The Daily Upside

Energy

OPEC+ Wants to Prop Up Falling Oil Prices

Photo by Zukiman Mohamad via Pexels

Days after Brent crude oil prices fell under $74 per barrel, the member nations of OPEC+ agreed to delay a production increase for two months.

2 min read

Today’s Upside

Recent News

FA Upside

FINRA Cases Hit Record Lows. Warren Wants Answers

Photo by Gage Skidmore via CC BY-SA 2.0

FINRA enforcement cases plummeted last year, sliding to the lowest level in the agency’s history, which caught the eye of Elizabeth Warren.

2 min read
Healthcare

Pfizer on Opposite Sides of Two Promising Vaccine Trials

Photo by Anastasia Nelen via Unsplash

Data from two promising vaccine trials heralded potential breakthroughs in the treatment of pneumococcal infection and Lyme disease.

1 min read
FA Upside

Where Does Gen Z Turn for Financial Advice? It’s Not TikTok

Photo by Kenny Eliason via Unsplash

Parents and family members are Gen Z’s No. 1 source for financial advice, even topping social media influencers.

1 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Canva Shows AI Doesn’t Come Cheap

Photo by Jonathan Borba via Pexels

Canva users found that their subscriptions were going up as much as 300%. Subscriptions are going up from $120 a year to $500.

1 min read
Economics

Manufacturing, Construction Slowdown Trigger Broad Sell-Off

Photo by Scott Blake via Unsplash

Both manufacturing and construction spending came in softer than expected. The downbeats stoked fears of a downturn.

2 min read
Patent Drop

Tech Firms Inch Closer to Users with AI Wearables

Photo by Gian Prosdocimo via Unsplash

Your data may be more valuable than the money made from selling devices themselves, experts told Patent Drop.

5 min read
Consumer

Back-to-School Spending Is Flat or Falling, Depending on Whom You Ask

Image Credit: iStock, Nadezhda1906

Early data this year suggests back-to-school season spending is either flat from last year, or took a slight dip.

1 min read
Finance

Warfare is ESG Now

Image Credit: iStock, A.Greeg

Defense stocks are taking up a growing slice of the ESG (environmental, social, governance) pie. Reports attribute that to the war in Ukraine.

1 min read
Media & Entertainment

Summer Box Office Shows Hollywood Settling into a New Normal

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels

After a dismal start to the summer, the movie business roared back to life with a steady stream of big-screen hits.

2 min read
Personal Finance

Home Economics: Homeownership is still the American Dream. But Should it Be?

Photo by Thirdman via Pexels

Buying a home is expensive. And so is owning one. In the era of high mortgage rates and soaring expenses, is homeownership still worth it?

4 min read
FA Upside

Schwab Eyes Financial Advice as Cash Sweeps Dry Up

Photo by Djkeddie via CC BY-SA 4.0

The online brokerage has long relied on bank revenues, like cash-sweep programs, but executives are now leaning into wealth management.

2 min read
Practice Management

Advisors Gear Up for Treasury’s New Anti-Money Laundering Rule

Photo by Meanie Hyaena via CC BY 4.0

Most financial advisors will have to start formally reporting suspicious money laundering activity by 2026.

2 min read
FA Upside

Advisors Donated More to Trump, Republicans — With a Major Caveat

Photo by Gage Skidmore via CC BY-SA 2.0

Advisors have donated roughly $1.5 million to Trump and Republican groups compared to less than $400,000 to Harris and Democratic groups.

2 min read
Autos

Uber Spreads Its Self-Driving Bets

Photo by Ilya Plekhanov via CC BY-SA 4.0

Uber announced it’s investing in Wayve, a UK-based startup that’s building self-driving software for cars.

1 min read
International Economics

With Dollar Reserves Running Out and Ratings Downgrades, Maldives Stares at a Crisis

Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky via CC0 1.0

Fitch Ratings downgraded the debt of the Maldives for the second time in just over two months, suggesting it’s likely to default on bonds.

1 min read
Artificial Intelligence

The US Government is Ready to Regulate AI

Photo by Jernej Furman via CC BY 2.0

The US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute announced OpenAI and Anthropic agreed to allow it to test and evaluate new models for safety.

2 min read
Patent Drop

Nvidia Patent Reels In Data Centers’ Energy Usage as AI Chips Skyrocket

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The tech could signal that the company is reading the tea leaves on data center architecture.

2 min read
Consumer

Lego Thrives Amid Higher Business Cost and a Slowing Toy Market

Image Credit: Lego.com

Danish company Lego reported generating $4.65 billion in revenue for the first half of 2024, up 13% from a year earlier.

1 min read
Patent Drop

Google Image Patent Highlights Potential of Consumer AI Tools

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

As the company builds AI image editing tools, it may be seeking to normalize the tech for the average consumer.

2 min read
Technology

Nvidia Beats Revenue and Profit Expectations, But Was It Enough?

Photo via NVIDIA Media Assets.

Yesterday was Nvidia Day: The AI giant handily beat revenue and profit forecasts, and issued third-quarter guidance that beat expectations.

2 min read