. Don't wait for Prime Day: this deal is too good to pass up, and the stock won't last long. See at Amazon

How Private Equity Firms Are Creating Value with AI
How Private Equity Firms Are Creating Value with AI

Harvard Business Review

time24 minutes ago

  • Harvard Business Review

How Private Equity Firms Are Creating Value with AI

Private equity (PE) firms are particularly interested in rapid value realization from investments in portfolio companies. They ' buy to sell, ' typically purchasing companies they believe are undervalued and try to improve their performance and financials over the course of five to seven years before selling them. Given the promise of AI's transformative potential, the industry is increasingly focused on how this technology can help. The hitch, however, is that quickly creating value through AI investments is far from a sure thing right now. Surveys suggest that only 20–25% of companies have any production application of generative AI in place. A recent survey of 120 large company tech leaders found that only 10% had achieved 'significant' ROI; an additional 11% reported moderate returns. The rest reported no or disappointing returns. While these surveys are focused on generative AI, analytical AI also has a troublesome history of returns in many companies. Even so, a number of investment firms are leaning into this challenge, creating processes and developing use cases that, once refined and proven, can be deployed in a repeatable fashion to drive consistent value creation. One of us (Mahidhar) works at Apollo, where he is an operating partner, head of the data, digital and AI team, and leading efforts to ensure a return on AI in private equity portfolio companies. The other (Davenport) is an academic researcher who studies AI and has done executive education at PE firms. To understand how the industry is approaching this issue, we interviewed eight firms on the issue of value creation through AI. Three of the PE firms we interviewed were specifically created to pursue opportunities involving AI and digital transformation in their investing processes: MGX, which focuses on AI vendors and infrastructure; BayPine, which focuses on driving digital transformation, including the adoption of AI technologies, at its portfolio companies; and GrowthCurve Capital, which is focused on both AI for diligence and for portfolio value creation. Many companies today have found value creation from AI to be challenging. Given PE firms' mandate to create value in a relatively short timeframe, they offer a unique perspective on how to drive innovation in this area. Preparing to Create Value with AI PE firms derive value from their AI investments through a progression of stages, the earliest of which involve preparation within the PE firm itself. The first of these is securing commitment and talent. It may seem obvious, but for AI initiatives to be successful, leadership—at both the PE firm and at portfolio companies—must buy into the idea that the technology offers considerable potential for creating value. This may require education or persuasion, but it is the precursor for success. At a leading PE firm, for example, the initial focus was to identify firm and portfolio company leaders who already believed in the transformational role of AI. Then they were relied on to make the case to less committed executives. With commitment in place, the firm needs to acquire talent—at the leadership level both internally and on the frontlines in portfolio companies. We talked with several firms whose initial inclination was to hire data scientists for these roles, but the consensus among the firms was that they were difficult to hire and retain, and many value creation steps did not require their skills. Ideal leaders for AI initiatives are operating partners who understand dealmaking processes and how to work with portfolio companies. For building and deploying AI solutions in portfolio companies, hiring several data scientists is one sensible approach, but most of the firms we interviewed rely on consultants for this purpose. Misha Logvinov, operating partner at MGX said, 'While the role of data scientists remains important for certain initiatives, advances in AI development and analytics tools now allow full-stack AI engineers, working closely with subject matter experts, to quickly build and deploy AI solutions at scale.' The next stage—still preparatory to building AI products—is assessing AI exposure and conducting detailed AI diligence. This stage involves multiple processes. An AI exposure assessment looks at industries, not companies, and points out where there is risk and opportunity for AI, and which industries are likely to see the greatest positive or negative impact. The assessment then guides the firm toward opportunity domains from AI and away from those with high risk. Not all firms we interviewed conduct an AI exposure assessment, but Apollo does, and its partners find it very valuable. Conducting detailed AI diligence is done when evaluating a particular company for acquisition, to understand AI's role and potential impact on its future value creation. In this process, firms can assess the amount of knowledge workers (potentially affected by genAI), the possible automation or augmentation of the workforce, the competitive landscape as related to AI and a detailed financial assessment considering cost implications and implementation readiness. This is an increasingly important process for PE firms that are committed to the potential value of AI—one firm we interviewed had 25 general partners involved in AI diligence processes—but it can also be performed by or with assistance from outside consultants. Cory A. Eaves, a partner and head of Portfolio Operations at Baypine emphasized, 'Underwriting value creation from data and AI at the outset significantly increases the likelihood of successful implementation during the ownership period.' Apollo takes a similar approach incorporating AI related diligence as appropriate when considering each investment. Again, there isn't a uniform approach. Other PE firms we interviewed said that they considered AI in due diligence processes, but the assessment was not systematic. One firm's AI expert, for example, said that they take a 'generalist approach' to value creation in portfolio firms, and that AI was taken into account only in some industries and acquisition candidates. Implementing AI in Portfolio Companies Once a PE fund has bought a company, AI activity shifts to planning and implementing AI products and projects within the acquired company. That includes developing specific use cases and a roadmap for implementing them, working closely with the CEO and other executives within the company. There are several valid approaches to this important step. One leading firm, for example, takes a 'flywheel' approach that not only focuses on solving business problems with AI but also building sustained capability and momentum in the portfolio company. The flywheel components include: AI governance and compliance Talent recruitment Use case identification and prioritization in alignment with the deal thesis Technology partnerships (curated by the PE fund) Implementation partners (curated by the PE fund) Adoption and value realization Another PE firm uses a DANCE framework for identifying valuable use cases. With its focus on content creation, personalization, and employee productivity, it's well-suited for identifying generative AI use cases. The framework includes: D: Discover insights A: Automate Processes N: Novel creation of products or content C: Customize solutions (personalized products or services) E: Enhance Performance and employee productivity Successful PE firms begin thinking about potential exit scenarios almost as soon as they have bought a company, and thus need to consider how long the AI initiatives will take to implement and whether they would make the company more attractive to a future acquirer. For example, two AI leaders in PE firms mentioned that individual productivity applications of gen AI are unlikely to appeal to buyers unless there are carefully measured productivity gains, which can be difficult to accomplish. In general, PE leaders said they seek improvements from AI in operational metrics that demonstrate momentum throughout the ownership period. One executive felt early on in their company's AI journey (2022) that even proofs of concept of AI use cases might be sufficient to show the next buyer the potential value of AI, which would avoid all of the challenges of production deployment. However, in 2025 it's clear that some production deployments with demonstrable value are required by both limited partner investors and potential next buyers. Several PE firm AI leaders noted that it is important to address data quality—either structured data for analytical AI use cases, or unstructured data for gen AI applications —before building AI. The data quality issues ideally would surface during the diligence process. However, given the cost and time of substantial data management initiatives, it's important to be selective in which data domains are improved. 'Avoid the temptation to boil the ocean' was one AI leader's comment. There are also important talent and change management issues to be considered. From a talent standpoint, a key question is who will do the AI development and implementation. There are three primary options: use external consultants, rely on the portfolio company's own personnel, or build an internal center of excellence that houses technology capabilities and drives implementation across the firm and its portfolio. Although some PE firms we interviewed have built small CoEs, the primary approach is to introduce portfolio companies to an ecosystem of talent resources that can augment their internal expertise. One AI leader at a PE firm said that, in part because of talent challenges, the firm is encouraging portfolio companies either to buy AI applications rather than build them, or leverage use cases already built by other portfolio companies. A key change management issue is to get buy-in and recruit stakeholders within the portfolio company. 'This is a carpe diem moment for companies to see their data as an off-balance sheet item,' Sajjad Jaffer, head of data and analytics at Growthcurve Capital, told us. 'Data can be both a latent asset and a latent liability. The private equity industry is in the early innings of infusing a 'data first' culture. This culture starts at the top with the CEO. Private equity boards are also developing a data first approach to guiding their CEOs and management teams.' Another PE firm attempts to build commitment by involving the company's executive team and board in use-case prioritization and then asking for management volunteers to be accountable for implementation. Another leans on functional heads (e.g., the CFO for a finance-oriented use case) to be the primary driver of the project. Several of the AI leaders in firms emphasized that analytical AI (as opposed to generative) can often create more rapid value in portfolio companies. For example, one firm used analytical AI to identify a portfolio company's best and worst customers. Another used it to identify cross-sell opportunities. The companies most focused on value creation with generative AI were primarily viewing it as a means of creating better and less expensive products and services, such as in a textbook company and a professional services firm. The commitment by these PE firms to AI-enabled transformation is evidence that large-scale investors see value in the technology. But it doesn't come automatically by any means. The firms and companies that will be most successful in driving value creation through AI applications are those that both see the big picture – how AI is impacting specific industries in connection with other macro trends – and also focus on the narrow, specific use cases that translate into measurable improvements in productivity, profitability and growth. The AI-focused due diligence and value-creation activities in PE portfolio companies are a clear indication that AI investments won't yield sufficient value without careful analysis, planning and implementation. As the PE playbook continues to evolve towards a greater focus on initiatives that drive intrinsic value creation, the proven and repeatable AI use cases are being developed now. Any company can and should adopt the approaches that PE firms use to make the most of this transformative technology.

Integrated DNA Technologies Announces Innovation Roadmap Advances to Infectious Disease Portfolio
Integrated DNA Technologies Announces Innovation Roadmap Advances to Infectious Disease Portfolio

Yahoo

time25 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Integrated DNA Technologies Announces Innovation Roadmap Advances to Infectious Disease Portfolio

Expanded portfolio offerings include first-to-market product launches to support global health challenges New infectious disease research solutions to be spotlighted at ASM Microbe 2025 CORALVILLE, Iowa, June 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), a global genomics leader, is expanding its infectious disease portfolio with new solutions to enhance worldwide research efforts in monitoring infectious disease dynamics, supporting surveillance and accelerating biomarker discovery. As part of its innovation roadmap, focused on enabling academic and medical researchers, health organizations, and the scientific community prepare for ongoing and future global health challenges, IDT has unveiled two new powerful tools: The PrimeTime™ Influenza Kit and PrimeTime Research Pathogen Panels. These differentiated offerings expand upon IDT's current infectious disease portfolio of qPCR and next generation sequencing (NGS) solutions comprised of stand-alone library preparation, target enrichment and normalization chemistries, as well as connected DNA solutions, to support researchers exploring viral evolution, epidemiological studies, drug resistance mechanisms, drug development research and more. First to Market: Complete Solution for Influenza Research Launching at ASM Microbe 2025 is IDT's PrimeTime Influenza Kit, the first complete qPCR solution of its kind designed specifically to amplify common influenza strains. The kit targets Influenza A, Influenza A (H5N1), Influenza B, and RNase. It includes an internal control for sample quality assessment, a pre-mixed primer and probe set, PrimeTime 4x Broad-Range Master Mix and direct amplification enhancer. This streamlined solution enables researchers to generate high-confidence data for both seasonal and emerging influenza strains. New Cost-effective Solution to Accelerate Sexual Health and Pathogen Research IDT is also showcasing its new PrimeTime Research Pathogen Panels, a customizable, high-throughput solution that allows researchers to identify key sequences and mutations across 10 diverse research applications—spanning respiratory, gastrointestinal and sexual health studies—and an 11th category for viral infection research. The mix-and-match format across targets and dyes enables scientists to select from a broad list of targets to maximize cost and time savings. The panels' flexible assay configuration facilitates rapid, multiplexed detection and characterization of pathogens, with up to 211 available targets including sexually transmitted infections, human papillomavirus, urinary tract infections and more. With seamless integration into existing qPCR workflows, this single-tube offering equips researchers with innovative tools for exploring pathogen dynamics across individual and population-level studies. "Building on IDT's storied impact on the global fight against infectious diseases, these new tools reflect the ongoing innovation investments we're making to empower researchers to stay ahead of current and emerging health challenges," said Adler Edward, VP, Gene Reading Components at IDT. "By delivering robust, customizable and high-quality solutions, backed by IDT's trusted technical and scientific expertise, researchers can feel confident in accelerating their discoveries and deepening their understanding of pathogen dynamics in human health." To learn more about IDT's infectious disease innovation roadmap and how these new offerings are shaping the future of virus transmission research, visit IDT at ASM Microbe 2025 at booth #1723. To place an order, click here. About IDT Building from a strong foundation of innovation, expertise, and reliability, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) has evolved from an oligo manufacturer to a leading genomics provider. We work shoulder-to-shoulder with scientific and global health partners to enable genomics breakthroughs at scale. Our vision of enabling researchers to rapidly move from the lab to life-changing advances reflects our ongoing commitment to a healthier, brighter future for all. IDT is proud to be part of Danaher, a global science and technology leader. Together we combine our capabilities to accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow's science and technology to improve human health. For more information about IDT, visit and follow the company on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Disclaimer: RUO — For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, IDT does not intend these products to be used in clinical applications and does not warrant their fitness or suitability for any clinical diagnostic use. Purchaser is solely responsible for all decisions regarding the use of these products and any associated regulatory or legal obligations. View source version on Contacts Media Contacts:Integrated DNA Technologies idtpr@ 800-328-2661 (USA & Canada)+1 319-626-8400 (outside USA) 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

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