Latest news with #YOLO
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
From TACO to FAFO, investors love parodies of Trump acronyms
NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Four months into President Donald Trump's second term, market observers have taken a cue from his fondness for condensing slogans into catchy acronyms like MAGA, DOGE and MAHA, and devised a few of their own that have been spreading across trading desks. Even those acronyms that do not directly reflect a specific trading strategy, still capture factors that traders say are important in Trump-era markets, such as volatility and uncertainty, that investors need to consider when making decisions. Some of the new labels are associated with investment strategies that aimed to capitalized on Trump's economic and trade polices, and international relations goals. Others riff off economic implications or his abrupt U-turns as markets and trade partners react to his proposals. The "Trump Trade" that played on the Make America Great Again theme in the wake of his November election victory and January inauguration, and contributed to record highs on Wall Street in February, is hardly discussed now that stocks, the dollar and Treasury bonds have succumbed to worries about his tariff polices. "Post the election, we heard a lot about YOLO (You Only Live Once), which seemed to promote taking outsize risks in a concentrated investment theme," Art Hogan, strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said. YOLO, is an acronym used to describe the tendency that was part of that Trump trade to chase high momentum strategies such as cryptocurrency. "While the term YOLO was popular for a period of time, it goes against all traditional advice," Hogan said. Here are of few more acronyms that have gotten play in the investment world in recent weeks: ** TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) - This one coined by a Financial Times columnist, has been used as a way to describe Trump's to-ing and fro-ing on tariffs in the wake of his April 2 "Liberation Day" speech. When asked about TACO in a recent press conference, the president lashed out, calling the question "nasty" "Where we end up might not be too far from what he promised on the campaign trail. So, does he always chicken out? I wouldn't go as far as to say that," said Christian DiClementi, fixed income portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein. "I think that he wants to rebalance the economy without pushing it off a cliff. And we're watching that being executed in real time. I think some of the ideas are thought out and some of them change on the fly." ** MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) - Mega first coined last year to address European competitiveness, resurfaced this Spring as a way to describe the flurry of investor interest in and flows into European markets. MEGA hats, spoofing their MAGA counterparts, are easily purchased online It's been revived by investors and traders in light of the outperformance European stocks in the immediate aftermath of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs bombshell. ** MAGA (Make America Go Away) - While the original Trump Trade was also known as the MAGA trade, this variation cribbed the president's motto, first appearing in response to Vice President JD Vance's brief and unfruitful visit to Greenland, the autonomous territory of Denmark, which Trump has expressed interest in annexing. At least one Canadian investor says that quip is making the rounds of trading desks in Toronto and Montreal and sparking "wishful thinking" about simply boycotting U.S. investments. ** FAFO (Fuck Around and Find Out) - Although the acronym also came into being well before Trump's inauguration, it is being heard with increasing frequency in trading desk conversations. It is used to capture the financial market's volatility and chaos that Trump's policymaking process has created. Mark Spindel, chief investment officer of Potomac River Capital LLC, described the market as being caught in a "pinball machine as a result of that policymaking process." When reached for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in an email "these asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dilraba Dilmurat is the actual "Shaolin Women's Soccer" lead?
29 May – Although it was previously rumoured that Dilraba Dilmurat will be playing a guest role or a supporting character in Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Women's Soccer", many are now speculating that the actress actually has a bigger role and might be the lead in the movie. It was previously reported that the lead actress for the movie, which has been filming in a hush-hush, was Zhang Xiaofei, who is most known for her many collaborations with comedienne Jia Ling. Many speculated that Zhang was the lead originally due to her jersey number in the movie, which bore the same No. 10 like Stephen had in his own film. On the other hand, Dilraba reportedly has a No. 8 jersey on. However, it was recently revealed that the "YOLO" actress has already completed all of her parts in the film even before the crew finished shooting. However, Dilraba, who has participated in the shoot since day one, is reported to will only conclude her role in June, sparking speculations that she is the actual star of the movie. Notably, the production of "Shaolin Women's Soccer" has been extremely low-key and secretive about the shoot. It is said that the film was shot in a large stadium in Shenzhen, Guangdong and a large number of tents, cranes and rest vehicles were set up in the venue. (Photo Source: Dilraba Weibo, Zhang Xiaofei Fanpage IG)
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More consumers are buying now and paying never, a new warning sign
Take your pick. Social feeds are filled with #RecessionIndicators, ranging from the delightfully absurd to the quietly astute. But the urge to find out where the economy is heading before definitive findings is a powerful one. Retail sales, commentary from big box companies, and debt loads all contribute to an understanding of the health of the US consumer. New financial products can also offer fresh insight. Klarna ( the buy now, pay later lender, reported this week that consumer credit losses rose 17% for the first quarter compared to the same period last year. And that even as revenue rose to over $700 million, net losses doubled to $99 million. The Swedish company, which allows consumers to buy big-ticket items or make routine purchases on interest-free payment plans, recently announced a partnership with DoorDash — the genesis of internet memes remixing the subprime mortgage crisis with late night Taco Bell. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy But Klarna's quarterly data arrived alongside other potentially troubling findings about buy now, pay later (BNPL) borrowers. 41% of BNPL users said they paid late on one of their loans in the past year, according to a new survey published by the credit platform Lending Tree. That figure is up from 34% a year ago. The survey also found that a quarter of users say they've used the loans to buy groceries, a 14% increase from last year. Shares of Affirm, a competing BNPL company, sank after reporting a weaker outlook earlier this month but have since rebounded as the lender attempts to take share from credit card brands. And in April Klarna postponed its plans for an initial public offering amid the tariff uncertainty that has gripped Wall Street, according to reports. Klarna has said that the increase in consumer credit losses doesn't say much about the US consumer. Instead, the company has pointed to another metric: credit losses as a share of the total sum of its consumer loans. Makes sense. That figure came in at 0.54%, up from 0.51% during the same period last year, a slight increase but still low overall. The company has also claimed the short duration of its products — 83% of its loan booking refreshes within three months — gives it the ability to "respond rapidly to evolving market conditions." But another key point here is that the constellation of data we all look at to take the economy's temperature is getting broader as financial instruments and consumer options evolve in tandem. If a recession does come, rather than the YOLO chaos of buy now, pay never, we can imagine that underwriting decisions would become more discerning. In the meantime, alongside credit card delinquency, BNPL has become a novel gauge to track. Hamza Shaban is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering markets and the economy. Follow Hamza on X @hshaban. Sign in to access your portfolio
Techday NZ
22-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Plainsight unveils OpenFilter to simplify vision AI pipelines
Plainsight has launched OpenFilter, an open source project designed to simplify and accelerate the development, deployment, and scaling of production-grade computer vision applications. OpenFilter is available under the Apache 2.0 licence and is designed to help enterprises build, deploy, and manage vision AI pipelines using modular, reusable components, referred to as "filters". These filters combine code and AI models into building blocks for assembling custom vision pipelines. The project aims to address key challenges that organisations face when implementing AI-driven computer vision in production environments, such as cost, scalability, and the complexity of infrastructure integration. Priyanshu Sharma, Senior Data Engineer at BrickRed Systems, explained the practical benefits seen in manufacturing and logistics implementations. "OpenFilter has revolutionised how we deploy vision AI for our manufacturing and logistics clients. With its modular filter architecture, we can quickly build and customise pipelines for tasks like automated quality inspection and real-time inventory tracking, without having to rewrite core infrastructure. This flexibility has enabled us to deliver robust, scalable solutions that meet our clients' evolving needs, while dramatically reducing development time and operational complexity," Sharma said. Plainsight claims that OpenFilter's features - including frame deduplication and priority scheduling - lower GPU inference costs, while its abstractions are intended to shorten deployment timelines from weeks to days. The system's extensible architecture is designed to future-proof investments, offering compatibility not only with computer vision but also adaptable extensions for audio, text, and multimodal AI use cases. OpenFilter aims to bridge a common gap in computer vision adoption, where projects can stall due to fragmented tooling and difficulties in scaling from prototype to production. The platform includes several features: a core runtime available as open source, pre-built filters for tasks such as object tracking and image segmentation, and a pipeline management system that can handle various video inputs like RTSP streams, webcams, and image files. It enables routing of processed data to destinations including databases, MQTT brokers, or APIs. The system is designed to support deployment across a wide range of hardware, from CPUs and GPUs to edge devices, allowing for resource optimisation in different environments. OpenFilter supports broad model integration, letting users deploy models from frameworks such as PyTorch and OpenCV, or custom models like YOLO, without vendor lock-in. Typical use cases for OpenFilter span a variety of sectors. In manufacturing, the platform can be used for automated quality inspection, defect detection, and fill-level monitoring. Retailers and food service operations may use it for drive-through analytics or inventory tracking, while logistics operators could automate vehicle tracking or workflow processes. Additional applications include precision agriculture, surveillance, people counting, and event detection for IoT and edge environments. Andrew Smith, CTO of Plainsight, commented on the broader aim for OpenFilter's architecture. "Filters are the building blocks for operationalising vision AI," Smith said. "Instead of wrestling with brittle pipelines and bespoke infrastructure, developers can snap together reusable components that scale from prototypes to production. It's how we make computer vision feel more like software engineering - and less like science experiments." Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of CNCF, endorsed the open source nature of OpenFilter, saying, "OpenFilter is a leap forward for open source, giving developers and data scientists a powerful, collaborative platform to build and scale computer vision AI. Its modular design and permissive Apache 2.0 license make it easy to adapt solutions for everything from agriculture and manufacturing to retail and logistics, helping organisations of all types and sizes unlock the value of vision-based AI." Kit Merker, CEO of Plainsight, described the broader ambition for OpenFilter in the industry. "OpenFilter is the abstraction the AI industry has been waiting for. We're making it possible for anyone - not just experts - to turn camera data into real business value, faster and at lower cost," Merker said. "By treating vision workloads as modular filters, we give developers the power to build, scale, and update applications with the same ease and flexibility as modern cloud software. This isn't just about productivity, it's about democratising computer vision, unlocking new use cases, and making AI accessible and sustainable for every organisation. We believe this is the foundation for the next wave of AI-powered transformation." Plainsight has made OpenFilter available to the public under the Apache 2.0 licence and offers an Early Access Programme for enterprises interested in a commercial version of the platform.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'At Some Point You Have To Be Financially Responsible' Says Luxury Watch Buyer As Market Loses 50 Million Shoppers
"At some point you have to be financially responsible," luxury watch collector Olivier Paredes told Business Insider in early May. He was sharing why he's stepping back from his five-year habit of splurging on luxury watches. Sudden price hikes doubled tags on brands like Rolex and Omega, popping the pandemic-era spending bubble and driving a record 50 million aspirational shoppers out of the roughly $392 billion personal luxury goods market. The global personal luxury goods market shrank 2% year-over-year in 2024, according to a Bain & Co. report, marking its first contraction in 15 years, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. In 2024, global luxury spending remained steady at approximately €1.5 trillion ($1.7 trillion), marking one of the weakest years since the Great Recession, according to Bain. As a result, the personal luxury goods market dipped to €363 billion, reflecting a 2% decline compared to 2023 at current exchange rates, though flat at constant exchange rates. Over the past two years, the global luxury customer base has shrunk by about 50 million consumers, driven by economic uncertainty, elevated prices, and reduced engagement from younger generations. Middle-income households—defined by Pew Research Center as those earning between $56,600 and $169,800 annually—have retrenched after pandemic-era YOLO spending surges. According to Business Insider, one handbag enthusiast who used to shell out nearly $20,000 a year says she's trimmed her budget to $6,000, pointing to doubled sticker prices for top bag brands over the last five years. Paredes himself poured about $70,000 into high-end timepieces over five years before deciding it was time to focus on more pressing financial goals. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Over the past five years, U.S. consumer prices have increased by about 25.5%, while average hourly wages for private-sector workers have risen roughly 29.8%, according to federal data. Although wages have slightly outpaced inflation, the gains have done little to ease the strain on discretionary budgets. According to Primerica, 69% of middle-class consumers feel their income is falling behind the cost of living, and 71% rate their ability to save for the future as "poor" or "not so good." Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales rose a scant 0.1% in April, underscoring consumer caution. "We're finally seeing a limit to the 'you only live once' urge to splurge," said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate. In a recent survey, he noted that more than half of U.S. adults expect to reduce spending on discretionary items like travel, dining out, and entertainment—attributing the shift to fading post-pandemic demand and ongoing inflation. This ties into a Feb. 9 McKinsey & Co. report revealing a sharp slowdown in the luxury market, even hitting top brands. Read Next: Nancy Pelosi Invested $5 Million In An AI Company Last Year — Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'At Some Point You Have To Be Financially Responsible' Says Luxury Watch Buyer As Market Loses 50 Million Shoppers originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. 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
