Shipping shifts, Google’s Gemini AI

Shifting manufacturing out of China shakes up shipping

The global shipping industry is in a decidedly gloomy mood.

Shipping container rates have collapsed. Logistics managers foresee a cargo recession towing in 2024. Industrial giant Maersk plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs as it struggles with falling profits and revenue amid overcapacity, rising costs and lower prices. – Mary Hui Read more

Everything you need to know about Gemini, Google’s new generative AI model

Google has just released Gemini, its new generative AI model. The tech giant, which calls Gemini the most capable and general AI it has developed so far, said it plans to expand the advanced version of this large language model (LLM) next year. The LLM is multimodal, meaning it can understand different types of information, including text, audio, images and video. – Michelle Cheng Read more

Disney is not responding well to its first Marvel Studios bombshell in 15 years

Marvel Studios is not responding well, at all, to have his first real box office bomb in 15 years. After years of unprecedented success, including four of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time, the studio’s latest release, The Marvels, is at the opposite end of the spectrum. After about a month in release, the film has begun to take off its box office run and will be by far the lowest-grossing movie in the entire franchise, failing to crack $100 million domestically and just flirting with $200 million worldwide. – Germain Lussier Read more

Even with Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines is no match for the big four US airlines

Alaska Airlines, the fifth largest airline in the US, is buying Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. The deal, which includes $900 million of Hawaiian Airlines’ debt, “will unlock more destinations for consumers and expand the choice of critical airline options and access throughout the Pacific region, Continental United States and globally,” the two 90-plus- year-old companies announced yesterday (Dec. 3). – Ananya Bhattacharya Read more

A disinformation scholar claims Meta is the reason her time at Harvard was cut short

Harvard University’s Kennedy School is accused of gagging a researcher and then obfuscating the facts surrounding her firing in an effort to appease Meta. – Ananya Bhattacharya Read more

McDonald’s plans to add 10,000 new locations by 2027

McDonald’s plans to open nearly 10,000 more restaurants by 2027—the fastest expansion in the company’s history, the company announced Wednesday. Of its new restaurants, more than one-third will be located in China. – Laura Bratton Read more

Spotify closes out 2023 with its third and biggest layoffs of the year

Spotify will end 2023 with 2,300 fewer employees than it had at the start of the year.

The Swedish music streamer is shedding 17% of its workforce and shedding just over 1,500 roles. CEO Daniel Ek gave the news to staff today (December 4) in a note that Spotify later shared on his blog. – Ananya Bhattacharya Read more

Banking rivals Elizabeth Warren and Jamie Dimon have found common ground over crypto

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and US Senator Elizabeth Warren did saved on financial regulation for more than a decade. But in a rare occurrence during a Senate banking committee hearing yesterday (December 6), they took the same stance. Both want to see the US government get much stricter with crypto. – Ananya Bhattacharya Read more

Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics works its charm with its target audience

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third term in the April-May 2024 national elections, is gaining a stronger grip on the country every day. – Ananya Bhattacharya Read more

OpenAI has delayed its chatbot store until next year following the Sam Altman drama

It’s been an eventful few weeks for OpenAI. To shake off the recent uproar surrounding CEO Sam Altman, the ChatGPT maker has announced that its Apple-like store for custom AI bots, which he planned to launch in December, will be delayed until next year. – Michelle Cheng Read more