​Personal Finance Desk​

Personal Finance Desk

​Personal Finance Desk is a personal finance empowerment blog, addressing all aspects of personal finance, i.e. creating income streams, managing expenses, savings, investments, insurance, and taxes. Our team of finance experts also gives general and bespoke advice on how you can manage your finance and achieve financial freedom.

Rupert Murdoch Leaves Future of Media Empire to His Son, Lachlan

Rupert Murdoch’s (92) decision to step down as chairman of Fox Corp.and News Corp. leaves his son, Lachlan Murdoch, with a daunting task — steering the family’s cable TV and newspaper companies around two troubled industries.

Murdoch’s media empire, which he built over seven decades, has long been seen as a giant, with enormous influence over news, entertainment and politics. But since selling most of its film and TV business to Walt Disney Co. for $71.3 billion in 2019, Fox has become a relative minnow in a sea of whales, with a heavy focus on news and sports. It’s still heavily dependent on the declining businesses of cable TV and print.

Who is Lachlan Murdoch, the new chairman of Fox and News Corp?

Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch, has been anointed to take over his father’s vast media empire, capping years of rampant media speculation and thinly veiled fraternal feuding.

​Lachlan Murdoch, 52, is the third-oldest of Rupert Murdoch’s six children. Born in London to Murdoch and his second wife, Anna, he grew up steeped in the media business. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp’s “Dynasties” program, he said that every morning, before catching the school bus, he and his siblings would read the morning papers - The New York Post, The New York Times, the Daily News and the Wall Street Journal - with his father flagging stories of interest, ordering: “Read that.”

He graduated from Princeton in 1994 with a degree in philosophy, and entered the family business. He spent three years in Australia, ascending the corporate ladder to become chairman of News Ltd.

As chief executive of Fox Corp since 2019, Lachlan Murdoch has presided over the media properties during seismic change in the industry, as viewers cut cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services. Even so, Fox News has largely maintained its rating dominance, in part because of its appeal among politically conservative-leaning American viewers.

Microsoft Is Rolling Out Generative AI in Windows and Office App

Microsoft Corp. said its AI assistant for Windows will start rolling out Sept. 26 and the Office AI app will be widely available Nov. 1 as the software giant continues to bake generative artificial intelligence into its products.

Microsoft’s Copilot-branded AI assistants will provide a unified experience across operating systems, applications and devices, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said Thursday at an event in New York. For example, Microsoft showed how a user can ask Copilot to find a flight booking from text messages.

YouTube unveils a slew of new AI-powered tools for creators

YouTube on Thursday unveiled a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered tools to help creators produce videos and reach a wider audience on the platform, as companies race to incorporate buzzy generative AI technology directly into their core products.

“We want to make it easier for everyone to feel like they can create, and we believe generative AI will make that possible,” Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, told reporters Thursday during the company’s annual Made On YouTube product event.

“AI will enable people to push the boundaries of creative expression by making the difficult things simple,” Mohan added. He said YouTube is trying to bring “these powerful tools” to the masses.

Strike ends at Chevron's Australian LNG facilities

An Australian union alliance on Friday called off strikes at Chevron's two major local liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, agreeing to resolve disputes that had threatened to disrupt around 7% of global LNG supplies.

The union alliance and Chevron accepted proposals on pay and conditions from the country's industrial arbitrator for the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities, and workers were set to end strikes that began two weeks ago.

JPMorgan adding India local govt bonds to index to trigger higher inflows

JPMorgan on Friday said it will include India in its widely tracked emerging market debt index, setting the stage for billions of dollars of inflows into the world's fifth-largest economy.

India's local bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds according to JPMorgan.

JPMorgan said 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion are eligible. All fall under the category of "fully accessible" for non-residents.

"India's weight is expected to reach the maximum weight threshold of 10% in the GBI-EM Global Diversified, and approximately 8.7% in the GBI-EM Global index," said JPMorgan.

Inclusion will start on June 28, 2024, and extend over 10 months with 1% increments on its index weighting, as India is expected to reach the maximum weighting of 10%, JPMorgan said.

Shein shifts shipping strategy to bring China-made goods closer to US shoppers

E-commerce giant Shein is sending more low-priced apparel and home goods to U.S. warehouses from China to speed up shipping times for shoppers, according to data from global trade analysis firm ImportGenius provided exclusively to Reuters.

Shein, known for its $10 tops and $5 biker shorts, until recently has made many American purchasers face wait times of up to two weeks or more to receive their goods. This, say analysts, has put the fast-fashion e-tailer at a competitive disadvantage to bigger rivals such as Target, Walmart and Amazon.com, particularly during the holiday shopping season.

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