Unusual Whales

Blackstone, $BX, has again blocked withdrawals from its $70 billion real estate income trust in March

Blackstone, $BX, has again blocked withdrawals from its $70 billion real estate income trust in March. BREIT fulfilled March withdrawal requests of $666 million, representing only 15% of the $4.5 billion in total redemption requests for the month, per Reuters. Total redemption requests for March were 15% higher than

college

Parents are paying up to $750,000 on consultants to assist their kids in getting accepted for Ivy League colleges

Per BI Parents are trying to get their kids into Ivy League colleges by reportedly paying up to $750,000 to consultants for assistance. It was reported that this signifies a rise in demand for consultants. Per Bloomberg, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on consultants to get

goldman sachs

Goldman Sachs pours $200 million into 3 Greek hotels with plans to buy more

Per BI Goldman Sachs has decided to venture into Greek hotels, already spending $200 million on three with plans to buy more. Per WSJ, unnamed sources told them that the firm made the purchase in October and is planning to start its renovations. Another possible acquisition by Goldman Sachs is

Elon Musk

Elon Musk offers $1 million bounty to find "botnets" sources after Twitter algorithm made open-source

Per BI Elon Musk recently released Twitter's now-open-source algorithm, and with it, the public could dig deep into the algorithm and understand how it functioned. Upon analysis, it was found that the algorithm could affect a user's reputation score by creating "negative feedback loops."

fbi

FBI struggles to analyze SBF's laptop due to data overload

Per BI While still being investigated, prosecutors are saying that they are struggling to analyze Sam Bankman-Fried's laptop due to the amount of data it contains. Nicholas Roos, the Assistant US Attorney, shared how it would take weeks to extract Slack messages alone from the laptop. Roos proposed

META

Meta is halting remote job postings and clarifies that it's 'purely temporary'

Per Fox Business Meta clarifies that its decision to place remote job postings to a halt is "purely temporary. A company spokesperson spoke to FOX Business to clarify the company's decisions. "We remain committed to remote work. We've merely temporarily paused new remote work

Japan has bought Russian oil above $60-a-barrel cap, breaking with US allies

Japan has bought Russian oil above $60-a-barrel cap, breaking with US allies, per WSJ. Japan got the U.S. to agree to the exception, saying it needed it to ensure access to Russian energy. Japan is the only Group of Seven nation not to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, and

McDonald’s shuts corporate offices ahead of layoffs

McDonald’s, $MCD, is planning corporate layoffs this week. All in person meetings have been cancelled, and US offices are closed from Monday-Wednesday McDonald’s announced in January it would be cutting corporate jobs and eliminating certain initiatives, even as it accelerates new store openings. The job cuts would be

Google, $GOOGL, founder, former Disney, $DIS, exec to get subpoenas in the JPMorgan, $JPM, vs Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit

Google, $GOOGL, founder, former Disney, $DIS, exec to get subpoenas in the JPMorgan, $JPM, vs Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit. Previously, JPMorgan’s, $JPM, Jamie Dimon to be deposed in Epstein lawsuits. Dimon agreed to be interviewed under oath, at an undetermined date in the future, for two civil lawsuits tied to

El Salvador has eliminated all taxes, income, property, capital gains and import tariffs, on technology innovations

El Salvador has eliminated all taxes (income, property, capital gains and import tariffs) on technology innovations, such as software programming, coding, apps and AI development. The tax cut would also encompass computing and communications hardware manufacturing, Bukele added. The Salvadoran leader is eager to make the Central American country a

LeBron James says he won't pay for Elon Musk's Twitter Blue

LeBron James says he won't pay for Elon Musk's Twitter Blue. “Welp guess my blue ✔ will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5,” James tweeted. Twitter Blue will actually cost $8 per month, not $5. The 4-time NBA champion

First Citizens Bank, the buyer of Silicon Valley Bank's assets, is run by a billionaire North Carolina family that's bought over 20 failed banks since 2008

First Citizens Bank, the buyer of Silicon Valley Bank's assets, is run by a billionaire North Carolina family that's bought over 20 failed banks since 2008, per BI. First Citizens BancShare agreed to purchase Silicon Valley Bank after the lender was taken over by regulators due

The US will announce another $2.6 billion in new military aid to Ukraine

The US will announce another $2.6 billion in new military aid to Ukraine. This could include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks for Ukraine. The U.S. has now pledged more then $30 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since the invasion. In January, it was

Social Security Will End One year Earlier

According to reports from the trustees of the programs, the main trust fund reserves of the U.S. Social Security system will be depleted in 2033, which is a year earlier than the previous estimate. In contrast, the finances of Medicare have slightly improved. The Medicare Hospital Trust Fund reserves

microsoft

Contractors at Microsoft earned $90/hr in 2021, while PhD holders now earn $45/hr

Per Bloomberg In 2021, Microsoft was reportedly paying its contractors $90 an hour. Now, some tech jobs are still paying workers $120 an hour. PhD holders, on the other hand,  were only making $45 an hour. This was according to a former UX designer, Hang Xu, who ran a New

bill gates

Bill Gates plans to continue his campaigns against climate change on his private jet

Per CNBC Bill Gates has been busy with his philanthropy after his time at Microsoft. One of his focuses was on climate change, and last month, he explained why he would continue to do what he does while riding his private jet. Gates talked about his work in an interview

home prices

Median first-time buyer age reached 36 in 2022 from 29 in 1981, per NAR

Per Bloomberg The median age for first-time homebuyers has increased in the span of almost four decades. In 1981, the median age for first-time buyers was 29 but last year, the median homebuyer age reached 36. The National Association of Realtors released records that showed first-time buyers making up only

huawei

Huawei profits dropped by 69% last year, with the company enumerating the reasons behind the decline

Per CNBC Huawei reportedly experienced a massive drop in profits by 69% in 2022. The company has enumerated the many reasons they reportedly experienced a profit drop. Huawei blamed the following. * Rising commodity prices * Strict pandemic controls in China * One-off gain related to Honor's sale * U.S. sanctions

Elon Musk

Elon Musk says Twitter Algorithms to go open source on March 31

Per CNBC TV18 Elon Musk has announced that the Twitter algorithm will finally become open source on March 31. This completes his previous announcement in February, where he initially talked about the systems becoming open source. Musk's previous statement: “Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm

aids

Employers are no longer required to pay for AIDs and HIV drugs, among others

Per Bloomberg Law Employers are no longer required to cover the costs of certain drugs, including those for AIDs and HIV. This comes after the US Health and Human Services Department's implementation of the Affordable Care Act was limited. US District Court for the Northern District of Texas

META

Some Meta employees are to experience lower bonuses and more staff assessment

Per Reuters As part of Meta's cost-cutting measures, some employees are expected to receive lower bonuses and more staff assessment. Now, the staff is expected to be assessed twice a year. Per WSJ, citing an internal memo, employees that perform well by the end of 2023 in their

chatgpt

ChatGPT's portfolio outperformed random ones, with managers saying the AI is a co-pilot' not a 'prophet'

OpenAI's ChatGPT has created a "sufficiently diversified" portfolio and outperformed other random portfolios. With that, portfolio managers say the AI tool can be a "co-pilot" for investors instead of a "prophet." A South Korean academic paper attempted to see if ChatGPT could

kevin o'leary

Kevin O'Leary warns of 'oligopoly' of large institutions with Fed backing, saying the demise of regional banks has started

Per Business Insider Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has spoken up about the recent situation regarding the collapse of regional banks. He said that their demise has begun while warning of a potential "oligopoly" of Fed-backed large institutions. O'Leary: "I say this is

Michael Burry

Michael Burry changes opinion: 'I was wrong to say sell.'

"The Big Short" investor Michael Burry was famous for profiting from the subprime mortgage crisis by shorting them. After this big incident, the investor remained fairly silent with his moves until Jan 31, when he simply said: "sell," but now, he said that he was wrong

The FDIC, facing almost $23 billion in costs from recent bank failures, is considering steering a larger-than-usual portion of that burden to the nation’s biggest banks

The FDIC, facing almost $23 billion in costs from recent bank failures, is considering steering a larger-than-usual portion of that burden to the nation’s biggest banks, per Bloomberg. Per Bloomberg: The agency has said it plans to propose a so-called special assessment on the industry in May to shore