Author: Max Smith

Here are the takeaways from today's Morning Brief. sign up Every morning you will receive the following message in your inbox:Just six years into his tenure as CEO of Chipotle, Inc. (CMG), Brian Nicol is still fully committed to his job.In his head is a robot that cuts, cores, and peels avocados. Commencement speech at his alma mater. And how many restaurants will he open in the next few years?This was a CEO's day that went a little under the radar in the press, but also went unnoticed by the investor base. The company announced a 50-for-1 stock split this…

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Changes to real estate commission structures are shaking up the industry, and home builders and consumers appear to be the winners.Compass (COMP) agreed this week to pay $57.5 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit related to its fees. This is the first settlement announced by a major brokerage since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed to pay $418 million as part of a lawsuit alleging the industry conspired to inflate brokerage fees.Experts say the NAR settlement, which essentially separates agent fees for buyers and sellers, is a win-win for consumers because it creates transparency in how fees are set…

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The video game industry can't stop microtransactions.In fact, the two largest video game companies in the United States, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive, currently earn the vast majority of their revenue from live service games, subscriptions, and in-game purchases, according to their recent earnings reports. .Microtransactions are purchases that users make in-game using real money. These appear as subscriptions, virtual currency, character customization options, and more.Popular live service titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Clash Royale were built on this revenue model. Game publishers must provide updates throughout a given game life cycle to keep players' attention. This…

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Editor's note: Follow all the Women's March Madness scores, updates, highlights and upsets live on USA TODAY Sports. How to watch Women's March MadnessThe ESPN family of networks will broadcast all games in the women's tournament. So you can find it on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC. First game tip is at noon (ET) and last game tip is at 10 p.m. Follow live coverage of every game on USA TODAY Sports here.What are Sunday's women's second round 16 games?(all eastern)Follow the madness: NCAA basketball brackets, scores, schedules, teams, and more.(2) Ohio State vs. (7) Duke | 12pm |…

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The women's NCAA Tournament continues Sunday with eight second-round games.South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed and undefeated, will face the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels. And defending champion LSU, whose coach Kim Mulkey threatened a Washington Post reporter about an upcoming “hit piece,” will play No. 11 Middle Tennessee State.The first of eight games will be played at noon, with No. 2 Ohio State facing No. 7 Duke.Women's March Madness games are broadcast and streamed on various ESPN channels. USA TODAY Sports brings you the latest news, scores, analysis and more throughout the day. follow me. Today's…

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Recent ransomware attacks against healthcare providers have once again highlighted the need for careful health care provider security measures.Just last month, the BlackCat hacker group orchestrated a cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. The BlackCat group, also known as ALPHV or Noberus, demanded $22 million from major healthcare companies after attacks rendered payment and prescription services nearly impossible, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.UnitedHealth Group's webpage dedicated to “cyber response” shows half of the recovery efforts are complete, with two more in progress as of the week of March 15th and March 18th.…

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The stock market as a whole continues to rise. but, Dow Jones Industrial Average This year it's down.In descending order of performance, boeing (NYSE:BA), intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Nike (NYSE:NKE)and apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) –This may come as a surprise since the broader semiconductor industry and many big tech growth stocks are surging.Here's what's driving each blue-chip stock down and why it could get worse before it gets better.Image source: Getty Images.Boeing must solve major problems even at the expense of short-term performance2024 was not a good year for Boeing. On January 5th, a door plug on a Boeing 737-9 MAX came off during…

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Last week, the Fed told the stock market what it wanted to hear.News on Wednesday that the central bank still expects three interest rate cuts this year sent stocks to record highs. Despite a decline on Friday, major average stock prices ended the week with gains of more than 2% across the board.Next week will be a holiday-shortened business week, with the Nasdaq (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) on pace for double-digit gains as investors look to cap off a strong first quarter of the year. Masu.The economic calendar brings investors the week's key highlights on Friday morning, when financial…

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