Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are getting hooked on debt to fuel AI boom

Big Tech is becoming hooked on debt to fuel its grandiose visions of AI dominance, a slight shift from years past, when aggressive investments were largely driven by internally generated cash. The news: AI-related companies have issued about $140 billion in investment-grade bonds year to date, accounting for 49% of the total investment-grade issuance, according…

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Treating Reviews As Business Infrastructure, Not Marketing, Drives Real Business Results

Most business owners assume that higher star ratings are linked to better business outcomes. A peer-reviewed study tested that assumption directly. Researchers Eddie Inyang and Juliana White surveyed 251 U.S. small-business owners on online reputation management, Google star ratings, and business performance. Notably, Google star ratings alone didn’t predict performance. What was associated with performance…

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Spencer Pratt brings Los Angeles’ economic anxieties into primetime

Summary Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt is running a surprisingly competitive campaign for Los Angeles mayor ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Pratt has built his campaign around frustrations with housing costs, wildfire recovery and homelessness in the nation’s second-largest city. His message is resonating with voters angered by slow rebuilding after fires that destroyed more…

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Economists said Milei would fail. Argentina’s numbers tell another story

Elon Musk was gifted a blinged-out DOGE chainsaw by Argentinian President Javier Milei to help him cut through wasteful spending. When Javier Milei entered the race to be Argentina’s president, 108 notable economists said his policies could be a disaster. Three years later, the maverick president continues to prove them wrong. As Argentina’s new president…

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