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Delta Pursues New Seattle Flight as Airlines Compete for DC Slots

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Delta Airline's

Delta Air Lines plans to announce on Thursday that it will apply for a new flight route between Seattle and Washington Reagan National Airport. This comes as airlines compete for five new daily flights.

President Joe Biden Signs Law for New Flights

On May 16, President Joe Biden signed a law creating these new flights at the busy Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The U.S. Transportation Department must award these new flights by mid-July.

Importance of Reagan National Airport

  • Washington has three major airports, but Reagan National is the closest to the U.S. Capitol and downtown.
  • Its main runway is the busiest in the United States, and it is the 23rd-busiest U.S. airport by passenger count.

Delta Airline’s Competition

Delta President Glen Hauenstein will announce the airline’s plan to apply for the new route during a news conference in Seattle, where Delta is celebrating its first nonstop flight from the U.S. to Taipei.

If successful, Delta will compete with Alaska Airlines, which currently operates the two daily flights from Seattle to Reagan.

Airlines’ Plans for New Routes

  • Delta stated, “The addition of this flight will bring much-needed competition to a route with some of the highest ticket prices in the country.”
  • Southwest Airlines plans to apply for a new daily flight between Washington and Las Vegas, a route currently served by only one daily flight from American Airlines.
  • American Airlines aims to start a new daily flight between San Antonio and Washington, connecting the seventh-largest U.S. city to Reagan National.
  • Alaska Airlines is seeking a new daily flight from San Diego, the largest market without a direct flight to Reagan National, while Spirit Airlines wants a new direct daily flight to San Jose, California.

Historical Background

In 1966, Congress restricted flights at National Airport to destinations within 650 miles, with some exceptions. Later, the limit was expanded to 1,250 miles. Since 2000, Congress has approved 25 daily flights beyond this range, including the five new ones.

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Nvidia Overtakes Apple as the Second-Largest Public Company in the US

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Nvidia sparks chatter over possible Dow inclusion after stock split

Nvidia, a favorite on Wall Street for its role in artificial intelligence, continues to soar to incredible heights.

Market Capitalization Milestone

On Wednesday, the AI chipmaker’s market capitalization reached $3.019 trillion, slightly surpassing Apple’s $2.99 trillion market cap, making Nvidia the second-largest publicly traded company in the US, just behind Microsoft, which has a market cap of $3.15 trillion.

  • Nvidia is now the third US company, following Apple and Microsoft, to cross the $3 trillion mark.

Stock Performance

Shares of Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, rose 5.2% to about $1,224.4 each, while Apple shares ended up 0.8% at $196.

Market Impact

These gains also helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes reach new record highs on Wednesday.

AI Craze on Wall Street

Nvidia (NVDA) has benefited the most from the AI craze on Wall Street this year; the stock is up 147% so far this year after rising 239% in 2023. In contrast, Apple shares have gained about 1.7% year-to-date.

Advanced AI Chip Platform

Earlier this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company would introduce its most advanced AI chip platform, Rubin, in 2026. Rubin will replace the Blackwell, which provides chips for data centers and was announced in March. Nvidia called it the “world’s most powerful chip” at the time.

Analysts’ Outlook

Nvidia accounts for around 70% of AI semiconductor sales, and some analysts believe the stock has more room to grow. Angelo Zino, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, noted, “As we look ahead, we think NVDA is on pace to become the most valuable company, given the numerous ways it can monetize AI and our belief that it has the largest market expansion opportunity in the Tech sector.”

Stock Split Announcement

Shares of the company will soon become more affordable. Nvidia announced a 10-for-1 stock split last month, making shares more accessible for individual investors. The post-split shares will start trading on June 10.

Narendra Modi Set for Third Term as Indian Vote Count Begins

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Narendra Modi Set for Third Term

India started counting votes for its 2024 general election on Tuesday, with projections indicating that Narendra Modi is likely to secure a rare third consecutive term as Prime Minister.

Exit Polls Predict Strong Victory for BJP

Exit polls released on Saturday showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to win an overwhelming majority. According to the NDTV poll of polls, the coalition is expected to secure 365 seats in the lower house of parliament. However, it is important to note that exit poll projections are not always accurate.

The party or coalition that wins at least 272 out of 543 seats will form the government.

Market Reaction to Election Predictions

Markets reacted positively to the exit polls predicting a decisive victory for the BJP. Key stock benchmarks, the Nifty 50 and the Sensex, gained more than 3% and hit record highs on Monday.

  • The Nifty 50 closed at 23,263.90 after reaching a record high of 23,338.70.
  • The Sensex closed at 76,468.78 after hitting an earlier high of 76,738.89.

The World’s Largest Democratic Exercise

This election was the world’s largest democratic exercise, with almost a billion registered voters. Voting, which began on April 19, was conducted over seven phases spanning more than six weeks.

Economic Growth Under Modi’s Leadership

Under Modi’s 10-year rule, India’s economy has experienced solid growth. The latest GDP data shows the economy expanded by 8.2% in the fiscal year 2024, which ended in March. This growth rate was higher than the government’s initial forecast of 7.6%, maintaining India’s status as the world’s fastest-growing large economy.

“Modi is going to ride that winning horse and focus on India’s growth in ways we have not seen before,” said Samir Kapadia, CEO of India Index and managing principal at Vogel Group.

Infrastructure Development a Key Focus

One of the main priorities for the new government will be boosting infrastructure development. While improvements have been made over the past few years, India’s infrastructure still lags behind that of neighboring China.

“You can’t compare the infrastructure of India to China yet. India will catch up, but they’re not there yet,” said Steve Lawrence, chief investment officer of Balfour Capital Group. However, he added that the two countries can compete in terms of “intellectual horsepower.”

“You have two societies that are hardworking, educated, getting smarter, and understand the diversifications of global markets,” Lawrence told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday.

OpenAI Takes Action Against ‘Godmode ChatGPT’ That Teaches How to Make Napalm and Cook Meth

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OpenAI

OpenAI quickly banned a jailbroken version of ChatGPT called “GODMODE GPT,” created by a hacker known as “Pliny the Prompter.” The hacker announced on X (formerly Twitter) that this custom GPT-4 has a built-in jailbreak prompt, allowing it to bypass most safety measures and offering unrestricted access to ChatGPT. The hacker urged users to “use responsibly and enjoy!”

The hacker shared screenshots showing the chatbot providing instructions on dangerous activities, including cooking meth, making napalm with household items, infecting macOS computers, and hotwiring cars. X users reacted to the post, with some praising the chatbot’s capabilities while others speculated on how long it would remain accessible.

OpenAI spokesperson Colleen Rize informed Futurism that the company had taken action against the rogue chatbot for violating its policies. This incident highlights the ongoing challenge OpenAI faces in preventing hackers from jailbreaking its AI models while striving to maintain their integrity.

TBI Corn IPO Launches Today: Price Range Set at ₹90-94 per Share, Details Inside

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TBI Corn ipo

TBI Corn IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of TBI Corn will open for subscription on May 31. The company plans to raise ₹44.94 crores by issuing 47.81 lakh new shares through the book-built issue. The funds will be used for expansion, working capital, and general corporate purposes.

TBI Corn IPO Price Band:

The price range for the TBI Corn IPO is set between ₹90 and ₹94 per share, with a minimum lot size of 1200 shares. Retail investors need to invest at least ₹1,12,800, while high net worth individuals (HNIs) need to invest in at least 2 lots.

TBI Corn IPO Key Dates:

  • Subscription period: May 31 to June 4
  • Allotment finalization: June 5
  • Tentative listing date on NSE SME: June 7

TBI Corn IPO Share Allotment:

  • Up to 50% of shares are allocated for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs)
  • At least 35% for retail investors
  • At least 15% for non-institutional investors (NIIs)

TBI Corn IPO Financials:

The company’s revenue increased by 40%, from ₹100 crore in FY22 to ₹140 crore in FY23.

TBI Corn IPO Registrar:

Swastika Investmart Ltd and Ekadrisht Capital Private Limited are the lead managers for the IPO, with Kfin Technologies Limited as the registrar and Ss Corporate Securities as the market maker.

ConocoPhillips to Acquire Marathon Oil in $17.1 Billion All-Stock Deal to Strengthen Shale Assets

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ConocoPhillips

Strengthening its shale holdings, ConocoPhillips agreed on Wednesday to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at $17.1 billion.

“This acquisition of Marathon Oil adds high-quality, low cost of supply inventory adjacent to our leading U.S. unconventional position, further deepening our portfolio and fitting within our financial framework,” stated ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance in a release.

ConocoPhillips’ profitability, cash flow, and shareholder returns would all instantly increase as a result of the purchase, which is anticipated to finalize in the fourth quarter, Lance added. After the merger complete, ConocoPhillips anticipates share buybacks of $7 billion in the first year and $20 billion in the next three.

The portfolio of ConocoPhillips will include 2 billion barrels of resources when Marathon Oil is acquired. Early on after the news, ConocoPhillips’ stock fell 3.3%, while Marathon Oil’s shares increased 7.3%.

During the last year, the U.S. oil sector has seen tremendous consolidation as businesses scramble to acquire profitable property.

The Federal Trade Commission just gave Exxon Mobil the all-clear to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion. Shareholders of Hess Corporation decided on Tuesday to proceed with the $53 billion merger with Chevron.

Why Nvidia Stock Is Not in a Massive Bubble

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Nvidia Becomes World's Most Valuable Company

Two ways have arisen since Nvidia’s (NVDA) significant quarter and projection on Wednesday night.

Wall Street owns and runs track one, and it thinks Nvidia will keep accelerating to new profit levels this year and next. Consensus forecasts are rising (again), and the Street is still rather fond of inflated price goals (you can monitor them on Yahoo Finance here).

The media owns and runs the other track, and it’s trying harder and harder to undermine the Nvidia investment case. Hey, I understand; it’s our responsibility to question leaders, statistics, and widely accepted stories.

But to be out there promoting that Nvidia’s stock is in a bubble because it’s up a lot or that its financials may be in a bubble because of eye-popping growth rates, strikes me as totally incorrect.Let me state up front that I do not own shares in Nvidia and never have, hence I have no vehicle in this race.

Simply stated, there are a few basic characteristics of an asset bubble.

First off, the item that is increasing in value often lacks the foundation to support such increase. Two: Mostly because everyone else is purchasing it, people are buying the asset mindlessly without understanding it.

Both of these are not visible to me for Nvidia.

Investors are purchasing for the right reasons and seem to be well informed about Nvidia’s company.

Then the growth rates of Nvidia support a higher price. In the first quarter alone, this firm increased profits by 461%! 262 percent increase in sales!

Cause? Since generative AI, driven by models supported by Nvidia GPUs, is causing a massive upheaval in IT stacks. Nobody can even come close to the technology of this firm. Talking about worries about Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) developing their own AI processors is OK, but Nvidia is doing this on a large scale and is 27 miles ahead of these businesses.

“People want to deploy these data centers right now,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman and Dan Howley immediately after results (see video above). “They want to begin earning money and saving money immediately by putting our [graphics processing units] to use. Therefore, the demand is really rather great.”

Will Nvidia continue to see triple digit increases in both its top and bottom lines? No, but the growth rates will still be much higher than those of rivals and still rather remarkable.

Bubble? People, let’s be genuine here!

Amazon AWS has started manufacturing AI chips in order to better manage a supply chain that is lacking these potent tools. The approach is covered by AWS CEO Adam Selipsky in a recent edition of the Opening Bid podcast. Just listen down below.

imec Leads European Labs in Receiving $2.7 Billion Funding from Chips Act

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imec Leads European Labs in Receiving $2.7 Billion Funding from Chips Act

In Belgium, imec announced that leading European research labs will receive €2.5 billion ($2.72 billion) to establish a pilot line for developing and testing advanced computer chips. This funding is part of the European Chips Act, a €43 billion initiative aimed at supporting European chipmaking in response to global efforts by China, the U.S., and others to bolster their own industries after COVID-related shortages.

The pilot line, hosted by imec in Leuven, will focus on sub-2 nanometre chips, providing access to chip manufacturing technology for European industry, academics, and start-ups. This initiative aims to overcome the high costs associated with chip development and testing, which can reach up to €20 billion for commercial plants.

Key chipmakers like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung are already launching 2 nanometre chips, and the European R&D line seeks to develop even more advanced generations of chips. It will be equipped with technology from both European and global equipment and materials firms.

imec CEO Luc Van den Hove explained that the investment will lead to increased production and faster learning, speeding up our innovation efforts. This will not only strengthen Europe’s chip industry but also boost economic growth. The NanoIC pilot line will have positive impacts on industries like automotive, telecommunications, and healthcare.

Funding for this initiative comes from several EU programs, Belgium’s Flanders government, and industry players like ASML. Additionally, other research laboratories from across Europe, including CEA-Leti, Fraunhofer, VTT, CSSNT, and the Tyndall Institute, are participating in the project.

While the EU plan provides substantial aid, most of it comes from member states. So far, only STMicroelectronics has received approval for €2.9 billion in aid from France for a plant in Crolles. Intel and TSMC are awaiting EU approval for funding from the German state to build plants in Magdeburg and Dresden later this year.

Palo Alto Networks Expands Customer Base by Acquiring Security Assets from IBM

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Palo Alto Networks Expands Customer Base by Acquiring Security Assets from IBM

Palo Alto Networks is acquiring cloud security software assets from IBM as part of a broader partnership. This move aims to provide Palo Alto with access to more consultants and a larger customer base.

In a joint announcement, both companies revealed that Palo Alto is purchasing IBM’s QRadar cloud software, with the exact amount undisclosed. Palo Alto plans to transition existing customers to its security platform, Cortex Xsiam, a process expected to take one to three months according to Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto’s CEO. Additionally, IBM will train over 1,000 of its consulting employees on Palo Alto’s products.

Consolidation is increasing within the security software industry due to the anticipated rise in attacks facilitated by artificial intelligence. In March, Cisco completed its acquisition of Splunk for $28 billion, marking its largest deal ever and securing the leading provider of security information and event management (SIEM) software.

On the same day, Exabeam and Thoma Bravo’s LogRhythm announced plans to merge, reflecting the ongoing consolidation trend in the SIEM market.

Arora emphasized the necessity for Palo Alto to strengthen its position against competitors like Splunk. He highlighted the active consolidation in the cybersecurity sector.

Although Palo Alto and IBM previously offered competing SIEM software, their partnership discussions had stalled. However, Arora and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna engaged in conversations to advance their collaboration.

Krishna clarified that the decision to partner with Palo Alto wasn’t driven by Cisco’s Splunk acquisition, asserting that IBM doesn’t compete with most of Cisco’s offerings.

Last December, IBM announced its consulting group would offer Palo Alto’s Cortex Xsiam software to clients. Now, IBM plans to adopt Cortex Xsiam and Palo Alto’s Prisma Sase 3.0 product bundle. Moreover, Palo Alto will integrate IBM’s Watsonx large language models into Cortex Xsiam, alongside models from Google.

Despite the SIEM category’s longstanding presence, Palo Alto introduced Cortex Xsiam only two years ago, witnessing rapid adoption and market share gains.

IBM aims to bolster its consulting business by offering contemporary security tools, aligning with its goal of mid-single-digit revenue growth for 2024. In contrast, Palo Alto’s revenue surged by 19% in the January quarter.

The transaction between Palo Alto and IBM is expected to conclude by September, subject to regulatory approval and other requirements.

Krishna expressed optimism about growing consulting revenue with Palo Alto’s products, similar to their success with Azure and AWS. While IBM will continue selling QRadar for on-premises data centers, Krishna encourages clients to consider transitioning to Palo Alto’s Cortex Xsiam.