AI is moving into the residential space, specifically architecture.ICON, which developed one of the first fully 3D-printed residential projects in the United States, is taking automation one step further. It recently unveiled what it calls Vitruvius, an artificial intelligence program that helps consumers design custom homes online and obtain plans, making the process cheaper and faster.“The grand vision for Vitruvius is to move from human desire to deliverables, such as construction documents, budgets, schedules, and even automated instructions,” said Jason Ballard, CEO of ICON.Vitruvius could remember every design and possibility he had ever seen, according to Ballard. He's trained in…
Author: ricardofrancois
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.European investment banks have cut their bonuses for the second year in a row after a long decline in dealmaking and listings that is finally showing signs of ending.Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas offered lower annual bonuses, highlighting the damage to the industry after rising interest rates prevented companies from pursuing acquisitions and cooled the market for initial public offerings.Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, last week announced a 5.5 percent reduction in its bonus pool for last year. The euro zone's largest…
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO, Grayscale Investments on the New York Stock Exchange, April 18, 2022.Source: New York Stock ExchangeLONDON – The head of digital asset manager Grayscale, which manages the $26 billion GBTC exchange-traded fund, said fees on its main product will decrease over time, after its outflows reached $12 billion.The cryptocurrency fund manager expects to reduce fees on its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF in the coming months, as the emerging cryptocurrency ETF market matures, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said.“I will happily confirm that over time, as this market matures, the fees on GBTC will come down,” Sonnenshein told CNBC in…
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, US, February 7, 2024.Brendan McDiarmid | ReutersThe forces that consumed three regional banks in March 2023 have hit hundreds of smaller banks, with merger activity – a potential major lifeline – slowing to a trickle.As the memory of last year's regional banking crisis begins to fade, it's easy to think the industry is in the clear. But the high interest rates that caused the Silicon Valley bank and its peers to collapse in 2023 are still having an impact.After raising interest rates 11 times during…
Two weeks after narrowing the field of candidates to represent them in Congress starting next year, voters in the San Joaquin Valley started voting again. On Tuesday, Central Valley voters will cast ballots in a separate special election to complete the remainder of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy's term in the House. The Bakersfield Republican left Congress at the end of 2023, with one year remaining in his term, after his party ousted him as Speaker of the House. The fight to succeed McCarthy pitted Republicans against Republicans in the 20th Congressional District, which includes Fresno, Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties.…
Bentley Continental GTC Speed V Kingfisher.Adam Jeffrey | CNBCBentley Motors is delaying its plans to offer fully electric cars exclusively by the end of this decade due to changing market conditions and delays in production of its first electric car.CEO Adrian Hallmark said the iconic British luxury carmaker remains committed to carbon neutrality and offering electric cars exclusively, but now plans to do so after two years. Hallmark said Bentley will continue to offer plug-in hybrids alongside plug-in electric cars, or battery-powered electric vehicles, following its previous target of 2030.“Whether we deliver all electric cars by 2031 or not, we…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Invesco is preparing to roll out generative artificial intelligence technology to cut rising compliance costs, but it won't use it to pick stocks anytime soon, its CEO says.In his first interview as CEO of the $1.6 trillion Atlanta-based asset manager, Andrew Schlossberg said Invesco would also look at deals to bolster its own credit offerings.Schlossberg, who replaced veteran CEO Marty Flanagan last year, said the group had been investigating for more than a year how teams could use generative AI to work…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Diageo has appointed Sir John Manzoni, the former head of the UK civil service, as head of the drinks giant as it tries to draw a line under a painful year that led to a decline in its share price. Manzoni, who joined Diageo's board as a non-executive director in 2020, is chairman of energy company SSE and was previously a non-executive director of beverage group SABMiller.The London-listed company said on Tuesday that Manzoni will succeed Javier Ferran when he retires in…
Moove, an African mobility fintech company that provides vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, has raised $100 million in a funding round as it plans to expand into new markets. Moove did not say who is leading the round, but sources close to the deal confirmed to TechCrunch that Uber led the Series B round, making it the company's first investment in the African continent. The round also includes sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and several other investors, bringing Moove's post-cash valuation to $750 million. This represents an increase from the $550 million secured last August in an equity…
Editorial montage of the Japanese flag and Japanese yen banknotesJavier Gersi | moment | Getty ImagesThe Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Tuesday for the first time since 2007, ending the world's only negative interest rate regime amid early signs of strong wage increases this year.Despite this, the Bank of Japan warned that it was not about to embark on aggressive rate hikes, saying it “expects easy financial conditions to be maintained for the time being,” given fragile growth in the world's fourth-largest economy.The Bank of Japan raised short-term interest rates to around 0% to 0.1% from -0.1%, according…