Author: Steven Sahiounie

Mark Cuban may be entertained by chatbots like Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and Google’s upcoming Bard — but he isn’t ready to trust them. Online misinformation “is only going to get worse” as artificial intelligence platforms evolve and spread, the billionaire tech entrepreneur and investor said on a recent episode of comedian Jon Stewart’s podcast, “The Problem with Jon Stewart.” Right now, misinformation tends to spread through social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter — and that’s with some semblance of human guardrails in place, Cuban said. But with ChatGPT and other similar platforms, the machines are in control. “Once these things start taking on a life of their…

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. U.S. markets rose, expecting inflation to moderate further. They might be surprised by tomorrow’s consumer price index. What you need to know today The bottom line Months of steadily declining prices have given investors the sense that inflation is on a linear, downward trend. But inflation is more complex than it initially seemed and could surprise markets still. Economists are expecting January’s consumer price index to rise 0.4%…

What you need to know The bottom line Months of steadily declining prices have given investors the sense that inflation is on a linear, downward trend. But inflation is more complex than it initially seemed. Economists are expecting January’s consumer price index to rise 0.4% on a monthly basis — that’s a jump from December’s -0.1% figure, which means that prices actually fell. So far, market chatter is that service inflation — the price of travel, dining out and hospitality, for example — has proven more persistent than goods inflation, largely because of an extremely tight labor market. But logistic…

DETROIT – Ford Motor said Monday it will collaborate with a Chinese supplier on a new $3.5 billion battery plant for electric vehicles in Michigan, despite tensions between the U.S. and China. The anticipated announcement of the deal between Ford and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., or CATL, follows Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin saying he was withdrawing the state from a competitive process to attract the planned Ford plant over its connection to the Chinese company. Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of EV industrialization, said the automaker will own the new facility through a wholly owned subsidiary instead of operating it as a joint venture with CATL,…

Japan’s economy averted recession but rebounded much less than expected in October-December as business investment slumped, a sign of the challenge the central bank faces in phasing out its massive stimulus program. While private consumption is holding up against headwinds from rising living costs, uncertainties over the global economic outlook will weigh on Japan’s delayed recovery from the scars of the Covid-19 pandemic, analysts say. The world’s third-largest economy expanded an annualized 0.6% in the final quarter of last year after slumping a revised 1.0% in July-September, government data showed on Tuesday. The increase in gross domestic product (GDP) was…

North Korea-backed hackers stole $1.7bn (£1.4bn) of crypto in 2022, says blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. This nearly quadruples the country’s previous record for cryptocurrency theft – $429m in 2021. The loot also made up 44% of the $3.8bn stolen in crypto hacks last year, which the firm called “the biggest year ever for crypto hacking”. Experts have said the country, facing heavy sanctions, is turning to crypto theft to fund its nuclear arsenal. North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and analysts expect the seventh one this year, as the country accelerates its nuclear weapons programme under leader Kim Jong-un.…

Other platforms that offer yield-earning programs should “take note” and come into compliance, the regulator said a day after crypto exchange Kraken said it will pay a $30 million fine to settle SEC charges. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is warning other platforms to “take note” of crypto exchange Kraken’s move to halt its staking service in the country and cough up a $30 million fine. “Companies like Kraken can offer investment contracts and investment schemes, but they have to have full, fair and truthful disclosure. And this puts the investors who watch your program in a…

A recent study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that Bitcoin hardly correlates to macroeconomic factors in comparison to other asset classes like precious metals, and the S&P 500. Nonetheless, the report highlighted that Bitcoin cannot be used as a form of payment at scale due to its high volatility. As such, Bitcoin and other crypto assets compare to Gold and other precious metals rather than the United States dollar. Thereby reiterating what Fed Chair Jerome Powell said back in 2021 that crypto assets are too volatile to be used as a form of payment. The report concluded. Closer Look at the Fed Report…

The Terra Luna Classic price has dropped by 3.5% in the past 24 hours as part of a marketwide fall caused by speculation regarding the SEC acting against Paxos and the BUSD stablecoin. At $0.00016228, LUNC is also down by 10% in a week and by 8.5% in the last 30 days, with the altcoin seeing its market cap fall below $1 billion over the weekend. This decline also comes as LUNC’s 24-hour trading volume drops to around $60 million, substantially below the $500 million level it saw at the start of the month when its price rose to $0.0002057. This decrease…

Ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency that powers the smart-contract-enabled Ethereum blockchain, fell under $1,500 and hit its lowest level in nearly a month in the $1460s on Monday. At current levels in the $1,480s, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was last trading about 2.0% lower on the day, with losses from earlier monthly highs in the $1,700s now over 13%. That still leaves the cryptocurrency up around 25% on the year, though gains such as these can quickly be given back in crypto markets. The cryptocurrency market continues to suffer from fears about aggressive US regulatory action. Reports surfaced over the…