Lazard Boosts Mideast Advisory Team With New Abu Dhabi Office
The New York-based firm has hired Hussain Altajir as chief executive officer of Lazard Financial Advisory in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement. Altajir was previously head of Dubai coverage, global banking at HSBC Holdings Plc.
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Bloomberg
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Big Tech Selloff Drags Market Lower
Bloomberg Television brings you the latest news and analysis leading up to the final minutes and seconds before and after the closing bell on Wall Street. Today's guests are BNY Wealth's Sinead Colton Grant, Abaxx Technologies's Josh Crumb, CITI's Steven Zaccone, Federal National Mortgage Association's Franklin Raines, 22V Research Group's Jeff Jacobson, Wells Fargo's Darrell Cronk, Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives, Schwab Asset Management's Omar Aguilar, Zillow's Orphe Divounguy, Kearney Consumer Institute's Katie Thomas, SW Retail Advisors' Stacey Widlitz. (Source: Bloomberg)
Gizmodo
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- Gizmodo
Is Meta's Superintelligence Overhaul a Sign Its AI Goals Are Struggling?
Meta is splitting its AI division Meta Superintelligence Labs less than two months after the company announced its formation in June. The group will be split into four smaller groups, according to a New York Times report. One group will focus on AI research, another one on infrastructure and hardware projects, one on AI products, and another one on building out AI superintelligence, a hypothetical AI system that could outperform human intelligence on any and all scales. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment. Superintelligence is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's holy grail, but the timeline on that could take years, maybe decades, and some experts are skeptical that AI can even reach superintelligence to begin with. Along with the restructuring, Meta is also looking at downsizing its AI division completely, although no final decision has been made on that. That may not be too surprising given the multi-billion dollar hiring spree summer Meta has been having, which is likely to cause some shareholders concern when the company next releases spending. The tech giant has poached top talent from OpenAI, Apple, and more the past few months, tempting the engineers with multi-year deals worth millions of dollars. On the company's latest earnings call, Meta CFO Susan Li said the company's skyrocketing capital expenditure spend would be driven first by AI investments and then by employee compensation. Although capex hikes should make investors queasy, the stock soared, because Meta showed huge wins for its ad revenue business, attributing it to AI, and promised even more payoffs in the future thanks to the superintelligence lab. The company is also apparently moving away from its previous stance that 'open source AI is the path forward,' as the tech giant contemplates licensing third-party artificial intelligence models, either by building on 'open-source' models or by licensing closed-source models. The aim with the restructuring is reportedly to streamline Meta's two top priorities: achieving the storied superintelligence, and to give the company a competitive edge in AI products, which it currently lacks. Zuckerberg first admitted that the company had fallen behind in the AI race back in April, and sparked a spending and restructuring frenzy. While AI has been helping the company's ad revenue business, the same can't be said for its products. Meta's consumer-facing AI app is widely disliked by users across the internet for its inconsistencies and shortcomings. While some investors are hopeful in Zuckerberg's determination to catch up to competitors in the AI race, and even deliver on superintelligence, the pressure is on for the Meta chief as this is not Zuckerberg's first rodeo with a multibillion dollar moonshot. The 'Metaverse,' Zuckerberg's first fringe-idea-baby that had him change the company's name over it, failed to scale out and delivered poor user adoption, despite the $20 billion poured into building it. In his quest to achieve his rather ambitious AI goals, Zuckerberg has known practically no boundaries, even sometimes sidestepping ethical ones. The company has allowed its generative AI assistants and chatbots to engage in 'sensual' conversations with minors, affirm racist beliefs and even generate false medical information, according to a Reuters report from last week. A Wall Street Journal report from April found that the company even allowed users to create an AI chatbot called 'Submissive Schoolgirl,' pretending to be an 8th grader. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism opened a probe into the company's AI products on Friday in response to the Reuters report. A string of legal dramas have followed since. Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton said on Monday that his office will be opening an investigation into Meta over its chatbot's alleged impersonation of licensed mental health professionals and false claims of confidentiality. Meta's AI chatbots were under even more scrutiny this month after one of its chatbots led to a cognitively impaired New Jersey retiree's death. The chatbot had encouraged the man that she was a real human being and invited him to 'her' nonexistent New York apartment. Meta is scrambling to deliver on its ambitious promises and avoid a second Metaverse debacle, and the pressure is mounting for the company with each capital expenditure bump and restructuring decision. But in this path to success, the methods it uses to achieve superintelligence and AI market domination will be just as, if not more consequential, than whether or not it fails.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
This Is Officially the No. 1 Pickle Brand in America
From sandwiches to snack packs, pickles are officially dominating grocery carts — and Instacart's new report reveals the brands Americans can't stop buying Key Points Instacart's latest report uncovers surprising insights into the most popular pickle brands among Americans. Regional preferences vary, with Vlasic leading in most states, Mt. Olive dominating the South, and Grillo's emerging as a favorite in states from Florida to New York. Pickle collaborations and crossover products — from Lay's Dill Pickle Potato Chips to Taylor Farms' Dill Pickle Salad Kit — continue to fuel consumer enthusiasm nationwide. Pickles have practically bewitched online foodies — and even captured the attention of brands' innovation teams. Instacart has officially dubbed it a 'brine boom,' and no, this sudden resurgence isn't just in your head. The California-based delivery platform recently released its 2024 pickle sales report, and heritage brands are still holding strong. Longtime favorites Mt. Olive and Vlasic — both founded more than 50 years ago — remain among the nation's best-sellers. Grocery staple Claussen and snack-ready Oh Snap! follow closely behind, while premium player Grillo's Pickles lands firmly in the No. 5 spot. Despite all the buzz about indie launches, the classics still dominate in most shoppers' carts. 'How people shop for pickles is a good insight about grocery shopping in general: Consumers like to stick with the classics they know, but they're also curious to try something new,' Instacart trends analyst Alex Orellana tells Food & Wine. 'Pickle lovers want both reliability and novelty — a familiar jar in the fridge and something unexpected to change things up.' Regional pickle preferences When it comes to geography, pickle loyalty gets surprisingly specific. Vlasic tops the charts nationwide, but Mt. Olive reigns supreme across much of the South — except in Florida, where Grillo's Pickles enjoys an overwhelming lead. The Boston-based brand also comes out on top in states as varied as Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and Montana. Claussen, meanwhile, earned a devoted following in exactly one state: Minnesota. To build these rankings, Instacart analyzed shopping data across all of 2024, tallying the total number of items sold in each state. As with past reports, data from certain states was excluded where legally required, but the broader takeaway is clear: even with the explosion of pickle hype online, most consumers are still loyal to tried-and-true brands. Who's buying the most pickles? Not all shoppers are equally invested in the briny boom. Midwesterners are driving the trend on Instacart, with states like North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky ordering noticeably more pickles than the national average. Coastal consumers, particularly in California and Florida, appear lighter on their pickle consumption by comparison. That said, regional sales don't always reflect the full picture — Florida, for instance, is a hotbed for Grillo's, showing that passionate pickle fandom can override broader trends. Related: We Tasted 12 Dill Pickles — and This Supermarket Brand Came Out on Top Looking forward, Instacart predicts that smaller brands could soon elbow their way further into the spotlight. Labels like Yee-Haw and SuckerPunch are already catching attention with adventurous flavors such as three-pepper spears and honey-sweet chips. These bolder profiles are resonating with a younger audience looking for heat, spice, and novelty in their snacks. Pickle collabs keep the craze going Food & Wine has tracked the pickle phenomenon since it began bubbling up last year, and collaborations continue to push the category into unexpected places. Some partnerships have been playful, others eyebrow-raising (dill-breaded Popeyes chicken), and a few genuinely clever. (Pickle chip–stuffed Sonic burgers or Popeyes Pickle Lemonade, anyone?) Grillo's, in particular, has emerged as a brand built for collaborations, extending its reach into products like Pickle de Gallo, while TikTok creators have fueled the obsession with recipes for homemade pickle lemonade and even pickle-flavored martinis. Related: Yes, You Can Replace Sandwich Bread with Pickles — Here's How Crossovers are also translating into real sales. Instacart reports that Lay's Dill Pickle Potato Chips remain a runaway favorite, while Taylor Farms' Dill Pickle Chopped Salad Kit and Grillo's Pickle de Gallo consistently rank near the top. Even Quaker got in on the trend, landing its dill-flavored rice cakes in the No. 10 spot for pickle-inspired products. For the pickle-curious, Instacart is making it easy to join in: Oh Snap! pickles and Taylor Farms' Dill Pickle Salad Kit are available for free with eligible app orders placed today. It's the brand's way of leaning into the craze — and ensuring hesitant shoppers have a low-stakes chance to sample the trend. Will the boom last? Whether the pickle wave will keep its crunch into 2026 remains to be seen. Fads have a way of fizzling, but the strong sales of century-old brands like Vlasic and Mt. Olive suggest that America's appetite for pickles isn't going anywhere. For now, though, one thing is certain: The humble pickle has gone from refrigerator sidekick to bona fide grocery star — and it's still kind of a big dill. Top 10 pickle brands in America Mt. Olive Vlasic Claussen Oh Snap! Grillo's Pickles Bubbies Wickles Famous Dave's Maille Talk O' Texas Read the original article on Food & Wine Solve the daily Crossword
