Recession obsession, AI boom and wild markets: What Wall Street can expect for the rest of 2023
The first half of 2023 has been a strange and volatile one for markets. Investors have had to contend with the possibility of recession and war in Europe, interest rate hikes (and pauses), sticky inflation and a softening US economy.
1970-01-01 08:00
Early stages of Ukrainian counteroffensive 'not meeting expectations,' Western officials tell CNN
In its early phases, Ukraine's counteroffensive is having less success and Russian forces are showing more competence than western assessments expected, two western officials and a senior US military official tell CNN.
1970-01-01 08:00
Metallica defend 'awesome' bagpiper covering their songs after Instagram attack
Metallica has stepped in with a big compliment for a woman posting bagpipe covers of the band’s songs on Instagram, after she was criticised by fans online. New Yorker Ally Crowley-Duncan, known online as Piper Ally, has nearly 330,000 followers on the social media app, where she posts videos of her playing the instrument. On 20 June, Crowley-Duncan uploaded a video showcasing “Five Metallica songs you didn’t know you could bagpipe.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Metallica and bagpipes is *chefs kiss*,” she wrote, with covers of some of the band’s biggest hits including Master of Puppets, Fade to Black, One, Enter Sandman, and Whiskey in the Jar. One Instagram user was unimpressed. “Bagpipes don’t belong in Metallica!!,” they wrote. “James [Hetfield, the lead singer] would not approve.” However, within minutes, Metallica intervened, saying: “@Ally the Piper. This guy doesn’t speak on our behalf. You’re awesome.” In a separate post, Crowley-Duncan shared the comment. She said: “When Metallica defends you in the comments of your own video.” Other users were quick to leap to her defence. One person said: “Could not have [a] bigger compliment.” Another said: “This is LEGENDARY.” Before long, the critic had deleted their comment, and later their own Instagram account. One commenter added: “This one goes out to that comment trying to talk for @metallica. Keep it up bad ass.” Another said: “Imagine getting owned so hard you up and quit Instagram. Metallica has spoken!” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Windrush: Hak Baker says why singing about it now feels right
Hak Baker's been releasing songs since 2017 but only now feels he can put music out about Windrush.
1970-01-01 08:00
Mark Zuckerberg 'agrees' to Elon Musk cage fight
Two tech billionaires appear set to face off after Mark Zuckerberg “agreed” to hold a cage fight with Elon Musk. The Facebook founder and Twitter CEO appeared to make the deal to fight one another in a cage match on Twitter. It came after Musk tweeted that he was “up for a cage fight” with Zuckerberg and received a response. On Instagram, Zuckerberg screenshotted the tweet and posted it with the words, “Send me location”. In response to a tweet about the agreement, Musk appeared to suggest the Vegas Octagon as a potential venue for the fight. In UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the octagonal cage is where fights take place. They feature walls of metal chain-link fencing covered in black vinyl. The championship is held in Las Vegas. For Musk, who admitted, “I almost never work out, except for picking up my kids & throwing them in the air”, the proposition may be one he lives to regret. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Zuckerberg has trained in the martial art of Brazilian jujitsu for just over a year and it was reported last month that he even won a tournament. The Meta boss has also been seen training with the Professional MMA fighter Khai Wu. Musk joked about the fight: “I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus’, where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing. Unsurprisingly, the tweets about the proposed fight have gone viral as people look forward to the prospect of seeing two tech heavyweights go at one another in the ring. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Turkey delivers 650-bp rate hike to 15% but still underwhelms
ISTANBUL Turkey's central bank hiked its key interest rate by 650 basis points to 15% on Thursday in
1970-01-01 08:00
Turkey's central bank sharply raises interest rates. That could signal an economic turnaround
The Turkish central bank has delivered a large interest rate increase, signaling a shift toward more conventional economic policies to counter sky-high inflation
1970-01-01 08:00
Bank of England hikes rates to 5% in surprise move to tackle stubborn inflation
By David Milliken and Suban Abdulla LONDON, June 22 The Bank of England raised interest rates by a
1970-01-01 08:00
A key building block for human life has been discovered in interstellar space
One of the key building blocks required for human life has been found in the depths of space. Astronomers have been looking out into a region 1,000 light-years from Earth, known as the Perseus Molecular Complex, and they’ve found an amino acid which is essential in human growth. Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids required for humans to develop. Babies require it to grow and it’s also important for protein development and muscle function in adults Readings from the Spitzer telescope, which is no longer in use, were crucial to the discovery. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The Perseus Molecular Complex is only visible when viewed through infrared instruments, and tryptophan gives off an identifiable light reading when observed in this way. Dr Susana Iglesias-Groth is from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and was lead author on the new research. "The evidence for tryptophan in the Perseus molecular complex should encourage additional effort to identify other amino acids in this region, and in other star-forming regions,” Dr Iglesias-Groth said. “It is a very exciting possibility that the building blocks of proteins are widely present in the gas from which stars and planets form – it may be key for the development of life in exoplanetary systems.” The findings were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. It comes after research showed that life forms could potentially be able to survive in the conditions in the clouds above Venus. The key point revolves around the presence of the biosignature gas phosphine, which is often identified as a sign of life. It also posits the idea that potential life forms on the planet could use sulphuric acid the way life forms on Earth use water. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Bank of England hikes rates for 13th time as inflation stays high
The Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point Thursday, after data this week revealed surprisingly stubborn inflation.
1970-01-01 08:00
Turkey hikes interest rates to 15% as Erdogan reverses policy on fighting inflation
Turkey's central bank hiked interest rates to 15% from 8.5% Thursday in a dramatic reversal of its unorthodox policy of cutting the cost of borrowing to tame painfully high inflation.
1970-01-01 08:00
First on CNN: Bill would give Biden new powers to prepare for the next pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed caused a frantic scramble for masks, respirators and other gear to fight the virus. Now, a bipartisan effort in Congress is attempting to ease US reliance on countries like China for critical medical supplies, before the next disaster.
1970-01-01 08:00
