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Labor Day, on the first Monday in September, traditionally marks the end of summer for Americans and brings with it the fashion convention of no longer wearing white.

As the temperature starts to go down, there is a similar convention with wine. Consumers start moving away from white wines and begin gravitating toward the reds to complement the cooler temperatures and seasonal foods.

But that isn’t the only way to move away from white wine. Rosé and sparkling wines, in particular, have become generally accepted as year-round libations rather than just summertime, holiday, or celebratory beverages.

“Rosé is definitely enjoyable for more than just the summer months,” says Nicole McAllister, sommelier at the double Michelin-starred restaurant Jean-Georges in New York City. “In the fall, I’d … Read the rest

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The coming-of-age autobiography of one of America’s greatest poets; a shrewd examination of incarceration in the 21st century that is still heavily linked to Jim Crow laws of the 19th century; and a guide to problem solving that might be especially apt during the age of coronavirus.

Here is a selection of book recommendations from this year’s 40 under 40 in tech.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg

Have you ever read the same book a second (or third) time and gotten something very different out of the reread? Or listened to a talk that was only moderately good, but you were in a creative headspace, so the whole experience turned out to be a highlight of your … Read the rest

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Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister, announced his resignation on Friday, citing ill health.

Abe’s sudden decision to stand down was a shock, but his successor is unlikely to be a disruptor, says Jesper Koll, a Japan-based economist and senior adviser for WisdomTree Investments. All the contenders to lead Japan next have policy outlooks similar to Abe’s, Koll said, and whoever gets the nod is unlikely to be in power long.

Abe’s immediate successor will not be selected by Japanese voters or decided by the Diet, the country’s parliament. Instead, Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will decide. Abe is expected to continue his duties until LDP votes on the new leader.

“In my personal opinion, whoever is going to run the country is going to be relatively short-lived because there is … Read the rest

Switzerland’s financial regulator started enforcement proceedings against Credit Suisse Group AG over a spying scandal that led to the ouster of ex-Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam.

The move marks an escalation of regulatory involvement in the espionage charges, which also triggered probes by Swiss prosecutors. Finma said it will pursue any potential violations of supervisory law, and in particular will scrutinize how these activities were documented and controlled.

Credit Suisse is struggling to move beyond one of the most damaging episodes in its recent history after it spied on star banker Iqbal Khan, who was leaving for rival UBS Group AG. The scandal tainted the bank’s reputation, led to the exit of Thiam in a power struggle, and rattled Swiss financial circles.

Chairman Urs Rohner turned to Thomas Gottstein, a two-decade Credit Suisse veteran, to restore investor confidence. Gottstein has had to contend with a series of setbacks since the … Read the rest

All Raise started as a group of female venture capitalists who got together once a month for breakfast. The gatherings soon grew into a call to action, dedicated to increasing representation of women among both VCs and entrepreneurs. 

That was back in 2017. Today, the organization has chapters in several U.S. cities and runs a variety of programs, from mentoring and coaching to bootcamps that prepare female-led startups looking for investment. Now, the non-profit is also launching a speakers bureau called Visionary Voices, made up of female and non-binary founders and funders who are interested in speaking opportunities—a key piece of building a reputation in technology and investment circles. 

“This feels like a very logical extension [for All Raise], and the time is right,” says Pam Kostka, CEO of the organization. “This is a bold move to say that we need to amplify the voices of women and non-binary … Read the rest

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On Monday, Berkshire Hathaway, the giant holding company chaired by Warren Buffett, announced it had acquired a roughly 5% stake totaling approximately $6 billion in five of Japan’s largest trading houses. The purchase is the latest of Buffett’s bids to expand overseas, as his $520 billion investment firm remains heavily U.S.-weighted.

“I am delighted to have Berkshire Hathaway participate in the future of Japan and the five companies we have chosen for investment,” Buffett, 90, said in a statement announcing the investment, which sent shares in all five companies up on Monday. Berkshire Hathaway had spent the past 12 months slowly acquiring its stake in the five firms: Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo.

The so-called Oracle of Omaha typically invests closer … Read the rest

No tech company from California’s famed startup basin, Silicon Valley, has gone public since last year. That could be because some high-profile 2019 Silicon Valley IPOs like Uber and Lyft flopped. But investors have short memories, and this week a half-dozen startups from the Valley filed to go public. About another half-dozen tech startups from other regions also announced their IPO plans this week.

Here are some key statistics and pros and cons investors may want to weigh vis-à-vis Palantir, Asana, Snowflake, and the rest of the upcoming class of late 2020 tech IPOs. Each company’s description includes a link to its S-1 filing. All financial data is from 2019 unless otherwise indicated.

Palantir Technologies

Symbol: PLTR
2019 revenue: $743 million
Revenue growth: 25%
Gross margin: 67%
Net loss: $580 million

Founded in 2003, Palantir created software to help defense and intelligence analysts sort through massive amounts of information … Read the rest

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Elon Musk gave a peek at his brain computing startup, Neuralink, on Friday by showing off a surgically implanted electrical device in the skull of a living pig that broadcast the animal’s brain activity. 

Neuralink is working on a kind of brain-computer interface that it hopes will one day help restore brain functions in humans with disorders like blindness, seizures, and insomnia.

Musk’s experimental technology is still in its early stages. And it has yet to be tried on humans. But Musk pitched it as glimpse into the near future, without acknowledging the immense technological or regulatory challenges.

During the livestreamed event, Neuralink staff showed off three pigs—one normal pig, one implanted with Neuralink’s device, and another that had the device removed from its skull.

Hesitant to … Read the rest

Prosecutors on Thursday charged a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters and the wounding of a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Kyle Rittenhouse faces five felony charges that include first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide, and a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. Rittenhouse, a white teen who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle as he walked the streets with other armed civilians amid protests this week, would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide.

The shootings late Tuesday—largely caught on cellphone video and posted online—and the shooting by police Sunday of Blake, a 29-year-old Black father of six who was left paralyzed from the waist down, made Kenosha the latest focal point in the fight against racial injustice that has gripped the country … Read the rest

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday criticized the British bank HSBC for allegedly operating bank accounts for individuals sanctioned by the U.S. government while shutting the accounts of people linked to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

Pompeo blamed China’s government for HSBC’s alleged actions, saying in a Wednesday statement that “the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics against our friends in the United Kingdom continues.”

According to the statement, HSBC has prevented executives of Next Digital, the publisher of pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, from accessing their personal bank accounts and HSBC credit cards.

The U.S. sanctioned 11 government officials in Hong Kong and mainland China in early August over their involvement in the controversial national security law that took effect in Hong Kong … Read the rest