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[ad_1] PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images 2025-08-21T19:49:29Z Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky WhatsApp Copy link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. US existing home sales rose in July, NAR data shows. Sales increased 2%, offering buyers hope that the market may finally be thawing. “Homebuyers are in the best position in more than five years,” NAR economist, Lawrence Yun, said. After months of…
[ad_1] Peter Kafka: Welcome back from vacation, Katie. You were out last week when Reuters broke a story I desperately wanted to ask you about: A Meta document had been telling the people in charge of building its chatbots that “It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”It’s a bonkers report. A Meta spokesperson told Business Insider it has since revised the document and that its policies prohibit content that sexualizes children.I have so many questions for you. But maybe we can start with this one: Why does Meta want us to use chatbots,…
[ad_1] Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, created The Primary School in 2016 through their philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school said in April 2025 that it would close by the end of the 2026 academic year.The Primary School is a tuition-free private school with locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. According to its website, it serves hundreds of students and works to more closely connect parents, teachers, and medical and mental health professionals.The school’s website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its closure was announced at the same time some of Zuckerberg’s other ventures…
[ad_1] Share buyback announcements among S & P 500 companies are approaching $1 trillion in 2025, and investors can turn to a few names to help bolster their portfolio’s returns, according to Jefferies. This year, announced share repurchases for constituents in the broad market index have totaled $936 billion, up 30% from the year-ago period, the firm said. These buybacks have helped lift the S & P 500 , which is up more than 8% in 2025. Big names that have shared plans to snap up shares this year include Apple – which announced a $100 billion buyback plan in…
[ad_1] Wireless earbuds are perfect for anyone who wants to listen to music on the go. But there are tons of options out there across budgets and performance levels, which can make it tricky to find just the right pair for your needs. That’s why our tech experts have tested dozens of models to select the best wireless earbuds for all kinds of users. Our team has been reviewing audio products for over a decade, and based on our hands-on experience, we recommend the Sony WF-1000XM5 as the best wireless earbuds for most people. These versatile earbuds deliver a packed…
[ad_1] Stocks that have missed analysts’ expectations on both the top and bottom lines this earnings season could be good candidates to sell, according to Wolfe Research. For the most part, the second-quarter earnings season has blown away Wall Street expectations. Approximately 94% of the S & P 500 has already reported, and 82% of companies have delivered a positive earnings surprise. About 79% of companies have posted revenue exceeding analysts’ estimates. But several stocks have lagged their numbers. A recent report from Wolfe Research shared a list of companies that investors might consider selling — stocks that missed both…
[ad_1] After pulling back to an ascending 200-day moving average in mid-June, shares of Mastercard (MA) have resumed a strong uptrend phase. Having regained moving average resistance in recent weeks, MA is once again testing its all-time high around $595. With strong momentum readings and improving relative strength, this week’s breakout could lead to much further highs for this global payments giant. The daily chart of Mastercard shows how quickly the stock recovered from its Q1 sell-off into the April low. By early May, the financial services leader had regained 100% of the downtrend phase. But after making a new…
[ad_1] Our long national wait is nearly over: Fed Chair Jerome Powell will take the mic on Friday and let everyone know what the central bank is thinking about interest rates.In the world of markets, it doesn’t really get bigger than this. A spate of big-box retail earnings came and went this week, as did minutes for the July FOMC meeting, with barely a rumble from investors.They instead remained laser-focused on the prospect of an interest-rate cut in September — which has been priced in with near-certainty for weeks — and also on what Powell seems prepared to do through…
[ad_1] AI models can respond to text, audio, and video in ways that sometimes fool people into thinking a human is behind the keyboard, but that doesn’t exactly make them conscious. It’s not like ChatGPT experiences sadness doing my tax return… right? Well, a growing number of AI researchers at labs like Anthropic are asking when — if ever — might AI models develop subjective experiences similar to living beings, and if they do, what rights should they have? The debate over whether AI models could one day be conscious — and deserve rights — is dividing Silicon Valley’s tech…
[ad_1] Cracker Barrel cooked up a new logo as part of its turnaround plan. Some diners say it’s not what they ordered.The restaurant chain launched the new logo on Tuesday as part of a fall marketing campaign. The logo includes the Cracker Barrel name in brown letters against a yellow background.Gone is the man wearing overalls and resting his arm on one of the chain’s namesake barrels — an image the company said was designed to create a “feeling of nostalgia” Cracker Barrel’s previous logo (left) and the one it unveiled on Tuesday. Cracker Barrel The new emblem is the fifth…