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Former OpenAI researcher raises $40 million to build more empathetic audio AI

By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – – A former OpenAI researcher has raised $40 million for a startup that will build artificial-intelligence models that connect emotionally with humans via voice, the company said on Monday. The startup, WaveForms AI, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and valued at $200 million, CEO Alexis Conneau told Reuters. Conneau co-created the voice mode capability on OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, which when released earlier this year showed off the capability to … Read more…

Colombia’s interior minister says proposed $2.73 billion fiscal reform not viable

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo on Monday said the government’s proposed 12 trillion peso ($2.73 billion) fiscal reform was “not viable,” but added that a smaller sum could be achieved. Colombia’s government presented its latest fiscal reform to Congress in September, which it hopes will finance spending in 2025 by increasing taxes and taking on more debt. “I believe, to be completely frank and sincere, that today it’s not viable to … Read more…

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Walmart, Amazon holiday spending rise as Target, Best Buy stumble, data shows

By Siddharth Cavale NEW YORK (Reuters) -Walmart Inc, Amazon.com and fast-growing e-commerce sites Shein and PDD Holding’s Temu saw record-breaking sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to spending data, suggesting that they may finish the holiday season on a much stronger note than Target and Best Buy, which struggled. Holiday shoppers largely browsed at brick-and-mortar stores, making more online purchases at some retailers, snapping up such items as pre-owned Rolex watches, Pokemon cards … Read more…

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Blackstone, EQT advance into next round of Urbaser sale, sources say

By Andres Gonzalez LONDON (Reuters) – Buyout groups Blackstone and EQT have advanced to the second round of bids in the sale process of waste management company Urbaser, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Urbaser´s owner, private equity firm Platinum, engaged Citi and Santander as advisors for the sale earlier this year, the sources said. A deal could value the waste management firm at around 5 billion euros, one of the people … Read more…

Meta shares hit record high after US appeals court upholds TikTok ban

By Chibuike Oguh NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms hit a record high on Friday after a U.S. appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok by early next year or face a ban. The decision is a devastating blow to ByteDance, whose social media app is used by 170 million Americans. It affirmed a law, which was passed by Congress with bipartisan support … Read more…

Musk spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump

By Tim Reid and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Elon Musk spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Donald Trump win November’s presidential election, according to new filings, underscoring the influence one of the world’s wealthiest people had on this year’s White House race. The billionaire owner of electric car maker Tesla and SpaceX gave $259 million to groups supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to new Federal Election Commission filings released late … Read more…

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Indexes Explode – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) November proved to be the best month of the year as stocks and indexes finished Friday at record levels. Chips and techs were the biggest boosters as the shortened week gave November its final thrust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished just below 454000 and S&P 500 hovered near highs. According to Dow Jones Market Data, the Russell 2000, with more conservative value loaded stocks, blazed to an 11% … Read more…

Exclusive-US defense secretary scraps South Korea trip after martial law attempt

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said planning had been underway for a trip in the near term but it was determined now was not the appropriate time. The official said … Read more…

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Poland gets $4 billion US loan for defence purchases, minister says

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland signed a $4 billion loan under the United States’ Foreign Military Financing program that will help finance the transformation of its armed forces, the Polish defence minister said on Thursday. “This is another proof of enormous trust and strong alliance between Poland and the United States of America,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz posted on X. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that in total the United States has provided Poland with over $11 billion to finance armament … Read more…

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EVs, plug-in hybrids’ reliability concerns ease but still lag gas-powered peers, survey shows

(Reuters) – Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are seeing concerns over their reliability easing but they still lag gas-powered vehicles, a survey by an influential U.S. non-profit organization showed on Thursday. EVs now have 42% more problems than their gas-powered counterparts, down from last year’s 79%, according to the Consumer Reports (CR) annual auto reliability survey. Plug-in hybrids have 70% more problems than internal combustion models, improving from the 146% more problems it had last … Read more…