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Amazon leaned into the advertising funnel in a big way during its 2025 Upfront event at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Monday night. Perhaps the most notable product enhancement the company unveiled was the use of AI to generate contextual advertising on its Prime Video platformmeaning that ads can and will be created on the fly, using AI, depending on the specific scene of a TV show or movie that is on the screen at any given time. For instance, if a viewer is watching a scene involving a loving phone call between a mother and daughter, pausing the show could result in an ad for mobile phone service, with AI-generated text dynamically created, right then and there. The ability gives Amazon’s massive advertising artillery even more firepower. Amazon execs at the event noted that its Prime Video service now has a global audience of more than 300 million, up from 275 million a year ago, and that engagement also increased 40% over the past year. A star-studded pitch to advertisers Amazon’s Upfront event was loaded with stars showcasing new projects for Prime Video. That included appearances by Michael B. Jordan, discussing a new Creed spinoff TV show called Delphi; Arnold Schwarzenegger (who stole the show with a 15-minute rambling appearance loaded with jokes about his old age) talking about his upcoming Christmas movie; John Cena talking about his new movie due out this summer with Idris Elba; and Jamie Lee Curtis, who announced that shes producing and starring in a new series, Scarpetta, alongside Nicole Kidman. The series will be an adaptation of the popular book series authored by Patricia Cornwell. Curtis later joined Schwarzenegger on stage to reminisce about the 1990s action movie True Lies in which they both starred. Other announcements include the December return of Fallout, which will air its second season, and was also renewed for a third season. Nicolas Cage was also announced as playing Spider-Man in Spider-Noir, which will be available to watch in either color or black-and-white. Two new seasons of Beast Games are also on the way. Finally, sports were front and center. The NFL will continue with Thursday night games on Prime, and Prime will also host a Black Friday game between Chicago and Philadelphia, and a Christmas Day game between Denver and Kansas City. Additionally, the NBA inked an 11-year deal with Prime, which will see 65 regular-season games air on the service, along with some playoff games.
Category:
E-Commerce
One of the worlds most well-known stock market indexes, the S&P 500, will soon look a little different. Thats because its roster of 500 companies is getting a shakeup, which will see the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global join the index. In the process, Coinbase will replace legacy financial services company Discover Financial. Heres what you need to know about the changes coming to the S&P 500. What is the S&P 500? The S&P 500 is one of the worlds best-known stock market indexes. A stock market index is essentially a running list of publicly traded companies whose stock prices are tracked. These indices can help give investors an overview of how the economyor at least the marketsare behaving over a certain period, whether an hour, day, week, year, or decade. There are numerous stock market indexes across the world. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 are the most well-known in the United States. Other global indexes include Chinas Hang Seng, Japans Nikkei 225, the U.K.s FTSE, Germanys DAX, and France’s CAC 40. Indices should not be confused with stock market exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Stocks are bought and sold on these exchanges, whereas an index only tracks the price of certain stocks (though you can buy ETFs and mutual funds on exchanges that are broadly representative of certain indices themselves). As its name suggests, the S&P 500 tracks 500 publicly traded companies in the U.S. markets. This is much more than the Dow, which only tracks 30 companies. The S&P 500 launched in its current form on March 4, 1957. The full name of the S&P 500 is the Standard and Poor’s 500. Why is Coinbase joining the S&P 500? The catalyst for Coinbase joining the S&P 500 is that a legacy financial company that is currently tracked by the index will no longer be separately traded. That company is Discover Financial Services, which is being acquired by Capital One Financial Corporation. Discover’s removal will leave the S&P 500 with only 499 companies, so the S&P 500 needed to find a replacement, which it has done with Coinbase. Why did the S&P 500 choose Coinbase? A committee chooses which companies are included in the S&P 500 and, generally speaking, the committee tries to include companies from a broad range of sectors so it is composed of 500 companies that are a good proportional representation of the American economy. Whats interesting with Coinbases inclusion on the S&P 500 is that it is the first time a cryptocurrency company has been added to the index, notes The Crypto Basic. While this wont change the fundamentals of the company itself, it signifies that crypto companies are becoming a more important part of the U.S. economyor at least, that’s the perception. However, the S&P 500 committee cant just choose any company it wants for the index. It uses multiple criteria when determining which companies to add. As noted by CNBC, any company added to the S&P 500 must have reported a profit in its most recent quarter and have had cumulative profits over the past four quarters. But those arent the only requirements. As S&P Global states, companies must also meet other selection criteria, which include: The company must be a large cap onethat is, it must have a market capitalization of at least $10 billion. The company must have sufficient liquidity. The company must have a sufficient number of shares that are available to the public (known as public float). The company must help contribute to the sector balance. The S&P 500 committee felt that Coinbase met these criteria. How unusual is this? Its important to note that changes to the S&P 500 arent as rare as changes to the Dow, which only tracks 30 companies. The S&P typically makes dozens of changes to its roster every year. As mentioned, the reason Coinbase’s addition is so notable is that its the first crypto company ever added to the S&P. When do these changes take effect? In a press release, S&P Global confirmed that these changes will take place on Monday, May 19. On that day, Discover Financial Services will be delisted from the S&P 500 and Coinbase will be added. How have Coinbase on Discover Financial Services shares reacted to the news? Discover Financial Services stock (NYSE: DFS) pretty much shrugged off the news when it was announced after market close on Monday. Thats because DFS shareholders know the company is already being acquired for a fixed amount. Because Discover Financial Services is being acquired, its removal from the S&P 500 was expected. On the other hand, Coinbase stock (Nasdaq: COIN) has surged on the news that it was joining the S&P 500. Shares are currently up over 10% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing. Yesterday, before the S&P 500 announcement, COIN shares closed at just over $207. However, Coinbases addition to the S&P 500 does not change any of the companys financials. The reason the stock is surging anyway is that many mutual funds and ETFs that track the S&P 500 will likely now add COIN shares to their baskets, meaning they will buy the stock, thus causing it to rise. Still, despite the companys inclusion on the S&P 500, COIN shares have taken a beating this year. As of yesterdays close, they were down over 16% year-to-date. Over the past five years, COIN shares have fallen 45%.
Category:
E-Commerce
California’s governor called upon the state’s cities and counties to ban homeless encampments this week, even providing blueprint legislation for dismantling the tents lining streets, parks and waterways throughout much of the state.Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, made homelessness a priority of his administration when he took office in 2019. It had previously been an issue primarily for mayors and other local officials, but Newsom pumped money into converting old motels into housing and launched other initiatives to tackle the issue. Still, he has repeatedly called out cities and counties to do their part, and on Monday, he unveiled draft language that can be adopted by local governments to remove encampments. Here is what to know: What does the model ordinance say? Newsom’s model ordinance includes prohibitions on “persistent camping” in one location and encampments blocking sidewalks and other public spaces. It asks cities and counties to provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter before clearing an encampment. What do local governments say? Organizations representing California’s cities and counties balked at the suggestion that they are to blame for street conditions. They say they need dedicated, sustained funding over multiple years for permanent projects instead of sporadic, one-time funding.Carolyn Coleman, executive director and CEO of the League of California Cities, said that eight in 10 cities have policies to address encampments but they need money to address the root causes of homelessness, such as more housing.The California State Association of Counties said the state has not provided as much money to address homelessness as it says it has and that half of the money has gone to housing developers. What do homeless advocates say? Studies have shown that encampment bans and other punitive measures make it even harder for people to find stable housing and work, said Alex Visotzky with the National Alliance to End Homelessness.People may lose critical documents or lose contact with a trusted case manager, forcing them to start all over again.In Los Angeles, Jay Joshua watches over a small encampment in which he also lives. He says encampments can be a safe space for those living there. What are California cities doing about encampments? Major cities with Democratic mayors have already started cracking down on encampments, saying they present a public health and safety hazard.In San Francisco, new mayor Daniel Lurie vowed to clean up city sidewalks. In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan has proposed arrests if a person refuses shelter three times. Do cities and counties have to adopt it? Newsom can’t make cities and counties adopt an encampment ban.But the proposed encampment legislation was paired with an announcement of $3.3 billion in grant money for facilities to treat mental health and substance abuse disorders, suggesting that he could condition state funding on compliance.In 2022, he paused $1 billion in state money for local government, saying that their plans to reduce homelessness fell short of the acceptable. Janie Har, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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