Customers enter an Olive Garden restaurant in Pittsburg, California, US, on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.Darden Restaurants on Friday beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates, while the Olive Garden parent predicted solid growth for fiscal year 2026.Shares of Darden rose more than 2% in premarket trading Friday.Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $2.98 adjusted vs. $2.97 expectedRevenue: $3.27 billion vs. $ ...

Core Insights - The Indiana legislature passed a bill in 2019 offering significant sales tax exemptions for eligible data centers, allowing them to avoid the state's 7% tax on equipment and power purchases, benefiting large tech companies [1] - Demand for data center capacity has surged, particularly due to the AI boom following the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022, with projected investments reaching $1 trillion by 2027 [3] - A CNBC analysis revealed that states are forfeiting hundreds of millions in tax revenue to attract data centers, with major beneficiaries including Amazon, Meta, and Google, all valued over $1 trillion [4] Tax Incentives and Economic Impact - Nearly all states with sales taxes provide exemptions for data centers, with 42 states offering full or partial exemptions, totaling nearly $6 billion in the last five years [6] - Data centers in Northern Virginia generated 50,700 jobs and contributed $7.2 billion to the economy between 2021 and 2023, while the rest of Virginia created only 12,100 jobs and contributed $1.3 billion [16] - A Virginia study indicated that for every dollar not collected in sales tax, the state generated 48 cents in new revenue, outperforming other industries with similar exemptions [11][12] Job Creation and Economic Viability - Data centers create relatively few permanent jobs, with a Microsoft facility in Illinois receiving over $38 million in exemptions but only creating 20 permanent jobs [7][20] - A 2017 report found that data centers employ an average of 1,688 workers during construction but only 157 permanent jobs once operational [21] - The Virginia audit projected a significant increase in energy demand from data centers, with power demand expected to double in the next decade [23][24] Corporate Responses and Sustainability Efforts - Major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft assert they work with utility companies to manage growth costs and invest in sustainable energy sources [25] - Amazon reported contributing $460 million in property taxes and fees in Virginia in 2023 and has invested over $75 billion in the state since 2011 [26]

Core Insights - Meta is aggressively investing in AI talent, recently hiring Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as part of a $14.3 billion investment in the startup [1][6] - The company is also bringing on Daniel Gross, CEO of Safe Superintelligence, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, indicating a strategic move to bolster its AI capabilities [2][4] - Meta's efforts to acquire Safe Superintelligence earlier this year were unsuccessful, as the startup was valued at $32 billion and its founder rebuffed Meta's attempts [3] Investment and Acquisitions - Meta's $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI includes acquiring a 49% stake in the startup while bringing on top engineers [6] - The company is also gaining a stake in NFDG, a venture capital firm co-founded by Gross and Friedman, as part of the hiring transaction [4] Competitive Landscape - The AI talent war is intensifying, with major companies like Meta, Google, and OpenAI competing to develop advanced AI technologies and achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) [5] - OpenAI has also been aggressive in its hiring, offering substantial signing bonuses to attract talent, indicating a competitive environment for AI professionals [6][7] Key Personnel - Daniel Gross has a background as a successful entrepreneur and AI investor, previously leading machine learning efforts at Apple and co-founding Safe Superintelligence [8] - Nat Friedman has experience as the CEO of GitHub and has co-founded multiple startups, contributing to Meta's strategic hiring [9]

A Fox Sports television camera during a game between the Utah Utes and the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Oct. 21, 2023.Fox Corp. said Thursday that it has acquired Caliente TV, a Mexican sports broadcasting platform, as the media company aims to expand its sports programming and attract more customers to its streaming services.The company did not disclose the amount or terms of the deal.In a news release, Fox said Carlos Martinez, who has worked at Turner, Discovery and ...

Core Insights - Google is utilizing its extensive library of 20 billion YouTube videos to train its AI models, including Gemini and the Veo 3 video and audio generator [2][5] - The company confirmed that it uses a subset of videos for training while adhering to agreements with creators and media companies [2][3] - Experts warn that this practice could lead to an intellectual property crisis for content creators and media organizations [3][4] Company Practices - YouTube has stated that it has always used its content to enhance product offerings and is committed to providing protections for creators in the AI era [3][6] - The platform does not disclose how many videos are used for AI training, but even 1% of its catalog would equate to 2.3 billion minutes of content, significantly more than competitors [5][6] - Users who upload content to YouTube cannot opt out of having their videos used for AI training [6] Industry Implications - There is a lack of awareness among creators and media professionals regarding the use of their content for training Google's AI models [4][7] - Concerns have been raised about the fairness of using creators' work to develop synthetic versions of their content without proper acknowledgment or compensation [7]

Core Insights - Airbus has dominated the Paris Air Show with nearly $21 billion in orders, significantly outpacing Boeing's 41 orders and Embraer's 15 orders [2][3] - Boeing's subdued presence is attributed to ongoing challenges, including the recent Air India crash and quality control issues, rather than a decline in demand [11][12][15] - The overall demand for new aircraft remains strong, driven by passenger demand and the need for airlines to renew aging fleets [10][13][16] Airbus Performance - Airbus secured 132 firm orders on Monday, including significant deals with AviLease, ANA, and LOT, and a 150-aircraft Memorandum of Understanding with VietJet Air [2][3] - The company is experiencing strong demand for wide-body aircraft, which are recovering more slowly than narrow-body models post-pandemic [15] Boeing's Situation - Boeing's quiet approach at the air show is a strategic decision amid a volatile geopolitical backdrop and recent crises, including the Air India disaster [11][12][15] - Despite fewer announcements, Boeing has a backlog of over 5,000 aircraft, indicating sustained demand in the long term [9][10] Industry Demand - The aircraft manufacturing industry is facing strong demand, with both Boeing and Airbus having backlogs that have remained stable for nearly a decade [9][10] - Stakeholders are cautious in the current environment, aware of the implications of any relaxation of safety standards following recent incidents [13][14] Market Context - The air show reflects a "muted" atmosphere in commercial aviation, with defense contracts gaining prominence due to geopolitical tensions [14] - Airlines are reassessing fleet strategies in light of recent crises, but strong profitability and travel demand growth suggest a continued appetite for new aircraft [16]

More and more people who are filing for bankruptcy have retail credit card debt, and those bills are getting harder to pay off with record-high interest rates.Store credit cards, which most major retailers offer, typically carry higher interest rates than traditional credit cards because the people who have them tend to have lower credit scores and banks consider them more risky.But those rates reached an all-time high of an average of 30.45% in September, according to Bankrate. The record rates came after ...

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold6 at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris. The tech giant said the foldable device is thinner and lighter than its predecessor.Samsung will unveil a thinner version of its flagship foldable smartphone at a launch likely set to take place next month, as it battles Chinese rivals to deliver the slimmest devices to the market.Folding phones, which have a single screen that can fold in half, came in focus when Samsung first launched such a device in 2019. But Chinese players, in ...

Google suffered a setback Thursday after an advisor to the European Union's top court recommended it dismiss the tech giant's appeal against a record 4.1-billion-euro ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine.Juliane Kokott, advocate general at the European Court of Justice, advised the court to throw out Google's appeal and confirm the fine, which was reduced in 2022 to 4.125 billion euros from 4.34 billion euros previously by the EU's General Court."In her Opinion delivered today, Advocate General Kokott proposes tha ...

Kim Kardashian fans are going to have to wait a little longer for the highly anticipated NikeSKIMS line.The activewear line will launch later this year instead of in the spring, like the companies had originally announced, because of production delays, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to speak candidly. The person added that the delays are internal and not because of a supplier or shipping issue.No date has been determined for the new launch date, the person added.The p ...