The independent board behind Ben & Jerry’s, the popular ice cream brand, identified Israel’s military campaign inside Gaza as a genocide, breaking from other major corporate brands that are too afraid to criticize the Israelis in fear of being called antisemitic and boycotted.
ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW
Again and again, for all to see, and all to wonder, “Round and round and round it goes, where it......
THE FINAL CHESS MOVE
Just this past Friday, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of the Wall St. Superbank JP Morgan made THIS statement: “We Will Have a Global Restructuring.”
McMANSIONS DAYS ARE OVER, NEW STARTER HOMES ARE SMALLER BUT NOT THAT CHEAP
Remember the days back in the late 90s and early 2000s when Baby Boomers were moving into big homes, many mass-produced? Those days are over. Now, with income levels declining, those who can afford a home are going small. But small is still expensive.
META EXEC ADMITS AI DESTROYING REVENUE MODEL OF THE INTERNET
The book title says it all: How To Save The Internet. Meta / Facebook executive Nick Clegg (or that’s the......
GERMANY IS NOW ‘DIRECTLY ENGAGING’ IN WAR AGAINST RUSSIA: LAVROV
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, said last week that Germany is “now directly engaging” in war against Russia after recent comments from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about lifting limits on long-range weapons for Ukraine, and promising to help Kyiv ramp up production of weapons that threaten the Russian state.
HOUTHIS CALL MAY ISRAEL’S ‘MOST PAINFUL’ MONTH
The Houthis last week identified May as the “hottest, most severe, and most painful month” for Israel since the conflict began shortly after the Hamas attack in 2023 and said there had been 22 operations that targeted military sites and other vital locations inside the country, according to a report.
Global Economy
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
When Donald Trump won the race to the White House back in November, there were high expectations that the equity markets would spike, the value of the dollar would rise and it would be high times for the Merger and Acquisition Gang.
TOP TREND 2024, EV GO FU: GM SWITCHES FACTORY FROM EV MOTOR PRODUCTION TO V8 ENGINES
General Motors has scrapped a planned $300-million investment in retooling a New York state factory to make motors for electric vehicles (EVs).
SPOTLIGHT: LEAN TIMES FOR THE LUXURY INDUSTRY
Capri Holdings, owner of the Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, and Versace brands of high-priced apparel, has cut its 2025 revenue forecast by almost 25 percent, citing uncertainty over the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Israel War
YEMEN TELL FOREIGN COMPANIES OPERATING IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES TO HEED WARNING
A top Yemeni official issued a warning on Sunday to businesses that operate inside the occupied territories to heed their warning that they’re continued presence puts them at risk of future drone and missile strikes.
ISRAEL TIGHTENS GRIP ON THE WEST BANK, DEFENSE MINISTER PROMISES TO BUILD ‘JEWISH ISRAELI STATE’
Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said last week that Tel Aviv plans to form a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank in response to what he sees as a security threat facing Israelis in the region.
GAZA DEATH TOLL
Israel has killed at least 54,510 Palestinians and wounded 124,901 since the genocide started in October 2023. There are at least 11,000 people missing.
Trends in AI
AI TRANSFORMS PR
A basic function of public relations firms is to churn out a constant flurry of releases touting their clients’ products, achievements, and talent pools.
GOOGLE INTRODUCES AI-POWERED SEARCH
Google has announced a new search feature called “AI Mode” that allows people not just to ask a question but to work with a chatbot to follow up with additional questions and get wide-ranging, comprehensive answers to queries.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BLOCKS SALE OF CHIP DESIGN SOFTWARE TO CHINA
The Trump administration has tightened export controls yet again on products and services that would help China speed its technological advance.
Hi-Tech Science
REFRIGERATOR-SIZE MACHINE MAKES CLEANER GASOLINE FROM AIR
New York City startup Aircela has demonstrated a modular machine about the size of a household refrigerator that brings air in and delivers a lower-emission gasoline ready to use in today’s engines with no modifications.
ANOTHER MOLECULE IN HUMANS FOUND TO COMBAT COGNITIVE DECLINE
Astrocytes are the most common kind of cell in our brains. They perform a variety of tasks—maintaining the blood-brain barrier that keeps the brain safe from toxins, cleaning up waste, and fostering strong connections among neurons, the brain’s workhorse cells.
STEM CELL TREATMENT TO REVERSE PARALYSIS GOES TO CLINICAL TRIAL
The world’s first stem cell treatment to restore movement lost after severe spinal cord injury is about to begin.
