• 9 popular ASX REITs with ex-dividend dates next week

    Dividend payment dates, as well as the ex-dividend dates that preceded them, ebb and flow on the ASX just like the tides. There are some weeks, usually just after earnings season when it seems that every company under the Australian sun is paying out a dividend. In other weeks, it’s a veritable income desert on the Australian share market.

    Luckily, next week is an example of the former.

    Whenever an ASX share announces a dividend payment, it must also nominate an ex-dividend date for that payment. This ‘ex-div’ date is when a line is drawn in the sand between those shareholders who are eligible to receive the payment, and those who will miss out.

    Put simply, if you wish to receive a company’s latest dividend, you need to own the shares at least one day before the ex-dividend date. If you buy those shares on or after that date, you will miss out on the payment, with the seller retaining the rights to the cash.

    As we noted above, there are quite a few ASX shares set to trade ex-dividend on the stock market next week. But today, let’s go through no fewer than nine popular real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are in line to fork out their latest dividends (dividend distributions, to be precise).

    Before we get right into it, it’s worth remembering that dividend distributions from REITs rarely come with any franking credits attached. That’s due to their unique composition, which prevents them from paying corporate taxes (from which franking credits are generated) like companies do.

    With that out of the way, here are the nine popular ASX REITs with ex-dividend dates set for next week:

    Nine ASX income stocks set to trade ex-dividend next week

    ASX REIT
    Distribution
    per unit
    Ex-distribution
    date
    Dividend
    payday
    Dividend
    yield*
    Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) 2.9 cents 27 June 31 July 5.72%
    Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP) 4 cents 27 June 7 August 5.16%
    Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) 3 cents 27 June 16 August 10.08%
    HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN) 2.1 cents 27 June 22 August 5.29%
    Arena REIT (ASX: ARF) 4.3 cents 27 June 8 August 3.81%
    Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) 6.5 cents 27 June 14 August 7.49%
    Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)
    4 cents 27 June 19 July 6.61%
    Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)
    6 cents 27 June 29 August 5.04%
    Abacus Storage King (ASX: ASK)
    3 cents 28 June 30 August 5.11%

     *Dividend yield as of Thursday’s close

    Foolish takeaway

    Those are the nine popular REITs scheduled to trade ex-dividend next week.

    All of these REITs currently have relatively large trailing dividend distribution yields. As such, we might see some fairly large share price drops when each of them goes ‘ex-div’. That will reflect the hefty loss of value for new investors when this eligibility window closes.

    So if you see any of these ASX REITs drop like a rock next week, you’ll probably know why.

    The post 9 popular ASX REITs with ex-dividend dates next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended HomeCo Daily Needs REIT. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Ukraine can’t hit everything it wants in Russia with US-made ATACMs, so it’s making do with a homemade option

    A test of a Neptune missile in April 2020.
    A test of a Neptune missile in April 2020.

    • Ukraine faces restrictions on using US-made, long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
    • To work around this, Kyiv has modified its Neptune anti-ship missile for land attack.
    • Ukraine has used this weapon to strike energy facilities inside Russia in recent weeks.

    The US has outfitted Ukraine with an arsenal of long-range missiles but continues to put restrictions on how it can use them, limiting its ability to strike Russia the way it wants. As a workaround in this dilemma, Kyiv has turned to a homemade weapon first used to sink ships.

    American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, are one of the more vaunted weapons that Ukraine has in its arsenal. The Biden administration, however, has barred the country from firing them into Russia's sovereign territory; instead limiting their use solely to occupied regions of Ukraine.

    Earlier this month, Zelenskyy expressed his frustration with the continued prohibition on striking into Russia with these US-provided weapons. But Ukraine isn't completely without options.

    Multiple times in recent weeks, Ukraine has turned to domestically produced Neptune anti-ship missiles, modified for land attack, to strike ground targets inside Russia, specifically going after Moscow's vulnerable energy facilities.

    The R-360 Neptune is a subsonic, long-range cruise missile that was developed by Luch Design Bureau, a Kyiv-based defense manufacturer. Ukraine has used this munition in the past to strike high-value Russian targets. Early in the war, Ukraine used the Neptune to sink the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, once the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

    Neptune R-360 missile, Kyiv 2021.
    A Neptune missile in Kyiv.

    But Ukraine has also been working to modify the Neptune missile so that it can be used to strike land targets. There are indications Ukraine previously used the modified version of this weapon against Russian air defenses, including its S-400s, stationed on the occupied Crimean peninsula, per officials and media reports.

    In late May, Ukrainian forces used Neptune missiles to strike an oil depot near Kavkaz, a port along the Black Sea in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.

    Several weeks later, on Monday, Ukraine again used its Neptune missiles on a ground target, this time striking an oil terminal in nearby Chushka, just over the Kerch Straight from Crimea.

    Analysts at the Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War think tank noted that both Neptune missile strikes have occurred in areas of Russian territory that are within the range of Ukraine's ATACMS.

    Photo from a test of the Neptune Missile Complex in 2020.
    Photo from a test of the Neptune missile in 2020.

    The locations of both strikes are some 150 miles from the front lines and within the range of the 190-mile long-range ATACMS variant. But the US has prohibited Ukraine from using these powerful missiles to strike military targets inside Russia, thus awarding Moscow what experts and officials have described as sanctuary space.

    "The US has not allowed Ukrainian forces to use existing US-provided weapons to strike legitimate targets in Russian territory for much of the full-scale invasion thus far and still prohibits Ukraine from using ATACMS anywhere in Russia," the analysts wrote in a Tuesday assessment.

    "Ukraine first debuted Neptune anti-ship missiles against Russian naval targets in April 2022 and has had to further develop and modify these missiles to conduct deep strikes against Russian territory," the analysts said.

    The modified Neptune missiles is one of a number of Ukrainian innovations of the war made out of necessity and a notable lack of other options. Kyiv has, for example, turned to exploding naval drones to make up for a lack of a proper navy and has developed cheap, long-range drones to strike military and energy targets deep inside Russia where it is prohibited from using Western-made weaponry.

    Read the original article on Business Insider
  • Los Angeles Lakers to hire NBA veteran JJ Redick with 4-year coaching contract, according to reports

    JJ Redick prepares for his ESPN broadcast
    Former NBA veteran JJ Redick has agreed to lead the Los Angeles Lakers as head coach, according to multiple reports.

    • The Los Angeles Lakers were on the hunt for a coach after firing Darvin Ham in May.
    • JJ Redick, an NBA veteran, was a top contender for the Lakers coaching job, per ESPN.
    • Sources told The Athletic that Redick impressed Lakers owners and key stakeholders in a recent meeting.

    The Los Angeles Lakers have found its new head coach: NBA veteran JJ Redick, according to multiple reports.

    Redick, a 15-year NBA player-turned-analyst and podcaster, agreed to a four-year contract to lead the Lakers, ESPN first reported.

    The LA franchise has been on the hunt for a new coach after dismissing Darvin Ham, who was at the helm for just two seasons, in May.

    The team had sought to reel in UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley for the job with a $70 million contract for six years but was rejected.

    In a recent interview on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," Hurley said he made the decision because he had already locked in a contract with UConn.

    "I don't need leverage here," Hurley said in the interview. "We've won back-to-back national championships at this place. This was never a leverage situation for me. I've had a contract in place here for a couple of weeks."

    After Hurley's rejection, Redick, who played for six teams in his NBA career, including for Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers, became a top contender for the job, sources told ESPN.

    Redick had met with key decision makers a few times in the lead-up to the job offer on Thursday, according to The Athletic.

    He was first interviewed for the job around mid-May with Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and general manager, at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, according to the report.

    Redick had another meeting with Pelinka as well as with the Lakers' owner, the Buss Family Trust, and other key stakeholders on June 15 in Los Angeles, The Athletic reported. Multiple sources told the outlet that Redick impressed in the meeting.

    Redick comes into the job with no formal coaching experience — The Athletic reported that he coached for his son's youth basketball team — but with basketball IQ that he's picked up during his time on the court. Sources told ESPN that Pelinka is optimistic that Redick will pick up on the job quickly with the help of a coaching staff.

    A Lakers spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Read the original article on Business Insider
  • Jill Stein paid $150,000 to a consultant who was indicted over Biden deepfake robocalls

    Jill Stein and Steve Kramer
    Jill Stein's campaign says paid Steve Kramer over $150,000 in May, which they say was for petitioning in New York.

    • Jill Stein's campaign paid over $150,000 to a man who created deepfake robocalls of Biden's voice.
    • He's facing 26 criminal charges in New Hampshire and a potential $6 million fine.
    • The campaign says he helped with petitioning in NY and that they were unaware of the scandal.

    Jill Stein's presidential campaign hired a political consultant who infamously created deepfake robocalls using President Joe Biden's voice.

    The Green Party presidential candidate's campaign paid $150,015 to consultant Steve Kramer in May, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

    Stein campaign manager Jason Call told Business Insider via text that Kramer only did petitioning work in New York, and that he was hired on contract by the campaign between April 16 and the end of May.

    "We did not know anything about his activities… regarding the robocalls until the petitioning period was almost over," said Call.

    Despite paying a hefty sum to Kramer for help with petitioning, Stein failed to make the ballot in New York, with the state Board of Elections determining that her campaign did not submit a sufficient number of signatures.

    During the New Hampshire presidential primary this year, voters received bogus AI-generated robocalls purportedly from Biden instructing them to "save your vote for the November election." The calls came as Biden supporters were mounting a write-in campaign in the state, where the president did not appear on the ballot.

    Kramer, who had been employed by longshot Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, admitted to orchestrating the calls in February after a fork-bending magician came forward, telling NBC News that he did it to alert the country to the dangers of AI and deepfakes.

    He was indicted in New Hampshire on 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonating a candidate in May. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed fining Kramer $6 million.

    Kramer declined to comment.

    Stein, who previously ran for president in 2016, is set to become the Green Party's presidential nominee again in 2024. She launched her current campaign in November, running on an ultra-progressive platform.

    Some Democratic strategists have worried that she and independent candidate Cornel West could harm Biden's chances as he faces a rematch with former President Donald Trump.

    Read the original article on Business Insider
  • 3 top ASX 200 stocks that could create lasting passive income into retirement

    Woman with a floatable flamingo at a beach, symbolising passive income.

    Creating a lasting passive income with the right S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stocks could make all the difference between a comfortable retirement and a luxurious one.

    If you’re after a more luxurious retirement, the sooner you start building a portfolio of quality dividend stocks, the larger that extra income stream is likely to be.

    Below, we look at three top ASX 200 stocks that could create lasting passive income.

    Just keep in mind that a proper income portfolio should contain more like 10 (or so) dividend stocks, ideally operating in different market sectors and across different geographic locations. That kind of diversity will help to lower the overall risk to your investment portfolio.

    Also, remember that the yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields. Future yields may be higher or lower depending on a range of company-specific and macroeconomic factors.

    While the dividends paid out by the three ASX 200 companies we examine below will almost certainly vary from year to year, I believe all three will continue to reward passive income investors over the long term handsomely.

    With that said…

    Tapping ASX 200 stocks for lasting passive income

    The first company I’d buy to create lasting passive income is ASX 200 bank stock Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).

    CBA has a long track record of paying two fully franked dividends per year. Australia’s biggest bank even came through with two dividends in the pandemic addled year of 2020.

    As for the past 12 months, CBA paid a final dividend of $2.40 a share on 28 September. The interim dividend of $2.15 a share landed in eligible shareholders bank accounts on 28 March.

    That equates to a full-year passive income payout of $4.55 a share, fully franked.

    Following a 26% share price surge over the past year, CBA’s dividend yield has come down. At yesterday’s closing price, CBA shares trade on a fully franked trailing yield of 3.56%. But I still think this is a key stock for delivering ongoing income into retirement.

    The second ASX 200 stock I’d buy for enduring passive income is Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS). Unlike CBA, the Woodside share price has fallen 24% over the last year.

    But from a yield perspective, now could be an ideal time to buy the stock. Despite the world’s decarbonisation push, global demand for oil and gas is greater than ever and expected to grow into next year.

    On the passive income front, Woodside paid an interim dividend of $1.243 a share on 28 September and a final dividend of 91.7 cents a share on 4 March. That works out to a full-year payout of $2.16 a share.

    At yesterday’s closing price, Woodside shares trade on a fully franked trailing yield of 7.93%.

    Rounding out the list of ASX 200 stocks to create lasting passive income is mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), the biggest company on the ASX.

    BHP shares have also slipped 8% over the past 12 months. And the company’s dividends will fluctuate in rough line with its top-earning commodities over time. Importantly, though, all of these commodities should remain in strong demand for many years to come. And despite already being the largest stock on the ASX, BHP continues to pursue growth strategies.

    As for that passive income, BHP paid a final dividend of $1.251 a share on 28 September. The miner paid an interim dividend of $1.096 a share on 28 March for a full-year, fully franked payout of $2.347 a share.

    At yesterday’s closing price, that sees BHP shares trading on a fully franked trailing yield of 5.49%.

    The post 3 top ASX 200 stocks that could create lasting passive income into retirement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the ‘five best ASX stocks’ for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now…

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    Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Buy these ASX dividend shares for 5% to 6% yields

    Middle age caucasian man smiling confident drinking coffee at home.

    Income investors have a lot of options on the Australian share market. So much so, it can be hard to decide which ASX dividend shares to buy above others.

    But don’t worry because listed below are three options with generous dividend yields that are rated highly by analysts. Here’s what they are saying about these dividend shares:

    IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)

    Analysts at Goldman Sachs think that IPH could be an ASX dividend share to buy. It is an intellectual property solutions company with operations across the world.

    The broker is feeling positive about the company due to its belief that IPH is “well-placed to deliver consistent and defensive earnings with modest overall organic growth.”

    It is expecting this to support the payment of fully franked dividends per share of 34 cents in FY 2024 and then 37 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current IPH share price of $6.16, this represents dividend yields of 5.5% and 6%, respectively.

    Goldman currently has a buy rating and $8.70 price target on IPH’s shares.

    Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)

    Goldman Sachs is also feeling bullish about Rio Tinto. It is of course one of the world’s largest miners with operations across several commodities such as copper, iron ore, and lithium.

    The broker likes the company due to its “compelling relative valuation” and its expectation of “strong production growth in 2024 & 2025.”

    Goldman expects this to underpin fully franked dividends per share of US$4.29 (A$6.44) in FY 2024 and then US$4.55 (A$6.84) in FY 2025. Based on the latest Rio Tinto share price of $119.67, this will mean yields of approximately 5.4% and 5.7%, respectively.

    The broker currently has a buy rating and $138.90 price target on the miner’s shares.

    Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

    A final ASX dividend shares that could be a buy for income investors is youth fashion retailer Universal Store.

    Morgans is positive on the company and believes it is well-placed for growth. It notes that its “growth opportunities are in place” and that “customers continue to respond well to the Universal Store banner.”

    As for income, the broker is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 26 cents in FY 2024 and then 29 cents in FY 2025. Based on its current share price of $5.20, this will mean yields of 5% and 5.6%, respectively.

    Morgans has an add rating and $6.50 price target on its shares.

    The post Buy these ASX dividend shares for 5% to 6% yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the ‘five best ASX stocks’ for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now…

    See The 5 Stocks
    *Returns as of 5 May 2024

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Universal Store. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended IPH. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • ‘Unique and defensive’: Why this ASX tech ETF is a buy

    A businessman waers armour and holds a shield and sword.

    Betashares senior investment strategist Cameron Gleeson says increasingly frequent cyber attacks help make a compelling investment case for the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK).

    In a recent blog, Gleeson described cybersecurity as a “unique, defensive play” in the technology arena.

    The investment strategist said cybersecurity had become a critical need in today’s society as governments, companies and individuals increasingly relied on technology and data.

    Globally, there has been increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks in recent years with governments and corporates spending large amounts on cybersecurity solutions to prevent sensitive data breaches from occurring.

    With the rise of artificial intelligence and its associated demand for large amounts of training data, the need for robust cybersecurity solutions has never been more important.

    This presents a compelling investment case that Australian investors can access through the Betashares HACK Global Cybersecurity ETF.

    The cybersecurity threat (and opportunity for investors)

    Cybersecurity has become a hot-button issue in Australia following data breaches at large organisations, including Optus, Ticketmaster, and Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL).

    There are more opportunities for cyber attacks as the world becomes more connected via networked devices, the move to cloud computing, and a huge new remote workforce operating from home.

    Governments and companies around the world are scrambling to update their cybersecurity to deal with the threat.

    This means increased demand for cybersecurity services from a range of companies around the world.

    A research report by Sanjana Prabhakar from Nasdaq Index Research & Development revealed the total addressable market (TAM) for cybersecurity was worth $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion globally, based on McKinsey data.

    At best, only 10% of that TAM has been penetrated today “with a very long runway for growth”.

    Prabhakar said:

    As per Statista, during the period 2024-2028, cybersecurity revenue is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10.6%, resulting in a total market size of $273.6 billion by 2028.

    Australians limiting online activity due to cybersecurity risks

    A new study on the digital lives of Australians published by auDA found that 64% of consumers and 55% of small businesses avoid online activity due to concerns about data security.

    More than 40% of consumers and small businesses would like to strengthen their online security but don’t know how.

    Only 13% of consumers and 24% of small businesses are confident in their knowledge and skills relating to cybersecurity.

    Australians have high expectations of companies that hold personal information about them, too. About 83% of consumers and 79% of small businesses believe companies should do more to protect their data.

    auDA CEO Rosemary Sinclair AM said:

    auDA’s research continues to identify there is a clear need for trustworthy, accessible cyber security training and resources to help Australians feel confident online.

    Much like nation-wide road safety campaigns have helped save lives, now is the time for a coordinated, long-term, nation-wide effort to communicate cyber security basics to bolster the security knowledge and practices of all Australians and small businesses. 

    Concerns about data safety can also affect businesses in many ways, including their marketing power.

    A Power Retail survey found nearly 60% of Australians were unwilling to sign up for loyalty programs because they did not trust in companies’ handling of their personal information.

    Let’s learn about the ASX ETF HACK

    The HACK ASX ETF seeks to track the performance of the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index (before fees and expenses).

    The ETF has net assets worth $921 million. More than 70% of its holdings are United States companies.

    Its biggest stock holdings are Broadcom Inc (8.7%), Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (7.5%), Palo Alto Networks Inc (6.4%), and Cisco Systems Inc (5.9%).

    The HACK ETF is trading flat on the ASX today at $11.33 per unit.

    Over the past five years, the ASX ETF has returned an average 16.09% per annum, assuming the reinvestment of distributions. The ETF’s unit price is up 47.53% over the past five years.

    Betashares charges a management fee of 0.67% for this ASX ETF.

    The post ‘Unique and defensive’: Why this ASX tech ETF is a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the ‘five best ASX stocks’ for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now…

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    Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF, Cisco Systems, CrowdStrike, and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CrowdStrike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • The Perplexity AI drama explained in 60 seconds

    An image of a robot using a device against a backdrop of Perplexity AI's logo.
    Perplexity's AI product faced criticism from Forbes and Wired in recent weeks.

    • AI search startup Perplexity was accused of "ripping off" Forbes' work without sufficient attribution.
    • Wired then alleged Perplexity likely used "a secret IP address" to access content not intended for AI.
    • Forbes has threatened to take legal action against Perplexity.

    If you follow AI news, there's a decent chance you've seen Perplexity taking some heat on social media in recent weeks.

    The AI search engine, which can scan the internet in real time to provide answers, is valued at over $1 billion and has received funding from Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.

    Now, it's facing allegations of ripping off publishers' work without proper attribution.

    So what happened?

    Forbes calls out Perplexity

    On June 6, Forbes released an investigative article on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's AI drone startup. The next day, Perplexity published an AI-generated webpage about the story using its new "Perplexity Pages" feature and sent it to its subscribers.

    John Paczkowski, an executive editor at Forbes, called Perplexity out on X, saying, "It rips off most of our reporting. It cites us, and a few that reblogged us, as sources in the most easily ignored way possible."

    Perplexity's AI-generated webpage didn't prominently cite Forbes, Paczkowski said, and elevated other news coverage of the story in its citations — including an article from Business Insider about the Forbes piece — over Forbes' original reporting.

    Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas thanked Packowski for flagging the issue and said the product "has rough edges" and agreed that sources should be more easily found and visibly highlighted.

    Perplexity then updated the AI-generated webpage to more prominently cite Forbes' work, but an AI-generated Perplexity podcast about the topic still does not mention Forbes in the audio.

    Forbes later released a statement accusing Perplexity of "ripping off" multiple articles from various publications, including CNBC and Bloomberg.

    Perplexity's CEO told the Associated Press that it "never ripped off content from anybody" and that "we are actually more of an aggregator of information."

    Forbes threatens legal action

    Forbes sent a letter to Perplexity's CEO demanding that the startup make changes to its AI-generated article citations and reimburse Forbes for any advertising revenue it generated from the Perplexity Pages based on Forbes' reporting, Axios reported.

    Forbes said "it looks forward to a reply" within 10 days and threatened to reserve "all of its rights to take any action it deems necessary to protect its rights," per Axios.

    Wired investigates Perplexity's web crawling

    On Wednesday, Wired published an investigation into Perplexity that found its AI was "paraphrasing WIRED stories, and at times summarizing stories inaccurately and with minimal attribution."

    Wired also said Perplexity was likely bypassing publishers who indicated via their website code that AI web scraping was off limits. Wired said it discovered a "secret IP address" scraping the content in question that was "almost certainly linked" to Perplexity.

    Srinivas responded to Wired's request for comment with a statement that said, "The questions from WIRED reflect a deep and fundamental misunderstanding of how Perplexity and the Internet work."

    A spokesperson for Perplexity did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

    Read the original article on Business Insider
  • Meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, CEO of the most valuable company in the world

    Nvidia Jensen Huang
    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

    • Nvidia cofounder Jensen Huang is now worth $119 billion, according to Bloomberg.
    • His fortune ballooned by $75 billion over the past year and he now helms the world's most valuable company.
    • Huang is now richer than Rob, Jim, or Alice Walton, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Nvidia has emerged as one of the main winners of the AI investing craze — and the good times keep rolling for the semiconductor giant.

    One obvious winner anytime the year's hottest stock surges is Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Huang. His net worth jumped by $75 billion over the past year, according to data from Bloomberg, as investors seized on better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue numbers.

    Huang's personal fortune of $119 billion now puts him 12th on the outlet's Billionaires Index. He's richer than every Walmart heir, including founder Sam Walton's three children Rob, Jim, and Alice.

    Here's everything you need to know about Huang, who rocks a leather jacket everywhere he goes and reportedly got a tattoo of Nvidia's logo once the company's share price hit $100.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is now worth $119 billion.
    Jensen Huang — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during a press conference at The MGM during CES 2018 in Las Vegas on January 7, 2018.
    He's now in charge of the world's most valuable company.

    Most of Huang's wealth comes from his 3.5% stake in the Santa Clara-based chipmaker, according to the company's 2023 annual report.

    The jump in Nvidia stock follows another set of blockbuster quarterly earnings this week as the generative AI boom continues.

    Nvidia is now the most valuable company in the world, with a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, according to Reuters. The company reached the $3 trillion milestone three decades after its launch in 1993, surpassing Apple, which took nearly five decades to achieve the same valuation.

    He moved to the US as a child.
    Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp., gives a keynote presentation during the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. Huang later unveiled the Titan X CPU operating with a GeForce GTX Titan X graphics card during the presentation.
    Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp., gives a keynote presentation during the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. Huang later unveiled the Titan X CPU operating with a GeForce GTX Titan X graphics card during the presentation.

    Born as Jen-hsun Huang in Taipei in 1963, Huang spent part of his childhood in Taiwan and Thailand, per Bloomberg. 

    In 1973, Huang's parents sent their children to relatives in the US owing to the social unrest in the Southeast Asian country, before relocating there themselves.

    Huang's aunt and uncle — who were recent migrants to Washington state at the time — accidentally sent Jensen and his brother to Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky, which was considered a reform school instead of a prep school, according to Huang's 2002 interview with Wired.

    "And the kids were really tough," Huang told NPR in a 2012 interview. "They all had pocket knives — and when they get in fights, it's not pretty. Kids get hurt."

    Students at the school also had to work, and Huang's duty was to clean the bathrooms. 

    "The ending of the story is I loved the time I was there," Huang told NPR. "We worked really hard — we studied really hard, and the kids were really tough."

    In 2019, he and his wife Lori donated $2 million toward building a female dormitory and classroom building at the school, per the institute's website.

    He loves computer games and studied electrical engineering.
    nvidia jen-hsun huang ceo
    Nvidia CEO and president Jen-Hsun Huang plays with a game using Nvidia's Physx technology for gaming, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009.

    Huang and his brother eventually moved to Oregon where they rejoined the family.

    During his time as a high schooler in Beaverton, he was a nationally ranked junior table tennis champion, according to a 2017 profile on Oregon State University, or OSU, where Huang attended college.

    Huang also holds a Master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford. 

     

     

    Huang met his wife, Lori Mills, in his freshman year of college.
    Oregon State University
    Jensen attended Oregon State University where he studied electrical engineering.

    The couple have two children, according to OSU's profile

    "I enjoyed computers growing up, but OSU opened up my eyes to the magic behind them," he told the university.

    Huang graduated in 1984 — the "perfect year to graduate," he said at a keynote speech at National Taiwan University's commencement ceremony this year, per Fortune. That was the same year when the first Mac computers were released, bringing forth a new age in personal computing.

    After graduating from OSU, Huang worked at chip companies LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices in a variety of roles, according to his bio on Nvidia's website.

    He founded Nvidia in 1993 after leaving LSI Logic.

    Huang founded Nvidia while dining at Denny's.
    Denny's.
    Huang was meeting two friends when he got the idea to start Nvidia.

    Nvidia was founded in 1993 at a Denny's restaurant where he was meeting with two friends, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, per The Wall Street Journal.

     The trio "wondered whether starting a graphics company would be a good idea," Huang told Stanford University's engineering school in a 2010 interview.

    "We brainstormed and fantasized about what kind of company it would be and the world we could help. It was fun," he told Stanford.

    Denny's was also where Huang part-timed when he was a student, per a 2010 New York Times interview. There, he learned how to be more outgoing.

    "I was a very good student and I was always focused and driven. But I was very introverted. I was incredibly shy," he told The Times. "The one experience that pulled me out of my shell was waiting tables at Denny's. I was horrified by the prospect of having to talk to people."

    Huang is 61, making him years older than Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos when they left day-to-day operations at 52 and 57 years old, respectively.

    There are few signs he plans to slow down.

    "Nothing is more fun to me than to build a once-in-a-generation company with all of my friends here," Huang told Business Insider in 2021 . "I can't imagine wanting to do anything other than that."

    May 24, 2024: This story has been updated to reflect movements in Nvdia's share price and Jensen Huang's net worth.

    Huang is now one of the biggest winners of the AI boom.
    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
    Huang believes that generative AI has hit a "new tipping point."

    Nvidia has made itself a key player in the AI boom by supplying hardware to major companies, including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Demand for the company's hardware has been driven by several factors, including a sophisticated software system that makes its chips simple to use as well as a shortage of AI chips

    Huang now believes we've hit a new threshold in the AI hype cycle. "Accelerated computing and generative AI have hit the tipping point. Demand is surging worldwide across companies, industries, and nations," Huang said in the company's fourth-quarter earnings press release.

     

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  • 17 iconic actors who have never been nominated for Academy Awards and what they should’ve won for

    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland was known for his roles in "The Hunger Games," "Ordinary People," "JFK," and "Klute."

    • Donald Sutherland died in June 2024. He was 88 years old.
    • Although he appeared in dozens of iconic films, he was never nominated for a competitive Oscar.
    • He was in good company. There are many talented actors who have never been nominated.

    Being nominated for an Academy Award is one of the highest honors an actor could receive, and winning one is a whole new level.

    But there are plenty of actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, even though their work has spanned decades, is consistently great, or made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.

    Donald Sutherland, for example, appeared in numerous Oscar-quality films throughout his career before his death in June 2024. But he only received an honorary Oscar in 2017.

    He's not the only A-lister who was never recognized by the Academy.

    Donald Sutherland, who died in June 2024, won an honorary Academy Award before his death but was never nominated for a competitive award.
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland.

    Sutherland died at the age of 88 on June 20, 2024, just a month shy of his 89th birthday. He made his film debut 61 years ago in an uncredited role in the 1963 film "The World Ten Times Over."

    Sutherland went on to appear in dozens of films, giving Oscar-worthy performances in movies like "MASH," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Klute," "JFK," "Ordinary People," "Six Degrees of Separation," "Pride and Prejudice," and any of the "Hunger Games" installments — the list goes on.

    Sutherland was nominated for nine Golden Globes over the course of his career, but never an Oscar, though he was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2017.

    John Goodman was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Barton Fink," and that easily could've netted him an Oscar nomination, too.
    john goodman
    John Goodman.

    Goodman, 72, has been one of our most reliable actors for the last few decades, whether you checked in every week on "Roseanne" or stuck to his big-screen exploits.

    "Barton Fink," the 1991 black comedy about a screenwriter (John Turturro) and his next-door neighbor who sells insurance (Goodman), written by the Coen Brothers, was recognized by the Academy for supporting actor, art direction, and costume design. But Goodman's turn as what you think is Barton's nice neighbor, only to be revealed as something much more sinister, deserved more awards attention.

    Goodman has also been nominated by various critics associations for "The Big Lebowski," "Argo," and most recently "10 Cloverfield Lane," which all feasibly could have earned him a nomination.

    If "Crash" was always going to win best picture, the Academy could've at least nominated Thandiwe Newton.
    Thandiwe Newton in a yellow dress
    Thandiwe Newton.

    "Crash," released in 2004, is one of the most infamous (and perhaps undeserving) best picture winners of all time. The Independent called it an "utterly tone-deaf, cloyingly sentimental ensemble film," as it only engages with racism in the most surface-level way.

    So, why should Newton, 51, have been nominated? Because she plays a young Black woman who is sexually assaulted by a white racist cop played by Matt Dillon — but only Dillon was nominated for an Academy Award, even though most of the emotional burden of the film rests on Newton's shoulders.

    She received many other precursor awards for the film, including a BAFTA, an Empire Award, and multiple other nominations.

    But, if you want to forget "Crash" exists altogether, Newton could've also been nominated for "Beloved," "The Pursuit of Happyness," or even 2022's "God's Country."

    David Oyelowo's snub for "Selma" still stings, 10 years later.
    David Oyelowo at the 2022 Oscars.
    David Oyelowo.

    That Oyelowo, 48, wasn't even nominated for playing Martin Luther King Jr. remains one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time, as he had been nominated for a Critics' Choice Award, a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Satellite Award, and won an NAACP Award, for his performance as the activist.

    But Oyelowo has turned in multiple other exemplary performances over the years, including in "The Butler," "Queen of Katwe," and "Middle of Nowhere."

    It takes a lot for a rom-com to be recognized at the Oscars, but at least two of Meg Ryan's rom-com roles are Oscar-worthy.
    Meg Ryan in a black dress
    Meg Ryan.

    "When Harry Met Sally…" is arguably the first modern romantic comedy, and anything that's come after has been in its shadow. Much of its enduring power comes from the sparkling screen presence of Ryan, who plays Sally across a decade of her life, from recent college grad to disillusioned single 30-something New Yorker.

    After she was snubbed for that, Ryan, 62, appeared in "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," which also depend on Ryan's likability to really work.

    But if rom-coms aren't your speed, she also appeared in "Courage Under Fire," which is classic Oscar-bait, and Ryan's performance could've been recognized.

    Ryan's "When Harry Met Sally…" co-star Billy Crystal has never been nominated either, though he's hosted the show nine times.
    Billy Crystal
    Billy Crystal.

    Crystal is an iconic comedian and actor. He's won five Emmy Awards from dozens of nominations, has a Tony Award, and multiple Grammy and Golden Globe nominations. He's also universally acknowledged as one of the best hosts of the Academy Awards, a role he's had nine times.

    However, he's never been nominated for an Oscar himself. If Meg Ryan deserved an Oscar nomination for "When Harry Met Sally…," so did Crystal, 76.

    Crystal also could've credibly been nominated for "City Slickers" or even "Monsters, Inc." if the Academy recognized comedy and voice-over performances the way they should.

    Daniel Craig is two-for-two on Golden Globe nominations for playing Benoit Blanc, but he still hasn't secured an Oscar nomination.
    Daniel Craig in pink velvet jacket
    Daniel Craig.

    Craig's iconic Southern accent is Oscar-worthy enough, but in "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion" the 56-year-old is basically unrecognizable as the same guy who played James Bond for 15 years. He also pretty much holds both films together as an audience surrogate, peering into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, while simultaneously trying to solve a murder.

    But, Craig arguably could've scored a nod from the Academy for 2006's "Casino Royale" as well, ushering in a new era for 007 and starring in a legitimately terrific film to boot.

    Danny Glover won an honorary humanitarian award from the Academy in 2021, but his acting deserves recognition, too.
    danny glover in 2022
    Danny Glover.

    Realistically, Glover, 77, was never going to win an Oscar for playing Roger Murtaugh in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, even if he probably deserves it.

    But he's been in so many phenomenal movies over the course of his career, including "Dreamgirls," "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," "Beloved," "To Sleep with Anger," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Sorry to Bother You," "The Dead Don't Die," and more. We're so lucky to have Glover as a movie star — the Academy should take notice.

    Somehow, Isabella Rossellini has never been nominated for an Oscar.
    Isabella Rossellini in 2015
    Isabella Rossellini.

    If the Oscars created an award for voice acting, perhaps the 72-year-old would've made it a few years ago for her heartbreaking performance as Connie in "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On." But alas, they don't have that category yet.

    But Rossellini should've been celebrated for other roles, like her iconic performance as the mysterious lounge singer Dorothy in "Blue Velvet," or even in the camp classic "Death Becomes Her."

    We'd say Ewan McGregor's biggest snub is for "Trainspotting," though the Scottish actor has proven himself a movie star time and time again.
    ewan mcgregor
    Ewan McGregor.

    McGregor has two Golden Globe movie nominations under his belt, for "Moulin Rouge!" (which also could've been an Oscar-nominated role) and for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen."

    But we'd say McGregor, 53, deserves the Oscar for bursting onto the scene in 1996 playing heroin addict Mark Renton in "Trainspotting." If "Trainspotting" had been released in 2024, McGregor would've arguably made the cut, but the film was a little too indie, nihilistic, and ahead of its time to get recognized.

    Somehow, Martin Sheen has never been nominated for an Oscar nor did he win an Emmy for "The West Wing."
    Martin Sheen in 2017
    Martin Sheen.

    We'd contend that Sheen, 83, should've been nominated for the Vietnam War epic "Apocalypse Now," for which he was nominated for a BAFTA. Sheen basically carries the movie, as he plays Captain Benjamin Willard, whom the movie follows as he makes his way through Vietnam on a mission.

    He's also great in "The Departed," which is full of A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, and Jack Nicholson. You even could've thrown him a supporting nod for stealing scenes in "Catch Me If You Can," which also stars DiCaprio, alongside Tom Hanks.

    While Sheen's biggest contributions now are on TV, between "The West Wing" and "Grace and Frankie," he's had a successful movie career and deserves recognition.

    Claire Danes provided an Oscar-worthy performance in "Little Women" as Beth.
    claire danes
    Claire Danes.

    Danes, 45, is also predominantly a TV star now after "Homeland," "The Essex Serpent," "Fleishman Is in Trouble," and even "My So-Called Life," but she was turning in solid performances in the '90s on screen, most notably in the 1994 remake of "Little Women" — only Winona Ryder as Jo was recognized by the Academy — and the 1996 Baz Luhrmann adaptation of "Romeo + Juliet."

    Idris Elba deservedly had Oscars buzz for "Beasts of No Nation" in 2015, but his performance didn't make the cut.
    idris elba
    Idris Elba.

    Elba, 51, is a star. He was a star on "The Wire," in "Luther," and even in terrible horror movies like "Prom Night."

    But in 2015, when he starred in "Beasts of No Nation," a film about a young African boy who becomes a child soldier in his country's civil war, it seemed like the Academy should take notice. He was nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a BAFTA, but Oscar voters snubbed him.

    Since then, Elba has continued to generate buzz, for appearances in films like "Molly's Game," "The Harder They Fall," and "Three Thousand Years of Longing," but "Beasts of No Nation" remains his peak.

    We're still upset Pam Grier was snubbed for "Jackie Brown."
    Pam Grier
    Pam Grier.

    Grier has had a decades-long career in Hollywood, first appearing in many blaxploitation films in the '70s before being truly celebrated for her talent in Quentin Tarantino's love letter to blaxploitation in 1997's "Jackie Brown."

    Grier, 75, plays the title character Jackie, a smuggler and flight attendant who is not to be messed with. While she and her costar Samuel L. Jackson were both nominated for Golden Globes, this was before every Tarantino movie was nominated for at least two or three Oscars, and the two were snubbed.

    Like Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant wasn't nominated for any of the three iconic rom-coms he starred in.
    hugh grant
    Hugh Grant.

    "Notting Hill," "About a Boy," and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" are all some of the best examples of romantic comedies ever. But Grant's performances were snubbed by the Academy, whether he played the nerdy (yet sweet) owner of a travel bookstore, a womanizing man-child who bonds with an actual child, or a hopeless romantic who keeps trying to run into a specific woman at various weddings.

    Both "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "About a Boy" were nominated for other Oscars, but Grant was snubbed.

    Grant, 63, also should've been nominated for his iconic performance in "Paddington 2," but we digress.

    It's hard to believe Jim Carrey wasn't nominated for "The Truman Show," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," or "Man on the Moon."
    Jim Carrey attends the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
    Jim Carrey.

    You might be racing to Google to double-check that Carrey, 62, has never been nominated for an Academy Award. You're probably thinking that surely he was nominated for playing Truman Burbank, the unsuspecting reality star who begins thinking his entire life is a lie — he definitely deserved a nomination for that, if not a win.

    But, somehow, it's true. Although Carrey took home back-to-back Golden Globes for "The Truman Show" and the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon," he didn't receive a nod from the Academy for either.

    His "Eternal Sunshine" co-star Kate Winslet received an Oscar nomination for the film, but Carrey was once again snubbed.

    Jennifer Lopez should've been nominated for "Hustlers," period.
    jennifer lopez
    Jennifer Lopez.

    Lopez is one of Hollywood's truest triple threats: She can act, sing, and dance. But while she's been nominated for multiple Grammys and danced her way across the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the 54-year-old has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

    That should've changed with 2019's "Hustlers," in which Lopez plays Ramona, a veteran NYC stripper who begins an operation of ripping off her rich clients by drugging and then stealing from them. She received tons of Oscar buzz, plenty of precursor nominations and wins, including a Golden Globe nomination, but she didn't make the final five that year.

    Read the original article on Business Insider