David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - General

    Is ChatGPT Getting 'Dumber'? Usage Drops As Users Complain

    This article from Search Engine Journal may be of interest. Here is a section:

    ChatGPT, the viral conversational AI chatbot created by OpenAI, appears to be losing some of its initial luster and appeal.

    After rocketing to immense popularity following its launch late last year, recent data indicates usage and interest in ChatGPT may be declining.

    Some longtime users have complained on social media and developer forums that the AI seems to be producing lower-quality responses than just a few weeks ago.

    They describe the bot as “lazier,” “dumber,” and prone to more mistakes or nonsensical answers. However, OpenAI denies intentionally downgrading ChatGPT, tweeting that “we make each new version smarter.”

    The company speculates users encountering more flaws reflects increased usage uncovering limitations.

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    In London, New York and Paris, a Giant Office Bet Goes Wrong

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    Investors have also been shielded slightly by Europe’s approach to real-estate valuations, which doesn’t take market sentiment into account. With sales largely frozen, there have been few deals to measure the true decline in values. Inflation-linked rent increases have helped as well.

    Nonetheless, opportunists are circling, ready to offer expensive new debt to refinance buildings whose owners can’t inject capital. Oaktree and other alternative-finance providers have held talks with Korean asset managers about large loan facilities to let landlords restructure investments, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Oaktree declined to comment.

    Funds under pressure to extend the maturity of their borrowings are looking to inject more capital or inviting mezzanine investment rather than dumping assets on the cheap, says Yoon at Savills, who adds that a few have pulled sales. Increasingly, however, owners are following No. 1 Poultry’s path and having another crack at selling after several failed attempts last year — as seen with the rush for the exit in London.

    In Seoul, meanwhile, there’s deepening unease about how the endgame will play out for domestic investors. “With overseas commercial real-estate assets declining, there are significant concerns about distress,” says Oh.

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    Email of the day on rough rice

    I am curious about the rationale behind taking the rough rice position, beyond the 1000D EMA which shows support in the region of $15. Despite El Niño, according to the FAO latest report July 7 (https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/csdb/en/), there is no supply/demand imbalance in spite of a lower 2022/2023 production. After a slight draw on stocks for the current harvest season, they are due to increase in 2023/2024 as well as worldwide production (same forecasts from the USDA https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/outlooks/106909/rcs-23f.pdf?v=4882.7).

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    Lilly Applies for Alzheimer's Drug Approval on Trial Data

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest. Here is a section:

    That sets the stage for a potential head-to-head competition between Lilly and Eisai, along with its partner Biogen Inc., for leadership in a market expected to rise to billions of dollars as more patients with early Alzheimer’s gravitate to the idea of preventing the loss of memories and brain function. While both drugs’ use may be held back by cost,  side effects and moderate effectiveness, experts hope they’ll
    pave the way to more powerful successors.

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    United Airlines, American Airlines Earnings Due. Is The Airlines Rally Over?

    This article from Dow Jones may be of interest. Here is a section:

    Airline stocks United Airlines and American Airlines report second-quarter financials this week, with analysts expecting booming profits for both air carriers. The reports follow Delta Air Lines' recent Q2 earnings beat and full-year profit guidance increase. UAL and AAL both edged up Monday.

    Wall Street predicts quarterly earnings up more than 100% for both United and American Airlines. Delta's financial report on Thursday suggested airline performance was nearing pre-pandemic levels, as air carriers see strong demand for international and domestic air travel.

    Delta reported international and domestic sales jumping 61% and 8%, respectively. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian declared "consumer demand for air travel remains robust."

    Despite the strong financial performance, Delta shares dropped nearly 3% for the week as investors took profits after the earnings report. That marked the stock's first decline in nine weeks. Collectively, the 19 stocks in IBD's Transportation-Airline industry group also slipped for the week -- for only the second time in nine weeks.

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    Ford Takes $3.6 Billion Hit for Following the Tesla Playbook

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section: 

    Tesla Inc.’s script for popularizing electric vehicles — ramp up production, leverage economies of scale to lower costs and make automobiles affordable enough for a mass market — reads a lot like the one Ford Motor Co. first drew up over a century ago.

    Following this game plan has paid dividends lately for Tesla. The stock has more than doubled this year, even as the carmaker has slashed prices. For Ford, taking a page out of this playbook just wiped away about $3.6 billion in market value in one day.

    The maker of the best-selling F-Series announced it’s going to triple the production rate for its first electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, which it initially planned to sell for just shy of $40,000. Like Tesla, Ford jacked up prices during a prolonged period of parts shortages and battery raw-material inflation. Now that chips are more plentiful and the cost of battery inputs including lithium and nickel have eased, Ford is lopping thousands of dollars off what it’s charging customers.

    “Everyone loved it when Tesla did it,” said David Whiston, an auto analyst at Morningstar. “As long as they’re truly making improvements in production costs and input costs, then giving some of that back to the consumer makes sense.”

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