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03

Google Consolidates AI-Building Teams Across Research and DeepMind

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Google is consolidating the teams that focus on building artificial intelligence (AI) models across Google Research and Google DeepMind. All this work will now be done within Google DeepMind, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said…

Canada’s Federal Budget Aims to Curb Overdraft Fees

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Canada’s federal budget, released this week, includes a proposal to limit the fees that banks charge customers for overdrawing their accounts. This move is expected to provide relief for low-income clients but could potentially impact the…

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Proposed Federal AI Oversight Plan Faces Hurdles, Experts Say

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Sen. Mitt Romney’s call for enhanced federal oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) faces hurdles, according to experts, who say the technology’s rapid advancement and wide-ranging applications pose significant challenges to effective…

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Netflix Subscriber Base And Revenue Spike in Q1

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The storyline is playing out nicely for Netflix. The streaming company reported its latest earnings on Thursday (April 18), with Wall Street keeping a close eye on expected revenue and subscriber growth resulting from its recent password…

Report: Getir Faces Investor Pressure to Cut Costs and Restructure

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Getir, the Turkish grocery delivery company that soared in value during the pandemic, is reportedly grappling with the need to cut costs and restructure as demand for its services wanes. Investors are pushing for significant changes within…

Meta AI Assistant Adds Website, Expands Beyond US

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Meta has introduced the latest version of its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, Meta AI, powered by the latest advances with its large language model (LLM), Meta Llama 3. The assistant is free and can be used on Facebook, Instagram,…

Congress Advances Earned Wage Access Bill as Popularity Grows

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When is a loan not a loan? That is, in one sense, the question at the heart of proposed new federal legislation around earned wage access (EWA) that is coming on the heels of multiple states debating their own regulations in the absence of…

Thursday, Apr 18

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Wagestream Raises $21.8 Million to Expand Financial Well-Being App

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Wagestream, a financial well-being app focused on frontline workers, has raised 17.5 million pounds (about $21.8 million) in a funding round. That total includes an investment of 7 million pounds (about $8.7 million) by British Patient…

Equifax Says 85% of Its New Models Built With AI

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Consumer credit bureau Equifax said artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in its operations. In announcing the company’s quarterly earnings Thursday (April 18), management noted that 70% of the new models and scores…

Consumer Demand for Deals Fuels Rise of Discount Subscriptions

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With consumers seeking more bang for their buck, retail merchants are rising to the occasion, offering discounts for subscribing, PYMNTS Intelligence finds. By the Numbers The PYMNTS Intelligence study “The Replenish Economy: A Household…

Financial Challenges Prompt Car Shoppers to Look to Secondhand Options

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Economic challenges or no, consumers still need to get where they are going, and many are now opting for secondhand sellers when buying vehicles, unable to justify the price of buying new. In March, according to Cox Automotive, used…

Ramp Valued at $7.6 Billion Following Series D Round

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Spend management platform Ramp says it is now a $7.6 billion company. The firm on Thursday (April 18) announced it had reached that valuation as it wound down a $150 million Series D-2 funding round. “This new funding will allow us to…

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Walmart-Backed Ibotta Sees Share Price Leap 33% in Market Debut

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Ibotta shares leapt 33% during their debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday (April 18). The stock debuted at $117 per share after pricing at $88 per share Wednesday (April 17), Axios reported Thursday. The firm raised $577…

Grubhub Deepens Grocery Offering With Mercato Partnership

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Grubhub is expanding its grocery presence via a partnership with online marketplace Mercato. The collaboration, announced Thursday (April 18), will bring Mercato’s inventory from more than 950 independent grocery stores nationwide to the…

CEO Says KeyBank Is ‘Back to Playing Offense’

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Liquidity continues to dominate Q1 earnings season for banking. Saying his company can finally “play offense,” Cleveland-based KeyBank CEO Chris Gorman presented a solid balance sheet and a cautious take on the economic tailwinds for the…

Judge in CFPB Credit Card Lawsuit Avoids Recusal

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A judge in the banking industry/CFPB legal battle can remain on the case. That’s according to a ruling — made public Thursday (April 18) by Reuters — by a judicial ethics panel, which convened to determine whether U.S. Circuit Judge Don…

AffiniPay Expands Payment Processing Solutions to Puerto Rico

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AffiniPay has expanded the availability of its payment processing solutions for attorneys and accounting professionals to Puerto Rico. These solutions, LawPay and CPACharge, are already used by more than 80,000 law and accounting firms in…

Regulations, Innovations and AI Define This Week in Big Tech

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Big Tech companies, including Meta, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, aren’t getting any smaller. Not only do these businesses represent many of the world’s most valuable public companies by market capitalization, but they…

UnitedHealth Reports Processing Issues at Change Healthcare

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Change Healthcare’s troubles are apparently not over. The company, which is owned by UnitedHealth, said Thursday (April 18) it had fixed an issue that had hindered medical claims processing for some customers, per a report by Reuters.…

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Repeal of Credit Card Late Fee Cap Has Winding Path Ahead on the Hill

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Out of committee…and now the path is a winding one for the proposed repeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule that would cap credit card late fees as soon as next month. On Wednesday (April 17), the House Financial…

Gen Z Shoppers Bring Social Commerce Into Malls

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Social media virality is beginning to shape mall stores, as ultra-connected Gen Z shoppers expect their physical lives to more closely resemble their digital ones. For instance, young social media users have flocked to fashion brand…

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Adobe Launches AI-Powered Mobile App for Creating Content

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Adobe has launched a new Adobe Express mobile app that uses Adobe Firefly generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to facilitate content creation. The new mobile app enables users to design and share social media posts, videos, flyers,…

Airports Accelerate Digital Transformation to Enhance Passenger Experiences

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In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the aviation industry continues to adapt, seeking ways to streamline processes and enhance passenger experiences. Recent developments at various international airports underscore this…

Will Apple Save AI Unveiling for the iPhone 16?

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When will Apple make its big artificial intelligence (AI) reveal? The tech giant is holding its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Still, analysts at the European bank Bernstein Société Générale reportedly believe that Apple…

Big Tech Taps AI Agents to Drive Revenue Growth

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Big tech companies are reportedly in a race to unveil software to fuel AI spending. For example, Microsoft is at work trying to automate tasks such as invoicing or the ability to rewrite code for applications in a different language and…

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McHenry Proposes Office to Regulate Financial Regulators

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House Republicans think America’s financial oversight bodies need some oversight of their own. U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, re-introduced legislation Wednesday (April 17) that would set…

Google’s Restructuring Shows AI’s Impact on Finance Function

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Amid a changing business landscape, digital innovation is reshaping the growth calculus for organizations. And with the news Wednesday (April 17) that Google CFO Ruth Porat is restructuring the tech giant’s finance team as the company…

House GOP Targets Shadow Bank Regulations

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A top House Republican wants to overturn a recent federal regulation governing non-bank financial companies. Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) introduced a resolution Wednesday (April 17) that would yank the approval of the Financial Stability…

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Cart.com to Simplify Onboarding, Provide Services for Walmart Marketplace Sellers

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Cart.com is working with Walmart Marketplace to simplify onboarding and help both new and existing sellers grow their sales on that platform. Customers using Cart.com’s multichannel management platform will be able to access special…

Weekly Jobless Claims Unchanged; Remain at Low Level

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The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance filed during the week ended Saturday (April 13) was unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure of 212,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up by 1,000, the Department of…