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New York (CNN Business) Mac vs. PC. Android vs. iPhone. Twitch vs. Mixer? Tech rivalries are decades old, but the newest battle in the industry is over how people watch and broadcast video games. Twitch has substantially grown its video game streaming business since its launch in 2011, and Amazon ( AMZN ) purchased the service for $1 billion in 2014. But rival Microsoft ( MSFT ) is ramping up its video game streaming efforts and may give Twitch a run for its money soon. In late July, Twitch received some bad news: It lost Fortnite star Ninja to Microsoft's Mixer. After making millions of dollars from advertising and donations on Twitch, propelling himself and the platform into stardom, Ninja said he would stream exclusively on Mixer. He said he was returning to his "streaming roots," a vague statement many took to mean getting back to a smaller platform where he is the star. Some people speculated he had been paid handsomely to … [Read more...] about Twitch vs. Mixer: The new streaming war

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It’s been almost three months now since Russia invaded Ukraine , and much of the latest news coverage has been depressingly predictable. It feels like every day, foreign correspondents share word of yet another Russian atrocity . Or, of outnumbered Ukrainian defenders still hanging on. Of a new show of defiance from President Zelenskyy. More countries, like the US, sending aid packages and weapons. More fighting, more dying. Journalists tasked with reporting this story certainly want to keep readers and audiences back home invested and caring about what happens. But rather than wrap their arms around the bigness and the battles that are part of this bloody geopolitical conflict roiling part of Europe, a group of NPR veterans decided to focus on the small, and the personal. Instead of covering the war the same way as most everyone else, the journalists launched a podcast in partnership with Spotify to … [Read more...] about Ukraine Stories Podcast: NPR Veterans Deliver A Tour De Force Of Narrative Journalism

Two of the most interesting post-pandemic issues for the entrepreneurs running venture-backed businesses -- which have basically been on an involuntary hold for the last year or two -- are pace and story, and the conflicting attitudes toward each in the board room. Both are already topics of painful and somewhat heated discussions in meetings everywhere, pitting the impatient VCs against management teams. The VCs are all about IRR. Every investment they make is "on the clock" and their investors are always watching, waiting and wondering about how quickly and how much a given fund will return. They're all in for pushing the pace of everything forward as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the far more conservative and cautious management teams are still somewhat traumatized and only now starting to recover from the shock of seeing their businesses abruptly shut down. These managers are also realizing that their years of pain, sacrifice and stress were almost lost forever. In a … [Read more...] about The New War Between VCs and Entrepreneurs

LedgerX co-founder Paul Chou is building on the sale of the company he created by raising capital for a new kind of cryptocurrency that can be spent on Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond. I t’s just before midnight on a rainy autumn Friday. Paul Chou and his entourage dodge puddles on the runway of the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey as they board a Gulfstream private jet bound for Las Vegas. The flight attendant cracks open a bottle of champagne and with a nod welcomes the passengers aboard. The girls disappear into the back and emerge minutes later wearing sequined cocktail dresses and feather boas. Sensing she’s in for a party, the attendant offers a round of tequila shots just as the inertia from the plane taking off to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino forces her laughing into her seat. Ostensibly, Chou, 38, is celebrating not only his birthday but the sale for an undisclosed amount of LedgerX, the ground-breaking bitcoin derivatives firm he co-founded with his wife in … [Read more...] about Bitcoin Trailblazer Raises Capital To Create Interplanetary Cryptocurrency

I used to be mainly concerned about the unfortunate but deeply ingrained attitudes of the upcoming and incoming workforce, and how these overly entitled kids would fit into the newly serious and heads-down culture of those startups and growth stage businesses that had dodged the bullets and stayed alive for the last three years. These kids had been indoctrinated from birth by helicopter parents, with first-place trophies for all, and convinced by college faculty that their generation would be a gift (and a bargain at any price) to the working world. But I'm afraid that over the last few years, the "real" world has taught them some even more pernicious and dangerous lessons. I was worried about the "work" part of their work ethic, and I should have been paying more attention to the ethics part. Work isn't going to be a picnic for anyone who thinks the next two years are going to be fun, easy, or anything but a difficult slog with plenty of bumps along the way. If they believe … [Read more...] about What Do We Tell Our Newest Workers?

A man walks as a restaurant gets ready at the croisette at the Croisette in Cannes, southeastern France, on May 16, 2022, ahead of the 75th Cannes Film Festival. The festival will take place from May 17 to 28. Image: AFP/Patricia de Melo Moreira The red carpet is ready for the opening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, with Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as the first guest of honor and a French zombie comedy to kick off proceedings. The masks are off, health passes are no longer needed and the world’s leading cinema get-together is ready to party after two years in which the pandemic put a dampener on proceedings. Whitaker, the 60-year-old star of “The Last King of Scotland” and cult films such as “Ghost Dog” and recent TV hit “Godfather of Harlem,” will pick up an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony on the Cote d’Azur. Image: Twitter/@forestwhitaker He won an acting award at the festival back in 1988 for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint … [Read more...] about Cannes film fest launches with veterans and zombies

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here . You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link. London (CNN Business) West Texas Intermediate crude, the reference point for US oil prices, usually trades at a discount of a few dollars to Brent crude, the global benchmark. But this morning, the near-term futures contracts for WTI and Brent are both roughly $115 per barrel — an indication of how the market has been scrambled by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine ahead of the busy summer driving season. "This is a significant development in my opinion," Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda, told clients on Tuesday. Quick rewind: Oil prices have jumped over the past week. Both WTI and Brent are trading near two-month highs. The national average for regular gas in the United States hit a fresh record of $4.52 a gallon on … [Read more...] about American oil is usually a cheaper option. Not anymore

Image: Instagram/@rabiyamateo Rabiya Mateo looked back at her experiences with Miss Universe, one year since she represented the Philippines in the global pageant. The actress and Miss Universe Philippines 2020 titleholder recalled her pageant journey while showing moments of herself at the Miss Universe competition, via her Instagram page today, May 17. Image: Instagram/@rabiyamateo Mateo can be seen in her Philippine flag-inspired national costume, in her yellow two-piece bikini for the swimsuit competition, as well as a series of candid selfies and glam shots throughout the pageant. “Rabiya Mateo, Philippines!” Mateo said. “Random photos and videos from my [Miss Universe] journey that happened exactly one year ago. Forever grateful to all the people who rallied behind me. Love lots!” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rabiya Mateo (@rabiyamateo) Mateo received greetings from her boyfriend, … [Read more...] about Rabiya Mateo reminisces on her Miss Universe moments one year after pageant

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp watch as the jury leaves the courtroom at the end of the day at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., Monday, May 16, 2022. Image: Reuters/Steve Helber LOS ANGELES — “Aquaman” actor Amber Heard will face more questioning on Tuesday from attorneys for her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, the Hollywood star she has accused of physical and emotional abuse before and during their brief marriage. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, 58, is suing Heard for $50 million, saying she defamed him when she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse. Heard, 36, has countersued for $100 million, arguing that Depp smeared her by calling her a liar. On Monday, she told jurors it was “torture” to see her claims being questioned and to have to defend herself to the public. “I want to move on,” she said through tears. “I want Johnny to move on too. I want him to leave me alone.” Depp’s attorneys began their attempt to discredit her claims by introducing … [Read more...] about Johnny Depp’s lawyers to resume questioning of ex-wife in defamation fight

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Global car sales were supposed to rally this year as manufacturers dragged themselves out of the coronavirus mire, but a combination of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s renewed medical emergency shutdown and key component shortages mean a more than 5% contraction is likely, according to a report from Germany’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR AR ). The report said it’s not all bad news for manufacturers. Underlying demand is still strong, and component shortages mean a lack of new vehicles are reaching buyers and prices are strong, generating what amounts to windfall profits. Second-hand vehicles are also in demand. You can forget radar cruise control or plug-in hybrids; availability is the most important feature. CAR said global sales in 2022 will fall to 67.6 million from last year’s 71.3 million. Sales were thought to have bottomed out in 2020 at 68.6 million after diving from 79.9 million in 2019 because … [Read more...] about Global Car Sales To Fall, Spooked By Russian Invasion, China’s Shutdown