ESPN has a new president, following the abrupt resignation of its former president in December. Disney appointed James Pitaro as the new head of ESPN. Previously, he was Disney's consumer products and digital chief. Pitaro will have his work cut out for him. Next month, ESPN will launch its new streaming service. The network is also facing declining viewership.
The popular trivia app HQ has received an additional $15 million in funding. Axios reported the new funding on Tuesday, noting that the company's total valuation is now estimated at $100 million. HQ has been very successful in drawing in younger audiences. On Sunday night, 2.1 million users tuned in for the game show.
In other funding news, the insurance app Lemonade recently secured $120 million in Series C funding. Daniel Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of Lemonade, tells Cheddar he plans to use this new money to expand the app globally. Schreiber says Lemonade is trying to reinvent insurance. Lemonade wants to make customers happy, not make money by denying claims.
And we're joined by iconic travel writer Rick Steves to hear about his new book, "Travel as a Political Act." Steves says it's more important than ever for people to travel in today's world. He says some events in the last few years, such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, have made people anxious to travel. But Steves encourages everyone to branch out and travel somewhere new, especially in light of current global politics.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
It’s an annual tradition: the Fed’s banking ‘stress test.’ A year after the regional banking crisis, there are good reasons to make sure they’re prepped.
Summer is upon us, which means weddings, trips overseas, and trips to see Taylor Swift. Avoid a “Cruel Summer” with these budget-friendly tips and tricks.
While Nvidia's meteoric rise led it to briefly dethrone Microsoft as the world's biggest public company, there's a lot more going on in this market than A.I.
