Author: Max Smith

Estimated total U.S. spending on video game hardware, content, and accessories in March 2024 reached $4.9 billion, an increase of 4% compared to a year ago. Spending on mobile content increased by 15% compared to March 2023, more than offsetting his 32% decline in spending on video game hardware. Mobile accounted for 89% of the total year-over-year increase in video game content spending for the month. Video game hardware spending in March was $391 million, down 32% year over year. All current console hardware platforms are down at least 30% year-over-year. Hardware spending ended the first quarter down 24% compared…

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Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript May 2, 2024Ocwen Financial Corporation beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $1.74, expectations were $1.21. OCN isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).Dico Akseraylian: Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Ocwen’s First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. Please note that our earnings release and slide presentation are available on our website. Speaking on the call will be Ocwen’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Glen Messina and Chief Financial Officer, Sean O’Neil. As a reminder,…

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Each week of the spring high school sports season, readers weigh in on which Grand Rapids-area athlete impresses them the most among a variety of potential candidates in our Athlete of the Week survey.We are now spotlighting seniors who are wrapping up their high school athletic careers with a new poll recognizing the top local performers in each grade.The first article and poll featuring the area's elite spring sports athletes will be published on Tuesday, May 7th, followed by weekly articles highlighting the best junior, sophomore and freshman athletes.Among the area's top seniors are GR Catholic…

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Hardly a day goes by when a cyber incident doesn't make national news. A recent example is the troubling attack on an Indiana water treatment facility by Russian hackers. Fortunately, the intrusion did not cause any major disruption to the factory's operations, but it did raise concerns about what was to come. While disturbing, such attacks are not surprising given that nation-state hackers often target critical infrastructure. Policymakers need to better understand which businesses and sectors of the economy are most at risk and help ensure they are adequately protected. Fortunately, cyberattacks against critical infrastructure make up a small portion…

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Kirkwood Community College will be offering a new cybersecurity and compliance program starting this fall. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for information security analysts is projected to increase by 32 percent by 2032, and this two-year program is expected to fill a key talent need, according to a news release. . As cyber threats become more sophisticated, employers need trained and skilled professionals who can protect their organizations from online threats. Developed with direct feedback from industry, our Cybersecurity and Compliance Program provides students with the knowledge and skills to comply with government regulations and…

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On May 3, 2024, the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The meeting was attended by Shunichi Suzuki, Minister of Finance and Minister in charge of Financial Services.At the meeting, topics such as Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), and Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) were discussed. The results of the discussions are summarized in the “Joint Statement” (PDF: 327KB).' was released. The summary of the joint statement is as follows. Approved the establishment of a rapid financing facility as a new facility under CMIM Agree on the benefits of…

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san antonio – A group of San Antonio cybersecurity experts are working together to help businesses protect themselves.“We used to have an IT council, but we knew things were changing. We decided to focus on cybersecurity,” said Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Economic Development said Jeff Fair.Fair is a member of the Cybersecurity Council, which was founded in 2012.The group focuses on developing the local cybersecurity industry and provides support to local businesses.”What we're trying to offer here is the basics of what you need to do. Here are all the places you can go, but…

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Darian Woods, Waylin Wong | Written by NPRFriday, May 3, 2024 Please updateUpdate your browser or Flash plugin to play the audio. Copyright 2024 NPR. For more information, please visit https://www.npr.org. Pressure on video game workers is intensifying. They work long hours, face layoffs, and the games they make are more complex. Some employees call this the “passion tax” and it needs to be addressed. transcript MICHELLE MARTIN, HOST: Employees at video game companies often work long, grueling hours in conjunction with product launches. This schedule is so ingrained in the industry that it has a special name: “crunch.” But…

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