Author: Editor

Tax solutions provider Avalara announced that its Avi AI, first launched as a chatbot, is now an AI agent that will orchestrate an entirely new network of other AI agents that are being touted as, effectively, an agentic AI workforce for tax and compliance. Avalara’s Agentic Tax and Compliance platform has AI handle every core compliance function, from tax determination and filing to exemption certificate validation, registration, property tax, reporting, and research, each with built-in checkpoints for human review. When a user assigns a task, Avi breaks it into steps, delegates to specialized AI agents, and coordinates their actions, providing complete…

The Gaineses founded Magnolia Realty in 2003 in Waco, Texas.Chip used to own the company with John L. Lewis and Richard L. Clark, who later sued Chip for over $1 million. Lewis and Clark said that Chip pressured them into selling their shares of the company for just $2,500 each in May of 2013, just before it was announced that the Gaineses would star in “Fixer Upper.” A judge dismissed the lawsuit and sealed the records of the case, including Chip’s deposition on the matter, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.Magnolia Realty has since expanded to five other markets in Texas, as stated…

Among the many who have tracked gold’s stunning rally this year, Noura Sakkijha has an especially personal — and economic stake — in the game.As the cofounder and CEO of the jewelry brand Mejuri, Sakkijha said that the company’s direct-to-consumer model has helped it stay nimble amid soaring gold prices, in part by offering customers an entirely new material. Investors have flocked to gold, driving its price up by more than 50% this year. Prices of the safe-haven asset hit a record of nearly $4,400 per ounce in October, before falling sharply and settling to around $4,000 per ounce. Silver…

Neon signage glows at dusk outside a Papa John’s International Inc. restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Friday, May 1, 2015. Papa John’s is expected release quarterly earnings results after the close of U.S. financial markets on May 5.Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesShares of Papa John’s sank 10% on Tuesday following a report that Apollo Global has withdrawn its offer to take the pizza chain private.Reuters reported that the private equity firm backtracked on its bid, valued at $64 a share, about a week ago. The firm previously submitted an offer for Papa John’s alongside Irth Capital Management,…

A tech titan and a buzzy AI startup are fighting over exactly how much purchasing power an AI agent should have.Perplexity, an $18 billion AI startup that makes the buzzy AI web browser Comet, published a blog post on Tuesday saying that it had received a legal threat from Amazon.”This week, Perplexity received an aggressive legal threat from Amazon, demanding we prohibit Comet users from using their AI assistants on Amazon. This is Amazon’s first legal salvo against an AI company, and it is a threat to all internet users,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post titled “Bullying is Not…

The tension between big banks and private credit giants is flaring up again. The latest tussle started as the chair of UBS warned about risks in the US insurance industry due to private financing.Colm Kelleher warned that the “lack of effective regulation” in the insurance industry is causing a “looming systemic risk” as there’s a “massive growth in small rating agencies ticking the box for compliance,” on Tuesday at a conference hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.”We’re beginning to see huge rating agency arbitrage in the insurance business,” he said. “In 2007, subprime was all about rating agency arbitrage.”Kelleher’s…

Brand new Lucid electric cars sit parked in front of a Lucid Studio showroom in San Francisco on May 24, 2024.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesDETROIT — Challenges are mounting for all-electric vehicle manufacturers Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group as the companies try to sell investors on a brighter, more profitable future to come.But things could get worse before they get better as both automakers are set to report third-quarter results this week, starting with Rivian after the bell Tuesday, followed by Lucid on Wednesday.Both “pure EV” companies are expected to report notable growths in revenue and narrowed adjusted earnings losses…

Hourly earnings growth for small business employees slowed slightly last month, but the average number of hours they worked increased, driving up their weekly earnings, payroll company Paychex reported Tuesday.The Paychex Small Business Employment Watch, based on companies with fewer than 50 employees, found weekly hours worked rose across all regions of the U.S. in October. While hourly earnings growth for U.S. small business workers slowed marginally to 2.58%, staying below 3% for the past 15 months, small business employees experienced an increase in their weekly earnings due to the greater number of hours they worked during the month. National weekly…

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Commercial real estate dealmaking is having a rough 2025, after gaining significant momentum coming out of the pandemic. Transactions are still happening, but they have stalled at well below pre-Covid levels. The overall dollar value of deals has grown just 5% from last year as of the third quarter, according…

At South Korea’s largest amusement park, crowds of people wait for hours to be a part of the “KPop Demon Hunters” craze.U.S. streaming giant Netflix, the distributor of the Sony Pictures Animation film, has collaborated with the Everland park outside of the capital city Seoul to create a themed zone featuring whack-a-mole, dance games and snacks from the movie.It’s the latest iteration of the “KPop Demon Hunters” frenzy as the film takes Netflix by storm — and delivers a boost to the $10 billion K-pop music industry along with it.Netflix said in August that “KPop Demon Hunters” had become the…