Author: GT

On YouTube, hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world are staring at an unmoving broadcast of the Sistine Chapel chimney. Occasionally, a seagull will swoop in and perch atop the roof for a few minutes. But for the most part, nothing happens. On Wednesday, the College of Cardinals started the process of picking the next pope, who will succeed the late Pope Francis. This is a closed-door, sacred ritual, dating back long before mass media made it possible to quickly transmit news with so much public interest. So instead of issuing statements to the press, the conclave signals its…

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison after a prosecutor labeled him a predator who “preyed on hope” by enticing vulnerable customers to risk their life savings for a supposedly safe investment. Alexander Mashinsky, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who said a substantial term in prison was necessary for someone who engaged in “extremely serious” crimes that enabled him to pocket over $45 million while some of his customers lost everything and suffered severe psychological harm. Celsius declared…

Tesla’s attempt to trademark the term “Robotaxi” in reference to its vehicles has been refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for being too generic, according to a new filing. Another application by Tesla to trademark the term “Robotaxi” for its upcoming ride-hailing service is still under examination by the office. In addition, applications from Tesla for the trademark on the term “Cybercab” have been halted due to other companies pursuing similar “Cyber” trademarks. That includes one company that has applied for numerous trademarks related to aftermarket Cybertruck accessories. The USPTO issued Tuesday what’s known as a “nonfinal office…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have blocked legislation to regulate stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency, after arguing that the bill needed stronger protections and airing concerns that it could help President Donald Trump enrich himself.The bill, which would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S., had previously won some Democratic support. But it failed 49-48 on a procedural vote Thursday after Democrats said that they needed to see more changes to the legislation before they could back it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans would work with Democrats if they allowed the bill to move forward, but…

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged above $102,000 on Thursday to touch its highest level since late January. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose alongside the overall market after President Trump unveiled a trade deal with the UK and hinted more agreements with trading partners are coming, signaling a deescalation of tariffs. Coinbase’s (COIN) announcement earlier in the day about the crypto exchange’s deal to acquire options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion also helped boost sentiment in the sector. Bitcoin rose as much as 5% to trade north of $102, 147 near 4:45 p.m. ET on Thursday after Trump spoke in the Oval Office…

PayPal Inc. co-founder and Affirm’s CEO Max Levchin on center stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada.Vaughn Ridley | Sportsfile | Getty ImagesAffirm, the provider of buy now, pay later loans, gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that trailed analysts’ estimates even as profit for the prior quarter was better than expected. The stock fell 10% in extended trading on Thursday.Here’s how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG:Earnings per share: 1 cent vs. an expected loss of 3 centsRevenue: $783 million vs. $783 million expectedAffirm reported gross merchandise volume, or…

Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2024.Brendan McDermid | ReutersPinterest shares rose 10% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported first-quarter earnings and provided better-than-expected guidance.Here’s how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG:Revenue: $855 million vs. $847 million expectedEarnings per share: $0.23 cents Adj. vs. $0.26 cents expectedThe social media company said second-quarter sales should come in the range of $960 million to $980 million, which at the midpoint is higher than analysts expectations of $966 million.Pinterest had 570 million monthly active users…

The tech layoff wave is still kicking in 2025. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. So far this year, more than 22,000 workers have been the victim of reductions across the tech industry, with a staggering 16,084 cuts taking place in February alone. We’re tracking layoffs in the tech industry in 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks and understand the impact on innovation across all types of companies. As businesses continue to embrace AI and automation, this tracker serves as a reminder of the human…

Fintech giant Stripe announced Wednesday a slew of new product launches at its annual Stripe Sessions user event. The highlights include a new AI foundation model for payments; stablecoin-powered accounts; a new Orchestration offering, and a recent migration with chip behemoth Nvidia. Stripe’s payments foundation model has been trained on tens of billions of transactions, Emily Glassberg Sands, Stripe’s head of information, said. So it “captures hundreds of subtle signals about each payment” that other models would miss, she said. One use case is improved fraud detection. Stripe’s previous models “gradually” reduced card-testing attacks by 80% over two years. Card-testing…

Strategy (MicroStrategy) pioneered the idea of corporations investing in Bitcoin, and now other companies are following its lead. Companies that do nothing but invest in Bitcoin have shown the potential to deliver higher returns than even Bitcoin itself. The fundamental premise of a Bitcoin-centric business model is that the price of Bitcoin will continue to go up in perpetuity. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › An interesting new trend has appeared in the financial world: the emergence of companies that do nothing but invest in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). These companies have a single, solitary mission: to buy and…