Amazon.com Inc. introduced an updated slate of Echo devices and pledged to bring ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence to Alexa-powered gadgets. For more than a year the digital assistant has been using a home-built set of large language models - the foundational networks that enable ChatGPT and rival technologies - to help summarize text gathered from the web and make Alexa more conversant in various languages, Dave Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of Devices & Services, said in an interview.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/future_tech/2023-05-18-story-h-270527849-Amazon_unveils_new_gadgets_as_AI_race_heats_up

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Yoon-Pope FrancisYoon sends letter to Pope Francis on anniv. of S. Korea-Vatican relations SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol sent a letter to Pope Francis on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Vatican City, expressing his hope to deepen the friendly and cooperative partnership, his office said Sunday. Yoon sent the letter via Kang Seung-kyoo, senior presidential secretary for civil society, who has been visiting the city-state as a special presidential envoy.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0014198465?sid=104

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by John McClaughry Once again, Vermont's future is the topic of an initiative by a high-powered collection of partners, this time under the auspices of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. A good case can be made that today is an apt time for another Futures report, hopefully free from interest group agendas. That's because demographic trends, the COVID pandemic, a crippling flood, billions of federal dollars, a soaring homelessness problem, and the belief in a global climate emergency have put a lot of forces into motion to seek the driver's seat for the state's future.

https://vermontbiz.com/news/2023/october/04/mcclaughry-another-vermont-futures-project

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The Sapporo Snow Festival draws 2.39 million visitors, with an organizer saying attendance has recovered to pre-pandemic levels after the removal of coronavirus...

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/02/85812a88c7dc-sapporo-snow-festival-crowds-recover-to-pre-pandemic-level-in-2024.html

#english

For the first time since Liza Soberano was beset by abortion rumors, the actress addressed the issue saying she never got an abortion simply because she never got pregnant. In a vlog interview by actress Bea Alonzo, which was uploaded on her YouTube channel, Soberano claimed that speculations about her supposed abortion came about when she flew to the United States to undergo finger surgery due to an injury she sustained during the shooting of her teleserye 'Bagani' in August 2018. Soberano is currently in a relationship with her perennial love team, Kapamilya actor Enrique Gil.

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/489177/liza-soberano-addresses-abortion-rumors-says-lizquen-was-first-offered-hello-love-goodbye

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OCTAResearch / FILE MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 positivity rate nationwide has dipped below 5 percent, according to Octa Research fellow Guido David. In a Twitter post on Saturday evening, David said the rate was at 4.9 percent as of July 22, slightly lower than 5 percent recorded the day before and last July 20. Citing the Department of Health's (DOH) latest data, David reported that the country logged 290 new coronavirus infections, including 45 cases from the National Capital Region.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1805743/ph-covid-19-positivity-rate-now-below-5-octa

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A proposal for seven additional round-trip flights at DCA defeated by US CongressA Southwest Airlines flight takes off from a runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 21 July 2023. A proposal to add seven round-trip flights at the airport, down from a previous proposal of twenty-eight flights, was defeated by the US House of Representatives over concerns of exacerbating delays and failing to reduce costs for customers. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/091/0009480976?sid=104

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First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx Co. ( NYSE:FDX – Get Rating ) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,238 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after buying an additional 292 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in FedEx were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/05/27/first-horizon-advisors-inc-increases-stake-in-fedex-co-nysefdx.html

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This year's sixth typhoon Khanun will likely change course and make landfall on the Korean Peninsula after all, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Sunday. Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, is expected to make landfall in Busan on Thursday and maintain its strength all the way to Daegu. It is expected to roar through Gyeongsang provincial areas that come within its radius with a wind speed of more than 25 m/s. According to the KMA, Khanun has a central pressure of 970 hPa and is moving east from waters northeast of Okinawa before it turns toward Korea on Monday and starts to affect the southern part of the country on Wednesday.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/023/0003780189?sid=104

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What's new: Insurance companies in Beijing received more than 6,700 claims for 166 million yuan ($23 million) of damage and losses from the torrential rains that hit northern China. The insurance claims include 133 million yuan for damage to cars and 24 million yuan for damage to business properties. Most of the claims came from the Mentougou and Fangshan districts in the hard-hit hilly areas of southwest Beijing, according to the Beijing Bureau of the National Administration of Financial Regulation.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-08-02/flooding-in-northern-china-triggers-23-million-of-insurance-claims-102088807.html

#caixinglobal

Microchip Technology ( NASDAQ:MCHP – Free Report ) had its price target increased by Mizuho from $79.00 to $89.00 in a research note released on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports. A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Microchip Technology in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/07/21/microchip-technology-nasdaqmchp-price-target-increased-to-89-00-by-analysts-at-mizuho.html

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PBNJ Productions/Getty Images (TEXAS) -- At least four people of interest have been identified in a shooting at an after-prom party in Texas over the weekend that injured nearly a dozen teenagers, authorities said Tuesday. Eleven teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 were injured in the shooting, which occurred very early Sunday, just after midnight, at a residence on County Road 263, just north of Jasper in the Deep East Texas region, officials said. The sheriff's office initially said nine teenagers were injured, though have since learned of two additional victims in the shooting who went to the hospital the following day, according to Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman.

https://wadk.com/national-news/a9b655f52df41d2cd9d3aaae0e34df56

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Jamie Dimon said it's time for regulators to help put an end to turmoil in the banking industry, but he's already predicting policymakers will take away the wrong lessons from this year's upheaval. 'I think it's going to get worse for banks - more regulations, more rules and more requirements,'' JPMorgan Chase & Co's chief executive officer said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Paris Thursday. 'If you overdo certain rules, requirements, regulations - there are some of these community banks that tell me they have more compliance people than loan officers.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/kianweiaritcles/2023-05-12-story-h-270707560-Jamie_Dimon_says_US_needs_to_finish_the_bank_crisis

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A view of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) According to Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan, the airport development blueprint is the final one among the 5 major plannings the ministry has mapped out for the transport system of the country. The number of airports in Vietnam will increase from 22 currently in operation to 30 in a near future to serve the country's socio-economic development, he said. He asked the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to work closely with the Ministry of Defence, relevant agencies and localities to implement the planning and propose adjustments in due course.

https://baolongan.vn/master-planning-on-national-airport-development-announced-a159115.html

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Hyundai Motor-wage deal Hyundai Motor union vote to accept 2023 wage deal SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its unionized workers have voted to accept this year's wage deal, averting a strike for the fifth consecutive year. The deal includes an increase of 111,000 won (US$84) in basic pay, three months of performance-based pay, a cash bonus of 10.5 million won, one month's worth of salary in incentives, 15 Hyundai stocks and 250,000 won in gift certificates per person. The union accepted the deal to help the company ride out increasing uncertainties, such as the extended Russia-Ukraine war, high oil prices and high consumer prices, amid a global economic slowdown, Hyundai said in a statement.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0014200986?sid=104

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CS Tan 4.9 / 5.0 This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/kianweiaritcles/2023-10-01-story-h-218866382-Lego_scraps_plans_to_make_bricks_from_recycled_plastic

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(Samsung Securities)US-based investment management firm BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities, a filing showed Thursday.BlackRock's 12 affiliated entities hold a total of 5.46 percent stake (4.87 million shares) in Samsung Securities as of Feb. 28, according to a disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service.A minority shareholder with at least 5 percent of shares in a company is subject to filing obligations as a block holder of the company, under the current law.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/044/0000244268?sid=104

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Horizons Active High Yield Bond ETF ( TSE:HYI – Get Free Report ) shares fell 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as C$7.51 and last traded at C$7.51. 12,006 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 10,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$7.64. Horizons Active High Yield Bond ETF Stock Up 0.8 % The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$7.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$7.59. About Horizons Active High Yield Bond ETF ( Get Free Report ) Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc provides a non-leveraged high-yield corporate fixed-income portfolio with a limited term structure that will liquidate on or about September 30, 2025.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/07/29/horizons-active-high-yield-bond-etf-tsehyi-trading-down-1-7.html

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Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Brunswick Co. ( NYSE:BC – Free Report ) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,253 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,607 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned 0.30% of Brunswick worth $17,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company.

https://www.dailypolitical.com/2023/08/18/moran-wealth-management-llc-increases-stock-position-in-brunswick-co-nysebc.html

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MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda on Wednesday said she is supporting the recommendation to permanently ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in the country. According to Legarda, she has signed the report of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the upper chamber's ways and means panel, seeking to shut down Pogos. '[Pogos have] spawned so many criminal syndicates and this is illegal in China, so why are we hosting an illegal operation?' Legarda said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1749870/legarda-backs-pogo-shut-down-bid

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