This study of author Andri Snær Magnason is somewhat indulgent, with endless musings where piercing climate crisis commentary should be Is Iceland dying? Is the world dying? These would appear to be the very relevant questions behind this well-intentioned but ultimately exasperating and obtuse documentary from National Geographic, which is burdened with tasteful NatGeo stateliness and visually ple...
This study of author Andri Snær Magnason is somewhat indulgent, with endless musings where piercing climate crisis commentary should be Is Iceland dying? Is the world dying? These would appear to be the very relevant questions behind this well-intentioned but ultimately exasperating and obtuse documentary from National Geographic, which is burdened with tasteful NatGeo stateliness and visually pleasing production values. It is directed by film-maker Sara Dosa, whose earlier documentary Fire of Love was about doomed vulcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft, who in 1991 perished in the eruption they were studying. Now Dosa has made a study of award-winning Icelandic climate author Andri Snær Magnason , whose book on climate change Of Time And Water was published in 2019 and who wrote a piercingly sad “obituary” of the Ok glacier , the first Icelandic glacier completely to disappear. It very clearly won’t be the last. Continue reading...
The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA:XSD) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) look like interchangeable ways to own the chip cycle, but they differ in one fundamental way. XSD spreads capital across the industry on an equal-weight basis, while SOXX concentrates it in the largest names. That single design choice has produced a meaningful gap ... SOXX Surged 190% in a Year but XSD On...
The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA:XSD) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) look like interchangeable ways to own the chip cycle, but they differ in one fundamental way. XSD spreads capital across the industry on an equal-weight basis, while SOXX concentrates it in the largest names. That single design choice has produced a meaningful gap ... SOXX Surged 190% in a Year but XSD Only Returned 180% — Here’s Why the Difference Matters
In today’s newsletter: the Pacific islands hoping to enter World Cup qualifying before ocean level increase wipes them from the map “This is not just about football, it’s about building something from scratch,” Eriati Reebo, the Kiribati football president, explains. “A legacy, a story, that the world will always remember.” Kiribati, a group of Pacific islands south of Hawaii with 138,000 inhabita...
In today’s newsletter: the Pacific islands hoping to enter World Cup qualifying before ocean level increase wipes them from the map “This is not just about football, it’s about building something from scratch,” Eriati Reebo, the Kiribati football president, explains. “A legacy, a story, that the world will always remember.” Kiribati, a group of Pacific islands south of Hawaii with 138,000 inhabitants, is seeking entry into World Cup qualifying for the 2030 tournament. Becoming a recognised international football team would help bring attention to the only nation on earth that sits within all four hemispheres, and one that is rapidly disappearing from the map. It could be the first, but certainly not the last, country to be engulfed by sea water, leaving it uninhabitable. And before that happens, it wants to professionalise the football setup and become a full member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). This would both create a route to competing with bigger nations and help keep the Kiribati spirit alive. Continue reading...
It’s decades since the former US first lady was an employee. The world of work she grew up in has long gone Uh oh, Michelle Obama has been advising gen Z on navigating work. “One thing that’s important is to learn how to do something you don’t like to do and be good at it,” she told the audience at a podcast recording in London. “Every experience – the bad boss, the boring assistant job, the job y...
It’s decades since the former US first lady was an employee. The world of work she grew up in has long gone Uh oh, Michelle Obama has been advising gen Z on navigating work. “One thing that’s important is to learn how to do something you don’t like to do and be good at it,” she told the audience at a podcast recording in London. “Every experience – the bad boss, the boring assistant job, the job you thought that you weren’t appreciated, the one that didn’t give you the assignment you wanted when you wanted it – all of that is learning to be resilient.” The podcast is called IMO, and she is entitled to her opinion, and it’s true that awful bosses, crap jobs and professional setbacks are inevitable, unpleasant learning experiences. Plus, Obama has navigated exceptionally tricky circumstances and put up with endless unjustified flak – she has plenty to teach everyone about grace under pressure. But there’s an implicit criticism of gen Z workers in her words. You see that a lot (they’re undisciplined ! They won’t use the phone ! They want mental health days !) and it feels unfair and unhelpful. Continue reading...
The brilliantly modulated mix of horror and comedy has quickly become a buzzy water cooler hit for Apple TV When Widow’s Bay appeared on Apple TV in April, all signs pointed it to being another one of those underwatched and undermarketed curios – like Sunny or Land of Women or Extrapolations – that routinely get dumped on to the platform before quickly dying of neglect. Instead, something remarkab...
The brilliantly modulated mix of horror and comedy has quickly become a buzzy water cooler hit for Apple TV When Widow’s Bay appeared on Apple TV in April, all signs pointed it to being another one of those underwatched and undermarketed curios – like Sunny or Land of Women or Extrapolations – that routinely get dumped on to the platform before quickly dying of neglect. Instead, something remarkable happened. Unless Apple has been secretly trialling a new strategy where they directly pay everyone I know to tell me how good its shows are, Widow’s Bay has become the biggest word of mouth hit that television has had in years. With every passing episode, the buzz gets a little bit louder. And this is for a very good reason: Widow’s Bay is absolutely wonderful. Continue reading...
While we do not outright oppose the taking of AI company stock, or of a US a sovereign wealth fund, there are better ways to achieve the senator’s goals Let no one accuse Bernie Sanders of ducking the big questions. Writing in the New York Times last week, the senator asked : “Will the future of humanity be determined by a handful of billionaires who have promoted and developed AI, with virtually ...
While we do not outright oppose the taking of AI company stock, or of a US a sovereign wealth fund, there are better ways to achieve the senator’s goals Let no one accuse Bernie Sanders of ducking the big questions. Writing in the New York Times last week, the senator asked : “Will the future of humanity be determined by a handful of billionaires who have promoted and developed AI, with virtually no democratic input, who stand to become even richer and more powerful than they are today?” We agree entirely that this is one of the most potent questions facing global democracy today. Our book, Rewiring Democracy , surveys the emerging uses for and impacts of AI in democracy around the world and reaches the same conclusion: that the most urgent risk posed by AI is the concentration of power, wealth and control among tech oligarchs. Continue reading...
A great big bear of a dog, Chewy the newfoundland is always there to rescue us if we fall in the water, or if my 96-year-old grandma needs a hand I got Chewy, short for Chewbacca, when he was eight weeks old – he was this giant ball of a newfoundland puppy. I live in North Carolina and we drove five hours to Georgia to get him. It was love at first sight, but I never expected how much of a role he...
A great big bear of a dog, Chewy the newfoundland is always there to rescue us if we fall in the water, or if my 96-year-old grandma needs a hand I got Chewy, short for Chewbacca, when he was eight weeks old – he was this giant ball of a newfoundland puppy. I live in North Carolina and we drove five hours to Georgia to get him. It was love at first sight, but I never expected how much of a role he would play in my family. Chewy was the craziest puppy, very clumsy and goofy. He grew so quickly – he went from 10lb (4.5kg) to 100lb (45kg) in the first 10 months. Now aged four, he’s calmed down quite a bit and looks like a big, fluffy, long-haired bear. He’s enormous – you just want to hug him. Continue reading...
Indonesia is discussing carve-outs from sweeping new export controls that could allow commodity traders to sidestep all or part of the rules in exchange for investments in the country and joint ventures with a newly established state body. The wide-ranging exemptions have been discussed during meetings between Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia — a newly created arm of sovereign wealth fund Danantara,...
Indonesia is discussing carve-outs from sweeping new export controls that could allow commodity traders to sidestep all or part of the rules in exchange for investments in the country and joint ventures with a newly established state body. The wide-ranging exemptions have been discussed during meetings between Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia — a newly created arm of sovereign wealth fund Danantara, set up to run the policy — and major exporters and traders, according to people involved in the discussions. They asked not to be named as the conversations were private. President Prabowo Subianto shocked markets late last month with a radical overhaul of key commodity exports that has upended one of Indonesia’s most lucrative sectors, ostensibly to crack down on revenue leaks. The announcement unsettled already rattled investors, and has left traders and exporters across coal, palm oil and metal markets struggling to understand the impact of the change. Some also questioned how an entity which has yet to hire trading staff in significant numbers would handle exports worth $65 billion a year. The debate over workarounds is in part a reflection of the complexity of the president’s proposal, the people said. The discussions remain at an early stage and are subject to final government review. Danantara and unit DSI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read More: Indonesia Plans to Beat Global Trading Giants at Their Own Game . Regulation governing the new plan, published on Friday, did include a clause that allowed room for exemptions for companies that have local investment, processing or refining agreements. No further detail was offered. DSI has since indicated that the provision should help curb tax leakage while facilitating exports, as companies that meet its requirements may be allowed to continue managing their own shipments, the people said. Exemptions would be a best-case scenario, some of the people added, as companies make the most of the governme...
Since the artificial intelligence (AI) boom started gathering momentum in early 2023, semiconductor stocks like Nvidia and Micron Technology have soared more than tenfold . But with infrastructure costs climbing, AI companies like Anthropic and Microsoft have recently introduced passive price increases for some of their AI software products, resulting in significantly higher usage costs for their ...
Since the artificial intelligence (AI) boom started gathering momentum in early 2023, semiconductor stocks like Nvidia and Micron Technology have soared more than tenfold . But with infrastructure costs climbing, AI companies like Anthropic and Microsoft have recently introduced passive price increases for some of their AI software products, resulting in significantly higher usage costs for their customers. The price increases caused one of Anthropic's customers, Uber Technologies , to blow through its entire 2026 AI budget in just four months, and the company's chief operating officer said the current rate of spending is getting harder to justify. This could be an early sign of trouble for the AI industry, meaning investors with a high degree of exposure might want to start diversifying. The Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VTV) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in a diverse group of America's largest companies, and with just 10% of its portfolio parked in the technology sector, it could significantly outperform the broader market if the AI boom hits a speed bump. Read on. Continue reading
Quantum Blockchain Technologies PLC (AIM:QBT, FRA:BYA1) CEO Francesco Gardin tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion that the company has completed the key integration work on a new ASIC manufacturer's mining rig - and the data needed to train its Method C AI Oracle is now flowing. Gardin compares the process to a Formula One driver learning a new circuit: the Oracle needs a complete data picture from t...
Quantum Blockchain Technologies PLC (AIM:QBT, FRA:BYA1) CEO Francesco Gardin tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion that the company has completed the key integration work on a new ASIC manufacturer's mining rig - and the data needed to train its Method C AI Oracle is now flowing. Gardin compares the process to a Formula One driver learning a new circuit: the Oracle needs a complete data picture from the new hardware before it can be effectively trained. "Now we are finally ready and we are generating the data," he says, with sufficient historical data for training expected by end of week. Fine-tuning follows next, with the company continuing to target end of June for completion of this phase and deployment on a live mining pool. #QuantumBlockchainTechnologies #QBT #FrancescoGardin #AIOracle #ArtificialIntelligence #BitcoinMining #ASICMining #BlockchainTechnology #CryptoMining #MachineLearning #MiningRig #CryptoTechnology #Bitcoin #Fintech #ProactiveInvestors
When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, he was entering a country undergoing notable development in both its nuclear programme and conventional combat capacity. North Korea has been aided in these developments by Russian military technology and economic aid, which Pyongyang received in exchange for sending troops and equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine. These adv...
When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, he was entering a country undergoing notable development in both its nuclear programme and conventional combat capacity. North Korea has been aided in these developments by Russian military technology and economic aid, which Pyongyang received in exchange for sending troops and equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine. These advances could help Pyongyang threaten the balance of power against South Korea and the United...