Dumping of top stock picker sounds alarm bells

- A + A They are anxious about building careers without big deals to cut their teeth on. NEW YORK (Aug 17): On a boat under the Statue of Liberty at happy hour one August Thursday, young Morgan Stanley colleagues sipped champagne and smiled. Two Citigroup Inc banking analysts left the company's headquarters by 5.40pm to drink across the street. A young investment-banking analyst who came close to burning out last year now has enough free time to take in Broadway shows. All that was practically unthinkable a year or two ago. Back then, underwriting and advisory work was piling up and junior bankers were groaning under the strain, setting off a rebellion by Wall Street workers who could not find time to eat or shower. Underlings at Goldman Sachs Group Inc put together a presentation begging bosses to cut weekly hours to 80, and the bank was among many that ended up promising more flexibility and time off. As summer nears its end, finance-industry rookies are … [Read more...] about Young bankers worry about nights off early and dark days ahead

This story is part of CNN Business' Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here. New York (CNN Business) It was the best of times (for Walmart), it was the worst of times (for Target). And an OK-ish time for everyone else. During earnings season, we tend to see sectors move together. Walmart, a bellwether for retailers, had a great quarter. But then Target surprised everyone with a 90% quarterly earnings collapse. What happened? In short: Inflation is underscoring a key difference between the two big box retailers. People shop at Target for things they want; they shop at Walmart for things they need. And right now, just about everyone is cutting back on indulgences and sniffing out bargains on essentials. Here's the deal: On Tuesday, Walmart's stock surged more than 5% after it reported better-than-expected sales. CEO Doug McMillon chalked that up to lower fuel prices (giving customers more money to spend in store) a strong … [Read more...] about Americans are proving they know how to shop their way out of a crisis

Paul Moller stands in the back corner of a large garage in Davis, California, clean-shaven and wearing a large pair of golden aviator glasses. The 52-year-old engineer is a professor down the road at the University of California, Davis, but he’s not the type to sit back with a book and highlighter. In his white polo shirt and glossy brown bomber jacket, he looks ready to tinker with the shiny invention behind him at knee-level at a moment’s notice. advertisement advertisement The dark blue saucer behind Moller features eight propellers encircling a small, one-person cockpit. Behold Moller’s new M200X—a vehicle reminiscent of the Jetson family’s green flying car that Moller says is almost ready for manned test flights. Cut to: Moller stands outside with the M200X in an open grassy field. The vehicle, tethered to a rope, powers up, whirring loudly. The saucer lifts slowly into the air, rocking back and forth unsteadily, before Moller and his team signal … [Read more...] about Paul Moller’s 50-year dream to build a flying car won’t die

“Nobody wants to wait for 12 or 24 hours to get a cup of coffee,” says Anna Rosa Ziefuss, the German scientist who has achieved the impossible: making cold-brewed coffee in a record three minutes instead of half a day . advertisement advertisement Her secret ingredients? A laser. And endless episodes of The Big Bang Theory . Ziefuss is a scientist in the technical chemistry department at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. There, her colleagues use ultra-short pulsed lasers to synthesize and process colloids—microscopically insoluble particles suspended in a liquid. Colloids are generally used as thickening agents in anything from lubricants to beauty lotions. Usually, Ziefuss and her colleagues work with inorganic materials, such as gold or platinum. “Laser-based processing of organic materials like coffee is a rather new field of interest, at least in our group,” she says. But, when her doctorate supervisor, Stephan Barcikowski, … [Read more...] about Cold brew coffee—pew, pew, pew—brewed with lasers!