Author: Colin Henderson

Progress in era of productivity
Geopolitics

Middle East CrisisHamas Says It Will Not Take Part in New Round of Cease-Fire Talks

Colin Henderson

Get notifications for updates on this story. TOP NEWS Hamas sends a signal that a breakthrough is unlikely in negotiations. A Hamas official said on Tuesday that the group will not take part in the round of cease-fire talks on Thursday, sending a strong signal that any breakthrough in negotiations was still elusive even as the United States, Qatar and Egypt were stepping up pressure on Hamas and Israel to reach a deal. Ahmad Abdul Hadi, Hamas’s representative in Lebanon, said in an interview that Hamas had decided not to participate in the talks because its leaders do not think the … Continue reading Middle East CrisisHamas Says It Will Not Take Part in New Round of Cease-Fire Talks

AI

Huawei Readies New Chip to Challenge Nvidia, Surmounting U.S. Sanctions

Colin Henderson

Chinese tech company looks for AI business with Ascend series but still faces production issues Aug. 13, 2024 at 5:43 am Chinese internet companies and telecommunications operators have been testing Huawei’s latest processor, called Ascend 910C, in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei told potential clients that the new chip is comparable to Nvidia’s H100, which was introduced last year and isn’t directly available in China, the people said. Huawei’s ability to keep advancing in chips is the latest sign of how the company has managed to break through U.S.-erected obstacles and develop Chinese alternatives to … Continue reading Huawei Readies New Chip to Challenge Nvidia, Surmounting U.S. Sanctions

sociology

The Mind-Bending Reality of Non-Euclidean Social Networks

Colin Henderson

Non-Euclidean social networks have transformed human relationships, expanding connections but also introducing new forms of distance and loneliness. Online personas and algorithms further complicate authenticity and connection. Navigating this new reality requires intention and thoughtfulness. @westenburg https://medium.com/westenberg/the-mind-bending-reality-of-non-euclidean-social-networks-c1140ea9051c Continue reading The Mind-Bending Reality of Non-Euclidean Social Networks

Canada

Scotiabank announces agreement to acquire 14.9% equity interest in KeyCorp

Colin Henderson

TORONTO, Aug. 12, 2024 /CNW/ – Scotiabank announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire an approximate 14.9% pro-forma ownership stake in KeyCorp through an issuance of common shares at a price of $17.17 per share, representing an 11% premium to the volume weighted average price for the last 20 trading days. The total cash consideration is approximately US$2.8 billion (the “Investment”). KeyCorp is a premier U.S. based financial services company operating across 15 states, with US$187 billion in assets and approximately 1,000 branches offering commercial and retail banking and investment advice and services. The Investment will be completed in two stages—an initial investment of … Continue reading Scotiabank announces agreement to acquire 14.9% equity interest in KeyCorp

AI

LLM to ROI: How to scale gen AI in retail

Colin Henderson

Once generative AI (gen AI) hit the mainstream, in late 2022, it took little time for retail executives to realize the potential in front of them. Mentions of artificial intelligence (AI) in retailers’ earnings calls soared last year—which was no surprise, given that gen AI is poised to unlock between $240 billion to $390 billion in economic value for retailers, equivalent to a margin increase across the industry of 1.2 to 1.9 percentage points. This, combined with the value of nongenerative AI and analytics, could turn billions of dollars in value into trillions. Sidebar About the authors Over the past year, most retailers have … Continue reading LLM to ROI: How to scale gen AI in retail

Risk

How Everything Became National Security

Colin Henderson

And National Security Became Everything By Daniel W. Drezner  September/October 2024 Published on August 12, 2024 In American politics, labeling something a matter of “national security” automatically elevates its importance. In the language of foreign policy observers, national security questions, such as regulating weapons of mass destruction, are matters of “high politics,” whereas other issues, such as human rights, are “low politics.” Of course, not everyone agrees on which issues fall into the national security bucket. And the American definition of national security has fluctuated wildly over time. The term was used by both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton during the Revolutionary era without … Continue reading How Everything Became National Security

Risk

The top U.S. and Israeli defense officials speak amid fears of escalation in the Mideast.

Colin Henderson

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Sunday, the third call the two are known to have held in a week, amid rising fears of an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran. In the call, Mr. Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to a summary provided by the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder. In an unusual disclosure, General Ryder said that Mr. Austin had ordered the ballistic-missile submarine Georgia to the Middle East. The Pentagon rarely announces the movements of … Continue reading The top U.S. and Israeli defense officials speak amid fears of escalation in the Mideast.

Growth

Calmer times

Colin Henderson

US futures are pointing to a slightly positive open, following gains from most European equity sectors, as traders await key data this week which will shed light on the health of the US economy and the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path. The Cboe volatility index has retreated from a peak last week, which was fueled by concerns the Fed is waiting too long to cut borrowing costs. The yen dropped the most against the dollar among major peers, while treasury yields rose. Oil extended last week’s gains as some top US oil refiners throttle back operations at their facilities, … Continue reading Calmer times

AI

Automation is coming for private equity’s junior roles

Colin Henderson

By Sujeet Indap in New York The 1992 book Merchants of Debt, a critical history of the private equity firm KKR, recounts the moment in the early 1980s when a firm executive came across VisiCalc, the spreadsheet software that would upend both KKR and Wall Street.  “KKR couldn’t rapidly stalk several companies at once, because its financial blueprints required weeks of calculations by hand,” George Anders wrote of the old way of doing business. But with the arrival of VisiCalc “all of a sudden, giant companies’ finances could be picked apart in an afternoon”. After VisiCalc came Lotus 1-2-3 and later Microsoft … Continue reading Automation is coming for private equity’s junior roles

AI

Where have OpenAI’s founders gone?

Colin Henderson

By George Hammond in San Francisco Just two of OpenAI’s 11-strong founding team are still active at the ChatGPT maker, after an exodus following November’s attempted boardroom coup against chief executive Sam Altman.  Three co-founders have departed so far this year, including John Schulman, who defected to its artificial intelligence rival Anthropic this week. Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president, also said on Monday he would be taking extended leave from the company.  A high rate of turnover is not unusual at a start-up. However, attrition of senior figures at OpenAI has stepped up in recent months following November’s leadership crisis, when Altman was fired … Continue reading Where have OpenAI’s founders gone?