Author: Daniel snow

Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThere’s a mini-boom happening in fintech.After a multi-year IPO slowdown triggered by rising rates and valuation resets, some of the emerging players in online stock trading, banking, lending and crypto-related services are hitting the public market, or at least preparing for a debut.The next test of Wall Street’s enthusiasm is expected to come on Thursday, when Chime is slated to start trading on the Nasdaq. The provider of online banking services offered a price range of $24 to $26 a share, which would equate to a market cap of about $9.1…

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VCV | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesGoogle on Wednesday added a chief AI architect to its leadership ranks as the company continues to prioritize artificial intelligence and add the technology to more of its products.The company tapped Koray Kavukcuoglu, Google DeepMind’s chief technology officer, for the new senior vice president position, the company confirmed Wednesday. Kavukcuoglu will report directly to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Semafor first reported the executive change.Kavukcuoglu will help with product strategy and “accelerate how we bring our world-leading models into our products, with the goal of more seamless integration, faster iteration, and greater efficiency,” Sundar…

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Crude oil storage tanks at the Juaymah Tank Farm in Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia, in 2018.Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesU.S. crude oil futures rose more than 4% Wednesday on escalating tensions in the Middle East.Brent crude futures rose $2.90, or 4.34%, to close at $69.77 barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $3.17, or 4.88%, to settle at $68.15.The U.S. is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq due to heightened security risks in the region, sources told Reuters. The U.S. military has authorized the “voluntary departure” of troops’ dependents from…

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An estimated $1.4 trillion is paid to landlords of residential properties every year in America, but only 20% of those landlords choose to report the rent paid. That has big implications for the credit scores and credit histories of millions of Americans.Reporting rent paid on time to credit bureaus can significantly boost credit scores, but since it has not traditionally been a common practice, some renters end up having no credit history at all, making them “credit invisible,” limiting their ability to get a loan, a car, a house and a lot more. Over 50 million Americans lack a credit history…

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