Despite a tough few months, Stripe is willing to invest in crypto. Industry rivals may need to take note.

The Amazon of Latin America has a $3.6 billion plan: Mercado Libre will invest 19 billion reais in Brazil, in part to fund its fintech arm—which poses an enormous threat to the region’s banks.

Netflix moves its first-ever upfront presentation to streaming: The Writers Guild has said it will picket all advertising events at a time Netflix needs to make an impression.

Much is expected from whom much is given: A proposed FDIC special assessment fee on big US banks aims to replenish the deposit insurance fund. Banks with less than $5B in uninsured deposits will be spared.

Will regulators smile once again on banking M&A? A string of regional bank failures and rescues through government-orchestrated sales could signal an uptick in deals.

Property and casualty (P&C) insurers’ bottom lines are being hit by rising claims costs, belt-tightening consumers, and emerging risks that further complicate underwriting. They need to mine new pockets of growth while reversing negative trends in their core lines of home and auto.

Many retailers launched paid memberships over the past three years. For the most part, they were intended to increase revenues and build loyalty during the pandemic-driven ecommerce boom. But the slowdown in revenue growth indicates that consumers are only willing to spend so much on retail subscriptions, particularly amid economic uncertainty.

On today’s episode, we look at the various angles of generative AI in banking. In our "Headlines" segment, we discuss regulators' urgency to install oversight over the rapidly advancing technology. In "Story by Numbers," we examine the percentage of executives that are not aware of how fast generative AI is coming, as well as discuss an old number that has been around the finance world for a while about human customer service agents versus bots. And in "For Argument's Sake," we take sides in the debate over whether generative AI will raise the bar or level the playing field for small and regional banks. Tune in to the discussion with host Rob Rubin, our analyst Eleni Digalaki, and vice president of content strategy Dan Van Dyke.

Just 52% of consumers trust retail reviews: And while low ratings quickly turn customers off, there are steps retailers can take to leverage reviews to their advantage.

Alibaba’s Taobao will invest in livestreaming, merchant tools as growth slows: The company aims to reclaim market share as oversight from Beijing eases, but economic difficulties continue to pose a challenge.

Store visits to off-price retailers rose in April: The sector’s resilience is driving Macy’s and Nordstrom to expand their off-price banners.

Another recall in China tied to braking and acceleration defects presents a significant opportunity for domestic competitors BYD, Xpeng, and Nio to strengthen their market position

On today's episode, we discuss the changing demographics of US physicians, how much money doctors make, and how to address physician burnout. "In Other News," we talk about which chatbots are the best at giving medical advice and why medical credit cards might not be as good as advertised. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Rajiv Leventhal and Lisa Phillips.

Twitch moves to support streamers and foster audience growth: The platform introduces a new clip editor tool for easy creation of short clips.

This week’s upfronts may be judged in relation to recent NewFronts: Presentations highlighted advances in streaming, ad targeting, short-form video, and AI.

US connected TV (CTV) ad spend will continue to grow through 2027, when it will reach $40.90 billion, according to our forecast. Apart from a small bump next year, ad spend on TV (including broadcast and cable TV) will decline over the next few years. Still, TV’s share of total ad spend is larger than CTV’s, indicating it remains a key player in marketers’ ad strategies.

Big Tech balks at EU’s proposed AI Act changes: The EU is proposing strict AI regulations and a Microsoft exec wants none of it. An AI-induced myopia is at play.

Anthropic could overtake OpenAI’s lead with latest upgrade: The startup has invigorated its Claude chatbot with a larger memory in a move that could draw enterprise users away from ChatGPT.

Amazon doubles down on fast delivery: The retailer uses AI to reduce the distance it takes to fulfill orders, and prioritizes items that can be delivered quickly in search results.

The company's plan to pause 5G network construction could impact cell tower leasing and potentially slow overall 5G adoption.