Heading into the fourth season of his second stint at Rutgers, coach Greg Schiano is still trying to close the talent gap the Scarlet Knights face in the Big Ten Conference

Mark Zuckerberg’s big bet on the metaverse has now lost $40 billion – and the company intends to lose even more. The huge figures were revealed as part of Meta’s latest results, which generally showed a strong rise in advertising revenue. But they also showed an increase in expenses at the company, with the development not only of the metaverse but also artificial intelligence and legal fees. Meta has been dramatically cutting costs and laying off staff. But at the same time it has been spending heavily on some projects, such as the metaverse, in the face of criticism from those who suggest that the bet is unlikely to pay off. That work on the metaverse is done by the company’s Reality Labs unit, which is responsible for developing technology like augmented reality glasses. It reported sales of $276 million, down from $452 million in the same quarter last year. The unit lost $3.7 billion in the second quarter, putting it on track to have far higher costs than the $5 billion annual target set out in a widely circulated investor note in the fall. The unit has lost more than $40 billion since 2021, including $13.7 billion last year. Meta said it expected Reality Labs operating losses to “increase meaningfully” in 2024 as the company continued to invest in augmented and virtual reality and “scale our ecosystem.” Zuckerberg had previously said Meta would “pace” investments in the division after 2023. He told investors he understood why many of them would feel discomfort over such a long-term bet. But the positive results across the company pushed Meta shares up 7.5 per cent. “We continue to see strong engagement across our apps and we have the most exciting roadmap I’ve seen in a while with Llama 2, Threads, Reels, new AI products in the pipeline, and the launch of Quest 3 this fall,” Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said. Meta’s second-quarter revenue grew 11% to $32 billion in the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $31.12 billion. Ad revenue rose 12% in the quarter, faster than growth at Google, where ad revenue rose 3%. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.98 topped Wall Street targets of $2.91, according to data from Refinitiv. The social media giant has been climbing back from a bruising 2022, buoyed by hype around emerging AI technology and an austerity drive in which it has shed around 21,000 employees since last fall. The company’s shares have more than doubled in value this year as a result. Advertisers are reinforcing those gains by pumping money into digital ads again after months of muted spending, heartened by signs that the economy may overcome a bout of high inflation without suffering a major meltdown. Brands are hedging their bets, however, and sticking with tried and true platforms. That helps Meta and Alphabet while punishing smaller players like Snap, which reported disappointing sales on Tuesday. Meta’s revenue forecast did not specify whether the figure includes any sales that might come from the recently launched Threads app, which does not yet have ads. Additional reporting by Reuters Read More Elon Musk’s ‘X’ is already trademarked by Mark Zuckerberg How Mark Zuckerberg’s new ChatGPT rival could lead to ‘obscene’ AI Meta unveils its ChatGPT rival Llama Here’s how to claim your share of $725m settlement in Facebook’s privacy lawsuit Elon Musk forces firms to pay X $1,000 to keep gold ticks Slack has stopped working

This is the third of Bloomberg’s Open House series, featuring Hong Kong’s most interesting homes. Perched on the

Kyron Drones threw three touchdown passes, Bhayshul Tuten scored on a 32-yard run and a 94-yard kickoff return and Virginia Tech beat Virginia for the 18th time in the last 19 meetings, 55-17, to achieve bowl eligibility

Google has unveiled a major new update to its AI chatbot Bard that significantly improves its powers of logic and reasoning. The latest version of the ChatGPT rival is now capable of both writing and executing code by itself, the tech giant announced, allowing it to figure out problems on a far deeper level than current generative AI systems. Google’s artificial intelligence tool is able to perform the new tasks through a new technique called “implicit code execution”, which enables Bard to detect computational prompts and run code in the background. The result is that Bard should theoretically be able to respond more accurately to mathematical tasks and coding questions, as it will have already tested the outcomes that it proposes. Until now, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Bard have been better suited to language and creative tasks, as they draw from their training data to predict what word will come next when talking about a specific subject. This allows them to produce text quickly but without deep thought, making them weaker when it comes to areas like reasoning and mathematics. “Our new method allows Bard to generate and execute code to boost its reasoning and maths abilities,” Google wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. “With the latest update, we’ve combined the capabilities of both LLMs and traditional code to improve accuracy in Bard’s responses. Through implicit code execution, Bard identifies prompts that might benefit from logical code, writes it ‘under the hood,’ executes it and uses the result to generate a more accurate response.” The new method improved Bard’s accuracy for coding and maths problems by roughly 30 per cent during internal tests, Google claimed. Accuracy remains one of the biggest issues with AI chatbots, with Google warning that despite the upgrade, Bard “won’t always get it right”. Unreliable or fabricated information generated by these AI tools is known as hallucinations, and they are typically delivered in a confident way that can be even more misleading for the user. ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced a potential new method to improve AI misinformation last month, involving two AI systems debating each other until they agree on the correct answer. Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could wipe out humanity – and why the boss of ChatGPT is doomsday prepping 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity

MLB Rumors: Trevor Story returning Tuesday for Red Sox, more on the wayFor as much as Boston Red Sox fans can rightfully criticize Chaim Bloom for his lack of action at the trade deadline and, even before, in the offseason, the club hasn't been done any favors when it comes to injuries this s...

When "Ted Lasso" writer and star Brett Goldstein had his eye on casting Ford in his AppleTV+ comedy "Shrinking," the idea, he said on a segment of Variety's Actors on Actors published Wednesday, felt "so unrealistic."

Jannik Sinner says he has all the right ingredients for ATP Finals glory after reaching the final with Saturday's convincing 6-3, 6-7 (4/7)...

Major Wall Street bank analysts will begin weighing in on one of the most-watched initial public offerings in

Every fake tan devotee has their Holy Grail formula – the one that glides on like a dream and leaves you with the perfect, streak-free, naturally bronzed glow. While it’s tempting to stick with a trusty favourite, with skincare innovations happening all the time you could be missing out on an even better bronze if you don’t deviate from your usual routine. Right now, there’s a host of hot new sunless tanning lotions, mists and foams that beauty buffs are loving – just in time for summer. Here are six self-tan launches that could become your next go-to… 1. Bondi Sands Technocolor Emerald 1 Hour Express Self Tanning Foam, £19.99 Introducing not one but four new formulas, Bondi Sands Technocolor range of one-hour foams is designed to suit different skin tones and avoid any orangey-ness. Sapphire creates a cool-toned tan for fair skin types; Emerald imparts an olive tan on medium skin tones; Magenta delivers a rich tan on olive to deep skin tones; and Caramel creates a warm glow on deeper skin tones. 2. Skinny Tan Limited Edition Birthday Cupcake Self-Tanning Whip, £21.99 Celebrating 10 years of terrific tans, Skinny Tan (named because of the slim ingredients list) has given its bestselling whipped mousse formula a birthday makeover. The overnight formula – which is enriched with cocoa butter and vitamin E, and develops in six to eight hours – now has a scrumptious vanilla frosting scent. 3. Utan x Jamie Genevieve CBD Tanning Water Facial Mist, £18 Utan has teamed up with make-up artist and beauty influencer Jamie Genevieve to create a complexion-enhancing tanning mist. The lightweight, antibacterial fluid delivers a subtle glow in four hours, doesn’t need rinsing off and has reportedly helped to get rid of acne breakouts. 4. St Moriz Luxe Body & Face Bronzing Mist Medium, £18.99, Boots Infused with organic rose water and soothing goji berry extract, this flora-scented spritz develops in eight hours. Use it as the last step in your skincare routine at night and you’ll wake up with a gorgeous glow. 5. Rose & Caramel Skinstant Instant Tanning Spritz, £19.99 Left it too late to do an overnight tan? This spray gives you glowing skin in minutes, drying quickly to leave a bronzed hue that washes off in the shower. Simply spritz on and blend with a tanning mitt or the Rose & Caramel Blending Brush (£12.99) to ensure a streak-free finish. 6. Xen-Glow Dark Lotion, £29.99, Beauty Flash Celeb-approved Xen-Glow (previously known as Xen-Tan) is back after a rebrand, with reformulated products. Tan-aholics will love the Dark Lotion, which comes with an olive guide colour and develops in three hours. Leave it on overnight for an even deeper bronze.

Netherlands coach Andries Jonker wants to avoid Sweden in the Women's World Cup last 16 but warned his side against taking Vietnam lightly in their...

The three-team Kristaps Porzingis trade has fallen apart. While initially reported that all teams were moving on, the Celtics and Wizards are still talking.Kristaps Porzingis is still on the Washington Wizards. At least for now.After reports that the veteran big was on the move to the Boston...